How we Rode to the Geysers. 33 large round kettle,—out of the other a spirit lamp, a bottle of spirits, tea, sugar, and a tin of preserved milk. In five minutes the fairies among the “ Mastiffs ” had all been served;—in five minutes more all even who were not fairies had lapped their cup of tea. These articles, the reader will say, might have been carried on the spare ponies! With such a cavalcade why require a Providence with such waistcoat pockets ? The reader knows nothing about it. The cavalcade with the provisions had gone on the night before,—or, otherwise, we should have had no dinner on arriving at Thingvalla. We never got to our rest together with our pack-horses; but we cared the less about that because Providence with the tea-kettle, tea, and spirit lamp was always there. Our second journey for the same day was on to Thingvalla,—Thingvalla, with the astonished traveller, as described by Lord Dufferin. It must be supposed that all into whose hands these pages may fall will have read of Thingvalla and the astonished traveller. To me the second ride was delightful because I had done my punishment, and was carried along pleasantly in the front on an excellent little steed. But yet when I got off my pony on the spot on which the astonished traveller is seen seated on his, I was very stiff. All were tired enough, though there was a courage about the ladies which forbade them to complain and a spirit about the men which forbade them to seem weaker than the ladies. Thingvalla is a wonderful place, very picturesque, worthy, in itself, of a journey. Taken as a whole it was perhaps of all that we saw in Iceland the most worth seeing. Down from the spot on the brink of the cleft in the rock at which the traveller arrives so suddenly, there is a steep descent through an almost precipitous rift in the cliffs to the broad green valley below. It has all been formed by volcanic action. The broad valley, perhaps eight miles broad, has been made by volcanic force. About, through and across the valley, are deep narrow perpendicular rifts in the rock, made of course by the same agency. And yet nothing can be greener than the valley, seen, as it was by us, in June. On descending we had to wade through what seemed to be two or three rivers. Here we came to a parish church.—with which we afterwards became very intimately F

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