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130 NOTICES OF BOOKS.
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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» 'The Story Of Burnt Njal. Translated F...
perish , and not eat horseflesh . It shall be outlawry if such things are d against man ; but if these things are done by
proveany stealth , then it shall "be blameless . ' But all this heathendom was done away with within a few years' space , so that those things were
not allowed to be done either by stealth or openly . Thorgeir then uttered the law as to keeping * the Lord ' s-day and fast days , Yule-tide
and Easter , and all the greatest high days and holidays . The heathen men thought they had been greatly cheatedbut still the
true faith was brought into the land , and so all , men became Christian . " Little mention , however , is made of the progress of
the doctrines of Christianity , or in allusion to its outward symbols , when compared with the minuteness of all secular details whether
social , domestic , or political ; but it is interesting to observe the spirit of the system at work in such characters as those of Njal ,
Hauskuldand Hallwhose forbearance and gentleness in such a revengeful , age form , a bright contrast to the bloodthirsty groups
around them ; for the pure doctrines of Christianity were possessed by fewwhilst the multitude blended in their belief the wildest
, superstitions of both faiths : but this is not surprising , for it was written at a time when the struggle between light and darkness was
still raging with doubtful issue in the North . One peculiar feature in this remarkable book is the vividness with which each character
is drawn and the way in which the individuality of each is maintained—no mere work of fiction could bring out every touch so
sharply , and enable us to detect the name of the speaker before his sentence is complete * For matchless beauty of person and
depravity of nature , we inay seek in vain for a woman to be compared with Hallgerdawhowithout a shadow of compunctionwas the
? abettor and insti , gator , of so many crimes , that one can only , look upon her as an impersonation of evil—a spirit of darkness clothed in light .
We might also call particular attention to the manly Gunnar , the gentle and loving Bergthora , and the slanderous Mord , as among
the more prominent of the numerous characters brought before our notice .
In recommending " The Story of Burnt Njal" to the reading publicwe conceive that only one class of persons will be dissatisfied .
We allude , to the mere leasure-seekerswho read for amusement onlyand serve for nothing p but the unravelling , of a clever and
intricate , lot . Thosehoweverwho desire instruction will find a few hours well p spent in tlie , perusal , of this book , conveying as it does in
a portable and attractive form more information on the physical features of Iceland and the life of the Icelander in the eleventh
century than can be obtained elsewhere . Much assistance also is rendered by the neatly-executed maps and plans interspersed in the
two volumes , which will bear careful study . The judicial system of the Icelanderstooas lained in these volumesis deeply
interesting . That system , , appears exp to have attained to , a high degree of
excellence and to have had an amazing influence over the minds of
130 Notices Of Books.
130 NOTICES OF BOOKS .
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Citation
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English Woman’s Journal (1858-1864), Oct. 1, 1861, page 130, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ewj/issues/ewj_01101861/page/58/
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