NOTES ON TKAVEL 233 



occasionally a strange conical hill, or a distant snowfield, to 

 remind us where we were that we had forgotten all about the 

 Iceland of the guide books. What we saw and did not under- 

 stand was the steam of hot springs. We had forgotten all about 

 geysers and volcanoes in that comparatively steady and solid 

 North country which we had been travelling through. We did 

 not recognise a hot spring when we saw it. That same day we 

 rode through a birchwood one of the pleasures that never grow 

 stale in Iceland. 



Our last stage before Reykjavik was from Grund in Skorradal 

 to Thyrill. This not a long stage is one of the most beautiful 

 parts of Iceland. It is well depicted by Mr. Collingwood in his 

 Saga Steads both the Skorradal lake with the very finely 

 shaped range of mountains beyond it, and Thyrill, the house 

 under the hill, where we slept that night. We also slept there* 

 outside the house, that afternoon. We got there rather early, 

 and it was bright and warm, and we lay on the grass in the sun 

 and fell asleep. When I awoke, Ramsay was sleeping sound. 

 I did not disturb him, but set out for a walk alone, up to the 

 basalt cliffs above. There is a headland of basalt there, not. 

 coming down to the sea, but leaving a good deal of room and the 

 usual grassy slopes below ; there the house is built. On each side 

 of this headland there are cliffs, and cliffs of course at the end of 

 it, where we were. There is a gully (among others) cutting into 

 the end of the headland, which is named after Helga in the 

 Holmverja Saga a lady who made her escape with her children 

 away from her husband's enemies, up the rocks. I went to 

 look at this and found it easy enough to get to the top ; the 

 tableland was a good place to look out from, and I stayed some 

 time there, and then came down the same way. Ramsay was. 

 not there when I got back to our resting-place ; and Sigurjon 

 told me he had gone off for a walk. And so the time passed on, 

 and Ramsay did not appear. Sigurjon began to be anxious, 

 and it was late I think near 10 o'clock when Ramsay came at 



