bridge of one arch, built across the Rhône, is ftill in exiftence. Their excellencies of Berne, whose territory here commences, have a small garrifon in the place; and fome frivolous queftions, of our names, country, defigns, &c., put by a few invalids, notified our entrance upon this fovereign foil. We arrived in the evening at Bex, and finally difmiffed our guides. Before I take my leave of them, let me commend their activity, fidelity, and gratitude. Men more ready to ferve, and more disposed to be fatisfied, I have never yet met with: their understandings are in general good, their information found, and their manners pleasing and ingenuous. This is an eulogium due to the guides of Chamouni.

Bex is famous for the falines, or falt works, which are carried on in its neighbourhood, We vifited these the following day, having obtained permiffion from the fuperintendant. Our char-a-bancs carried

us to the foot of the mountain which con

4

tains

tains thefe falt fprings, and a guide conducted us to the mouth of those caverns by which we were to enter the heart of the mountain. I muft obferve, that it is now one hundred and twenty years fince these springs were discovered; and the Seigneurs of Berne, who are the proprietors, have spared no expence to derive from them every poffible advantage. The great Haller had for fome years the fuperintendance of these works, which are now under the direction of Mr. Wild. It was fuggefted to the republic, that there must be some bed of falt funk deeply under the mountain; because, in proportion as they dug into the earth, the water ran more copious, and was more ftrongly impregnated with falt. An experiment was therefore made at an immenfe coft; and upon digging below the bed of the Rhône, they heard the found of a spring, to which they seemed faft approaching. This animated their labours: they penetrated to the spring, and

to

to their infinite mortification found it perfe&tly fweet.

A labourer met us at the entrance of the mountain, and furnishing us with frocks and lamps, conducted us along a narrow paffage bored through the folid rock, and lined with fulphureous matter. After viewing in our way the refervoir, we continued along this channel, which kept ascending, till we came to the centre of the mountain. Here a large wheel of thirty-fix feet diameter was playing with the ease of a clock wheel, and the sky was visible above, the mountain being here pierced from the fummit to the centre. We now descended from this eminence, retracing our former fteps, till we came to another bore of the mountain which opened a paffage to the right. This, our guide told us, penetrated one thousand feet, and we should, he added, find the workmen extending it ftill farther. We entered upon it, but had not gone many paces before we felt a great difference in the atmosphere.

mosphere. As we advanced, we found the air ftill lefs fit for refpiration: our lamps went out frequently, and we felt a painful preffure upon the lungs. Yet here the poor labourers were employed in chiffelling the hard rock, and hewing out a paffage, in an air poifoned by fulphureous exhalations, and to us-unfamiliar with its vapours-totally fuffocating. We were at this moment, as the guide informed us, four thousand feet deep in the mountain. Thefe poor people have but eight batz, or about one fhilling per day. Their day confifts of eight hours; at the expiration of which, the fet that goes off, is fucceeded by another, without interruption; fo that the works are never suffered to stand ftill. We haftened to emerge from this dif mal dungeon; and were on our way, when a hollow found rumbled through every cavity of the mountain, and was conveyed to our ears in thundering claps. We were thrown into alarm, and imagined that the fulphureous air had kindled from the lamp,

and

and occafioned the explosion; nor did we find ourselves much relieved by the intelligence of our guide, that it was only occafioned by fome labourers below, who were blowing up parts of the rock with gunpowder.

SUCH

LETTER LIV.

UCH was our exterior when we left the hollow windings of the Salt Mountain, that we were obliged to perform half a dozen luftrations before we were reftored to humanity. What will not curiofity atchieve? A more disagreeable expedition could not have been undertaken. A frock, thick-set with grease, hanging over our shouldersour heads bent, to watch our footsteps over the rank smoke of a lamp-noxious exhalations hovering round the walls-and a contaminated air entering into our lungs.Such were the circumftances attending our defcent

VOL. I.

T.