MIDDALR. 
109 
cold. As an article of food it is commonly 
eaten, dressed in the above-mentioned way, and 
considered both very wholesome and nourishing; 
nor does it by any means possess that purgative 
quality, which Jannaeus and others have attri¬ 
buted to it; but which may exist in the bitter 
that has been previously extracted by the steep¬ 
ing in water. I do not think its medicinal virtues, 
in pulmonary complaints, for which it is so highly 
valued in other countries, are at all generally 
known to the Icelanders, many of whom ex¬ 
pressed great surprise when I told them of it. 
The good old priest, after having presented his 
Iceland-moss, requested some medical advice, 
supposing from my fondness for plants that I 
must be a physician. In this I was sorry to be 
obliged to undeceive him, and, indeed, I could 
only do it with great difficulty. He wished 
me much to examine his hip, which had been 
some years ago dislocated, and had healed very 
awkwardly for want of surgical assistance. A 
wound, which he received at the same period, 
had ulcerated, and he had been able to procure 
no application since that time twelvemonth, 
when, as he said, a gentleman, with a star upon 
his breast, gave him a plaister. He was travel¬ 
ling to the Geysers, but who he was he could 
not tell. When I at length assured him that it 
was not in my power to render him any service. 
