The Maelstrom.
--The following passage from a letter from Norway, published in the Boston Transcript, is interesting to those whose ideas have heretofore vacillated between a belief in its terrors, as depicted by representations of large vessels just disappearing beneath the raging waters, and the frequently circulated modern statement of its fabulousness:‘ "The far-famed Maelstrom is found between two of the Southern islands of the Lofoden group; and from one of these islands it is named the 'Mosken-stream,' or, in Norwegian, the 'Mosken-stream.' Its violence greatly depends on the direction and strength of the wind, as well as on the tides, and the moon's influence thereupon. It is said to be most violent with gales of westerly winds, and on the full and change of the moon. Sometimes a small boat can pass right across it without danger; at other times it would be dangerous for even a large steamer to approach it. Not that she would be swallowed up and whirled down to the mermaids, but that she would probably be turned round, lose her steering, and be dashed against the surrounding rocks."
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