The New York herald., 1874-08-27
picturesque Ieslsualo eossams. walssd before the
,rxvro 1cxL ArpIo FLOWERS.

King
srnswrso IcELANDIc FLOWERS
His Majesty did not look very much hke Q con-
quering hero as he came In astride OF his little
black pony. and a. the pony had probably never
heard cheer before In all his life, was disposed to
rat rid of the business rider and all; but the King
IA An excellent horseman, and BY kindly patttng
his neck and by the use OF some loeandic words,
ne snoceeded in doing what was never done be.
fore overcoming the obstinacy OF an Icelandic
pony: and he rode on through the lines bowling to
risht ana LETT without any trouble or disturbance.
The whole camp was the scene OF intense excite
menr. song OF welcome was sung. The girls
smiled their pretttest; snout alter shout followed
the King to his tent and In the bright, warm.
pleasant sunshine, old Thingvalla was once more
the scene OF happiness and hilarity.
The preparations went on through the night.
hugo tent was put up near the river, and near py,
ON q little green hillook was erected q speakers
stand, which. itself gayly bedecked with nags was
Aanked by the ensigns OF Denmark, Norway, Swe-
den Great Britain. the United States France, Ger.
many and Belgium. The tent was for the King to
breakfast In, and to the breakfast your corre-
Bpondent, with his companions OF the Albion, was
invited. The speakers stand was for those who
were of1cialy appointed to represent anything or
anybody, and to speak in It's behalf
The King appeared upon the ground at ten
O'Clock, accompanied by his son, Prince Walde-
mar, and staff, dressed in the same plain naval
uniform In which he had landed at Relktavik NO
one who witnessed his reception by these plain
Iceandic farmers aud fisherman, who are not
much gwen to cheering, could for moment
doubt that Christian TX. has thoroughly
won the hearts OF the lcelanders Cheer
after cheer greeted him. Men whom I
saw at Reikiavik, simply gaping (but in wonder
and sstonishmenr, now waved their caps and
shouted Justify. they made the wekin fairly ring
again. was delighted with their enthusiasm, and
Joined in the hilarious shouting Then somebody
made speech to the King, and he answered 1t in
that Tree and easy way OF his that is 80 winning
with the people. The speech made to the King
was mere matter OF words but the Kings reply
was good and to the point, ana made great i'm
preston.
THB KINGS ADDRESS.
mo one," he said, ''ever doubted the thorough
loyalty Of Iceland. he was thankful for the cor
dial greeting he had met with since he had nrst
landed. He was proud TO be the nrst Of the
Danish kings who had visited the island, and he
hoped that the new constitution which he HAD
brought with him would promote the prosperity Of
the country and more strongly than ever cement
the bond which unites Iceland with Denmark"
must say Tor His Majesty the King that he is
capital speaker. His voice Is good and his man.
ner hearty and pleasing, and wlthal. as have
II
and the ather Of the future King Of Denmark, tho
present King OF Greece, the sonnet time to be Queen
Consort Of England and the Czarina Of Russia, he
does not look forty-fve.
Imagine q man accustomed to all the formalities
Of courts used to run in the rur Of court etiquette
here In desert playing kingl Why, he was
real king. every inch or him, and that simply
because he did what man should do-took In at
glance the situation and enjoyed himself O, any
other man would do who found himself IN new
and strange relations with people who were for
the time about him.
After the King had spoken his neat little speech
the crowd moved over to the green little hillock,
and but for the skilful management of Mr.. Mag.
Dusson I think even this celebration IN q desert
would have been bungle. The addresses were
all delivered, including that Of your correspond
ent, to the presiding ofncers in due form, and the
President took them, and that is pretty much all
he did. This part OF the performance was rather
dull and uninteresting, and I am very sure the
KING was glad when 1t was all over and the order
was for breakfast Here. as usual he carried on
the honors. Fulsome speeches were made and oil
manner Of coasts were drunk, but the King kept
his countenance and responded like man to
everybody, having always the right word to say
and at hand the right thing to do. His toast to
Iceland and Its future prosperity was superbly
done. Its delicacy was not fully appreciated: but
although the people did not get the kernel they
seized the shell. and he left them with the un'
doubted feeling that he was their friend.
The event OF the morning was the song Of
Matthias Jochumsson, which was sung before
the King, ana which was his welcome to Thing
vaua. About twenty manly voices sang 1t, and
shall not forget the music OF those voices nor
their echo from the quiet cliffs OF the Almana gja.
No translation could possibly equal the original
The liquid tones Of the Icelandic tongue cannot
be reproduced in the harsher English, but as
nearly as Is possible to do 1t believe 1t has been
done BY Bayard Taylor, to whom I am indebted
for an English rendering, made while we sat to-
gether round the cabin table. give it here be-
cause, more than anything else that has been
written 1t reveals the spirit OF this milennial cele
brauon. It breathes, indeed, the very air Of the
old Icelandic logic and the heavier age Of Morse
history.
The Kings Welcome to Thingvalla.
ry1ox THE IcxLAxD1c OF MATTHIAS JocHUxssoN,
with strong foot tTn tread iheqs the holy ground.
Our snowland's king, the lofty hearted.
TG% s sy y:y GUARD s.
Ts S ss o pnss rS S s% sHd hh hs ssn cent
HALL welcome to codntry's heart
Lands father here the Law Mount viewl
S@Ssss @ ;ss,ss @ mn s!s.aens %s
Here Hsrs ef Of G
God built this altar for His 6ock
Here as in thousand years of old
Sound the same words, voice uncnded,
As when their llfe and law defended,
Tho spearmen with their shields OF gold,
The same land, yet the same speech giveth,
The ancient soul of freedom live.h,
And hither, King. we welcome thcei
~ now are passed q thousand years,
As In the peoples memory boarded,
And Gods volume stand recorded
Their strife and trial, woes and tears;
Now let the hope OF later ages
Be what thy presence, King, presageS-
Now let the prosperous time be sure
Our land TO thee her thanks shall YIELD
A thousand years thy name be chanIed,
Here where the hill OF law Is planted
Twixt fiery fount and lava field;
We pray All.tathcr, our Dependence
To bless them and thy far descendants
And those they rule, \ thousand ycarsi
After this let no one say that the Morse people,
only now in their purity represented in Iceland,
haxa lost ANYTHING ihnt noetlc fra which mazda