X , who was next me. I think he must have had

a malicious pleasure in my misfortune, or he piqued
himself on showing superior philosophy in a similar
plight, or he was happy in being able to bring out
two quotations, for first he informed me that the
Spaniards had had a " triste noche " in Mexico, and
therefore it was reasonable that we should have one
in Iceland — and then declaiming

" Forsan et hsec olim meminisse juvabit,''

he turned over and fell asleep. I hated him !

The morning came, cold and gusty ; and it speaks
tomes for the inflexibility of Scotch morality, that,
though we knew there was comfortable shelter at
Budir, three hours' distance, M'Diarmid refused to
violate the sanctity of the Sabbath by travelling. He
proposed to us all to go on, and to rejoin us next
morning, but we were unwilling to divide the party ;
and with, I fear, small power of taking credit to our-
selves for scrupulous observance of the day, stopped
at Stapi.
I regretted to observe the incipient ravages made
by famine in the person of Mr. Digwell. Hitherto
he had been the most active of any, setting out the
first thing in the morning and the last at night to
geologise and inspect lakes. But now he positively
refused to go and look at the inland cavities, assign-
ing the extraordinary reason that basalt was only fit



76 A TOUR TWENTY YEABS AGO.
for ladies ! That ladies are cleverer than men I will
admit, but why they are to have basalt exclusively
reserved for them I have never been able to con-
jecture.
