burns with all the violence of the moft, intenfe flame, has hitherto been little vifited by perfons who were capable of giving a fcientific account of its productions, or disposed to exhibit an impartial view of its hiftory. It has been fuppofed by many judicious cofmographers to be the Thule of the ancients; the title of Ultima beft agreeing with its fituation: and the feveral accounts that are given of the inhofpitableness of the country, and the extreme rigour of the climate, have been produced as convincing proofs to ftrengthen this hypothefis. The opinion which fome ancient writers maintained of Thule, was the most extravagant that fancy could conceive: for regarding it as the extremity of the world, their imaginations ran riot in conjecture, and every thing ftrange and out of the common course of nature was fuppofed to be collected in Thule, and to exift there as in a common receptacle of confufion, prodigy, and "chimeras dire." Some affirmed, that there was no day beyond this magic ifland; and improving ftill farther in the art of exaggeration, Pytheas, in Polybius, affirms that all the elements were here jumbled together in a confufed and heterogeneous mafs, without any dif tinction of water, air, or earth (aλλa ovyxpiμa To ex 7x7wv), but a mixture of all, like the primitive chaos of the poets.

But leaving the difpute refpecting the fituation of Thule to others who have more patience than we have to investigate an unimportant inquiry through the dark and doubtful labyrinths of antiquity; we fhall confine ourfelves to the hiftory of facts; and we are happy to be under the direction of fo good a conductor as the learned and ingenious Author of the present publication.

Iceland is one of the largest iflands in the world: its population hath been very confiderable; though from the ravages of the plague and fmall pox the inhabitants are now reduced to about fixty thousand. The wafte occafioned by the former in the beginning of the 15th century (called in the Icelandic Annals the Black Death) is almoft incredible. Its effects on the ftate of the country were astonishing, and produced almost a new fcene of things, and a new revolution in its political and moral hiftory.

Iceland hath long engaged the attention of the Danish Powers but their attention hath not always contributed to the welfare and happiness of that country: for they have not been content to leave those poor islanders to the enjoyment of their frozen deferts and burning mountains, without the oppreffion of taxes and the fetters of a monopoly.

Their moffes and graffes, of which their Flora chiefly confifts, have been long ago to fully examined, and fo regularly claffed, by botanifts from the fchool of Linnæus, that we are credibly informed that Mr. Banks and Dr. Solander found only a small

fpecies

fpecies of grafs which had eluded the attention of former travellers; and that even this was fufpected to be rather an accidental variety than a diftinct fpecies.

Amidst all the complicated horrors with which this country abounds, it hath however been the feat of the Mufes. Icelandic poetry hath been much celebrated for the boldness of its images, and a certain wildness of fentiment and manner ftrongly characteristic of fublime but uncultivated genius*. The celebrated Edda, which confifts in a great degree of a collection of rules for the structure of Icelandic verfe, with examples to illuftrate them, was produced fo early as the beginning of the 13th century.

In the 11th century Chriftianity was introduced amongst the inhabitants of this island: schools were erected foon after; and claffical knowledge had made a confiderable progrefs in the 12th century, even in this unpromifing region.

Their hiftories and genealogies are the moft ancient writings. of the Icelanders which have reached the prefent times; they were the productions of the 12th century, and they relate the lives and actions of feveral of their more renowned chiefs, with an openness and candour which intereft our feelings, and demand our credit.

In the 14th century, literature declined in Iceland, as well as in various other parts of Europe; and again raised its head under the auspices of the Reformation. Soon after this great revolution in the ecclefiaftical and literary world, printing-preffes + were introduced and established in Iceland, fchools were again erected, and every circumftance promifed fair to restore this country to its former diftinction in the fcale of learning. Iceland, however, though by no means an illiterate country, cannot with propriety be called a learned one; and we need not be long in inquiring into the reafon, when we obferve the effects of defpotifm at a small distance from the immediate view of the

* A small specimen of Icelandic poetry (not very fublime) may be. feen in our Review, vol. liii. p. 593.

Dr. Von Troil informs us, that a printing-office was established in Iceland about the year 1530 by John Mathiefon, a native of Sweden. The Icelandic Bible was printed in 1584. This office was eftablished at Hoolum, or Hola, in the North part of the island, and within the Arctic Circle. In Meffrs. Bowyer and Nichols's Effay on the Origin of Printing, the date of this admirable art in Iceland is placed no higher than 1612, as they were unacquainted with any books printed there before that period. Mr. Bryant fpeaks of a small trea tife, which is in his poffeffion, and on which he appears to fet a high value for its antiquity, that was printed at Hoolum in 1612. It was written by a native of that country, Arngrim Jonas, and is the book' referred to by the learned Printers above mentioned. Rev.

monarch.

monarch. In fuch circumftances, we cannot expect to find the people poffeffed of quick and lively talents; they are hardly content, and feldom cheerful. Hiftorians and travellers agree in reprefenting them to be of a ferious and fullen difpofition, who gather the little amufement their temper and fituation qualify them to enjoy, from hearing the hiftories of former times-a period of independence to which they look back as to the golden age of Iceland.

The great natural curiofities of Iceland are the volcanos and hot fprings, which abound in the country, and prefent objects to the philofophical traveller equally amufing and aftonishing. This ifland hath suffered very much from earthquakes and the ravages occafioned by hurricanes and tempefts have been great. Formerly there were confiderable woods in Iceland: but at prefent they are reduced to a small number: and trees, which once were the produce of the ifland, never grow at present to a greater height than twelve feet, and in thickness feldom exceed three or four inches. To the ftorms which fo violently rage in this country of defolation, and the blafting influence of thofe immenfe fhoals of ice that float thither from the fhores of Greenland, Dr. Von Troil attributes the fcarcity of wood; which may. be very true with refpect to the coafts, in particular. Agriculture is alfo greatly checked in Iceland by the very fevere frofts, which frequently fet in fo early as May and June. The cold of this and other northern countries hath certainly increased fince the time that fir- trees flourished in Iceland. One cause of this increase of cold may be the yearly accumulation of the floating ice-iflands. The eastern fhores of Greenland (now called Eaft Greenland by fome geographers) were formerly inhabited by a colony of Norwegians, who had an epifcopal fee eftablished among them. Ships formerly failed to this coaft from Iceland, as well as from the continent; whereas, at prefent, it is totally inacceffible, and hath been fo for a number of years, on account of the immenfe maffes of ice that are found there, and entirely obftruct the paffage from the western coaft of Iceland to the eaftern coaft of Greenland. Are Frode, a very antient writer of Icelandic annals, fays, "That at the first landing of the Norwegians (toward the conclufion of the 9th century) on Iceland, they found it covered with woods and forests in the space between the fhores and mountains."

The cold occafioned by the vast maffes of ice that float near the fhores of this ifland, is fometimes fo intense, that both man and beast fall a facrifice to it.

The bears which arrive yearly with the floating ice, commit great ravages, particularly among the fheep. The government takes every poflible method to encourage the natives in deftroying these animals, by paying a premium of ten dollars for every

bear

bear that is killed, and in purchafing the fkin, of him who killed it.'

The houses of the inhabitants are fmall, and inconvenient : their employment is fowling, fishing, and fpinning. They are not much acquainted with the ufe of money; but their taxes are paid, and their barter fettled, by ells of coarfe cloth (called by the natives Wadmal), and by fifhes; two of the latter being judged equivalent to one of the former.

Their diet is fimilar to that of other northern nations, and confifts chiefly of dried fifh, four butter, and a flour made by the mofs which the botanifts call Lichen Islandicus.

We have given this general sketch of Iceland from the work before us, rather to excite curiofity than to gratify it. There are many important and ftriking particulars in it, which will equally contribute to entertain and inftruct its Readers. We have hitherto known little of this very curious fpot; but have been contented with the partial accounts of Horrebow, the imperfect and unfatisfactory compilations of Richter, or the meagre abridgment of fome French tranflator.

The Author of the prefent Letters is a gentleman of great diftinction in the Swedish church. He is equally confpicuous for the luftre of his defcent, the extent of his learning, and the excellence of his private character. When Mr. Banks and Dr. Solander were disappointed in their intended fcheme of revifiting the South Seas, they determined on a northern voyage, in which they were accompanied by Dr. Von Troil, and other learned and ingenious gentlemen.

They touched at fome of the Hebrides, particularly at I Colm-Kill, that illuftrious feat of learning in the middle ages, and at Staffa-the Ifland of Pillars-as it might be called. But Iceland was the capital object of this voyage, and to that country Dr. Von Troil bath chiefly confined his obfervations.

Though the philofophers of Sweden and Denmark had accefs to many accounts of Iceland, collected at the expence of government, and published by the authority of the court of Copenhagen, yet they anxiously requested the obfervations of Dr. Von Troil. Thefe Letters are the refult of their applications. They were afterwards published, received with avidity, and were foon tranflated into the German language; from which tranflation they are now rendered into English. Three of the Letters published in the prefent work are the production of the Chevalier Ihre of Upfal, Dr. Bach, and Profeffor Bergman of Stockholm: the first on the Edda; the fecond on the Icelandic fcurvy and elephantiafis: and the third on the effects of fire at the volcanos and hot fprings; together with obfervations on the bafaltes and fuch columns as are found at Staffa and elsewhere. This laft is a moft curious production, but abounds too much

in technical terms to be generally entertaining. The modefty of the learned Profeffor is not lefs fingular than his ingenuity, and we earnestly recommend his cautious method of philofophifing as a rule to all future adventurers in the world of

nature.

The Letters of Dr. Von Troil are in number twenty-two. Their general contents are as follows. On the effects of fire in Iceland-Of Iceland in general-Of the conftitution of the country-Of the arrival of the Norwegians, the government and laws in Iceland-Of its ecclefiaftical affairs-Of the character and manner of life of the Icelanders-Of their dressTheir houses and buildings-Their food-Their employment, with remarks on their chronology-Of the difeafes of IcelandOf fishing, fowling, and the breed of cattle in Iceland-Of its trade Of Icelandic literature- Of printing in Iceland-Of the remains of antiquity ftill vifible in this ifland-Of Icelandic poetry-Of the volcanos in Iceland-Of Mount Heckla-Of the hot fpouting springs in Iceland-Of the pillars of bafalt in the islands of Staffa and Bo-fha-la among the Hebrides; to which is fubjoined, Mr. Banks's curious account of Staffa, &c. in a letter to Mr. Pennant.

Where we receive valuable information, we fhould not be forward to criticife; and the little that may appear for the exercife of this ungrateful employment in the prefent work will be overlooked amidft the numerous appearances of candour, ingenuity, and good sense.

We shall extract a very confiderable part of the first letter as an entertaining and inftructive fpecimen and we fix on this letter more particularly, because it gives a general account of what is afterwards more diffufely related.

• On our arrival in Iceland, on the 28th of Auguft 1772, we directly faw a profpect before us, which though not pleafing, was uncommon and furprifing. Whatever prefented itself to our view, bore the marks of devastation and our eyes, accustomed to behold the pleafing coafts of England, now faw nothing but the veftiges of the operation of a fire, Heaven knows how ancient!

• The defcription of a country, where, quite clofe to the fea, you perceive almoft nothing but fharp cliffs, vitrified by time, and where the eye lofes itfelf in high rocky mountains covered with eternal fnow, cannot poffibly produce fuch emotions as at firft fight might entirely prepoffefs the thinking fpectator. It is true, beauty is pleafing both to our eyes and our thoughts: büt gigantic nature often makes the moft lafting impreffions.

We caft anchor not far from Beffeftedn, the dwelling-place of the celebrated Stourlifon, where we found two tracts of lava (called in Iceland Hraun), of which particularly the laft was remarkable,