forest at the foot of Skardsheidi, we proposed
going round the base of the mountain
instead of crossing it. In a short time we
reached the shore of Borgafiord, and continued
upon a black beach of decomposed
rock, as fine as sand, but more firm to the
horses’ feet, till, finding ourselves in a line
with the wood, we turned from the water’s
side, and, without much difficulty, penetrated
to the centre of the forest, where
grew the loftiest of the trees that it was
composed of, some of which were certainly
larger than I had expected to have met with.
The tallest, or I am much mistaken, were
not less than eleven or twelve feet in height,
and measured at the base five or six inches
in diameter. In remembrance of the spot,
I gathered some of the blossoms of the
birch, which were now expanded, and diffused
around us an agreeable fragrance that
I never thought to have enjoyed in Iceland,
while under our feet Festuca vivipara and
other grasses, with Silcuc dcuulis and abundance
of the elegant Polypodium Dryopteris
formed a rich carpet that almost made me
forget the desart scenery which was on «very
side of us. That I might be able to tell my
friends on my return to England that I had
eaten my dinner in* an Icelandic forest, the
Amptman spread a cloth, and produced some
rum and provisions that he had brought with
him for the purpose, of which we partook,
protected by the shade of the birch-trees
from the rays of the sun, though not from
any heat which these rays would have afforded;
for the cold was still very severe,
and it was but a short time after our sylvan
repast, before we had to ride a considerable
length of way in the midst of a heavy fall
of snow. On coming out from the wood and
looking up to a part of Skardsheidi that was
below even the height that we had crossed
but a few days before, we could clearly
discover the currents of water, which we
had seen run down the almost perpendicular
parts of the mountain, already in a congealed
state, and forming so many broad lines of
solid ice, the appearance of which, upon the
black face of the naked rock, was no less
curious than interesting, at such a season
of the year. As we approached the shore
again, we came among a vast number of
huge stones, scattered at various distances
about a great plain, so much frequented by
VOL. i . y