t Mi
enabled to find a person of that description ; and
when we did at last succeed, we had to complain, as
usual, of the indifference or laziness so common to
the people of Iceland, however nearly their interest
may be touched : in the present instance we were
obliged to Avait three hours, before this gentleman
could make it convenient to come on board. The
moment he did so Ave got under Aveigh : the sky
was quite clear of clouds and the atmosphere of fog,
and the panoramic aucav of mountains round the
Faxe Bay were noAV for the first time visible all
round since onr arrival. We all congratulated ourselves
on such favourable auspices, and enjoyed
the splendid and magnificent sight as we glided
along toAvards the object of our little voyage.
We had an excellent run across the bay, and
found ourselves in the evening close to the foot of
the Snæfell Yokul, an enormous mountain Avhose
sides Avere enveloped in snow, reaching considerably
down toAvards the base. We were now anxiously
looking out for the place Avhere we were to run in
and come to anchor, but soon discovered, to our
great mortification and annoyance, that the person
who had called himself a pilot, and whom Ave had
so much difficulty in procuring, had only once in
the whole course of his life been to Stappen ; and,
provoking as it was beyond measure, Ave could
scarcely forbear laughing when we discovered that
that once was by land ! The coolness with which he
confessed this was certainly amusing, but the knoAV-
1'
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ledge of it was so far useful, that it put ns on our
guard against placing the least confidence in him,
and that we should not neglect the proper precautions
to be taken by ourselves: indeed, we had
occasion to suspect his ignorance, from the circumstance
of his endeavouring to convince us that a
rock, as we all judged it to be, which had been in
sight for a long while as we sailed towards the
coast, was nothing more than a ship. The man
however, though no pilot, had some redeeming
qualities; for when, on our return to Reikiavik, we
were informed that he had once saved the lives of
some seamen in the most gallant manner, by venturing
out into the middle of the bay in an open
boat, in very tempestuous weather, to the great
hazard of his life, we felt disposed—indeed we
could not do less—than to forgive his Avant of skill
on the present occasion.
Having approached quite as near to the coast as
we thought advisable or prudent, we laid to, and
sent our land pilot off, for want of a better, to the
shore, that he might serve at least as an interpreter,
and ascertain where we Avere. The boat
returned in the course of a couple of hours Avith a
real pilot from Stappen, who brought us a polite
message from the principal inhabitant at the place
(I believe one of the Danish functionaries) inviting
us all to breakfast with him the following morning.
H e had probably heard of our arrival at