170 
LETTERS FROM HIGH LATITUDES. 
posted off to Helgafell, where dwelt the pagan Pontiff 
Snorre. The result of this conference was an agreement 
* on the part of Styr to give his daughter to the Berserk, 
provided he and his brother would cut a road through 
the lava rocks of Biarnarhaf. Halli and Leikner im¬ 
mediately set about executing this prodigious task; 
while the scornful Asdisa, arrayed in her most splendid 
attire, came sweeping past in silence, as if to mock their 
toil. The poetical reproaches addressed to the young- 
lady on this occasion by her sturdy admirer and his 
mate are still extant. In the mean time, the other 
servants of the crafty Arngrim had constructed a sub¬ 
terranean bath, so contrived that at a moment’s notice it 
could be flooded with boiling water. Their task at last 
concluded, the two Berserks returned home to claim 
their reward; but Arngrim Styr, as if in the exuberance 
of his affection, proposed that they should first refresh 
themselves in the new bath. No sooner had they 
descended into it, than Arngrim shut down the trap¬ 
door, and having ordered a newly-stripped bullock’s 
hide to be stretched before the entrance, gave the signal 
for the boiling water to be turned on. Fearful were the 
struggles of the scalded giants : Halli, indeed, succeeded 
