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all natives of the island, and are maintained partly by cultivating small glebes attached to the churches, and partly from certain tithes raised among the peasants. The provision made for their support is exceedingly scanty. The richest living on the island does not produce 200 rix-dollars; twenty and thirty rix-dollars are the whole of the stipend annexed to many of the parishes; and there are some in which it is even as low as five.

Small as the pittance is which is thus afforded to the Icelandic clergy, and much as their attention must be directed to the management of their farms, they are, nevertheless, in general, very assiduous in the discharge of their public func tions, and particularly attentive to the education of the young. Every clergyman in Iceland keeps what is called a register of souls, which contains an accurate statement of the age, situation, conduct, abilities, and proficiency of each individual in his parish. The books in the possession of the family are also entered on the list; and, as this record is made annually, to be presented to the dean at his visitation, a regular view is thus obtained of the moral and religious state of the parish.

Previous to the union of the bishoprics, the Icelandic church had two consistories, or ecclesiastical courts, one of which was held annually at Flygamire for the northern, and the other at Thingvalla for the southern diocese; but they are now combined in the Synodalrett, or Synod, which meets about the middle of July every year at Reykiavik. It consists of the bishop, the governor, the archdeacon, two or three of the deans in rotation, and certain individuals among the inferior clergy. In cases coming before this court, the bishop has the casting-vote in every thing relative to doctrine or ecclesiastical privileges, and the governor in matters of civil concernment. The principal business transacted on these occasions regards the distribution of certain monies, which are annually granted by government for relieving the widows of the clergy, and augmenting the scantier stipends of the priests. About 300 rix-dollars is appropriated to each of these purposes

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In regard to sentiment and style of preaching, the Icelandic clergy may be divided into two classes; those of the old, and such as are of the new school. The former profess to receive the Bible as an authoritative and obligatory revelation of the will of God, and bow with reverence to its decisions. They do not exalt human reason to be the arbiter of what ought, and what ought not to be embraced as dogmas of faith; but, conscious of their ignorance and proneness to error, they consider it at once their duty and their privilege, to believe whatever God has been pleased to communicate in his word. Accordingly, in their sermons, they insist on the grand distinguishing doctrines of Christianity: the total depravity and helplessness of man; the eternal divinity, and vicarious atonement of the Son of God; the personality, and saving operations of the Holy Spirit; the necessity of regeneration, and holiness of life; and the eternity of future punishment. I had an opportunity of meeting with many of these men in the course of my travels; and some of them, whom I heard from the pulpit, convinced me, that they were themselves deeply penetrated with a sense of the importance of those truths which they were engaged in preaching to others; that they had entered the ministry from no worldly motive, but were actuated by a sincere de sire to advance the spiritual reign of their Divine Master, and promote the best interests of their fellow-men; and that they were living under a habitual impression of that solemn account which all, who have taken upon them the charge of souls, will have to give to the Chief Shepherd at the day of final decision. They are men who are dead to the world, and devoted in heart and life to the service of their Redeemer. Their private walk exhibits the genuine tendency of the holy doctrines they teach; and their public discourses are earnest, energetic, animated, pointed, and faithful.

Such of the clergy as are of the new school, the number of whom is happily not very great, treat divine things in quite a different manner. Instead of drawing the matter of their sermons from the Scriptures, they gather it from the writings of heathen philosophers; and the morality found

in these authors, which, at the best, is but dry and insipid, absolutely freezes when transplanted into Iceland. The divine inspiration of the Bible is discarded, and all the cardinal and fundamental points of the Christian faith are either entirely omitted, or when they are brought forward, it is only with a view to turn them into ridicule. The influence of such Socinian and semi-deistical principles on the individuals who propagate them, is abundantly manifest. They are entirely men of the world. The awful realities of an approaching eternity have made no suitable impression upon their minds, and levity, callousness, and indifference, mark the whole of their conduct. Nor are the effects resulting from the dissemination of their tenets, on such as imbibe them, less visible and injurious. Their minds become imbued with scepticism and infidelity; every vestige of religion disappears, and immorality of one description or another generally occupies its place.

In their general habits and dispositions, the Icelanders are a very moral and religious people. They are carefully instructed in the principles of Christianity at an early period of life, and regularly attend to the public and private exercises of devotion. Instances of immorality are in a great measure confined to such as frequent the fishing places, where they are often idle for days together; and where such as have made proficiency in wickedness, use every effort to ensnare and corrupt their young and inexperienced companions. In passing through the island, my stay at any particular place was too short to admit of my ascertaining the true state of vital and practical religion among its inhabitants; yet, making every allowance for the proneness of men to content themselves with a mere external form of godliness, and granting that there is often a correct moral deportment, without a single particle of love to God in the heart, I cannot but indulge the conviction, that in a country where the principles of revealed truth are so clearly and so generally known, and where the tone of morals is so high, there must be many whose minds have been savingly impressed with divine things, and who have experienced the

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Gospel to be "the power of God unto salvation." greater number of these individuals are in all probability known only to God, having little or no intercourse with each other; and their situation may not unfitly be compared to that of the generality of real Christians in Scotland about thirty or forty years ago, when none of those institutions existed which now draw them together, make them acquainted with each other, and stimulate them to greater zeal and diligence in the service of their blessed Redeemer.

It may appear strange, that such a degree of religious knowledge should exist in a country where, of late years, few have had immediate access to the Holy Scriptures; but it is accounted for by the circumstance, that almost every family is in possession of a volume of excellent sermons, written by Bishop Vidalin of Skalholt, about the beginning of last century, which contains a great deal of Scripture illustration, and that numerous passages from the sacred writings are produced in proof of the doctrines taught in the Icelandic catechism. The scarcity of Bibles was severely felt. Numbers had been using every possible exertion, for a long series of years, to procure a copy of the sacred volume, but without effect. The poverty of the inhabitants was such, that they could not print a new edition themselves; they did not know to what quarter to apply for aid; and many began to apprehend that the word of the Lord would become extinct among them, and especially that their pos. terity would be left destitute of this inestimable boon. But here foreign benevolence came most opportunely to their aid. The plentiful supply of the Scriptures sent them by the British and Foreign Bible Society, and other friends to the best interests of humanity, was most joyfully and gratefully received; and while the Icelanders are now diligently employed in perusing the records of eternal life, their ardent prayers are ascending to heaven for the present and eternal happiness of their spiritual benefactors.

ICELAND,

&c. &c.

CHAP. I.

Voyage from Copenhagen to Iceland-Copenhagen Roads Island of Hveen-Tycho Brahe-Elsineur-Gottenburgh -Shetland-Ice Mountains-Cape Reykianess-Land at Reykiavik-Description of the Town-Visit to the Archdeacon at Garde-Hafnarfiord-Preparations for an Inland Journey-Divine Service in the Cathedral.

HAVING, by the blessing of God, brought the printing of the Icelandic Scriptures to a termination, and seen the foundation laid of a Bible Society for the Danish dominions, on the principles of the British and Foreign Bible Society, I began to make the necessary arrangements for my voyage to Iceland. The natural formation of that island rendering it impossible to convey any quantity of Bibles from one place to another, it was requisite to forward a proportionate number to each harbour. In the execution of this measure, I would here acknowledge my obligations to the Icelandic merchants in Copenhagen, who not only allowed the copies to be sent by their respective vessels without charging any freight, but furnished me with much important information, derived from their local knowledge of the country. To Westy Petræus, Esq. in particular, I am deeply indebted for the facilities which he afforded me on the occasion, and

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