60 THE PEAK OF DEKBYiHIR*. _ 
eiently strong to permit the reading of any book. 
terior af tlie chasm he describes as consisting of two pafy' 
which communicate with each other by a small arched 
sage, the one resembling an oven, the other the dome o . 
glass-house. On the soutli side of the latter, was a stn^ 
opening, about twelve feet in lengtli, and four in 
lined throughout with a kind of sparkling stalactite, of a Dj 
deep yellow colour, witli petrifying drops hanging from 
roof. Tracing the entrance he found a noble column, 
ninety feet high, of the same kind of incrustation. _ As 
proceeded to the north, he came to a large stone which ^ 
covered with the same substance ; and beneath it he 
a hole six feet in deptli, uniformly lined with it. From t”. 
edge of this hole sprung up a rocky ascent, .sloping, nk • 
buttress, against the side of the cavern, and consisting' 
OULUeSS, UgaulSL UlC Ui lUAi. 
vast, solid, round masses of the same substance and coW ^ 
jiaving climbed this ascent to the height of about sixty 
he obtained some fine pieces of stalactite, which hung 
the craggy sides of the cavern. Descending with some 
culty and, danger, he proceeded in the same direction, " 
soon came to another pile of incrustations of a brown colo 
».«-» jyx.w - - - - ■ rj 
above which he found a small cavern, opening into ^ 
- ’ ’■ 1-11 entered. Here lies'*. 
side of the vault, which he 
vast masses of stalactite, hatiging like icicles from every P*^^ 
of the roof : several of these were four and five feet lo”^ 
and as thick as a man's body. The sides of the latg^^ 
cavern were chiefly lined with inemstations of three kn' ■ 
the first of which was a deep yellow stalactite j the secoJJ 
a thin coating which resembled a pale stone-colour varn’' 
and reflected the light of the candle with great splendo*^^ 
and the tlilrd, a rough efflorescence, the shoot of which 
sembled a rose flower. ^ 
‘The authors of a recent publication thus state the 
suit of their observations and inquiries relative to F 
Hole. They describe the mouth of this chasm as 
borizontally, in a direction from north to south ; its sh‘^ 
being nearly that of an irregular ellipsis, about ninety 
in length, and twenty-seven in breadth at die widest p^^^ 
The iwrthcrn end is fringed with smdl trees ; and moss 
underwood grow out of. the crevices on each side, to 
depth of forty or fifty feet. As the fissure recedes h 
Cie snrfitce, it gradually contracts i and at tlie dept** 
