MR. WILTON.  “The present houses of the Icelanders differ little from those used by their ancestors, who first colonized the island, and are, no doubt, the best fitted for the climate.  They are only one story high; the stone walls have all the interstices stuffed with moss, and are about six feet in thickness.  In the better sort of houses, the windows are glazed, in the others, secured by a thin skin stretched over the frames.  They have no chimney or grates; the smoke escapes through a hole in the roof.  The beds are merely open frames filled with feathers or down, over which they throw their blankets, and cover themselves with a counterpane of divers colors.  Their seats are, in general, the bones of a whale or a horse’s skull.  But much is said and done in these rude huts which would astonish you.”

EMMA.  “Are the Icelanders civilized people:  I mean, at all refined?”

MRS. WILTON.  “Every Icelander knows how to read, write, and calculate, which is more than we can say of the English.  They are a grave, honest, benevolent people, but not remarkable for their industry.  Their favorite amusements, when assembled together, consist in reading history or poetry, in singing, or playing at chess, in which game they take great delight, priding themselves on their skill.  They are refined enough to admire poetry and music:  I think I need say no more.  We will now visit Spitzbergen.”

EMMA.  “Spitzbergen is a group of three large islands, and a number of lesser ones near the North Pole.  The mountains crowned with perpetual snow, and flanked with glaciers, reflect to a considerable distance a light equal to that of a full moon.  The Icy Sea washes its shores, and abounds with whales, who love to roll their enormous bodies among the marine forests of the sea.  In the vicinity is found the polar bear, which pursues everything animated with life, devours every animal he encounters, and then, roaring with delight, seats himself enthroned on the victorious trophy of mutilated carcasses and bones.”

CHARLES.  “The only tree growing in Spitzbergen is the dwarf willow, which rises to the vast height of two inches! towering with great pride above the mosses, lichens, and a few other cumbent plants.”

GEORGE.  “What a ridiculous little shrub!  We might just as well dignify mustard and cress with the title of trees.  To whom does this very fertile island belong?”

MRS. WILTON.  “To the Russians; and it certainly is not an enviable possession, for the climate is most wretched.  From the 30th of October, until the 10th of February, the sun is invisible; it is as one long dreary night, and bitterly cold.  The inhabitants sit by dull fires during this season, immersed in furs, and endeavor to doze through the tedious gloom.  They are chiefly of Russian extraction, and many of them natives of Archangel.”

MR. WILTON.  “Other animals are found in these regions besides the bear and whale:  for we read of foxes, reindeer, walruses, and seals being occasionally caught by the people; and many islands about here (for the Frozen Sea is full of islands, principally composed of turf hills,) are the dreary abodes of bears and reindeer.”