iiviini!;
fiillf'
!: m
lit" I
lOivirds the fonth, and to lofe itfelf enUrely under the hdl or baf.s above ilated. I w»s
tbctefote convineed, th.t though this lapis ollaiis (of whieh I had obferved the fame fpecies
in the vioinity of Fontan) apparently di&ppeated unda' the fand-llone, yet from the following
obfervation I had every reafon to foppofe that it abfolutely formed the nueleus to
the hill: for having eontinued afcending the Col tor about three quarters of an hour, and
entirely t imed tiro bafis. I ffill diftioguiflied the fame fpeeies of ilone, rifing in a northem
direition to a eonfidetable height, relUng its wide t tntum againft a mountain of grey roek
fimilar to that which in great meafme forms the Col de Brous, whereas on the oppoCte
r.de they feemed to fink under the foil on which I flood. It alfo appeared to fervc as a
wall to a wide »vin, deepened by the impetuous euirent of a torrent which falls from a
pile of mountains fituated north of the high road.
This torrent in its rapid defecnt forms an extenfive eafc.de, the noife of which, ocrafioned
by the violence of tlie water dathing continually againft the immcnfe and numerous
blocks of rock which in a great meafure fill the whole of its bed, is fo loud, as to be heard
from the bottom of the valley of Breglio.
I eroffcd this torrent on a ftone bridge, and purfued n.y route for about an hour and a
half along the efcarpment or declivil, of the Col in whid, the road is excavated, in a
dire<£tion tending from eaft to weit.
This mountain is fo well cultivated, and wooded to its furamit, that though the afcent
took me upwards of two hours, I was neither fenfiblc of fatigue or diflance. The beautiful
afpea of the valley of Breglio, and the fides of the bordering mountains nearly
perpendicular, exhibidng immcnfe forefts covered alternately wdth olives, earoubiers,
ever-green oak, fig trees, and vineyards, rifing over each oflier in fingular and eonfufed
direitions, added to a number of neat-looking cottages, promifeuoully fcattered among
the trees, wonderfully emheliiihed and enlivened the landfcape, which lay as it wer« nearly
under my feet. But no fooner had I arrived at the fummit of the pafs, tl.an the rich and
beautiful profpea I had jnft been viewing entirely difappeared, and nothing prefcnted
itfelf but a dreary defolated feenc. On the north-wefl fide of the mountain ray eye
ftretehed over a wild and barren country, which feemed to extend itfelf all around me,
fave where a little bumt-up gr'afs, flunted fir. and larches, witl. a few bunches of rhododendron
fcrrugmeum, diverfificd the landfcape. Nothing was to be feen in my new horizon
except perpendicular rocks crumbling into ruins. Purfuing my journey for about a mile
from the top of the mountain (which in that part appeared to be formed of grey rock
li : ,J
; i