the sounds nearer, and that they proceeded from
the falling portions of rock.

The higher mountains to the left fade gradually more and more from view;
but the river Elvas spreads in such a manner, and divides into so many
branches, that one might mistake it for a lake with many islands. It
flows into the neighbouring sea, whose expanse becomes visible after
surmounting a few more small hills.

The vale of Reikum, which we now entered, is, like that of Reikholt, rich
in hot springs, which are congregated partly in the plain, partly on or
behind the hills, in a circumference of between two and three miles.

When we had reached the village of Reikum I sent my effects at once to
the little church, took a guide, and proceeded to the boiling springs. I
found very many, but only two remarkable ones; these, however, belong to
the most noteworthy of their kind. The one is called the little Geyser,
the other the Bogensprung.

The little Geyser has an inner basin of about three feet diameter. The
water boils violently at a depth of from two to three feet, and remains
within its bounds till it begins to spout, when it projects a beautiful
voluminous steam of from 20 to 30 feet high.

At half-past eight in the evening I had the good fortune to see one of
these eruptions, and needed not, as I had done at the great Geyser, to
bivouac near it for days and nights. The eruption lasted some time, and
was tolerably equable; only sometimes the column of water sank a little,
to rise to its former height with renewed force. After forty minutes it
fell quite down into the basin again. The stones we threw in, it
rejected at once, or in a few seconds, shivered into pieces, to a height
of about 12 to 15 feet. Its bulk must have been 1 to 1.5 feet in
diameter. My guide assured me that this spring generally plays only
twice, rarely thrice, in twenty-four hours, and not, as I have seen it
stated, every six minutes. I remained near it till midnight, but saw no
other eruption.

This spring very much resembles the Strukker near the great Geyser, the
only difference being that the water sinks much lower in the latter.

The second of the two remarkable springs, the arched spring, is situated
near the little Geyser, on the declivity of a hill. I had never seen
such a curious formation for the bed of a spring as this is. It has no
basin, but lies half open at your feet, in a little grotto, which is
separated into various cavities and ho