A2 MOUNTAIN’S. 
h!ll, in a liollow formed Iry a bank of clay and sulidiUf’ 
steam rushed with gio.-it force and noise from among lb® 
loose fragments of rock. 
In ascending the mountain^ our travellers met with 9 
spring of cold water, which was little to he expected i® 
such a place. At a greater elevation, they catne to a ridg®t 
composed entirely of sulphur and clay, joining two suin' 
niits of the mounlaiu. The smooth crust of sulphur waj 
beautifully ciystalli'/.cd ; and beneath it was a (juantitv 
loose granular sulphur, which appeared to be collecting 'ai:'^ 
crystallizing, as it v.-as .sublimed along with the steam. 0“ 
removing the sulphureous emst, steam issued, and atmoyci^- 
the party so mucli, that tliey could not exammo this plac® 
to any depth. 
Beneath the ridge, on tlie farther side of this groat Ikk' 
of sulphur, an abundance of vapour escaped wiih a loui^ 
noise. Having crossed to the side of the mountain opposltCi 
tliey walked to what is called the principal spring-. Thi’ 
was a task of much apparent danger, a.s the side of lb.® 
mountain, to the extetU of about half a mile, was coveroii 
with loose clay, into winch the feet of our travellers siinb 
at every steji. In many places there was a tliin crush 
beneath which the cla.y was wet, and extremely hot. Good 
fortune attended iluaii ; ai’d, without any serious iacou' 
venienoe, the}' roaclnai iho object they ha.d in view. A 
dense cphimn of sk-aiTi, mixed with a small portion oi 
water, forced ils \vr:y impetuously through a crevice in th® 
rock, at the head of;-; narrow vnllc}', or break in the rncaW' 
tain. The violence with which it rushed out was so greah 
that (lie noise, iJms occasioned, might often be heard at tb® 
di-slaiice of seveial miles. During uiglit, while the par*.'’ 
Liy in their ter.t at Krisuvik, they more than once listened 
to it with mingled awe and astonishment. Behind lb® 
coiiimn ot vajiour was a dark-coloured rock, which aJsk’d 
to Ih.e sublimity of the elfect. 
“■ It is quite beyond my power,” observes Sir Georg® 
Ivhii'ketizie, “ to Oder such a description of this extraorcii' 
nary pk'.ce, as would convey adequate ideas of its tvonders, 
of its terrors. The sensations of a person, even of hrmuerve^' 
.Kianding on a support which feebly sustains him, over 
r.iw-s where, literally, fire and brimstone arc in drendlbl 
and incessant action ; having before his eyes trcmendoi'-’ 
