An Icelandic Adventure

Probably of all Uie ilifferent countries and castoinswliicli are described by travelers, none is so llttle knowa of ia Iceland The long lost and lar fanicd l'ltima Thule, tbatwonderfulold Wand wblcli has furnlsh ed to the hlstory of noi-thmi countriea sucli graad old gagOgahd loresasthoseof Snorri Sturlason; or that noble and heroio story ofliurnt mal Mlio can read the HUh.skrirTgler through without l)ein? ïuoved to enthusiasm over sucli stirring sea-fi'hts those sweet, tender and poetiöal lovo stones, or those realfy pleasant and enjoyable little scraps of domestic gossij) or quarreíií 'l'lieie is somethiij so awc-inspiring and supcrb in those old heroic öirures, that for me they far turpa8 the time worn niytlis and tntfeaidl f the Greek and Hoinnn" heroes. It is of one of the custoins of this once magniflcent and proud raoe ot eople that I slmll try and five an idea. The inroacu of civilization have not entircly bUmInated sonie of their old guperstithyin and customs, as the Io&lander s vory reluctant to relinquish any of the hahits or tooN beqneathed by his brave añdestore- a peculinrity we find ezlstlng among the inhabitants of the lalanda in the northein Atlantic. We liad been some forty days travelin;: across the island, liAViug 'finished our ex" plorations and in a few duys hoped to be on boant our vessel. We had camped fbr a rert, and knew wc must be ncar some of the huts that are (cattered along the coast, whlch tai a greal relief to as, as some of the uien were sudly n want of an anti-scorbiitic, and here we could at least secure some gheeps' inilk. So that night everybody in camp wns in high spirits; even tlic dóga and ponies wore txpressions of absolute angelic happinessOnr ethêTeaJ artist got to work and drew the dogs, onl , as he said, to reciprócate, as they had been drawlng Una for the past three weeks. Dick, the ever jolly correspondent of a New York daily, had'suffered terribly duriufc the trip, but in spite of all bis aft1ictioii8 lie woiild not pve up. The doctor tned to have liim return to the ship with two others who had bxoken down : but no, stick to it he would with tlie tenaeity of a buil dog. ThisobsUnacy was the nicans of introducing to ine one of the peculiar jihascs of the domestic life of the Icelander, their habit of having the eldest daughter, or in herabsence the wife, umobe and put und.-r the furs the visitors who turry through the nigfat, be they strangers or neif;hbors. The rubber tents had been pitched; our rolling stock- as Dick faeetiously called the ponies because they would invariably lie down and ron ni ev.ery patch of sand we carne to- liad been watered. Tlie entlmsiastic geulogista and scientists liad each pone off with their respective iraplcments, while the less enthusiastic memliérs of the pni-ty were tied n their bags in the sweet unconsciousness of all that 8urrounded them. Iick, the dor tor and myself, liad not quite succeeded Ín nmticating our nightly portions of diied figh, whicli, unless our sportsmen were fortúnate, made up our diet. Zoëga, our principal guide. was just preparing to go to sleep, when Dick cal led to him. and in a pleading tone asked if there was any hut near where lie could get a. few liours' sleep. He was answered in the afflrmative, and, on getting all the informatlon necessary, íaade up liis wind to itart out and lind the hut. Por, as he sald, he liad not liad a place for a un mi tli ili.it he could lie ininonc poition three minutes without turning over to relieve himself of the jiain, n eonsequenco of restingou a sharp piece of lava, or standing up erect to relieve his back. Then he was always finding fault with the unequal distributions of the eleinents, for, when you were not lyingdown on snow and ice you were on hot springs and lava; tliat whicli should have been the happy medium being lilled un with scoria and deep sand, in iirhich to lie down was only jumping trom the frying pan into tlie lire. He tried to prevail upo the doctor to go with him, with the plea that he would get a mean teniperature for at least six hours. But the doctor wisely shook his head, ominously held his nose, and replied "yes and ameansmell too." We nací all of us had sad experience with the Icelander and his belongings, and knew this chief characteristics or at least, our nostrils did. Dick was a hard pupil for experience to teach. Try again he would, and for his satislaction I consented to accompanyhim. We found a hut in about an hour f rom the time of leaving camp, We told Zoëga to teil the host that all we wanted was a little rest, and that my companion was too unwell to accept of his well known hospitality, which we knew would consist in eating skler and drinking coru schnapps until we succumbed. So after sitüng in the Httle room that compiised the parlor, bed-room, kitchen, nursery and gynecieum, and is the umin part ol the hut, we made signs that we wanted to go to sleep. Tlie host's eldest daughter led ustlirough the small, narrow passages into adark room, about five feet by six, the only other room in the hut besides the one we had first entered, and evidently intended for u store room through the long winter. In height it compared favorably with the rest of the rooms; to stand up meant either destruction tothe roof oryour head; theonly lig'it Hdniitted carne thiouirh a small piece of translucent seal skin In the side of the u ¦all, and so cleverly fastened as to keep out tlie cold. The onlyattempt at civilization w.is a fauteuil iiigeniously made out of whalebone8; a few feathers and furs were piled up in one corner, upon which I saw. with great misgivings, our fair conciërge deposit a bowl of skier and a bottle of schnapps, and I knew that Ieelandic hospitality would not suffer such a breach of etiquette as to have any of either left in the morning. As the malden tarried, Dick, as a sort of initiatiye hint, began to remove his top boots, which operation, in spitc of his expostulations, the muiden insisled on doing, and not being accustomed to thatstylc of pedal cover'nK gave her soine trouble, and us a good deal of sport. Then off came his itooktags, then ake made him stand as ereet as possible in the prescribed limits, and divested him of his reefer. At this point of the ceeedlon I had n fit of and it occum-,1 to Dick that lie would like gome of the laiijjli on his glde. 80 lic made ïignito lier togo on in sections and to begin with me; she underetood it and began herduties as hostess on me. JInving read that this process of being put to bed was a custom stil] extant, whiie soine wiïters, who had oñlj been lo Reykjavik, cluimed that it was obsolete. I was fnlly determined to solve thwauestioa iiivsulf, and so lieroicallv resigned mysell to lier will, knowinR tliat u -hatover was dolle would be iii the same uiiromvniccl and thoujrhtless manner in whlch a hostess of oor country wonldsliow ahnest to liis apartment. I also had a curiosltjr to sec how shc would get on with all the iittlc intriencies tlmt are involvcd In the habiliments of a traveler. Slie sueceeded very wel] until she carne to my jersey, which was a very tight litting one aml 110 wonder it puzzlèd her, for To draw it on requires a knaek tiuitoeiisy toattaln, Kiu whal 11 business 'tls kxx1 lack Toget itollugain. She had tried nlmost every concelvable way wtaen it diiwned upon her that itcame ott with my tronsers, upon which she bejran uui ijieh. {feunipr ïnto a state of uproarions laughter, she cnanged ber base of operations and finally surrendered to liim. who very soon had me "peeled. " Tliis ' 'peel i n-" part of the proceedings pleafed herso mucn. that ït had to be done over again, and I wns vcry niucli l'niiiltliat the rest of tlie family woula have to he called in and shown the modtti operandi. She made signs tliut she wantod to trythe mrmenton herself to which 1 cousentcd, much to the detriment of the future usefulness of the jersey. Then occurred one of the most laughable scènes 1 ever witnessed. She would Inrarlably gel wwleíJto'girtltanyfítbOT.'ÍJSííia Ilounder all over the room like a baby walrus. It was while she was n one of these predicamento that my bsshfnl friend asked meiiotto relieve her, and I, not knowinsr lus base Intenöons, obeyed. What did the modest oorrespondent do hut avail bimwlf pi her temporat? loss of visión, hastilv throwoffh&clothingand crawl ander the tiirs. Neverwionld 1 have permitied sueh a brencli ol etiquette bad I known hls object. Alter büing r.-lciscd 8h? ÜaAtA uÁísfled ana casting a oontemptuousglanoe.-whloh WOUld have iorironicd nybody bilt :m American correspondent,- at mv CoTripaliïon under the furs, begau pnllfng. at mv trousers. At this most critical ]art of the proceedilüís I c.tainly supposed she would desisl ; but nu, on she went "peelina" everythnifi, jersey fashiou. And tluis mvfairwnniaii, alter neatly folding up mv Barïini.is, liclped me tu the pile of furs took one lafl IfngeTiDg looi; at my lersey, and Shehad hardlweoae beton mime üogl l'IHMredwitlimoi-cskieriiudschuanps One groan trom Dick was enough to setus both hmliins, forwe bad made arran-eïinnts tor a surrcptitidiis dfspbgal of the in.-i uistallment; but this no&pltuaed na I he air and itench u eic bo tilthy that we made signs to our host that we wanted w-mlhuloM, wliloli ne linuerslooü ami ro.iohing Dp t tliu roof, palled out a pluol lava. After Jettin r in about six cubic feel ol pure air he plugged it up again, and with a iri.rhtrii.-d appearanee at haring breatned m much fresh air, burrledly left us. Dick wanted to wager me that it was the lust Ircsh air ever h-t into the hut; but I. kriewing that lic would be betting on a oertelnty, refosed. As soon as our host had departed I jumped up and got into my bag which I hád brought from camp d'l knowing that otber mhabitants bi sides our ' hosts tamily resided In the hut. With the bag Ued around my neek mul my Faroese cap drawn otit my heat) I poulcl défy a thousand- , nerei niiiitl what. Jiut not so with my companton, lm bad for-otu;n nis bag, and who dearly pald tor his neirlect. fe 1 was soon asleep, but not before I licard siindiy llapa trom Dick, mingled with i lew toreible lut Dbpractloej reioarkB. On nvakcning in the mornlog no Dick waa t befonnd, andas [afterfards learned, he stood it bravely in ander the furs for about an lionr, when be conclnded to go atter liis bag, whioh bedid, bnt torgot to return. Atter thanking my host and liis fanüly for their horottallty I returned to camp, where I fbno.fi my compattlon of the nilit before, his face looking as if he liail The small pox. Hu was very reticent, and a snrly "Good inorning" was all I could gel i him. It I locikcd pleasantly to him that mornlns it was bccause "That very mom ld feit the glad surprise. Of unexpected Ups on ealed ye." "W'liich poetieally iitimates the customary mannec in wliicii gvesUare aroused n the murning.