lava. They correspond to the white radiating streams which we have already noticed, and which are universally held to be lava pushed up through the rents. We can readily conceive the cracking of the surface without a subsequent filling up. The trap-dykes in the crust of the earth, in many cases, plainly indicate that the lava, with which they are filled up, was not the disruptive power by which the rents were caused. Besides the figures formed by the rills, there are others of a very striking character. These regular formations, in some instances, assume the shape of the letters of the alphabet. The letters Z and H can readily be distinguished. But the forms are not restricted to the Eoman character; the Chinese alphabet furnishes a pattern for some of these strange figures. It does not require a very vivid imagination to construe such lusus naturæ into attempts, on the part of the lunar inhabitants, to hold intercourse with our world. Weaker arguments have been employed to prove the existence of intelligence in the moon.
With our newly-acquired buoyancy, we may attempt to clear the rill, as it is a small one; and, now that we are on the other side, we pursue our journey to the base of the Alps, and the first thing that strikes us is, that the cliffs, fronting the plain, rise, almost perpendicularly, from the base. When, however, we go round, and take them in the rear, we find that the ascent is comparatively easy. This leads us at once to a remarkable analogy. On the surface
