THE KING'S MIRROR 135 



water, or not so good. Now we have discussed many 

 and even trifling things, because in that country they 

 are thought marvelous; and I cannot recall anything 

 else in Iceland that is worth mentioning. 



XVI 



THE MARVELS OF THE WATERS ABOUT GREENLAND: 

 MONSTERS, SEALS, AND WALRUSES 



Son. Now that we have entered upon this interesting 

 conversation and have spoken of the marvels that are 

 found in Iceland and the Icelandic seas, let us close it 

 by calling to mind what is worth noting in the waters of 

 Greenland or in the land itself and the wonders that are 

 to be seen there. 



Father. It is reported that the waters about Green- 

 land are infested with monsters, though I do not believe 

 that they have been seen very frequently. Still, people 

 have stories to tell about them, so men must have seen 

 or caught sight of them. It is reported that the monster 

 called merman is found in the seas of Greenland. This 

 monster is tall and of great size and rises straight out of 

 the water. It appears to have shoulders, neck and head, 

 eyes and mouth, and nose and chin like those of a hu- 

 man being; but above the eyes and the eyebrows it looks 

 more like a man with a peaked helmet on his head. It 

 has shoulders like a man's but no hands. Its body ap- 

 parently grows narrower from the shoulders down, so 

 that the lower down it has been observed, the more 

 slender it has seemed to be. But no one has ever seen 

 how the lower end is shaped, whether it terminates in a 

 fin like a fish or is pointed like a pole. The form of this 



