in Iceland respecting the Gare-fowl. 381 



dition ; and in 1639 * four large boats (three from Su^rnes, the 

 district between Skagen and Osar, and one from Grindavik) pro- 

 ceeded thither; two of which, those from Stafnes and Mars- 

 buSum, were lost at the skerry, while the other two, from 

 Hvalsnes and StaSr, only returned with difficulty. It might 

 have been some such disaster as this that prompted a metrical 

 eflPusion composed by Sera Hallkiell Stephansson, the clergyman 

 of Hvalsnes, w4io flourished between 1655 and 1697, of which it 

 is feared only two lines have been preserved to posterity. In 

 these the poet says that he has never trusted himself to Geir- 

 fuglasker, as, on account of the surf, boats were broken by the 

 waves there. In 1694, a French vessel was wrecked on the 

 island, but the crew landed in their boats at Mi-Snes. 



Soon after our arrival at Reykjavik, we were pleased to learn 

 that the public library there contained a short but beautifully 

 written manuscript account of the Reykjanes Geirfuglasker. For 

 a knowledsre of its existence we were indebted to the kindness of 

 Professor Konrad Maurer of Munich, well known as one of the 

 most distinguished Icelandic scholars, and the pleasure of whose 

 company we enjoyed during our voyage to the North, and part of 

 our residence in the capital. The liberality also of the librarian 

 in allowing us the free use of, and permission to copy, this 

 curious document, must not pass unnoticed here. From the 

 penmanship and the paper on w^hich it is written, it is believed 

 by good judges whom we consulted to be probably a copy. From 

 internal evidence, which need not now be detailed, I venture to 

 express my opinion that the original must have been composed 

 within a few years of 1760. It commences abruptly by giving a 

 somewhat minute description of the rock and its unquestionably 

 volcanic origin; making, however, no reference to its neighbouring 

 islands. It then proceeds to relate the marvellous numbers of 

 birds found upon the rock, adding that the "Gare-fowl is there 

 not nearly so much as men suppose ;'^ that the space he occupies 



* There is an apparent misprint of " l43fj " for the above date in Pro- 

 fessor Steenstrup's reference to this event {I. c. p. 83, note). The parti- 

 culars mentioned in the text were supplied to us by Sera S. B. Sivertsen, the 

 clergyman at Utskala, to whom we were indebted for many similar acts of 

 kindness. 



