ICELAND. 



405 



state ot moral feeling and intelligence to their descendants. Many of them were distinguished 

 men of Norway, who preferred exile to oppression at home, and who carried to their adopted 

 country the germ of repubhcan institutions, and of the knowledge that can the best uphold 

 them. 



The most prominent traits in the Icelanders are a love of their country, hospitality, intelli- 

 gence, simplicity, and piety. Though social, they are rather disposed to be serious. They 

 have httle conception of humor, and are seldom known to laugh. Yet they may be called an 

 eminently happy people, and seldom leave their own country ; the few who go to Co])enhagen 

 are never satisfied till they return to Iceland. It would almost seem that happiness, and sim- 

 plicity of character, had deserted the sunny skies and fertile fields of southern Europe, to 

 nestle among the icy crags and volcanic ruins of the frozen zone. In Iceland a stranger is at 

 once struck with the oriental manner of salutation, borrowed probably from the Scriptures, with 

 which all are familiar, though until lately but few copies were possessed. The common salu- 

 tation on meeting is that of the East, " Peace be whh you," to which the reply is, " The 

 Lord bless you." On knocking at a door to gain admittance it is common to say, " The Lord 

 be in this place," to which the reply is similar to the last. 



It is the universal custom to give thanks with clasped hands before and after a meal ; when 

 the meal is over, the guests kiss both the master and the mistress, thanking them for their kind- 

 ness. At meeting and parting, the kiss is the universal salutation ; on entering a family the 

 visiter must thus salute them all, according to seniority or station, beginning with the highest ; 

 at his departure he reverses this, and the lowest is taken leave of first. Before and after 

 crossing a river the Icelander raises his hat and makes a mental prayer, and also when he goes 

 in a boat from the shore. This religious sentiment is the leading trait in the Icelandic charac- 

 ter. Of their characteristic faith. Doctor Henderson gives this example. " I could not but 

 notice," said he, "the manner in which my hostess spoke of her children ; on my inquiring 

 how many she had, her reply was, I have 4 ; 2 of them are here with us, and the other 2 are 

 with God. It is the best with those that are with him, and my chief concern about those that 

 remain is, that they may reach heaven in safety." 



16. Amusements. The amusements of the Icelanders are of a grave character, founded 

 ess on levity than the intelligence that is so much diffused among them, and though they have 

 chess, and cards, they generally prefer to pass their evenings in recounting some legend of their 

 ancestors, or reading by turns the history of their own country, or some other useful book. As 

 books are scarce in Iceland, copies are multiplied in manuscript, and many of them are so well 

 executed as to be beautiful specimens of the art. 



17. Education. There is no other country in which so great an amount of knowledge is 

 universally diffused as in Iceland ; and yet there is on the island but 1 school, and that is de- 

 signed chiefly for such as are to fill offices in church and state. The education is strictly do- 

 mestic, and no one acquires any that he does not get at home. The extent to which it is car- 

 ried is scarcely credible. It is not uncommon to hear a youth quote a Greek or Latin author, 

 and in almost every hut there is some person capable of conversing well upon subjects, far 

 above the understanding of those of the same grade in other countries. The Icelanders are 

 not only familiar with their own history and literature, but they are in a great degree conversant 

 with those of other nations. It is surprising to hear these self-taught people conversing on 

 subjects that belong to a professor's chair. Among other instances of this wonderful diffusion 

 of education, Doctor Henderson relates, that he was reading to a common person a letter ad- 

 dressed by the King of Persia to the English Envoy, concerning a version of the New Testa- 

 ment. The date was 1229, and a little boy remarked, that it must be a very old letter. " No," 

 said the peasant, "it was not written according to our computation, but it was dated from the 

 Hegira.^'' 



18. Arts., Sciences, &c. Till the year 1264, from the introduction of Christianity into 

 Iceland, it was the only place in the North where literature was cultivated. The Scandinavian 

 legends were wild and warlike. The Scalds were the poets and historians, and the Sagas re- 

 called the memory of the past in stories. These traditional histories and poems were collect- 

 ed by Saemund Sigfussen, who was born A. D. 1056. This collection is called the Edda. 

 The mythology of the Scandinavians was copious. Divine honors were paid to Odin, who 

 was supposed to be a sanguinary deity, receiving into his paradise Valhalla, only the brave and 

 warlike. Friga, his wife, was the second deity, and Thor the third. There were many others 

 inferior. 



