RETURN TO INDERHOLME. 
261 
hospitable abode at Hvamore, where we rested* 
Fri da y, anc ^ ear ly the following morning bade 
August: 4. f arewe l to the Amptman’s family* or 
rather to a part of it; for he himself and his 
eldest son had offered to accompany us to Inder- 
derholme* and thence to Reikevig. To vary in 
some measure our ride* and give us an oppor¬ 
tunity of seeing more of the forest at the foot 
of Skardsheidi* we proposed going round the 
base of the mountain instead of crossing it. In 
a short time we reached the shore of Borgafiord* 
and continued upon a black beach of decomposed 
rock* as fine as sand* but more firm to the horses’ 
feet* till* finding ourselves in a line with the 
wood, we turned from the water’s side* and* with¬ 
out much difficulty, penetrated to the centre of the 
forest, f where grew the loftiest of the trees that it 
was composed of* some of which were certainly 
larger than I had expected to have met with. The 
tallest* or I am much mistaken, were not less than 
eleven or twelve feet in height* and measured at 
the base five or six inches in diameter. In re¬ 
membrance of the spot, I gathered some of the 
blossoms of the birch, which were now expanded* 
and diffused around us an agreeable fragrance that 
I never thought to have enjoyed in Iceland* while 
under our feet Festuca vivipara and other grasses, 
with Silene acaulis and abundance of the elegant 
Polypodium dryopteris formed a rich carpet that 
