GEOLOGY 'AIOD NATURAL HISTORY. 



69 



which she never again quitted ; 

 passing the last twenty-six years 

 of her life in repose enjoying the 

 society and cherished by the regard 

 of her remaining relatives and 

 friends ; gratified by the occasional 



visits of eminent astronomers, and 

 honoured with many marks of fa- 

 vour and distinction on the part of 

 the King of Hanover, the Crown 

 Prince, and his amiable and illus- 

 trious consort. (Athenreum.) 



GEOLOGY AND NATUEAL HISTOEY, 



SAUSSURE AND THE ARRAN 

 MINERALOGIST. 



Having arrived at Lochranza we 

 saw a house of good appearance, 

 which was said to be the inn. The 

 host was previously announced to 

 us as a man remarkable for his 

 originality; he had cultivated, no 

 one knew how, a taste for geology ; 

 he composed verses, was a musician, 

 a composer, even, without neglect- 

 ing the labours which his small farm 

 required, and fishing, which occu- 

 pied a part of his time. We were 

 eager to enter into the house ; but 

 the interior was far from correspond- 

 ing with the outside; everything 

 was dirty and in the greatest dis- 

 order. The room we were intro- 

 duced into was, at the same time, 

 a sleeping and a drinking room; the 

 stone flags were all loose and full 

 of holes, half of the window was 

 broken, and currents of freezing air 

 penetrated from all pai'ts. It was 

 there, however, we found Mr. Cowie, 

 our host, busy in drinking a bottle 

 of whisky with the doctor of the 

 Isle, who was making the tour of 

 his patients. The latter, whom we 

 had already seen at Brodick, had 

 informed Cowie of our arrival; thus, 

 the moment he saw us he arose, and 

 came with eyes sparkling with joy 

 to invite us to see his minerals, and 

 without even thinking of preparing 

 a fire, or any refreshment for us, he 

 had already commenced a geologi- 

 cal dissertation. 



There was nothing in the house, 

 and it was necessary to send a con- 



siderable way oil to gather turf for 

 fuel. An old woman, who wished 

 to entertain us with distinction, 

 gave herself an incredible move- 

 ment, mounted and descended the 

 staircase, spoke without ceasing, and 

 brought us nothing. It was a 

 frightful noise, and notwithstand- 

 ing so much eagerness, we could not 

 obtain what we demanded. In fine, 

 fatigued with so much bustle, we 

 left the inn, begging Mr. Cowie to 

 show us what the environs possessed 

 as most interesting. But this great 

 man, who would not permit his 

 philosophical pursuits to encroach 

 upon his rustic duties, begged us to 

 allow him to repair a cart before 

 giving himself up to the study of 

 mineralogy. We did not wait long; 

 he conducted us a route as interest- 

 ing for the phenomena of natural 

 history which it presented, as for 

 the beauty of its scenery. (Sauss.) 



GEOLOGICAL ALLEGORY OF THE 

 THIRTEENTH CENTURY. 



The Arabian writers of the mid- 

 dle ages cultivated with some suc- 

 cess the study of mineralogy, but 

 no geological discoveries were eli- 

 cited by their labours. Sir Charles 

 Lyell quotes an Arabian allegory 

 connected with this era, which an- 

 ticipates, in a beautiful and remark- 

 able manner, some of the conclu- 

 sions evolved by the modern geo- 

 logy. It is contained in a manuscript 

 work, entitled the " Wonders of Na- 

 ture," preserved in the Royal Li- 

 braryat Paris,by an Arabian author, 

 Mohammed Kazwiui, who flourish- 



