G4G 



THE UNIVERSE. 



like the cascade of Tanrus, spread out in large sheets at 

 the place where they fall; others precipitate themselves in 

 the form of simple runlets of water from lofty heights, and 

 fall in A^ast basins at their foot, as in the Circus of Gavar- 

 nie ; some spread themselves like a net-work of streams on 



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294. Circus of Gavarnie in tl;ie Pyrenees. 



a gentle slope, and resemble a skein of white silk, whose 

 silvery gleams undulate softly on the verdure of the hillocks. 

 Seen from a distance one might say it was a tress of hair 

 agitated by a gentle wind ; these are what the mountain- 

 eers in their picturesque language call the "Locks of the 

 Magdalen." 



Instead of these mountain cascades, the variety of which 

 pleases the eye, and the distant murmur of which charms 

 the ear, when great streams meet Avith obstructions in their 

 way, cataracts and falls are formed of the most formidable 

 aspect. In some cases large sheets of water, as at Niagara, 



