But the temperature was much lower. I was cold and more hungry than cold. Welcome was the sight of the boër which was hospitably1 opened to receive us.
It was a peasant's house, but in point of hospitality it was equal to a king's. On our arrival the master came with outstretched hands, and without more ceremony he beckoned2 us to follow him.
To accompany him down the long, narrow, dark passage, would have been impossible. Therefore, we followed, as he bid us. The building was constructed of roughly squared timbers, with rooms on both sides, four in number, all opening out into the one passage: these were the kitchen, the weaving shop, the badstofa, or family sleeping-room, and the visitors' room, which was the best of all. My uncle, whose height had not been thought of in building the house, of course hit his head several times against the beams that projected from the ceilings.
We were introduced into our apartment, a large room with a floor of earth stamped hard down, and lighted by a window, the panes3 of which were formed of sheep's bladder, not admitting too much light. The sleeping accommodation consisted of dry litter, thrown into two wooden frames painted red, and ornamented4 with Icelandic sentences. I was hardly expecting so much comfort; the only discomfort5 proceeded from the strong odour of dried fish, hung meat, and sour milk, of which my nose made bitter complaints.
When we had laid aside our travelling wraps the voice of the host was heard inviting6 us to the kitchen, the only room where a fire was lighted even in the severest cold.
My uncle lost no time in obeying the friendly call, nor was I slack in following.
The kitchen chimney was constructed on the ancient pattern; in the middle of the room was a stone for a hearth7, over it in the roof a hole to let the smoke escape. The kitchen was also a dining-room.
At our entrance the host, as if he had never seen us, greeted us with the word "Sællvertu," which means "be happy," and came and kissed us on the cheek.
After him his wife pronounced the same words, accompanied with the same ceremonial; then the two placing their hands upon their hearts, inclined profoundly before us.
I hasten to inform the reader that this Icelandic lady was the mother of nineteen children, all, big and little, swarming8 in the midst of the dense9 wreaths of smoke with which the fire on the hearth filled the chamber10. Every moment I noticed a fair-haired and rather melancholy11 face peeping out of the rolling volumes of smoke—they were a perfect cluster of unwashed angels.
My uncle and I treated this little tribe with kindness; and in a very short time we each had three or four of these brats12 on our shoulders, as many on our laps, and the rest between our knees. Those who could speak kept repeating "Sællvertu," in every conceivable tone; those that could not speak made up for that want by shrill13 cries.
This concert was brought to a close by the announcement of dinner. At that moment our hunter returned, who had been seeing his horses provided for; that is to say, he had economically let them loose in the fields, where the poor beasts had to content themselves with the scanty14 moss15 they could pull off the rocks and a few meagre sea weeds, and the next day they would not fail to come of themselves and resume the labours of the previous day.
"Sællvertu," said Hans.
Then calmly, automatically, and dispassionately he kissed the host, the hostess, and their nineteen children.
This ceremony over, we sat at table, twenty-four in number, and therefore one upon another. The luckiest had only two urchins16 upon their knees.
But silence reigned17 in all this little world at the arrival of the soup, and the national taciturnity resumed its empire even over the children. The host served out to us a soup made of lichen18 and by no means unpleasant, then an immense piece of dried fish floating in butter rancid with twenty years' keeping, and, therefore, according to Icelandic gastronomy19, much preferable to fresh butter. Along with this, we had 'skye,' a sort of clotted20 milk, with biscuits, and a liquid prepared from juniper berries; for beverage21 we had a thin milk mixed with water, called in this country 'blanda.' It is not for me to decide whether this diet is wholesome22 or not; all I can say is, that I was desperately23 hungry, and that at dessert I swallowed to the very last gulp24 of a thick broth25 made from buckwheat.
As soon as the meal was over the children disappeared, and their elders gathered round the peat fire, which also burnt such miscellaneous fuel as briars, cow-dung, and fishbones. After this little pinch of warmth the different groups retired26 to their respective rooms. Our hostess hospitably offered us her assistance in undressing, according to Icelandic usage; but on our gracefully27 declining, she insisted no longer, and I was able at last to curl myself up in my mossy bed.
At five next morning we bade our host farewell, my uncle with difficulty persuading him to accept a proper remuneration; and Hans signalled the start.
At a hundred yards from Gardär the soil began to change its aspect; it became boggy28 and less favourable29 to progress. On our right the chain of mountains was indefinitely prolonged like an immense system of natural fortifications, of which we were following the counter-scarp or lesser30 steep; often we were met by streams, which we had to ford31 with great care, not to wet our packages.
The desert became wider and more hideous32; yet from time to time we seemed to descry33 a human figure that fled at our approach, sometimes a sharp turn would bring us suddenly within a short distance of one of these spectres, and I was filled with loathing34 at the sight of a huge deformed35 head, the skin shining and hairless, and repulsive36 sores visible through the gaps in the poor creature's wretched rags.
The unhappy being forbore to approach us and offer his misshapen hand. He fled away, but not before Hans had saluted37 him with the customary "Sællvertu."
"Spetelsk," said he.
"A leper!" my uncle repeated.
This word produced a repulsive effect. The horrible disease of leprosy is too common in Iceland; it is not contagious38, but hereditary39, and lepers are forbidden to marry.
These apparitions40 were not cheerful, and did not throw any charm over the less and less attractive landscapes. The last tufts of grass had disappeared from beneath our feet. Not a tree was to be seen, unless we except a few dwarf41 birches as low as brushwood. Not an animal but a few wandering ponies42 that their owners would not feed. Sometimes we could see a hawk43 balancing himself on his wings under the grey cloud, and then darting44 away south with rapid flight. I felt melancholy under this savage45 aspect of nature, and my thoughts went away to the cheerful scenes I had left in the far south.
We had to cross a few narrow fiords, and at last quite a wide gulf46; the tide, then high, allowed us to pass over without delay, and to reach the hamlet of Alftanes, one mile beyond.
That evening, after having forded two rivers full of trout47 and pike, called Alfa and Heta, we were obliged to spend the night in a deserted48 building worthy49 to be haunted by all the elfins of Scandinavia. The ice king certainly held court here, and gave us all night long samples of what he could do.
No particular event marked the next day. Bogs50, dead levels, melancholy desert tracks, wherever we travelled. By nightfall we had accomplished51 half our journey, and we lay at Krösolbt.
On the 19th of June, for about a mile, that is an Icelandic mile, we walked upon hardened lava52; this ground is called in the country 'hraun'; the writhen surface presented the appearance of distorted, twisted cables, sometimes stretched in length, sometimes contorted together; an immense torrent53, once liquid, now solid, ran from the nearest mountains, now extinct volcanoes, but the ruins around revealed the violence of the past eruptions54. Yet here and there were a few jets of steam from hot springs.
We had no time to watch these phenomena55; we had to proceed on our way. Soon at the foot of the mountains the boggy land reappeared, intersected by little lakes. Our route now lay westward56; we had turned the great bay of Faxa, and the twin peaks of Snæfell rose white into the cloudy sky at the distance of at least five miles.
The horses did their duty well, no difficulties stopped them in their steady career. I was getting tired; but my uncle was as firm and straight as he was at our first start. I could not help admiring his persistency57, as well as the hunter's, who treated our expedition like a mere58 promenade59.
June 20. At six p.m. we reached Büdir, a village on the sea shore; and the guide there claiming his due, my uncle settled with him. It was Hans' own family, that is, his uncles and cousins, who gave us hospitality; we were kindly60 received, and without taxing too much the goodness of these folks, I would willingly have tarried here to recruit after my fatigues61. But my uncle, who wanted no recruiting, would not hear of it, and the next morning we had to bestride our beasts again.
The soil told of the neighbourhood of the mountain, whose granite62 foundations rose from the earth like the knotted roots of some huge oak. We were rounding the immense base of the volcano. The Professor hardly took his eyes off it. He tossed up his arms and seemed to defy it, and to declare, "There stands the giant that I shall conquer." After about four hours' walking the horses stopped of their own accord at the door of the priest's house at Stapi.
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1
hospitably
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| 亲切地，招待周到地，善于款待地 | |
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beckoned
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| v.（用头或手的动作）示意，召唤( beckon的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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panes
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| 窗玻璃( pane的名词复数 ) | |
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ornamented
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| adj.花式字体的v.装饰，点缀，美化( ornament的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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5
discomfort
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| n.不舒服，不安，难过，困难，不方便 | |
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inviting
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| adj.诱人的，引人注目的 | |
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hearth
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| n.壁炉炉床，壁炉地面 | |
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8
swarming
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| 密集( swarm的现在分词 )； 云集； 成群地移动； 蜜蜂或其他飞行昆虫成群地飞来飞去 | |
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9
dense
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| a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的 | |
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chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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melancholy
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| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
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12
brats
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| n.调皮捣蛋的孩子( brat的名词复数 ) | |
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13
shrill
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| adj.尖声的；刺耳的；v尖叫 | |
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14
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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15
moss
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| n.苔，藓，地衣 | |
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16
urchins
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| n.顽童( urchin的名词复数 )；淘气鬼；猬；海胆 | |
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17
reigned
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| vi.当政，统治（reign的过去式形式） | |
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18
lichen
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| n.地衣, 青苔 | |
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19
gastronomy
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| n.美食法；美食学 | |
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20
clotted
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| adj.凝结的v.凝固( clot的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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21
beverage
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| n.(水，酒等之外的)饮料 | |
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22
wholesome
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| adj.适合；卫生的；有益健康的；显示身心健康的 | |
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23
desperately
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| adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地 | |
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gulp
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| vt.吞咽，大口地吸（气）；vi.哽住；n.吞咽 | |
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25
broth
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| n.原(汁)汤(鱼汤、肉汤、菜汤等) | |
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26
retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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27
gracefully
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| ad.大大方方地；优美地 | |
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boggy
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| adj.沼泽多的 | |
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29
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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30
lesser
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| adj.次要的，较小的；adv.较小地，较少地 | |
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31
Ford
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| n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过 | |
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32
hideous
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| adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的 | |
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33
descry
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| v.远远看到；发现；责备 | |
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34
loathing
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| n.厌恶，憎恨v.憎恨，厌恶( loathe的现在分词)；极不喜欢 | |
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35
deformed
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| adj.畸形的；变形的；丑的，破相了的 | |
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36
repulsive
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| adj.排斥的，使人反感的 | |
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saluted
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| v.欢迎，致敬( salute的过去式和过去分词 )；赞扬，赞颂 | |
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38
contagious
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| adj.传染性的，有感染力的 | |
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hereditary
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| adj.遗传的，遗传性的，可继承的，世袭的 | |
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40
apparitions
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| n.特异景象( apparition的名词复数 )；幽灵；鬼；（特异景象等的）出现 | |
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41
dwarf
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| n.矮子，侏儒，矮小的动植物；vt.使…矮小 | |
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42
ponies
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| 矮种马，小型马( pony的名词复数 )； ￡25 25 英镑 | |
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43
hawk
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| n.鹰，骗子；鹰派成员 | |
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44
darting
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| v.投掷，投射( dart的现在分词 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
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45
savage
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| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
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46
gulf
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| n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂 | |
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47
trout
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| n.鳟鱼；鲑鱼(属) | |
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48
deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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49
worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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50
bogs
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| n.沼泽，泥塘( bog的名词复数 )；厕所v.（使）陷入泥沼， （使）陷入困境( bog的第三人称单数 )；妨碍，阻碍 | |
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51
accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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52
lava
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| n.熔岩，火山岩 | |
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53
torrent
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| n.激流，洪流；爆发，(话语等的)连发 | |
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54
eruptions
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| n.喷发，爆发( eruption的名词复数 ) | |
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55
phenomena
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| n.现象 | |
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56
westward
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| n.西方，西部；adj.西方的，向西的；adv.向西 | |
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57
persistency
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| n. 坚持(余辉, 时间常数) | |
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58
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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59
promenade
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| n./v.散步 | |
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60
kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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61
fatigues
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| n.疲劳( fatigue的名词复数 )；杂役；厌倦；（士兵穿的）工作服 | |
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62
granite
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| adj.花岗岩，花岗石 | |
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