As I Said Before, I Had Intercourse With Very Few People, So That
Ample Time Remained For Solitary Walks, During Which I Minutely
Noticed Every Thing Around Me.
The little town of Reikjavik consists of a single broad street, with
houses and cottages scattered around.
The number of inhabitants
does not amount to 500.
The houses of the wealthier inhabitants are of wood-work, and
contain merely a ground-floor, with the exception of a single
building of one story, to which the high school, now held at
Bassastadt, will be transferred next year. The house of the
"Stiftsamtmann" is built of stone. It was originally intended for a
prison; but as criminals are rarely to be met with in Iceland, the
building was many years ago transformed into the residence of the
royal officer. A second stone building, discernible from Reikjavik,
is situated at Langarnes, half a mile from the town. It lies near
the sea, in the midst of meadows, and is the residence of the
bishop.
The church is capable of holding only at the most from 100 to 150
persons; it is built of stone, with a wooden roof. In the chambers
of this roof the library, consisting of several thousand volumes, is
deposited. The church contains a treasure which many a larger and
costlier edifice might envy, - a baptismal font by Thorwaldsen, whose
parents were of Icelandic extraction. The great sculptor himself
was born in Denmark, and probably wished, by this present, to do
honour to the birth-place of his ancestors.
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