The railway from Prague to Vienna goes over Olmutz, and makes such a
considerable round, that the distance is now nearly 320 miles, and
the arrangements on the railway are very imperfect.
There were no hotels erected on the road, and we had to be content
with fruit, beer, bread, and butter, &c. the whole time. And these
provisions were not easily obtained, as we could not venture to
leave the carriages. The conductor called out at every station that
we should go on directly, although the train frequently stood
upwards of half an hour; but as we did not know that before, we were
obliged to remain on our seats. The conductors were not of the most
amiable character, which may perhaps be ascribed to the climate; for
when we approached the boundary of the Austrian states at
Peterswalde, the inspector received us very gruffly. We wished him
good evening twice, but he took no notice of it, and demanded our
papers in a loud and peremptory tone; he probably thought us as deaf
as we thought him. At Ganserndorf, twenty-five miles from Vienna,
they took our papers from us in a very uncivil, uncourteous manner.
On the 4th of October, 1845, after an absence of six months, I
arrived again in sight of the dear Stephen's steeple, as most of my
countrywomen would say.
I had suffered many hardships; but my love of travelling would not
have been abated, nor would my courage have failed me, had they been
ten times greater. I had been amply compensated for all. I had
seen things which never occur in our common life, and had met with
people as they are rarely met with - in their natural state. And I
brought back with me the recollections of my travels, which will
always remain, and which will afford me renewed pleasure for years.
And now I take leave of my dear readers, requesting them to accept
with indulgence my descriptions, which are always true, though they
may not be amusing. If I have, as I can scarcely hope, afforded
them some amusement, I trust they will in return grant me a small
corner in their memories.
In conclusion, I beg to add an Appendix, which may not be
uninteresting to many of my readers, namely:
1. A document which I procured in Reikjavik, giving the salaries of
the royal Danish officials, and the sources from whence they are
paid.
2. A list of Icelandic insects, butterflies, flowers, and plants,
which I collected and brought home with me.
APPENDIX A
Salaries of the Royal Danish Officials in Iceland, which they
receive from the Icelandic land-revenues.
Florins {58}
The Governor of Iceland 2000
Office expenses 600
The deputy for the western district 1586
Office expenses 400
Rent 200
The deputy for the northern and eastern districts 1286
Office expenses 400
The bishop of Iceland, who draws his salary from
the school-revenues, has paid him from this
treasury 800
The members of the Supreme Court:
One judge 1184
First assessor 890
Second assessor 740
The land-bailiff of Iceland 600
Office expenses 200
Rent 150
The town-bailiff of Reikjavik 300
The first police-officer of Reikjavik, who is
at the same time gaoler, and therefore
has 50 fl.
