14 ICELAND. 



tread, and beneath subterranean chambers stretch to a 

 great distance, which might serve as dens for all the wild 

 beasts of the forest. Hidden from the summer sun, 

 banks of ice and snow lie in some of these caves all the 

 year round ; and small holes, into which a horse's foot 

 is apt to slide, are a constant source of danger to the 

 traveller. 



The persistent heat of these masses of lava is evidenced 

 by the fact, that many years after their effusion they con- 

 tinue hot and smoking. 



Such sterile, howling wildernesses are what Rachel 

 would have fitly termed " a sublime horror." Hardly a 

 trace of life in animal or plant is met with. 



The lowest lichens and a weather-beaten grey moss 

 sear the rocks with faint traces of colour, and at long 

 intervals an eagle, or one of the apoplectic ravens which 

 haunt these solitudes, may flit noiselessly past, their dark 

 shadow gliding like an evil spirit over the barren rocks. 

 Not another sign of life exists, and, in truth, the absence 

 of insect life is one of the most curious and striking 

 features of the country. Except in some of the valleys 

 by the side of rivers, where hungry gnats abound, there 

 is hardly a winged insect to be seen. 



No bees or butterflies fill the air with their busy hum, 

 or pass glittering down the breeze. There are no hedge- 

 rows or copses " melodious with tune," no little birds 

 impetuous with song. On the moors the melancholy cry 

 of the plover may at intervals be heard, but the thrush and 

 starling and corncrake never come in all that silent land. 



