abate; and, as the ground along the west side of the hollow seemed sufficiently solid, I got the guide to accompany me to the immediate precincts of the pool. On the northern margin rose a bank, consisting of red bolus and sulphur, from which, as the wind blew from the same quarter, we had a fine view of the whole. Nearly about the centre of the pool, is the aperture whence the vast body of water, sulphur, and bluish black bolus is thrown up, and which is equal in diameter to the column of water ejected by the Great Geyser at its strongest eruptions. The height of the jets varied greatly; rising, on the first propulsions of the liquid, to about twelve feet, and continuing to ascend, as it were, by leaps, till they gained the highest point of elevation, which was upwards of thirty feet, when they again abated much more rapidly than they rose, and after the spouting had ceased, the situation of the aperture was rendered visible only by a gentle ebullition, which distinguished it from the general surface of the pool. During my stay, which was upwards of an hour, the eruptions took place every five minutes, and lasted about two minutes and a half. I was always apprized of the approach of an eruption by a small jetter that broke forth from the same pool, a little to the east of the great one, and was evidently connected with it, as there was a continual bubbling in a direct line between them. None of its jets exceeded twelve feet, and generally they were about five. Another bubbling channel ran a little way to the north-west of the principal opening, but did not terminate in a jetter like the former. While the eruption continued, a number of fine silver waves were thrown round to the sides of the pool, which was lined with a dark blue be'us, left there on the subsidence of the waves. At the foot of the bank on which we stood, were numerous small holes, whence a quantity of steam was unremittingly making its escape with a loud hissing noise; and on the west side of the pool was a gentle declivity, where the water ran out, and was conveyed through a long winding gulley to the foot of the mountain. The soil around the margin was so extremely soft, that it was not without imminent danger I endeavour

ed to thrust my thermometer into the liquid, in order to as certain the degree of its heat: an attempt which proved fruitless, as the glass got obscured by the sulphureous exbalations.

The above is an outline of the situation and general appearance of this wonderful pool, but its horrors are abso lutely indescribable. To be conceived, they must be seen; and, for my part, I am convinced, that the awful impression they left upon my mind, no length of time will ever be able to erase. The effect was indeed somewhat diminished by the scenes which the earlier part of the morning had presented to my view, and, by comparing this phenomenon with others of the same class, it sensibly lost by the association ; whereas, had it been a single and detached object, to which I had never before witnessed any thing similar, it must necessarily have been productive of a higher degree of astonishment. Surely, were it possible for those thoughtless and insensible beings, whose minds seem impervious to every finer feeling, to be suddenly transported to this burning region, and placed within view of the tremendous operations of the vomiting pool, the sight could not but arouse them from their lethargic stupor, and, by superinducing habits of serious reflection, might be attended with the happiest consequences, both to themselves, and all within the sphere of their influence. *

Olafsen and Povelsen, describing two pools on the south-east side of Krabla, say, that they are called Vüte, a contraction of Helvüte, which signifies "hell ;" and the name is most probably a remnant of "ancient superstition.”

"We only reached one of the apertures, which we could discover at a distance, from the dense black smoke arising from it. In appearance, it resembles an exceedingly large kettle. The rim was about five fathoms high above the water, which is bluish, and thick as porridge; and the fine clay, which is thrown up on the banks by the steam, is sour. It is only at certain intervals, when the smoke is carried away by the wind, that a person can look down into the pit. The whole region completely answers to the well-known Solfatara in Italy, of which the inhabitants entertain the same unlovely idea the people here have had, that it is either purgatory or hell. The heathens gave the appellation of Ollam Vulcani to the boiling lake at the same place," Pp. 726, 727. That my guide was not altogether free from such apprehensions was evident; for, while the thundering operations of the pool were going on, his attitude, and

On again reaching the elevation where we had left our horses, I stopped a few minutes to survey the surrounding scenery. It was with regret that I did not gain the summit of the mountain, which was not more than five hundred feet above me, but my time imperiously forbade any longer delay. The view from this place was very commanding, but desolate and dreary in the extreme. What was visible of Krabla, appeared covered with the same clay, pumice, and sand, as that on which I stood; only diversified by beds of yellow sulphur, and a few strangely mis-shapen rocks, which now and then broke through the surface. On the left rose the Obsidian mountain, consisting of a high narrow ridge, that runs from north to south. This was relieved by a low flat circular mountain, over which I could descry part of the vast inhospitable desert stretching into the interior, till terminated by the huge volcano called Herdubreid, and the Odáda Hraun, which is reported to be one of the most extensive and forbidding tracts of melted rock that is to be met with in Iceland. To the west of this wilderness lay a number of low mountains, where the Fremrinâmar are situated. Directly in front was the valley filled with lava above described; near the farther end of which the large columns of smoke, ascending from the sulphur springs, had a fine effect. Beyond this rose the mountains to the south of Myvatn, called Sellingafiall, Bláfiall, and Burfell. To the west were Reykiahlidarfiall, and Geysadalsfiall; between which and Krabla lay the dangerous volcano of Leirhnukr. It appeared considerably below me, at the distance of a mile. The crater was surrounded by a vast tract of black lava, which is said to be inaccessible, owing to the softness of the ground; and the side of the mountain that lay nearest to me was covered with beds of bolus and sulphur.

Quitting this scene, and bending our course round the precipitous brow of a hill, on the south side of Krabla, which was so deeply indented by the mountain torrent, and

the contortions of his features, were scarcely less terrific than the pool itself. I was the more struck at this, as he seemed to regard the scenes we had witnessed in the morning with perfect indifference.