DERBYSHIRE. 



675 



Derby- 

 shire. 



at Matlock, consisting of muriate ami carbonate of lead. 

 No specimens have since been heard of, although in- 

 quiries and searches have repeatedly been made ; nor 

 is it known exactly from what part those Mr Chene- 

 vix examined were obtained. The most singular pro- 

 duction of the lead genus presented in this county, is 

 the slicJcenside, a specular lead glance of Professor Ja- 

 meson. The phenomena exhibited on piercing the 

 veins of this mineral have been fully described by Mr 

 Whitehurst, and deserve to be noticed in the present 

 account, since, however extraordinary and inexplicable 

 they may seem, they may be confidently relied upon 

 as authentic. The situation of the veins is perpendicu- 

 lar, and the greater part of the materials composing 

 them is common calcareous spar. In the centre, pa- 

 rallel to the sides of the fissure, is a division, the two 

 faces of which are polished, and coated with a very thin 

 film of lead ; and these constitute the substance under 

 inquiry. The surfaces are not always plain, but often 

 fluted like the ornamental wood-work of a joiner; and the 

 quantity of lead distributed over them appears to be no 

 greater than would have been left by small pieces of 

 galena being exposed between them to violent friction. 

 The most extraordinary circumstance connected with 

 the slickenside is this, that if a sharp pointed instru- 

 ment be drawn down the vein with a certain degree of 

 force, the materials emit a crackling noise, and, in the 

 course of a few minutes, explode with considerable 

 violence, die fragments being thrown to a great dis- 

 tance. Several serious accidents at first happened in 

 consequence, and the mines where the phenomenon oc- 

 curred were for a considerable time deserted, till the 

 workmen, becoming more intimately acquainted with 

 it, found the means of guarding against future mischief, 

 by scratching the substance Avith their picks, and af- 

 terwards retiring to a distant part of the work whilst 

 it exploded. 



It is to be regretted, that no particular information 

 can be supplied concerning another product of Derby- 

 shire, which, from its rarity, may be perhaps considered 

 as the next in interest. The elastic bitumen is found 

 in no part of the world but the neighbourhood of Castle- 

 ton ; and here the situation which affords it, is the pro- 

 perty of two or three miners, who keep the place shut 

 from every eye but their own, and do not resort to it 

 except in the interval of several years, when they bring 

 out considerable quantities, which are sold at a very 

 high price. Their motive in dealing out the mineral 

 so sparingly, is evidently to enhance its value, contri- 

 ving just to keep pace with the public demand. It is 

 supposed to be found in very large masses, from the 

 appearance of the pieces these miners produce, which 

 seem as if they had been dug with a spade. Indura- 

 ted bitumen is mixed with the elastic ; but this is not 

 so rare a product. 



Amongst the most abundant minerals of Derbyshire, 

 not hitherto particularized, are carbonate of lime, which 

 exists under almost every crystallized form presented by 

 that substance ; fiuate of lime, or fluor spar, of which 

 the beautiful ornaments, so well known over the king- 

 dom, are made; sulphate of barytes, both amorphous and 

 crystallised; sulphuret and carbonate of zinc, (blende 

 and calamine,) and copper pyrites. The singular va- 

 riety of carbonate of hme, called stalactite, is found 

 here very abundantly. A cavern has lately been disco- 

 vered at Bradwell, near Castletoh, the roof of which is 

 almost wholly covered with it. The appearance of this 

 place is particularly beautiful, and is well worth the 

 attention of travellers. 



Derby- 

 shire. 



At Ashover, specimens of fluor have been found co- 

 vered over with crystals of quartz, which is a fact high- 

 ly deserving of being recorded, as marking the relative " — *"*" 

 age of these substances. Lead glance has also, in the 

 coal districts, been seen crystallised in nodules of iron 

 stone, another circumstance not unworthy of being 

 mentioned, from the information it supplies concern- 

 ing the different eras at which that mineral has been 

 deposited. 



Under the subterraneous geography of this interest- Subterra 

 ing county, we may include the remarkable caverns neous ca- 

 and fissures, which abound in the northern parts of it. vern »- 

 There are several small caverns in the neighbourhood 

 of Matlock ; but the only ones deserving particular no- 

 tice, are those of Buxton, Castleton, and Elden Hole. 



That in the vicinity of Buxton is called Poole's Hole, Poole's 

 and is a vast cavern, formed by nature, in the limestone Hole, 

 rock. The tradition of the country says, that it was the 

 residence of an outlaw of the name of Poole. The en- 

 trance is low and contracted, and the passage at first so 

 narrow, that it is impossible to go forward without 

 stooping ; but after having proceeded in this posture 

 for about five-and-twenty yards, the passage widens in- 

 to a lofty and spacious cavern, the roof of which is 

 beautifully adorned by the pendent stalactites. The 

 droppings of the water, laden with calcareous matter, fall- 

 ing on the rugged floor, forms many masses of stalagmite, 

 which the imaginations of those who shew the cavern 

 have likened to many articles of common life. The vi- 

 sitor is conducted into the cavern along a path which 

 winds along the side, at some height from its bottom ; 

 but the way by which he returns lies along the bottom. 

 By thus changing the path, an opportunity is furnish- 

 ed of better ascertaining the height and width of 

 the cavern in every part, and of viewing other accu- 

 mulations of stalactite, some of which are of prodigious 

 size and extraordinary form. The whole length of this 

 subterraneous passage is about 769 yards ; it belongs , 

 to the Duke of Devonshire, and is granted by him to 

 nine old women, who act as guides, and receive the 

 money given by the visitors. Above Poole's Hole, on 

 the side of the hill, are the kilns and limestone quar- 

 ries, which give employment to more than a hundred 

 families. They live, like the Troglodites of old, in ca- 

 verns of the earth ; and though exposed to the varia- 

 tions of the seasons, and the ragings of the storm, they 

 exhibit a longevity unknown to the population of the 

 more civilized parts of the kingdom. 



Peak Cavern, near Castleton, which is also some- p e akca. 

 times called the Devil's Cave, is one of those magnifi- vera, 

 cent, sublime, and extraordinary operations of nature, 

 which at all times excite the admiration and wonder of 

 the beholder. This cave has been regarded as one of 

 the principal wonders of Derbyshire, and is celebrated 

 by several poets. It is within 100 yards of the town, 

 in a fissure or separation of the rock. It would be dif- 

 ficult to imagine a scene moi - e august than that which 

 the mouth of this cavern presents. On each side, the 

 huge grey rocks rise almost perpendicularly to the 

 height of nearly 300 feet, and meeting each other at 

 right angles, form a deep and gloomy recess. In front, 

 the mouth of the cave, overhung by a vast canopy of 

 unpillared rock, assuming the appearance of a depress- 

 ed arch, strikes the mind as solemnly grand. This na- 

 tural arch is regular in structure, and extends in width 

 120 feet, in height 42, and receding depth 90. In this en- 

 trance or first cavern, a singular combination is produ- 

 ced ; human habitations and twine manufacturing ma- 

 chines, blending with the sublime features of the natux - 



