THE EARTH. 49 



IS houses ; particularly in those countnes where the climate is veiy 

 severe;* but in general they are deserted by every race of meaner 

 animals, except the bat : these nocturnal solitary creatures are 

 usually the only inhabitants ; and these only in such whose de. 

 scent is sloping, or, at least, not directly perpendicular. 



There is scarcely a country in the world without its natural 

 caverns ; and many new ones are discovered every day. Of 

 those in England, Oakey-hole, the Devil's-hole, and Penpark- 

 hole, have been often described. The former, which lies on the 

 «outh side of Mendip-hills,' within a mile of the town of Wells, 

 IS much resorted to by travellers. To conceive a just idea of 

 this, we must imagine a precipice of more than a hundi'ed yards 

 high, on the side of a mountain whi«h shelves away a mile above 

 it. In this is an opening not very large, into which you enter, 

 going along upon a rocky uneven pavement, sometimes ascend- 

 ing, and sometimes descending. The roof of it, as you advance, 

 grows higher ; and in some places is fifty feet from the floor. 

 In some places, however, it is so low that a man must stoop to 

 pass. It extends itself, in length, about two hundred yards : 

 and from every part of the roof and the floor, there are formed 

 sparrj' concretions of various figures, that by strong imaginations 

 have been likened to men, lions, and organs. At the farthest 

 part of this cavern rises a stream of water, well stored \vith fish, 

 large enough to turn a mill, and which discharges itself near the 

 entrance. 



Penpark-hole, in Gloucestershire, is almost as remarkable as 

 the former. Captain Stiormy descended into this by a rope, 

 twenty-five fathoms perpendicular, and at the bottom found a 

 very large vault in the shape of a horse-shoe. The floors con 

 sisted of a kind of white stone enamelled with lead ore, and the 

 pendant rocks were glazed with spar. Walking forward on this 

 stony pavement, for some time, he came to a great river, twenty 

 fathoms broad, and eight fathoms deep ; and having been in- 

 formed that it ebbed and flowed with the sea, he remained in this 

 gloomy abode for five hours to make an exact observation. He 

 did not find, however, any alteration whatsoever in its appear, 

 ance. But his curiosity was ill requited ; for it cost this un- 

 fortimate gentleman his life ; immediately after his return he 



2 Phil. Trans, vol. ii. p. 368. 3 Ibid. 

 £ 



