n pairs, and the largest flock I saw did not consist of more
than four such pairs.

Since my first arrival in Iceland I had considered the inhabitants an
indolent race of people; to-day I was strengthened in my opinion by the
following slight circumstance. The moorland on which we halted to rest
was separated from the adjoining fields of lava by a narrow ditch filled
with water. Across this ditch a few stones and slabs had been laid, to
form a kind of bridge. Now this bridge was so full of holes that the
horses could not tell where to plant their feet, and refused obstinately
to cross it, so that in the end we were obliged to dismount and lead them
across. We had scarcely passed this place, and sat down to rest, when a
caravan of fifteen horses, laden with planks, dried fish, &c. arrived at
the bridge. Of course the poor creatures observed the dangerous ground,
and could only be driven by hard blows to advance. Hardly twenty paces
off there were stones in abundance; but rather than devote a few minutes
to filling up the holes, these lazy people beat their horses cruelly, and
exposed them to the risk of breaking their legs. I pitied the poor
animals, which would be compelled to recross the bridge, so heartily,
that, after they are gone, I devoted a part of my resting-time to
collecting stones and filling up the holes,--a business which scarcely
occupied me a quarter of an hour.

It is interesting to notice how the horses know by instinct the dangerous
spots in the stony wastes, and in the moors and swamps. On approaching
these places they bend their heads towards the earth, and look sharply
round on all sides. If they cannot discover a firm resting-place for the
feet, they stop at once, and cannot be urged forward without many blows.

After a halt of two hours we continued our journey, which again led us
across fields of lava. At past nine o'clock in the evening we reached an
elevated plain, after traversing which for half an hour we saw stretched
at our feet the valley of Reikholt or Reikiadal; it is fourteen to
seventeen miles long, of a good breadth, and girt round by a row of
mountains, among which several jokuls sparkle in their icy garments.

A sunset seen in the sublime wildness of Icelandic scenery has a
peculiarly beautiful effect. Over these vast plains, divested of trees
or shrubs, covered with dark lava, and shut in by mountains almost of a
sable hue, the parting sun sheds an almost magical radia