DIONVSIUS'S EAR. 123 



of Dionysius is still to be seen at Syracuse. Is that the 

 case? 



MRS. F. 



It is so; at least, there is a cavern, adjoining the stone 

 quarries, which bears the name. This tradition is believed 

 by all the Syracusans, and the cave is certainly constructed 

 according to the resemblance of an ear, and is endowed with 

 some extraordinary properties of sound. But the story rests 

 upon no historical evidence whatever. This cavern is about 

 183 feet long, 70 high, and varies in width from 16 to 30 feet. 

 The sides slope gradually to the summit, and terminate by a 

 narrow channel, decreasing to about 20 inches, which com- 

 municates with what is called, the secret chamber of Diony- 

 sius. The power of the lower cavern in conveying sound, is 

 certainly great, a whisper being easily heard; and the full 

 voice reverberates so strongly, that it is almost drowned by the 

 echoes, and if several persons speak at the same time, they 

 are quite unintelligible. A bugle horn or flute is multiplied 

 almost into a band of music; the firing of a pistol sounds like 

 the report of a cannon, and lasts ten seconds; and the tearing 

 of a piece of paper is distinctly heard, from one end of 

 the cavern to the other. But there appears to have been 

 no access to the secret chamber, .except the almost inacces- 

 sible one, 70 feet from the ground, by which travellers, at 

 present, enter by a rope and pulley; and though the design of 

 this curious cavern will probably always remain a mystery, 

 yet it is more likely to have been formed as an experiment in 

 acoustics by some ingenious mechanic, than to have been 

 constructed by the order of Dionysius, whose character appears 

 to have been much misrepresented by party writers.* 



ESTHER. 



One thing more, mamma, before we finish. Will you ex- 

 plain to us the nature of the sounds which issued from the 

 celebrated statue of Memnon? ' ,"' v 



MRS. F. 



Until very lately, they were attributed to natural causes, 

 * Hughes's Travels in Greece and Albania. 



