ICELAND. 



73 



About 150 paces from the Great Geysir are several pools of the most beau- 

 tifully clear water, tinting with every shade of the purest green and blue the 

 fantastical forms of the silicious travertin which clothes their sides. The slight- 

 est motion communicated to the surface quivers down to the bottom of these 

 crystal grottoes, and imparts what might be called a sympathetic tremor of the 

 water to every delicate incrustation and plant-like efflorescence. " Aladdin's 

 Cave could not be more beautiful," says Preyer ; and Mr. Holland remarks that 

 neither description nor drawing is capable of giving a sufficient idea of the sin- 

 gularity and loveliness of this spot. In many places it is dangerous to approach 

 within several feet of the margin, as the earth overhangs the water, and is hol- 

 low underneath, supported only by incrustations scarcely a foot thick. A 

 plunge into waters of about 200° would be paying rather too dearly for the 

 contemplation of their fairy-like beauty. 



ENTRANCE TO THE ALMANNAGJA. 



The gigantic chasm of the Almannagja is another of the volcanic wonders 

 of Iceland. After a long and tedious ride over the vast lava-plain which extends 

 between the Skalafell and the lake of Thingvalla, the traveller suddenly finds 

 himself arrested in his path by an apparently insurmountable obstacle, for the 



