remember，seemedtomesufficientlyplausibleinperusal-nowworeaverydifferentandunsatisfactoryaspect。Theideagenerallyreceivedisthatthis，aswellasthreesmallervorticesamongtheFerroeislands，“havenoothercausethanthecollisionofwavesrisingandfalling，atfluxandreflux，againstaridgeofrocksandshelves，whichconfinesthewatersothatitprecipitatesitselflikeacataract；andthusthehigherthefloodrises，thedeepermustthefallbe，andthenaturalresultofallisawhirlpoolorvortex，theprodigioussuctionofwhichissufficientlyknownbylesserexperiments。”-ThesearethewordsoftheEncyclop鎑iaBritannica。
KircherandothersimaginethatinthecentreofthechanneloftheMaelstr鰉isanabysspenetratingtheglobe，andissuinginsomeveryremotepart-theGulfofBothniabeingsomewhatdecidedlynamedinoneinstance。Thisopinion，idleinitself，wastheonetowhich，asIgazed，myimaginationmostreadilyassented；and，mentioningittotheguide，Iwasrathersurprisedtohearhimsaythat，althoughitwastheviewalmostuniversallyentertainedofthesubjectbytheNorwegians，itneverthelesswasnothisown。Astotheformernotionheconfessedhisinabilitytocomprehendit；andhereIagreedwithhim-for，howeverconclusiveonpaper，itbecomesaltogetherunintelligible，andevenabsurd，amidthethunderoftheabyss。
“Youhavehadagoodlookatthewhirlnow。”saidtheoldman，“andifyouwillcreeproundthiscrag，soastogetinitslee，anddeadentheroarofthewater，IwilltellyouastorythatwillconvinceyouIoughttoknowsomethingoftheMoskoe-str鰉。”
Iplacedmyselfasdesired，andheproceeded。
“Myselfandmytwobrothersonceownedaschooner-riggedsmackofaboutseventytonsburthen，withwhichwewereinthehabitoffishingamongtheislandsbeyondMoskoe，nearlytoVurrgh。Inallviolenteddiesatseathereisgoodfishing，atproperopportunities，ifonehasonlythecouragetoattemptit；butamongthewholeoftheLofodencoastmen，wethreeweretheonlyoneswhomadearegularbusinessofgoingouttotheislands，asItellyou。Theusualgroundsareagreatwaylowerdowntothesouthward。Therefishcanbegotatallhours，withoutmuchrisk，andthereforetheseplacesarepreferred。Thechoicespotsoverhereamongtherocks，however，notonlyyieldthefinestvariety，butinfargreaterabundance；sothatweoftengotinasingleday，whatthemoretimidofthecraftcouldnotscrapetogetherinaweek。Infact，wemadeitamatterofdesperatespeculation-theriskoflifestandinginsteadoflabor，andcourageansweringforcapital。