the landlord of the Broken, and having both put ourselves in the same position I had taken alone, we looked towards the Achtermannshöhe, but saw nothing. We had not, however, stood long, before two similar colossal figures were formed over the above eminence, which, after repeating the various gesticulations of our bodies, vanished. We, however, still retained our position, keeping our eyes fixed on the same spot, and in a little while the two figures again stood before us, and were joined by a third, who had by this time added himself to our company. Every movement that we made by bending our bodies, these figures imitated,--but with this difference, that the phenomenon sometimes was weak and faint, and at others strong and well defined.

"Having thus had an opportunity of discovering the whole secret of this extraordinary appearance, I can give the following information to such of my readers as may be desirous of seeing it for themselves. When the rising sun, and, according to analogy, the case will be the same when the setting sun throws his rays over the Broken, upon the body of a man standing opposite to fine light clouds floating around, or hovering past him, he needs only fix his eyes stedfastly upon them, and in all probability he will see the singular spectacle of his own shadow, extending to the length of five or six hundred feet, at the distance of about two miles before him." It is said, there is, in the Manchester Transactions, an account of a similar phenomenon observed by Dr. Ferrier, on a hill in England."

THE GAUTS, or INDIAN APPENINES.-These form a stupendous wall of mountains, which extends from Cape Comorin, the southern point of the Peninsula of Hindoostan, to the Tapty, or Surat river, at unequal distances from the sea coast; it is seldom more than sixty miles, commonly about forty, and in one part approaches within six miles. These mountains rise abruptly from the country of Concan, bounding, in the form of a terrace, a vast extent of fertile and populous plains, which are so elevated as to render the air cool and pleasant. The height is supposed to be from 3000 to 4000 feet.

This celebrated ridge does not terminate in a point when it approaches the Tapty; but, departing in this place from its meridional course, it bends eastward in a serpentine line, parallel to the river, and is afterwards lost among the hills in the neighbourhood of Burrhampour. In its course along the Tapty, it forms several passes or descents towards that river, from whence it derives the name of Gauts, which means a landing-place. The alternate N. E. and S. W. winds, called monsoons, occasion a rainy season only on one side, viz. on the windward side of these mountains

We would now wish to draw the attention of the reader from the Indian Appenines, to Pico, a mountain which rears its lofty head in an island of the same name.-It is filled with dismal dark caverns, or volcanoes, which frequently emit flame, smoke, and ashes, to a great distance. At the foot of it, towards the east, is a spring of fresh water, which is generally cold, but sometimes is so heated with subterraneous fire, as to rush forth in torrents, with a kind of ebullition like boiling water; equalling that in heat, and sending forth a steam of sulphureous fetid vapours, mixed with liquefied stones, minerals, and flakes of earth, all on fire, in such quantities, and with such violence, as to form a kind of promontory, on the declivity of the coast, and at the distance of 1200 paces from the fountain, which is vulgarly called Mysterious.-Such is the account given by Ortelius.

WRITTEN MOUNTAINS, MOUNTAINS OF INSCRIPTIONS, or JIBBEL EL MOKATTEB.-This is a mountain, or chain of mountains, said to be in the wilderness of Sinai; and the marble, of which it is composed, is reported to be inscribed to a considerable extent with innumerable characters, reaching from the ground sometimes to the height of twelve or fourteen feet. These were mentioned by a Greek author in the third century; but although some of them have been copied by Pococke, Montague, and other late writers, some have affected to entertain doubts whether even the mountains themselves .really exist.

The vast number of these inscriptions, the desert place in which they are found, and the length of time requisite for executing the task, induced a notion that they are the work of the Israelites during their forty years' wandering in the wilderness. Others are of opinion, that they consist merely of the names of travellers, and the dates of their journeys. M. Niebuhr, who visited this country in September, 1762, made every attempt in his power, though without success, to obtain a sight of this celebrated mountain. After much vain inquiry, he was at last conducted to some rocks, upon which there were inscriptions in unknown characters. They are most numerous in a narrow pass between two mountains, named Omer-ridstein; and, says M. Niebuhr, "the pretended Jibbel El Mokatteb, may possibly be in its neighbourhood." Some of these inscriptions were copied by our author, but he does not look upon them to be of any consequence. At length, when M. Niebuhr arrived at the mountain to which the shiek had promised to conduct him, he found no inscription; but on climbing up to the top, he discovered an Egyptian cemetery, the stones of which were covered with hieroglyphics. The tomb stones were from five to seven feet long, some being

erect, and others lying flat; and "the more carefully they are examined, (says he,) the more certainly do they appear to be sepulchral stones, having epitaphs inscribed on them." The translator of Volney's Travels ascribes these inscriptions to the pilgrims who have visited Mount Sinai; but they ought surely to have been written in a language which somebody could understand; yet from the copies that have been taken of them by Dr. Pococke and others, it does not appear that they could be explained by any person. When Dr. Clayton, bishop of Clogher, visited this part of the world, about 1723, he expressed the greatest desire to have the matter concerning these written mountains ascertained, and even made an offer of £500 sterling to any literary person, who would undertake the journey, and endeavour to decipher the inscriptions; but no such person appeared.

The next object that rises in our view is MOUNT ATHOS,— a mountain of Chalcidia in Macedonia, equally celebrated in ancient and modern times. The ancients entertained extravagant notions concerning its height. Mela affirmed it to be so high as to reach above the clouds, which at that time might have been considered a bold assertion; and Martianus Capellinus says, that its elevation was six miles. It was a received opinion, that mount Athos was above the middle region of the air, and that it never rained upon or near its summit, because the ashes left on the altars there, were always found as they had been left, dry and unscattered.

The modern Greeks, struck with its singular situation, and the venerable appearance of its towering ascent, erected so many churches, monasteries, hermitages, &c. upon it, that it became in a manner inhabited by a company of religious devotees; and from thence received the name of Monte Santo, or the Holy Mountain; which appellation it still retains, though many of those consecrated buildings are now fallen into ruin and decay.

According to the accounts of modern travellers, this mountain advances into the Archipelago, on the south of the gulf of Contessa, and is joined to the continent by an isthmus about half a league in breadth. It is estimated to be thirty miles in circumference, and two in perpendicular height. It may be travelled over in about three days, and is to be seen at the great distance of ninety miles. There is a fine prospect from the top; but, like all other high mountains, the cold on its summit is excessive. It abounds with many different kinds of plants and trees, particularly the pine and fir. In the valleys grows a plant called elegia, whose branches serve to make pens for writing. In short, this mountain is said to be adorned with a variety of herbage and evergreens, a multi

tude of springs and streams, with woods extending almost to the sea shore, which happy combination of circumstances renders it one of the most agreeable places in the world. There are twenty-four large old monasteries upon it, surrounded with high walls, and inhabited by Camoyers, a certain description of Greek monks.

Through this mountain, or rather through the isthmus behind it, Xerxes king of Persia is said to have cut a passage for his fleet, when about to invade Greece. In this arduous. task he spent three whole years, and employed in it all the forces on board his fleet. He is also said, before the work begun, to have written the following ridiculous letter to the mountain: "Athos, thou proud and aspiring mountain, that liftest up thy head to the very skies, I advise thee not to be so audacious, as to put rocks and stones, that cannot be cut, in the way of my workmen. If thou makest that opposition, I will cut thee entirely down, and throw thee headlong into the sea!" The directors of this enterprise are said to have been Bubaris, the son of Megabysus, and Artacheus, the son of Arbeus, both Persians; but as no traces of such a great work remains, the truth of the whole relation bas justly been questioned. This venerable mountain constitutes one entire chain, extending seven miles in length, and three in breadth, and is situated about seventy miles east of Salonichi, the ancient Thessalonica.

We will now accompany Sir George Mackenzie to THE SULPHUR MOUNTAINS, IN THE ISLAND OF ICELAND.— Having taken an early breakfast, (says he,) we set out towards the Sulphur Mountain, which is about three miles distant from Krisuvik. At the foot of the mountain was a small bank, composed chiefly of white clay mixed with sulphur, from all parts of which steam issued. Ascending it, we got upon a ridge immediately above a deep hollow, from which a profusion of vapour arose, and heard a confused noise of boiling and splashing, joined to the roaring of steam excaping from narrow crevices in the rock. This hollow, together with the whole side of the mountain opposite, as far up as we could see, was covered with sulphur and clay, chiefly of a white or yellowish colour. Walking over this soft and steaming surface, we found to be very hazardous, and we were frequently very uneasy when the vapour concealed us from each other.

"The day, however, being dry and and warm, the surface was not so slippery as to occasion much risk of our falling. The danger of the crust of sulphur breaking, or of the clay sinking with us, was great; and we were several times in mminent peril of being scalded. Mr. Bright ran at one time a great hazard, and suffered considerable pain

from accidentally plunging one of his legs into the hot clay.

From whatever spot the sulphur was removed, steam instantly escaped; and in many places, the sulphur was so hot that we could scarcely handle it. From the smell, we perceived that the steam was mixed with a small quantity of sulphuretted hydrogen gas. When the thermometer was sunk a few inches into the clay, it rose generally to within a few degrees of the boiling point. By stepping cautiously, and avoiding every little hole from which steam issued, we soon discovered how far we might venture. Our good fortune, however, ought not to tempt any person to examine this wonderful place, without being provided with two boards, with which every part of the banks may be traversed in perfect

safety.

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"At the bottom of this hollow, we found a caldron of boiling mud, about fifteen feet in diameter, similar to that on the top of the mountain, which we had seen the evening before; but this boiled with much more vehemence. We went within a few yards of it, the wind happening to be remarkably favourable for our viewing every part of this singular place. The mud was in constant agitation, and often thrown up to the height of six or eight feet. Near this spot was an irregular space, filled with water boiling briskly. At the foot of the hill, is a hollow formed by a bank of clay and sulphur, whence steam rushed with great force and noise from among the loose fragments of rock.

"Further up the mountain, we met with a spring of cold water, a circumstance little expected in a place like this. Ascending still higher, we came to a ridge composed entirely of sulphur and clay, joining two summits of the mountain Here we found a much greater quantity of sulphur than on any other part of the surface, over which we had yet gone. It formed a smooth crust, from a quarter of an inch to several inches in thickness. The crust was beautifully crystallized, and immediately beneath it we found a quantity of loose granular sulphur, which appeared to be collecting and crystallizing, as it was sublimed along with the steam. Sometimes we met with clay of different colours, white, red, and blue, under the crust; but we could not examine this place to any depth, as, the moment the crust was removed, steam issued, and proved extremely annoying. We found several pieces of wood, which were probably the remains of planks that had been formerly used in collecting the sulphur, small crystals of which partially covered them.

"There appeared to be a constant sublimation of this substance; and were artificial chambers constructed for the reception and condensation of vapours, much of it might pro