l’ancienne mer; puisqu’il est recouvert de diverses fortes de depots, connus pour appartenir a la mer; et que les fentes des filons existoient dans cette mer ancienne; puisqu’elle en a rempli elle-meme quelques unes, et qu’elle a recouvert de ses depots quelques autres filons tout formes.  Quant a celles des matieres de ces filons, qui ne paroissent pas etre marines (et c’est de beaucoup la plus grande quantite), j’ai toujours plus de penchant d’en attribuer une partie a l’operation des feux souterreins, a mesure que je vois diminuer la probabilite de les assigner entierement a l’eau.  Mais quoi-qu’il en soit, ces gangues ne font pas de meme date que les montagnes[30].

[Note 30:  I most willingly admit the justness of our author’s view, if he thus perceives the operation of fire in the solids of our earth; but it is not for the reasons he has given us for discovering it here more than in other places; for there is not a mineral vein, (so far at least as I have seen), in which the appearances may be explained by any thing else besides the operation of fire or fusion.  It is not easy to conceive in what manner our author had conceived the opinions which he has displayed in these letters.  He had no opinion of this kind, or rather he was persuaded that subterraneous fire had no hand in the formation of this earth before he came to this place of the Hartz; here he finds certain appearances, by which he is confirmed in his former opinion, that water had operated in forming mineral veins; and then he forms the idea that subterraneous fire may have operated also.  But, before the discovery of the chasms in the schistus mountains having been filled with the stratified materials of the sea, How had he supposed veins to be filled?  If this philosopher had before no opinion of subterraneous fire, as instrumental in that operation, How comes he now to change that former opinion?  For, unless it be the extraordinary manner of filling these open crevices in the mountains by matter deposited immediately from the sea, there is certainly no other appearance in this mineral country of the Hartz, that may not be found in any other, only perhaps upon a smaller scale.]

“Le lendemain de notre arrivee a Clausthal, qui etoit le 13e, nous allames visiter d’autres mines de fer en montagnes secondaires, situees au cote oppose du Hartz.  Elles sont aupres de Grund l’une des villes de mines, et pres du lieu ou sortira la nouvelle galerie d’ecoulement a laquelle on travaille, etc.

“Arrives a Grund les officiers mineurs vinrent, comme a l’ordinaire, accompagner Mons. de Reden aux mines de leur departement.  Celles-ci, sans etre plus extraordinaires que celles qui nous avions vues a Elbingerod, ou sans aider mieux jusqu’ici a expliquer ce qu’elles ont toutes d’extraordinaire, nous donnent au moins des indices probables de grands accidens.