EDMONDO DE AMICIS 3 1 



The Terrible ^o -<:> -;:n, ^;:^ 

 (From A Description of Spaiu ; trans.) 



TTHE ocean encircles the ultimate bounds of the 

 inhabited earth, and all beyond it is unknown. 

 No one has been able to verify anything concern- 

 ing it, on account of its difficult and perilous navi- 

 gation, its great obscurity, its profound depth, and 

 frequent tempests, through fear of its mighty fishes, 

 its haughty winds ; yet there are many islands in 

 it, some peopled, others not. There is no mariner 

 that dares enter on its deep waters, or those who 

 have done so have merely kept along its coasts, 

 fearful of departing from them. The waves of this 

 ocean, though they roll as high as mountains, yet 

 maintain themselves unbroken, for if they broke, 

 then no ship could plough them. 



Edrisi. 



The Inert ■<;> n:^ ^;:^ -"Oy 

 (From SuirOccano) 



T L mare si mostrava quella mattina in uno de 

 suoi aspctti piii brutti e piii odiosi : immobile 

 sotto una volta bassa di nuvole gonfie e inerti, di 

 colore giallo sporco, d'un'apparenza viscida, come 

 se fosse tutta una bellctta di terra grassa, in cui uii 

 rampone da pcsca avcssc a rimancre confilto come 



