JOURNEY OV£R MOUNT GOTTHARD. $1$ 



the inhabitants of plains, if they reflected, than the 

 everflowing ftreams of water-fprings, and the continual 

 current of rivers. They muft obferve that fomewhere 

 there muft be an inexhauftible refer voir of waters from 

 whence fources, brooks, and rivers, receive the fupply 

 which they bear away in fuch prodigious quantities. 



He that has come acrofs lofty mountains has feen thefe 

 inexhauftible refer voirs, and has at the fame time ob- 

 ferve d, that they are therefore inexhauftible becaufe 

 they themfelves are daily replenifhed from the atmo- 

 fphere with frelh fupplies ; and then he ealily compre- 

 hends the everlafting current of the rivers. 



On the higheft mountains, the whole year through, 

 it but feldom rains. The vapours fall down in fnow 

 by reafon of the cold that prevails on thefe heights. 

 Hence it is that thefe mountains are all the year co- 

 vered with an incredible quantity of fnow. The whole 

 winter long, the internal warmth of the mountain, 

 from whatever caufe it proceeds, is fufficient to dif- 

 folve continually fome of the fnow, where it happens 

 to lie on warmer places, and to occafion it to drip 

 down the rocks. In fummer the fun has fo much power 

 as daily to melt fo much as is neceflary. Thoufands 

 of little veins run trickling under the fnow, which gra- 

 dually collect from all fides into rills and ftreamlets, 

 and feveral of thefe again unite into a brook, fome 

 of which at length flow together and become a great 

 river. 



It is eafy to comprehend that this magazine of fnow 

 is never exhaufted. As much as the warmth daily 

 melts and caufes to run off, is proportionately fupplied 

 by the falling fnow from the atmofphere. This alone 

 would be fufficient to the perpetual current of the 



t % ftreams 



