I think, indeed, that the Icelanders are second to no nation in
uncleanliness; not even to the Greenlanders, Esquimaux, or
Laplanders. If I were to describe a portion only of what I
experienced, my readers would think me guilty of gross exaggeration;
I prefer, therefore, to leave it to their imagination; merely saying
that they cannot conceive any thing too dirty for Iceland delicacy.
Beside this very estimable quality, they are also insuperably lazy.
Not far from the coast are immense meadows, so marshy that it is
dangerous to cross them. The fault lies less in the soil than the
people. If they would only make ditches, and thus dry the ground,
they would have the most splendid grass. That this would grow
abundantly is proved by the little elevations which rise from above
the marshes, and which are thickly covered with grass, herbage, and
wild clover. I also passed large districts covered with good soil,
and some where the soil was mixed with sand.
I frequently debated with Herr Boge, who has lived in Iceland for
forty years, and is well versed in farming matters, whether it would
not be possible to produce important pasture-grounds and hay-fields
with industry and perseverance. He agreed with me, and thought that
even potato-fields might be reclaimed, if only the people were not
so lazy, preferring to suffer hunger and resign all the comforts of
cleanliness rather than to work. What nature voluntarily gives,
they are satisfied with, and it never occurs to them to force more
from her. If a few German peasants were transported hither, what a
different appearance the country would soon have!
The best soil in Iceland is on the Norderland. There are a few
potato-grounds there, and some little trees, which, without any
cultivation, have reached a height of seven to eight feet. Herr
Boge, established here for thirty years, had planted some mountain-
ash and birch-trees, which had grown to a height of sixteen feet.
In the Norderland, and every where except on the coast, the people
live by breeding cattle. Many a peasant there possesses from two to
four hundred sheep, ten to fifteen cows, and ten to twelve horses.
There are not many who are so rich, but at all events they are
better off than the inhabitants of the sea-coast. The soil there is
for the most part bad, and they are therefore nearly all compelled
to have recourse to fishing.
Before quitting Iceland, I must relate a tradition told me by many
Icelanders, not only by peasants, but also by people of the so-
called higher classes, and who all implicitly believe it.
It is asserted that the inhospitable interior is likewise populated,
but by a peculiar race of men, to whom alone the paths through these
deserts are known. These savages have no intercourse with their
fellow-countrymen during the whole year, and only come to one of the
ports in the beginning of July, for one day at the utmost, to buy
several necessaries, for which they pay in money. They then vanish
suddenly, and no one knows in which direction they are gone. No one
knows them; they never bring their wives or children with them, and
never reply to the question whence they come. Their language, also,
is said to be more difficult than that of the other inhabitants of
Iceland.
One gentleman, whom I do not wish to name, expressed a wish to have
the command of twenty to twenty-five well-armed soldiers, to search
for these wild men.
The people who maintain that they have seen these children of
nature, assert that they are taller and stronger than other
Icelanders; that their horses' hoofs, instead of being shod earth
iron, have shoes of horn; and that they have much money, which they
can only have acquired by pillage. When I inquired what respectable
inhabitants of Iceland had been robbed by these savages, and when
and where, no one could give me an answer. For my part, I scarcely
think that one man, certainly not a whole race, could live by
pillage in Iceland.
DEPARTURE FROM ICELAND. - JOURNEY TO COPENHAGEN.
I had seen all there was to be seen in Iceland, had finished all my
excursions, and awaited with inexpressible impatience the sailing of
the vessel which was destined to bring me nearer my beloved home.
But I had to stay four very long weeks in Reikjavik, my patience
being more exhausted from day to day, and had after this long delay
to be satisfied with the most wretched accommodation.
The delay was the more tantalising, as several ships left the port
in the mean time, and Herr Knudson, with whom I had crossed over
from Copenhagen, invited me to accompany him on his return; but all
the vessels went to England or to Spain, and I did not wish to visit
either of these countries. I was waiting for an opportunity to go
to Scandinavia, to have at least a glance at these picturesque
districts.
At last there were two sloops which intended to sail towards the end
of July. The better of the two went to Altona; the destination of
the other was Copenhagen. I had intended to travel in the former;
but a merchant of Reikjavik had already engaged the only berth, - for
there rarely is more than one in such a small vessel, - and I deemed
myself lucky to obtain the one in the other ship. Herr Bernhoft
thought, indeed, that the vessel might be too bad for such a long
journey, and proposed to examine it, and report on its condition.
But as I had quite determined to go to Denmark, I requested him to
waive the examination, and agree with the captain about my passage.
If, as I anticipated, he found the vessel too wretched, his warnings
might have shaken my resolution, and I wished to avoid that
contingency.
