the island should not be suffered to be put
into a state of defence; that the convention
with Captain Nott should be in full force
throughout the country; and that, till definitive
orders were received from the British
government, the chief command should be
vested in the hands of the two persons who
were next in authority to Count Tramp, the
Etatsroed Stephensen, and his brother, the
Amptman of the Western Quarter of Iceland.
These affairs having been brought to a
conclusion by Friday the 25th of August,
the Margaret and Anne and the Orion were
finally ordered to prepare to weigh anchor
in the afternoon of the same day. Friday, , ■ August 25. j n tbe former we had, in addition
to the party we brought out with us, Count
Tramp, who was to go to England as a
prisoner of war, his secretary, and Lieutenant
Stewart of the Talbot, charged with dispatches
from Captain Jones to the Admiralty.
The Danish prisoners belonging to
our prize were divided in the two vessels, and
Mr. Jorgensen, together with a few English,
sufficient to protect the ship, embarked on
board the Orion. At about four o’clock in
the afternoon we were both under sail, but
with so little wind that it was evening before
we were quite clear of the small islands of
Akaroe and Ingle, and the same weather continued
till noon of the next day, when a breeze
Saturday, springing up we soon bade farewell
August 26. £0 Qriollj which we now left far
behind, observing to each as she faded from
our sight that we should never see her again;
and, finding we were not near enough to the
land to go through the most usual and the
safest, as well as the shortest, passage between
Cape Reikanes and the first of the rocks called
the Fugle Skiers, we made our course between
the second and third of them. I believe not
one of our little party left Iceland with feelings
of regret. The weather, which had at
the best been unfavorable, was now daily
growing worse, and not only rendered our
longer abode in the island disagreeable, but
threatened us with a dangerous passage
homeward: the nights were rapidly lengthening,
and time hung heavily upon our
hands: it was impossible to forbear contrasting
the wretchedness and poverty of every
thing about us with the comfort of our
happy homes; and, in addition to these and
similar considerations, our stay at Reikevig,