Norðurfari; or, Rambles in Iceland

Thule, the period of cosmographie, Doth vaunt of Hekla, whose sulphureous fire Doth melt the frozen clime, and thaw the skie; Trinacrian Ætna’s flames ascend not hier: These thi...

HEIGHO! for Iceland. The little schooner “SÖLÖVEN” rides at anchor before Copenhagen. His Danish Majesty’s mails are on board, and at 4 o’clock, A. M., July 1st, we are set on d...

A FINE morning in August found our little schooner dancing over the waves of the Greenland strait. Towering up on our right, was the lofty Snæfell Jokull, one of the highest mou...

——— Hvar er norður ytst? Sagt er i Jork, það sé við Tveit; Segir Skottinn: við Orkneyjar; En þar: við Grænland, Zemblu, sveit Sett meinar það—og guð veit hvar. _Pope’s Essay_; _...

There is not one atom of yon earth, But once was living man; Nor the minutest drop of rain That hangeth in its thinnest cloud, But flowed in human veins; And from the burning pl...

MONDAY, July 26th, 1852, I spent at the Geysers. They rise out of the ground near the base of a hill some three hundred feet in height. Most of the hot springs I have seen in Ic...

NEARLY all the deities have been noticed. The origin of night and day, and the sun and moon are thus given. The giant Njörvi, who dwelt in Jötunheim, had a daughter called Night...

I’ve traversed many a mountain strand, Abroad and in my native land, And it hath been my lot to tread, Where safety more than pleasure led; Thus many a waste I’ve wandered o’er,...

Happy the nations of the moral North, Where all is virtue. * * * Honest men from Iceland to Barbadoes. * * * * * * Man In islands is, it seems, downright and thorough, More than...

ACCORDING to the system of the Northmen, man and woman were the last and most perfect productions of the creative power. After the Æsir, the Jötuns and the Dwarfs had a being. O...

THE mythology of the Northmen is so intimately connected with their literature, that any notice of the one would be incomplete without some reference to the other. The whole sys...

ON a bright and beautiful morning, as my agreeable company of the day previous disappeared behind the walls of the Almannagjá, my small party turned towards the east, the bridle...

THOUGH this little book was not written for the Iceland market, I cannot help making one or two remarks respecting their own internal affairs. Most undoubtedly they have learned...

OUR pleasant stay at the Geysers was finished, the last look taken; the last piece of bacon that we had boiled in Dame Nature’s cauldron, had disappeared; the farmer of Haukadal...

THE Icelanders, as I have pictured them, are intellectual in their tastes; and in domestic life they are highly social. Their amusements are few, their enjoyments being principa...

ON and about the sulphur mountains are a great many curious sights, and none more singular than the various-colored clays. At the distance of several miles the contrast between...

——“Litera scripta manet,” The poet saith. Pray let me show my vanit- Y, and have “a foreign slipslop now and then, If but to prove I’ve traveled; and what’s travel, Unless it te...

HAD that celebrated Pope whose Christian name was Alexander, believed that his immortal Essay would have been translated into Icelandic verse by a native Icelander, and read thr...

ALL pleasant sojourns must end; all oases must fade in the distance as we journey o’er the desert sands of life. Though it rained hard, an hour after I stopped with “mine host,”...

IN our outward as well as return voyage we passed near the Faroe Islands. These, like Iceland, are under the jurisdiction of Denmark, and, though near 300 miles from their north...

IF a man wishes to study ornithology, let him go to Iceland. The most beautiful birds in the world, those having the most brilliant, and finest, and warmest plumage, are to be f...

WHETHER Americans will ever have the opportunity of returning any of the hospitality that the Icelanders extended to one of their countrymen, is uncertain. At any rate, their gu...

MY ride along the banks of the Thiorsá, before my detour to the south coast, near the Westmann Islands, was a pleasant one. The little green, turf-covered hillocks—not appearing...

HAVING seen the Reykir springs, I prepared to leave. I paid the man the usual sum for the privilege of sleeping in the parish church, and for the grass for our horses, and milk...

—————Fire that art slumbering there, Like some stern warrior in his rocky fort, After the vast invasion of the world! Hast not some flaming imp or messenger Of empyrean element,...

Our indiscretion sometimes serves us well, When our deep plots do pall; and that should teach us There’s a divinity that shapes our ends, Rough-hew them how we will. Hamlet.

KRISUVIK is not a very flourishing city. It contains a church and one farm-house, the latter comprised in several edifices, as the farmers’ houses here usually are, and all cove...

The little boat she is tossed about, Like a sea-weed to and fro; The tall ship reels like a drunken man, As the gusty tempests blow: But the sea-bird laughs at the pride of man,...

WE shall climb over the mountains and their hard names, and gallop through the valleys a little more smoothly, if we look at the spelling, pronunciation, and meaning of some of...

Voyage to Copenhagen—Snæfell Jokull from the Sea—Basaltic Cliffs of Stapi—The “Needles”—Portland—Mountains on the South Coast of Iceland—Hospitality of the Icelanders to French...

Ascent of Mount Hekla—Preparations and “Victualing” for the Trip—Mountain Gorges—Hard Climbing for Ponies—Obliged to Dismount, and leave our Horses—Streams of Lava—Smoke and Fir...

The Great Geyser—Its Size and Appearance—Numerous Hot Springs in the Vicinity—Springs of Boiling Mud—Beautiful Colored Clays—A Seething Cauldron—The Little Geyser—Wait for an Er...

Town of Reykjavik—Houses, Gardens, and Productions—A Ride in the Country—Visit Hafnarfiorth—Preparations for a Journey in the Interior—A Party of Travelers—Face of the Country—S...

Productions of Iceland—White Clover—A Singular Ferry—Horses Swimming—Sleeping Under the Bed—Sleeping in a Church—An Iceland Salute—Iceland Horses—An Icelander with a Brick in hi...

Pleasing Customs—“Son of man, set thy face against the daughters of thy people”—Roses in Iceland—Fields of Beautiful Heath—Skarth—Crossing the Ferry—A Lofty Cataract—The Westman...

Leave the Sulphur Mountains—Fun with Mr. Philmore—Stealing another Man’s Thunder—Up and down Hills—A Horrible Road—Arrive at Hafnarfiorth—Visit at Mr. Johnson’s—House full of Pr...

Dining Out—Many Tongues, but no Confusion—A Merry Dinner-Party—Angling—Thingvalla, and place of Meeting of the Ancient Althing—Daring Act of a Criminal—“If you Hang a Rogue, you...

Matters Personal, Literary, and General—Manners and Customs of the People—Iceland Politics—Books and Newspapers—Congressional Reports—Sir Henry Holland—Danish Laws Prohibiting T...

Northern Mythology—The Chaotic World, and Scandinavian idea of Creation—Surtur and Surturbrand—Ymir—The Myth of the Ash—Mimir’s Well—Odin, Thor, and Baldur—Forseti, the God of J...

Iceland, its Discovery and Settlement—Discovery and Settlement of Greenland and North America by the Icelanders—Ericsson—Trading and Skirmishing between the Icelanders and the N...

Volcanoes in Iceland—A Submarine Eruption—Awful Eruption of Skaptar Jokull in 1783—Terrible Destruction of Life and Property—Details of the Eruption—A River of Fire—“Fiske Vatn”...

The Voyage—Stop a day at Elsinore—Elsinore Castle, Hamlet, and Shakspeare—“Independence Day” at Sea—Fourth of July Oration—Whales and Sharks—Passengers, Live Stock, Books, and A...

Journeying to the Eastward—A Forest—Blacksmithing—Game-Birds—The Ptarmigan—Iceland Ladies Riding Horseback—Thingvalla Lake—Rough Traveling—First View of Mount Hekla—Broad Valley...

Agricultural Resources of Iceland—Improvements needed—Diseases and Medical Practice—Public Worship in Reykjavik—Ancient Costume—Further Extracts from President Johnson’s Letters...

Mythology of the Northmen, Concluded—Day and Night—The Earth, Sun, and Moon—Loki, the Wolf Fenrir, the Midgard Serpent, and Tyr—Hela, or Death—Valhalla—Death of Baldur—Adventure...

Journey towards Mount Hekla—Iceland Rivers—Haying—An Iceland Meadow—How the Horses Live—Beautiful Birds—The Pochard—Playing Mazeppa—Swimming a River Horseback—A Hospitable Icela...

Snow-Birds—Gulls—The Iceland Gull—Skua Gull—The Great White Owl—The Jer-Falcon, or Iceland Falcon—His Unequaled Velocity on the Wing—Falcon of Henry IV. carrying the Mail from P...

Game-Birds of Iceland—Wild Reindeer—Ravens—Skalholt—A Merry Sysselman—Good Cheer in Prospect, “for he’s a jolly good fellow!”—Finally concluded not to stay all night with him—To...

The Faroe Isles—Little known to Modern Travelers—Majestic Scenery—Thorshaven—The “Witch’s Finger”—Men Climbing Crags—A Terrible Chasm; a Home for Sea-Fowl—Anecdote of Graba—Norw...

Geographical Features of Iceland—Productions and Minerals—Character and Literary Taste of the People—Wild and Domestic Animals—Exports and Imports—Chief Towns—Habits of the Icel...