CAVERNS. 247 



posed of concentric rings of transparent pellicles of lime, presenting a very peculiar 

 appearance, and, from their connection with each other, producing a variety of singular 

 shapes. These descending points are the stalactites properly so called, from which the 

 stalagmites are to be distinguished, which cover the floors of caverns with conical 

 inequalities. These are produced by the evaporation of the larger drops which have 

 fallen to the bottom, and are stalactites rising upwards from the ground. Frequently, 

 in the course of ages, the ascending and descending points have been so increased as to 

 meet together, forming natural columns, a series of which bears a striking resemblance 

 to the pillars and arches of Gothic architecture. 



The amount of this deposition which we find in caverns capable of producing it, is, in 

 fact, enormous, and gives us an impressive idea of their extraordinary antiquity. The 

 grotto of Antiparos one of the islands of the Grecian Archipelago is particularly cele 

 brated on account of the size and diversity of form of these deposits. It extends nearly 

 a thousand feet beneath the surface, in primitive limestone, and is accessible by a narrow 

 entrance which is often very steeply inclined, but divided by level landing-places. After 

 a series of descents, the traveller arrives at the Great Hall, as it is called, the sides and 

 roof of which are covered with immense incrustations of calcareous matter. The purity 

 of the surrounding stone, and the thickness of the roof in which the unfiltered water can 

 deposit all impure admixtures, give to its stalactites a beautiful whiteness. Tall pillars 

 stand in many places free, near each other, and single groups of stalagmites form figures 

 so strongly resembling plants, that Tournefort endeavoured to prove from them a vege 

 table nature in stone. The remark of that intelligent traveller is an amusing example of 

 over confidence: " Once again I repeat it, it is impossible this should be done by the 

 droppings of water, as is pretended by those who go about to explain the formation of 

 congelations in grottoes. It is much more probable that these other congelations we 

 speak of, and which hang downwards or rise out different ways, were produced by our 

 principle, namely, vegetation." The sight of the whole is described, by those who have 

 visited this cavern, as highly imposing. In the middle of the Great Hall there is a remark 

 ably large and fine stalagmite, more than twenty feet in diameter, and twenty-four feet 

 high, termed the Altar, from the circumstance of the Marquis de Nointel, the ambassador 

 from Louis XIV. to the Sultan, having caused high mass to be celebrated here in the 

 year 1673. The ceremony was attended by five hundred persons; the place was illu 

 minated by a hundred large wax torches ; and four hundred lamps burned in the grotto, 

 day and night, for the three days of the Christmas festival. This cavern was known 

 to the ancient Greeks, but seems to have been completely lost sight of till the seven 

 teenth century. Some of the caves of France and Germany have a high reputation 

 for the number and beauty of their deposits ; but the finest examples are found in the 

 Cave of Adelsberg, to which reference has been made. The stalagmites here have formed 

 two bridges over the subterranean river, which are situated almost a mile apart from 

 each other, the inner one of which hangs suspended from eighty to a hundred fathoms 

 over the abyss. An American visitor graphically describes some of the principal objects : 

 " We advanced with ease," he states, " through the windings of the cavern, which at 

 times was so low as to oblige us to stoop, and at times so high that the roof was lost in the 

 gloom. But every where the most wonderful varieties of stalactites and crystals met our 

 admiring view. At one time we saw the guides lighting up some distant gallery far 

 above our heads, which had all the appearance of verandahs adorned with Gothic tracery. 

 At another, we came into what seemed the long-drawn aisles of a Gothic cathedral, bril 

 liantly illuminated. The whimsical variety of forms surpasses all the powers of descrip 

 tion. Here was a butcher's shop, which seemed to be hung with joints of meat ; and 

 there, a throne with a magnificent canopy. There was the appearance of a statue with a 



