THE EARTH. 251 



though he seldom descended above three or four 

 fathoms, yet he found it so much colder than near 

 the top, that he could not well endure it; and 

 that being let down in a great diving-bell, al- 

 though the water could not immediately touch 

 him, he found the air extremely cold upon his 

 first arrival at the bottom. 



From divers also we learn, that the sea in 

 many places is filled with rocks at bottom : and 

 that among their clifls, and. upon their sides, 

 various substances sprout forward, which are 

 either really vegetables, or the nests of insects, 

 increased to some magnitude. Some of these as- 

 sume the shape of beautiful flowers ; and though 

 soft when taken up, soon harden, and are kept 

 in the cabinets of the curious. 



But of all those divers who have brought us 

 information from the bottom of the deep, the 

 famous Nicola Pesce, whose performances are 

 told us by Kircher, is the most celebrated. I 

 will not so much as pretend to vouch for the 

 veracity of Kircher's account, which he assures 

 us he had from the archives of the kings of 

 Sicily; but it may serve to enliven a heavy 

 chapter. "In the times of Frederic, king of 

 Sicily, there li ved a celebrated diver, whose name 

 was Nicolas, and who, from his amazing skill in 

 swimming, and his perseverance under water, 

 was surnamed the Fish. This man had, from his 

 infancy, been used to the sea; and earned his 

 scanty subsistence by diving for corals and oys- 

 ters, which he sold in the villages on shore. His 

 long acquaintance with the sea, at last brought it 



