termixed with mica, lie between banks of porphyry; and this, where the calcareous ftone is covered with micaceous fchiftus.

But it is important to obferve, that in both quarries the calcareous matter is in the ftate of fpar; that is to fay, it has undergone a confused cryftallization, during which tumultuous and rapid operation, it has feized fome particles, or rather finall lamina of mica. No veftige of marine bodies is ever found in thefe circumstances, as the calcareous matter is then in a sparry state, that is, held in a ftate of folution; the first mode of its existence being effaced by the agitation and fufpenfion of the particles in a fluid, which has occafioned a confufed cryftallization.

I do not, however, think that the opinion would be well founded, that this calcareous ftone, which difcovers no trace of any organic fubftance, is the product of an original earth, formed by nature, without the concurrence of fhells, madrepores, or other marine bodies. For how can we be certain that the calcareous ftrata here mentioned, have not been produced at a more early period by the animals of the ancient ocean, of whom the matter then bore diftinctive traces, which have been fubfequently effaced by folution, change of place, and fecondary cryftallization.

We fee every day inftances of new aggregations, deftructive of the primitive forms. The grottos of Antiparos, of Our Lady of Bal-. ma, and feveral others, exift in the midst of calcareous rocks of hells.

The droppings which daily fall from the roof of fubterraneous caverns, produce confiderable maffes of ftalactites towards the top of the vaults, and of stalagmites on the fides, or towards the bottom. Would one be authorifed, on examining fome tables of thefe ftalagmites, or calcareous alabafters, fufceptible of fo fine a polish, and of a femi-transparency, fo agreeable to the eye, to pronounce that, as they exhibit no veftige of an organic body, the fe fecondary ftones are the products of a primitive calcareous matter, that is, of a matter which came out of the hands of nature in its prefent form? As if it were allowable in good logic to break the thread of analogies; as if a series of analogical facts did not at least amount to probabilities; as if the expreffions, primitive mountains, original calcareous matter, were any thing else than unintelligible abftractions, when we obferve visible and palpable agents which produce and even affimilate themfelves to the calcareous matter in organic forms. These forms are so many diftinguishing marks, and interefting indications, proper to direct us in the painful and difficult path of the hiftory of the revolutions of the earth.-Upon all occafions then, when we fee them effaced, in circumstances where the matter, lofing its organic form, is modified into fpar, alabafter, ftalactites, faline marble, or gypsum; I do not conceive that we are juftified in pronouncing decifively that it has not been produced by organic bodies, or that it has never paffed through animal filters. It is the fame with the mountains denominated primitive; with thofe of granite,

for example, which are formed by the aggregation of feveral fub. stances of different origin, that neceffarily fuppofe an existence anterior to that of their aggregation, in the forms of felt-fpar, mica, fchorl, quartzofe, calcareous, and fometimes ferruginous particles. But I fhall proceed no farther, as this is not a place to enter into the difcuffion of thefe great and important queftions.' Vol. i. P. 277.

We have felected this paffage as a contraft to our author's acute obfervations, and as a specimen of his defective reafoning, of which we meet with fome other inftances. We cannot, indeed, pronounce, that fpars or granites never exifted in a lefs compounded flate; but it is, perhaps, more difficult to fhow, that they have done fo. A rapid and confufed cryitallifation of bodies not very foluble, fhows that they must have been diffufed in a very large proportion of water, or dilolved in a menftruum, whofe affinities were fuddenly changed. In each inftance, we muft refer to a prior ftate of the globe, different from its prefent habitable nature; in other words, we may juftly pronounce thefe rocks primæval; nor can the confequence be avoided by any Neptunian geologift. The oppofite fyftem of fire would, circuitoufly, bring us to the fame conclufion.

The numerous tomb-ftones in the church-yard of Dalmally, with the rude and difproportioned, but laboured ornaments, perplexed our traveller. We muft, however, refer them to the middle ages, when the fciences found refuge on the western coaft. Thefe ftones are formed of a lapis ollaris, which, when raised from it: beds, is by no means hard.

In his journey to Oban, our phiiciopher was overtaken by a terrific ftorm. The adventure is well related, and will en tertain our readers.

Notwithstanding the badnefs of the road, we got forward at a good pace for nearly an hour; but night came on, and the clouds feemed to dafh against each other. We heard the tempest growl at a distance. The moon was not yet vifible, but had he been rifen the would have been covered with dark clouds. The thunder roared, and vivid flanes of lightning fucceeded each other. We proceeded, however, in fome degree of fecurity during half an hour, when, with a tremendous clap of thunder, all the force of the ftorm burit above us. A deluge of rain poured down. The darkness increafed, and in a few minutes it was not pollible to fee the road.

Patrick Frafer got out of the chaife, went before the horses, and groped with his hands for the track of the road: the horses, terrified by the noife of the torrents, by the lightning and the thunder, moved flowly along, and halted at every step. At laft our conductors advised us to come out of our carriages, notwithstanding the dreadful rain; for they found that we had loft our way, and were afraid that we might be overturned, and fall down fome precipice.

We did as we were directed, and it was full time to adopt this courfe, for we were upon the edge of very fteep rocks; fome fupported the chaifes, fome held back the wheels, and others endeavoured to find fome traces of the road. In this manner we pro ceeded flowly onwards, with much trouble and great fear, not knowing where we were, nor where we were going.

At ten o'clock Patrick Frafer, hearing the noife of the fea, said, "We are completely out of our way, there is no doubt of it. I cannot tell where we are. Oban, however, cannot be far off; for we have travelled a long time, and we now hear the fea; it appears that we have got upon fome elevated place, and we must use all our prudence to rectify this wrong ftep."

At midnight our danger and difficulties increafed; we heard the waves of the fea dafhing frightfully against the foot of the mountain on which we were. This increafed our fears, and we stopped every moment to confult upon which way we might turn with fafety. Such was our fituation in this wild region: embarraffed by our horfes and carriages; creeping along steep and flippery declivities, where it was fcarcely poffible to keep our footing, and the rain continuing with increafed force.

The activity of Patrick Frafer was great, and he was almost the foremost upon the look-out. He came back to inform us that it was neceffary to turn to the left, to avoid falling into the fea; that he believed he heard a stream about two hundred toifes diftant, and that by gaining its bed we might find fome outlet from the rugged track in which we were involved.

We turned, and arrived with great difficulty at the brink of a small torrent; but the declivity of the bank was rapid, and the noise of the water announced a deep hollow. It was, however, neceflary to attempt this difficult paffage through briars and ftones. The first carriage and chaife got down without any accident. The fecond overturned, but was got up before the horfes were Lurt, and there was nothing damaged but fome of our baggage. The third fucceeded better.

Having entered the bed of the rivulet we coafted along its banks, walking up to the knees in water. In about a quarter of an hour the noise of a cascade, nor far from us, fuddenly flopped our pregrefs. A ray of the moon penetrated through the dark clouds, and by its light we obferved a few tufted trees, a fmall meadow, and fome cultivated fields.' Vol. i. P. 312.

St. Fond, fearing to attempt the paffage to Mull, in a stormy day, and in a frail bark, waited for fairer weather and a flouter boat, while his adventurous companions attempted the paffage. In this interval, he was annoyed by the extreme civility of a Highland piper, who, imagining him to be delighted with his inftrument, played during a great part of the night. Explanation was impoffible; for they had no common lan

guage. In other refpects, he was happy in roaming over the adjacent mountains, examining their contents, collecting fpecimens, and defcribing them, while the exercife and keen air contributed to fharpen his appetite and increafe his ftrength. Thefe mountains are, in general, compofed of argillaceous fchiftus, lapis ollaris and fteatites, or of trapp, porphyry and lava, with fome calcareous ftones. The account is very interefting, particularly of the volcanic part, which St. Fond fuppofes, without reafon, to have been a fubmarine volcano, from not adverting to the comparatively small degree of heat of lavas. The various ftones are agglutinated by a hard cement, which is quartzy, but in part calcareous. Thefe contribute, in his opinion, to fupport the idea that this was a volcano which burft from the bottom of the fea; but the various puddingftones in different places, where the flime, &c. of an ocean could have no fhare, tend to deftroy this hypothefis.

In the fecond volume, our author commences the narrative of his voyage to the Hebrides: but the manners of the modern Hebridians have been too often defcribed to require our particular notice. The fpirit, the activity, the uncultivated good fense of these islanders, have been often the theme of the traveller's panegyric; and M. St. Fond adds his teftimony to the general ftock, while the cheerful attentive hofpitality of the principal inhabitants fmoothed every difficulty and repaired every lofs. His friends, who preceded him, attempted to land at Staffa, but were obliged to return after various hardfhips, which, from the pleafant ludicrous detail, lofe every thing terrific. Many accidents, commonly styled misfortunes, would wear the fame hue, if they were feen through the fame medium. Iona, the receptacle of literature, and the feat of civilifation in Scotland during the middle ages, now furnishes no fhelter but what the traveller muft fhare with the brutes around, and no beds but thofe on which they have repofed. Staffa is furrounded by a fea fo furious, and its coafts are fo rocky, that nature feems to have fecluded it from common eyes, and to have referved it for the intrepid philofopher. As much has been faid of this cave by Von Troil and Mr. Pennant, we fhall not enlarge on it, but fhall tranfcribe only what more particularly belongs to the prefent writer.

As the fea was far from being completely ftill, when 1 vifited it, I heard a noife of a very different nature every time that the waves, in rapid fucceffion, broke against its bottom. This found refembled that which is produced by ftriking a large hard body with great weight and force against another hard body in a fubterraneous cavity. The fhock was fo violent that it was heard at fome distance, and the whole cavern feemed to shake with it. Being

close to the place whence the found iffued, and where the water is not fo deep upon the retreat of the wave, I endeavoured to discover the cause of this terrible collifion. I foon obferved, that, a little below the bans which fupported the organ-fronted colonade, there was an aperture which formed the outlet of a hollow, or perhaps a fmall cave. It was impoffible to penetrate into this cavity, but it may be prefumed that the tremendous noife was occafioned by a broken rock, driven by the violent impetuofity of the furge againft its fides. By the boiling motion of the water, however, in the fame place, it is evident that there are feveral other fmall paflages, through which it iffites, after rufhing into the principal aperture in a maís. It is therefore not impoffible, when the fea is not fufficiently agi tated, to put the emprifoned rock in motion, that the air, ftrongly compreffed by the weight of the water, which is in inceffant fluctuation, should, on rushing out by the small lateral paffages, produce a particular ftrange found. It might then be truly regarded as an organ created by the hand of nature; and this circumstance would fully explain why the ancient and real name of this cave in the Earfe language is, the melodious cave*. Vol. ii. P. 49.

'More than one half [of] the circumference of the ifle is occupied by very handfome colonades, which are completely bare on the fide next the fea. They reft in general on a current of gravelly lava, which ferves for their bafis and fupport; and they follow the direction more or lefs inclined, more or lefs horizontal of the current. All these prifmatic caufeways are covered with a vast stream of lava, more or lefs compact, and tending more or lefs to a prifmatic form. The fummit of this covering is fpread over with a little vegetable earth formed by decompofed lava, and with fome thin common grafs.

'Above one half [of] the ifland therefore is fupported by columns more or lefs perpendicular, and the remaining part entirely confifts of lavas more or lefs compact, more or lefs decompofed, more or lefs intermixed with fragments of other lavas, zeolitic infiltrations,

*Sir Jofeph Banks is the first who gave the cave of Staffa the name of the cave of Fingal. I made the most minute enquiries of feveral perfons well skilled in the Earle, Gaulic, or Celtic language, to know what relation this cave had to the father of Olian. And thefe gentlemen, as well as others, affured me, that the mistake was owing to the name being equivocal. The following is their explanation; the true name of the cave is an-a-vine. An, the; uu, grotto, cave, cavern; vine, melodious. The name of Fingal in the fame language is fpelled and pronounced Fion in the nominative. But the Earfe nouns are declinable, and the genitive of Fingal is Fine; fo that if one wifhed to express the cave of Fingal in the Earfe language, he would write an-ua-fine. Thus between the Earfe vine melodious, and the genitive of Fingal fine, there is no other difference than the change of the letter into f; and fome perfon not very well verfed in the Earfe language, might have tranflated to fir Jofeph Banks the words an ua-vine by the cave of Fingal, whilft the true and literal interpretation is, the melodious cave. In this cafe, the obfervation of Mr. Troil, on the agreeable found which he heard iifning from the bottom of the cave when the water rushed in, is valuable, and comes in fupport of the true denomination.