4.0 ICELAND. 



head was above the rafters ! The new .church at tha 

 place mentioned is on a somewhat larger scale than its 

 predecessor ; but many sacred edifices, I was informed, 

 still exist in the island, not larger than the old church 

 referred to. The people are so widely scattered, that it is 

 difficult in stormy weather to fill even these diminutive 

 buildings. 



The clergy possess incomes varying generally from 

 61. to 10L a year, exclusive of a few trifling fees, and 

 they have a house and farm besides. They work at 

 their farms as hard as the meanest of their parishioners ; 

 and, as a rule, are not very much elevated above them in 

 intelligence or learning. To this remark, however, there 

 have been, and still are, many notable exceptions. 



It is not an uncommon thing for the traveller to find 

 an entertainment set out for his acceptance on the altar of 

 the church in which he resides, and in the dark evenings 

 to have the large candles on the altar lit for his use. We 

 did not stand in need of such aid, as we carried our own 

 tent and commissariat ; but for those who trust to church 

 accommodation and clergy entertainers, it is a common, 

 but at first a somewhat startling, event. 



The Icelanders are Lutherans, and very strict, and 

 they are somewhat bigoted. I believe that there is one 

 solitary Romanist in the island, and for his benefit, as 

 well as for the good of the French fishermen who 

 annually frequent the coast for a few months, there are 

 two Roman Catholic priests at Reykjavik all the year 

 round, and a very agreeable gentleman whom we mot, 



