THE KING'S MIRROR 149 



You asked whether the sun shines in Greenland and 

 whether there ever happens to be fair weather there as 

 in other countries; and you shall know of a truth that 

 the land has beautiful sunshine and is said to have a 

 rather pleasant climate. The sun's course varies greatly, 

 however; when winter is on, the night is almost contin- 

 uous; but when it is summer, there is almost constant 

 day. When the sun rises highest, it has abundant power 

 to shine and give light, but very little to give warmth 

 and heat; still, it has sufficient strength, where the 

 ground is free from ice, to warm the soil so that the 

 earth yields good and fragrant grass. Consequently, 

 ^people may easily till the land where the frost leaves, 

 but that is a very small part. J 



But as to that matter which you have often inquired 

 about, what those lights can be which the Greenlanders 

 call the northern lights, I have no clear knowledge. I 

 have often met men who have spent a long time in 

 Greenland, but they do not seem to know definitely 

 what those lights are. However, it is true of that subject 

 as of many others of which we have no sure knowledge, 

 that thoughtful men will form opinions and conjec- 

 tures about it and will make such guesses as seem rea- 

 sonable and likely to be true. But these northern lights 

 have this peculiar nature, that the darker the night is, 

 the brighter they seem; and they always appear at 

 night but never by day, most frequently in the dens- 

 est darkness and rarely by moonlight. In appearance 

 they resemble a vast flame of fire viewed from a great 

 distance. It also looks as if sharp points were shot from 

 this flame up into the sky; these are of uneven height 



