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are those of petty theft, for which the offender
escapes with a good whipping.
Having received a commission from a member
of the Statistical Society in London to procure
ansAvers to certain questions, chiefly relating to
the statistics of Iceland, I took the liberty of
consulting the bishop as to the best quarter I
could apply to for the required information, when
he at once said he should be most hapjjy to
procuie for me that or any other information Avhich
I might be desirous of, aud was in his poAA er to
obtain. I found however another gentleman,
perhaps more generally informed on such matters,
aaIio had the advantage of speaking and Avriting
English, which the bishop could not do.
Having now paid our respects to the principal
inhabitants of the town, and tired ourselves with
strolling about a place that can afford but little
interest, we returned on board the yacht to dinner,
when we were favoured with Mr. Knudtzon’s company,
Avhom. Ave found to be a most agreeable and
intelligent gentleman.
On the folloAving day I strolled about the neighbourhood
of Reikiavik, and entered one of the
fishermen’s huts, for they deserve no better name,
near the eastern extremity of the toAvn. The exterior
of these hovels are very similar in their construction
to those of the Irish, who are said to hav'e
been the first people Avho A'isited Iceland, having, as it
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is supposed, been accidentally driven upon its shores.
This is stated by the most accredited historians o.
the country, on the report of the first Norwegian dis-
coA'erers of Iceland, who relate that wooden crosses,
bells, and other relics Avhich denoted Ireland, had
been picked up on the coast. If this be so, the only
vestige th a t now remains of anything Irish is to be
found in the construction of the hovels I am speaking
of. The Iceland hut howcA'er is still nearer
to the description given by Dr. Johnson of the
hoA’els of the Hebrides, Avhich, both in their mode
of construction, and in the interior, A’ery nearly
resemble those of the Icelanders.
A n Icelandic Hut.
It is also said, and with more probability, that a
group of islands on the south coast of Iceland,
which bears the name of Westmanns Islands, Avere
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