proached to Kreisevig the more broken and
uneven the country became, and we were
soon within view of some fine black and
excessively rugged mountains, which lay between
us and the object of our journey, and
which we had consequently to cross. At
the foot of these we rested our horses for a
few minutes, to prepare them for the ascent,
which, though steep, was for some way not
difficult. At length we approached the
brink of a vast hollow, in shape like an inverted
cone, the regularly sloping slides of
which were composed of loose pieces of rock,
while the bottom alone produced a little
grass and moss. Into this cavity, which has
an Icelandic name signifying kettle, it was
necessary for us to descend a few yards,
after which, turning to the left, we had to
go along a track so narrow, that there was
no more room than was absolutely required
to enable our horses to set one foot before
another, on account of the steepness of the
ascent on one side, and the suddenness of the
descent on the other; till, on reaching the
opposite extremity of the place, we ascended
to the top, and once more continued our
painful journey up the sides of this rocky
mountain. In many places, for a considerable
extent, the hill had nearly a level surface,
upon which were scattered at various
distances insulated pieces of rock of immense
size, and of the rudest figures, some of them
having sharp and apparently vitrified summits,
whilst others were rounded off on every
side, and had probably rolled into their present
situation from the higher peaks of the
mountain. Although the singularity of this
scenery afforded us no small gratification,
our own wet condition, (for the rain still
continued unabated,) the excessive cold of
these more elevated regions, and the pelting
of the great hailstones, which a strong easterly
wind drove against our faces, made us
rather wish for the shelter of the vallies. On
reaching the highest summit, however, we
were inclined to forget our uncomfortable
situation, whilst looking down into the valley
which surrounds Kreisevig. Our view,
indeed, was confined from the unsettled
state of the atmosphere, yet, at intervals, as
the gusts of wind dispersed the clouds, we
beheld, in the midst of a green and extensive
morass below, three or four lakes, with steep
and rocky banks, and, in different parts of