of apart of the Saguenay Country. 93 
the finer operations of bas relief either to the Parian, of which 
the aspect interferes with the delicacy of finish and of sur- 
face required in these works, or to the Pentelic, which was 
subject to accidents from veins of mica and of serpentine ; or 
to that of Carrara, in which dark veins are of frequent occurrence. 
It was accordingly preferred by the ancients, and among many 
other works, the Apollo (Belvidere) is said to have been ex- 
ecuted in Luna marble. We have no other knowledge of the 
marbles of Hymettus and of Arabia than their names. 
« Of all the marbles employed in the works of the ancients, 
and of which many specimens have descended to our days, that 
of Carrara is almost the only one which is at present held in 
estimation, or is now accessible to modern sculptors. This 
marble is of a very fine grain and compact texture ; it is also 
susceptible of a high polish when required, and is consequently 
applicable to every species of sculpture, except when, as is too 
often the case, dark yeins intrude and spoil the beauty of the 
work. Notwithstanding the general apparent uniformity of its 
texture, it offers different varieties of aspect. It is always of a 
fine granular fracture, yet this fracture is sometimes combined 
with a slight tendency to the flat splintery, in which case the 
stone is harder and more translucent than when it is purely gra- 
nular. When merely granular, it is sometimes dry and crumbly, 
precisely as if it had been exposed to a high heat ; it then 
loses much of its transparency, and is called woolly by sculptors. 
Its transparency is various, and in some cases nearly eqnal to 
that of alabaster, (granular gypsum.) 
“ The last of the ancient marbles which I shall describe, 
is that of Pentelicus of which the quarries are probably still 
to be found in the vicinity of Athens, although they have 
not been investigated by modern travellers. This marble ia 
of a loose texture, aud moderate sized grain, coarser than 
that of Carrara but finer than that of Paros; in colour it is 
Cx- 
