The Hickman courier. [volume] (Hickman, Ky.) 1859-current, 1874-06-13

ICELANDIC WOMEN.
Visit to some Humble Ladies OF That
Erfutd Cline.

4 visit to some Humble Ladies of That
Frigid Cline.
Manners are simple IN Iceland, as in
deed in all the Scandinavian countries;
an all the simpler here because there
Is really no distinction of rank. There
is.po title of respect, save Herra to the
bishop and SRA to a sriest not even
such title as Mr.. or Mrs, or esquire.
Ii you go TO call for lady you tap at
the door aud ask if Ingibjorg or Valger-
or Is in /; or, If you wish to give her full
name, Ingibiorg Thamaldsdottir, or
Eirlksdottlr. or BlaffHfsaTbttir Jas the
case may be-, for there is no title of
politeness to apply. Her name, more
over, Is her own name, unchanged from
birth to death; for as there are no sur
names or family names among the I e
landers, but only Christian names, there
Is no reason for a wife assuming her
husbands name, and she is Thorvalds-
dittir after her marriage with Guomundr
just as before, while her children are
Guomandisson aMMsIuomundsdottir.
When such a concsSz is made to the
rights of womenAit little surpris-
ing to find that shssss any other re-
spect treated as q not usually
sitting down to Y the men
of the family, bufSs benz, and
dining separately. o. however,
women seem sufficient off, having
full rights of property and riding
vigorously about the country wherever
they viii and we could not hear that
there was any me- vement for their eman-
cipation, or indeed for social reform of
any kind, though, to be sure, imperfect
knowledge of the language restricted
our inquiries. In one regard, the vo-
men of Iceland have obtained a com
pleter equality than their sisters in con
tinental Europe. Theg receive exactly
the same education as the men do.
[ There are no schools in the island nat
urally, as families live mostly a dozen
miles apart; and instruction IS there
/ fore given by the father to his sons and
iaughters alike and together, the priest
/ where there is a priest-sometlmes
/ adding a little Latin or Danish. Thus
/ the girl learns all her parents can teach
/ her, and is as good an arithmetcian,
I and as familiar with the Sagas. as her
/ brothers. Accomplishments, of course,
are pretty wei ont of the question /;
painting, not only from the difficulty of
procuring the materials, but because
+ there Is really nothing to paint dare
/ ing because You can eldom gather a
sufficiently large patty, and have no
/ rooms big enough; instrumental music,
/ on account of the impossibiity of
transporting piano over rocks and boys
on the back of a pony. Nevertheless,
We found in a remote house "a good
wooden house, by the way, upon the
coast, where We were Hospitality enter
/ tanned for day and night, not only a
/ piano, but several young ladies VINO
could play excellentIv on II and a
/ gnitar, accompanying themselves to
I songs in four or five languages, the
Swedish, as we thought, the prettiest of
all. They lived IN the most desOlate
spot imaginable-the sen roaring IN
front on long strand inland, a plain
of dreary bog, and behind IL, miles
away grim shapeless mountains. They
had no neighbOrs within ten or fifteen
miles, and told us they were often with
out visitor for months together. But
they were as bright and cheerful as pos
sIbie and though they did not respond
TO the suggestion of q dance, they sang
long in the tiny drawing-rOom, while
the storm howlei without and their
worthy father (who was sort Of gem
eralI merchant for that part Of the
island and the lord-Eeutenant Of the
county, who had dropped IN from his
house thirty or forty miles OF. brewed
noble bowls of punch. and held forth
20 our third comrade, IN a strange mix
ture of tongues, upon the resources of
Iceland. and the prospects Of opening
by means of British capital, a flourish
inc ira q in SULPHUR