Hier begynneth the booke callyd the Myrrour of the worlde ...

¶How the water swete or salte / hoot or enuenymed sour¦deth out of the erthe. Capitulo xx^o.

ALle watres come of the see as wel the swete as the salt. what someuer they be / alle come out of the see. & theder agayn alle retorne. vherupon somme may demaūde / syth the see is salt. how is it that somme water is fresshe & swete / Herto answerth one of thauctours and sayth that the water that hath his cours by the swete erthe is fresshe & swete / & becometh swete by the swetenes of therthe. whiche taketh away from it his saltnes and his bytternes by her nature. For the water whiche is salt and bytter whan it renneth thurgh the swete erthe. The swetnes of therthe re¦ceyneth his bytternes and saltnes / And thus becometh the water swete and fresshe whiche to fore was salt and byttre Other waters sourden and spryngen bytter & black. whi∣che somme men drynke for to be heled of their maladyes in∣stede of poyson / the whiche oftymes make grete purgaciōs to somme people / This is a water that spryngeth black & clere and renneth in therthe whiche is bytter and black / & it is ful of moche fylthe / wherfore men haue grete meruayl¦le / how it may be holsom to the body of a man. In another place sourdeth water whiche is hoot. and that ther myght be scal••ed therin a pygge or a ghoos / whiche ben called bathes or baynes naturell. Of suche maner bathes ben ther in al∣mayne in the cyte of Acon. and in Englond at bathe / In lorayne another atte thabbay of plounners / and at Ays in Gascoygne another / ¶This procedeth for as moche as wythin therthe ben many caues whiche ben hoot and bren∣nyng as fyre / And therthe hath plente of vaynes whiche ben alle full of sulphre / And ther cometh other whyle a wynde grete and stronge the whiche cometh by the water that sourdeth. And that it put forth so strongly that the sulphre catcheth fyre and brenneth. lyke as a fornayce alle

brennyng shold doo / And the water that hath his cours by thyse vaynes become also hoot as fyre / And yf it happed that the water ryght there shold sprynge out of erthe / It shold yssue sourdyng alle enflammed and alle boylyng as it were on a fyre / But fro as feere as his cours renneth fro thens so moche wexeth it lasse brennyng. and it may renne so longe & so ferre that in thende it becometh agayn alle colde / For ther is nothyng so hoot but that it koleth / sauf only the fyre of helle whiche contynuelly brenneth / & shal brenne wythout ende wythin therthe is plente of other places whiche ben ful of fowle bestes and venymous in suche wyse that the water that renneth therby is alle en∣feeted and sourdeth in somme places on therthe. But who that drynketh therof secheth his deth /