rincipal path several smaller ones lead far into the interior
of this stony region; but they do not communicate with each other, and
one is compelled to return from each side-path into the main road. Some
of these by-paths are short, narrow, and low; others, on the contrary,
are long, broad, and lofty.

In one of the most retired of these by-paths I was shewn a great number
of bones, which, I was told, were those of slaughtered sheep and other
animals. I could gather, from the account given by the priest of the
legend concerning them, that, in days of yore, this cave was the resort
of a mighty band of robbers. This must have been a long, long time ago,
as this is related as a legend or a fable.

For my part, I could not tell what robbers had to do in Iceland. Pirates
had often come to the island; but for these gentry this cavern was too
far from the sea. I cannot even imagine beasts of prey to have been
there; for the whole country round about is desert and uninhabited, so
that they could have found nothing to prey upon. In fact, I turned over
in my mind every probability, and can only say that it appeared to me a
most remarkable circumstance to find in this desert place, so far from
any living thing, a number of bones, which, moreover, looked as fresh as
if the poor animals to whom they once belonged had been eaten but a short
time ago. Unfortunately I could obtain no satisfactory information on
this point.

It is difficult to imagine any thing more laborious than to wander about
in this cavern. As the road had shewed itself at the entrance of the
cavern, so it continued throughout its whole extent. The path consisted
entirely of loose fragments of lava heaped one upon the other, over which
we had to clamber with great labour. None of us could afford to help the
others; each one was fully occupied with himself. There was not a single
spot to be seen on which we could have stood without holding fast at the
same time with our hands. We were sometimes obliged to seat ourselves on
a stone, and so to slide down; at others, to take hands and pull one
another to the top of high blocks of stone.

We came to several immense basins, or craters, which opened above our
heads, but were inaccessible, the sides being too steep for us to climb.
The light which entered through these openings was scarcely enough to
illumine the principal path, much less the numerous by-paths.

At Kalmannstunga I had endeavoured to procur