4"24 Colleclims from American Literature^ {P^c. if 



broth, and two-pciicc, to persons who bciii^ so powerful as a monarch of 



are relieved in rotation. Trance ; tlic I'ope took from the Ein- 



KLr.cTioN OF THE POPE. pcror the power of conlirminf;- the rnwly 



The tieetitin of the Pojie was not elected Pope, and from the iJoumns tlie 



anciently good without the eonlimiation doiihle power they liad of electing tiie 



of the Emperor ; and in all their bnlls Emperors, (which" was given hy (ue- 



and grants the date was, such a one gory to certain German Princes;) and of 



our Lord the Enipcror reigning. Thns electing t'.u: Pope of Rome, which was 



they continnid til! the empire was Irans- given to the cardinals !jy tiie favor of the 



Uitcd from tlie successors of Chnrlcs to Emperor, Henry the Second, 

 the Princes of Germany ; none of wliom 



COLLECTIONS FROM AjMEKICxVN LITERATURE. 



DESCRIPTION OF THE GKKAT CAVE IN 

 WAKREN cot NTY, KENTUCKY, I.V A 

 LETTER VKOM DR. NAHUM WARD, 

 DATED AT MARIETTA (OHlO), APRIL 4, 



1816. 



The country for a considerable dis- 

 tance round the cave is u()t moun- 

 tainous, yet broken and rolling. It was 

 6e\en in tl»c evening when I reaclK^d the 

 liosiiitable mansion of 'Mr. Miller (tiie 

 overseer of Messrs. Wilkins and Gratz, 

 in whose land the raTC opens), who met 

 •mc at the gate, and, as be anticipated 

 my object, bade me welcome to all his 

 house aflbrded. 



During the evening, JXTr. !Millennadc 

 arrangements for my visiting the cave 

 next morning, by j>rocuring mc two 

 guides, lamps, Sec. I could hardly rest 

 duriisg the night, so nmch had my cu- 

 riosity been excited by my host's ac- 

 count of the "regular confusions" in 

 tliis subterraneous world. 



At eight in the morning I left the 

 house, in company with my guides, 

 taking witli us two large lamps, u com- 

 pas<, and something for refreshments; 

 and entered the cave aliout sixty rods 

 from the house, dow n through a pit forty 

 feet deep, and one hundred and twenty 

 in circumference, at the bottom of which 

 is a fine spring of water. M hen at the 

 bottom of this pit, you are at the en- 

 trance of the cave, which opens to the 

 north, and is from forty to lilty feet high, 

 and about thirty in width, for upwards 

 of forty rods, when it is not more than ten 

 feet wide and five feet high. However, 

 this continues but a sliort distance, when 

 it expands tothirtj or forty feet in width, 

 and is about twenty in height for ab(iut 

 one mile, until you come to the Eiist 

 Hoppers, where salt-pctre is manufac- 

 tured, 'nience it is about forty teet ia 

 width and sixty in height to the Second 

 Hoppers, two miles from the entrance. 

 The loose limestone has been laid up 

 into handsome w alls, on either side, al- 



most tlie whole distance from the en- 

 trance to the Second Hoppers. The 

 road is hard, and as smooth as a flag 

 pavement. The walls of the cavern aie 

 ])erpcndicular in every jvassage that I 

 traversed ; the arches are regular in every 

 part, and have bid defiance even to earth- 

 quakes. One of my guides informed 

 me, he was at the Second Hoppers, in 

 1812, widi several workmen, when those 

 heavy shocks caine on, which were so 

 severely felt in this country. He said, 

 that about five minutes before the shock, 

 a heavy rumbling noise was heard 

 coming out of the cave like a mighty 

 wind: that, when that ceased, the rocks 

 cracked, and all ajipearcd to be going in 

 a moment to final destruction. How- 

 ever, no one w as injured, although large 

 rocks fell in some parts of the cave. 



As you advance into the cave, th« 

 avenue leads from the Second Hoppers, 

 west, one mile; then S. W. to th« 

 "chief city," which is six miles from 

 the entrance. This avenue is from sixty 

 to one hundred feet in height, and about 

 the same in width, the whole distance, 

 after you leave the Second Hopj)ers, 

 until vou come to the cross roads, or 

 chief city, and is nearly upon a level ; 

 the floor or bottom being covered with 

 loose lime-stone and salt-petre earth. 

 A\hen I reached this immense area 

 (chief city), which contains upwards of 

 eight acres, without a single pillar to 

 sui>port the arch, which is entire over the 

 whole, I was struck dumb v\ith asto- 

 nishment. 



I can give you but a faint idea of Ibis 

 chief city. — Nothing under heaven can 

 be more sublime and grand tlian this 

 place, covered with one solid arch at 

 least one hundred feet high, and to all 

 appearance entire. 



After entering the chief city, I per- 

 ceived five large avenues leading out of 

 it, from sJNty to one hundred feet in 

 n idth, aiid from forty to eightv iu height. 



