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ADVANCE AND RECESSION OF GLACIERS. 235
ill a wild heap of boulder rocks, indicating the former
extent of these glaciers. One might imagine these
glaciers to be great waves from the sea of ice above,
that have rolled and broken on this shore, and heaped
up the shingle beach beyond, and are now retreating
over this smooth strand, and gathering up to curl over
and break again, and then rush up as far as their former
boundary.
Glaciers do thus advance and retreat; only not quite
in the shape of breaking waves, nor so rapidly. For
about a hundred years the glaciers of the .Tustedal have
been retreating: this of Lodal is some 600 or 700
yards from its former moraine. In 1740, the damage
to farm property in this valley by the encroachment of
glaciers became a subject of judicial inquiry. Their
retreat has been subsequent to this.
A few miles farther down the valley there is another
fine glacier without any medial moraine, and scarcely
any at the sides. The blue crevasses and great ribs of
ice are very fine in this. It is called the " Biörnestegs
Brae," or Bear’s Path Glacier, and nearly opposite to it
are some more saeters.
Two or three miles farther down is the farm of
Mjelvor, which I had fixed upon as my destination. A
peasant I met on the way proved to be the proprietor of
this house and of all the country round. The farmhouse
is a gloomy, dirty place, but the host did his best to
accommodate me; there were some women about, but
there appeared to be no mistress, for he himself served
me with some sour milk or whev that was three or four
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