9 Krug von Nidda on the Mineral Springs of Iceland. 



preached, the more slowly did the time seem to pass, until I ac- 

 tually reached the springs. At length I passed rapidly round 

 a small rocky hill, which seemed torn asunder from the neigh- 

 bouring mountains, and found myself suddenly in the midst of 

 abundant columns of steam rising from the various openings ; 

 I hastened from one spring to another, till I stood at the edge 

 of the great geyser, and saw down into its abyss. The spring 

 was tranquil ; but it excites the same feelings with which one 

 walks on the crater of a volcano in a state of repose. 



After having in some measure satisfied my curiosity, I began 

 to make the necessary preparations for passing the night. The 

 horses were relieved of their burdens, and turned loose to search 

 for forage in the grassy meadows of the valleys ; I pitched my 

 tent at a distance of about sixty paces from the great geyser, 

 in order to observe every movement. In the immediate vici- 

 nity there are some Icelandic huts, inhabited by the solitary 

 family of a native. While I conversed on the subject of the 

 geyser with the proprietor, who was a very intelligent man, we 

 heard a dull thunder-like noise under our feet, which soon be- 

 came louder, and was changed to sounds resembling a series of 

 shots, and following each other in rapid succession. The earth 

 experienced a trembling movement ; I hastened out of my tent 

 and saw great masses of steam bursting from the interior of the 

 geyser, and the water of the spring thrown out to a height of 

 fifteen to twenty feet. This agitation of the geyser scarcely last- 

 ed a minute, and the usual perfect tranquillity was then restor- 

 ed. I learned from the Icelanders that this outbreak of the 

 geyser was one of the frequent smaller eruptions, that those on 

 a large scale occurred only at intervals of from twenty-four to 

 thirty hours, and that, shortly before my arrival, one of the lat- 

 ter had taken place, so that I must remain more than a day in 

 order to witness a new display. Although this intelligence was 

 very unpleasant, I resolved to remain till I should see the geyser 

 in a state of full activity. 



I employed the remainder of the day in examining the geyser 

 itself, and the numerous springs in its vicinity. 



The Haukadal is, as already stated, the most northern of the 

 ravines, and is shut in on the north by the projecting flank of 

 the Bald-Jokul, and on its south side by a range of rocks from 



