416 AN ACCOUNT OF THE PROCEEDINGS 
devoted to the dresses of the gentlemen. Among our number there 
were a very few who had come provided for such emergencies ; and 
one especially, a handsome young exquisite from Paris, was attired 
in the very pink of fashion, with hair covering about four-fifths of 
his face, and gold and jewels about as large a proportion of his 
waistcoat. Contrasted with these was the dress of the rest of us, 
which may be thus described :—Coat any thing but dress, with or 
without holes, as might happen: mine was so time-honoured ; 
waistcoat nothing extraordinary ; trowsers all colours but black ; 
and, lastly, the feet covered, some with boots, some with high walk- 
ing shoes and worsted stockings. This being our condition with 
regard to appearance, the dances of all kinds, waltzes, gallopades, 
and contre-danses, were kept up with great spirit till late. No 
supper was provided, but there were tea and coffee for those who 
chose to pay. A very short time was allowed for rest after these 
exertions; and at half-past three the next morning we were again 
disturbed, that we might be ready to depart at four on a much 
longer expedition, and one which seemed to be the chief object of 
the meeting. Accordingly, before it was light there was to be seen, 
in the “ salle, or manger,” of the principal hotel, the great assembly 
of savans, most deeply engaged in the discussion of coffee ; and out- 
side the house might be found an equally extraordinary train of 
carriages, each with one or more animals attached: but to what 
species either carriage or animal was to be referred would certainly 
much puzzle an English naturalist to determine. Before very 
long, however, and after some clamouring to obtain, I really believe, 
the last vehicle of any kind in the place, we were all packed some 
how or other, and proceeded on our way. The carriages, as I have 
said, were extraordinary: some resembled flies, others looked more 
like carts; and there was one of a kind which every one who has 
been in Switzerland must remember, with the seat sideways, and so 
ingeniously contrived that, under favourable circumstances, the 
whole beauty of a district may be passed by without giving the in- 
habitant the trouble even of admiring it. When we were all depo- 
sited, on we went at a most moderate rate, till after an hour or two 
we stopped, and got out to walk up a hill where the coralline oolite 
was exceedingly well exposed on thé surface of some very highly 
inclined beds. There was here, also, to be noticed one of those 
curious proofs of the slow deposition of beds of limestone, which, 
however common, seem to me always interesting. One of the most 
plentiful fossils in this bed is a species of spatangus, of which nume- 
rous specimens, some extremely large, might be observed along the 
