Sculpturing op the Mountains, 309 
round upon the valleys and ravines on every side, 
each traversed by what seemed such an insignifi- 
cant stream, I felt as if a new geological agent 
were for the first time made known to me. Striking 
as are the proofs of erosion in the country of the 
Limagne, they fall far short of these in the Haute-Loire. 
To be actually realized, such a scene must be visited 
in person. No amount of verbal description, not even 
the most careful drawings, will convey a full sense of 
the magnitude of the changes to one who is acquainted 
with only the rivers of a glaciated country such as 
Britain. The first impression received from a land- 
scape like that round Le Puy is rather one of utter 
bewilderment. The upsetting of all ones previous 
estimates of the power of rain and rivers is sudden and 
complete. It is not without an effort, and after having 
analysed the scene feature by feature, that the 
geologist can take it all in. But when he has done so, 
his views of the effects of sub-aerial disintegration 
become permanently altered, and he quits the district 
with a rooted conviction that there is almost no amount 
of waste and erosion of the solid framework of the 
land which may not be brought about in time by 
the combined influences of springs, frost, rain, and 
rivers.” 
If we contrast all the wear and tear and destruc- 
tion pictured in the foregoing description with the 
unbroken and solid plateau as it appeared after its 
elevation above the sea, we may well wonder how and 
under what conditions all this ruin has been brought 
