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his name and hers engraved. At the
top o f the jacket a little black collar is
fixed [Jirtitur) o f about three inches
broad, o f velvet or iilk, and frequently
trimmed with gold cord. The petticoat
is likewife o f zvadmal, and reaches
down to the ancles. Round the top
o f it is a girdle o f iilver, or ibme other
metal, to which they failen the apron
{puinta), which is alfo o f wadmal, and
ornamented at top with chafed buttons,
Over this drefs they wear a
hempa, or upper drefs, nearly re-
fembling that o f the peafants at Win-
gaker in Sweden, with this difference,
that it is wider at bottom; this is
clofe at the neck and wrifts, and a
hand’s breadth fliorter than the petticoat,
It is adorned with a facing down
to the very bottom, which looks like
cut velvet, and is generally wove by
the Icelandic women. On their fingers
they wear many gold, filver, or
brais rings. Their head-dreis coniiils
o f feveral cloths wrapped round
the head, almoil as high again as the
face ; it is tied fail with a filk handkerchief,
and ierves more for warmth
than
than ornament: girls are not allowed
to wear this head-drefs béfore they
are marriageable. At their weddings
they are adorned in a very particular
manner ; tlie bride wears clofe to the
face, round her head-dreis, a crown of
filver gilt. She has two chains round
her neck, one of which hangs down
very low before, and the other reils
oil her flioulders. Befides thefe flie
wears a leiler chain on the neck, from
which a heart generally hangs, which
may be opened to put balfani or fome
other kind o f perfume into it.
The drefs here defcribed is worn by
all the Icelandic women, high and low;
without exception ; with this difference,
that the poorer fort have it
of coarfe wadmal, with ornaments of
brafs; and thofe that, are eaiier in
their circumftances o f broad cloth,
with filver ornaments gilt. I faw
one of thefe dreffes, which belonged
to the bailiff’s wdfe, and was worth at
leail three hundred dollars. Perhaps
it would not be difagreeable to perufe
a lift of the different articles w'hicli
compofe an Icelandic woman’s drefs,
G one
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