174 FRAGMENTS OF SCIENCE 



put forth all their strength, animated by the exhortations 

 of the officer at the helm. The roughness of the sea ren- 

 dered their efforts to some extent nugatory: still we were 

 rapidly approaching the steamer. At length she moved, 

 punctual almost to the minute, at first slowly, but soon 

 with quickened pace. We turned to the left, so as to cut 

 across her bows. Five minutes' pull would have brought 

 us up to her. The officer waved his cap and I my hat. 

 "If they could only see us, they might back to us in a 

 moment." But they did not see us, or if they did, they 

 paid us no attention. I returned to the "Urgent," dis- 

 comfited, but grateful to the fine fellows who had wrought 

 so hard to carry out my wishes. 



Glad of the quiet, in the sober afternoon I took a walk 

 toward Europa Point. The sky darkened and heavy 

 squalls passed at intervals. Private theatricals were at 

 the Convent, and the kind and courteous Governor had 

 sent cards to the eclipse party. I failed in my duty in 

 not going. St. Michael's Cave is said to rival, if it does 

 not outrival, the Mammoth Cave of Kentucky. On the 

 28th Mr. Crookes, Mr. Carpenter, and myself, guided by 

 a military policeman who understood his work, explored 

 the cavern. The mouth is about 1,100 feet above the sea. 

 We zigzagged up to it, and first were led into an aperture 

 in the rock, at some height above the true entrance of 

 the cave. In this upper cavern we saw some tall and 

 beautiful stalactite pillars. 



The water drips from the roof charged with bicarbonate 

 of lime. Exposed to the air, the carbonic acid partially 

 escapes, and the simple carbonate of lime, which is hardly 

 at all soluble in water, deposits itself as a solid, forming 

 stalactites and stalagmites. Even the exposure of chalk 



