circumference, was
filled with masses of lava shaped like waves, reminding the beholder of a
petrified sea. From the midst rose a high black mountain, contrasting
beautifully with the surrounding masses of light-grey lava. At first I
supposed the lava must have streamed forth from this mountain, but soon
found that the latter was perfectly smooth on all sides, and terminated
in a sharp peak. The remaining mountains which shut in the valley were
also perfectly closed, and I looked in vain for any trace of a crater.

We now reached a small lake, and soon afterwards arrived at a larger one,
called Kleinfarvatne. Both were hemmed in by mountains, which frequently
rose abruptly from the waters, leaving no room for the passage of the
horses. We were obliged sometimes to climb the mountains by fearfully
dizzy paths; at others to scramble downwards, almost clinging to the face
of the rock. At some points we were even compelled to dismount from our
horses, and scramble forward on our hands and knees. In a word, these
dangerous points, which extended over a space of about seven miles, were
certainly quite as bad as any I had encountered in Syria; if any thing,
they were even more formidable.

I was, however, assured that I should have no more such places to
encounter during all my further journeys in Iceland, and this information
quite reconciled me to the roads in this country. For the rest, the path
was generally tolerably safe even during this tour, which continually led
me across fields of lava.

A journey of some eight-and-twenty miles brought us at length into a
friendly valley; clouds of smoke, both small and great, were soon
discovered rising from the surrounding heights, and also from the valley
itself; these were the sulphur-springs and sulphur-mountains.

I could hardly restrain my impatience while we traversed the couple of
miles which separated us from Krisuvik. A few small lakes were still to
be crossed; and at length, at six o'clock in the evening, we reached our
destination.

With the exception of a morsel of bread and cheese, I had eaten nothing
since the morning; still I could not spare time to make coffee, but at
once dismounted, summoned my guide, and commenced my pilgrimage to the
smoking mountains. At the outset our way lay across swampy places and
meadow lands; but soon we had to climb the mountains themselves, a task
rendered extremely difficult by the elastic, yielding soil, in which
every