The light, to all appearance,
seems reflected from the rock, but is really owing to atmospheric causes.
* * * * *
From the Geysirs, Madame Pfeiffer proceeded towards Hekla; and at the
village of Thorfustadir, on the route, had an opportunity of seeing an
Icelandic funeral. On entering the church she found the mourners
consoling themselves with a dram of brandy. On the arrival of the
priest, a psalm or prayer was screamed, under his direction, by a chosen
number of the congregation; each shouting his loudest, until he was
completely out of breath. The priest, standing by the coffin, which, for
lack of better accommodation, was resting on one of the seats, read in a
loud voice a prayer of more than half an hour's duration. The body was
then borne to the grave, which was one of remarkable depth; and the
coffin being duly lowered, the priest threw earth upon it thrice, thus
terminating the ceremony.
At the little village of Skalholt, where the first Icelandic bishopric
was established in 1095, Madame Pfeiffer was invited to visit the church,
and inspect its treasures. She was shown the grave of the first bishop,
Thorlakur, whose memory is cherished as that of a saint; an old
embroidered robe, and a plain gold chalice, both of which probably
belonged to him; and, in an antique chest, some dusty books in the
Iceland dialect, besides three ponderous folios in German, containing the
letters, epistles, and treatises of Martin Luther.
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