742 DERB Y 
“ At firfi it is,” fays he, “ but a tranfparent drop ; by 
the air it afterwards becomes a clay, and then gradually 
forms itfelf into petrifaction.” As we pafs on, the roof 
defcends gradually till a man cannot (land upright in it, 
though in the water; but (looping' for a little way, and 
palling over (in a kind of bathing-tub, wherein you lie ex¬ 
tended) the lame dream of water which erodes the cave, 
you dnd more room over your head. But, going a little 
further, we come to a third water, which erodes this ca¬ 
vern ; and the rock dooping, as it were, down almod to the 
furface of the water, puts an end to the traveller’s fearch. 
Mr. Fergufon, whovidted this cavern in 1772, gives the 
following defeription of it. After fpeaking of palling 
tinder the low-arched roof in a kind of boat, and lying 
at full length, as deferibed above, Mr. Fergufon pro¬ 
ceeds thus: “ When landed on the farther fide of this 
water, I was conducted through a low place into a cavern 
leventy yards wide and forty yards high, in the top of 
which are feveral openings upwards, reaching fo high 
that I could not fee their tops. On one fide of this 
place were feveral young lads, with candles in their 
hands, clambering up a very rough liony al'cent, and 
they difappeared when about half way up. I alked my 
guide who they were, and he told me they were the 
lingers, and that I fhould foon fee them again, for that 
they were going through an opening that led into the 
next cavern. At eighty-feven yards from the firlf water 
I came to a fecond, nine yards and a half broad, over 
which my guide carried me on his back. I then went 
under three natural arches, at fome dillance from one 
another, and all of them pretty regular ; then entered a 
third cavern, called Roger Rain's Houfe, becaufe there is 
a continual dropping on one lide of it, like a moderate 
Ihower. I no fooner entered this cavern, than I was 
agreeably furprifed by a melodious finging, which feem- 
ed to echo on all fides ; and, on looking back, I faw the 
above-mentioned lads, in a large round opening called 
the chancel, nineteen yards above the bottom where I 
flood : they fing for what vifitors pleafe to give them as 
they return. The effe6t of flow folemn mufic in this 
fit nation is wonderful ; it is impolfible to deferibe it. 
The lights, difperfed in various parts of the gloomy ca¬ 
vern, appearing like (tars ; the ftillnefs of the lcene, 
fave the patterings of the water in the rainy cell, form 
an uncommon admixture of the fublime and beautiful, 
and confpire, with the folemnity of the airs they fing, 
to turn the mind to meditation; nature appears in awful 
majefly, and you may eafily fancy yourfelf tranfported 
into another world. At the top of a deep, rugged, ftony, 
afeent, on one fide of this cavern, I f«w a fmall irregular 
hole, and afked my guide whether there was another 
cavern beyond it. He told me there was ; but that very 
few people ventured to go through into it, on account 
of the frightful appearance at the top of the hole, where 
the Hones feemed to be almoft loofe, as if ready to fall, 
and dole up the palfage. I told him, that, if he would 
venture through, I would follow him : fo I did, creep¬ 
ing fiat, the place being too low to go on all-fours; we 
then got into a long, narrow, irregular, and very high, 
cavern, which has furprifing openings, of various lhapes, 
at the top, too high to fee how far they reach. We re¬ 
turned through the hole into Roger Rain’s Houfe again, 
and from thence went down fifty yards lower, on wet 
fand, wherein Heps are made for convenience ; at the bot¬ 
tom of which we entered into a cavern called the Devil's 
Cellar. In the roof of this cellar is a large opening, but 
fo irregular and crooked, that no Hone let down from the 
top was ever know n to fall quite through into the ca¬ 
vern. From this place 1 was conducted a good w ay on¬ 
ward, under a roof too low to admit of walking upright, 
and then entered a cavern called the Bell, becaufe the top 
of it is draped fpmething like the infide of a bell; hence 
I was conducted through a very low place into a higher, 
in the bottom of which runs a.third Hr earn ; here the 
SHIRE. 
water rifes in the time of heavy rains near five feet highe r 
than its cufiomary level. The roof Hopes gradually down" 
w’ard till it comes within five inches of the furface of the 
running water under it. My guide then told me, that 
I wasjuH 207 yards below the furface of the ground, 
and 7 50 yards from the HrH entrance into the rock, and 
that there w'as no going any farther. This, however, is 
not fuppofed to be the termination of the cavern ; and, 
as a confiderable flream of water runs through a fmall 
opening at the extremity, many people think it conti¬ 
nues farther. Some few years ago, a gentleman was de¬ 
termined to try if he could not dive under the rock, and 
rife in the cavern which he fuppofed to be Hill beyond 
it ; lie plunged in, but Hruck his head againfi the rock, 
and fell motionlefs to the bottom, from which the at¬ 
tendants with difficulty dragged him out. They have 
lately been at the trouble and expence of blowing up a 
part of the rock at this extremity, to try if they could 
difeoverany landing-place beyond it, but to no purpofe; 
the water is feven feet deep where the rock doles again. 
I muH not omit mentioning the Haggering effedt of a 
blafi, as they fiile it, occafioned by a fmall quantity of 
gunpowder crammed into a rock and fet fire to. The 
explofion is wonderfully grand : heaven and earth feem 
as it were coming together. All vifitors are treated 
with this falute, and we, of courfe, had our ffiare of it. 
Throughout the whole I found the air very agreeable, 
and warm enough to bring on a moderate perfpiration, 
although, lefs than a fortnight before, (this was in the 
month of Odtober,) all the caverns beyond the firfi fiream, 
where I was ferried under the low arch, had been filled 
to a confiderable height with water during a flood occa¬ 
fioned by great and long-continued rains.” 
Mr. Sullivan, in a much more dangerous defeent, was 
the next adventurer to Mr. Fergufon. His adventure 
was no other than exploring a prodigious cavern, faid to 
be three miles in length, and Hrongly fuppofed by the 
miners to have a communication with Peak’s Hole, as 
they infifi upon it the fame river runs through both. He 
repaired to the top of the mountain, where the fiflure 
opens itfelf about three feet in diameter. Accompanied 
by fome undaunted companions, and by a few of the 
miners, they proceeded one by one down this dreadful 
abyfs, for the difiance of 420 feet perpendicular. Ima¬ 
gination can fcarcely form a defeent more perilous. The 
only Heps or things to hold by were bits of oak (tuck in¬ 
to the fides, inhabitants of the place fince it was firfi dif 
covered, and which, from want of ufe, it was natural to 
fttppofe might have either rotted or loofened themfejves 
in the earth ; but fortunately all was firm, and this adven¬ 
turous company arrived at the bottom unhurt. “ Here, 
(fays Mr. Sullivan,) ranging ourfelves in order, with a 
large bundle of candles and torches, independent of the 
candles which each of us carried, we proceeded with to¬ 
lerable facility through two or three lofty and mofi 
beautifully enamelled caverns of fpar. This, we con¬ 
ceived an earneft of future delight, and the tablets were 
accordingly fet at work ; but, alas, how great was our 
mifiuke 1 Here our difficulties were to commence. Fal¬ 
lowing the guide, who, befides another who was with 
us, was the only one of the party who had ever pene¬ 
trated before, we forced our way, with infinite druggies, 
through a narrow fpace, between two rocks, and thence 
getting on our hands and knees, were, for the full dif- 
tance of 4 mile, obliged to crawl, without ever daring 
to lift up our heads, the paflage being both low and 
craggy ; and, as it was likewife filled with mud, dirt, and 
a multitude of pieces of rock, our progrefs was painful 
indeed: we (till, however, hoped for iomething better. 
On we accordingly proceeded, till a dreadful noife, rum¬ 
bling along the horrible crevices of the cave, gave us to 
underhand we were near a river: to this then we, as fall 
as we were able, hurried. But defeription is inadequate 
to any thing like a reprefentation of the feene, A vafi 
j ocean 
