Hill, Beodrick, and Rule — The Mitclielstown Caves. 249 



Next ensues a longer crawl on hands and knees, the roof being only 2 feet 

 high, and you emerge into the Scotsman's Cave. Here there is active 

 stalactite-formation, with water dripping from the roof. Leaving this chamber 

 by climbing up high on the right, two crawls over slopes of stalagmite must be 

 negotiated, when O'Callaghan's Cave is reached. You have then to squeeze 

 through a narrow crack between fallen boulders and take to the left up a slope 

 into a low bedding-cave. Again up to the left, over a second slope, and another 

 squeeze under an overhanging rock-curtain leads to a second bedding-cave, 

 where you negotiate a drop of 7 feet over a huge jammed boulder. The way 

 then leads downwards, and you enter a level passage, cross three gaps 

 in the floor, the Crevasses, and, descending a bank of stalagmite, find 

 yourself at the entrances to the Labyrinth. These entrances are three in 

 number, and lead, into a complicated system of passages at various levels, 

 which are remarkable for their abundance of fine stalactites and stalagmites 

 (see Plate XVII., fig. 1). 



Leaving the Labyrinth on the right, you enter Brogden's Cave, which is 

 a long, straight passage 10 feet high, enriched by many beautiful formations. 

 One little alcove on the left-hand side, known as the Chapel, is particularly 

 worthy of notice. It is fringed on either side with beautiful curtains of 

 crystalline stalactite. Brogden's Cave ends blindly ; but just before reaching 

 its termination, you turn down sharply to the right, and then immediately to 

 the left along a straight, muddy passage which brings you into the Demon's 

 Cave. This cavity is filled almost to its roof by an immense mound of fallen 

 rocks cemented together by stalagmite. Climbing over and down the other 

 side of this " esker," you make your way to the right through winding 

 tunnels containing here and there pools of water until you reach the Port- 

 Hole, the narrow entrance to the Victoria Cave. This cave, the farthest 

 point of the cavern to be reached in an easterly direction, consists of a lofty 

 vault 4L yards long and 10-15 feet in height, with a flat floor covered with 

 stalagmite. It contains many fine curtains hanging from its roof, and ends 

 in an upward slope of 15 feet, entirely blocked by fallen rocks. 



There are also in this chamber several very beautiful terraces of stalagmite, 

 divided by ridges of the same substance some 3 inches in height ; these latter 

 have evidently been formed at the edges of pools, and as the deposition has 

 naturally taken place at the edges to a greater extent than on the floor, the 

 edges have been slowly built up to their present height. 



The inscriptions on the walls indicate that this point was reached in 

 1874, though M. Martel appears to be ignorant of its existence, as he figures 

 notliing on his plan beyond Brogden's Cave. 



