"You mean that learned sixteenth century savant, a naturalist, a chemist, and a traveller ?" "Just so!" "One of the glories of Icelandic literature and science ?" "That's the man." "An illustrious man anywhere!" "Quite so." "And whose courage was equal to his genius!" "I see that you know him well." My uncle was bathed in delight at hearing his hero thus described.

He feasted his eyes upon M.Fridrikssen's face.
"Well," he cried, "where are his works ?" "His works, we have them not." "What--not in Iceland ?" "They are neither in Iceland nor anywhere else." "Why is that ?" "Because Arne Saknussemm was persecuted for heresy, and in 1573 his books were burned by the hands of the common hangman." "Very good! Excellent!" cried my uncle, to the great scandal of the professor of natural history.
"What!" he cried.
"Yes, yes; now it is all clear, now it is all unravelled; and I see why Saknussemm, put into the Index Expurgatorius, and compelled to hide the discoveries made by his genius, was obliged to bury in an incomprehensible cryptogram the secret--" "What secret ?" asked M.Fridrikssen, starting.
"Oh, just a secret which--" my uncle stammered.
"Have you some private document in your possession ?" asked our host.
"No; I was only supposing a case." "Oh, very well," answered M.Fridrikssen, who was kind enough not to pursue the subject when he had noticed the embarrassment of his friend.

"I hope you will not leave our island until you have seen some of its mineralogical wealth." "Certainly," replied my uncle; "but I am rather late; or have not others been here before me ?" "Yes, Herr Liedenbrock; the labours of MM.

Olafsen and Povelsen, pursued by order of the king, the researches of Troil the scientific mission of MM.

Gaimard and Robert on the French corvette _La Recherche,_ [1] and lately the observations of scientific men who came in the _Reine Hortense,_ have added materially to our knowledge of Iceland.