430 Account of a Volcanic Eruption in Iceland. 
ference, fell towards the north, and, therefore, fortunately not 
over the village. At the same time, a number of stones of dif- 
ferent sizes slipped down the mountain, accompanied by a noise 
like thunder; no real earthquake, however, was felt. After this, 
a prodigiously high column of flame rose from the crater, which 
illumined the whole country round so completely, that the 
people in the house at Holt could see as perfectly at night as in 
the day time. At the same time much ashes, stones, gravel, 
and large half-melted pieces of the rock, were thrown about, 
some of which amounted to the weight of 50 pounds. In the 
following days, and until the new year commenced, a great 
quantity of fine powder of pumice fell in the surrounding country 
according to the direction of the wind, so that a thick bed of it 
covered the fields. It resembled the falling of snow, and pene- 
trated through all openings into the houses, where it exhaled 
an unpleasant smell of sulphur. The eyes suffered extremely 
by this dust. At Christmas, a violent storm from the south 
raged; it rained hard, which produced the good effect of blow- 
ing and washing away the ashes from the fields, so that they will 
do but little harm, We think ourselves extremely fortunate that 
so frightful a revolution in our immediate neighbourhood has | 
produced no bad effects either on men or animals.” 
Another extract of a letter from M.Terve Johansen, the Provost 
at Breidebolstad, about 181 miles to the west of the volcanoes, 
dated the first of February 1822, gives the following additions: 
“ We ‘still see the column of fire of the volcano shining with 
the same clearness as in the beginning, without, however, throw- 
ing lava into the inhabited part of the island. The ashes are 
greyish-white, have a sulphurous taste, and it is reported that they 
burn with fame when thrown into the fire. The ice of the Jokkul 
was twice broken, and an eye-witness has assured me that some 
of the pieces were three times as high as himself, and of many 
fathoms in circumference. Among the numerous half-melted 
stones, one has been found thrown to the distance of about five 
miles from the crater. We have had no accounts of the bad 
effects of this eruption either on men or animals. The thick 
mass of ashes spread over the laud of Vester Eyafield and Oster 
Landoe, which began to occasion diseases among the sheep, has 
been blown away by a heavy storm, and since that time the wind 
has carried the ashes from the volcano into the uninhabited 
mountains; the diseases among the sheep soon disappeared.” 
The third account is from M. Steingrim Johnson, Provost at~ 
Rangarvalla and Vestmamoesyssel, andgvritten from Odde, about 
30 to 35 miles to'the W. of the voleago, dated December 19, 
1821, 
“On 
