angular and projecting precipices, which cast
a deep shadow on the white snow, when the
early rays of the sun were striking upon
them, breaking the uniformity of such an
extended outline. This range of mountains we
afterwards discovered to be KlofaJokul(Jokul,
pronounced Yuckul, meaning a range of snow
mountains), in the south-eastern part of Iceland,
and Mr. Phelps and I gazed upon it with
astonishment and delight, till a late hour in
the morning. Such a scene was quite novel to
us, and the circumstance of our contemplating
it all night long did not at all diminish
its effect. To the north-east of this, we saw
a long stretch of nearly level land, of, qom-
paratively, no great elqvation, but every
where covered with snow, and only here
and there interrupted by a rugged moun-
Thursday, tain, whose sides were of a very
June io. ru(je figure. The following night,
we passed within .sight of a flat extent of
land, which appeared to be about twenty
miles from us, and on which, by the help of
our glasses, we could plainly discern a number
of buildings; but we could never learn
• what place it was. I do not recollect ever
after, except at Reikevig, seeing so many
funeyi6. houses together in Iceland. About
two o’clock the next morning, we
discovered Westman’s Isles, or Vestmanna-
eyer, as the natives call them. These islands
are so namtd, from the circumstance of some
Irish fugitives, who had killed their master,
having escaped to tlfbm in a.d. §75 ; for the
Irish and Scotch were both called by the ancient
Norwegians Vestmen. According to Po-
velsen and Olafsen, some places in the principal,
and the only inhabited, island, are still
known by the names of these Irish runaways.
The whole groupe appears perfectly
barren, and they rise to a vast height, and
of the strangest shapes, perpendicularly from
the sea. We had a magnificent view, as we
passed close by them with a light breeze,
which, however, was scarcely sufficient, in
our captain’s opinion, to take us out of the
force of the currents, which run here with
great velocity. As we proceeded, the different
sides which came to our view presented
different shapes and appearances ; in some,
these sides hung over the deep, as if they
would fall every instant ; others had a perforation
at their bottoms, through which a boat
under sail might pass : all of them were of a