294 
THE MEDITERRANEAN NATURALIST 
when within, and the eyes have become accusto- 
med to the Stygian gloom that pervades its depths, 
it will be i'onnd to open out and assume proportion 
of a truly surprising magnitude. The floor of the 
cave is strewn with sunken reefs, among which the 
wavelets leap and dance, and finally fling them- 
selves playfully forward upon the pebbly beach, 
that has been heaped up at the farther extremity. 
The music of the waves, the weird gloom of the 
surroundings and the solemn grandeur that perva- 
des all, conjure up a host of emotions. Delight, 
terror, wonder and awe, each in turn endeavours 
to assert itself. But while each is unsuccessful in 
its individual endeavours to monopolise the mind 
yet their united efforts have the effect of impart- 
ing to it feelings so pleasurable, as to render the 
pang of regret, that is experienced when the time 
comes to turn from such scenes, doubly poignant 
in its nature and effects. 
For the geologist, the sides of this cave will 
prove to be of unusual interest, as they literally 
teem with the remains of those creatures that for 
merly lived and died in the waters when the 
islands were undergoing the processes of for- 
mation. Crossing over to the islets on the opposite 
side, other caves will be found, some squat and 
irregular in their outline, others all that is graceful 
and symmetrical. Caves, in whose wave-wasted 
sides, broad platforms have been scooped out, and 
filled with crystal waters, so cool aud refresh .ing 
that they might almost serve as baths: — 
“Wherein sea-nvmphs might lie 
With languid limbs, in summer’s sultry hours.” 
In the back-grounds of most of the caverns coun- 
tless rock-masses are to be seen that have been 
detached from the roofs and sides by the incessant 
action of the sea. All of them have been much 
water-worn; aud, in the softened sunlight, with 
their rough angles and honey-combed surfaces, 
they often present the most fantastic of appear- 
ances. The archways, too, that grace the islets 
offer us some striking examples of natural power 
and design; and form prominent objects in this 
picturesque seascape. They occur in every stage of 
formation, in every stage of perfection, in every 
stage of ruin. 
Shattered columns, broken pediments, and the 
debris resulting from the collapse of roofs and 
but too plainly demonstrate, L w in-xorai -- are 
the laws of nature, and how relentlessly -he applies 
them On the western shore of Cominotto lies 
one of these partly demolished, natural 1 ridges. 
It had been scooped out of au islet, that laid about 
50 yards from the island and is now supported or. 
either side by columuar masses of hard gray 
limestone. The -pan of the archway has 1 een 
broken in the middle, and the two helves Lave 
| fallen and jammed themselves into t Y shaped u: of. 
against the inverted ridge of which the heaving 
waves upraise their crests and break them into a 
light frothy foam. How'long it has remained thus, 
who can say ? But judging from appearances, i: 
does not seem to be destined to weather out many 
more storms. The collapse of any oue part of it 
will be the signal for the demolition of the whole 
structure. Immediately beneath the Tower stands 
a ruined archway, the one side of which has broken 
away, and, with the roof, has tilted inwards and 
formed a series of colossal steps, such as Biol din- 
gnagians only, could have utilised. But of all the 
picturesque sights with which this truly klighttul 
spot abounds, none I think, will compare with 
the gorgeous colourings, with which the interior* 
of many of the caves are decorated. Nature lias, 
indeed, been lavish with the contents of lu-r pale t- 
te. The waters of Cala Hein are rich in hues that 
a Turner might despair to imitate ; but even they 
dim before the nuts, with which these rocks have 
been embellished. At the sea level the sides of 
the reefs and caverns are clothed with a profusion 
of marine vegetation. 
“Their glittering textures, like the filmy dew 
Dipp’d in the richest tincture of the skies. 
Where light disports in ever-mingling dyes, 
which rises and falls with every ripple that surges 
against them. 
The sombre shades of the weeds present a 
pleasing contrast to the vivid tints of the rocks to 
which they have attached themselves. Every 
shade of the spectrum is there represented, but 
that which predominates over all of the others, is 
a bright vivid green, a green, such as we sometimes 
see in the winter time crowning the heights of 
the western Binjemmas, when the setting sun, 
resting like a golden crest upon their summits, 
throws it* beams aslant the verdure covered slopes. 
The interiors of most of the caves arc coloured 
