of Part of t he Rosen lerg Moun tain. 215 



lars. Some, perhaps, that have been related to me are not 

 credible, and others which are credible are too painful. 



The imracdiate cause of this calamitous evtnt is not yel 

 sufficiently ascertained, and probably never will be. The 

 fall of parts of hills is not uncommon, and in Switzerland 

 especially there are several instances recorded of the descent 

 of large masses of earth and sionc. But so sudden and ex- 

 tensive a ruin as this, was, perhaps, never produced by the 

 fall of a mountain. It can be compared only to the, de- 

 struction occasioned by the tremendous eruptions oJ'^tna 

 and Vesuvius, Many persons suppose that the long and 

 copious rains which they have lately had in this part of 

 Switzerland may have swelled the fountains in the Rosenbe.'-g 

 sufficiently to push this part of the mountain off its inclined 

 base. But we saw no marks of streams issuing from any 

 part of the bed which is laid bare. Perhaps the consistency 

 of the earth in the interior of the mountain was so much 

 altered liy the moisture which penetrated into it., that the 

 projection of the Spitsbera; was no longer held by a suf- 

 ficientlv strong cohesion, and its own weight carried it over. 

 Perhajjs, as the earth is calcareous, a kind of fermentation 

 took [ilace sufficient to loosen its foundations. But there is 

 no end to conjectures. The mountain has fallen, and the 

 villages arc no more. 



If we had not been detained at Strasburg wailing for pass- 

 ports for ten days, we should have been in Switzerland on 

 ihe 3d of September, j)robably in the vicinity of the lake 

 of Lowertz; perhaps under the ruins ofGoldau. Several 

 travellers, or rather strangers, have been destroyed ; but whe- 

 ther they were there on business or for pleasure, I know not. 

 Among them are several respectable inhabitants of Berne ; 

 and a young lady of fine accomplishments and amiable cha- 

 racter, whose loss is much lamented. 



XXXVI. De- 



