The tale of Wayland falls naturally into two parts, the former of which contains obviously mythical features.
Interesting speculations as to the periods of origin of great coral reefs have been made by Wayland Vaughan, Andrews and Daly and Humphreys.
These new structures would rest uncomfortably upon eroded formations and this, Wayland Vaughan points out, is what we actually observe in the case of living and fossil coral reefs.
Many of the chief characteristics of the ancient Greek heroes are reproduced in those of the Teutonic North, the parallel being in some cases very striking; Siegfried, for instance, like Achilles, is vulnerable only in one spot, and Wayland Smith, like Hephaestus, is lame.
The city is a summer resort, has a public library, and is the seat of Wayland Academy (1855, Baptist), a co-educational preparatory school affiliated with the university of Chicago.