210 Geographical Collections. 



brake, is heard in the mountains, at whose foot man appears a sightless and di- 

 minutive thing. 



JMountains which have not an abrupt acclivity towards the valley which they 

 border, seldom present an uniform slope from their base to their summit, being 

 generally interrupted by plateaus or escarpements, which sometimes correspond 

 with those of the opposite side. 



The transition rocks, tame in their outline near the limits of the chain, become 

 more and more bold as they approach the central districts, when they cannot be 

 distinguished in their external aspect from the rocks constituting the remainder 

 of the crest. In the disposition of the granitic blocks, vertically placed on almost 

 all the peaks formed of that mountain rock, in a plane parallel to the general di. 

 rection of the mountain chain, has been seen one of the strongest proofs of the 

 stratification of that rock. The same disposition may be observed in the mountains 

 formed of old red sandstone, in the vicinity of Alet, &c. It is almost needless 

 to mention how much the external aspect of the mountains vary between the late- 

 ral and the principal chains. The latter present every where bold yet beautiful 

 features, — the tints of a Guido with the colouring of a Raphael. These are no 

 where more striking in their outline than in the central part of the chain. To 

 him who has visited the Pyrenees, the names of the Port de Benasque, d'Oo, and 

 the Col de Moines, recal scenes of irregular beauty and wildness, equalled in few 

 parts of the world. It is of Gavarnie that the French say, 



// nous faudroit ici Buffon pour la decrire 

 Et Delille pour la chanter. 



And the eloquent and lamented Ramond says, " Figure to yourself a wall of 

 rocks, from three to six hundred feet high, elevated between France and Spain, 

 and physically separating them. Suppose again this wall, curved in the form of 

 a crescent, with its convexity towards France ; and finally imagine, that in the 

 very centre Roland himself, mounted on his war-horse, wished to force a passage, 

 and that with a single blow of his famous sword, he made a breach of three hun- 

 dred feet in width, and you will have an idea of what the mountaineers call ' La 

 brcche de Roland.' " 



Hydrography of Russia. 



Though the southern part of Russia generally presents only a dry soil, in 

 which many obstacles are presented to cultivation, the remainder of the empire is, 

 on the contrary, well watered, and numerous lakes divide the plains, whose mono- 

 tony is still more felt, as the activity of men has hitherto done little towards in- 

 terrupting it. 



Lake Baikal, which Herberstein calls Lacus Kythai, in the government of Ir- 

 koutsk is the largest, and is near 180 leagues in length, and its width varies from 

 five to seventeen leagues. Surrounded by lofty mountains, it absorbs the waters 

 of several rivers, and produces itself only one river. Lake Baikal is of a very 

 great depth ; but in many places its surface hides reefs that render its navigation 

 dangerous. In Europe lakes become more numerous as we advance towards the 

 north. Finland more especially offers a great abundance. 



Lake Ladoga is the most important of European lakes ; it extends between 

 the governments of Vybourg, of Olonetz, and of Petersburg, and its surface, about 

 292 square miles in extent, forms a basin which facilitates the communications 

 witli the interior, and between the two seas. Lake Onega, more to the north, is 

 much less considerable, being only 50 leagues long by 20 broad. The govern- 

 ment of Olonetz, in which it is situated, reckons 1998 smaller lakes within its 

 limits. Lakes Saima and Ilmen, the first in Finland, the other 10 leagues in 

 length, and from 7 to 8 broad, in the government of Novgorod, are much inferior 



