closeness of the place, the heat, and the
smell of the clothes, soon induced me to
retreat, and, having now seen what was most
worthy of attention in the valley of smoke *,
we turned towards Hvamore, taking, however,
a different route from that by which
we had come in the morning. In our way,
we stopped a few minutes at the house of a
priest of the name of Joneson, where I was
agreeably surprised at the sight of a jar of
water filled with the charming flowers of
Epilobium frigidum -f~, FI. Scand. a beauti-
* One would suppose that the quantity of steam
must be greater than it really is for it to produce an
effect which is mentioned in the Voyage en^Islande.
“ La fumée et les vapeurs continuelles qui s’élèvent dans
l'air, occasionnent beaucoup de pluies dans le pays : il
en tombe même fréquemment dans les plus beaux temps
de soleil, mais elles ne durent guères, parcequ’elles ne
viennent que d’un nuage qui s’est élevé avec précipitation
; il se peut néanmoins que la chûte d’une pareille
vapeur de nuages, ne provienne que de la légèreté
de l’air. ” tom. i. p. 237.
+ This plant does not always, as Mr. Salisbury seems
to think, grow in maritime situations. The spot where
I met with these specimens was at some distance from
the sea, and those which I found in the chasm, at the
foot of Skoul-a-fiel, could not be less than ten or twelve
miles from the coast.
tiful figure of which has been given by
Mr. Salisbury in the Paradisus Londinensis
under the name of Chamcenerium halimifo-
lium. Our host informed us he had found
them on the side of Hvitaa, and I therefore
hastened thither, and gathered a number of
fine specimens of this splendid plant, the
most striking vegetable production of Iceland.
I had previously seen it, though in a
less forward and luxuriant state. During
our stay here, some people who had been
requested by the Stiftsamptman to procure
me specimens of the minerals of the country,
brought me a number of different kinds,
among which were several large pieces of
Obsidian and some fine Zeolites. Late in
the evening, after a most interesting ride
through a comparatively populous and fertile
tract of country, we returned to our hospitable
abode at Hvamore, where we rested, and
Friday, early the following morning bade
August 4. farewep the Amptman’s family, or
rather to a part of it ; for he himself and his
eldest son had offered to accompany us to
Inderholme, and thence to Reikevig. To
vary in some measure our ride, and give
us an opportunity of seeing more of the