per was preparing. Conflans is situated
on a very commanding eminence over the
Isere. Its ancient castles and monasteries,
with the glittering domes and spires of its
colleges and churches, give it, at a distance,
a most imposing appearance. With the
river and bridge in the fore-groimd, and
the rocks and finely wooded mountains behind,
it forms one of the finest subjects
imaginable for a picture; but on entering
the town the charm was broken; the
streets are narrow and gloomy, and the
houses old and d irty ; and its population
has declined since I’Hopital has risen into
consequence. The college is a large establishment,
partly intended for the education
of the clergy. The confluence of the Isere
and Arly takes place just below the town,
from which circumstance it obtained the
name of Conflans. The rock on which
Conflans stands, is mica-slate, better characterised
than any I saw in this part of
the Alps. It is covered on the western side
by a coarse greywacke schist, inclosing
fragments of rose quartz.
There is a fine view down the lower
valley of the Isere, from the terrace, behind
the church. While resting ourselves
T H E G I B B O N H O R N . lOI
there, after our long walk, we were all
struck with the singular contour of one of
the mountains behind l’Hôpital, which we
soon discovered was a striking resemblance
of the profile of the historian Gibbon, in
a recumbent posture. I took the outline,
which is given without exaggeration, Plate
III. I had the opportunity of comparing
the sketch with the mountain at three distant
intervals, and am satisfied it is faithful
to the original ; but the resemblance can
only be seen to advantage in the evening.
In the morning the seams of the stratification
are visible, which destroys the illusion,
but cannot change the outline, formed
by the projecting edges of the thin strata.
The Gibbon Horn, as it may be called, is
seen as well from the bridge as from the
church at Conflans.
The following morning, at half past nine,
we proceeded down the valley of the Isere
to Montmellian, in our way to Chamberry.
The road is carried along the bottom of the
mountains which form the northern boundary
of the valley. The great chain of the
Alps on the other side, here recedes and
bends southward, and the country opens
into an extensive plain, bounded by distant
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