Lögberg-Heimskringla - 01.02.2012, Qupperneq 9

Visit us on the web at http://www.lh-inc.ca
Lögberg-Heimskringla • 1. febrúar 2012 • 9
tell us that the lady is Jemima
Wedderburn Blackburn (1823–
1909) a Scottish painter who
was one of the most popular
illustrators in Victorian Britain.
She illustrated 27 books. She
provides the illustrations for
Trollope’s book, How The
‘Mastiffs’ Went to Iceland.
The party’s two Nautical
Advisors are Admiral Ryder
and Admiral Farquhar. These
are not honourary titles. Ryder
is Sir Phillips Ryder, Admiral of
the Fleet. Farquhar is a Scottish
rear-admiral. One guest is
simply described as Mr. Albert
Grey. He is Earl Grey, the son
of a former prime minister
of England and a member of
Parliament.
Besides Jemima, there
are three other women, Miss
Campbell, Miss Stuart and
Miss Reddie along to keep Mrs.
Burns company. These are no
helpless, shrinking Victorian
violets. They’re horsewomen
and manage to outride all but
the Icelandic guide.
Trollope at Reykjavík,
1878
The Mastiff arrives in
Reykjavík early in the morning.
After bathing in the ocean, the
travellers go ashore.
They first visit Governor
Finsen, the Governor-General
of Iceland. Trollope comments
on how kindly the sixteen
unexpected guests were
received. The Governor also
provides them with all the
information required for finding
a guide and horses for their ride
to the Geysers.
From there, they go to the
Sheriff’s, then to the Bishop’s.
The bishop is considered
Iceland’s greatest theological
writer since Guðbrandur
Þorláksson, the first translator
of the Bible into Icelandic.
He served as a member of the
Icelandic Alþingi, or parliament,
from 1849 until 1886, for the
last eleven years as speaker of
the upper house.
There, they meet Thora,
the Bishop’s daughter. She is
so beautiful, so charming, so
vivacious, that she is repeatedly
mentioned in Trollope’s account
of their stay in Reykjavík. He
even suggests, teasingly, that
one of the male members of the
English party has fallen in love
with Thora and might return to
Iceland to court and marry her.
He says, “But at
the Bishop’s we became
acquainted with Thora, the
Bishop’s daughter. Thora,
before we left, had become
to all of us the heroine of
Reykjavík. Even Wilson, the
unhappy one, was softened
altogether by the charm and
wit of Thora, and became
quite devoted and almost gay
in her presence.” A book about
Thora has recently been released
in Iceland. Unfortunately, it is
only in Icelandic.
After these formal visits to
the dignitaries of Reykjavík,
they roam about town like
typical tourists of today. They
buy silver ornaments, silvered
belts and filigree work as
souvenirs. They also buy leather
whips and satchels.
Fish, he notices, is spread
out on every available piece of
ground, that bread is rare and that
the mutton (he was told) is good.
What is more interesting is
that he says, “I do not think that
any one of our party ate a morsel
of Icelandic food during our
sojourn beyond curds, cream,
and milk, – unless it might be
a biscuit taken with a glass of
wine. Our provisions had all
been brought from Scotland,
and from our ship’s stores we
carried with us up to the Geysers
what was needed.” They ate no
Icelandic lamb,
no fish.
What he
praises is the
education of the
people. However,
he does not know
that from his
own experience.
He quotes from
Sir George
MacKenzie who
published a book
about Iceland
in 1811, sixty-
seven years
before.
“The amount
of reading which
certainly does
prevail through-
out Iceland is
marvellous. There
is hardly in the is-
land what can be
called an upper
class. There is no
rich body, as there is with us, for
whose special advantage luxu-
rious schools and aristocratic
universities can be maintained.
But there is a thoroughly good
college at Reykjavik, with a rec-
tor and professors, at which a
sound classical education is giv-
en; and there are now also minor
schools….There are five news-
papers published in the island,
two of them at Reykjavik.”
He’s surprised that there
is no bank. The result is that
most commerce is based on the
barter of goods. “The imports
and exports are considerable,
fish, oil, skins, tallow, and wool
being sent away in exchange
for timber, wood, tea, sugar,
and all those thousand little
articles of comfort which a
civilized community uses every
day almost without knowing it.
But nothing can be imported
or exported without payment
being rendered in the old world
fashion of barter.”
In a walk he took by himself
around “the back of the town,
where lies a little lake with
marshy land around it, I found a
number of women and children
turning the peat for drying, or
sending away in baskets on
their ponies that which was fit,
carrying on their operations
very much as they do in Ireland.
Fuel to them is a matter of great
solicitude. During eight months
of the year artificial warmth is
necessary; and not only have
they no coals, but neither have
they wood. Coal imported
from Scotland may be bought
at Reykjavik; but as there is no
carriage for anything through
the country except on the backs
of ponies, very little coal can
ever be seen beyond the limits
of the town.”
The Mastiffs are typical
well-to-do tourists. Their
accommodation is on the ship.
They buy what souvenirs they
can find. In Iceland, in 1878, the
emigration to North America
is well underway. Hunger is
widespread, there’s been a major
volcanic eruption, economic
and social conditions are driving
away what will eventually be
twenty percent of Iceland’s
population. There is no mention
of any of it. There’s not even any
awareness revealed.
It is, perhaps, instructive
that Trollope made his walk
around the back of the town by
himself. Perhaps a writer, even
one who has made himself a
place among the wealthy and
the prominent, has a wider
interest in the world than his
wealthy, privileged friends.
(Quotes from How the
‘Mastiffs’ Went to Iceland)
Garlic salt
Kosher salt
Dill
Milk
All-purpose flour
Yukon Gold-Encrusted Canadian Lake Whitefish
Prepare basic egg wash and put aside. Mix 3 parts thawed hash browns with 1
part panko. Season breading to taste with garlic salt, Kosher salt and dry dill.
Dredge fillet in flour. Submerge in egg wash and transfer to hash brown
breading, making sure to cover all sides. Let fillet sit in breading for 30 seconds
while gently patting breading on to fillet.
Remove fillet from breading and place in fryer basket. Fry at 350°F until entire
fillet is floating. Serve with steamed asparagus and hollandaise sauce. Garnish
plate with extra hash browns and lemon crown.
For added appeal, roll fillet lengthwise and secure with skewer before frying.
Serves 1
8-10 oz Freshwater Fish Canadian
lake whitefish fillet, skin off
Yukon Gold hash browns
Panko (Japanese Bread Crumbs)
1 egg
For this and other great recipes visit freshwaterfish.com
Given there were no rental companies, and no bus tours, the
1878 visitors toured Iceland was by horseback.
Sketch by Jemima Wedderburn Blackburn (1823–1909)Biskop Pjetur Pjetursson, theologian
and father of a beautiful daughter
PHoto courtesy oF timariit.is