Journey from Vienna. 55 



At and about Konigsberg are rocks that are worked ito for 

 mill-stones; they bear the name of Muhlstein. 'llrey are 

 found also at Hlinik, which is about four leagues to the N. N. W. 

 on the banks of the Gran. The trade in these mill-stones is 

 very considerable throughout all the S. W. parts of Hungary. 



I visited the mines of Konigsberg, which are situatea above 

 the town, and found the metalliferous parts every where in the 

 midst of earthy rocks. The minerals consist chiefly of auri- 

 ferous sulphurated silver, found in masses or in small veins, 

 and portions scattered over a soft substance easily diluted in 

 water. Native gold also is found in fine parcels, mixed with 

 earthy matter, and it is sometimes found in veins of quartz. 

 Sulphurated antimoniated silver, fragile sulphurated silver, and 

 sulphurated antimony, are also occasionally found. There is a 

 very great quantity of sulphurated iron, in little crystals, spread 

 through all parts of the rock. 



The mines of Konigsberg are extremely ancient, and, in 

 earlier periods, were abundantly productive. The payment of 

 the miners consisted then of the gold-dust that would attach 

 to their clothing. This prosperity gave such importance to 

 the place, that queen Mary I., in 1382, built a mint here, and 

 a palace for her own residence. A considerable diminution 

 has taken place, and in lieu of 300 workmen, at present there 

 are only 80. 



The labours of the workmen are not conducted according to 

 the usual methods, but enormous transversal galleries have 

 been formed, constantly pursuing the earthy rocks to indefinite 

 lengths, and only terminating with the mineral, in deposits 

 more or less considerable. This shews that the labours ex- 

 erted in the masses met with here and there, have furnished, 

 at times, an immense produce, at others, hardly covering the 

 expenses. The parts abandoned, whatever the miners advance 

 to the contrary, seem completely exhausted, and their opera- 

 tions are at random, without any fixed data as to the metal- 

 liferous depots. 



I traversed the mountains on both the right and left side of 

 the valley of Gran. In the latter, one general character pre- 

 sented itself, a number of cavities, which appeared like the 

 remains of so many craters. They are covered with a thick 

 vegetation, almost impassable, and contain no vestiges of scori- 

 fied matter, to denote the quondam existence of an igni- 

 vomous aperture. There are, however, near the village of 

 Magospan, in the declivities and lower parts of the earthy 

 sides, basaltes, evidently significative of volcanos, posterior to 

 the formation of the trachytic rocks. These basaltes are in 

 mass, and but seldom divided into distinct prisms j their 



