It
must be a peculiar pleasure to read this splendid poem in such an
appropriate spot.
I found scarcely any basins of Brodem or coloured waters. The only
one of the kind which I saw was a small basin, in which a brownish-
red substance, rather denser than water, was boiling. Another
smaller spring, with dirty brown water, I should have quite
overlooked, if I had not so industriously searched for these
curiosities.
At last, after long waiting, on the second day of my stay, on the
27th June, at half-past eight in the morning, I was destined to see
an eruption of the Geyser in its greatest perfection. The peasant,
who came daily in the morning and in the evening to inquire whether
I had already seen an eruption, was with me when the hollow sounds
which precede it were again heard. We hastened out, and I again
despaired of seeing any thing; the water only overflowed as usual,
and the sound was already ceasing. But all at once, when the last
sounds had scarcely died away, the explosion began. Words fail me
when I try to describe it: such a magnificent and overpowering
sight can only be seen once in a lifetime.
All my expectations and suppositions were far surpassed. The water
spouted upwards with indescribable force and bulk; one pillar rose
higher than the other; each seemed to emulate the other. When I had
in some measure recovered from the surprise, and regained composure,
I looked at the tent. How little, how dwarfish it seemed as
compared to the height of these pillars of water! And yet it was
about twenty feet high. It did, indeed, lie ten feet lower than the
basin of the Geyser; but if tent had been raised above tent, these
ten feet could only be deducted once, and I calculated, though my
calculation may not be correct, that one would need to pile up five
or six tents to have the height of one of the pillars. Without
exaggeration, I think the largest spout rose above one hundred feet
high, and was three to four feet in diameter.
Fortunately I had looked at my watch at the beginning of the hollow
sounds, the forerunners of the eruption, for during its continuance
I should probably have forgotten to do so. The whole lasted four
minutes, of which the greater half must have been taken up by the
eruption itself.
When this wonderful scene was over, the peasant accompanied me to
the basin. We could now approach it and the boiler without danger,
and examine both at leisure. There was now nothing to fear; the
water had entirely disappeared from the outer basin.
