OF BOOKS PRIOR TO THE INVENTION
OF PRINTING.
I.

Books are not absolutely dead things, but doe contain a potencie of life in them, to be as active as that soule was whose progeny they are; nay, they doe preserve, as in a noll, the purest efficacie and extraction of that living intellect that bred them.-MILTON.

THE vast diffusion of every species of literary production in our own day, although probably but partial compared to what it is yet destined to become, sufficiently proves the opinion the present age entertains of the value, and, indeed, absolute necessity of books; but it cannot be uninteresting to look back upon other times, less amply or differently provided with this aliment of the mind, and observe some of the vicissitudes to which the progress of letters has been subjected.

A variety of materials have been employed for writing upon, those of the hardest texture being originally selected. The Decalogue was written on stone, and the laws of Moses upon stone, and afterwards upon tables of brass and wood. The laws of Solon were engraved on wooden tablets, and the twelve tables of the Romans upon oak or brass. Lead was also employed, and Pausanias says that he has seen the works of Hesiod, in a partially defaced state, inscribed upon tablets of this metal. Job alludes to writing on lead with an iron pen. The inscriptions upon the bricks of the Chaldeans and Babylonians are well known. The walls of public edifices offered an eligible material and situation for the inscription of laws, records, or other historical circumstances, whose publicity, durability, and transmission might be desirable. Laws were so inscribed upon the walls of the Portico at Athens.

The Arundelian Marbles contain numerous inscriptions relating to public matters, and Josephus speaks of two columns, the one of stone, the other of brick, upon which the children of Seth wrote their astronomical discoveries. Porphyry alludes to existing pillars in Crete, upon which the ceremonies and sacrifices of the Corybantes were inscribed. The tablets still placed upon the pedestals of statues, and on the walls of churches, originate from this practice.

Wood, however, was the material by far the most generally employed, both for public and private occasions; the Swedish term Balkan Laws, is derived from balk, or beam, and our own word Book, from the Saxon boc, beech, this being the wood usually employed. Wooden boards were in use prior to the time of Homer, and, even as late as the fourth century, the laws of the Emperors were written on these. Tablets, covered with wax, and joined together as our slate-books, were in constant use with the Romans for making memoranda, &c.; and they continued so until a comparatively recent period, for Chaucer alludes to them in the Sumpner's Tale, and the Abbé le Bœuf says the expenses of the French kings of the fifth century were written upon similar tablets. The inner bark of several trees, especially the ash, maple, linden, elm, &c., beaten and dried, was early employed as a material for books, and hence the word liber, book, has become transmitted into so many languages as the designation of a book. Bark manuscripts are now rare, but some Eastern nations still employ this substance; and the Chinese make one of their descriptions of paper from the bamboo.

specimens may be seen in the British Museum. The Romans used the same material.

Parchment. The custom of writing upon the prepared skins of beasts was far more ancient than the use of the papyrus, and skins prepared like leather have often been used by the Jews. The ancient Persiars, according to Diodorus, wrote all their records on skins, and the Ionians, when deprived of the papyrus, had recourse to the same material. The Mexicans had books of skins, and the North American Indians maps painted upon skins. Parchment would seem to be rather an improved preparation of these skins, than a discovery by Eumenes, King of Pergamos, as it is usually described to be, although it is certain that the best parchment came from Pergamos. Most extant manuscripts are written on parchment, and it was used either plain or coloured. That used from the seventh to the tenth century is very good and white, but after that period its quality became much deteriorated, and, owing to its costliness, it became displaced by the papyrus, except upon particular occasions. So carefully was it prepared, that manuscripts of more than a thousand years old manifest no signs of decay. The Jews still write the rolls of the Law, which are kept in the synagogue, upon this substance. Vellum is a fine description of parchment, prepared from the skins of very young calves.

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Paper. The most ancient description of paper was prepared from the fibrous parts of the stalk of the stately reed, the cyperus papyrus, growing on the banks of the Nile, and other rivers of Egypt. It was manufactured at Memphis, at least three hundred before Alexander; and, after the conquest of Egypt by the Romans, its quality became much improved, though still so thin in texture as sometimes to require support by the attachment of parchment to it. Alexandria now became the chief seat of its manufacture, and the quantities exported thence during the reign of Augustus was enormous; and yet so great was the demand of foreign nations for it, that Rome sometimes experienced a great scarcity. In the third century, the tyrant Firmus declared, that so large a quantity of paper, and so abundant a supply of the materials for making it, existed in Alexandria, that he could from this source alone maintain a large army. In the fifth and sixth centuries, the duty had become very onerous, and when Theodoric abolished this, Cassiodorus in one of his letters congratulates the world upon the removal of an impost upon merchandise so necessary to mankind. The possession of Egypt by the Saracens diminished the supply, so that the eighth and ninth centuries are the latest in which papyrus manuscripts appear, and it seems doubtful whether this substance ever displaced parchment in Britain and Germany. Eustachius says it was nowhere in use in 1170, but Mabillon says the papal bulls were written upon it in the elevennh century. The exact period of the invention of cotton paper is involved in some obscurity; known to the Arabs long prior, it was introduced by them into Spain about the commencement of the twelfth century, and when the Christians obtained possession of the paper-mills, they produced a far superior article to the coarse paper made by its introducers. Its use became general in the thirteenth century, but was then superseded by that made from linen rags.

Those writing instruments used for marking upon the wooden or waxen tablets, were termed styles (whence our expression of style as applied to writing) being a kind of bodkin formed of metal, bone, or ivory, one end of which was pointed, and the other blunt, for the purpose of erasure. The Romans carrying no arms while within the city, often employed the styles as weapons of offence in their quarrels, whence probably originated the Italian stiletto. Iron styles after some affray were prohibited, and bone ones only permitted. This instrument would prove too sharp for writing upon paper or parchment, and a species of reed or calamus, capable of containing a fluid, was substituted. This was cut and split like our pens, producing, however, none but very rough strokes. Reeds are in this way still employed by many of the Eastern nations. Persons of rank formerly used a silver tube. Although it is difficult to explain the clearness of the strokes in some of the old manuscripts, yet the antiquity claimed for the use of quill-pens rests upon no sure grounds. The oldest authentic mention we find of them is in Isidore, who died in 636. Althelmus, or Aldhelmus, the first Saxon poet, composed some verses in honour of the pen. Alcuin mentions them in the eighth century, after which time they seem to have abounded. Still reeds were frequently used down to the sixteenth century, for writing the text and capitals. When Reuchlin was obliged to fly his enemies, Pirkheimer, supplying him in 1520 with various necessaries, sent him some good paper, penknives, and, instead of the peacock's feathers he had requested, the best swan's quills, and, that nothing might be wanting, he added reeds of so excellent a quality, that Reuchlin believed they must be Egyptian or Cnidian. These reeds must have been then rare, for Erasmus expressed his desire to obtain some for a friend in England.

The inks used by the ancients differed in composition from our own, consisting of lamp-black or other sooty substance in combination with gums. These produced a viscid mass more resembling painter's colours (as do the inks even now employed in the East), laid on in relief. This ink was very black and durable, the writing remaining fresh as long as the material upon which it was placed endured; but, as it did not sink into the paper, it was capable of easy and entire removal by erasure, or even by the application of a moist sponge; and hence an infinite number of manuscripts have perished from the effects of damp or wet, and the proceedings of effacers. Vitriolic ink, similar to our own, was afterwards introduced, for much writing has been recovered from the palimpsepts by the application of a solution of galls. A more compound substance was, however, frequently used, and with this some of the freshest manuscripts have been written. Ink has deteriorated much in depth of colour in modern times, so that this forms a poor criterion of the age of manuscripts; for some of the Saxon ones, written between the fifth and twelfth centuries, are in a state of perfect preservation, while those between the fifteenth and eighteenth centuries are often illegible. Inks of various colours for ornamental purposes were used by the ancients, and in the middle ages. St. Jerome, in the fourth century, decries the pompous manner of writing books upon purple parchment in letters of gold.

The form of ancient manuscripts was very different from that of our modern books. The sheets upon which

The

The paper was written upon only on one side, being usually too thin to bear more. Juvenal, ridiculing the authors of tedious productions, cites a tragedy, which, although unfinished, occupied both sides and the margins of the paper. In some countries, as among the Orientals, the lines proceeded from the right leftwards, while among the northern and western nations a contrary practice prevailed: the Greeks followed both directions, alternately going in the one and returning in the other. The writing on a volumen or roll was disposed transversely in columns from left to right, so that the book might be read as unrolled, and when it was so completely the last page was at the right of the reader, attached to the cylinder. At first the letters were only divided into separate lines, and not until long after were they parcelled into words, while punctuation is supposed to be a comparatively modern invention. Great care was therefore required to guard against errors, and the Rabbis were so anxious to secure the purity of the sacred text, that they knew how many letters a book should contain. Anciently capital letters were only employed. Certain formulæ were frequently affixed to the beginning or end of a manuscript: thus, at the end of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Ezekiel, were the words, Be courageous. Their falsification was frequently attempted to be guarded against by imprecations, as in the Apocalypse; and the Mahomedans placed the sacred name of God as a protection, at the commencement of all their books.

When bookbinding was first practised does not appear, but its utility was appreciated at an early period; for Phillatius, a learned Athenian, having invented a new glue or paste, his countrymen decreed him a statue.

After the various skins, or portions of the roll or volumen, were attached to each other by artisans solely employed in pasting them together, they were given into the hands of a superior class of artificers for the purpose of binding. To the first skin was attached a corner of strong parchment, sufficiently long to envelop and lap over the roll when closed, and this was fastened by ribbons. This corner was usually coloured, and purple was the favourite colour, although this was sometimes adapted to the subject, as a red colour for the Iliad as relating to war, and a blue for the Odyssey as relating to travels. The title, written in distinct characters on a finer parchment, sometimes in golden letters, was affixed to the corner. But the part upon which ornaments were chiefly lavished was the knob or button terminating the cylinder, which was often formed of ivory, silver, or gold, and ornamented with precious stones, the cylinder itself consisting of polished boxwood, ebony, or ivory. This knob shining from the centre of the roll, gave the volume, and even the library, a brilliant appearance. Ornaments like these were only found in the libraries of the wealthy. From the end of the cylinder of the common volumes, a piece of parchment, upon which the name of the author was inscribed, depended.

In the middle ages bishops themselves frequently bound books, and for the monks it was a common employment, although there were also persons who so

specially employed themselves, and others who sold only the covers. The most common binding was a rough white sheepskin pasted upon boards, and often overlapping the edges of the book; large bosses of brass were added sometimes, as fastenings. A book was not unfrequently bound by means of two or three fly-leaves of older, and sometimes more valuable manuscripts, and Dibdin nentions several instances where such have been discovered, forming the paddings and coatings of other books. It was an improvement upon the original rough binding, to cover the boards with leather and stamp it.

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Of binding in velvet there are no specimens prior to the fourteenth century, and vellum was first used in the fifteenth. The binding of books was however frequently of a highly ornamental and expensive description, and severe reproaches were frequently directed against the monks on this account; thus we find them ornamented with silver-gilt, gold, relics, and precious stones. The ornaments (such as crucifixes) were sometimes placed in a description of cupboard within the covers, which only opened upon touching a spring. At the beginning of the sixteenth century, the sides were lavishly ornamented, and the backs were left plain and even unlettered. In Oriental countries the roll is wrapped in an elegant and costly covering, on which is inscribed a title indicating its contents.

The practice of introducing ornaments, such as draw ings of figures, or portraits, into manuscripts, is very ancient, for we learn from Pliny and others that it prevailed during the first and second centuries of our era, among the Romans and Greeks. The illuminated manuscripts of a later age constitute some of the most valued treasures of European libraries, and this not only from their own intrinsic beauty, but from the light they shed upon many manners and customs, often otherwise buried in oblivion.

The occupation of transcribing manuscripts, prior to the invention of printing, was a very important one, and gave employment to a vast number of persons known by the name of copyists. The Scribes, employed in keeping the national records and transcribing the Law, fulfilled a highly honourable office among the Jews, and it seems doubtful whether they ever copied the manuscripts for sale. The copyists of this people have always been remarkable for regular and beautiful writing, but their labours have been chiefly confined to their own religious books and genealogies. Among the Greeks, particular writers were employed to copy manuscripts for sale, and a great number of these, chiefly of an amusing character, were exported from Athens to adjoining countries. Very few of the Romans wrote their own works, or even private letters, but dictated them to an educated slave, or freedman. The copyist was therefore originally among them a servile officer; but, many persons who followed it, afterwards rose to wealth and power, especially under the emperors, when the librarii, or copyists, were enrolled into a company with various privileges. They were employed, at a fixed rate, by booksellers, either in the transcription of new works, or of old ones whose reputation was established. A brisk sale of manuscripts was maintained at Alexandria, but Strabo and others complain of the grievous errors and interpolations made by the copyists.

In the middle ages the work of copying was at first chiefly carried on in the monasteries, and after the revival of learning by professed copyists, especially in the university towns. The principal monasteries had a regular organization of certain of their brethren, as copiers and illuminators, attached to the scriptorium, and although these functions were too frequently grossly neglected, yet in other cases they were efficiently performed. Under one abbot of St. Alban's, about 1300, fifty-eight books were transcribed, and more than eighty under Wethemwede, in the time of Henry the Sixth.

Estates and funds were sometimes left for the purpose, and, in other cases, the abbot had a right to exact contributions to supply deficiencies. The Benedictine rule, permitting, as it did, the study of the ancient classics, its members zealously exerted themselves, after the sixth century, in preserving and copying these. Several of the early fathers (as Origen) and prelates maintained many copyists in their establishments. Still, by far the greater number of books must have been copied by persons professionally so employed; and, it is said, that, at the period of the invention of printing, six thousand copyists existed at Paris. This body made a formidable demonstration against the introduction of the new art, in which they were countenanced by the parliament of Paris, but effectually opposed by the shrewd sense of Louis the Eleventh. At Bologna there was also an immense number of persons so engaged, among whom were many women. The errors and carelessness of the copyists were the source of great annoyance to living, and injury to the works of dead authors. "It is wholly owing to this cause," says Plutarch, "that many men of genius keep their most valuable pieces unpublished, so that they never see the light. Were Cicero, Livy, or Pliny, to rise from the dead, they would scarcely be able to recognise their own writings." The expenditure of time in copying was sometimes immense. In a manuscript roll of the Canons of Gratian, the copyist states that its transcription occupied him twenty-one months. To obtain 3000 copies at this rate would have required 5250 years, or 1750 years for three men By printing these three men could furnish the 3000 in less than a year, thus placing printing and copying works, upon the mere ground of speed, at 1750 to one. Guido de Sais commenced writing and illuminating a very beautiful copy of the Bible at the age of forty, but did not finish it until he was more than ninety.

Transcribers from even ancient times, in order to diminish their labours, and expedite their progress, have had recourse to frequent abbreviations and contractions, and so perplexingly numerous had these at last become, even in our earlier printed works, that books have been published expressly for their elucida tion. A system of short-hand is said to have been invented by Xenophon; however this may be, it was much employed by the Romans. Plutarch tells us that Cicero wishing for an oration by Cato entire, employed several persons to take down a portion in characters he furnished. Ausonius, in an epigram, alludes to a proficiency akin to modern reporting, and Martial describes the writer as keeping a-head of, and waiting for the speaker. Tyro, one of Cicero's freedmen, and afterwards his friend, brought the art to such perfection, that the Note Tyroniane formed a system in use for many centuries, and the study of which Cardinal Bembo was anxious to revive, but could find no person able to decipher the characters. Tyro took down several of Cicero's orations as they were delivered.

Most men have more tact in finding excuses for their faults than care in avoiding them.

ONE of the greatest proofs of mediocrity is not to know real excellence.

QUARRELS will not last long when the fault is all on one side.-LA ROCHEFOUCAULD.

A PAINTER that would draw a rose, though he may flourish some likeness of it in figure and colour, yet he can never paint the scent and fragrancy; or if he would draw a flame, he cannot put a constant heat into his colours. All the skill life into a statue of their own making. Neither are we able of cunning artisans and mechanics cannot put a principle of to inclose in words and letters the life, soul, and essence of any spiritual truths.-CUDWORTH.

JOHN W. PARKER, PUBLISHER,. WEST STRAND, LONDON

A READER of geographical and commercial works can hardly fail to remark, that the character of a continental country, with respect to mountains, has a marked influence, not only on its landscape scenery, but on its wealth and importance in the scale of nations. Where there are mountains there is a probability, more or less, according to the geological formation of the district, that a vast if not exhaustless supply of valuable commodities can be obtained thence. It may be that the precious metals more or less abound; or that the coarser but still more valuable metal, iron, is found embosomed beneath the mountains; or lead, copper, tin, or some others of the metals; or marble, granite, slate, or some other building material. In short, the modes are numerous in which chains of mountains contribute to the commercial wealth of a country, independently of the meteorological phenomena which they are instrumental in producing.

Hungary is one of those countries which derive such benefits as are here indicated. The Carpathians constitute a chain of mountains which, bounding this large portion of Europe on the north-west, north, north-east, and east, separate it from Moravia, Galicia, Lodomiria, and Transylvania; and include within their range many mines of gold and silver. In one of our papers in the last Volume, on the scenery of the Danube, we described the Castle of Presburg as being situated on the summit of a lofty rock. Now this rock is considered to occupy the western extremity of the range of the Carpathians. From this point the range extends, for a distance of VOL. XXIV

one hundred miles, in a direction a little eastward of north, presenting summits about two thousand feet in height, and steep declivities covered with forests. This portion, which is known as the "White Mountains," or the "Little Carpathians," divides Hungary from Moravia, and is intersected by many passes leading from one of these countries to the other.

At about the latitude of fifty degrees the direction of the range turns towards the east; and we then approach those districts which are rich in gold and silver mines. Of this portion, which extends east and west, one section is called Magura, another Baba Gura, and a third Beszkid, these being Hungarian names expressive probably of some peculiarities in the appearance of the mountains; and the three sections together extend about two hun dred miles. The highest summit of the Magura portion is between 4000 and 5000 feet; but the Baba Gura portion contains one which rises to nearly 6000 feet. But the most remarkable portion of the Carpathians is Mount Tatra or Mount Lomnitz, above represented.

Tatra may be designated as one enormous mass of rock, fifty miles in length, and in some places thirty miles wide. It is an isolated mass, separated from every other portion of the Carpathians by deep depressions. From the Baba Gura mountains it is separated by the valleys of the Areva and Donajec; from the Beszkid mountains by the river Poprad; and from the "Ungarisches Erzgebürge" (Ore Mountains of Hungary) by the upper course of the river Waag. On the highest part of the surface of the Tatra rise several summits in

751

the form of peaks, some of which pass above the line of perpetual snow. Of these peaks, twelve exceed the height of eight thousand feet each; the three highest being the peak of Lomnitz (which we have sketched), 8675 feet; the peak of Eisthal, 8639 feet; and the peak of Krivan, 8150 feet. Those portions of this rocky mass which are not covered with snow generally present a bare surface, and contain several small lakes.

When Mr. Paget was in Hungary, a few years ago, he paid a visit to the Tatra group. He travelled from Kremnitz to the Krivan Peak, and seems to have been much struck with this lofty pinnacle. "This Krivan," says he, "is one of the noblest mountains I ever saw. It is not the absolute elevation of a mountain which impresses the beholder, so much as its position, form, and height, relative to surrounding objects. Though not more than 7800 feet (other authorities make it more than 8000, and spell the name Krywan, instead of Krivan,) above the level of the sea, the Krivan rises so immediately from the plain, with its conical form and fine rock summit, and towers so gloriously above all its neighbours, that it gave me a finer idea of a vast mountain than any other I had before seen.' Mr. Paget left the Krivan, and pursued his journey towards the Lomnitzer Spitze, or Peak of Lomnitz. He halted at a little house in the valley which separates the two peaks; and there he met some travellers, who had just returned from a two days' excursion, during which they had mounted the Lomnitz, and descended on the other side. They did not give a very favourable account of the expedition; for after the difficulty and danger of the ascent, which they represented as considerable, they had been unable to remain more than a few minutes on the summit, on account of the intense cold. The inhabitants of the valley stated, that few who had attempted the ascent were known to have persevered to the end; but Mr. Paget, anxious to conquer the difficulties of the enterprise, determined to ascend.

Our traveller commenced his trip at an early hour in the day, and thus notices the valley which bounds the Lomnitz on one side:-" A strange wild scene that valley presented! The blasted pine, the huge masses of shapeless rock, and the angry, fretful stream seemed the sole

denizens of its solitude. A little further on, the elevation we had reached became evident from the gradual diminution of vegetable growth; nature seemed subdued by the cold blasts from the neighbouring snow mountains, and the plants had shrunk before the winds they were too feeble to resist. A little further, and no vegetation rises more than three or four feet above the surface; while the only tree which grows is a pine, much like the Scotch fir in leaf, but which, instead of raising itself in the air, spreads its branches in a bush-like form along the ground." Those who attempt the ascent of the Lomnitz usually pass the night in a sort of natural chamber, covered by a huge overhanging piece of granite. This spot is above 6000 feet above the level of the sea; and the summit of the Lomnitz is situated immediately above it, at an additional height of 2000 feet, which seems to the eye as if it could be traversed in an hour; although seven hours are necessary for the traveller to reach the summit. Mr. Paget and his friends reached a point from which the view appears to have been very remarkable. Before them was a high range of peaks, called the Polnischer Kamm (the Polish Court), the boundary line between Galicia and Hungary; above these, on the right, the Lomnitz reared its head; while on the left was a gigantic wall of granite, apparently separated by some great convulsion of nature from the neighbouring mountain, and standing erect among the broken masses which are every day falling around it. On one side, two rocks had been thrown together, in such a position as to form a natural bridge, whose slender outline gave additional effect to the dizzy precipice. In the foreground were huge granite blocks, in some parts covered with snow, in others with moss and dwarf grass; while a few small lakes were glittering here and there.

Mr. Paget pursued his journey without mounting the "Lomnitzer Spitze," and we will therefore part com

pany with him. We have said that the Tatra group is separated by the river Waag from the Ore Mountains. These form the portion of the Carpathians which yield the greater part of the gold and silver contained in the Hungarian mines. This district was visited, about the period of Mr. Paget's visit, by the Rev. Mr. Gleig, who in his narrative gives an account of a pedestrian journey from Presburg to the Ore Mountains. The country which they traversed was grand in its features. The road, the hills, the park-like plain, were all striking objects, but the extremity of the panorama was that which mainly delighted. "There, at the utmost limit of a huge vista, uprose the Castle of Presburg, crowning a hill with its dilapidated towers; and, as it leaned against the horizon, it struck me as being like many other things which we meet in life,-far more attractive as beheld from a distance, than when subjected to a closer scrutiny. We gazed long and joyously on the glorious panorama, and then trudged forward." The pedestrians lost their way in endeavouring to reach the mountain, and were indebted to the hospitality of some Hungarian gentlemen for a release from a very unpleasant predicament,-which, we may add, is not by any means an isolated example wards arrived at Kremnitz, where the gold and silver of of the frank hospitality of the Hungarians. They afterHungary are coined. The appearance of the country round Kremnitz is said to be quite in agreement with that of the other districts in Hungary where the precious metals are found. There is very little wood near the town; the hills are bald and barren, while the streams which flow out of them, either tinged by the deposit at their sources, or poisoned by the pollutions which numemerous smelting-houses and vitriol-distilleries pour forth, animal life. The population at Kremnitz, as in all the present a repulsive appearance, and are destructive of mining towns, are principally Germans, invited into ther from the indolence, or the unwillingness, or the Hungary to undertake the mining operations; for, wheinability of the native Hungarians, they do not seem to embark in this department of national industry. The gold obtained at Kremnitz and the neighbouring moun tains is said to exceed one thousand marcs annually (a marc is twelve ounces), and the whole produce of the Hungarian mountains is estimated at two thousand marcs. Silver is abundant in the same places; the total produce of the silver-mines of Hungary is ninety-two thousand marcs. Two thousand tons of copper are also obtained from these prolific mountains, while lead is exceedingly abundant in all the silver-mines and elsewhere. The Forest Mountains abound in iron, which is worked with great advantage in many places. Quicksilver, zinc, arsenic, antimony, and cobalt, are also extracted.

The Schemnitz mines, situated in the same range of hills with the Kremnitz, are rich in gold. The egress from them is thus noticed:-"After descending by ladders into a deep abyss, where the whole process of digging, is explained, the visitor returns to his first level, and discoand clearing away water, and ventilating, and propping-up, railroad. It is by means of this line, and of the wagons vers to his surprise that it is very skilfully arranged as a that ply upon it, that the ore, as it is procured, passes on to the smelting-houses; and the civility of the miners leads them to enlarge its sphere of usefulness, by rendering it instrumental to the convenience of their visitors. In one of these vehicles you are requested to take a seat; and then, by the merest touch of the hand, a workman pushing from behind, you are hurried, at a good round rate, over a space along, you catch, by and bye, the glimmer of day-light at a of at least three-quarters of an English mile. Thus driven distance; and lo! at quite a different part of the mountain from that by which you made your ingress, the mine may be said to eject you."

The hills to which these mining districts belong, constitute an offset from the Carpathians, springing from near the site of the Tatra group. There are on the southern slope of the Carpathians several subordinate chains, rising sometimes to as much as 5000 or 6000