BOILING SPRINGS. HECLA. 



'ISgnifies a whirlwind, and wattanwirfel a whirlpool *. Among the many fprings 

 jsear Skallholt, which are called quallen, two are very particular : one is on the 

 weft fide, the other on the eaft fide : the Icelander's boil their milk, and drefs their 

 meat, by their afliftance ; and they ufe them alfo for wafhing and fulling. They 

 even calcine with them the dry bones of oxen or fheep. 



The burning fountains have been taken notice of (p. 146.) by the author of the 

 Speculum Regale. 



The fame author contends flrongly, that Hecla ought to have the honor of 

 being the feat of the damned, in oppofition to Mtna ; which he clearly proves by 

 thefe arguments : ' De flammis /Etnais fama percepi quod ad/nodum furent ■ 

 ' has vero et lignum comburunt et te?ram. Jam in Dialogo fan£i:i Gregorii 

 ' perhibetur in Sicilia, igneque ibidem ardente, pcenarum locum effe ; in ignc 



* vero, qui in Islandia flagrat, multo majore verifimilitudine concludi pofTe reor 

 ' certum pcenarum locum efle. Ignis enim Sicilij^, cum terram etligna confu- 



* mat, vivas res fibi in alimentum convertit : lignum quippe vitam habet, utpote 

 ' quod crefcat, virentiaque folia emittat ; ac tandem mori incipiens, flaccefcat 

 ' et arefcat : quamdiu autem viret, vivum dici meretur; et ubi flaccefcit, in extremis 

 ' agere. Vitam autem terras non de nihilo tribues, cum infignem fruifluum co- 



* piam proferat, quibus decidentibus et putrefacStis, novos iterum fru£tus produ- 



* cit ; neque minus eapropter vivere dicenda eft, quod ex ipfa faflix fint omnes 



* creaturas corporese. Horum utrumque, lignum nempe et terram, ignis Sicilia 



* comburit, iifque alitur. Ignis autem Islandije ligna terramve, quamvis 



* in eum conjiciantur, non comburit; lapides autem et duriffima faxa, ut fuum 



* alimentum, confumit, iifque nutritur non fecus ac ignis communis aridis lignis. 

 « Nee tam dura cautes aut lapis invenitur, quin ceras ad inftar liquefcant, ac 

 « deinde, pinguis olei more, flammam concipiant ; ligna vero inje£la didlus ignis 



* exterius tantum adurit, penitus nunquam confumit. Icclrco quoniam bic ignts 



* inammatis folum creatiirh, cujufmodi lapides et faxa effe novimus, amat accendi, 



* et rebus, quae a communi igne folent conlumi, nutriri recufat, mortuus jure 

 « dici meretur ; ideoque de ipfo, potius quam aliis, verifimiliter concluditur, quoJ 

 « fit ignis infernalis, cum mortuse fint omnes res quas infernus habet.' 



There is at prefent a revival of the cod fifhery on the coaft of Iceland, from 

 cur kingdom. About a dozen veffels have of late failed from the ifle of Thanet, 

 and a few from other parts of Great Britain. They are either floops or brigs, 

 from fifty to eighty tons burden. A lugfail boat, fuch as is ufed in the herring 

 fifliery, failed laft feafon from Yarmouth, thus equipped : The crew confifted of 

 fvve men from the town, and five more were taken in at the Orknies. They had 



* Ihre Clojf. Siieogotb. 395. 



X) 2 twelve 



19 



