irt
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been (lopped up by a fall o f earth.
Frequent earthquakes and iubterraneaii
noUfs, heard at the time, caufed great
terror to the people who lived iii the
ireighbou rhood.
All thefe hot waters have an in-?
cruding quality, fo that we very commonly
find the exterior fnrface ircin
whence it burils forth covered w?itii
a kind of crnfl that refembles cliaced
work, we at iiril took it for lime ; but
loon became dnbious of this, as it
did not ferment with acid ; but we
hope that you. Sir, will ibon refoive
us. This cruil is in general very
fine ; but is, however, moil pure
and clear at the fppudng fprings ;
for at the others, where the water
flows, the parts precipitated by the
water are fometimes mixed with eartli,
which makes the cruft appear mòre
dark.
At the hvers it was very difficult, nay
almoil impoifible, to examine within
the opening the difpoiition of the paflage
that the water has formed, botli
by reaion of the heat of the water,
and
and the violence with which it is forced
out. One may, however, with confidence
judge of the great by the
fniall ; and it gave us the more plea-
ilire, as we had an opportunity at
Laugarnas to examine the very current
or water a coniiderable way under
the cruil.
The water had in this place made its
courfe through a bright grey clay, the
furface o f which was covered with a
white c ru i l ; but was on the fide nearefl
the clay quite fmooth, and crifped 011
the upper fide. The current flowed
a good w-ay under this cruil, through a
canal formed o f a fimilar matter; and
the whole canal was filled with cryi-
tals, that had a very pleaiing effect.
I had not time to examine rheir nature
and form on the fpot, as they w'ere
very fmail ; but I expecd a more particular
account of this fubjecl from you,
as you will find feveral fpecimens of
them in the colleffion I lent you. We
could not, however, piirlue the courfe
of the water very far, as we were obliged
to leave it to its fubterraiiean paF
fages, through wliich nature had carried