GLAND AND GOTHLAND 137 



stones, or the stones erected in the public and conse- 

 crated ground of the church ? 



' We travelled towards the coast in company with 

 the owners of the Stora Carlso (Great Charles Island). 

 Contrary winds prolonged our voyage to these islands. 

 The Carlsoer, Great and Little, lie hardly a quarter 

 mile ' [Swedish] ' from each other, and barely half a 

 mile from the land. Both are fairly lofty l and they 

 give in the sea something the aspect that Thorsburg 

 and Hoburg have on terra firma. Those two hills, 

 when Gothland was submerged, must have resembled 

 these two islands. 



c There are several fishermen's houses on the west 

 side of Stora Carlso, and some stone houses ; and not 

 far from these a runic stone whose eastern side bore 

 a Latin inscription with an enigmatical date. The 

 western side of the stone was inscribed in Swedish verse. 

 A good-sized stone house Jay towards the southern ex- 

 tremity of the isle. We unsuccessfully sought a runic 

 stone to tell us something about its former inhabitants. 

 We found many interesting madrepores and corals. We 

 passed the night in a fisherman's hut on this island, 

 for no one else dwells on this or on the lesser Carlso. 

 Sheep feed on the scanty herbage.' 



Linnaeus was greatly interested in Stora Carlso ; he 

 often mentions it in his books and lectures. He speaks 

 of the i stone giants,' or isolated rocks, 20 to 40 feet 



1 Lilla Karlso (Little Charles Island), 214 ft., is the highest hill 

 in this region. 



