the trunk of a tree, which had been dug up)
close b y : it was so large as to appear nearly
as great a burthen as the beast could well
walk under, and was* probably, five or six
feet long, and nearly a foot in diameter.
I do not recollect meeting with any remarkable
plants^ different from those I had before
sfeen about Reikevig, except an Orchis, with
a singularly inflated and semi-transparent
nectanum^ of which I could find no description
in the Flora Scandinavice. Several sorts
of dwarf willows were common, as well as
Bartsia alpina, Geranium sylvaticum, and
Conostomum boreale. When we reached
about half way of our day’s journey, we
stopped half an hour to bait our horses, and
arrived at Heiderbag, where we proposed to
remain the night, between ten and eleven
o’clock. The priest Egclosen, at whose
house I called to deliver a letter from the
Stiftsamptman, rose from bed, and assisted
us to fix our tents, and unload the horses ;
but the heavy rain had wetted almost every
thing, so that we passed but an uncomfortable
night, lying in our damp clothes, and
on the moist and swampy ground, where
our tents were pitched.
Sunday, Early this morning, the priest
Ju ly 9. Came to invite us to breakfast at his
house, which I readily agreed to, taking with
me tea, coffee, and other provisions ; a precaution
absolutely necessary, for his house
would afford nothing but milk, skiur, butter,
and fish. I was even obliged to send back
to my tent for a kettle to boil the coffee in.
The only part of the house to which we
were admitted was that in which the fish,
tallow, wool, milk, &c., were kept; for this,
being the best part of an Icelandic building,
is used for the reception of strangers.. It
had walls of alternate layers of turf and
stone, without either cement to unite them,
or plaister to conceal their nakedness, and
the floor was the bare earth. One chair
was all our host could furnish, and, indeed,
there would not have been room for more,
so completely was the place lumbered up
with old chests, old clothes, &c. What little
provision there was in the house was most
willingly offered, and it was with difficulty
I could prevent him from killing a lamb, to
entertain us better. This man had been secretary
to the Stiftsamptman, who had procured
for him the curacy of Thingevalle