ICELAND 57 



months they are forced to spend practically under- 

 ground, it is a wonder that they are as gay and as 

 healthy as they are. My sister observed that their 

 superior education made them light-hearted, but 

 the Captain said it was because they were so deuced 

 glad to get into the open air again. See a party of 

 Icelanders making hay. How they laugh and chatter, 

 and how happy they are ! " Results of honest 

 toil," said Mary. " Yes, because the women do 

 all the work, and the men have time to smoke," 

 retorted the sarcastic man of ships, who maintained 

 that the Icelanders were the laziest people on earth. 



After leaving Stickisholm we steamed along the 

 north coast of Iceland, passing splendid cliffs 

 rising to 2500 feet straight from the sea. We sat 

 on deck all night, and Geoff took some photos of 

 the midnight sun. At three the North Cape was 

 in sight, and after breakfast we were right abreast of 

 this magnificent wall of rock rising straight and 

 clear against the blue sky to a height of 3000 feet, 

 the top being capped with snow. The North Cape 

 of Iceland is a great bird station. The whole cliff - 

 face is broken into ledges and inhabited by countless 

 numbers of Brunnich's Guillemots, which at times 

 simply blacken the air. With these birds were 

 many Puffins, Black Guillemots and Razorbills, 

 and as the steamer cut a lane through the floating 

 thousands the flight of rising birds made a roar 

 that sometimes lasted for several minutes. 



A propos of these northern bird colonies, and as 

 illustrating the kindred feeling which exists between 

 the Scandinavian races and ourselves on the subject 

 of sport, I may introduce the following. The scion 

 of a royal continental house took with him on a 



