54 WANDERINGS AND MEMORIES 



of which made us all feel ill. He told us that he 

 had five kroners (about 6s. 6d.) a day for his services 

 when the Parliament was in session, and was 

 evidently one of the bloated plutocrats of the place. 

 Our other voyagers were an Irish doctor of urbane 

 manners and city tastes, who complained bitterly 

 that there never was a billiard-table on board ship 

 to render life endurable, and a pale youth from 

 Sheffield, who affirmed that " Ask nothing more " 

 was the finest song in the English language, and 

 would sing it. 



Our intention was to remain a day in Reykavick 

 and go on to Akureyri in the Majestic^ which was 

 to sail to the north of Iceland, picking up emigrants 

 on the way, and this we did, since we could thus 

 get to Myvatn, the home of ducks and big trout, 

 without having to ride twice across the island, the 

 central route being by far the most uninteresting 

 part of the country. On landing, we were so fortu- 

 nate as to secure the services of one Thorgrimmer 

 Gudmansen, who had the reputation of being the 

 best guide in Iceland, and one of the few men who 

 knew the Myvatn rivers and lakes. He was to bring 

 fifteen ponies with pack-boxes to meet us at Aku- 

 reyri, which was to be our starting-point for the 

 interior, in five days. A word about our guide. 

 The Icelanders, like most island folk, are short in 

 stature, but Thorgrimmer was an exception, being 

 a big, powerfully built man of about six feet one. 

 Like all Scandinavians, he was the essence of good- 

 nature and amiability, with just one little weakness — 

 he preferred to sit on a box and discuss sagas, 

 literature, music, art and sport, to engaging in the 

 hustle of packing or travelling. But he was such a 



