difcoveries have been preferved in Arngrim Jonas's Specimen Icelandia Hiftoricum, and many other works; fo that it is (in his opinion) hardly poffible to harbour the leaft doubt concerning the authenticity of the relation.'

Eric Raude, a fubject of Harold, king of Norway, being obliged to fly his country for fome misdemeanor, and having heard a report that a country had been feen to the weftward of Iceland, went in fearch of it, and fell in with the coaft of Greenland, about the point called Herjolfsnefs. Having coafted along the country, toward the S. W. he met with, and entered, a very large found, which he called after his own name; and paffed the winter on a pleafant ifland in the neighbourhood of it. The next year he explored the country; and, in the third, went over to Iceland; where he reprefented the country in fo favourable a light, that many families went with him, in the following Spring, and fettled there. Amongst these were a perfon of the name of Herjolf, and his ion Biorn, who made voyages every year to different countries, to trade; and about the year 1001, Biarn being feparated from his father, was driven by a ftorm a long way to the S. W. of Greenland; and, in confequence, discovered a flat country, covered with thick woods. Juft as he fet out, to return to Greenland, he difcovered an island likewife: he, however, made no ftay at either of these places, but haftened back to Greenland by a north easterly course. This event was no fooner known in Greenland, than Lief, a fon of Eric Raude's, who, like his father, had a great paffion for making difcoveries, and founding colonies, fitted out a veffel; and, taking Biorn with him, fet fail for this new difcovered country. The firft land he faw was rocky and barren for which reafon they called it Helleland, or Rockland. They afterwards came to a low land, which was fandy, and covered with wood; and which they called Markland, or Woodyland. Two days afterwards they faw land again, and an island, lying before the northern coaft of it. Here they met with a large river, and failed up it until they came to a lake from which the river took its rife. The bushes on the banks of this river bore sweet berries, the air was mild, the foil fertile, and the river was well ftored with fifh, particularly falmon. They wintered in the lake, and on the fhorteft day had eight hours fun; confequently the latitude was about 50 degrees *. They found grapes, and from this circumftance called the Country Winland or Wine land

* Suppofing the facts to be as they are here ftated, the river must have been that of St. Lawrence; and the island, called hereafter "The eastern land," muft, in confequence, have been Newfoundland.

In

In the fpring, they returned to Greenland; and having raised more recruits, went back to Winland, and took with them Thorwald, Lief's mother. That fummer, they explored the weftern land. The fummer afterward they examined the land which lay to the eastward: the coaft was covered with wood, and befet with iflands; but they met not with a human being, or animals of any kind. The third fummer they examined the inlands, in which bufinefs they damaged their fhip fo much that they were obliged to build a new one; and the old veffel was Jaid up, on a promontory which, for that reafon, they called Kieler Nifs. They afterwards examined, once more, the fhores of the eastern land, and then met with three boats, covered with leather, in each of which there were three men: these they feized, except one who made his efcape, and moft cruelly, as well as wantonly, murdered every one of them. Soon after this they were attacked, in return, by a great number of thefe people, with bows and arrows; but they beat them off, after an hour's engagement. In this battle, Thorwald was wounded by an arrow, and died. Over his tomb two croffes were placed, agreeable to his requeft. His companions paffed the winter in Winland; and in the fpring returned to Greenland. Thefe native inhabitants they called Skrællingers; that is, cuttings, or dwarfs, on account of their being very fhort in ftature +

• In the fame year Thorlein, the third fon of Eric Raude, failed for Winland with his wife Gudrid, his children, and fervants: in all, twenty-five perfons; but they were driven by a ftorm, to the western coast of Greenland, and obliged to winter there; and Thorlein and most of his followers died; but his wife Gadrid furvived, and in the fpring returned home, carrying with her the body of her dead husband.

Thorfin, an Icelander of fome confequence, married the widow Gudrid; and thinking, perhaps, that by this marriage he became poffeffed of the newly difcovered country, fet fail for Winjand, with a vaft quantity of houthold ftuff and cattle; befide 65 men, and 5 women, and began to establish there a regular colony. They were foon vifited by the Skrælingers, who freely bartered

In the beginning of this paragraph Thorwald is faid to be the mother of Lief; but in the two laft fentences of it, fhe is three times fpoke of as a man.

This defcription of the perfons of the native inhabitants, joined to the circumftance of their having boats covered with leather, leaves little room to doubt of their being the ancestors of the prefent race of Equimaux. The only thing which makes against this fuppofition is, thice men being found in one boat, which is directly contrary to their cultom, at prefent: but it is reasonable to fuppofe they had not then arrived at that amazing expertnefs in maritime affairs which they manifell now.

with them the most coftly furs, for other wares; and would gladly have purchased their weapons, but this Thorfin exprefsly forbad. One of them, however, found means to teal a battle axe; and immediately made trial of it on one of his countrymen, whom he killed on the pot with it. A third perfon immediately feized this mischievous inftrument, and threw it into the fea. In three years, the Normans having got a large stock of very rich furs, and other articles of merchandize, returned to Greenland, and afterwards to Iceland. After the death of Thorfin, his widow, Gudrid, made a pilgrimage to Rome, and ended her days in a nunnery, which her fon Snorro, who was born in Winland, founded. Many voyages were made after this, and the defcendants of thefe Normans remained long in Winland; for it is faid that in 1121, about 100 years afterward, bifhop Eric went from Greenland to Winland, to convert his countrymen, who were ftill heathen: but from this period no notice is taken of Winland.

Dr. Forfter thinks it highly probable that a tribe of people, who are faid yet to inhabit the interior parts of Newfoundland, and who differ remarkably both from the American Indians, and the Efquimaux, as well in fhape, as in their manner of living, may be defcended from thefe Norman adventurers. He adds: as these transactions happened near 500 years before the difcovery of America by Columbus, in 1493, and as it has long been a contefted point who was the firft difcoverer of America, he hopes this circumftantial detail of the difcovery of the ancient Winland will not be unacceptable. We shall barely remark, that fuch extraordinary discoveries have lately been made from ancient manufcripts, that a man is, in fome measure, juftified in entertaining doubts of every thing which depends on fuck authorities. At the fame time we think Dr. Forfter is fully juftified, and we efteem ourselves much obliged to him for making thefe curious and interesting particulars more public than they were before; and for quoting his authorities fo tully and fairly, as he appears to have done.

Chapter III." Of the Difcoveries of the Italians, and fome other Nations," begins with affigning the motives which induced people to travel in thofe dark and barbarous ages, when perfonal fafety was more precarious than it had been before, from the beginning of the world: and he concludes that it was partly a fpirit of commerce, which then began to diffufe itself over Europe, and partly zeal for propagating the Catholic religion, which imparted the courage, and mental vigour, neceffary for fuch great and hazardous enterprizes. In short, that felf-intereft and enthufiafm, alone, had power fufficient to operate with effect on the debafed, torpid, and uncultivated minds. of the people who inhabited Europe at that time. In confequence,

quence, we find the firft travellers among the Italians were chiefly Jews, and monks, and merchants.

The voyages and travels of which an account is given in this chapter are,

I. Thofe of Rabbi Benjamin, a Spanish Jew, into Perfia, about the year 1160: though fome doubt whether he did not patch up the hiftory of his travels at home, from the accounts of other perfons. See Rev. vol. lxx. p. 347.

II. The travels of Johannes de Plano Carpini, and his companions, fix monks of the Minorite and Dominican orders, in 1245, on an embaffy from Pope Innocent IV. to the defcendants of Zinghis Khan, who with numerous armies were then entering Europe by two different routs, and carrying every thing before them. The defign of this embaffy was, firft, to convert the Moguls to Chriftianity, if poffible; and, if that failed, to endeavour to direct their arms against the Turks and Saracens.

III. Of William Ruyfbroek, or Rubruquis, a Brabantine friar, of the Minorite order, on an embaffy from Lewis IX. of France, to the emperor Mangu Khan in 1251.

IV. Extracts from the Oriental Hiftory and Geography of Haith, a fon of Leon II. and nephew to Haitho I. kings of Armenia Minor. On the death of his father, this illuftrious perfon declined the crown, in favour of his younger brother; not from pufillanimity, for he always affifted his royal relations in their wars, both in council and action, but from a love of learning, which he thought the duties of a crown would prevent him from acquiring. In his latter years, he travelled into France, and dictated his work, in French, to Nicholas Salconi, who tranflated it into Latin, by order of the Pope, in 1307.

V. The Travels of Nicholo, Matheo, and Marco Polo, Venetian merchants, through the eaftern parts of Europe, and all Afia, at least as far as China, between the years 1260 and 1295.

VI. Thofe of Oderic or Oldericus, of Portenau, a Minorite friar, in company with other monks, in 1318, to China.

VII. Of Sir John Mandeville, an English gentleman, over moft of Europe, almoft all Afia, and fome parts of Africa, between the years 1322 and 1355. This gentleman feems to be one of the few, whofe motives for travelling are an exception to the two general ones, afcribed by our author to the travellers of there times.

VIII. An Account of a Syftem of Commercial Geography, written by Francifco Balducci Pegeletti, an Italian, in the year 1335. From the account given of this book by our author, it appears to be a work of great importance, for the period in which it was written; the following remark of his is therefore the more furprifing; namely, that no hiftorian, before himself, has ever. profited by it.

IX. The

IX. The Travels of John Schildtberger, of Munich in Bavaria, in 1394, with the army of king Sigifmund against the Turks; with that of Bajazet, after he was taken prifoner; and with that of Timur beck, after he was a fecond time taken prifoner by that prince; with whom he remained till his death, which happened in 1405. He continued with different chiefs, and among different tribes of the Tartar nations for many years after this; traverfing, with them, moft parts of Ruffia, Tartary, and Siberia; and he returned to Munich about the year 1426. This man's travels furnifh us with many particulars relating to the fituation of Tartary, and the towns which belonged to the Tartars at that time; the hiftory of that people, and the fucceffion of their Khans.

X. The Journey of the Ambaffadors from Schah Rokh, a fon of the emperor Timur, to the emperor of China, in 1420, extracted from a work of Nicholas Witfon, Burgomafter of Amfterdam, entitled Nord en Ooft Tartarye. Among other curious hints which these travels furnish, it is remarkable that a pot of tea was one of the liquors fet before thefe ambaffadors, on their arrival in China; a potation which the Jefuit Trigauld imagined had come into use of late years only in China.

XI. The Travels of Jofaphat Barbaro, a Venetian, who was fent ambaffador in 1436, to Tana, now called Azof; and afterward in 1471, into Perfia. He was 16 years among the Tartars; but Dr. Forfter gives only fome extracts from his voyage to Azof, taken from Kamufio.

XII. The Voyage of Nicolo and Antonio Zeno, brothers, of a noble family in Venice, to Friesland, Porland, and Sorany. Porland is faid to be certain fmall, but fertile and populous iflands, which lay fouth of Friefland;" and "Sorany was a place which lay over against Scotland." The two latter countries belonged originally to a prince of the name of Zichmni, who conquered the former, together with feveral other countries which are not now known, while the Zenos were with him, and they vifited more, whofe names have never been heard of fince. The account of this voyage is taken from Ramufio's Collection of Voyages, and has, in our opinion, much of the air of the marvellous in it. Dr. Forfter obferves, in a long note, that Friesland, Porland, and Sorany, feem to be countries which have been fwallowed up by the fea, in confequence of earthquakes, or other great convulfions of nature. He, however, conjectures that Friefland may be the fame with Fara land, i. e. the Faro Ifles; in which cafe Sorany must have been the Western Iles; and he thinks fome of the fouthermoft of the Faro Iles may have been called Porland. But the text contradicts this; for it is there exprefsly faid that Friefland was much greater than Iceland: and notwithstanding all the pains which Our author has taken, and the ingenuity which he has exerted,

and