4 REPORT 1876. 



of them, -when the Eleventh Eeport was presented. When Mr. MacEnery 

 and his contemporaries commenced their labours in the Cavern, the existence 

 of this chamber was probably known to but very few persons, as what 

 appeared to be its two entrances must have been so nearly filled with deposits 

 of different kinds as to reduce them to the size of mere pigeon -holes ; and it 

 is perhaps worthy of remark, by way of confii'mation, that though it contained 

 large and lofty bosses of stalagmite, such as visitors loved to enrich with 

 their names or initials, the only inscription found in it is dated many years 

 after the commencement of Mr. MacEnery's researches. 



The entrance to the Labyrinth is about 190 feet from the mouth of the 

 Long Arcade, and 280 feet from the nearest external entrance to the Cavern. 

 The name of Labyrinth was given to it on account of the difficulty which, 

 without a guide, visitors experienced in threading their way between the 

 numerous masses of fallen limestone and the large bosses of stalagmite which 

 occupied its floor. In fact it was not only the most bewildering branch of the 

 Cavern, but even persons somewhat familiar with the scene so constantly 

 " lost their bearings " as to be unable, even after emerging from it, to tell 

 whether their way out of the Cavern lay to the right hand or to the left. 

 " There was," says Mr. MacEnery, " a tradition of the loss of life here by a 

 young man who ventured to explore it without a guide. It is certain that 

 two gentlemen who lost their light and way spent a night of horror here, 

 dreading to advance for fear of falling into the pits .... they remained im- 

 movable until their friends came to their relief, alarmed by their absence " *. 

 In another passage, speaking of the Labj-rinth as " The Zigzag Eoute," 

 he says, " Of the dangerous intricacies of this section of the Cavern a memo- 

 rable and nearly fatal illustration occurred during the American War. Some 

 officers of the fleet then stationed in Torbay had the hardihood to attempt to 

 explore it without a guide. Having lost their clue, they wandered about in 

 the vain hope of retracing their steps, during which their torches were burnt 

 out. They then groped about in different directions and separated. After a 

 night .of horror they were released by their friends, who, alarmed at their 

 absence, recollected the projected adventure and hastened to their deliver- 

 ance "t. 



The Labyrinth extends from the Long Arcade, in a south-easterly direction, 

 for about 46 feet, throwing off three narrow branches at and near its inner 

 end. Of these, the central one, opening out of the south-eastern corner, and 

 which it is proposed to call " Matthews's Passage," after one of the workmen, 

 leads into the Bear's Den ; another, the mouth of which is immediately 

 adjacent and opens out of the north-eastern wall, has long been famous as 

 " The Little Oven," and has its other end on the mass of limestone known as 

 " The Bridge "t, at a distance of upwards of 60 feet towards the north ; whilst 

 the third, commencing in the southernmost corner, extends for a distance of 

 at least from 15 to 20 feet towards the south-west. The Labyrinth is com- 

 monly from 17 to 18 feet wide, but expands at one point to 22 feet, and 

 contracts at another to 15 feet; its greatest height is 18 feet, measured from 

 the bottom of the excavation. 



The walls and roof, though by no means without traces of the erosive action 

 of flowing water, are in most places extremely rugged, and suggest by their 

 fretted aspect that even the last of the numerous blocks of limestone encum- 

 bering its floor must have fallen a long time ago. 



* See Trans. Devon. Assoc, vol. iii. (1869), p. 238. 



t Ibid. p. 460. 



\ See Eeport Brit. Assoc. 1873, p. 199. 



