The pleasure of riding on horseback over an unknown country made me easy to be pleased at our first start. I threw myself wholly into the pleasure of the trip, and enjoyed the feeling of freedom and satisfied desire. I was beginning to take a real share in the enterprise.
"Besides," I said to myself, "where's the risk? Here we are travelling all through a most interesting country! We are about to climb a very remarkable4 mountain; at the worst we are going to scramble5 down an extinct crater6. It is evident that Saknussemm did nothing more than this. As for a passage leading to the centre of the globe, it is mere7 rubbish! perfectly8 impossible! Very well, then; let us get all the good we can out of this expedition, and don't let us haggle9 about the chances."
This reasoning having settled my mind, we got out of Rejkiavik.
Hans moved steadily10 on, keeping ahead of us at an even, smooth, and rapid pace. The baggage horses followed him without giving any trouble. Then came my uncle and myself, looking not so very ill-mounted on our small but hardy11 animals.
Iceland is one of the largest islands in Europe. Its surface is 14,000 square miles, and it contains but 16,000 inhabitants. Geographers12 have divided it into four quarters, and we were crossing diagonally the south-west quarter, called the 'Sudvester Fjordungr.'
On leaving Rejkiavik Hans took us by the seashore. We passed lean pastures which were trying very hard, but in vain, to look green; yellow came out best. The rugged13 peaks of the trachyte rocks presented faint outlines on the eastern horizon; at times a few patches of snow, concentrating the vague light, glittered upon the slopes of the distant mountains; certain peaks, boldly uprising, passed through the grey clouds, and reappeared above the moving mists, like breakers emerging in the heavens.
Often these chains of barren rocks made a dip towards the sea, and encroached upon the scanty14 pasturage: but there was always enough room to pass. Besides, our horses instinctively15 chose the easiest places without ever slackening their pace. My uncle was refused even the satisfaction of stirring up his beast with whip or voice. He had no excuse for being impatient. I could not help smiling to see so tall a man on so small a pony16, and as his long legs nearly touched the ground he looked like a six-legged centaur17.
"Good horse! good horse!" he kept saying. "You will see, Axel, that there is no more sagacious animal than the Icelandic horse. He is stopped by neither snow, nor storm, nor impassable roads, nor rocks, glaciers18, or anything. He is courageous19, sober, and surefooted. He never makes a false step, never shies. If there is a river or fiord to cross (and we shall meet with many) you will see him plunge20 in at once, just as if he were amphibious, and gain the opposite bank. But we must not hurry him; we must let him have his way, and we shall get on at the rate of thirty miles a day."
"We may; but how about our guide?"
"Oh, never mind him. People like him get over the ground without a thought. There is so little action in this man that he will never get tired; and besides, if he wants it, he shall have my horse. I shall get cramped21 if I don't have a little action. The arms are all right, but the legs want exercise."
We were advancing at a rapid pace. The country was already almost a desert. Here and there was a lonely farm, called a boër built either of wood, or of sods, or of pieces of lava22, looking like a poor beggar by the wayside. These ruinous huts seemed to solicit23 charity from passers-by; and on very small provocation24 we should have given alms for the relief of the poor inmates25. In this country there were no roads and paths, and the poor vegetation, however slow, would soon efface26 the rare travellers' footsteps.
Yet this part of the province, at a very small distance from the capital, is reckoned among the inhabited and cultivated portions of Iceland. What, then, must other tracts27 be, more desert than this desert? In the first half mile we had not seen one farmer standing28 before his cabin door, nor one shepherd tending a flock less wild than himself, nothing but a few cows and sheep left to themselves. What then would be those convulsed regions upon which we were advancing, regions subject to the dire29 phenomena30 of eruptions31, the offspring of volcanic32 explosions and subterranean33 convulsions?
We were to know them before long, but on consulting Olsen's map, I saw that they would be avoided by winding34 along the seashore. In fact, the great plutonic action is confined to the central portion of the island; there, rocks of the trappean and volcanic class, including trachyte, basalt, and tuffs and agglomerates35 associated with streams of lava, have made this a land of supernatural horrors. I had no idea of the spectacle which was awaiting us in the peninsula of Snæfell, where these ruins of a fiery36 nature have formed a frightful37 chaos38.
In two hours from Rejkiavik we arrived at the burgh of Gufunes, called Aolkirkja, or principal church. There was nothing remarkable here but a few houses, scarcely enough for a German hamlet.
Hans stopped here half an hour. He shared with us our frugal39 breakfast; answering my uncle's questions about the road and our resting place that night with merely yes or no, except when he said "Gardär."
I consulted the map to see where Gardär was. I saw there was a small town of that name on the banks of the Hvalfiord, four miles from Rejkiavik. I showed it to my uncle.
"Four miles only!" he exclaimed; "four miles out of twenty-eight.
What a nice little walk!"
He was about to make an observation to the guide, who without answering resumed his place at the head, and went on his way.
Three hours later, still treading on the colourless grass of the pasture land, we had to work round the Kolla fiord, a longer way but an easier one than across that inlet. We soon entered into a 'pingstaoer' or parish called Ejulberg, from whose steeple twelve o'clock would have struck, if Icelandic churches were rich enough to possess clocks. But they are like the parishioners who have no watches and do without.
There our horses were baited; then taking the narrow path to left between a chain of hills and the sea, they carried us to our next stage, the aolkirkja of Brantär and one mile farther on, to Saurboër 'Annexia,' a chapel40 of ease built on the south shore of the Hvalfiord.
It was now four o'clock, and we had gone four Icelandic miles, or twenty-four English miles.
In that place the fiord was at least three English miles wide; the waves rolled with a rushing din3 upon the sharp-pointed rocks; this inlet was confined between walls of rock, precipices41 crowned by sharp peaks 2,000 feet high, and remarkable for the brown strata42 which separated the beds of reddish tuff. However much I might respect the intelligence of our quadrupeds, I hardly cared to put it to the test by trusting myself to it on horseback across an arm of the sea.
If they are as intelligent as they are said to be, I thought, they won't try it. In any case, I will tax my intelligence to direct theirs.
But my uncle would not wait. He spurred on to the edge. His steed lowered his head to examine the nearest waves and stopped. My uncle, who had an instinct of his own, too, applied43 pressure, and was again refused by the animal significantly shaking his head. Then followed strong language, and the whip; but the brute44 answered these arguments with kicks and endeavours to throw his rider. At last the clever little pony, with a bend of his knees, started from under the Professor's legs, and left him standing upon two boulders45 on the shore just like the colossus of Rhodes.
"Confounded brute!" cried the unhorsed horseman, suddenly degraded into a pedestrian, just as ashamed as a cavalry46 officer degraded to a foot soldier.
"What! a boat?"
"Der," replied Hans, pointing to one.
"Yes," I cried; "there is a boat."
"Why did not you say so then? Well, let us go on."
"Tidvatten," said the guide.
"What is he saying?"
"He says tide," said my uncle, translating the Danish word.
"No doubt we must wait for the tide."
"Förbida," said my uncle.
"Ja," replied Hans.
My uncle stamped with his foot, while the horses went on to the boat.
I perfectly understood the necessity of abiding48 a particular moment of the tide to undertake the crossing of the fiord, when, the sea having reached its greatest height, it should be slack water. Then the ebb49 and flow have no sensible effect, and the boat does not risk being carried either to the bottom or out to sea.
That favourable50 moment arrived only with six o'clock; when my uncle, myself, the guide, two other passengers and the four horses, trusted ourselves to a somewhat fragile raft. Accustomed as I was to the swift and sure steamers on the Elbe, I found the oars51 of the rowers rather a slow means of propulsion. It took us more than an hour to cross the fiord; but the passage was effected without any mishap52.
In another half hour we had reached the aolkirkja of Gardär
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1
overcast
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| adj.阴天的，阴暗的，愁闷的；v.遮盖，（使）变暗，包边缝；n.覆盖，阴天 | |
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disastrous
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| adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的 | |
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din
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| n.喧闹声，嘈杂声 | |
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remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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scramble
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| v.爬行，攀爬，杂乱蔓延，碎片，片段，废料 | |
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6
crater
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| n.火山口，弹坑 | |
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7
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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8
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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9
haggle
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| vi.讨价还价，争论不休 | |
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10
steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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hardy
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| adj.勇敢的，果断的，吃苦的；耐寒的 | |
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geographers
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| 地理学家( geographer的名词复数 ) | |
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rugged
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| adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的 | |
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scanty
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| adj.缺乏的，仅有的，节省的，狭小的，不够的 | |
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instinctively
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| adv.本能地 | |
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pony
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| adj.小型的；n.小马 | |
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centaur
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| n.人首马身的怪物 | |
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18
glaciers
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| 冰河，冰川( glacier的名词复数 ) | |
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19
courageous
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| adj.勇敢的，有胆量的 | |
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plunge
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| v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲 | |
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21
cramped
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| a.狭窄的 | |
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lava
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| n.熔岩，火山岩 | |
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solicit
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| vi.勾引；乞求；vt.请求，乞求；招揽(生意) | |
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provocation
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| n.激怒，刺激，挑拨，挑衅的事物，激怒的原因 | |
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25
inmates
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| n.囚犯( inmate的名词复数 ) | |
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efface
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| v.擦掉，抹去 | |
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tracts
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| 大片土地( tract的名词复数 )； 地带； （体内的）道； （尤指宣扬宗教、伦理或政治的）短文 | |
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28
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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dire
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| adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的 | |
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phenomena
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| n.现象 | |
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31
eruptions
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| n.喷发，爆发( eruption的名词复数 ) | |
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32
volcanic
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| adj.火山的；象火山的；由火山引起的 | |
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subterranean
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| adj.地下的，地表下的 | |
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34
winding
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| n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈 | |
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35
agglomerates
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| 附聚物 | |
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fiery
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| adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的 | |
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frightful
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| adj.可怕的；讨厌的 | |
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38
chaos
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| n.混乱，无秩序 | |
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frugal
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| adj.节俭的，节约的，少量的，微量的 | |
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40
chapel
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| n.小教堂，殡仪馆 | |
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41
precipices
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| n.悬崖，峭壁( precipice的名词复数 ) | |
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42
strata
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| n.地层（复数）；社会阶层 | |
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43
applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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44
brute
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| n.野兽，兽性 | |
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45
boulders
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| n.卵石( boulder的名词复数 )；巨砾；（受水或天气侵蚀而成的）巨石；漂砾 | |
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46
cavalry
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| n.骑兵；轻装甲部队 | |
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47
touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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48
abiding
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| adj.永久的，持久的，不变的 | |
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49
ebb
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| vi.衰退，减退；n.处于低潮，处于衰退状态 | |
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50
favourable
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| adj.赞成的，称赞的，有利的，良好的，顺利的 | |
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51
oars
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| n.桨，橹( oar的名词复数 )；划手v.划（行）( oar的第三人称单数 ) | |
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52
mishap
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| n.不幸的事，不幸；灾祸 | |
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