Billeder på siden
PDF
ePub

and raised by the air, which feparates confufedly cryftallized, and confequently a marble of the kind called faline. It is fix feet thick, naturally dividing in laminæ, of from feven to eight lines, and is bounded on each fide by a foliated vitrefcent rock of quartz and mica. If this laft is a primitive rock, our author thinks the calcareous must be alfo primitive, as the vitrefcent rock refts on it. The diftinction, however, added in the note, appears of importance, and is truly new. We fhall tranfcribe it.

the particles, mount with impetuofity as the fteam of an enormous cauldron; they are coloured by the rays of the fun, and appear a mixture of flame and smoke. But it requires a good bead to receive from fuch scenes a pleafure unalloyed by fear, for the road, or rather the path, often projects over a dreadful precipice, and is fcarcely four feet wide, without any parapet. In many parts it is worked out of the rock; and there is one place where the rock is pierced at the edge of a projecting part, and appears like a ring fufpended in the air. The traveller who fees it at a distance, for the first time, can fcarcely believe that he muft pafs on horfeback through this ring. The route terminates at Lake Major, and is the most frequented pafs for transporting corn and wine, which is done on mules. As it is the route alfo of the courier of Milan, it is kept up with the greatest care. Yet it is not eafy to traverfe en a mule, “cornices" fo ftrait, fo high, and paved with granite polifhed by traveling it is indeed better to walk, particularly down the hills; but, whatever talle the traveller may have for thefe favage beauties, he feels a real fatisfaction on coming out of thefe defiles, and feeing the country open near Dovedro. There the mountains feparate on the eat, and form an ample girdle, which inclcics an amphitheatre of vines and chestnuttrees; a delicious mixme of a beauful verdure and hardfome buildings." On the fide of Switzerland the rock is calcareous, mixed with more or lefs of glimmer: the ftrata vertical, or nearly vertical. On the other fide are either the common feliated Bocks, compofed of quartz and mica, or veined granites: they are generally horizontal, or inclined at moft from thirty to forty degrees. On the northern fide of the road, about a league and a quarter from Simplon, is a block of white calcareous tone,

"The calcareous, fecondary rocks, or thofe which have been formed fubfequent to the revolution, at the conclufion of which the fea was inhabited by fish, and abounded with fhells, are almost always covered with grits, with breccia, and puddingftones; in other words, with the remains of the rocks, broken to pieces in the revolution. These remains, interpofed between the strata of pr mitive rocks and thofe of the fecondary ftones, form the transitions which I have often obferved, and particularly at the bottom of Buet (Voyages, feet. 594.) The calcareous primitives, on the contrary, or thole which have exifted previous to this revolution, are not diftinguifhed by fuch tranfitions, or they are tranfitions of another kind.

Domo d'Ofola is the next principal town which they mention, and they foon arrive at Lake Major, and then follow the right bank of the Toccia, to go three fourths of a league farther to Pié de Mulera, where they find the first effects of the gold mines of Macugnaga; the great church and the Palazzo Teftoni being built by means of the gold drawn from the mines. From the middle of the bridge leading to Vanzon, a village in the road to the mines, they fee Mount Rofe, which arifes as majeftically as Mount Blanc, feen from Salenche. This mountain has the advantage of appearing furrounded by the beautiful verdure of the narrow and deep

valley of Anzafca, which, like the frame of a picture, fets off the white nefs of the fnow and the ice. This exquifitely beautiful valley, where the verdure and the trees are equally luxuriant, is bounded by the approaching hills, which meet, except in one point, where the river Lanza paffes out. The nature of the rocks resembles that of the valley of Martigny (Voyages, fect. 1047, &c.) The fituation of the ftrata is nearly vertical; the direction of their planes nearly that of the valley.

At a little diftance from Vanfon is a transverse rock, which inclofes as it were the mines. Near the bridge of Vando is a magnificent block of granite, in the middle of which was a group of large hexagonal cryftals of black schorl, fet in a mixture of white feld fpath and filver mica. The fituation of the village of Macugnaga is faid to be very beautiful; but the inhabitants were not hofpitable. Habitations were only wanting; for the inhabitants, and even the curate, live on milk and rye-bread, made fix months in advance, and which can be cut only by a hatchet. Our travellers provifions were brought from Vanzon.

The mineral of gold is found in the continuation of the base of Mount Rofe: it is compofed of a veined granite or a foliated rock of feld fpar, mica, and quartz. The ftrata are generally horizontal, or a little inclined, and the gold is found in all the varieties of this granite, but generally in the fofter kinds and thofe of the finest grain. The matrix of gold is a yellow fulphureous pyrites. Gold alfo occurs in the carious hollows of the quartz, mixed with a ruft of iron, which appears to be the refiduum of decompofed pyrites. The auriferous pyrites are often cryftallized in cubes; but thefe are the pooreft: thofe whofe grain is finer are not much richer; and the most valuable

are those where the crystallization appears to have been rapid, fo that little of the metal has escaped, and these pyrites appear in the form of large fcales.

The threads are often vertical, but the threads affect no particular direction. They fometimes cross each other, and the groups of auriferous pyrites, in the interfection, are large and rich. The expence is estimated at 46800 livres per annum, and the income at 59800livres. M.Teftoni, whofe mines are the fubject of this estimate, clears therefore about 13000 livres, about 540l. per annum. It is fuppofed, however, that on account of the proportion paid to the lord of the foil and to the king, the profits are diminished; and, on the other hand, it is faid that the richer veins, which appeared to be the more fuperficial ones, are exhaufted. In all gold mines the profit has been generally exaggerated. The mode of extracting the metal is not peculiar, nor very fcientific; but it seems fufficiently exact.

The high pics of Mount Rofe are inacceffible, it feems, from the fide of Macugnaga; but one of thefe of a leffer height is acceffible on this fide. On account of the fnow with which it was conftantly covered, it is styled Pizze Blanco-the White Pic: our travellers fet out on the 30th of July, and encamped on the Alp of Pidriolo, for the Alps "retain their original Celtic fignification in this country, as well as the German part of Switzerland: it fignifies the pafturage of the mountain." After encamping on the fe meadows,they began to measure the highest pics of Mount Rofe, and found the higheft2430 toifes above the level of the fea, and the lowest 2398; the highest is, therefore, within twen ty toifes of the height of Mount Blanc. "We paffed the night (fays M. Sauffure) under our tent, in a fituation truly delicious. We were encamped in a meadow, 'covered with

the

the close turf of the higheft Alps, enamelled with the most beautiful flowers. These meadows were terminated by the Glaciers and the pics of Mount Rofe, the magnificent out-lines of whofe highest cliffs were seen to advanage, against the azure vault of heaven. Near to our tents flowed a rill of the freshest and clearest water. On the other fide was a cavern, under whofe fhelter we burned the rhodo. dendron,the only wood which grows at this height, and whofe fire ferved to warm our foup, and to defend us against the sharp freshness of the evening. The night was magnificent; and I was too fond of contemplating it, for from the cold I felt fome inconvenience, which delayed my journey a little the next morning. This journey was indeed very painful; we paffed with fome difficulty over the hanging precipices of broken rocks, which were very steep: we occafionally too met with an avalanche of fnow, folid and very rapid, which it was dangerous to pafs; then the fnow in our way, though recent, was hard, frozen on the furface, and dangerous from the declivity; and to finish the lift of dangers, cliffs of rocks, which crumbled under the feet, and remained in the hand when we trufted to their fupport, were to be furmounted.”

After five hours travelling, they reached a point, which was a part of the white pic, though about forty toifes below the highest precipice; but they were feparated from this higher region by a steep ravine, which they muft have defcended over a very dangerous precipice of fnow, to afcend again over another not more practicable. Our author, whofe fpirits were perhaps repreffed by the cold of the former night, refifted the inclinations of his fon to go farther; and on this fpot they refted, about 2400 toifes above the level of the fea.

All the former mountains which our author had afcended, he tells us, were either infulated like Etna, or

ranged in ftrait lines like Mount Blanc and its collateral pics. Mount Rofe, on the contrary, is compofed of uninterrupted feries of gigantic points, nearly equal, forming a valit circle, which includes the village of Macugnaga, its hamlets, its pastures, the glaciers which bound them, and the steep cliffs which reach almoft to the tops of thefe majestic Coloffufes: In Mount Rose the strata are horizontal, or nearly fo; in Mount Blanc they are vertical: in the former it is the veined granite and foliated rocks of dif ferent kinds, which conftitute the bulk; in the latter, granite in mals. The latter only occurs occafionally, and to appearance accidentally, in Mount Rofe. It has been fuppofed, that the veined granites, gneifs, and other rocks of this kind, are only the ruins of the maffy granites, but here they conftitute immenfe maffes: and the we for a moment fuppofe it poffible that these pics are the accumulated ruins of a ftill higher mountain, we fhould at leaft expect to find the base of fuch a mountain. Even the inte rior walls of the circus are not com posed of vertical ftrata, and the foun dation is of the fame nature with the extremities. Our author finds also that the mountains which form the fummit of Mount Rofe are extended outwards to a very great distance, fo that together they form a mafs incom parably more vaft than that which would have filled the whole of the interior part of the circle, and this. must confequently have been the place of this fuppofed original mountain. Yet the horizontal direction of the ftrata, fo different from that of high mountains, is a ftrong argument in favour of this mountain being the refult of a decompofition of maffy granite.

The different pics of which this group is compofed, are of different heights, and from their fituation they may be likened to a racket, of which the mountains that terminate the vale

of

of Anzafca form the handle. The principal place of the village of Macugnaga, according to this idea, is fituated in the interior part of the racket, but near its boundary, or rather that part of the difc which joins its handle. The Alp of Pedriolo is on the oppofite fide. The diameter of the circle, including half the thickness of the walls, is about two leagues.

The white Pic is not overlooked by any mountain which can conceal the plains of Italy; but during our author's ftay, a bluifh vapour covered thefe plains, and a vast cloud, fufpended over the vault of heaven, formed an immenfe curtain, which concealed all this profpect. "At times, this curtain feemed to break, and through the rents we faw fometimes lake Major, fometimes the Teffin, then the Naviglio grande; but we could dif tinguish neither Milan nor Padua, nor any city of Lombardy, which are fufficiently confpicuous in clear weather." The structure of the mountains which feparated them from the plains, was not remarkable. The higheft was Tagliaferro; its form that of afharp pyramid, and its point fcarcely lefs elevated than that of the White Pic: it is bare of fnow, which is to be attributed to the fleepness of its fides; the height is 1594 toifes.

In their defcent, the travellers had time to examine the nature of the rock more particularly. Its top is partly compofed of granite veined in twifted lamina, filled with large cryfftals of feld fpath; and partly of a foliated rock, compofed of thin plane leaves. The ftrata, we have faid, are

nearly horizontal, but they rise a few degrees towards the fouth. The head of the White Pic is almost insulated: but its bafe and its body adhere on the eaft and weft to the chain of Mount Rofe; and on the north to a mountain which projects to the interior of the circle. This mountain is the Cichufa, and it is, by following its afcent, that a traveller can go from the pas tures of Pedriolo to the fummit of the pic. It is wholly compofed of fo liated rocks, of which fome are beautifully veined granites, hard and whit ifh; others quartzy, micaceous, ferru gineous ftones, fometimes mixed with fchor, and occafionally with plumbago. They found alfo a ftratum of calcareous ftone, like that which occurred at Simplon, and like it, bounded on each fide by rocks, supposed to be primitive.

The veined granites of this moun tain are mixed occafionally with folid granite, and the fame block is fometimes found to contain each kind; but they obferved a very fingular phenomenon. In a great mass, the middle was of veined well characterized gra nite, while the two external furfaces were of maffy granite. M. Warner, we understand, has a large mafs of true granite, in which are very dif tinct rounded ftones in fome places, pretty large, of gneifs. We have mentioned formerly having feen maf fes of granite in granite, but we do not recollect that the included ftones were of the gneifs kind: and thofe too were not rounded. The latitude of Mount Rofe is 46° 0' 10". Its longitude could not be determined on account of the cloudy weather.

Account of the Czar Peter III. by the King of Sweden.*

HIS prince, who for fome time through the medium of the calumnies was only known in Europe, of his affaffins-this prince, born and VOL. XII. No. 70. G g

Danger of the Political Balance of Europe,

educated

educated in Germany, had all the inclinations of his native country, and a contempt for his new fubjects.Mafter of Holftein, a member confequently of the German empire, he added weight to the Ruffian crown, interfered in the German fyftem, in his own perfonal right, and fortified his influence with new alliances with the northern powers. Happily, this profpect did not infpire him with ambition; he was influenced only by a juft refentment against Denmark, and by his friendship for Frederick the Great. Policy leagued with his moderation. For, the ruinous war which Elizabeth waged against the king of Pruffia, had cost her three hundred thousand men, and above thirty millions of roubles.

Though the third Peter had no other ite to public efteem than that of faving a prince, upon whofe prefervation the maintenance of the politital equilibre depended, his memory fhould be regarded and esteemed. In fome venal writings, the productions of fanciful historians, his attachment to the king of Pruffia was ridiculed as the effect of enthusiasm, and the puerile love of emulation :-but affuredly an enthufiafm for, and admiration of, the qualities of a man, who wrought, fuch prodigies of wifdom and intrepidity, was very excufableand the heroifm of friendship is a rare quality amongst kings.

This profound refpect, and regard, for Frederick the Great, demonftrat. ed judgment and fenfibility in the third Peter; the enemies of Pruffia, at Petersburg, had fignalized themfelves, by the perfecution of the young ezar, during the reign of Elizabeth. This prince had accordingly counteracted their measures, and his fubfequent conduct, in fupporting the king of Pruffia, was perfectly confiftent This laft monarch was now in danger; the new English minifter (Lord Bute) threatened him with desertion, and his fafety feemed to depend on his

Turkish negociations, or the capricious motions of the Khan of the Tartars.

(Peter III.) was, to be adopted by EThe first misfortune of this prince lizabeth to mount the throne one day.

The fecond, to have been led from Holftein, to become a flave at Elizabeth's court; and his wife was the third misfortune. His Imperial aunt obtained the crown by a revolution ftained with injustice, and was always in dread of a counter-revolution; her nephew was a prisoner of state. The cabinet was barred, and its councils were concealed; all intercourse was fufpected with him; his German fervants were deprived of the comforts of his conversation, and their attachfurrounded by enemies, the right of ment was a principle of difgrace; approach was only given to fpies, obfervers, and betrayers of his converfation-his matrimonial misunderstanding left the prince without domeftic confolation, and reviewing fome troops at Orienabaum, became his only recreation.

trigue, which ferves to lead us thro His complaints gave rife to an inthe mazes of thofe deplorable events, which ultimately deprived the emperor of his fcepter, and of his life.

The chancellor Bestuchef, the great confidant of Elizabeth, was the Grand Duke's avowed enemy; his infolence tremble at the profpect of a new reign; in contriving mortifications, made him he formed the project of fubftituting the prince Paul, fon of Catharine the Second, under her regency, in the place of Peter the Third. chef prefuppofed the fuccefs of his Beftuplot, from a multitude of groundless calumnies against the Grand Duke, and the favourable reception of Elizabeth; and, laftly, upon the intention of Catharine to deprive her husband of the crown, and to appropriate the regency to herself. It would be prefumptuous to advance, that this princefs was concerned in this plot-but

affuredly

« ForrigeFortsæt »