ends of English houses, and are formed 6t
unpainted boards, standing vertically. With
regard to the interior, both the sides and
bottom are but seldom boarded: the former
are usually nothing but J O the black stone and
turf, and the latter only the bare ground.
Generally, there are small openings, either
in the walls or roof, by way of windows;
but these are rarely glazed, and more frequently
covered with the amnion of* the
sheep, which allows but a small portion of
light; yet even this is a luxury, and is to
be found only in one or two of the rooms.
A chimney, or rather an aperture for the
emission of the smoke, usually made with
a tub, is seen in the best houses alone: in
others the smoke is left to find its way out
at the door, by which, also, the only air
that they can possibly receive is admitted.
The son of the old priest accompanied us in
a walk among the neighboring chasms;
which are, every where, so numerous, that
we could scarcely go ten feet without coming
to the edg©e of one that barred our farther
progress in that direction. Some at the
bottom have snow and ice, others contain
the purest water that can jfossibly be conceived,
so deep, that in many places no
bottom is to be found, and at the same time
so dear, that, on throwing in a stone, its
descent may be traced with the eye for a
considerable length of time. We saw abundance
of small fish swimming here, some of
which we caught, and found to be the young
of the Thingevalle trout; so that, although
at a considerable distance from the lake, in
all probability some of the subterraneous caves
which abound, together with the chasms, all
over this district communicate with it. A little
herbage covers the intermediate spaces between
the-clefts, but the more common alpine
Lichens and Mosses occupy the greater part of
the surface. Dicranumpurpureum astonished
me by its size and abundance. In some of
the caverns, among the drippings of the rock,
several plants of Veronica fruticulosa were
displaying their lovely blossoms, and, on the
edge both of the caves and precipices, Polygonum
viviparum grew in such profusion as
to form thick tufts, several feet in diameter,
and of great size. Cattle are often sent here
to graze, but not without the annual loss of
several, which fall into the holes and perish.
The priest Egclosen had himself a narrow