The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1853-03-02
ICELANDIC TORY.

Miles Esq.
Last evening the Historical Society held their monthly
meeting At the University when Of this
city and from all parts Of the Union including the Gov
erncr Of California admitted The President, Cor
responding Secretary Recording Secretary and Librarian
we're absent In the absence of the President Mr. f. De
geyster presided and Mr. Moore appointed Secretary
Ex Governor Hunt was present and occupied be
aide the Chairman Notwithstanding the severity OF the
weather the attendance good and great interest
excited about the paper to be read by Mr. Miles. The
reading of the minutes dispensed with Piny Miles
ESQ was then introduced to the audience He is tall
well proportional man. of very fine appearance wearing
long, dark beard. He is perhaps, fine specimen of
American easily be found Having claimed the
Indulgence of the audience for his voice, which af
fected by slight coda thing very unusual with himhe
proceeded read his lecture amidst profound silence
fellows
Mr.. President and conference.-the small island that
lies of the coast of Greenland and three thousand
miles from shores is usually, believe looked
upon as too rigd and too remote to afford us any par
ticulr interest Though sterile the soil and scanty the
productions knowledge of the country must be linn
tied If consider barren OF historical facts and literary
"reminiscences This country, near the confines OF the
frigid zone with territory of ,o00 square miles
about size Of the State of New Iork-ths country
must possess few agricultural and commercial
have at this time nearly thousand years after its
first settlement population OF only sixty thousand
souls Yet the Icelanders though aborng under great
disadvantages contented moral, and religious
possess greater attachment to country less given to
crime and alteration and show greater hospitality and
kindness TO strangers than other people that the
shines upon. Their cententment and immunity from
crime and offence, do not arise from sluggshness and
incidence Of character they noted alone for their
negative virtues. They possess greater spirit of his
torcs research and literary inquiry have scholars
poets, and learned men than be found among
equal population on the face OF the globe. Some of
their linguists speak and write greater num-
met in any other Country Iceland has given frs
birth to Thorwadsen, sculptor whose
vii descend to the latest posterty His parents
icelanders but he child of the born the
between Iceland and Denmark Among their poets
ana historians viii be found the names of Snorro Sture
SOD, semund surnamed Erode the learned Jon Thor
akson. Stephenson Hallgrmson. Thorarensen Grondal
sgurder Petersen and many Others that will adorn the
pages OF lcelandc literature long the
their mountains and the heather blooms in their valleys
yher navgaors and merchants discovered and settled
America long before u birth to Columbus and
while Europe was yet immured in the darkness OF the
middle ages The works of their poets and literary
have been translated into nearly language in Eu
roe and they in their turn have translated into their
avn beautiful language more less of the writings of
Milton, Dryden, Pope, Young Byron Burns Klopstock
Martin Luther, Iamartne. Benjamin Franklin and Wash
ngton Irving In this small volume.an Iceland annual
the Nsrthsvfa, for 1889 will be found with many orr
ginai articles the Story of the Whistle" by Dr. Frank
lin, chapter from Irvings Life of Columbus, transla
Bruces Address Kossuths prayer the defeat of his
army in Hungary part of of Presd mt Taylors Mes
HYRAID the London Times and other publications.
With scarcely hope of fame. the literary labors
thirst of literary pursuits. Personal emolument
or the applause OF the world could scarcely have
lau pace among ther incentives TO eXertOn
As sn example we need only notice the labors Of
Jon ihorlskson This literary neophyte, mmured in
msd hut in the north of Iceland subssng his scanty
salary az clergyman which amounted to less than
tnirty dollars together with his labors
Iceland winter to translate into Iceandic the whole
of Millions Paradise Lost, Popes Essay Man " and
Kopseck's Messiah besides writing some volumes Of
writings will that spirit Of republicansm and
sden love of political liberty which always characterize
/, thinking and Intellectual people. Interspersed with
their own sentiments expressed in their own tongue,
will re quotations from other writers and in other Ian
sosses In Dryden they find
Z" The love of liberty with life is given,
And life itself the inferior gift of heaven
. BETTER to sink beneath the shock
Than mouldcr pecemeal on the rock"
Plain Plain ps downright s' aetsst saS
Of every des p0tism in every nAtion.'
This small and isolated community have history
veil A. literature. and most interesting it is. To
Of their historians-the late Mr.. Finn Magnusen
greatly indebted for a most interesting chapter
in The history of our own country, as shown in
the y antiquities Americana, aswork of great value
sorthsrn Antiquaries Thi. work is in our Historical Ii
orary One OF the editors is Mr. Magnusen though the
Professor RAIN of Copenhagen would be supereroga
tory to follow out the chain of evidence clearly
hes the fact of the Columbian discovery Ameri
That discovery is clearly proved any his
rca events that transpired before the art of printing
discovered shall take but brief notice of these
voyages Of the early Mortimer and conne the most of
emarks to the history Of the modern Iceanders Ice
n The SEQ He was thrown the coast in the win
ter and from the appearance of the country called it
onaand, or Snowland Four after, Gardar Swar'ar
son Swee circunnavigating it. found II island
named i " Gardars Holm, or Gardars Isle. His
rover went there to settle but neg'ectng hay
in summer his cattle perished in the winter From the
vast ulatons of ice the west coast ice that
doaed from Greenland, he called the country Ice
land name il has ever since borne In SI4, the first
permanent settlement made in Iceland, by ingof
Norwegian chieftain Greenland was discovered in the
$50 one hundred and twenty after the discovery
OF Iceland In 98 Eric the Red sailed Greenland and in
e3o bished Element there which hourishedfor
thaa four hundred Tonduce settlers and reside
ia the country the most fabulous accounts given
OF the climate and productions the face OF the country
represented clothed in green and they stated
tina. every plant dropped butter The name of Green
land thus given 1t as great misnomer Iceland
applied TO the neighborng isle and in reality the two
counties should change names, for Iceland country
OF green fields and fair flowers and Greenland il covered
with smost perpetual Toe and Eric the Red had
companion in his Greenland settlement whose name
Heriulf Biarn the Of Heriuf, sailed from Ice
land to JOIN his father in Greenland driven SOUTH
and landed on the American coast probably Labrador
the year 1856 by Biarn Herulfson native of Norway
but resident of Iceland He returned north, landed in
Greenland and gave an account Of his discovery Sub
sequen voyages to the American by Left and
his two brothers of Eric the Red who after the
style Of names in Iceland called Ericsson believe
am speaking the best authority, and with scarce
chance o. mistake in saying that gifted Sweds
an American citizen, and most prominent before the
world, is direct descendant Of Eric and his son.
aude to Captain Ericsson, the inventor of the caoric
ship pioneer in American discovery and naval archi
in the discovery Of America Another most interest
ing genealogical fact may be noted Among the early set
tiers Amortization settlene formed that connu
cd for several menhad their wives with them
One Of these, the wife Of Thofn gave birth who
was named Snorre This Snorre Thorfnson the first
native born American of whom have any account,
and may be set down the first Yankee record From
this Thorfn descended horwaldsen and also Finn
Msgnusen the historian and anquary, so that
Utmost claim the great sculptor OF the North and the
great historian. Americans These facts gathered
from Iceandic genealogical tables and all who have in
vestgated the history of the northern nations know with
what accuracy these tables kept. To return little
in my narrative-Ieif Ericsson having purchased the
ship Of Barni Herulfson, sailed from Greenland in the
year LOO The first land he made he called Helluand,
or land OF broad, fat stones. This doubtless the
coast. OF Newfoundland The next coast he
covered with timber, and consequently he named It
Ma mr. md II hlvN oya Zcotio