INTRODUCTION* 
Vll 
of my friends, but at the request of the most 
valued of those friends. It is to Mr. Dawson 
Turner of Yarmouth that these sheets owe their 
existence* 
To Sir Joseph Banks, besides being honored 
with his counsel and assistance preparatory to 
the undertaking of the voyage, I am indebted 
also for the truly hospitable entertainment I ex¬ 
perienced from the inhabitants of Iceland, who 
felt, I am sure, a real pleasure and satisfaction in 
having it in their power to offer their services 
and to pay every possible attention to a stranger 
visiting their country with an introduction from 
their great and generous benefactor. Not, how¬ 
ever, satisfied with this, on my return to Eng- 
land, no sooner did Sir Joseph learn that I was 
preparing my Recollections of Iceland for the 
press, than he most liberally offered me the use 
of his own manuscript journal and various other 
papers relative to the island, together with the 
magnificent drawings of the scenery, dresses of the 
inhabitants, &c., which were made by the artists 
who attended him on his voyage thither in 1772 . 
From the former of these valuable collections I 
have extracted such parts as were not noticed by 
Von Troil; and from reduced copies of a few of 
the latter, have been made the engravings that 
accompany this volume. These are indeed upon 
