552 PHILOSOPHICAL tRANSACTIONS. [anNO 1682-3. 



has written a large folio on Navigation, would needs descend into it, and his 

 narrative was as follows : 



'^ On the 2d of July, 1669, I descended by ropes affixed at the top of an 

 old lead-ore pit, 4 fathoms almost perpendicular, and from thence 3 fathoms 

 more obliquely, between two great rocks, where I found the mouth of this spa- 

 cious place, from which a miner and myself lowered ourselves by ropes, 25 fa- 

 thoms perpendicular, into a very large place, which resembled to us the form 

 of a horse-shoe; for we stuck lighted candles all the way we went, to discover 

 what we could find remarkable. At length we came to a river or great water, 

 which I found to be 20 fathoms broad, and 8 fathoms deep. The miner would 

 have persuaded me that this river ebbed and flowed, for that some 10 fathoms 

 above the place where we now were, we found the water had sometime been; 

 but I proved the contrary, by staying there from 3 hours flood to 2 hours ebb, 

 in which time we found no alteration of this river. Besides its waters were 

 fresh, sweet, and cool, and the surface of this vvater as it is now at 8 fathoms 

 deep, lies lower than the bottom of any part of the Severn sea near us, so that 

 it can have no communication with it, and consequently neither fiux nor reflux, 

 but in winter and summer, as all stagnant lakes and loughs (which I take this 

 to be) have. As we were walking by this river, 32 fathoms under ground, we 

 discovered a great hollowness in a rock, some 30 feet above us, so that I got a 

 ladder down to us, and the miner went up the ladder to that place, and walked 

 into it about 70 paces, till he just lost sight of me, and from thence cheerfully 

 called to me, and told me he had found what he looked for, a rich mine; but 

 . his joy was presently changed into amazement, and he returned affrighted by 

 the sight of an evil spirit, which we cannot persuade him but he saw, and for 

 that reason he will go thither no more. 



" Here are abundance of strange places, the flooring being a kind of a white 

 stone, enamelled with lead-ore, and the pendant rocks were glazed with salt- 

 petre, which distilled upon them from above, and time had petrified. 



" After some hours stay there we ascended without much hurt, except 

 scratching ourselves by climbing the sharp rocks. But for 4 days after my return 

 I was troubled with a violent head-ach, which I impute to my being in that vault." 



Captain Sturmy falling from his head-ach into a fever, and dying; what from 

 his death, and the opinion of an evil spirit, nobody was willing to have any 

 more to do with the said hole from that time to this. 



But Captain Collins, commander of the Merlin yacht, who is by his Majesty 

 appointed to take a survey of the coast of England, coming to the Severn for 

 that purpose, and visiting Sir Robert Southwel near Kingroad, Sir Robert told 

 him how the story of this hole had amused the country; and that the narrative 

 had formerly been sent to his Majesty and the Royal Society; and that there 



