THE EARTH. 197 



From divers also we learn that the sea, in many places, is fili- 

 ed w-ith rocks at bottom ; and that among their clefts, and upon 

 their sides, various substances sprout forward, which are eithej 

 really vegetables, or the nests of insects, increased to some mag 

 nilude. Some of these assume 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 fiom 

 the bottom of the deep, the famous Nicola Pesce, whose per 

 formances are told us by Kircher, is the most celebrated, j 

 will not so much as pretend to vouch for the veracity of Kir- 

 cher'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 

 " III the times of Frederic, king of Sicily, there lived a cele- 

 brated diver, whose name was Nicholas, 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 oysters ; which he sold to the villagers on shore. His 

 long acquaintance with the sea, at last brought it to be almost 

 his natural element. He frequently was known to spend five 

 days in the midst of the waves, without any other provisions 

 than the fish which he caught there, and ate raw. He often 

 swam over from Sicily to Calabria, a tempestuous and dangerous 

 passage, carrying letters from the king. He was frequently 

 known to swim among the gulfs of the Lipari islands, no way ap- 

 prehensive of danger. 



" Some mariners out at sea, one day observed something at 

 some distance iiom them which they regarded as a sea monster ; 

 but, upon its approach, it was known to be Nicholas, whom 

 they took into their ship. When they asked him whither he 

 was going in so stormy and rough a sea, and at such a distanee 

 from land, he showed them a packet of letters, which he was 

 cai'iying to one of the towns of Italy exactly done up in a leather 

 bag, in such a manner as that they could not be wetted by the 

 sciu He kept them thus company for some time on their voy- 

 age, conversing and asking questions ; and after eating a hearty 

 meal with them, he took his leave, and jumping into the sea, 

 pursued his voyage alone. 



" In order to aid these powers of enduring in the deep, natme 



