on each other, ffofniirig natural chambers, arches, colonnades,
and Stonehenges, to the magnitude o f which, that on Saliibury
Plain would, appear blit as a cottage by the fide o f that; I city’s
great cathedral; all o f thefe fo wafted, and corroded, and
cavernous, the fkeietons only o f what they once were, ftrjick
the mind with the fame kind of melancholy awe,-that ’the. oont
templation of the remains o f ancient grandeur generally in-
fpires. Waiting in the midft o f thefe antique ruihs, the mind
was in vain bufied in trying to form fome eftimation of the
meafure of time that. had. paffed away in effecting the .general
depreffirin of the mountain, and equally'vain, was it to attempt
a calculation, in how many ages, yet unborn,; the ftupendous
maffes, o f at leaft a thoufand feet high, of folid rock, would
diflolve, and “ leave not a rack behind.” Ip
It could be at no lofs, however, to comprehend, whence
proceeded the fandy plains that ftretched along the weftern coaft
o f this country, to a diftance yet untravelled. This rangé of
mountains alone, taken at two hundred miles in length, five
miles in width, and the general .depreflkm at a hundred feet
only, would have fupplied materials to cover uniformly to the
depth of three feet, a plain o f thirtyTthree thoufand fquare
miles. A farther idea fuggefted itfelf, that all the fand of the
fea fhores- probably owed its. origin to the remains o f worn-
down mountains; fcattered by. the winds, and borne down by
torrents into the “ bofom of the deep,” and thence thrown
■back upon its fhores. This theory feéms to be eftablifhed by
fads. In Africa the whole coaft is fand, from the Gape - of
Good
Good Hope to the Gulph of Benin, under the equinodial
line,'an extent ¡through-which it is more than probable, the
ftratified mountains of fand-ftone continue to run ; whilft, on
the oppofite continent, thè rocky fliore extends from the line to
the fouthernmoft Cape, becaufe the whole of the mountains
there ’are • compofed of .durable, granite. Geological obfer-
vations on thè gradual1 deèàyV or rather mutation of iuper-
fidai form c>{ thig our habitable ¡earth, leaves a doubt on the
unprejudiced and unihackied mind, of the idea of the popular
Jewifh notionji that would limit its creation to the ihort
period n f fix thoiifand years.- The human mind appears
loft and bewildered in attempting to form any conception of
a beginning of the :exiftence of matter, or of ought antecedent
to itno a b r cn l Jeotg ibi» b a t iii
On approaching the upper part of the mountains-, the weather
became fuddénly boifterous, and to a perfed calm and mild
atmofphere fucceeded; in the courfe o f-a few hours, a violent
hurricane that roàréd through the vaulted rocks, and a cold and
piercing air. Yet in this elevated fituatiton, a fmall fpring of
Water had tempted a péafant to ered his cottage, around which
was juft as much ground as was fufficient to afford a fupply of
bread to its poffeffor. Solitary and wretched as the hovel appeared
to be, it was crowded with perfons of both fexes, in the
height of gaiety. The owner of the place had juft returned
from the Cape,- and had brought with him a fupply of brandy,
with which they were making merry. The pooreft peafant, on
his annual vifit to the Cape, never fails to lay in, among other
articles o f purchafe, a calk oifopie, and this -has little reft day
or