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vided with a reélor and an aififtant
teacher; and the king appropriated
as much land to thefe foundations, as
was fufficient to afford tolerable fa-
laries to the teachers, and board,books,
and cloathing to the fcholars gratis, fo
long as they remained at fchool.
Great pains have iince been taken
to appoint - men of known abilities as
teachers to theie fchools ; and young
men are fo well inftruéled there, that
few o f the clergy ftudy any where elfe.
Many Icelanders, however, ftudy at
Copenhagen ; and in the year 1773,
there were no lefs than fifty-four at that
nniveriity, where excellent regulations
have been made for the fupport of
poor ftudents. Some likewiib ftudy
in foreign univerfities ; and between
1760 and 1770 a native o f Iceland,
Paul Widalin by name, died at Leip-
fic, who was univerfally beloved ;and
efteemed there. A Mr. Thorotti, who
has been above three years at Upfal,
has likewife on all occafions ffiewn
bimielf a man o f great merit.
We fliould therefore form a very
wrong judgment of Iceland, to imagine
gine it abforbed in total ignorance and
obfcurity : on the contrary, I can affirm,
that I have found more knowledge
among the lower clafs, than is
to be met with in moft other places.
You will feldom find a peafant who,
befides being well-inftru6led in the
principles of religion, is not alfo acquainted
with the hiftory o f his country,
which proceeds from the frequent
reading o f their traditional hiftories
(fagas) wherein confifts their principal
amufement : nor is it uncommon to
find perfons among them who can repeat
the poems o f Kolbein Grimfon,
Sigurd Gifle, and Gndmund Berg-
thors by heart, all o f whom were poets
that flouriffied in later times ; and
among whom Vigfus Jonffon has particularly
diftinguiflied himfelf by his
wit, though fometimes at the expence
of decency. The clergymen fpeak
Latin well ; and I have found better
libraries in many parts of Iceland than
could have been expelled.
A learned fociety was erecled here,
which is fpoken of in the preface of
the above-mentioned Speculum Regale
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