too 



ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE 



_^ 



caufe of their being fo aded on ; and, when it 

 defcends in torrents, carrying with it fand, gra- 

 vel, and fragments of rock, it may be truly faid 

 to tarn the forces of the mineral kingdom againft 

 itfelf. Every feparation which it makes is ne- 

 ceiTarily permanent, and the parts once detach- 

 ed can never be united, fave at the bottom of 

 the ocean. 



96. But it would far exceed the limits of this 

 iketch, to purfue the caufes of mineral decora- 

 pofition through all their forms. It is fufficient 

 to remark, that the confequence of fo many mi- 

 nute, but indefatigable agents, all working toge- 



i ■ ' ' ' 



ther, and having gravity in their favour, is afyf- 

 tem of univerfai decay and degradation, which 

 may be traced over the whole farface of the land, 



7 



+ 



from the mountain top to the fea ihore. That we 



may perceive the full evidence of this truth, one 

 of the mod important in the natural hiilory of the 



glob 





we will begin our furvey from the latter 



ofthefe ftations, and retire gradually toward the 

 former. 



97. If the coad is bold and rocky, it fpeaks 



r 



a language eafy to be interpreted. Its broken 



* I- 



and abrupt contour, the deep gulphs and falient 

 promontories by which it is indented, and the pro- 

 portion v;hich thefe irregularities bear to the force 



r 



of the waves, combined with the inequality of 



hardnefs in the rocks, prove, that the prefent 



line 



i 



