Miscellanies. 409 



With regard to the individuals engaged in the undertaking, it is 

 sufficient to say, that among the most prominent are those to whom 

 Mr. Wheaton acknowledges his indebtedness, and of whom he speaks 

 in terms of commendation. They were, many years previous to the 

 appearance of his valuable publication, occupied with the task, and 

 they have been diligently engaged therewith ever since its appear- 

 ance, which was more than five years ago. 



During the latter period, many important discoveries have been 

 made in Greenland and Iceland, bearing upon our history ; the vast 

 collections of manuscripts in Copenhagen have been more critically 

 examined ; collections so extensive that the life of no one individual 

 would be sufficiently protracted to enable him to make a thorough 

 examination of them, and consequently could only be mastered by 

 a union of effort, like that which has been devoted to it. In addition 

 to other materials to which the Society has had access, are " not a 

 few parchment codices, never before employed or even known to exist." 



It may be necessary to add once more, for the information of those 

 who have not seen the original prospectus, that the work here alluded 

 to, " will be published in the original Icelandic, with accompanying 

 Latin and Danish versions, and will be furnished with a critical ap- 

 paratus of variorum readings, explanatory notes, (in Latin,) with one 

 chronological and several genealogical tables, and geographical and 

 archaeological disquisitions respecting the first landing places and 

 earliest settlements of the Northmen in America, and the vestiges of 

 their migration to, and sojourn in this country ; disquisitions towards 

 which material assistance has been furnished by several men of sci- 

 ence and erudition in the United States. A summary of the work, 

 in English, or French, will be delivered gratis to the subscribers; its 

 size to be regulated by their number. The work will consist of one 

 volume royal quarto, and will be furnished, in America, at twelve 

 dollars per copy, including the freight from Denmark to New York 

 or Boston. Forty copies have been struck off on thick imperial 

 vellum, at a proportionally higher price." 



Individuals wishing the work, may transmit their names and ad- 

 dress to the subscriber. 



Subjoined are the extracts to which we called your attention. 



Respectfully yours, 



Thomas H. Webb. 



Providence, September 12, 1836. 



Vol. XXXL— No. 2. 52 



