nches in diameter.

As my guide had foretold, I found a very comfortable room and a good bed
in the priest's house. Herr Horfuson is one of the best men I have ever
met with. He eagerly sought opportunities for giving me pleasure, and to
him I owe several fine minerals and an Icelandic book of the year 1601.
May God reward his kindness and benevolence!

July 1st.

We retraced our steps as far as the river Huitha, over which we rowed,
and then turned in another direction. Our journey led us through
beautiful valleys, many of them producing abundance of grass; but
unfortunately so much moss grew among it, that these large plains were
not available for pastures, and only afforded comfort to travellers by
their aspect of cheerfulness. They were quite dry.

The valley in which Hjalmholm, our resting-place for this night, was
situated, is traversed by a stream of lava, which had, however, been
modest enough not to fill up the whole valley, but to leave a space for
the pretty stream Elvas, and for some fields and hillocks, on which many
cottages stood. It was one of the most populous valleys I had seen in
Iceland.

Hjalmholm is situated on a hill. In it lives the Sysselmann of the
Rangaar district, in a large and beautiful house such as I saw no where
in Iceland except in Reikjavik. He had gone to the capital of the island
as member of the Allthing; but his daughters received me very hospitably
and kindly.

We talked and chatted much; I tried to display my knowledge of the Danish
language before them, and must often have made use of curious phrases,
for the girls could not contain their laughter. But that did not abash
me; I laughed with them, applied to my dictionary, which I carried with
me, and chatted on. They seemed to gather no very high idea of the
beauty of my countrywomen from my personal appearance; for which I humbly
crave the forgiveness of my countrywomen, assuring them that no one
regrets the fact more than I do. But dame Nature always treats people of
my years very harshly, and sets a bad example to youth of the respect due
to age. Instead of honouring us and giving us the preference, she
patronises the young folks, and every maiden of sixteen can turn up her
nose at us venerable matrons. Besides my natural disqualifications, the
sharp air and the violent storms to which I had been subjected had
disfigured my face very much. They