the days of my life

第47部分 (第5/7頁)

riting　this　on　the　site　of　Gunnar’s　hall；　which　I　can　distinctly　trace。　The　hall　looked　out　over　the　great　Markallflajot　plain；　now　nothing　but　a　waste　eaten　up　of　the　waters。　To　the　north　is　a　large　glacier…mountain　—　the　hall　was　built　on　the　side　of　a　hill　—　and　to　the　left　of　the　house　is　the　fissure　into　which　the　dog　Sam　was　decoyed　and　killed。　The　lark　now　sings　over　where　Gunnar　fought　and　fell；　betrayed　by　Hallgerda。

7　P。M。：　Bergthorsknoll。　Arrived　here　after　a　long　ride　over　a　desolate　grassy　flat。　The　site　of　Njal’s　hall　is　now　for　the　most　part　covered　with　hovels。　It　faces　sou’west；　partly　on　to　the　plain　and　partly　on　to　a　river。　To　the　left　of　the　house　is　the　hollow　where　the　burners　tied　up　their　horses　as　described　in　the　saga。　In　front　appears　the　fierce　outline　of　the　Westman　Islands。

29th：　Dug　last　night　and　found　various　relics　of　the　burning。　The　floor　of　the　hall　seems　to　have　been　sprinkled　with　black　sand　（see　the　saga）；　but　we　had　not　the　luck　of　the　American　who；　when　he　dug；　discovered　a　gold　ring。

On　the　whole　we　enjoyed　our　fishing　very　much；　and　I　killed　a　good　number　of　salmon；　though；　because　of　the　drought；　not　so　many　as　I　ought　to　have　done。　Also　there　were　multitudes　of　trout。　The　trout　stream　ran　out　of　a　gloomy　lake　surrounded　by　high　mountains。　The　Icelanders　vowed　that　there　were　no　trout　in　this　lake。　However　we　procured　an　old　boat　so　leaky　that　we　could　only　row　a　little　way　from　land　and　back　again　before　she　filled。　Ross；　who　had　been　an　oar　at　College；　rowed；　while　I　managed　the　two　trolling　rods。　Before　we　had　gone　a　few　yards　they　were　both　of　them　bent　almost　double。　Never　before　or　since　did　I　have　such　fishing。　To　what　size　the　trout　ran　in　that　lake　I　had　no　idea；　for　the　biggest　ones　invariably