201 
to bend their backs too much, or even have to crawl on their 
hauds and knees during their progress onwards ; these fears; 
however, were soon set at rest, for with one or two trifling 
exceptions, an upright position could be maintained throughout, 
and thus the roof and sides be well examined. The general plan 
of the interior is that of three chambers, called respectively in 
the guide book nomenclature the “ witches’ kitchen, parlour and 
drawing-room” (two of these being of considerable height, some 
sixty or eighty feet), connected together by winding passages of 
various levels. A sharp descent led to the first, and here an 
unexpected surprise was prepared. Mr. Hodgkinson was seen by 
the aid of the glimmering candles to disappear into the far-off 
darkness, and suddenly the whole of the vast interior was lit up 
by a lurid glare, bringing out every crevice and _stalactite 
covered prominence in full relief; the operator himself of this 
transformation scene standing out in full profile against the 
dark pool which welled out at the bottom. At each successive 
chamber this was repeated with various coloured lights and added 
immensely to the weird effect. The third and last chamber was 
reached by the aid of planks, and thus the source of the river 
Axe was traced up, as far as the members could do so, to a quiet 
pool of water imperceptibly stealing forth from the farthest end 
and finding its ultimate starting-point in the numerous “ swallet” 
holes which abound on the hill tops overhead. An adventurous 
cave explorer has, however, penetrated much farther, in the 
person of Mr. Parker, jun., of Oxford, who, lying on his back on 
a raft, worked his way upwards so far as the space between the 
water and the roof permitted. Having returned to daylight, the 
Secretary detained the members for a short time whilst he gave 
an account of the recent cave researches in the hyzna-den on the 
opposite side of the ravine. Standing some twenty feet above the 
hole whence the stream flowed which gives birth to the river Axe, 
He drew attention to the confusion that often existed as to which was 
the cavern and which the celebrated hyzna-den. The members had just 
7 
