368 
STALACTITES. 
Arve, between Cluse and Sallenche, he was asto- 
nished to find that in several places the bottom of 
the cavern resounded under his feet as if he had 
been walking on a thin and sonorous vault. This 
was occasioned by a confusedly crystallized stony 
substance, like that which hung from the walls of 
the grotto. Upon examining several little pools of 
stagnant water which were scattered about the bot- 
tom of the cavern, M. de Saussure noticed that a 
sort of powdery crust at first formed on the sur- 
face of the water, which afterwards assumed a more 
solid appearance, and became hard enough to resist 
a smart blow with a hammer. The water dropping 
in abundance through the roof of the cavern, at cer- 
tain times of the year, forms these little pools which 
deposit the alabaster. The water at length draining 
off, leaves the crust perfectly dry ; and this it was 
that surprised Saussure, and made him believe that 
the cavern had a false bottom. 
Fine alabaster is by no means common. The 
Egyptians get this mineral from the mountains of 
Thebaid, situated between the Nile and the Red 
Sea, near a town called Alabastrum. There is said 
to be a colossal figure of an Egyptian god, in the 
national museum at Paris, made with this precious 
alabaster. It is likewise found in several parts of 
France, particularly a fine red kind in the quarries 
at Montmartre. 
