The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1910-10-09
and eats IT or drinks IT Hike brute,
The Grent Fricnd.

| stupidity and abomlnably ungrateful
4 are. we to Him. We would see 1t IKE
1 sorrow and shame If we kept parallel
debit and credit accounts In religion
as we do in business What have
| got?" beside what have givenY lin
love. thanks, gratitude, service, money,
or substance) would make any honest
creature blush for himself and marvel
at adore. the divine patience and hdel-
| ity. and sweetness to such ingrates.
| Yet. as the Psalmist says, 1T is
thankful. Most of us feel that We
have not got our just deserts In NE,
and 1t is quite true. What on car,n
| would have become Of us II we hadi
We might ask ourselves that, by way
| OF a salutary exercise In humility ana
-honesty at our harvest festivals!
Christian Unity.
It Is a delightful experience when
one Is far from home--as far as lceland,
| for instance--after a day spent in rid.
Ing fractions pony over the. lava belt
that stretches from Reykjavik, the cap
ftal, to the famous geysers, to como
upon a most extraordinarily pictur-
esaue old church., with deep, slopins
roof and wonderful gargoy1es, set in
hymn pouring out of the windows: "Eln
feste Burg, list unser Gott'; to dis
mount and go inside and find the. cross
on the altar and see all the simple, ru-
u
| the fruits. of the earth to our LORD,
then making their reverence and re-
turning to their seats--old men, leaning
on sticks. with bunch of grapes or
basket of pears; young women and
their children. CARRYING measure or
barley. handful of oats, tightclasped
| In chubby fists; poor old peasant wo-
men, with cabbages and onions and per-
haps1 huge potatoes and apples, to de-
post at the foot Of the cross, and look
ing up to see the grain of the vicinity
| stacked up to the very roof of the
building in the galleries OF the church.
everywhere. They use their churches
both for barns (cattle excluded) and
inns for wayfarers. "A belated or
weary traveller does not hesitate to
light an altar candle to undress by,
eat his supper, say his prayers and lie
down to sleep in the aisle. nor does
ANYBODY. from the Herr Pastor down
IMPROPERLY in his having done so. at
Is the good Fathers house" they say.
The traveller before he fares forth. says
psalm of Thanksgiving and lays what
He then is careful to close the door,
but not to bolt or lock 1t, and takes
his way, This is Gods hospitality" in
Iceland, and is open only to baptized
Christians, upon whose reverence the
community can count.
In times of famine or public distress,
poor haryests, freshets and storms. con-
siderable sums are often given in this
simple II n way, most generously and
that even English and American globe
trotters' abuse the ancient privilege
~ injuring or destroying churcn prop
erty. To know Of such sacrilege would
make them outcasts in the land. Some
times they steal hymnal in the Ice
landic tongue as "a ssouvenfr"-what
VIII not tourists take for souvenirs?
very occasionally they have dared to
take medieval altar cloth. and been
hailed before the judge for blasphemy
and have had hard work to escape
prison for life; But no Icelander any
more dreams of such wickedness than
of robbing the dead.
trunks stay for months in plain view
quite unprotected at the stations ana
hotels there, but no one ever thinks of
opening or rifiing them. or of remov-
Ing them from the open, doorless shed
baggage room. AS people. they hold
thieves In utter contempt. II had felt
a total stranger in Iceland" said !,
friend who made that trip, "till went
! into one of their churches and saw the
cross. when I suddenly felt quite ono
with the kindly, humble folk around
me. and how they smiled and nodded
just as If they understood how I felt
MY heart quite warmed to them"
The Geyscrs.
rms reminds me or her visit to the
amusing. but came very near being
fatal. The men OF the party started
off shooting with the guides at once,
being keen" for ptarmigan and solau
geese. The remaining guide pitched
the tents and began to unpack the kit
and cook meal, while the only other
lady in the party elected to lie down.
My friend started off to have look at
the geysers close by. The biggest was
In full play, and was magnificent.
There were dozens OF others. Now in
and very small pool close to the shore
looked like a most tempting private I
tub. So my friend ran back to her
tent, got into her bathing suit, ran 1
back and popped delightedly into the
She had just begun to enjoy herself
when she heard loud shouts from the
guide and saw him waving his arms
frantically and running toward her |
20. Alice must be. III, she thought. |
and she made for land as quickly as
possible, thinking she was needed. The |
next second up. shot the innocent look /
ing, quiet geyser $50 feet in the air.
The Fish Harvest.
The Icelandic harvest Is not all |
drawn from the land. The sea fur
nishes the greater share of it. The
entire population turns out when the
fishing fleet is sighted. and excite
ment runs high over the safe return
of dear ones. the catch. the immediate
rush to preserve whatever the storms
rocks, have enabled brave men toll
bring home safely. For many weeks
the coast towns and hamlets reek of /
fish. Everything with everybody is the /
fish. You taste. smell, touch. see and
hear of naught else and to expect or
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