200 TRAVELS IN 
felf, whether it were the phyfical efFed .of the 
temperature of the air, or the moral efFedt of 
the anxiety atifing from my new and alarming 
fituation, was dejeded and difheartened : the 
view of a filent and unbounded horizon had 
w^earied my mind by a painful idea too long 
continued. 
Happily a few hours march gave birth to 
hope. The plain fuddenly changed its ap- 
pearance. The fand and foil were covered 
with a particular grafs, called Bolhmen's 
grafs, the feeds of which are eaten by the 
favages. Even the hills wore a lefs naked 
afped. We difcerntd upon them a few 
little Hunted flirubs, among large kookcr- 
booms, here and there between the micaceous 
rocks, the brilliant furfaces of which, con- 
tinually changing the hues they refleded, 
dazzled our eyes. The plain was flrewed 
vnth large frai.,iTents of quartz, as white as 
fnow, the bafe of w4;ich, or that j-art of them 
that was in contad with the earth, had the co- 
lour and femltranfparency of a pale emerald. 
Probably the foil contained metallic molecules, 
ivhich, penetrating the portions of quartz with 
which they came into contad, gave them this 
huco 
