THE KING'S MIRROR 105 



forest which is heavily wooded with young trees of all 

 sorts; and these are not injured so long as they are green 

 and growing, but as soon as one is hewn down and, hav- 

 ing begun to decay, is thrown into the bog, it turns into 

 stone. ^ ^i a f ^/ Lj A^vwfc^W 



X 



THE NATURAL WONDERS OF IRELAND 



Son. I am familiar with all these things since they 

 are found in our own country, and I have seen them all. 

 But I have no knowledge of all those other marvels 

 which are to be found in Iceland, Greenland, and Ire- 

 land, and in the seas about those lands, for of those 

 things I have heard rumors only. 



Father. Those lands, if we are to speak more fully 

 about them, differ much in character and are not all of 

 the same appearance. For the wonders of Iceland and 

 Greenland consist in great frost and boundless ice, or 

 in unusual display of flame and fire, or in large fishes 

 and other sea monsters. And these countries are every- 

 where barren and unfruitful and consequently almost 

 unfit for habitation /But Ireland comes near being the > 

 best land that is known to man, though the grape vine V f 



~i \ '*-X^^ 



does not grow there.'lyAnd there are many marvels in^ 



r 



(Jreland, some of which are of such a character that this 



country may be called holier than all others. 7 



The country lies on that side of the world where heat 

 and cold are so well tempered that the weather is never 

 very hot or very cold. For all through the winter the 

 cattle find their feed in the open, and the inhabitants 



* Cf. Giraldus Cambrensis, Opera, V, 26-28. Giraldus quotes Bede (Historia 

 Ecclesiastica, i, c. 1). See also Isidore, Etymologiae, xiv, 6. 



