having, probably, been the means of preventing
the Icelanders from enjoying the
little happiness that they formerly derived
from these and various other sources of
innocent amusement, which we read of as
having been common among them. At
about three o’clock we sat down to an excellent
dinner of roasted meats, which were
eaten with preserved cherries and a mess of
the Rumex Acetosa, with the addition of
waffels, good Norway biscuit, rum and
claret. Even in the Etatsroed’s house the
custom of the ladies of the family waiting
at table is religiously observed ; and, mortifying
as if was to me as a stranger, I was
compelled, during the time of meals, to accept
of the attendance of the female of the
highest rank in the island and her handsome
daughter, both of whom performed their
parts with the greatest good-nature imaginable.
It was in vain that I remonstrated
against this relic of barbarous times, intreat-
ing it might be dispensed with during my
stay: such a request could not be acceded
to, for to have done otherwise would have
been considered a want of respect on the
part of the host to his guest. Truly gratifying
was it to observe how much affectionate
attention was paid by the younger part of
this family to the aged parents of Madame
Stephensen, whose father, formerly a syssel-
man, although eighty years old, still enjoyed
the perfect use of his faculties. Extreme
age had deprived the mother of sight, but,
though destitute of this comfort, she had the
greater one of receiving every possible mark
of kindness, that duty or affection could dictate,
from her children, who devoted a great
portion of their time to bearing her company
in her room, and alleviating, by their conversation,
her afflictions and infirmities. After
dinner I visited the Etatsroed’s gardens,
which are carefully fenced round by a high
turf wall, so as to be, in some measure, protected
from the excessive cold of the climate;
a precaution that seems to avail but
little, for, although in the one adjoining the
house, which was laid out in a number of
beds, infinite pains had been taken to raise
a crop of lettuces, turnips, and potatoes,
they all looked in a miserably starved state,
and not one came to perfection. Another
garden, nearly opposite to the house, was
also appropriated to the growth of vegeta