J-Vih/i the \l!c Muitt’t's; Mi/guziii..
Tlir. TAI3I.KT OF TUUTH.
fit down, Mr. C'lipstone, and take
These hints vhilc my feelings :ire frcbh;
My unde, Sir Lionel Lake,
. lias journey’d Ific way of ail flei,!^.
His iieirs would in-niurblc imprint
His merits aloft o’er his pi w —
Allow me the outline to hint—
Td finish, cf course, rcirti with you.
Ajid first, with a visag’e of wn,
Carve two little cherubs of lov^-.
Lamenting' to lose one below
They never M ill look on above.
And next, in smooth porphyry mould,
(Vou cannot well cut them too sinu]!)
Two liliput goblets, to hold
The tefcrs tli&t his widow letsf;.ll.
>Vhere charity seeks a supply
He leaves not Iiis equal behind .
I’m told there is not a dry eye'
In the School for the Ir.d'.g’ent BUut!.
Then chisel (not sunk in repose.
But in alio relief, to endure,)
An ordei!/ line of round O’s
For the money lie gave to the poor.
1 league not in I’hyme witli the band
M e elevate sound over sense :
>Vherc V'anfty bellows “expand,’’
Humility wiiispers “ condenhc.’'
'Then mark, with your mallet and blade,
To paint the defunct to the life,
lour stars for his conduct in trade,
And a blank for his love of his wife.
'Tis done,—to complete a design,
In brevity rivalling Greecc,
Imprint me a black dotted line
For the friends who lament his deccuse.
Thus letter’d with merited praise.
Ere long shall our travel-fraught youth
Turn back from the false Pere-La-Chaise
To gaze on my Tablet of Truth.
Mixing together profit and delight.
AVALANCHES.
[To the Editor of theXondon Mcckania* Reels-
ter.]
Sir—In taking an enlarged view of
the great and various phenomena of na
ture, which I have lent my assistance to
trace in some of your columns, we ought
not to oinit those tremendous elements
of destruction, the Avalanches, peculiar
to mountainous countries, that frequent
ly close up lakes and valleys ; alter the
tourses of rivers ; and bury under their
overwhelming masses, entire districts,
with their towns, villages, and inhabit
ants, whom they hurry into eternity
without a mpment^s previous notice.
It may be instructive to trace the cau
ses of these phenomena, which are not
generally understood in this happy land,
where, fortunately for us, they are com
paratively unknown ; and having done
this I will venture to state some inter
esting particulars of 07w that occurred
in Switzerland, over the ruins of which
I passed about ten years afterwards,
when, such was the extent of' the niis-
, fortunes it brought upon hundreds of
families in its neighborhood, tliat it will
long be remembered by many who even
at this time are still mourning over the
friends they had lost. This was the fall
. of the Ross-berg, which is the bounda-
ly on one side of the little valley of
Goldaj.
MauntiTins which are subject to the
panicular species of Avalanche, some
times termed a Land-dipy like ttie Uig-
lii-bergand Koss-berg, are usually com
posed of Breccia (which seems fo be a
conglomeration of sand and stones, more
or less firmly cemented together,) thai
>5 particularly liable to be acled upon
by rains and frc.^t, and ever, by clrqu;i;iits,
heitig observei-l to omoii in lai't^o fissures,
that soon are filled n'oltin''-
of the snows, or by , anci tliis in
♦urn being acted Dpon by iVoit, biirvt,s
asunder and dcliiches bijj^t* masses that,
' Oine rolling down, w/th a noise llkr
I'junder, bearing every thing before
them into the valleys l;oneatli. This
uropevty of \\nler expanding bv fret.;-
is bO \vell uiidei>food in
.‘hat in some parts tiiey avail themselves
"f it, as wc do of gtinpowdor, for the
rlnsting of rocks—all that is necessarv
It'iiig to bore the rock, as in the otl.e!-
»'3sp, in the direction they wii>h it to
: j)iit, and tl'.us leave it to n.'iv.ne to j^cr-
lui m the rest. 'I'he apertui’cs are soon
Idled by Iho t ains, which fall in the ear-
iy j)art of winter, and as this season
ridvances, the work is completed.hv the
trost. Trees and roots, which are oft
en of a great size there, are frequently
bplit by the same means.
lint to return to the subject—another
powerful cause' whicli aius conjointly
Witli t!ie others in occasioning gr^;at
reiils in these mountains, is found to be
th!_accumulatron of va.>t masses of oon-
gjealcd snow tliat adhere to the “peaks
( iiiT', t'.c \*iei^iit u.’
which i> olti.n .suirj, icnt ly giL-at to cause
the mouiitain to sejjaralL-. 'I'his was
tuj,'])0sed to be tiie case v/ith the one
we have been speaking of at tiic Ross-
berg, which took pinco at j>. :.t. on the
J(l Septi-mber. 1806, as it was jjarticn-
larly re:v;aiked of it, that there had
been a continued fal! of snow during tfie
i!‘jonths dl July and August pieccding,
^uccet'ded by heavy*aius, and snbse-
ijuentiy by iVosf, u Ixmi !ou1 reports like
the ei.ioking of tlie mouniain had been
iieard at dilVerent times. The rents or
li'sures, hijwever, wiiich had, no donbt,
tnkei; place, esc:ij)t'd observation at the
lime, fijni the circumstance of the
mountain being (liickly covered with
wood. (Ml thf day on which the ca
tastrophe occuried. not more than t/urc
or Jour persons had any intimation of
wliat was going to Irippen ; those peo
ple were at work on the lower part of
the mountain, but bein” alarmed by the
incjoa.'iing noises they heard, and final
ly by a vibration cf the mountain itself;
they had only time to escape with tiieir
iive.s, withoi.t .being able to nfiord aiiV
warning to the viihigcs and inhabitants
that were nifar lliein ; at last, tlie munn-
tain was seen to sepaiale, and tiie wi.ole
of that part which extended between
the Spitzbual and the Steinbergerlloue,
detached itself and came down, bring
ing with it a vvholoMbrest of trees, with
a horrible crash, covering i.early two-
thirds ol the iK-autiful, smiling, and
hitherto peaceful valley of Goldau, and
a small part of Uousinghen, to a dc])th
ot perhaps 200 ieet, and burying under
the ruins the villages of (.loldau, JJous-
inghen, Ober-Roethen, Unter-Roeaien,
and'howertz—together with their in
habitants, formerly so celebrated in these
parts for their line aj)pearanee, their bra
very, and frugal ana industrious habits.
Four hundred and tfiirtj-tlirce persons
are known to have perished on this un
fortunate occasion, including sixteen
tourists or strangers from various parts,
and eight individuals that were known
to be there from J3erne and Argovie—
w’hilst about Jive hundred and Ihirtij
more were ruined by the entire destruc
tion of their properties ; and what ad
ded to the loss of ilie latter, was the cir
cumstance of some part of the dehri.s
having fallen into the western part of
the lake ol Lowertz, and forcing out
the waters upon the land, swept^with
them on their return back into the lake,
many housps v/ith their inhabitants, that,
were placed in its vicinity. The littlu
valley of (loldau, whi?h (before i;.is)
was considered one of the liiost beauti
ful and fertile in all Switzerland, is ve
ry narrow, having on opposite sides, the
Righi, and Ross-berg, and is about two
leagues in length, terminating at one
end by the lake ol Zoug—and at the
other by the lake of Lowerlz. Of this
extent, about one league was covered
over by the Avalanclie, and so com
pletely did it reach across the valley,
that the base of the Righi on the oppo
site side was covered up to some height.
W hilst walking on the ruins of the
mountain, which are heaped in horrible
confusion on this spot, and over which
a road has been cut to Art, it presents
to our view masses of rubbish and rock,
(some as large as a house) indiscrimi
nately piled on each other, and inter
mingled with fragments of trees, of
which some were seen with their stems
and branches lixed in the -earth, and
their roots in the air ; and hemmetl in
as this valley is by mountains on each
side, one seems to ccmtemplate here the
wreck of all the v isible and material
world around, 'i'lie luice, too, with
which some of tii.sc immense blocks
descenueil, nmsl havi; been very great,
when we consider that liie height of the
Ross-berg \Mi> about fi'e’t ; and it
was a melaiuuoly thing to rellect, tliat
uiidt'r the si:ot on whioii we were non
tf:,’:iding, v.'urc ccnccaled lorever liom
(.'.ir view, tiiu.-«e peaceful \illages, with
tiic.ii' iiwuibiiatils, w!)o were surprised
amid liieir peacei'iil and domestic occu
pations, and bullied in a moment from
the light of the world.
A griitleman cf the t(uvn of Schwii;:,
in thi.-, vicinity, \vluj collected many al-
lecting detail.i o( tliis event, >avs—that
in that town such was the infernal up
roar and noise it made, revet fcorated by
the surrounding mountains, that the
[jcople actually ihou-hL the eiul of all
things was arrivcJ ; and this is not to
be v/ondered at, when we are informed
that so great were the clouds of dust, of
snow, and ol water, whi-'li it sent up,
that the air was completely darkgnrd.
and the su:. hid Irom their sight for the
remain.der ot that dav. Amongst oth-
e.'-s wh;ch he mentions, the case of a
|M)or gil l and a child are jiarticularly le-
niarkable. 1 iiey v\ eve walking togeth
er in the garden of their cottage at the
lime the catastrophe happened, aiid the
only account vi it the girl could give, I
was, thit-4.he Ibund h(;r^el^ in an instant'
in the situation in v/hTcdi she w>is di.b'-'
I , ;ru, u ... :..e
I earth, her licud d.junwyrds, i:nJ iitr
t’ect ill the air. In ibis fri'^htful por
tion, her eyes f»)ieed from tlr. ir *ock(.t5
and streaming with Idood, did this |)oor
girl remain for ^c:veral houis, during
which ^he conv»ii'e(l with and endeav
oured to paciiy the child, wiiieh cried
piteously lor luod, and which she found
was covercd over by a stone near to hci',
and unhurt—at first she Ivied to persuade
jit to go to sleep, and that some of the
j family were (Miining to its relief—but
j despairing at last oi this, she encoura-
; ged it to say its prayers—and they were
, llius actually engaged together, when
! tiiey were discoveretl by the sobbing
^ and crying of the child, which fortu-
, oately directed some jieople to the spot,
; who liail gone out from Schwitz to see
I if there were any le.^t to whom they
j could allbrd succor. It is interesting
' to humanity to learn, that this'poor girl
[actually survived, though with a total
j dej)rivation of sight, and a dreadful hor
ror of flu* event ever afterwards. She
I has often Paid since tlien, that the great
est pain she I'cll ii:ring the time she was
covern! er, was ‘iorn the excessive
coM in her Jeet, wliieh it appears was
llie only pari of hei that was found un
covered and exposed to the air.
In various parts of Switzerland, acci
dents of the kind here described, are
jierpetually occurring, and it was only
five years before, viz. in ISOl, that a
considerable one took place in this
ncdghborhood, from the Righi, near to
the hamlet of Sigiker, at which time a
large portion of the mountain was pre-
cij)itated into the Lake of Lucerne,
which repelled the waters to such a de
gree, that In' their rellux upon the land,
they swept away several houses, stab-
ling, and saw-niills, placed at some con
siderable distance froni its banks ; by
which eleven persons arc said to have
perisheil. 'I'he agitation of the waters
ol the lake on this occasion, are report-
eo to have re.icl.od even to Lucerne, a
distance of perhaps six or seven miles,
and did some damage to the shores on
the opposite side of the Lake.
In j)oint of extent and consequences,
one which occurred very lately in the
valley,of liagnes, deserves to be men
tioned, as it was attended with circuni- i
stances very peculiar. This valley be
ing very narrow, anrl almost eniirelv
occupied with the river Drance, was
stopped up near its source, by tlie Av
alanche, and the river being in conse-
quencf dammed up, a \ ast accumulation
oi water had taken place, so as to form
a lake of considerable size before it was
discovered, owing to the retired situa
tion of the place, and being but little
frequented. As soon, hov/ever, as it
became known, it created a great sen
sation for the safety of the country, and
the inhabitants along the whole course
of that river, to where it joins the Rhone,
above ^lartigny ; and alterwards to the
lake of Geneva, where the Rhone en
ters the latter near to Villeneuvo, a to
tal extent of M or 15 leagues ; and this
^vas not wdthout reason, considering so
vast a body of water, and the force with
which it would descend, if let loose sud
denly from'so great an elevation, amongst
the mountains. Public meetings of the
inhabitants were instantly convened, and
as the danger was j)ressing and hourly
increasing, exj)erienced engineers were
employed to ellect the making of a tun
nel, by which to draw ofl' the waters
grailually ; w'hen it was sijpj;0sed the
imj)ediment might be removed, and the
jirogrcss of ,the work, as it took place,
was regularly notified to the jieople, and
signals established along the whole line,
to warn the inhabitants when the dan
ger should seem very appjirent, so as to
enable them to remove themselves and
their stocks, to jdaces of safetv. Not-
wiLh^tanding tlie excellence “of tiiese
H'gulations, howevi-r, the danger could
not i)e averted entirely, for when the
work was consideiabiy advanced, the
water forccd the tunner, blew it uj), and
ruptured the dam, by which the whole
body of the water was unexpectedly set
free, carrying away brid^^es, houses,
inhabitant.', with tlieir oat!le and goods,
anil in short, every thing that uas op
posed to it through its lengthened coarse
towards the lake. As the damage and
loss of lives it occasioned were V('i v
great, and the particulars were [lublish-
ed in all tlie newspapers at the lime, and
that conij)aiativcly recent, i need not
occupy your pages with a recapitulatioi;
of them here ; but the loss of lives
would have been still greater, had il not
rdrtunately happ(>ned at a very earlv
hour, before tiie workiiicn had ari’ived
to commence tlieir work. 'I'wo of our
countrymen, and ilieir guide, wi.o h:.(,]
gone UJ) to vi^it the works, ea. iy that
morning, are xiid to have b/>en tne only
persons who witne.>sc.J the event, an’;l
escaped, by proeeeding rapidly up a
l)recipi.:e; inil in such h.i>lc, tliat Itnink
(if4 remember right) the horse belong
ing to c;i" of thivn \ya^i4t?-t rcri;,^
it 4.:;, LliCV licv.1 111 »;.i CiiL 'i.J t«Cl.C'
v;5, and were the liist who maue tiiC
accident known there.
Another kind of Avalanehe are those
which arc composed almost entirely ol
corgeakul snow and ice, and these are
so frequent about (irindelwald, Cha-
mouiiy, and other places, where there
are Glaciers ; and these vulle3's are con-
fctantly rctounding with the noise of the
falling bodies, which being re-echoed
by the mountains around, make a noise
like thunder; and in some contined
places, the vibration which is occasion
ed in the air, by inerely firing ofl' a
musquet, w’ill sometimes detach consid
erable portions of it. When any of
these masses of snow are sufficiently
large to block up a valley or road, which
is of frequent occurrencc, they become
so conden.sed and firm, owing to their
great weight, and falling from such tre
mendous heights, that a traveller on
horseback may pass over them in safety,
without fear of sinking. In passing
or.ce by the Valorsine and Tete-noir,
I found the valley closed uj) by an Av
alanche of this nature, under which the
river Trient had worked itself a passage,
forming a regular arch through its whole
• xtent. This snow-bridgc we had oc
casion to cross over on horse-back more
tlian once ; and in one or two jjlaces,
where the arch had fallen in, we could
venture near enough to look through the
openings, anil see the torrent sjiending
its rage underneath. This was in the
month of JMay, when the sun was be
ginning to be powerful, and a week af
ter Its fall ; but in a few days more,
they said it would be imj)a.ssable for a-
bout three weeks or a month, after
which time thu whole would disappear,
and be carried off by the river. Fear
ing I may already have occupied too
much of your time and space with this
subject, I will here conclude, and I have
the pleasure to remain, sir,
Your very obedient, G. II.
EXCEliPrs.
The following inies, pathetic, tender,
sentinuMUal, and picturesque, are part of
a stanzas addressed by Hiciiaud liiiiNs-
LE\ SiiKi'iD.VN, to his Lctdy, before their
niurriugt, in l onscqueiicc of a diflerenct*:
Nay, tell me, thou grotto of nioss-covev'd stone,
And tell me, tliou willow, with leaves drip
ping dew;
Did Det.ia st em vex’d when Hoha.tio was gone,
And did she confess her resentment to vou ?'
Did she frown wlieii 1 dar’d to advise,
Aiul sigh wlien iKc taw tliat I did it with
JClll?
Ti-uo, true, s'lly iL-.ives, so she did, I allow.
She Lirvii’d, but no rage in her looks tould
I See ;
She frown’d, hut reflection hac! clouded her
brow,
Slie sigii’d, but perhaps ’tw as. in pity to me.
Then wave tliy leaves brisker, thou ^villow of
woe ;
I toll tliee, no rage in her looks could I see,
1 cannot, 1 will not, Ixilicvc il \vus so,
Si.i: v. ui jiut, she eould not, be angry wiMi me.
lifc.vuiv.
licuuty, cs tlie flowing- blossom, soon
lades ; but the divine excellences of the
mind, like tlie mcdicinal virtues of ihe
plant, remain in ii, when all ihobc charms
are withered.
I’UOOUASTINATIOy.
It is not onon};h that we perform duties:
ue must perform them :;t the
e must do the duty of every day in its
own season. Every day has its own im
perious duties : we must nut depend un-
uii to-day lor fulidling those which we
neglected yesterday, for to-day ini-ht not
have been tjranied us.' To-morrow will
be eiiually peremptory in iis demands;
and the sucteedintj day, if we live to see
it, will be ready with its proper claims.
■I UK FOLLY Cl- MIS-S1'I:MjINO I IMJ-.
Many of our hours, (says Dr. Johnson')
are losi in a rotation vl' pr!/// cares, in u
ci^istani recurrence of the same i-mploy-
ments; many of oiii- pruviaions for earc
or happiness are always cxl'ausied bv
ilie present day ; and a i,n-cut pan of ouV
e.viiitence SCI ves no other purpose, than
that of enablinf; us to enjoy tiic rest.
Con;;rrve says ol Sciibbiing—
■ ■* d’sr:isc r tliink,
A stiili)()’’n tlKil’s not cured with inli;
V TMill It 'till I -idi th’ intV i.lion takes,
And seu. .> ti 11, f, I- or,I iliat il toi.=uk(.y.
CONTI.' ’ M!:\T.
Wlu’n old Dioc U'sian was t ailed from
Ills retreat, and inviu'd lot equine the pur
ple, which ho had laid clown some years
before, l;e said - Ji 1 if you cuuh! see
those Iniiis and Iicrb^ at Salona, whieh I
cultivate wiili my own hands, you would
iK vi'i talk to me ofempi;-e.”
viir. sv.T F.rs a' -j urni-r.s oi i.irn.
Kichos, Honors and I’lcasurrs, are the
/.s \vhieh ilesircythe mind’s nppciHc
lor ils heavenly food ; poverty, disgrace
and pain, are ihe billers nhich restore it. |
k\'ovv;.i-,i)gk.
Dr. .Io)i\so\ eombaueti the idk' notion,
•that knoulcdi'i' enoii^Mi may !m' acquired
in rorira\satinn. “ Thv''. rouiuhuioii, (said
ill',) nmst be made by (:.k'n-
eral pri-„i ipks mcv. be had from bonks,
whicli, lio^vever, vnu.sl be brought to tin'
ti'St o! real lilo. Iti i:on\er'.:tUon you nc-
^;et \Vh;'.i is -^i,I ^
oubjLcf, is to be gatl.cved ftom a hur.dic/
people. The parts of truth, which a ma*
^a‘ls thus, are at such a distance
each other, that he never aiiains a fall
viev./*
THOMPSON’.
If several of the first writers bad a-,
tended to the seniiments of their liieiKi^*
we should have-lost some of the mos-
precious compositions. The friends of
Thompson, could discern ./lothuig but
faults in his early productions, noi ex-
cepting his sublime Winter. This poti
of humanity has left a vindictive eiV-
gram against one of these friends, pJr-
haps the only ill natured lines he eve-
wrote. He went with impatience ir,
London, published, and made his geniu'^'
known.
BY DR. KORDYCE.
Atnong' the foibles that discourse infest
I count the passion iur 'j "rp>^tunl joit ■ *
lirant the jest good—his judgmcMit were rir,'
nice.
Who still would load your plate with salt ■ ■
spice. ■ ‘‘ ‘
As in agriculture, he that can produ, (.
the greatest crop is not the be;;t hvmvi
but he that can elTecr it wiili the least
pense ; so in society, he is not the hel
member, who can bring about the mo--
good, but he that can accompli.sh itwi'lt
the least admixture of concomitant i!i
1-or let no man presume to think that ho
can devise any plan of extensive good,,
unalloyed and unadulterated witii evil.'
This ib the prerogative of the Godhead
alone.
The first consideration with a knave,
is how to help himself, and the secoiu.!
how to do it, with an appearance of help'
ingyou. Dionysius the tyrant, stripped
tlie of .fupiter Olympus of a rob?.'
of massy gold, and substuiing a cloak t '
wool, saying, gold is too cold in winter,
and loo heavy in sunnnw—it behoves
to take care of Jupiter.
In great matlers of moment, where bot’i
parties are at a stand, and both are piiric-
tilioub, slight condesceuiions cost hitln
but are worth much. lie that yields thenx
IS w ise, inasmuch as he purchases guin
eas with farthings. A few drops of oil
will set the political machine at work,
when a ton of vinegar would only cor
rode the wheels, and canker the nvjve-
ments.
Supersiitioih—The superstitions whi' .i
prevail in some European coiintiies in
terfere substantially with the industry and
comforts of the people. A late nuinler
of the “Bulletin des Sciences,” relates
that when a distemper attacked tlie cui-
tl»N in the catholic kingdom of Huvaru,
in the year 1820, more than 13,uoo peas
ants, instead of having recourse to Um:
remedies proper for the disease, madf' i
pilgrimage to Driesbach, drivintj th-ir
sick beasts before them. The ne-:t v(\.r
30,000 people conducted their discasinl
cattle to the same, to procure the assist
ance of some wonder-working saint or
virgin. It is melancholy that rulers and
priests should encourage such upjiressivc
fooleries among the poor and ignorant
peasantry.—Hampshire Gaz.
It is not known to persons gencrall’.'
tliat by besmearimg the bait whirh'.lu,
fisherman places on his hook with as.sa
fmtida, or other aromatics, fish from ?.
considerable distance around will he in
stantly and with intojiicated delight, dc
coyed to the hook. Such is the fuscin
ating influence of these aromatics, tha'
if assaloctidahe rubbed on the whole haiui
held under water, the fish will flock to
wards the fingers, and may be easily laid
hold of. 1 his is more true in respccl t(-
liCsa water lish.—Georgcfoicn CazclU.
1 he Philadelphia Saturday Lveniii.c,
I'ost has the follow ing :—An importan'
Medical discovery will soon be brouglr
to iiotice—if consists in a new renudy to
l)revent the formation ol Consumption it-
those predisposed, anrl to cure it whcii
lormed, in nine cases out of ten. e an
iulormed that it is as effectual as Uk
lately found remedy a^rainsl Intempci-
ancc, and consists of two different aiti-
cles to be taken together, one to be takci
in the palat;d)Ie shape of chocolate, syrup
or milk, and the other to he iidialt-J n*
the luugs as a sweet aud frarrani [)c;
fume.
B)rhditrnns'iuns.—There arc now ("'■.hi'’
ited in :iieC.ity(,i New York, t\\> Icrnal'.
children, horn in Dutchess county j tlu
^■Ide^t of which is three years and tufif
month'; old, line conij)lexion, with a bea'-*
tiful head ol huir, and manifests all
playfulness and elasticity of a beaUl’.y
e-hild nt that tender age. S!ie is
learning the use of the needle, and
it difTicult to bring her fat har.ds toge'-hrr
She w'eighs 1G5 pounds, measures
four fitt in circuniference. around tli'*
waist, am! two fett immediately above
kiiue joint, 'i'he youn.^est daughter
nine months old and weighs '.5 pouiidi»
and bids fair to ov" ’ 'lersis'er.
I^rror in Gra’ntu!,.—A n;an 'oy
name of Grammar, was rrccnily prose
cuted for whipping his wife. This "3'
certainly bnd Grnmmnr.^ and s'viuld ha''-”
been conccted. 'I'horo is no Wi'M’
'Uorisc 3uch