I
i
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error, and paints all his obje^ls witli
a glow o f colouring that does not
exactly correfpond with the truth.
In Richer’s Continuation o f Rollings
Hiitory is a hiilory o f Iceland, a
moil pitiful compilation, and full o f
the groifeft errors that ever diigraced
the hiilorical page.
Under the authority o f the Royal
Society o f Sciences at Copenhagen,
Eggert Olafsen and Biarne Povclien,
two men o f learning, natives o f Iceland,
and reiiding in the country,
travelled all over that ifland, and gavcs
in two volumes in quarto, a faithful
and ample account o f all that
deferves the attention o f the learned
and curious, illuilrated by numerous
engravings': but though the performance
is accurate and circumflantiah
yet it is unfortunately clogged with repetitions,
and the fadls are recounted in
fo tedious and uninterefling a manner,
that it requires a moil phlegmatic temper,
and a large fund of patience, to go
through the whole of this work,
for it is filled with a long and dull
recital o f events, methodized in the
moil
[ vli ]
moil formal manner poffible. It can
therefore by no means be thought fuper-
fluous, that Dr. Von Troil has favoured
the literary world with his intereiling
Letters on Iceland ; a work which, on
account of its varied matter, and the
great learning difplayed every where
for the inílruélion o f the curious
reader, deferves the warmefl approbation
of the public.
Men o f talents and learning will,
we flatter ourfelves, think highly o f
%his prefent performance o f Dr. Von
Troll, though perhaps it may be fome-
times a little deficient in point o f Ian-,
guage.
The prefent tranflation has been
made from the lail German edition,
publiflied by MeiTrs. Troil and Bergman,
with numerous additions and
corre£lions; and though it is not oilen-
tatioufly recommended to the public
for any elegance or accuracy o f ftyie,
it may however be fafely ftated as a
faithful tranflation from the original,
and a work o f real merit and utility.
We