On Bafultes. 233 



have directed him to parts of the coaft, which would have 

 afforded him fubjects of greater beauty as well as novelty. 

 But, upon reflection, I think he has made the beft choice, 

 as the name of the Giants' Caufeway will probably excite an 

 attention to the fubject and the artift, which more ttupendous 

 feencry could not have procured with fuch as had not feen it. 

 It remains, then, to relate a few paiticulars belonging to this 

 wonderful production of nature, and to give a brief ftatement 

 of the controverfies to which it has given rife among modern 

 naturahiis. 



The Giants* Caufeway has been often compared to a 

 honeycomb, which it certainly refembles much ; but accu- 

 rate obfervers find a very linking difference between their 

 component prifms. The powers of the bee feem to be li- 

 mited $ he can conftru£t his cell of no other figure than a 

 regular hexagon, that is, with fix (ides. 



Mathematicians well know that the hexagon is the only 

 regular figure (with more fides than four), of which a number 

 put together completely fill up fpace. 



Vet it appears that in the Giants' Caufeway, the fpace is 

 completely filled without any fuch limitation, figures of every 

 number of fides from three to eight (as Dr. Hamilton ob- 

 serves) being intermixed, yet the fpace is as accurately filled 

 up as in the honeycomb, and fo clofely as to hold water 

 when a hollow in the fur face luffers it to collect. 



The extreme regularity of the Giants' Caufeway pillars has 

 much embarrafled naturalifts : fome afcribe their regularity 

 to crystallization ; but the celebrated Mr. Kirwan has fhown 

 that in many particulars thefe prifms differ from all known 

 cryftals. 



Some, modern philofophers follow the opinion of a French 

 naturalitt, a M. Defmareltj- who fuppofed the Giants' Caufe- 

 way to be of volcanic origin, and that its regular prifms were 

 formed in the currents of lava as they cooled. To this it has 

 been ftrongly objected that fimilar figures have not been found 

 in the currents of any known volcano. 



Dr. Hamilton and M. Monnet allege that thefe prifms 

 were formed in the heart of the volcano, at the bottom of its 

 crater, and that we mult wait until the mountain decays be- 

 fore we can difcover them. 



But they cannot have been formed there, as regular bafalt 

 prifms abound on the tops of mountains, and alfo feveral 

 ranges of them are found placed alternately one over the other, 

 forming accumulations many firata deep and moft regularly 

 difpofed, which, had they been in the crater of a volcano, 



K % jnuffc 



