ILÏL'S,
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TLI
I ; T
^^ TR A V E L S THROUGH
TB« fitft, howccr, furprized me kf, than the fécond, havmg feen fonie nearly the
fame in thcMaiitime Alps, of the county of Nice. It is a calcaieons giey ftoi.e, of
a fine gtain, and ftuck as it were to pieces of leddiOi granites, fpotted with black and
»hite, refemhling thofc which come from Tnfcany. Some of them, whofe angles had
been broken by the friaion they had fnffered in the velocity of their dcfcent, from the
high and tremendous peaks, from which they had been detachcd by the rains and thaws,
had already taken an e»en eircnlar form, leaving perfcflly clear the place of union betwixt
the calcareous ftone and the granite, which are entirely different in their cffeds and in
their principles. The fécond atttafled my particular notice, a. I could not diftinguifli
what it was; it appeared to be a fpecies of white calcareous ftone, the grain as
fine as the firft, not unlike marble, although emitting fpark. of fire when ftrnck by
fteel. I had already found fevcral fimilar to thefe near the fort of Chiufa, and in the
road between Trent and Bötzen. They did not refemble any fpecies of quartz, or
vitrefccnt ftones; I was, therefore, in doubt how to clafs them: bnt fuppofmg that they
contained particles of quartz fufficient to produce the appearance of the fparks I had
feen, I was led to imagine that they would efTetvefce with acids ; for which reafon, I
determined to colled fome pieces on purpofe to try the experiment.
TnisB obfervations taking more time than I intended, night ftole on imperceptibly,
before I had an idea of leaving the bank, of the Talfer. It was, however, ncceffary to
haften my return to Bötzen. In my way thither, holding the ftones in ray hand, I accidentally
rubbed them one againft the other, when, to my great aftoniOimcnt, there ift'ued
a kind of phofphorus light, with no very difagteeable fmell ; bnt, having afterwards
fcraped them with my knife, a ftreak oflight ifliied from the fcrapings, which being both
curious and uncommon, put me in mind of a memorial written by Monfieur Dufay to
the Academy at Paris, in ,730, wherein he obferves, that there are fpecies of calcareous
ftones, marbles, and gypfom, or plafter-ftone, which frequently emit a phofphorus light.
AT my arrival at the inn, I immediately threw fome fpirits of nitre on one of the pieces
I had brought with me; but finding that it did not cffcrvefee, I began to fuppofc it a
fpecies of quartz, which Wallerius terms " ^artzu,« of acum frazil, a rigiium." Not
being, however, perfeflly fatisfied with that trial, I pounded fome picces of the ftone,
and then threw in fome more nitre, which I had warmed, and immediately difeovercd
that the powder cffcrvefccd confiderably, which confirmed me in my former opinion,
that thefe ftones were calcareous, but of a fpccies I was entirely unacquainted with.
AT the time I firft propofed publiflimg thefe travels, I read, with infinite fatisfadion,
a letter from Monfieur Deodat de Dolomieu to Monfieur Picot de la Peyroufe, in the
Journal de Phyfique, for the month of July, 1791, wherein he particularly mentions
the ftones I have been defcrihing, havmg made the fame route fome time after me ; and.
T H E RH^TIAN ALPS. +3
•as that Naturalift terms them phofphorus calcareous ftones, I ftiall make ufe of the fame
term whenever I have occafion to fpeak of them.
I HAVE been led to enlarge on this fubjeft, being defirous of giving every information
in my power to thofe who wilh (when in that part of the world) to fatisfy their curiofity,
and procure thcmfelves fpecimens of what I have defcribed; as alfo to prove that it is
impoffible to decide with certainty, whether a ftone is calcareous, by the effca of acids,
without firft reducing it to powder; and that the fame fpecics of ftone will frequently
emit fparks of fire when ftruck by ftecl, particularly when its pores are contraflcd, it
.being entirely owing to the ftrong coherency of the particles that thofe effeas are
produced.
THE evening being fine, and the weather apparently fettled, I pleafed myfelf with the
idea of rifmg the next morning by day-break, in hopes of enjoying the pleafure of
exploring the country, and walking, for fome hours, before the carriage could poflibly
overtake me. Having thus fettled my plan, I informed my fellow traveller, the late
Doaor Briant, a man of merit and underftanding, belonging to the fuite of his Royal
Highnef. the Duke of Gloucefter. of my intention; for fear of eaufmg him fome uneafinefs
by my fuddcn and unexpeaed departure. Rifmg at the time I propofed, I fet off,
after taking fome refrelhment, and was confiderably on my way, when the glorious luminary
of the day had fcarcely darted its beams through the rugged openings of the mounts
Rofen Garten, Duhel, and T.fea, which are fituated to the eaft of Bötzen.
T„I vapours, however, that were accumulating above the horizon, being uncommonly
red I had every reafon to fear a ftorm in the courfe of the day. which would naturally
impede my journey, and leave me in a moft uncomfortable fituation: but the extreme
defire I had of viewing, at my eafc, fo curious and piaurefque a country (which was
morally impoflible in a carriage) led me to perfift in ray refolution; although I rauft
acknowledge that I had eroffed the river Eifaeh, and even reached the village of Cardaun,
before I had finally taken my determination; the freflrnefs of the morning, however, and
the beautiful feenes «lüch furrounded me, foon difllpated my fears, and I proceeded w.th
alacrity.
H.vmti crofl-ed the Eifaeh, I found myfelf in a valley, the entrance to whrch was
tolerably wide; but it foon after contraas, fo as fcarcely to leave, in many places, room
for a carriage, which renders that fpot particularly wild and romantic.
Tl.. rivet alfo carries with it a vaft quantity of large pieces of granite, corneus folidus.
or hornftonc rock, and grey and white marble. &e. which, daftiing agamft the rocks
that eontraa the courfe of the river, add greatly to the rapidity of the ftream, and
caufc a tremendous noife, which prevents one's hearing any thing except the ruftung of
the water. I HAVE