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THE ALPS. 
the number, the extent, and the variety of the several prospects, the 
irregular wildness of the hills, of the rocks, and of the precipices, 
the noise of rivulets and of torrents breaking and foaming among the 
stones, in such a diversity of shapes and colours, the shining smooth- 
ness of the seas and of the lakes, the rapidity and rumbling of the 
rivers, falling from shelf to shelf, and forcing their streams through 
a multitude of obstructions; the serenity of the azure skies, and the 
splendour of the glorious sun riding in the brightness of his majesty — 
have something so charmingly wild and romantic, and so congenial to 
the contemplative mind, as surpasses ail description, and presents a 
scene, of which the most fervid imagination can scarcely form an idea/' 
Mr. Williams, in his Natural History of the Mineral Kingdom, 
mentions, that “ A great part of the hill of Benevis is composed of 
porphyry. It is a remarkably fine, beautiful, and elegant stone, of a 
reddish cast, in which the pale rose, the bluish, and yellowish white 
colours, are finely blended and shaded through the body of the stone, 
which is of a jelly-like texture, and is undoubtedly one of the finest 
and most elegant stones in the world. About three-fourths of the way 
up this hill, about the north-west side, there is found a porphyry of 
a greenish colour, with a tinge of brownish red. This stone is smooth, 
compact, hard, and heavy ; of a close uniform texture, but of no 
brightness when broken. It is spotted with angular specks, of a white 
quartzy substance. The elegant reddish granite of Benevis is perhaps 
the best and most beautiful in the world ; and there is enough of it 
to serve all the kingdoms in the universe, though they were all as fond 
of granite as ancient Egypt. 
The Alps. 
The Alps are a range of high mountains separating Italy from 
Gaul and Germany, in the form of a crescent. They take their rise 
from tile Vada Sabatia, or Savona, and reach to the Sinus Fla- 
naticus, now Golfo di Carnato, of the Adriatic, and the springs 
of the river Colapis, now the Kulpe ; extending, according to Livy, 
two thousand stadia in length, or two hundred and fifty miles. 
They are divided into several parts, and accordingly have different 
names. From Savona to the springs of the Varus, where the Alps 
lie against the sea of Genoa, they were called Maritimae, now Le 
Montagne di Tenda ; these extend from south to north, between 
Gaul to the west, and Genoa to the east ; beginning at Monaca on 
the Mediterranean, then running out through the east of the county 
of Nice, and between that and the marquisate of Saluzzo, terminate at 
length at mount Viso, between Dauphine and Piedmont. Hence to 
Susa run the Alpes Cottiae or Cottanae, mountains extremely high, 
separating Dauphine from Piedmont, and extending from mount Viso 
to mount Cenis, between the Alpes Maritimae to the south, and. the 
Graiae to the north. The Alpes Graiae, so called from the passage 
of Hercules, begin from mount Cenis, where the Cottiae terminate, 
and run between Savoy and the Tarantese to the WTst, and Piedmont 
and the duchy of Aosta to the east, quite to the great St. Bernard, 
where, the Alpes Fenninae begin. They are also called by some 
