Here the town grandees and the
handicraftsmen, in fact all who choose to come, assemble; and the
ball is said to be conducted in a very republican spirit. The
shoemaker leads forth the wife of the Stiftsamtmann to the dance,
while that official himself has perhaps chosen the wife or daughter
of the shoemaker or baker for his partner. The refreshments consist
of "tea-water" and bread and butter, and the room is lighted with
tallow candles. The music, consisting of a kind of three-stringed
violin and a pipe, is said to be exquisitely horrible.
In summer the dignitaries make frequent excursions on horse-back;
and on these occasions great care is taken that there be no lack of
provisions. Commonly each person contributes a share: some bring
wine, others cake; others, again, coffee, and so on. The ladies use
fine English side-saddles, and wear elegant riding-habits, and
pretty felt hats with green veils. These jaunts, however, are
confined to Reikjavik; for, as I have already observed, there is,
with the exception of this town, no place in Iceland containing more
than two or three stores and some half-dozen cottages.
To my great surprise, I found no less than six square piano-fortes
belonging to different families in Reikjavik, and heard waltzes by
our favourite composers, besides variations of Herz, and some pieces
of Liszt, Wilmers, and Thalberg. But such playing! I do not think
that these talented composers would have recognised their own works.
In conclusion, I must offer a few remarks relative to the travelling
in this country.
The best time to choose for this purpose is from the middle of June
to the end of August at latest. Until June the rivers are so
swollen and turbulent, by reason of the melting snows, as to render
it very dangerous to ride through them. The traveller must also
pass over many a field of snow not yet melted by the sun, and
frequently concealing chasms and masses of lava; and this is
attended with danger almost as great. At every footstep the
traveller sinks into the snow; and he may thank his lucky stars if
the whole rotten surface does not give way. In September the
violent storms of wind and rain commence, and heavy falls of snow
may be expected from day to day.
A tent, provisions, cooking utensils, pillows, bed-clothes, and warm
garments, are highly necessary for the wayfarer's comfort. This
paraphernalia would have been too expensive for me to buy, and I was
unprovided with any thing of the kind; consequently I was forced to
endure the most dreadful hardships and toil, and was frequently
obliged to ride an immense distance to reach a little church or a
cottage, which would afford me shelter for the night. My sole food
for eight or ten days together was often bread and cheese; and I
generally passed the night upon a chest or a bench, where the cold
would often prevent my closing my eyes all night.
It is advisable to be provided with a waterproof cloak and a
sailor's tarpaulin hat, as a defence against the rain, which
frequently falls. An umbrella would be totally useless, as the rain
is generally accompanied by a storm, or, at any rate, by a strong
wind; when we add to this, that it is necessary in some places to
ride quickly, it will easily be seen that holding an umbrella open
is a thing not to be thought of.
Altogether I found the travelling in this country attended with far
more hardship than in the East. For my part, I found the dreadful
storms of wind, the piercing air, the frequent rain, and the cold,
much less endurable than the Oriental heat, which never gave me
either cracked lips or caused scales to appear on my face. In
Iceland my lips began to bleed on the fifth day; and afterwards the
skin came off my face in scales, as if I had had the scrofula.
Another source of great discomfort is to be found in the long
riding-habit. It is requisite to be very warmly clad; and the heavy
skirts, often dripping with rain, coil themselves round the feet of
the wearer in such a manner, as to render her exceedingly awkward
either in mounting or dismounting. The worst hardship of all,
however, is the being obliged to halt to rest the horses in a meadow
during the rain. The long skirts suck up the water from the damp
grass, and the wearer has often literally not a dry stitch in all
her garments.
Heat and cold appear in this country to affect strangers in a
remarkable degree. The cold seemed to me more piercing, and the
heat more oppressive in Iceland, than when the thermometer stood at
the same points in my native land.
In summer the roads are marvellously good, so that one can generally
ride at a pretty quick pace. They are, however, impracticable for
vehicles, partly because they are too narrow, and partly also on
account of some very bad places which must occasionally be
encountered. On the whole island not a single carriage is to be
found.
The road is only dangerous when it leads through swamps and moors,
or over fields of lava. Among these fields, such as are covered
with white moss are peculiarly to be feared, for the moss frequently
conceals very dangerous holes, into which the horse can easily
stumble. In ascending and descending the hills very formidable
spots sometimes oppose the traveller's progress. The road is at
times so hidden among swamps and bogs, that not a trace of it is to
be distinguished, and I could only wonder how my guide always
succeeded in regaining the right path. One could almost suppose
that on these dangerous paths both horse and man are guided by a
kind of instinct.
