MRS. WILTON. "Those springs, whose tepid waters issue as gently as an ordinary spring, are called Langers, or baths; others that throw up boiling water with great noise, are denominated Caldrons, in Icelandic 'Hverer.' The most remarkable is the Geyser, which is found near Skalholdt, in the middle of a plain, where there are about forty springs of a smaller size. It rises from an aperture nineteen feet in diameter, springing at intervals to the height of fifty or even ninety feet. In these hot springs, which formerly served to baptize their Pagan ancestors, the Icelanders boil their vegetables, meat, eggs, and other articles of food; but it is necessary to cover the pot suspended in these steaming waters, in order to prevent the volcanic odor from imparting a taste to their contents. Iceland is not so barren as you might imagine from its extreme cold, for gardening is cultivated throughout the island: but there are no large trees." MR. WILTON. "The present houses of the Icelanders differ little from those used by their ancestors, who first colonized the island, and are, no doubt, the best fitted for the climate. They are only one story high; the stone walls have all the interstices stuffed with moss, and are about six feet in thickness. In the better sort of houses, the windows are glazed, in the others, secured by a thin skin stretched over the frames. They have no chimney or grates; the smoke escapes through a hole in the roof. The beds are merely open frames filled with feathers or down, over which they throw their blankets, and cover themselves with a counterpane of divers colors. Their seats are, in general, the bones of a whale or a horse's skull. But much is said and done in these rude huts which would astonish you." EMMA. "Are the Icelanders civilized people: I mean, at all refined?" MRS. WILTON. "Every Icelander knows how to read, write, and calculate, which is more than we can say of the English. They are a grave, honest, benevolent people, but not remarkable for their industry. Their favorite amusements, when assembled together, consist in reading history or poetry, in singing, or playing at chess, in which game they take great delight, priding themselves on their skill. They are refined enough to admire poetry and music: I think I need say no more. We will now visit Spitzbergen." EMMA. "Spitzbergen is a group of three large islands, and a number of lesser ones near the North Pole. The mountains crowned with perpetual snow, and flanked with glaciers, reflect to a considerable distance a light equal to that of a full moon. The Icy Sea washes its shores, and abounds with whales, who love to roll their enormous bodies among the marine forests of the sea. In the vicinity is found the polar bear, which pursues everything animated with life, devours every animal he encounters, and then, roaring with delight, seats himself enthroned on the victorious trophy of mutilated carcasses and bones."