Year: 1876

tBayard Taylor In 81. Nicholas.


The boys of Iceland must be content
with very few acquaintances or play
mates. The valleys which produce gras
enough for the farmers ponies, cattl,
and sheep, are generally scattered widely
apart, divided by ridges of lava 80 hare
and cold that only few wild flower
succeed in growing in their cracks anC
hollows Then, since the farms must bt
all the larger, because the grass is shor,
and grows slowly in such severe north
ern climate, the dwellings are rarely
nearer than four or five miles apart and
were it not for their swift and nimblt
ponies, the people would see very little
Of each other except on Sundays, when
they ride long distances to attend wor.
ship i'm their little wooden churches.


But Of all boys in the island, not one
was 20 lonely i'm his situation as Jon
Sigurdson. His father lived many miles
beyond that broad, grassy plain which
stretches from the Geysers OF the Sea, on
the banks of the swift river Thiorva. On
each side there were mountains so black
and bare that they looked like gigantic
piles of coal; but the valley opened TO
the southwark as if to let the sun in,
and far away, when the weather was
clear, the snowy top of Mount Hecla
shone against the sky. The farmer
Sigurd, joins father, was poor man, or
he would not have settled SO far away
from any neighbors: for he was of a
cheerful and social nature, and there
were few at Kyrkedal who could vie with
him in knowledge of the ancient history
and literature of Iceland


The house was butt on knoll, under
a cliff which sheltered il from the vio-
lent west and northwest winds. The
walls, of lava stones and turf, were low
and broad and the roofs over dwelling,
storehOuses, and stables were covered
deep with earth, upon which grew an
excellent grass that the ponies were fond
of climbing up the slOping corners of the
wall to get ut 1t. Sometimes they might
be seen, cuinningly balanced ON the
steep sides of the roof, grazing along the
very ridge-poles, or looking over the end
of the gable when some member of the
family came out of the door, as much as to
say, "Get me down if you can !" Around
the buildings there was square wall of
inclosure, giving the place the appear
ance of little fortress.


On one side of the knoll a hot spring
bubbled up. In the morning or evening,
when the air was cool, quite little
column of steam arose from il, whirliDg
and broadening as it melted away; but
the water was pure and wholesome
as soon as it became cold enough for use
In front of the house. where the sun
shone warmest, Sigurd had laid out a
small garden. II was great labor for
him to remove the huge stones and roll
them into a protecting wall, to carry
good soil from the places where the
mountain rills had gradually washed it
down from above, and TO arrange it 80
that frosts and cold rains should do the
least harm and the whole family thought
themselves suddenly rich, one summer,
when they pulled their first radishes, saw
the little bed of potatoes coming into
blossom, and the cabbages rolling up
their leaves in order to make at least
baby-beads before the winter came.


Within the house, all was low, and
dark and dismal. The air was very close
and bad, for the stables were only sepa-
rated from the dwelling room by nat
row passage, and punches of dry, sail
fish hung on the walls. Besides, it was
usually full of smoke from the fire of
peat, and, after rain, Of steam from
Sigurd's and Johns heavy wooden coats
But to the boy 1t was delightful, com
Portable home. for within it he found
shelter, warmth, food and instruction.
The room for visitors seemed to him the
most splendid place in the world, because
it had a wooden floor, colored print of
the King Of Denmark, and a geranium
in pot. This was such precious plant
that John and his sister Gudrid hardly
dared to touch it's leaves. They were
almost afraid of smelling it, for fear OF
shifting away some of its life; and Gud.
rid, after seeing leaf of it laid on her
dead sisters bosom, insisted that some
angel, many hundred years ago, had
brought the seed straight down from
heaven. t-.-