^T. 28.] JOURNAL. 213 



I find in conveying any idea of it. It is without 

 doubt the most wonderful thing of its kind in the 

 world. 



Adelsberg itself is a little German village perched 

 under a steep conical hill which is crowned with the 

 ruins of an old castle ; it is at one border of a circular 

 plain, several miles in extent, dotted here and there 

 with little hamlets, and surrounded with mountains, so 

 that it is like a large basin, and seems wholly shut 

 out from the rest of the world. It is so still and 

 quiet that it woidd do very well for the valley of 

 Rasselas, but the mountains do not form precipices 

 except on one side, where they are accessible at a few 

 points only, and there with much difficulty, as 1 had 

 occasion to know. The streams that come down from 

 the moim.tains unite to form a little river, perhaps 

 nearly twice the size of the Fishkill Creek ; and this, 

 after running about the valley seeking an outlet in 

 vain, at length in despair, as it seems, dives into the 

 solid rock at the foot of hiUs near the village. The 

 entrance for visitors is a small hole above this, which 

 opens into a long gallery, perhaps two hundred yards 

 in extent. From this you descend into a vast hall, 

 called the Dome, more than one hundred feet high, 

 and three or four hundred feet in length. As you de- 

 scend you hear the roar of the waters confined in their 

 deep prison-house, and at the bottom you meet the 

 river which rushes swiftly to the distant extremity of 

 this hall, and there sinks into the dark depths. In- 

 stead of a stupid monument and inscription by the 

 late emperor, placed above this, it would have been 

 much better taste to have placed in the stream a piece 

 of statuary representing Charon and his boat, for 

 never was seen so perfect a beau-ideal of the fabled 



