Their
Sweet Water For Drinking Is Conveyed In A Subterraneous Canal Of Masonry,
Into A Great Copper Reservoir In The
Middle of the court of the convent;
and this reservoir being contained within a larger bason supplied from the
boiling,
Spring, is continually kept of a proper temperature, and prevented
from freezing. This they use in the preparation of their victuals, for
drinking, and for watering their gardens. Thus they derive much convenience
and comfort from the adjoining volcano, and these good friars make it their
chief study to keep their gardens in order, and to erect commodious and
even elegant buildings. For this latter purpose they are in no want of good
workmen and ingenious artizans, as they give good wages, so that there is a
great resort of workmen and artizans of every denomination; they are
likewise very bountiful to those who carry them fruits, and seeds, and
other articles; and as great profits are to be made, and provisions are
very cheap, there is a great resort of workmen and artists of every
denomination, and of traders to this place. Most of these monks speak
Latin, particularly the superiors and principals of the monastery.
This is all that is known of Engroveland or Greenland, from the relation
of Nicolo Zeno, who gives likewise a particular description of a river that
he discovered, as is to be seen in the map which I, Antonio Zeno, have
drawn of all these countries. Not being able to bear the cold of these
northern and inhospitable regions, Nicolo Zeno fell sick, and soon
afterwards returned to Frisland, where he died. He left two sons behind
him, John and Thomas; the latter of whom had likewise two sons, Nicolo, the
father of the celebrated Cardinal Zeno, and Peter, from whom was descended
the rest of the Zenos who are now living. After the death of Nicolo, his
fortune, honours, and dignity, devolved upon his brother Antonio; and,
though he made great supplications and entreaties for the purpose, he was
not permitted to return to his native country; as Zichmni, who was a man of
a high spirit and great valour, had resolved to make himself master of the
sea, and for this purpose made use of the talents and advice of Antonio,
and ordered him to go with a few barks to the westwards, because in the
summer several islands had been discovered by some of the fishermen. Of
this voyage and the discoveries which were made in consequence of it,
Antonio gives an account in a letter to his brother Carlo, which we here
give exactly as it was written, having only altered a few antiquated
words[16].
[1] Faira, or Fara, in the Orkneys, called Farras-land, and corrupted into
Feislanda or Frisland. - Forst.
[2] Mr Forster is not happy in his explanation of this word, Porlanda or
Porland, which he endeavours to derive from Fara-land; precisely the
same with Fris-land from Faras-land, only dropping the genitive s.
Porland seems used as a general name of the earldom, perhaps connected
with the strange name Pomona, still used for mainland, the largest of
the Orkney islands.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 371 of 425
Words from 193323 to 193850
of 222093
