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Article ACCOUNT OF PENPARK-HOLE, ← Page 3 of 5 →
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Account Of Penpark-Hole,
v ' ey to the mind an adequate idea of the gloomy appearance of these subterranean caverns . The deep water almost directly under your feet , rendered still more gloomy by the faint glimmering rays of li ght reflected upon its surface from the openings of the chasms above ; and the black rugged rocks , horrid precipices , and deep yawning- caverns © vet head , brought to my remembrance the following lines of Milton : '
" The dismal situation waste and wild , " A dungeon horrible on all sides" No light , but rather darkness visible , " Serv'd only to discover sights of woe , " Regions of horror , doleful shades , & c . " The cavern on the leftwhich runs westwardis seventy-eiht feet in
, , g length , and sixteen in breadth . The . entrance into it is rendered very awful by a shelving roof on the north side , about twenty feet hi gh , which gradually decreases till it terminates in small branches running in among the rocks . When I visited ' this place ( Easter-Monday , Apr . 17 , ) the water was totally desiccated , and as 1 had with me a sufficient quantity of lig hts , I had an opportunity , by disposing of them properly , of
traversing it quite to the end , and examining every part with the most , minnte circumspection , which I could not do before . I was however obliged to be very cautious how I proceeded , as the bottom and sides ! were still very slippery and damp , occasioned by the mud and slime , which the water had deposited . On examining this cavern , I observed a large quantity of semipellucid spar on the sides and bottom ; some of the former I brought up with me , but that which adheredto the bottom
, Was of a whiter colour , and appeared more opaque than the other . On the lower end and sides are chasms through which , I suppose , the water vents itself ; and from the mud and slime remaining on the sides of the rock , I conceive there must be at least ei ght feet of water , in this cavity in the wet seasons . The bottom was entirely covered with large rough , stones , some of them near a ton weight , which appeared to have fallen ,
from the roof and sides . On the ri ght , a large spacious apartment opens to your view , about ninety feet long , and fifty-two broad , running from the landing-place towards the north-east , with a hard rockyvaulted roof , about thirty feet above the water , when I' was there thefirst time ; but when the -water is at the lowest , I suppose it must be at least ' ninety feet , so that you cannot even with the assistance . of torches discover distinctly the summit of it .
A place so spacious and lofty must exhibit to a person unaccustomed to subterranean caverns , a scene the most dismal and dreary that imag ination can possibly paint ; and the pendant recks-which sometimes , break in very large pieces over head , and from the sides , strike the " mind with dreadful aprehensions of danger . . ' The roof appears to be of nearly an equal heiht in partand
g every ; , very much resembles the ceiling of a gothic cathedral . The sides are almost perpendicular , and considering the whole to be entirel y the work of nature , of uncommonly just proportion . The place is rendered still more awful by the great reverberation which attends the voice
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Account Of Penpark-Hole,
v ' ey to the mind an adequate idea of the gloomy appearance of these subterranean caverns . The deep water almost directly under your feet , rendered still more gloomy by the faint glimmering rays of li ght reflected upon its surface from the openings of the chasms above ; and the black rugged rocks , horrid precipices , and deep yawning- caverns © vet head , brought to my remembrance the following lines of Milton : '
" The dismal situation waste and wild , " A dungeon horrible on all sides" No light , but rather darkness visible , " Serv'd only to discover sights of woe , " Regions of horror , doleful shades , & c . " The cavern on the leftwhich runs westwardis seventy-eiht feet in
, , g length , and sixteen in breadth . The . entrance into it is rendered very awful by a shelving roof on the north side , about twenty feet hi gh , which gradually decreases till it terminates in small branches running in among the rocks . When I visited ' this place ( Easter-Monday , Apr . 17 , ) the water was totally desiccated , and as 1 had with me a sufficient quantity of lig hts , I had an opportunity , by disposing of them properly , of
traversing it quite to the end , and examining every part with the most , minnte circumspection , which I could not do before . I was however obliged to be very cautious how I proceeded , as the bottom and sides ! were still very slippery and damp , occasioned by the mud and slime , which the water had deposited . On examining this cavern , I observed a large quantity of semipellucid spar on the sides and bottom ; some of the former I brought up with me , but that which adheredto the bottom
, Was of a whiter colour , and appeared more opaque than the other . On the lower end and sides are chasms through which , I suppose , the water vents itself ; and from the mud and slime remaining on the sides of the rock , I conceive there must be at least ei ght feet of water , in this cavity in the wet seasons . The bottom was entirely covered with large rough , stones , some of them near a ton weight , which appeared to have fallen ,
from the roof and sides . On the ri ght , a large spacious apartment opens to your view , about ninety feet long , and fifty-two broad , running from the landing-place towards the north-east , with a hard rockyvaulted roof , about thirty feet above the water , when I' was there thefirst time ; but when the -water is at the lowest , I suppose it must be at least ' ninety feet , so that you cannot even with the assistance . of torches discover distinctly the summit of it .
A place so spacious and lofty must exhibit to a person unaccustomed to subterranean caverns , a scene the most dismal and dreary that imag ination can possibly paint ; and the pendant recks-which sometimes , break in very large pieces over head , and from the sides , strike the " mind with dreadful aprehensions of danger . . ' The roof appears to be of nearly an equal heiht in partand
g every ; , very much resembles the ceiling of a gothic cathedral . The sides are almost perpendicular , and considering the whole to be entirel y the work of nature , of uncommonly just proportion . The place is rendered still more awful by the great reverberation which attends the voice