-136 Mf\ Bdahigarre'i Excu^Jlons en the Blue Mountains* 



the dinner with a charming cheerfulnefs : the neatnefs of their 

 log-houfe and their manners, recalled to my mind the pidure 

 of the golden age : then I wilhed for a moment to be a Jupiter, 

 in order to beftow on this young couple the reward formerly 

 granted to Philemon and Baucis ; but without having recourfe 

 to the fables of antiquity, let me exprefs here my natural willi : 

 May they never feel the bitter cares of a large fociety ; may 

 their prefent happinefs never be diilurbed by envious or 

 ill- minded' neighbours 1 



We were obliged to come back to our lakes, as the nearell 

 place for our next excurfion. The 28th we fet off in a dire£t 

 courfe to the fouth, in order to reach the higheft fummit of 

 all that body of mountain. That fummit is diflinguilhed from 

 the river by its circular form in the fiiape of a cap, and we 

 took upon us to call it Liberty Cap. In our way we found 

 feveral ridges entirely compofed of granites, which are glutined 

 by a fofter cement than any that we had feen bef^e : the 

 bafe of fome ftrata is fo much undermined, as to form large 

 vaults which could fhelter more than twenty people at once : 

 for my part I ov/n that I w^ould rather be expofed to any 

 ftorm, than to truft my life to fuch place-threatening ruin 

 every moment. We expected to difcover fome fhells or marine 

 bodies among thofe granites ; we paid a particular attention to 

 that refearch — we ventured ourfelves even into dangerous gaps, 

 but 10 no other purpofe than to be convinced that thofe fhells 



