la, and especially in this village, every thing
seems to be undermined. Nowhere, not even on Mount Vesuvius, had I heard
such hollow, droning sounds as here,--the echoes of the heavy footsteps
of the peasants. These sounds made a very awful impression on me as I
lay all night alone in that dark hole.

My Hecla guide, as I shall call him to distinguish him from my other
guide, advised me to start at two o'clock in the morning, to which I
assented, well knowing, however, that we should not have mounted our
horses before five o'clock.

As I had anticipated, so it happened. At half-past five we were quite
prepared and ready for departure. Besides bread and cheese, a bottle of
water for myself, and one of brandy for my guides, we were also provided
with long sticks, tipped with iron points to sound the depth of the snow,
and to lean upon.

We were favoured by a fine warm sunny morning, and galloped briskly over
the fields and the adjoining plains of sand. My guide considered the
fine weather a very lucky omen, and told me that M. Geimard, the
before-mentioned French scholar, had been compelled to wait three days
for fine weather. Nine years had elapsed, and no one had ascended the
mountain since then. A prince of Denmark, who travelled through Iceland
some years before, had been there, but had returned without effecting his
purpose.

Our road at first led us through beautiful fields, and then over plains
of black sand enclosed on all sides by streams, hillocks, and mountains
of piled-up lava. Closer and closer these fearful masses approach, and
scarcely permit a passage through a narrow cleft; we had to climb over
blocks and hills of lava, where it is difficult to find a firm
resting-place for the foot. The lava rolled beside and behind us, and we
had to proceed carefully not to fall or be hit by the rolling lava. But
most dangerous were the chasms filled with snow over which we had to
pass; the snow had been softened by the warmth of the season, so that we
sank into it nearly every step, or, what was worse, slipped back more
than we had advanced. I scarcely think there can be another mountain
whose ascent offers so many difficulties.

After a labour of about three hours and a half we neared the summit of
the mountain, where we were obliged to leave our horses. I should,
indeed, have preferred to do so long before, as I was apprehensive of the
poor animals falling as they climbed over these precipices--one m