RETURN FROM THE GEYSERS. 
167 
only their noses above the water, though carried 
by the rapidity of the current a considerable way 
down the stream. An extensive rocky moor suc¬ 
ceeded, interspersed with disagreeable bog and 
numerous rivulets, and presenting nothing in¬ 
teresting to the traveller, till, about ten o’clock, 
our wearied eyes were relieved by the view of 
Apn -vatn, and of a lofty column of steam from 
the boiling fountain of Reykum. As we ascended 
the hills on the west side of Apn-vatn, the rain 
changed to a thick mist, accompanied by a degree 
of cold, which I should scarcely have thought 
could have been experienced south of the arctic 
circle in the month of July. A flannel under¬ 
dress and two great coats, in addition to my usual 
quantity of apparel, were not sufficient to keep 
me warm, and I frequently found it necessary to 
alight from my horse, preferring the fatigue of 
walking under such a weight of clothes, to the 
excessive cold experienced during more moderate 
exercise. About midnight it became apparent 
from the broken surface of the ground, and the 
holes which here and there presented themselves, 
that we were approaching a continuation of the 
extraordinary country that extends in an easterly 
direction from Thingevalle, while the duskiness 
that pervades the atmosphere in the night at this 
season of the year, together with the fog which 
now confined our view to within a few yards 
