Vacation Tourists and Notes of Travel in 1860 [1861, 1862-3] Volume 3

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1862 edition. Excerpt: ...Having mastered the leading features of the country from the admirable volume of Mr. Scrope (which, moreover, we carried with us as a constant hand-book), our chief aim was, in the first place, to carry away such a vivid impression of the general aspect of the volcanic districts as might help in the investigation of the older volcanic tracts of Scotland, and in the next place to note for ourselves the form and structure of the cones, the disposition of the lava streams, and such points of detail as our previous explorations in Scotland had rendered it advisable to examine on the spot. I shall not weary the reader with a jotting of what were merely geological rambles. Let him suppose himself, however, on the top of the Puy de Dome, 4,842 feet above the sea level. Seated on the greensward which covers that elevated cone, he has the volcanic district spread out as in a map below him--cones, craters, and lava current-s---clear and distinct for many miles to the north and south. While he rests there, let me try to sketch to him the noble panorama that stretches out around us. The Puy de Dome stands about midway between the northern and southern ends of the chain of the Puys. It rises out of the centre of that long granitic ridge or plateau which I have described as bounding the western edge of the valley of the Allier. Its position, therefore, is eminently favourable for obtaining a bird's eye view of the country. Below us, to the eastward, lies the broad plain of the Limagne like a vast garden, dotted here and there with hamlets and villages and towns. Yonder, for instance, are the sloping streets of Clermont, with their dingy red-tiled houses, and the sombre spires of the old church; further eastward is Montferrand, and others of lesser note...