Iceland for the press, than he most liberally
offered me the use of his own manuscript
journal, and various other papers and documents
relative to the island, together with
the magnificent drawings of the sceneiy,
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 ! 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 these volumes. These are, indeed,
upon too small a scale to give an adequate
idea of the originals, which would do honor
to a large and copious history of Iceland;
but parvum parva decent, and they are well
suited both to the size and pretensions of
the book they are designed to illustrate.
The reception which I met with from the
merchants and owners of the vessel in which
I sailed, Messrs. Phelps, Troward, and Brace-
bridge, and the assistance which I derived
from them, demand my most sincere thanks;
the readiness with which the former of these
gentlemen, in particular, whose society I
enjoyed during the voyage, entered into all
my views, and the willingness with which
he supplied me with every thing that could
afford me accommodation, or might further
the object of my pursuits, have left a lasting
impression of gratitude upon my mind.
Neither can I suffer to pass in silence the
civility of Sir George Mackenzie, in collecting
plants for me in his late excursion to
Iceland ; nor the attention shown me by
Doctor Wright, of Edinburgh. Though a
stranger to the latter gentleman, till my
arrival in Scotland on my return from Iceland,
he nevertheless participated feelingly
in my misfortunes, and begged me to make
any use I pleased of the various subjects of
natural history in his possession, which had
been collected in Iceland by his nephew, the
late Mr. Wright, an amiable young man,
who accompanied Sir John Stanley on his
voyage JO to that countr*y*.
No apology, I trust, will be considered
necessary for prefacing my journal with a
slight and very cursory sketch of Icelandic
history, or with the details that follow, ex