JOURNEY TO RORGAFIORD. 
217 
grasses, a Veronica, and a Gnaphalium , with five 
or six mosses were all new to me, and I also found 
several scarce plants that I had never before seen, 
though I met with them in other places after¬ 
wards ; so that with these I not only com¬ 
pletely filled two vascula and my game-bag, but 
at length began to apply my pockets to the pur¬ 
pose of containing my specimens. On my return 
I found Jacob fast asleep more than half way 
down the mountain, holding in his hand one of 
the horses by the bridle. Having mounted our 
beasts, we made the most haste we could to our 
tent; and, as it still appeared possible, before 
the dusk of evening came on, to go in search of 
the rock in the chasm which I failed of finding in 
the morning, I set out a second time for the pur¬ 
pose, and, keeping above the chasm, was not long 
before I came within sight of it: this, fortu¬ 
nately for me, happened near a spot where I was 
enabled to descend to the very banks of the 
stream, and procure a good view of this remark¬ 
able place. The lofty column of rock was en¬ 
tirely separated on one side from the opposite per¬ 
pendicular wall of the chasm, to which it was on 
the other side united merely for a few feet from 
its base, so that the water did not altogether sur¬ 
round it, though sufficiently so to give it a most 
remarkable appearance. In the faces of the chasm 
were several basaltic pillars lying in a horizontal 
