which at once convinced us of the excellence of his memory, and of his gratitude to, and high esteem for, the great benefactor of Iceland. He told us of his liberal presents, of the splendor with which he travelled, and of the many Icelanders, who, having during the present war with Denmark been made prisoners by the English, had been released, and supplied with money till their return to their country, by Sir Joseph Banks' generosity. London, he observed, might produce as good a man, but it could not produce a better. When we asked him to return to England with us, he said, he would, if he were but ten years younger, were it only to see Baron Banks. He was delighted with the presents from Sir Joseph, and especially with some beautiful engravings of the Geysers, taken from drawings made by Sir John Stanley, in 1789. This gentleman, also, the Stiftsamptman frequently mentioned, and I was vexed that my not having the honor of being acquainted with him prevented my answering the various questions, that were put to me respecting him. During our conversation, some rum and Norway biscuit were offered us,

and we then took a little walk about the island, which is scarcely more than two miles in circumference, and is one of the most fertile spots belonging to Iceland, producing some of the best sheep, besides excellent cows, horses, peat, and good water. We were shown with great pleasure the immense number of eider-ducks which breed on Vidöe, and which were now sitting on eggs or young ones, exhibiting a most interesting scene. The Stiftsamptman made us go and coax some of the old birds, who did not on that account disturb themselves. Almost every little hollow place, between the rocks, is occupied with the nests of these fowls, which are so numerous, that we were obliged to walk with the greatest caution, to avoid trampling upon them; but, besides this, the Stiftsamptman has a number of holes cut in the smooth and sloping side of a hill, in two rows, and, in every one of these, also, there is a nest. No Norfolk housewife is half so solicitous after her poultry, as the Stiftsamptman after his eiderducks, which, by their down and eggs, afford him a considerable revenue; since the former sells for three rix-dollars (twelve shillings) a

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pound. It is collected from the nests, which the ducks line, or rather form, with it, to afford their young a warmer and more congenial situation, stripping for the purpose their own breasts of a covering which nature has kindly given at this season. When taken away, the old bird replaces it, and, according to Mr. Pennant, this is occasionally done as often as three times, the drake supplying the deficiency in case the down of the duck is completely exhausted. Cats and dogs are, at this season of the year, all banished from the island, so that nothing may disturb these birds. It one year happened that a fox got over upon the ice, and caused great alarm it was long before he was taken, which was at last, however, though with difficulty, effected, by bringing another fox to the island, and fastening it by a string near the haunt of the former, by which means he was allured within shot of the hunter. Such an island as Vidöe is well bestowed on the present owner, by the Danish government, for the services done to his country, during the fifty years that he was in office. It is considered worth one hundred dollars (twenty pounds) a-year, in

addition to which, the full pension of fifteen hundred dollars is continued to him, as if he were still actual governor; nor is it as a magistrate alone that this gentleman is deserving of the greatest praise, but also as a man of science. His researches into the history of his own country, and his valuable communications on various subjects relating to it, which have been sent to Copenhagen, have gained him many honorary marks of distinction from different learned societies, and those, not merely of Denmark and Norway, but also of other nations. It has seldom, if ever, fallen to my lot to see, even in those places which are most distinguished for the cultivation of science, so large a collection of diplomas and honorary medals, as in this remote corner of one of the most remote countries of Europe. I met with no plants upon the island, that I had not seen in the neighborhood of Reikevig, except Erigeron alpinum, which, however, was not in flower. We had scarcely reached the extremity of our walk, when a servant came to announce that dinner was on the table: consequently, we were obliged to return, though rather against our inclinations; for the earliness of the hour,

it not being more than half past one, and our having already taken some refreshment, had kept us from being hungry. We found the table set out in the large room which I have already mentioned. It had a tolerably good boarded floor, and walls that once were white-washed. The furniture consisted of five wainscot chairs, a table, and two large chests of drawers, on which were displayed such articles of use as approached the nearest to china; some of them, I believe, really were so. Two closet doors were also opened, and exhibited a considerable quantity of excellent silver plate. Two large and oldfashioned mirrors occupied the space between the windows, and beneath them were marble slabs, placed upon gilded feet; but they were broken, and lay completely out of a horizontal direction. About sixty prints and drawings, some of them in frames, and a few glazed, concealed in some measure the nakedness of the walls: they were, it must be confessed, for the most part, of a very ordinary stamp; but, as many of them were portraits of the Stiftsamptman's friends, or prints of the sovereigns, and other great men of Denmark, they had their value, and