232 P2R5 PENMAR and the Caverns of V Lura Y. A GUIDE BOOK BYE.S.R!LEir,JR. PRICE 25 CTS. AIJNAPOLIS, MD. Daily Record Printtnq Opficf. 1882, Glass ' -' ■^■^ Copyright )^^.^ COPYRIGHT DEPOSm ^ TO PEN-MAR and the Caverns of 4. r^ 'C->^ A GUIDE BOOK. BY E. S. RILEY, JR. PRICE 20 CTS, JUN 14 1883 y ANNAPOLIS, MD. Daily Record Prixting Office. 1882. ft^Eiitered according to net oi Congrosp, May 27, 18S2, by E. S. RILEY, JR., Tn the oflloe of the liihmrian, ofCongres?, at Washington. r TO PEN-MAR AND LURAY. [] CHAPTKK I. FROM ANNAPOLIS To I'KN-NfAR. []- --. >.j.-.j|,.v.>>. A ride by rail from Annapolis to < >(lenton is not interesting- ; but the ■ ad from Odenton to Baltimore is ■cidedly. Here we s\Yeep along rcat fields of melons and sweet pota- toes, the sentinels of a huge truck region that fills the markets of Bal- timore with the best vegetables in the ii)d; there we see the picturesque mill that has refused to give up the silvery stream for its motive power, for the stronger arm of steam, and far away slope the lovely valleys of Baltimore county, dotted with luxuriant fields, noble groves, and handsome houses of the thrifty farmers and wealthy merchant princes of that rich sec- tion. Trimming the very edge of the city for a few moments' passing in quick succession the fine buildings iSt. Agnes Hos- pital, St. Mary's Industrial School, and the House of Refuge, the train darts suddenly into the first of those magnificent tunnels that undermine Baltimore and give ingres3 and eg- ress for teeming thousands that daily travel hither and thith- er over the groaning tracks of the Baltimore and Potomac, the Western Maryland, and ISorthern Central Railroad. These companies use this tunnel in common — the two last roads by paying a royalty to the Baltimore and Potomac. Just before the train reaches tlie mouth of the tunnel, there is a gre-at MOUNTAIN VIEW. TO PEX-M Al^ AM) THE GEKMANTOWN GORUE. CAVERNS OF LURAY. 5 banoing as the windows come down. A novice does not un- derstand it, but should he leave his window up, the suffocat- ing smoke would enlighten his understanding. How well we recollect the first trip we made through the tunnel with the window up. The smoke was intolerable but the withering, indignant look cf an habitue of the road was a great deal worse. One interesting fact connected with these tunnels is that they cost $4,000,000. At Charles street station, Baltimore, the traveler to Pen- Mar has forty minutes to wait, and though it gives a good op- portunity for a short walk in the northern section of a grow- ing city and the sight of fine houses and a few public build- ings, it is advisable for passengers who wish a pick of seats in the Pen-Mar train to go on to Calvert Station, and walk three squares to the Hillen street Station of the Western Maryland Road. This train starts at nine and there is plenty time for all this — otherwise \ ou may have to take a back seat. After one false alarm, suddenly the traiii snorts up. At the gate a stupid and stubborn official looks at our tickets and said that was not our train We knew belter, pushing past our well infornifcd railroad man, we appealed to the conduc- tor — the true tvpe of a Western Maryland farmer, brushed up with railroad knowledge and polished down with a railroad uniform. It was right, of course, whoever knew an editor to be wrong. Under headway fairly and steaming swiftly up the beautiful valley that spreads out on either side of the Western Mary- land road, the first thoughtful act of the railroad officials be- gins--maps of the surrounding country of our destination, filled with tabular and other information, are distributed to the passengers. For over an hour we sweep by garden spots, green hills; and fertile meadows, each ornamented with neat houses, or liaralets and villages. Reisterstown appeared the trimmest of all. It is ncrt surprising that this section, with all the pas- toral delights and country d^intie,s should accommodate iuin- dreds of summer boarders. Thirty miles up the road the first huge red barn was seen — the sign we were fully in the heart of Western ^Earyland and an'l still another that we were not so far from Pennsylvania either. Great barns, large houses, some substantial bricks that looked like they had represented more than one genera- tion of prosperity now came in sight. Just above the Union Bridge the faint glimmer of blue along the western horizon presents the first glimpse of the mountains. How excited the passengers become ; leaving their seats and stretching their nt-cks to view the engaging scene. Here it seemed as if the Western Maryland road had l\) PEN-MAli AND TIIK GERMANTOWN GLPJN. BLUE RIDGE STATIOT^ CAVERNS OF LURAY. 7 like somo great auger bored its way through Lhe roek ribbed- hills — "eternal as the sun.*' A few miles more and we ap- proach the foot of the mountains. Now the range is divided. No longer the blue crests and lotty summits appear alone on our left — they stretch out before us on our right, and bar our passage to the clouds, but the locomotive Samson, carrying our train and seven handsome cars, is not discouraged. He plants his feet s(ro*ngly in- the ground and bowing his hoad and bending his huge back to the task, fairly groans in spirit as he begins the task of ascension. The vistas open. Miles to the right is a great gap in the everlasting hills, and between them lie the teeming vales of Northern Maryland and southern Pennsylvania, beyond is another range ot sea-blue mountains which lift their heads to heaven and kiss the clouds. An- othe.i stretch of a few miles and the second gap opens to view Gettysburg and yet another blue line of mountains. The ascent has fairl\ begun- the train groans, and the en- gine puffs and blows as upward we move — once so slowly that we were merely creeping. The mountains can now be almost touched with our finger ends for we are no longer hard by — we are on the Blue Ridge themselves. Even on these hill-tops the silvery streams of gurgling water that we had seen below continue merrily to course their way to the Chesapeake, lingering long enough however on the way to make green the meadow and fertile the field. Side by side with nature's courses, the industrious hand of man has opened up roads from valley to hill-top, and from hill- top to valley again. Near the summit of the mountain two little girl moun- taineers stood on the road side, in exceedingly humble appar- el, and waived us on and appeared as much delighted in giv- ing us their futile encouragement as the excursionists were amused to receive if. Ijooking back we find that the train has crossed one range, and mountains are behind us, but we are pressing on to still greater achievements. The panorama below is always chang- ing — delightful views c(une and disappear for other pictures, as we cling to the side of the mountain, plunge through a cut, or tremble on the height of a "fill-up." In going up the mountains the best views are on the right; the thoughtful traveler will take this side up and the left com- ing down. The train has stopped at Pen-Mar. There is something ex- citing in standing on the borders of two lands. These West- ern Maryland road officials have acted on this common thrill that makes on a small plane "all mankind akin," and have erected a sign ])ost just at a station bearing the legend "Mary- ro I'KN-MAK AM) 11 IE HIGH P>1<1I)c;E AliOVE MECaANit:sT()\VN. SCEa'EKY NEAK DRERFIELT). CAVERNS OF LURAW 9 land" on one side, and "Pennsylvania" on the other, and who is so dumb and insensate as not to take one step from ^'Dixie" into Pennsylvania? Sign-posts and State lines fade before the magnificence of the view before us. We do not stop here however, resisting even the inviting dinner bells, (yes, the proprietor comes down the hill with one in each hand,) of a side restaurant that enterprisingly ofters ham, and bread and coifee for twenty cents, A walk or' several hundred yards on a road, always on the ascent, brings us to ti.e hotel, the dancing pavillion and to the vehicles whose owners vie with each other in dilat- ing upon the superiority of their equi])ages to take you up to High Rock, yet two miles away. High Rock has no chprms now until dinner has been discussed. It is noon by the sun, it is evening by the appetite. At the liotel a good dinner, well served and cooked and sufficient in quantity, is provided for a half dollar. For a quarter for adulis and fifteen cents for each child, )'0u can select any team you wish to take you to High Rock. All tickets are purchased at the pavillion, and these are recoo-- nized for passage by any of the conveyances. As you go up a fifteen-cent caupon is taken from the adult's tickets, and a ten cent one from the child's. When you return you give the balance to the driver, and that pays your passage down on any team you may select. It you walk down, rather a dusty and uninteresting road, you can go to tlie pavillion and have lialf tickets redeemed in money. Tlie ride to High Rock is a dusty ascent. High Rock is ap-. propriately named — a high bolder that in the convulsions that built these backbones of the earth, made a frantic leap for air and liberty from the seething cauldron that fused its elemental ])arts. Stopped on its progress to the Heavens, it fed back upon the mountnin top — a huge monument of its own folly. The enterprising managers of Pen -Mar have not left na- ture unaided. They have built a large and substantial ob- servatory upon it — three stories high. The highest point exposes one too much to the glare of the sun — the second story is the best for observation. From this stupendous elevation the vallev of Cumberland is before the eye of the observer. To the east and right a great blue spur of the Blue Rid-e. barely shuts ffom sight the town of Gettysburg — immortal in history. As the eye comes up the valley toward the west, AVaynesboro, Pennsylvania, can l)e distinctly seen like a toy town in tlie distance, north- ward GreencastJe i§ faintly discerned at the foot of the south mountains, westward tlie suioke from Ha^ierstown rises in ]0 TO PKX-MA]{ AM) I'JIK ^j^"^^ ■ '>lr** '' " .7J VIEW NEAR SABILLASVILLE C^AVERN.S OF J.UKAY. 11 tlic hazy atmosphere, and some other suialler towns near the Virginia line, nestles at the foot of he Blue Kidge. Between all these interspersed with railroads, lie hundreds of farme whose trim fields look like little garden spots from the eleva- tion from whieh we view them. Everything speaks of happi- ness, thrift, peace, prosperity. Down the rocky heights of the Blue Ridge we look upon trees rooted in the unfriendly rocks, and on and on the eye goes till the identity of trees arc lost save where some solitary monarch holds the field alone. Over village, town, field, farm, farm house, woodland, the eye sweeps, down the valley fifty miles, and over it for thirty more, the eye goes on and on u-itil the sapphire wall of the South Mountains rise to the clouds and stop the advancing vision. What a stupendous idea this prospect gives of the Al- mighty! Here on the dizzy heights of this sublime peak, an aM-e steals in the breast that makes one think he has drawn closer to the Creator and can feel as he has never felt before TT'is omnipotence. One look more — and we leave the sublime prospect, the de- lightful mountain breeze, the cheerful chatting of friendly but unknoAvn companicns, and ride down the rugged sides of the mountain to Pen-Mar. Here the mazy waltzers were at work ; now the sober qua- drille — but he who has seen a ball at the Naval Academy, cau OMly smile at the efforts of these novices. There are many agreeable features of this resort, there were plenty of seats and drinking fountains every 'S'yhere. A review of the Cumberland Valley from Pen-Mar, a list- less waiting of a few minutes at the station, a rush for a good seat, and the train is off down the mountain side, taking in with it the view fiom Horse Shoe Curve; and a hundred otlier smaller but delightful scenes of meadow, field, grazing cattle and growing crops. Night closes in before Baltimore is reached, and the cheer- ful line of sentinel lamps is hailed with a faint glow of pleas- ure. As the train darts through the tunnel at Pennsylvania avenue, we bid adieu to fellow-travellers but retain the most delightful guests in the halis of recollection. 13 TO ]»KN-MAU AND 'WW. scenp:hy abovk MECIIANICSTOVVN. CAVERNS OF LURAY. 13 CHAPTER II. — G — From Baltimore to Hagerstown. • — [] It was a few months later ^^-^ and we were ^"^^ again on the road. The Bal t i in ore Oriole folded t^ wings on the night of October 12th and went t-o sleep for a year. The morning after we bor- rowed the pinions of trip to the famous Cav- Lnray. From Baltimore our s up the picturesque Western ilroad in the train that street static n at 7.35, t was the third time with- is that we had traveled delightful country, yet f its forests, the neatness and farm-houses, and the giandue\ of its mountain scenery did not fail in attrac- tiveness. The train was loaded with healthy specimens of pater- familias of Western Maryland and their families returning from the Oriole. Among them we saw a cpiaiiit looking young 14 '10 PEN-MAR AND THK Sfe^. -=> ^ ^'^14'^?^ S ■i Yy. ASCICNDING THE BLUE RIDGK. CAVP:RNS of LURAY. 15 giri — evidently of the Wynbrennarian sect — ifone is to judge by the ancient pattern of her bonnet and the sad sorabreness of its colors. Her whole attire was unique, but in spite of its tints, that made its singular — there was nothing repulsive about it. There were three of these young ladies together — two were robust and rotund in form, the third lithe — but all were ruddy and cheerful children of the saints. Wnile the train waited at Union Bridge on account of a slight accident ahead everybody, it seemed, wanted rations. It is a physiological fact that there is great sympathy between revolving car-wheels and a traveling stomach. The male owners of these useful organs began almost immediatel}^ a system of foraging around the town of Union Bridge. The stores, the single restaurant near the depot, and the railroad hotel were scoured for something to eat. As these failed to supply the necessary rations, a wider range was made, and the grocery stores nextfell under tribute, and then the outskirts of the village Avere reconnoitred. An hour and more's waiting and we were off. As we passed along the mountain's wooded sides, we had opportunity to observe the trees of the woods now turning to resplendent foliage nnder an autumn sun. Tiie cedar, tliat evergreen of Southern Maryland, was not to be seen on the mountain side. la its place was tiie sha])ely spruce pine, sycamore, pine. <'hestnut, oak, maple and dog wood. The Valley between Horse Shoe Curve, with its autumn tints and foliage, lying today as peaceful as the summer ocean, suggested the Happy Valley of Rasselas. We sweep rapidly ])ass Ren Mar. Before us opens the fer- tile valley of Cumberland. As the train dashes in and out of skirts of woods, the valley, like the pictures of a kaleidscope, changes in scene and vista.. The garden spots that, a few weeks ago, we saw from High Rock, are now large, well-tilled fields, giving plenty and prosperity to their industrious own- ers. A mile or so beyond Pen-Mar, we reach Edgemont. Here a branch of the Western jNIaryland Road runs up to Waynes- boro, Five Forks, Attenwald, N. Franklin, Chambersburg and Shippensburg. This with other enterprises and connections of the ^Vestern Maryland management shows the ability of its able President, J. M. Hood, and it does not take a prophet to see, if he remains at the head of the company, the Western Maryland has a magnificent future before it. At one o'clock, two hours behind time, we reached Hagers- town. The engine of the Western Maryland road is shifted — and Avithout the passengers changing cars, the locomotive of the Shenandoah Valley Railroad, is coupled to our train, and it dashes towards Sharpsburg. 16 TO PKX-MAR AND THK A PPiiU ACHING PEN-MAK. CAVEKNS OF I.URAY. 17 CHAPTER III. — D— Feom Hagerstownto Luray. [] I do not believe i\iiy locomotives have'a shriek that can rival the Shenandoah's in unearthliness. The approach to Sliarpsburg is bounded by mountain ranges right and left. Beside us lay the memorable battle ground of Sharpsbnrg. How peacefully the fields sleep today! how green the grass grows fertilized by the blood of gallant men and nameless heroes, where 'Glory guards willi solemn lound The bivKuau of tlio dead!" A ride of fifteen miles through lands rich, reddish, rocky, brings us to the blue Potomac and "t'le raging canal" about which the Maryland politicians squabble so much. Over the br'dge, with a delightful prospect of water, and bank, and green, on either side, and we are on sacred soil. It is true the war is over and the passions of that contest have given way to anew burstof sanctified patriotism, but, in spite of these, there is something about the land of Lee that tnrills us when we touch it. ^ Shepherdstown is the first place we reach in West Vir- ginia. At this place a sharp fight occurred in 1862, (ien. A. P. Hill making a successful assault upon two corps of the Federal Army and driving them in the river. Shepherdstown is noted for the beauty of its ladies ; but we did not tarry long enough to test the truth of this gallant assertion. AVe passed so rapidly through it, that we had time only to notice a very fine church, and a si^rn on a blacksmith shop with this leo-end —"No Lofen." In this section wild grasses grow with a luxuriance that rival harvests in other places. 9 18 TO PKN-MAR AM) THE S2rW O WINGS' CREEK. CAVERNS OF LITRAY. i? Seven lllile^^ tVoai Shcphcrdslowii is the Sheuaiuloali JiiuC' tlon. As we reached this pUice and h)oked out the ear-wiu- dow, we could see below us the beautifully graded and bed- ded Baltimore and Ohio, (Metropolitan Branch,) winding its way from the arteries of the west to the heart of the East — Baltimore. Passengers can reach Luray by the Isaltimore and Ohio also, by tap)>ing the Shenandoah Vabc}' at Shenandoah Junction. Five miles I'roni the Shenandoah Juuction is Charleston, the capital of Jetiter.son county. It is a charming little town and makes a beautiful picture v/ith its neat houses, green avenues, and many spires. Three quarters of a mde from this place, plainly seen from the train, is the hill on which John Brown was hung. It is an elevated situation and seems to have been selected with a view to let everybody see this tragic spectacle. Some years ago a man by the name of William Wilson bought the very lot on which the execution took place and erected a house, and like the old woman "wlio lived under the hill," if he's "not dead, he lives there still.'' From Hagerstown to Charlestown, ti.e same style of farm- ing, the same thriftincss, and the same prosperity are visible as in Western Maryland. Tiie very toi)Ography of that pros- perous region is here, — mountains, mountains, everywhere, blue, lofty, inspiring. Eleven miles from Charleston is Berryville, a neat and prosperous town of fifteen hundred inhabitants. Just as we pass Berryville, we enter Viro-iuia — grand old Virginia. Thin is the fourth State we have touched since morning — Maryland, Pennsylvania, AVest Virginia, and Virginia. AVc have been traveling the last hour and a half in t\\n famous Shenandoah Valley. Ricli in soil, rich in story, rich in heroes. Tiiis A^alley begins at Shepherdstown and ends with the I^uray — a distance of forty miles. All .along this grand valley, of which it is said that when Sheridan uad leffc ii, a crow in flying across it would have to carry its rations, were seen flocks of sheep and herds ot cattle, the sure signs of thrift and prosperity. At l\iverton, distant forty miles .south of the Potomac, we were informed the Shenandoah Valley cuds and the Luray begins. It would be difiicult to find a nore picturesque place than the hamlet of Rivcrton. Situated at the Junction of the Northern and Southern lorks of the Shenandoah, its beautiful cottages, located upon the rising hills bel.ween the rivers, are backed in the distance by a magniflcent landscape that ends in a sublime range of loftv mountains. Along the river 2£) TO PKX-MAll AM) THK TMBKHLANl) VALLKY FROM PEN-MA.R STATION. CAVERNS OF LURAY. 21 bank, the vino-draped rocks tlu't liold the Northern iShenaii- doah in place, frame with beauty the teeming factory thasb gives, doubtless, the prosperity we notice* The railroad in this section follows t'^ of our party a can die-stick wirh three candles in each. 28 lO I'KN-M Al{ AM) THK CAYKRISS OF LITKAY. 29 AVe went down a stairway of ono linntlred feet and entered Infernos, but without its fires, and smoke, and torments. At tlie bottom of the steps we were informed that we were in The Grand Entrance. The roof rises thirty-five feet above us, and is almost lost to sight in the feeble fiickei- of our penny eandles. The ceil- ing' is solid limestone, and the Anenne stretches along the impenetrable darkness for one hundred feet. Anticipation generally o'erleaps realization, but the almost tangible darkness, the great number of wonderful forms, and the grim sliadows and undefined nooks far exceeded expcitancy. One of the sights of this chamber is Washington's column, a pil- lar, nearly twenty-five feet in diameter and very highly ftuted and beautifully tinted.' Above our heads hung myriads of stalactites, at our feet and above us rose mighty stalagmites. The first emotions on entrance are those of surprise and awe, influences engendered by our surroundings. We are in a new world — wonderful and weird. Inconceivible shapes attack our visions, new sights burst upon, and things before unimag- ined appear to our wel]-}ugh dazed comprehension. Darkness and shimmering beams fight for mastery, glowing columns rivet our admiration, flowing fountains and crystal streams excite our delight, whilst grotesques images surprise our imagination on every hand. AVe are in wonderland. Beyond this vestibule, through a natural pathway in the cave, to the left, rises a plot of ground studded with fungoid and stalactites. This has received the name of The Flower Garden, From the beautiful varities of its incrustations. We now pass through the Amphitheatre, a high chamber, suggestive of an audience hall; over the Muddy Lake, upon an artificial cement walk; see the Natural Bridge, a small rock hanging overhead, and suddenly come to tlie Fish Market. This, like the Flo\/er Garden, is on the left, and 's one ot the most perfect representatoins of things in and above the upper world that we saw in the entire Cavern. Here on tJK' side of the wall hang hundreds sheetlike stalactites, re- presenting with great naturalness rows of fish, exposed for sale. We suggested that they would not sell so well as the fish in our market — a place noted for the abundance of the finey tribe. "Yes, they would," retorted the intelligent guide, whose pet-lamb had been attacked, "they would sell for more." Probably thev \,ould to curiosity hunters, but we had reference. to them as arffcles of diet. 30 TO PKN-MAK AM) THK CAVERN.S' OF LUJIAY. 31 The Smithsoniap. party who visited the eavc in July, 1880,. said of this part of the Cavern : "indeed, one has no difHculty about the identification of the specie3 of bass, perch, sliad, mackerel, etc. ; some being gray all over, others having black backs and white bellies, and the illusion being perfected by a sufficient trickling to- gi'^'e a slimy, fishy appearance to the objects. All pronounced, this to be the most curious, though not by any moans the grandest and most impressive, object in the cavern." 32 TO TEN-MAR AND THE CAVERNS OF LUKAY. 33 CHAPTER VT. [] From thk Frsii Maimcet to Skeleton Gorge. []— After leaving; the Fisli Market, the s^uide took ns by a few steps to the Elfin Ramble. This is tlie onlv part of the cave in which there are no for- mations upon the ceiling. The roof the Elfin Ramble was so low, a path had to be dug some three or four feet deep to enable an adult to pass without crawling. As we walked along the guide pointed us to two pillars about two feet high and several inches thick, and warned us not to break them, as they supported the entire roof! AVe found on going through the cave the next day M'ith another guide tliat this Munchausen was a stock story, for tlie other made us tlie identical statement. Pluto's Chasm Is the next object of interest shown to us — a mighty fissure in the earth, 75 feet deep and 500 feet long. The guide, as was his wont v/hen he came to any object of especial interest, ligiited a magnesium tape, and as its sulphurous fires lit up the awful magnificence of the chasm's mammoth proportions, one found the yawning abyss fitly named. This rift is ten feet wide, and looking over the babistrade into this mighty ehasm, one is filled witii awe and astonishment. The guide leads us down a long flight of steps. Here we may as well remark that the Cave C'ompany })as built over dangerous places, jdntfornis anystal Spring," is seen in which the formation of calcite crystals is yet going on. It is a very beautiful object, the snow white crystals forming a pleasing contract with the brown color of the sur- ronnding rock. Now we come to SKEi.pyroN Gorge. Here embedded in carbonate of lime, are seen the bones of what science tells us was a youth of eighteen years. Tiie guide pickg up and hands us the larger bone of the arm. To us it apj)ears a human fossil — what conjectures it creates. How did it come here? Have the drifts that made this vast vault, invaded the sanctuary of the dead above and floated this skeleton into this stupendous sepulchre, or did in the ages primeval some venturesome soul, filled with heroic endeavor, att(nn])t to explore its unknown labyrinths and j)erished in the attempt ".' CAVERXS OF LURAY. 35 CHAPTER VII. — [] The next object of particular interest is the Imperial Spring, about six feet long and several wide, deep and pel- ucid. The swinging of our tallow torches above it makes the far edge appear like a bridge and we seem to look in depths crystal and luminous. The guide then shows us the Branch Casket, a formation several feet high, and the same in width, of pure white stone, in shape as if the rippling waters of spring had been caught in their playful frolics by the stern grasp of winter and frozen to eternal ice. Proserpine's Pillar follows and in distance looms the wiiite form of ''The Spectre," a huge stalagmite of carbonate of lime. We have now reached the head of Pluto's Chasm, and are shown a curious formation in the shage of a Mammoth Tooth. Now we come to Oberon's Grotto. This is reached by crossing Pluto's ('hasm on a bridge. — Here plays a small fountain, surrounded by countless num- bers of beautiful stalactites. As we leave this we come to a very curious stalactite called the Poor Man's Bacon. The guide placed h^s candles behind it and there shone the streaks of lean and lat. The lean was very thin. This formation has a legal history which is much better known than its geo- logical annals. Two different persons have broken the end off it — and both were caught, one by the dexterity of Mr. J. H Bushong, a guide, who sought his man out in a large crowd, on very little data and considerable speculation, and brought him to justicp, The piece ^ as reco\ered both times, 36 TO PEN-MAR AND THE costing one thief |14 — for the laws of Virginia have provided against any disfigurement of the Cave. In spite of this the Company has suffered a great deal from depredators who want a relic. This is needless, beside dishonest, because the Company supplies youths with fine specimens from the Cave and these are hawked about the town of Tiuray, and can be bought for a trifie. But we have reached Titania's Veil. This is a delicate formation of beautiful hues and cx«piisi(e fringes, dangling gracefully from the roof Here is,the frozen Fountain. 80 natural is it that a little girl of our party an- nounced that it looked "just like it is frozen up." But it is of stone. We pass on to Diana's Bath. The floor of this room is covered with water, aud from it goes a path to Broddhus' Lake. This when we visited the cave was not open to visitors. This lake, probably eighty feet in di- ameter, received its title from a gentleman by the name of Brodaluis who lost his way in that part of the cave when making some explorations on his own account. He wandered several hours in these unfathomed abysses before he found a trail that led him to the upper day. After leaving Diana's Bath, we come to The Saracen's Tent. the majestic sweep of whose lordly proportions linger yet in freshest impressions. The folds of its curtains fall in beauti- ful drapery, and its wonderful faithfulness to the home of the wild Arab sheik makes it an object of unfailing interest. It is probably the most perfect representation we saw in the Cave. The height of the ceiling is about twenty feet. The diameter of the tent about fifteen. The Anoei.'s "Wing, a huge, clinging, j»ure white stalactite is next seen, and is a very fine representation of its heavenly title, that is, what angel wings are said to be. Now we pass under the Fai-len Column. Once it clung to the ceiling above, in company with numerous stalactites but today a ponderous mass of over fifty feet in length, and weighing four hundred tons, it lies dismantled in a hall of giants for above, clinging to the roof, arc many huge stalactites of even greater proportions than this fVUlcn warrior, the man of many ages. CAVERNS OF LURAT. 37 CHAPTER Vril. FROM THE CATHEDRAL, TO THE UAr,E-UOOM AND GRAVE YARD. From the Fallen Coliuuu we went to the or^aii in The Cathedral, This ehaniber is eirevilar in form, and on its v^ast sides rnn er day. As soon as our torches were relit, our guide ol)served — "Yon did not know yon were so near a gravevard '.'" We turned our heads to the right, and behind lay a subterranean cemetery. "Real?" "No, not exactly, but very sugges- tive." There were rows of stalagmatic head stones, big and little, that bring forcibly to mind that, "Perhaps in this neglected spot is laid, So)ne heart once pregnant with celestial fire. Hands that the rod of empire might have swayed, Or waked to ecstacv the living lyre," CAVERNS OF LURAY. 39 CHAPTER IX. After leaving the oemetery we are sliown the Ladies' Riding Whip, and Cinderella leaving the ball room. Tlir'ough an opening- in a nave, we catch a glimpse of the niytiii- cal lady, this time in real marhle. Her white robes lall graijefuUy from her shoulders lo her feet, as she sweepn silently from the halls of gayety, and the wondering Prinee. Thb Caskkt Spring Is near, and with a few steps we reach it. We visited it when tlie season above was dry' and it had its effect upon this undeigiound spring, for it was almo.si di-y, and no longer ran from rippling fountain to rippling fountain again. But the si)ring is a remarkable formaiion of this subterranean woild. "Fluted stalatic columns, fifty feet in height form the back ground of the spring, and a royal canopy, fringed with the most exquisite drapery, stretches from the front, and is reflected Jrom its glass like surface. An opeu- inj£ in" the back ground, near the left of the liasin, reveals the small lake whence comes its supply of watei-."' The spring, as its name indicate^, lesembles very much a coflin. Below the first basin i.* another, and these successive terraces follow each ottier )<>r twenty feet, and, in wet weather, merry ripples fall frofn spring to spring. We now ascend an incline in the path, and the guide stops to take the top Irom a cavity in the tli>(>r. which has been appropriately .named the Bird's Nest. Four tiny white pebbles cio good service as eggs. The next object of interest shown is -'Collins' Grotto," named after Air. Collins of the New York H>:r.\i,u, who spent fourteen days in exploring the cm.' soon after it was dis-, covered. He wrote the tirst extensive account of its wonders, which rre.ueda sensation at the time. It may he interesting to and that he was wiili tlie .l^^aiinette in the Arctic ocean, and was fro/en to death with Lieut. De Long, near Lena River, Siberia. The inagnesinm tape is again lit, and the walls grow curious, and the ceilings wonderful. We return now to the ball room, for there is no straight course tiirough these cavern- ou.s cells, and .tie shown the Hanging Rock and then reach the entrance of Campbell Hall, And as the guide liurns again tlie sulphurous tape, we look back. anst object of interest shown, anrl then we mount the stair- way :ind greet -'tlie warm precint.s of the cheerful day" with real deli!:;hi. The impres.sion.s of ihi.-* visit were those of awe and wonder, for ''the half had not been tola us."' It v»as some hours before ilie impressions wore otf. The next day we had the plea.sure of visiting the cave in company with Thoiua* Moran, the artist, one of that numerous family oi talented men. His sou I'aul accom panied nim. They were on a profe.s.sional tour in charge of the energetic B. V. Bond, passenger agent, B. & O. Koad. From this lour came the deligeiful Picturesque H. & u. Mr. Panghorn the author was detained in Baltimore, prohabij' by me smt^ing oi the lialtimore.Oriole. Mr. Moran made foui- sketches in the cave under the gl.are of electric light for the engine had been unexpectedly repaired. The diange in the appearance ol the oave was extraordinary, 'i he electric iieam brought otit beauties tiiat the pale glow of the magnesium tape had failed to di.sclose, and the sharp delineations that it made against the lieavy shauo"ws of this strange world gave new wonders and delights to those who saw this dwelling place ol flies, rats, mice, bats and gnomes. CHAPTER XI. I)JSC0VKRy OK THE C.^VKRNS. It was not until August 15, lx~S, that the.<.;^t^'.k_. V • 1 U 'y^-m^^M • > . i ^^-<