OF THE POLAR SEA. 229 
she was meditating on what was to be done, the 
thought struck her that it would be advisable to 
attach as many pieces of copper to her dress as 
she could, and then proceed into the interior, in 
search of some inhabitants, who, she supposed, 
would give her a favourable reception, on ac- 
count of the valuable treasure she had brought. 
“ It happened that she met her own relations, 
and the young men, elated with the account she 
had given of the hill, made her instantly return 
with them ; which she was enabled to do, having 
taken the precaution of putting up marks to indi- 
cate the path. The party reached the spot in 
safety, but the story had a melancholy catas- 
trophe. These youths, overcome by excess of 
joy, gave loose to their passions, and offered the 
grossest insults to their kind benefactress. She 
powerfully resisted them for some time, and when 
her strength was failing, fled to the point of 
the mountain, as the only place of security. Im- 
mediately she had gained the summit, the earth 
opened, and ingulphed both herself and the moun- 
tain, to the utter dismay of the men, who were 
not more astonished at its sudden disappearance, 
than sorrowful for this just punishment of their 
wickedness. Ever since this event, the copper 
has only been found in small detached pieces on 
the surface of the earth.” 
