ORNITHOLOGICAL OBSERVATION IN ICELAND. 141 



things worse than any picture I had formed in my mind, though 

 not unprepared — this being, according to Sigurdsson, the worst 

 place in all Iceland for Mosquitoes — he never called them Flies. 

 Be they what they may, the air was darkened about us as they 

 descended in great clouds, and with a rushing sound, upon 

 ourselves and the horses. The latter seemed no longer to have 

 hair upon them — a horrid sight — and Sigurdsson' s coat, as he 

 knelt over the luggage, was entirely hidden by a vast crawling 

 mass. I was the same where I could see myself, and everything, 

 as it was taken off the horses — the saddles, especially, being hot 

 from them — was swarmed upon in the same way. As they were 

 disturbed by the packing or transportal of anything, they went 

 up, and then swarmed down again, in great rushes which, for a 

 few moments, partially obscured the sun, then shining brightly. 

 It was as though a fine mezzotint veil had been flung over it, 

 one which moved and glanced, and varied in its density, the 

 effect being very novel and striking, though the discomfort and 

 disagreeable ideas which these hosts excited, as well as the faint, 

 sickly smell — at moments less faint, and more sickly — which 

 emanated from their myriad bodies, prevented one from 

 admiring. We humans had, of course, our mosquito-nets, but 

 the horses, without any protection, kept coughing and choking 

 till we got them into the corrugated iron shed which stands here, 

 for this and other purposes connected with making a halt. We 

 then made haste to get into the boat, and cross, but could not 

 prevent a great multitude from embarking and making the 

 voyage with us, for they did not fly, not liking the water, it 

 seems, but settled upon oars, rowlocks, gunwale, etc., as well as 

 on ourselves and our belongings. How many we shipped I don't 

 know, and, as nothing seems too high an estimate for the 

 "numbers numberless" that we left behind, I had better 

 refrain from making one — but they did " darken the sun." 



I did something, whilst Sigurdsson rowed, to lessen the 

 number of these passengers, but they revenged themselves, 

 unpleasantly, in smell and juice, and, before long, baling the 

 boat became a more pressing consideration. At length we got 

 across, not that it took very long, but time is a matter of sensa- 

 tion. Since I understood that Mosquitoes on the other side were 

 not so numerous, it did not occur to me to feel anxious about 



