A FRIGHTFUL ADVENTURE.
The _Arcturus_ had been delayed in discharging freight by a series of
storms which prevailed at the bay, and was now down at Haparanda Fjord
taking in ballast. The probability was that she would not leave for
several days. Meantime I was extremely anxious to see a little more of
domestic life in Iceland, and made several foot-expeditions to the
farm-houses in the neighborhood of Reykjavik.
At one of these I passed a night. In giving the details of an awkward
adventure that befell me on that occasion, it is only necessary for me
to say of the house that it was built in the usual primitive style,
already described at some length. The people were farmers, and the
family consisted of an old man and his wife, three or four stout sons,
and a buxom daughter some twenty years of age. A few words of Danish
enabled me to make them understand that I wished for a cup of coffee,
some bread, and lodgings for the night. They were exceeding kind, and
seemed greatly interested in the fact that I was an American--probably
the first they had ever seen. The coffee was soon ready; a cloth was
spread upon the table, and a very good supper of bread, cheese, and
curds placed before me. I passed some hours very sociably, giving
them, as well as I could by means of signs and diagrams, aided by a
few words of Danish, a general idea of California, its position on the
globe, and the enormous amount of gold which it yielded. Evidently
they had heard some exaggerated rumors of the country. The name was
familiar to them, but they had no idea where this El Dorado was, or
whether there was any truth in the statement that the mountains were
made of gold, and all the rocks in the valleys of pure silver. My
efforts to enlighten them on these points were rather ludicrous. It
was miraculous how far I made a few words go, and how quick they were
to guess at my meaning.
About eleven o'clock the old people began to manifest symptoms of
drowsiness, and gave me to understand that whenever I felt disposed to
go to bed the girl would show me my room. A walk of ten or twelve
miles over the lava-bergs rendered this suggestion quite acceptable,
so I bade the family a friendly good-night, and followed the girl to
another part of the house. She took me into a small room with a bed in
one corner. By a motion of her hand she intimated that I could rest
there for the night. I sat down on the edge of the bed and said it was
very good--that I was much obliged to her. She still lingered in the
room, however, as if waiting to see if she could be of any farther
assistance. I could not be insensible to the fact that she was a very
florid and good-natured looking young woman; but, of course, that was
none of my business. All I could do with propriety was to thank her
again, and signify by taking off my overcoat that I was about to go to
bed. Still she lingered, apparently disposed to be as friendly as
circumstances would permit. It was somewhat awkward being alone in a
strange room with a person of the opposite sex, young and rather
pretty, without saying any thing particular. Her silence, as well as
my own, was getting embarrassing. I attempted to carry on a
conversation in Danish, of which I soon discovered she knew even less
than I did myself. She answered my remarks, however, in her native
tongue, with a very sweet voice, and in such a sociable way that I
felt sure she meant to be kind and hospitable. In vain I waited for
her to leave. It was getting late, and her parents might feel anxious
about her. Still she manifested no disposition to go away. What could
the girl mean? was a question that now began to enter my head.
Probably I had taken possession of her room, and she had no other
place to sleep. If so, it was not my fault. Nobody could hold me
responsible for such a peculiar family arrangement. Seeing no
alternative but to test the point, I gradually began to take off my
coat. So far from being abashed at the movement, she seized hold of
the sleeves and helped me off with it. I did the same with my vest,
and still with the same result. Then I pulled off my boots, but with
no better prospect of relief from my embarrassing dilemma. Finally I
came to my pantaloons, at which I naturally hesitated. It was about
time for the young woman to leave, if she had any regard for my
feelings. I thanked her very cordially; but she showed no symptoms of
leaving. It was plain that she meant to help me through with the
business. I sat for some time longer before I could bring myself to
this last trying ordeal. There was something so pure and innocent in
the expression of the young woman's face--such an utter
unconsciousness of any impropriety in our relative positions, that I
scarcely knew what to do or think. "She wants to help me off with my
pantaloons--that's plain!" said I to myself. "Perhaps it is the custom
in Iceland; but it is very awkward, nevertheless." The fact is, you
see, I was not quite old enough to be the girl's father, nor yet quite
young enough to be put to bed like her youngest brother. Between the
two extremes of the case I was considerably troubled. To reject her
kind offers of service might be deemed rude, and nothing was farther
from my intention than to offend this amiable young person. Allowing a
reasonable time to elapse, I saw there was no getting over the
difficulty, and began to remove the last article of my daily apparel.
Doubtless she had long foreseen that it would eventually come to that.
In a very accommodating manner, she took a position directly in front,
and beckoned to me to elevate one of my legs, an order which I
naturally obeyed. Then she seized hold of the pendent casimere and
dragged away with a hearty good-will. I was quickly reduced to my
natural state with the exception of a pair of drawers, which, to my
horror, I discovered were in a very ragged condition, owing to the
roughness of my travels in this wild region. However, by an adroit
movement I whirled into bed, and the young woman covered me up and
wished me a good night's sleep. I thanked her very cordially, and so
ended this strange and rather awkward adventure.
[Illustration: AN AWKWARD PREDICAMENT.]
Such primitive scenes are to be found only in the interior. In the
towns the women are in dress and manners very like their sisters
elsewhere. Hoops and crinoline are frequently to be seen not only
among the Danes, who, as a matter of course, import them from
Copenhagen, but among the native women, who can see no good reason why
they should not be as much like pyramids or Jokuls as others of their
sex. Bonnets and inverted pudding-bowls are common on the heads of the
Reykjavik ladies, though as yet they have not found their way into the
interior. All who can afford it indulge in a profusion of
jewelry--silver clasps, breast-pins, tassel-bands, etc., and various
articles of filigree made by native artists. These feminine traits I
had not expected to find so fully developed in so out-of-the-way a
country. But where is it that lovely woman will not make herself still
more captivating? I once saw in Madagascar a belle of the first rank,
as black as the ace of spades, and greased all over cocoa-nut oil,
commit great havoc among her admirers by a necklace of shark's teeth
and a pair of brass anklets, and nothing else. The rest of her
costume, with a trifling exception, was purely imaginary; yet she was
as vain of her superior style, and put on as many fine airs, as the
most fashionable lady in any civilized country. After all, what is the
difference between a finely-dressed savage and a finely-dressed
Parisian? None at all that I can see, save in the color of the skin
and the amount of labor performed by the manufacturer, the milliner,
the tailor, or the schoolmaster. Intrinsically the constitution of the
mind is identically the same. I speak now of men as well as women, for
the most affected creatures I have seen in Europe are of the male sex.
So pardon me, fair ladies, for any reflection upon your crinoline, and
accept as my apology this candid avowal--that while you are naturally
angelic, and always beautiful beyond comparison, in spite of what you
do to disfigure your lovely persons, we men are naturally savages, and
are driven to the barbarous expedient of adorning and beautifying our
ugly bodies with gewgaws, tinsel, and jimcrackery, in order that they
may be acceptable in your eyes.
On my return to Reykjavik I found that the steamer was to sail next
day. I was very anxious to visit Mount Hecla, but my time and means
were limited, and would not permit of a farther sojourn in this
interesting land. It was a great satisfaction to have seen any thing
of it at all; and if I have given the reader even a slight glimpse of
its wonders, my trip has not been entirely unsuccessful.
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THE RISE OF THE DUTCH REPUBLIC.
A History
BY JOHN LOTHROP MOTLEY.
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Muslin, $9 00.
We regard this work as the best contribution to modern history that
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our country, and to compose an able history of our own.--_Christian
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value.--_Protestant Episcopal Quarterly Review._
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brought the matured powers of a vigorous and brilliant mind, and the
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The result is, one of the most important contributions to historical
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interesting within the compass of modern literature.--_Evangelical
Review._
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unexceptionable excellence as this one.--_Universalist Quarterly
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the attractions of a living and stirring episode in the grand historic
drama.--_Southern Methodist Quarterly Review._
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subject.--_Presbyterian Quarterly Review._
Mr. Motley is a sturdy Republican and a hearty Protestant. His style
is lively and picturesque, and his work is an honor and an important
accession to our national literature.--_Church Review._
Mr. Motley's work is an important one, the result of profound
research, sincere convictions, sound principles, and manly sentiments;
and even those who are most familiar with the history of the period
will find it a fresh and vivid addition to their previous knowledge.
It does honor to American Literature, and would do honor to the
literature of any country in the world.--_Edinburgh Review._
A serious chasm in English historical literature has been (by this
book) very remarkably filled. * * * A history as complete as industry
and genius can make it now lies before us, of the first twenty years
of the revolt of the United Provinces. * * * All the essentials of a
great writer Mr. Motley eminently possesses. His mind is broad, his
industry unwearied. In power of dramatic description no modern
historian, except, perhaps, Mr. Carlyle, surpasses him, and in
analysis of character he is elaborate and distinct.--_Westminster
Review._
It is a work of real historical value, the result of accurate
criticism, written in a liberal spirit, and from first to last deeply
interesting.--_Athenaeum._
The style is excellent, clear, vivid, eloquent; and the industry with
which original sources have been investigated, and through which new
light has been shed over perplexed incidents and characters, entitles
Mr. Motley to a high rank in the literature of an age peculiarly rich
in history.--_North British Review._
It abounds in new information, and, as a first work, commands a very
cordial recognition, not merely of the promise it gives, but of the
extent and importance of the labor actually performed on it.--_London
Examiner._
Mr. Motley's "History" is a work of which any country might be
proud.--_Press_ (London).
Mr. Motley's History will be a standard book of reference in
historical literature.--_London Literary Gazette._
Mr. Motley has searched the whole range of historical documents
necessary to the composition of his work.--_London Leader._
This is a really great work. It belongs to the class of books in
which we range our Grotes, Milmans, Merivales, and Macaulays, as the
glories of English literature in the department of history. * * * Mr.
Motley's gifts as a historical writer are among the highest and
rarest.--_Nonconformist_ (London).
Mr. Motley's volumes will well repay perusal. * * * For his learning,
his liberal tone, and his generous enthusiasm, we heartily commend
him, and bid him good speed for the remainder of his interesting and
heroic narrative.--_Saturday Review._
The story is a noble one, and is worthily treated. * * * Mr. Motley has
had the patience to unravel, with unfailing perseverance, the thousand
intricate plots of the adversaries of the Prince of Orange; but the
details and the literal extracts which he has derived from original
documents, and transferred to his pages, give a truthful color and a
picturesque effect, which are especially charming.--_London Daily
News._
M. Lothrop Motley dans son magnifique tableau de la formation de notre
Republique.--G. Groen Van Prinsterer.
Our accomplished countryman, Mr. J. Lothrop Motley, who, during the
last five years, for the better prosecution of his labors, has
established his residence in the neighborhood of the scenes of his
narrative. No one acquainted with the fine powers of mind possessed by
this scholar, and the earnestness with which he has devoted himself to
the task, can doubt that he will do full justice to his important but
difficult subject.--W. H. Prescott.
The production of such a work as this astonishes, while it gratifies
the pride of the American reader.--_N. Y. Observer._
The "Rise of the Dutch Republic" at once, and by acclimation, takes
its place by the "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire," as a work
which, whether for research, substance, or style, will never be
superseded.--_N. Y. Albion._
A work upon which all who read the English language may congratulate
themselves.--_New Yorker Handels Zeitung._
Mr. Motley's place is now (alluding to this book) with Hallam and Lord
Mahon, Alison and Macaulay in the Old Country, and with Washington
Irving, Prescott, and Bancroft in this.--_N. Y. Times._
The authority, in the English tongue, for the history of the period
and people to which it refers.--_N. Y. Courier and Enquirer._
This work at once places the author on the list of American historians
which has been so signally illustrated by the names of Irving,
Prescott, Bancroft, and Hildreth.--_Boston Times._
The work is a noble one, and a most desirable acquisition to our
historical literature.--_Mobile Advertiser._
Such a work is an honor to its author, to his country, and to the age
in which it was written.--_Ohio Farmer._
_Published by HARPER & BROTHERS, Franklin Square, New York._
HARPER & BROTHERS will send the above Work by Mail postage paid (for
any distance in the United States under 3000 miles), on receipt of the
Money.
_Mr. Motley, the American historian of the United Netherlands--we owe
him English homage._--LONDON TIMES.
"_As interesting as a romance, and as reliable as a proposition of
Euclid._"
History of The United Netherlands.
FROM THE DEATH OF WILLIAM THE SILENT TO THE SYNOD OF DORT. WITH A FULL
VIEW OF THE ENGLISH-DUTCH STRUGGLE AGAINST SPAIN, AND OF THE ORIGIN
AND DESTRUCTION OF THE SPANISH ARMADA.
BY JOHN LOTHROP MOTLEY, LL.D., D.C.L.,
Corresponding Member of the Institute of France, Author of "The Rise
of the Dutch Republic."
With Portraits and Map.
2 vols. 8vo, Muslin, $6 00.
_Critical Notices._
His living and truthful picture of events.--_Quarterly Review_
(London), Jan., 1861.
Fertile as the present age has been in historical works of the highest
merit, none of them can be ranked above these volumes in the grand
qualities of interest, accuracy, and truth.--_Edinburgh Quarterly
Review_, Jan., 1861.
This noble work.--_Westminster Review_ (London).
One of the most fascinating as well as important histories of the
century.--_Cor. N. Y. Evening Post._
The careful study of these volumes will infallibly afford a feast both
rich and rare.--_Baltimore Republican._
Already takes a rank among standard works of history.--_London
Critic._
Mr. Motley's prose epic.--_London Spectator._
Its pages are pregnant with instruction.--_London Literary Gazette._
We may profit by almost every page of his narrative. All the topics
which agitate us now are more or less vividly presented in the History
of the United Netherlands.--_New York Times._
Bears on every page marks of the same vigorous mind that produced "The
Rise of the Dutch Republic;" but the new work is riper, mellower, and
though equally racy of the soil, softer flavored. The inspiring idea
which breathes through Mr. Motley's histories and colors the whole
texture of his narrative, is the grandeur of that memorable struggle
in the 16th century by which the human mind broke the thraldom of
religious intolerance and achieved its independence.--_The World,
N. Y._
The name of Motley now stands in the very front rank of living
historians. His _Dutch Republic_ took the world by surprise; but the
favorable verdict then given is now only the more deliberately
confirmed on the publication of the continued story under the title of
the _History of the United Netherlands_. All the nerve, and power, and
substance of juicy life are there, lending a charm to every
page.--_Church Journal, N. Y._
Motley indeed, has produced a prose epic, and his fighting scenes are
as real, spirited, and life-like as the combats in the Iliad.--_The
Press_ (Phila.).
His history is as interesting as a romance, and as reliable as a
proposition of Euclid. Clio never had a more faithful disciple. We
advise every reader whose means will permit to become the owner of
these fascinating volumes, assuring him that he will never regret the
investment.--_Christian Intelligencer, N. Y._
Published by HARPER & BROTHERS, Franklin Square, New York.
--> HARPER & BROTHERS will send the above Work by Mail, postage
prepaid (for any distance in the United States under 3000 miles), on
receipt of the Money.
BY MRS. GASKELL.
CRANFORD. 16mo, Cloth, $1 25.
COUSIN PHILLIS. 8vo, Paper, 25 cents.
A DARK NIGHT'S WORK. 8vo, Paper, 50 cents.
MARY BARTON. A Tale of Manchester Life. 8vo, Paper, 50 cents.
THE MOORLAND COTTAGE. 16mo, Cloth, 75 cents.
MY LADY LUDLOW. 8vo, Paper, 25 cents.
NORTH AND SOUTH. 8vo, Paper, 50 cents.
RIGHT AT LAST, and Other Tales. 12mo. Cloth, $1 50.
SYLVIA'S LOVERS. 8vo, Paper, 75 cents.
WIVES AND DAUGHTERS. With Illustrations. 8vo, Cloth, $2 00; Paper,
$1 50.
_From the London Examiner._
That tender pathos, which could sink so deep--that gentle humor, which
could soar so lightly--that delicate perception, which nothing could
escape--that wide sympathy, which ranged so far--those sweet
moralities, which rang so true; it is indeed hard and sad to feel that
these must be silent for us henceforth forever.
Let us be grateful, however, that we have still those writings of hers
which England will not willingly let die, and that she has given us no
less an example of conscientious work and careful pains, by which we
all alike may profit. For Mrs. Gaskell had not only genius of a high
order, but she had also the true feeling of the artist, that grows
impatient at whatever is unfinished or imperfect. Whether describing
with touching skill the charities of poor to poor, or painting, with
an art which Miss Austin might have envied, the daily round of common
life, or merely telling, in her graphic way, some wild or simple tale:
whatever the work, she did it with all her power, sparing nothing,
scarcely sparing herself enough, if only the work were well and
completely done.
_From the New York Evening Post._
It is said that George Sand remarked to an English friend: "Mrs.
Gaskell has done what neither I nor other female writers in France can
accomplish--she has written novels which excite the deepest interest
in men of the world, and which every girl will be the better for
reading."
Published by HARPER & BROTHERS, New York.
--> _Sent by Mail to any part of the United States, postage free, on
receipt of the Price._
Transcriber's Note
Minor typographic errors in punctuation and spelling (omitted or
transposed letters, etc.) have been repaired. Hyphenation has been
made consistent where there was a prevalence of one form over another.
Archaic and variant spelling has been preserved as printed, where
reference to the alternate spelling could be established from other
sources, e.g. the Frith of Forth, gambling-hells, feed referring to
the paying of a fee. If alternate spelling of proper nouns could not
be established, it has been made consistent within the text. The
spelling of other words and phrases in languages other than English
has been preserved as printed.
Illustrations have been moved if necessary so that they were not in
the middle of a paragraph.
A small pointing hand symbol is used in two places, and has been
rendered as --> in this e-text.