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to his own murder, acts as a check on the superior | in the absence of law; but the mere existence of the power alluded to, though seldom exercised, renders comparatively insecure that sacred tie on which the whole fabric rests of social charities. The serf lives like an animal, and habituated to act, learns in some respect almost to feel as one. Since the abrok* will be raised with prosperity, he conceals his gains, and the first lesson he is taught with the dawn of reason is to deceive his master. To effect this, he must deceive his fellow slaves; thus low cunning and a habit of daring falsehood are engendered. Self-interest is always the mainspring of exertion; and since the labour of a serf enriches chiefly his master, the motive to industry is removed, and a slave is habitually idle. Determined idleness is the chief feature of his character. Nothing but physical compulsion overcomes it. He has no reputation to lose. Unrespected by others, he respects not himself; and if he have an opportunity of stealing, what should prevent him? If discovered, he is beaten; but he is accustomed to be beaten; and a temporary enjoyment of the stolen goods knows no diminution from remorse of conscience or violated principle. This is a sad picture, but true; and so it must remain, till light and liberty dawn on this benighted land.

The debased condition of the people is the necessary result of slavery. It arises from no want of moral or intellectual capabilities: on the contrary, these are possessed by the peasantry in a very remarkable degree. Were not this the case, their state could not possibly be so good as it is. The Russians are generally gifted with the elements of the Christian character, though deformed and almost concealed by ignorance, superstition, and other baneful growths of slavery. I am informed, by a friend who has passed the greater part of his life here, that a deep-rooted conviction of original and personal sin, and a simple dependence (as far as their knowledge admits) on the merits of the Saviour, characterize the Russians, In no class of native society, however dissipated, do you ever meet a scorner. Whenever the subject of religion is broached, even in the midst of mirth and revelry, it will be treated with solemnity, or respectfully disposed of, as unsuited to the occasion.

Great attention is conceded to religious instruction, and a Bible is the most valuable gift that can be offered to a poor man. My friend informs me that some of the scenes he has witnessed, when visiting the prisons with a man who, as a native of England and a resident in Russia, is a blessing to the one and an honour to the other country-I mean Mr. Venning, the Howard of the day-have made an impression which will never be effaced. The sudden hush and devout preparation of the prisoners and soldiers of the guard, when Mr. Venning has proposed to read the Bible; the look with which a solemn whisper passed from one to another, " the word of God is going to be read;" the fixed and breathless attention of all the listeners; the earnest petition for a Bible urged by some of the soldiers, and accompanied with an assurance that they wanted to read it to one another while on duty; and the bitter disappointment they expressed, on hearing that government had forbidden the boon they sought; all these, and many more in

The serfs are an appendage to the soil; and cannot legally be alienated from it; but this law is frequently evaded, and they are bought and sold like other personal property. An owner is entitled to the labour of his male slave three days in the week without any remuneration. If he employ him during the other four days he must furnish him with food and clothing. Mutual interests generally induce a contract between the parties; and the serf is allowed to work on his own account, paying a certain abrok or rent, to his

master.

teresting traits, show that the Russians are prepared to receive the Gospel in its purity, whenever it may be proclaimed to them; and encourage a hope, not enthusiastic, but sober and well-founded, that when it pleases God to remove the darkness which now overshadows the land, whole masses of men will be found prepared for throwing off the trammels of a degrading superstition, and worshipping in spirit and

in truth.

My friend mentioned an interesting fact. Shortly after the dreadful inundation of 1824, crossing over the Neva with a large party of boors in a common ferry-boat, he was attracted by their conversation, which ran somewhat in this strain :-" Well, this is a dreadful visitation that we have had." "Yes, but we deserve it richly. Look, what sinners we are." "To be sure, that is.true; and, moreover, we know better. Why, there is not one of us that is not provoking God by our abominable wickedness. Nobles and slaves, we are all equally bad." "Yes, and I tell you what, I should not be surprised if we have something still worse; and we deserve it, for we do not lay our sickness to heart, nor God's chastisements, as we ought." The arrival of the ferry at the opposite bank, prevented my friend from hearing the conclusion of this interesting conversation, maintained by two boorish peasants, whom a stranger would have supposed to possess scarcely two ideas beyond providing for the necessaries of life. He assures me that this is not an uncommon case; but that the sentiments here cited may be received as a fair sample of those of the natives in general. It seems to be a remarkable trait of national character, that the first ideas imbibed are of a religious nature; and that the Russians having no other, by cultivating these, have obtained a certain knowledge of religion, on which it only requires that the uncorrupted truths of the Gospel be grafted, to make it bring forth spiritual fruit. It is in spite of a natural tendency to moralize, that slavery prevents the Russian from rising to the point to which morality would elevate him.

The present emperor (1830) devotes his whole time to his subjects, the moral state of the people, the prisons, alms-houses, and similar institutions, are objects of his special regard.

At the present time, the Russians are in a state to feel most keenly the want of a middle class t. They are too civilized not to be conscious that they are slaves, and they are too little advanced in civilization to exercise any check on the autocrat and nobles through the medium of public opinion.

It is impossible, however, to visit this country, and to think of what she was one hundred years ago, without being astonished at what she is now. The rapidity of her progress is extraordinary. With the spread of arts and manufactures, the moral condition of the people is undergoing a decided and important change.- -ELLIOTT'S Letters from the North,

The nobles of Russia are extremely numerous; they are divided into three classes, hereditary, official, and military.

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LAND CRABS.-Bishop Heber, after describing the appear bourhood of which, and at the bottom of a hill, is a tank, ance of the country near the city of POONAH, in the neighor large cistern, thus speaks of the land-crabs. All the grass-land round this tank swarms with a small land-crab, which burrows in the ground, and runs with considerable swiftness, even when encumbered with a bundle of food almost as big as itself. This food is grass, or the green stalks of the rice; and it is amusing to see them, sitting as it were upright, to cut their hay with their sharp pincers, then waddling off with the sheaf to their holes, as quickly as their side-long pace will carry them.-Tournal in India.

IMPROVEMENT OF IRON AND STEEL, BY THEIR

BEING BURIED IN THE EARTH.

THE following extract from the Chronicles of Old London Bridge, is worthy of record, as an instance of observation ingeniously applied.

YOUTH is no obstacle to the favour of God, nor to devotion to God's service. St. John was the youngest of the disciples; but no one was more favoured than he, nor more zealous in attachment to his Master. His example calls upon those who are entering upon their career of moral obligation and responsibility, to do that which the wise man calls upon them in words to do; namely, to "remember their Creator in the days of their youth:" and of this we may be sure, that, if they do so remember him, he will not forget them in the time of age, nor forsake them when they are old and gray-headed. If youth present peculiar temptations to withdraw us from the service of God, it endows us also with peculiar ability to serve him. The strength of opening manhood is never so well employed, as in practising subserviency to God's revealed will, and in triumphing religion, and produces an abundant harvest of good works over its spiritual enemies: it lends a grace and a beauty to and of glory to God.-BISHOP MANT.

An eminent London cutler, Mr. Weiss, of the Strand, to whose inventions modern surgery is under considerable obligations, has remarked that steel seemed to be much improved, when it had become rusty in the earth; and provided the rust was not factitiously produced by the application of acids. He accordingly buried some razor-blades for nearly three years, and the result fully corresponded to his expectation. The blades were coated with rust, which had the appearance of having exuded from within; but were not eroded, and the quality of the steel was decidedly improved. Analogy led to the conclusion that the same might hold good with respect to iron, under similar circumstances; so, with perfect confidence in the justness of his views, he purchased, as soon as an opportunity offered, all the iron, amounting to fifteen tons, with which the piles of London Bridge had beenged and conducted, the instinct of beasts, their tempers shod. Each shoe consisted of a small inverted pyramid with four straps rising from the four sides of its base, which embraced and were nailed to the pile; the total length, from the point, which entered the ground, to the end of the strap, being about sixteen inches, and the weight about eight pounds.

The pyramidal extremities of the shoes were found to be not much corroded, nor indeed were the straps; but the latter had become extremely and beautifully sonorous; closely resembling in tone the bars and sounding pieces of an oriental instrument, which was exhibited, some time since, with the Burmese state carriage. When manufactured, the solid points in question were convertible only into very inferior steel; the same held good with respect to such bolts and other parts of the iron-work as were subjected to the experiment, except the straps: these, which in addition to their sonorousness, possessed a degree of toughness quite unapproached by common iron, and which were, in fact, imperfect carburets, produced steel of a quality infinitely superior to any, which in the course of his business Mr. Weiss had ever before met with: insomuch, that while it was in general request among the workmen for tools, they demanded higher wages for working it. These straps, weighing altogether about eight tons, were consequently separated from the solid points, and these last sold as old iron. The exterior difference between the parts of the same shoe, led, at first, to the supposition, that they were composed of two sorts of iron; but, becides the utter improbability of this, the contrary was proved by an examination, which led to the inference that the extremities of the piles having been charred, the straps of iron closely wedged between them and the stratum in which they were imbedded, must have been subjected to a galvanic action, which in the course of some six or seven hundred years gradually produced the effects recorded in the present paper.

THERE is something peculiarly pleasing to the imagination in contemplating the Queen of Night, when she is wading, as the expression is, among the vapours which she has not power to dispel, and which, on their side, are unable entirely to quench her lustre. It is the striking image of patient virtue, calinly pursuing her path through good report and bad report, having that excellence in herself which ought to command all admiration, but bedimmed in the eyes of the world, by suffering, by misfortune, by calumny.-SIR WALTER SCOTT.

WISE men make their enemies their instructors: fools be come enemies to their teachers.

HE who cannot see the workings of a Divine wisdom in
the order of the heavens, the change of the seasons, the
flowing of the tides, the operations of the wind and other
elements, the structure of the human body, the circulation
of the blood through a variety of vessels wonderfully arran-

and dispositions, the growth of plants, and their many ef-
fects for meat and medicine: he who cannot see all these,
and many other things, as the evident contrivances of a
Divine wisdom, is sottishly blind, and unworthy of the
name of a man.-,
-JONES of Nayland.

CHILDREN should be enured as early as possible to acts of charity and mercy. Constantine, as soon as his son could write, employed his hand in signing pardons, and delighted A noble introduction to sovereignty, which is instituted for in conveying, through his mouth, all the favours he granted. the happiness of mankind.- -JORTIN.

PARAPHRASE OF PSALM LXXX.
THE Vine of the incarnate Word
Was planted by the mighty Lord,

Near Jordan's sacred streams:
'Twas nurtured in a lowly bed,
By dews from heaven watered,

And warm'd by vernal beams.
'Twas pruned and fenced around with care,
Guarded from blight-infected air,

And from the noxious worm:
The briers and thorns that fill'd the land,
Were weeded out with pow'rful hand,
To aid the rising germ.

It spread a wide-extended root,
And upward struck a healthful shoot,
Which cast its branches round:
Her boughs to distant ocean stray'd,
And mighty streams beneath her shade
Water'd the thirsty ground.
Why hast Thou laid her hedges low,
That in may rush the forest foe

To revel o'er her root?
Why wilt Thou let the passer-by
Stretch forth with bold impiety,

To pluck her clustering fruit?
Let not wild beasts nor herding swine
Uproot, O God! the precious vine,

Which here Thy hand hath sown:
That branch which Thou hast made so strong,
For Christ's sake, let it flourish long,
And be proclaim'd Thine own.
From heaven, O God! Thy resting-place,
Shed forth, we pray, thy wonted grace,
And cause Thy face to shine;
When in unholy union join'd,
Zealot with Infidel combined,

Threaten thy cultured vine.
Thou showest, in Thy sacred Word,
That they shall be Thy branches, Lord!
Who still abide in Thee;
To whom but Thee, Lord! can we go,
Who hast declared, no powers below
Shall blight Thy hallow'd Tree.-C

ANNIVERSARIES IN FEBRUARY.

MONDAY, 25th.

1601 The Earl of Esser, one of Queen Elizabeth's chief favourites, privately beheaded in the Tower of London, in his 34th year, for endeavouring to excite a popular insurrection against her Majesty. 1723 Sir Christopher Wren, the illustrious architect of St. Paul's Cathedral, the London Monument, and many of the metropolitan churches, died, in his 91st year. He was buried in the vaults of St. Paul's. There is no particular monument to his memory in the Cathedral; but, under the organ, and just over the entrance to the choir, is a Latin inscription, which may be thus translated:- Beneath, lies Sir Christopher Wren, architect of this Cathedral and City; who lived upwards of ninety years, not for himself, but the public benefit. Reader! do you seek for his monument? Look around!

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EMBER WEEK.-The Ember days are, the Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday after the First Sunday in LENT; and it is enjoined, by the Canons of the Church, that deacons and ministers are to be ordained on the Sunday immediately following these Ember days.

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A variety of explanations of the word ember have been given; but that of Nelson and Dr. Mareschal appears to be the most reasonable. They derive it from a Saxon word, importing a circuit or course; SO that these Fasts being not occasional, but returning each year in certain courses, may properly be said to be Ember days, because they are Fasts in course."

1706 John Evelyn, author of Sylva, or a Discourse of Forest Trees, and other celebrated works, also one of the most illustrious natural philosophers that England has produced, died at Wotton, in Surrey, his native place, in the 86th year of his age.

THURSDAY, 28th.

1447 Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, Regent of England during the minority of Henry VI., was assassinated in the prison of St. Edmond'sbury, in Suffolk. He was buried in the church of St. Alban's, in Hertfordshire. He fell a victim to the malicious intrigues of Cardinal Beaufort. For his many rare and excellent qualities as Regent, he was styled, "The Father of his Country."

1582 George Buchanan, the eminent Scottish poet and historian, died. The States of Scotland had appointed him to be preceptor or teacher of the young king, James the Sixth,-afterwards King James I. of England. In his History of Scotland, he united the force and brevity of Sallust with the perspicuity and elegance of Livy.

THE MONTH OF MARCH.

WHEN Romulus established a calendar for his newly-founded city, he divided the year into ten months, and named the first month MARTIUS, in honour of his father, Mars, the heathen god of war. Ovid, however, says that the nations of Italy had long previously named one of their months after the same deity, but that they differed in the place they severally assigned to it; some making it the second, others the third, fourth, fifth, sixth, or even the tenth month of the year. Numa Pompilius, the successor of Romulus, added the months of January and February to the Roman year, and reduced March from being the first month to third rank in his calendar, in which station it continued until the Christian church adopted the season of Easter for the commencement of the year. In France this arrangement was again altered by an edict of Charles IX. in 1564, which decreed that the year should, from

thenceforth, begin on the 1st of January. This example was adopted by the Scotch in 1599; but, in England, the 25th of March continued to be the new year's day until the year 1752.

Although this month was named by the Romans after the god of war, it was considered as under the more especial patronage of Minerva, the goddess of wisdom: it has always consisted of thirtyone days, no subsequent reformer of the calendar having altered the arrangement of Romulus in this respect. March was considered by the Romans an unlucky month for the celebration of marriages. By our Saxon ancestors this month, says Verstegan, was called RHEDE OF RETHE-MONATH, according to some authorities, to express its general boisterousness of character, RHEDE signifying in their interpretation rough or rugged; but, according to others, from its being dedicated by them, before their conversion to Christianity, to their idol, RHEDA. The name was afterwards changed to LENET MONAT, OF LENGTH MONTH, because it is in March that the length of the day first begins to exceed that of the night.

The month of March is interesting in many particulars. Notwithstanding the boisterous winds and frequent storms, which have acquired for it the character of "coming in like a lion," yet we seem, at its very commencement, to be taking leave of the rigours of winter. The air, though cold, is generally clear, healthy, and free from damp and fogs; the trees begin to put forth their leaves, the birds to sing, and those who have taken shelter in our clime from the intense cold of a northern winter, are already returning to their native regions. It appears, in fact, as if all nature was preparing to welcome the return of SPRING, which commences on the 20th of this month, when the sun enters the constellation of Aries, or the Ram. From this period the weather generally becomes milder, yielding gradually to the genial rays of the sun; bees venture out of their

hives, and flowers begin to stud the fields and gardens, until March, which, according to the proverb, has come in like a lion, “ like a lamb."

goes out The hieroglyphic, or pictorial representations of March, have generally consisted of a man, of a tawny colour and fierce aspect, with a helmet on his head, representing, in fact, the heathen god Mars. He is unaccompanied, however, by any other warlike ensign than his helmet: one hand holds a bunch of almond blossoms and other scions, the hand resting on a spade, while a basket of seeds hangs upon the same arm. The other hand either holds or rests upon a ram, typical of the sign Aries. Our great poet, Spenser, represents him as riding on a ram, and scattering seed over the ground. .

"Sturdy March, with brows full sternly bent
And armed strongly, rode upon a ram,
The same which over Hellespontus swam ;
Yet in his hand a spade he also hent,

And in a bag all sorts of seeds ysame,
Which on the earth he strewed as he went,

And fill'd her womb with fruitful hope of nourishment."

A dry March is reckoned most favourable to the future prospects of the gardener, the florist, and the husbandman; and hence our country proverbs, A bushel of March dust is worth a king's ransom ; A dry March never begs its bread; and, on the other hand, March grass [which would require a wet season to grow so early] never did good.

ANNIVERSARIES IN MARCH.

FRIDAY, 1st.

Dedicated to ST. DAVID, the tutelar or patron saint of Wales. St. David was of British parentage, being uncle to King Arthur: he was regularly educated for the priesthood, in the then famous monastery of Bangor, and, about the year 577, succeeded to the archbishopric of Caerleon, the seat of which he removed to Menevia, a city in Pembrokeshire, where he had already founded twelve convents, and which was afterwards called St. David's, a name it still retains. He died A. D. 642, having reached the advanced age of 146 years. The natives of Wales still celebrate the anniversary of their national saint, and wear, on St. David's day, a leek in their caps or hats; a custom said to have arisen from their having gained a great victory over the Saxons, from whom they distinguished themselves, on the day of battle, by each man wearing a leek. Shakspeare places this event, however, at a much more modern period, referring it to the wars of Edward III. in France. The anniversary of the Society of Ancient Britons, established in London in 1714, is held on this day. 1533 Francis Rabelais, the celebrated French wit and writer, died. 1711 The first number of the Spectator was published. 1792 The Emperor Leopold II. died in his forty-fifth year, and was succeeded by his son, Francis II.

SATURDAY, 2nd.

ST. CHAD'S DAY.-There seems to have been no very conclusive reason for retaining this saint in the reformed Calendar, unless his having been an English bishop and a native of England may be admitted. St. Chad was educated at the monastery of Lindisfarne; he was fifth bishop of the Mercians, and third bishop of Lichfield; and died in the great pestilence of 673. His shrine, in Lichfield Cathedral, cost upwards of 20001. in decorations, when that cathedral was rebuilt, 1296.

1711 Nicholas Boileau, the celebrated French poet and undaunted satirist, died. He was born in Paris, Nov. 1, 1636. His Art of Poetry has been pronounced the best composition of that kind extant.

1791

1788 Died, at Zurich, in Switzerland, his native place, Solomon Gessner, author of The Death of Abel and several other works, which rank him high amongst the poets of Germany. The Rev. John Wesley, the celebrated leader of the Methodists, died in London, at the advanced age of 88. It has been computed that he travelled 8000 miles every year, preaching three or four times daily, besides visiting the sick and superintending the concerns of his society.

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PUBLISHED IN WEEKLY NUMBERS, PRICE ONE PENNY, AND IN MONTHLY PARTS, PRICE SIXPENCE, BY

JOHN WILLIAM PARKER, WEST STRAND. Sold by all Booksellers and Newsvenders in the Kingdom. Hawkers and Dealers in Periodical Publications supplied on wholesale terms by ORR, Paternoster-row; BERGER, Holywell-street; And by the Publisher's Agents in the following places :--Aberdeen, Brown & Co. Bath, George. Birmingham, Langbridge. Bristol, Westley & Co.; D. Vickery. Bury, Lankester. Cambridge, Stevenson, Carlisle, Thurnam. Chelmsford, Guy. Cheltenham, Lovesy. Chester,Seacome; Harding. Chichester, Glover. Colchester,Swinborne &Co. Derby, Wilkins & Son, Devonport, Byers. Dublin, Curry Jun, & Co. Dundee, Shaw,

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Liverpool, Hughes." Whitby, Rodgers. Macclesfield, Swinnerton. Worcester, Deighton. Newcastle-on-Tyne, Fin-Yarmouth, Alexander, lay & Co.; Empson, York, Bellerby,

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UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE COMMITTEE OF GENERAL LITERATURE AND EDUCATION, APPOINTED BY THE SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE.

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THERE are few objects in nature which more excite curiosity and affect the imagination, when visited for the first time, than Caverns, or those hollow places of different sizes and forms, which are found in rocky hills, in various parts of the world. The particular effect produced on the minds of all, by a partial obscurity, or a total seclusion from the light of day, the ignorance of the extent of the place, and of the kind of dangers he may encounter, the silence and solitude, and the curious and singular forms which naked rocks, destitute of their usual accompaniments of vegetation, present to the eye, as dimly seen by the faint reflected light of the torch held in the traveller's hand, conspire to produce a feeling of awe on his mind, which VOL. II.

has an inexpressible charm: and though these impressions can be but feebly conveyed by a written description, we think that an account of a few of the principal caves, which have been explored by different travellers, will not be uninteresting to our readers; but we shall first give some general observations on these singular places, which will assist their comprehension of each particular description.

Caverns are usually found in rocks, composed of some species of limestone, and are supposed to be chiefly confined to such, from its being more easily dissolved in water, to the agency of which these natural excavations are commonly attributed; if the great length of time, during which

42

natural causes may operate, be taken into consideration, it can be easily comprehended how a small spring, commencing its oporations in a narrow cleft of a soft, chalky rock, may gradually hollow out, in the course of ages, a cavern several hundred feet in extent.

One of the most common appearances in caverns in limestone is the formation of what are called stalactites, from a Greek word, signifying distillation or dropping. To explain these, a brief description of the mode of their production will be necessary.

Whenever water filters through a chalky or limestone rock, it dissolves a portion of it, and on reaching any opening, such as a cavern, either at its sides or roof, it forms a drop, the moisture of which is soon evaporated by the air, leaving a small circular plate of pure lime or chalk; another drop succeeds in the same place, and adds, from the same cause, a fresh coat of solid matter; in time, these successive additions form a long, irregular, conical projection from the roof of the cave, which is continually being increased by the fresh accession of water, loaded with calcareous or chalky matter, which it deposits on the outside of the stalactite already formed in trickling down it, and adds to its length, by subsiding to the point, and being dried up as before; in precisely the same way in which, during frosty weather, icicles, which are stalactites of ice, or frozen water, are formed on the edge of the eaves of a cottage roof, as every one has frequently observed. When the supply of water holding lime in solution is too rapid to allow of its evaporation at the bottom of the stalactite already formed, it naturally drops to the floor of the cave, and drying up there, in time it forms, in like manner, a stalactite rising upwards from the ground, instead of hanging from the roof; but from their different mode of formation, they are more irregular in form, and seldom so long as the pendent one: these are called, for the sake of distinction, stalagmites.

It frequently happens, where these processes are uninterrupted, that a stalactite hanging from the roof, and the stalagmite formed immediately under it, from its superabundant water, increase till they unite, and thus form a natural pillar, apparently supporting the roof of the grotto; it is to the grotesque forms assumed by stalactites, and these natural columns, that caverns owe the beautiful appearances, described in such glowing colours by those who witness them for the first time. The view of the Grotto of Antiparos, which we have given, will convey an accurate idea of the appearance of a stalactitical cave.

The colour and appearance of the chalky incrustations which line caverns, varies, of course, acccording to the nature of the rock in which they are situated; when this consists of gypsum, or the stone which yields plaster of Paris, the stalactites are more varied in colour, and the crystals of the spars more brilliant than when the rock is common limestone; but these various appearances, however beautiful to the visiter of the cave, are uninteresting in description. It is chiefly from those in which variety of form, or other circumstances, concur to add interest to the place, that we shall select our examples; this is remarkably the case with the cavern of the Guacharo, first visited and described by Baron Humboldt, of which we have given an abridged account, and with those caves in Germany, in our own island, and elsewhere, in which the remains of animals are found, differing in forms and geographical situation from existing species, which throw so singular a light on the ancient history of our globe. But it need hardly be observed that our notices must, from the limits of this paper, be confined to a very few of the numerous caves of this kind found in different parts of the globe.

POOLE'S HOLE.

BESIDES the Peak Cavern, described in the 20th number of this Magazine, the limestone rocks of Derbyshire contain many natural grottoes of great extent and beauty. Of these the first we shall notice is that in the vicinity of Buxton, called Poole's Hole, from its having been, according to tradition, the residence of a celebrated outlaw of that name. The entrance is very narrow, and the first passage so low that the visitor cannot proceed walking upright; but, at the distance of thirty yards, this opens into a spacious eavern, the end of which is about 770 yards from the mouth. The ceiling and floor is enriched with chalky stalactites of great variety of forms, which have received names from their fancied resemblance to domestic utensils. There is a path, which winds along the side of the cave, at

some distance from the floor, which enables the visitor to inspect these from different points of view.

ELDEN HOLE.

Ar a short distance from Castleton, to the north-west of the village of Peak Forest, on the side of a gentle hill, is | situated the celebrated cavern called Elden Hole. Its mouth is an irregular oval chasm, about ninety feet long and nine broad; small bushes and underwood grow out of this crevice on each side, to the depth of thirty or forty feet: here the opening gradually contracts, and soon after turns to the west, so that the eye can no longer penetrate the obscurity. Its forbidding appearance gave rise, as usual, to most exaggerated statements, and by many it was believed to be bottomless; at the depth, however, of seventy yards there is a landing, and at the bottom the interior of the chasm is found to consist of two parts, resembling ovens in form, and communicating with each other by a small arched passage. On the southern side of the inner one is a smaller opening, about seventeen feet long and six high, lined throughout with beautiful sparkling stalactites, of a deep yellow colour; and, facing the entrance, there is a column of ninety feet in height, composed of the same materials. On the northern side a large stone is found, at the bottom of a rocky ascent of about sixty feet, by which the visiter gains access after descending again on the other side, to another cavern, entirely lined, as the former, with chalky incrustations of different crystalline forms and hues of yellow.

YORDA'S CAVE.

IN the West Riding of Yorkshire, near the village of Thornton, in Lonsdale, there is a celebrated cave, known by the above name. The entrance to it is by a rude arched opening, about sixteen feet by twenty in size, bearing some slight resemblance to the gateway of an old castle: through this access is soon gained to a cavern so large, that the roof and walls can hardly be discerned by the light of the torches a small brook, which runs through it, must be crossed, and then the curious forms of the stalactites depending from the roof and walls begin to be perceivable; one is termed the bishop's throne, and another the organ, from fancied resemblances to these objects. After entering a narrow passage of five or six yards, in which the roof is apparently supported by stalactitical pillars, the cave contracts so much, that there is only room for one person to advance at a time, but the height is still considerable; here the noise of a cascade is heard, which falls from an opening in the rock, from a height of sixteen or seventeen feet, into a basin at the bottom of a chamber, the roof of which is like a dome. There are other compartments of the cave on the left hand, curious to visit, but not admitting of any particular description; these are called Yorda's Bed-chamber, Yorda's Oven, &c. from some traditional personage, of whom we can give no account.

In this, as in the case of the Cavern of the Guacharo, the excavation is obviously due to the action of running water, and is consequently still in progress; hence such caverns are being continually increased in size by one agency, while the same operating in another manner tends to fill them up, by the deposition of calcareous matter.

WOKEY HOLE.

ABOUT two miles from Wells, in Somersetshire, on the southern side of the Mendip Hills, is situated a celebrated cavern or grotto, called Okie or Wokey Hole; the opening is situated on the side, at about thirty or forty yards from the base of the hill and is twenty feet high; it opens into a large vaulted chamber, from the roof of which calcareous depositions are constantly forming: the stalagmites which formerly adorned the floor had a rather singular destination, being cut off and sent to Alexander Pope, to contribute to adorn his artificial grotto at Twickenham! A narrow and uneven passage leads from the first into a second apartment, rather smaller, but very similar in appearance to the first; and from this, you pass into a third, which has a rounded ceiling and a fine stream of water running through it, about eight or ten feet wide, and two deep; this sinks through a hole at the bottom of the cave, and reappears in the valley at the foot of the hill, being the source of the river Axe: the rest of the floor of this inner cave is composed of a fine sand. It has been said that trout and eels are occasionally found in the stream within the cave.

In another part of this paper, mention is made of other caves in this range of hills,

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