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328 THE ATLANTIC. [ c h a p . tv.
facing the stump there are tAA'o majestic columns
uniting the roof and the floor, one of them upAvards
of sixty feet in circumference. They are beautifully
fluted and fretted with stalactite, and shone out Avith
a pure white-frosted surface in the magnesium light.
Sending the galley on before us we walked along
the isthmus Avhich forms the AA'estern boundary of
Harrington Sound to Painter’s Vale, where there
Avas a small detachment of Engineers living under
canvas, and another cave.
I think the Painter’s Vale cave is the prettiest of
the Avhole. The opening is not very large. It is an
arch over a great mass of débris forming a steep slope
into the cave, as if part of the roof of the vault had
suddenly fallen in. At the foot of the hank of debris
one can barely see in tlie dim light the deep clear
Avater lying perfectly still and reflecting the roof
and margin like a mirror. W e clambered down the
slope, and as the eye became more accustomed to the
obscurity the lake stretched further back. There Avas
a crazy little punt moored to the shore, and after
lighting candles Captain Nares rowed tbe Governor
back into tbe darkness, the candles throAving a dim
light for a time—while the voices became more hollow
and distant—upon the surface of the water and the
vault of stalactite, and finally passing back as mere
specks into the silence.
After landing the Governor on the opposite side
Captain Nares returned for me, and Ave rowed round
the weird little lake. It Avas certainly very curious
and heautiful ; evidently a huge cavity out of which
the calcareous sand had been washed or dissolved,
and Avhose Avails, still to a certain extent permeable.
CHAP. IV.] ST. THOMAS TO BERMUDAS. 329
had l)een liardened and petrified hy the constant percolation
of water charged Avith carbonate of lime. Prom
the roof innumerable stalactites, perfectly Avhite, often
several yards long and coming down to the delicacy
of knitting-needles, hung in clusters ; and Avherever
there Avas any continuous crack in tlie roof or Avail, a
graceful, soft-looking curtain of Avhite stalactite fell,
and often ended, much to our surprise, deep in the
Avater. Stalagmites also rose up in pinnacles and
fringes through the Avater, Avhich Avas so exquisitely
still and clear tbat it was something difficult to tell
where tbe solid marble tracery ended and its reflected
image began. In tbis cave. Avbicb is a considerable
distance from the sea, there is a sligbt change of IcA'el
Avith tbe tide sufficient to keep the water perfectly
pure. Tbe mouth of tbe cave is overgroAvn Avitb
foliage, and every tree is draped and festooned Avitb
tbe fragrant Jasminmn gracile, mingled not unfrequently
Avith tbe ‘ poison ivy,’ Mhus toxicodendron.
Tbe Bermudians, especially the dark people, have a
most exaggerated horror of this bush. They imagine
that if one touch it or rub against it he becomes
feverish, and is covered Avith an eruption. This is no
doubt entirely mythical. The plant is very poisonous,
])ut the perfume of the flower is rather agreeable, and
Ave constantly plucked and smelt it Avithout its producing
any unpleasant effect. The tide Avas Avitb us
Avhen Ave regained tbe Elats Bridge, and the galley
shot doAvn tbe rapid like an arrow, tbe beds of scarlet
sponges and tbe great lazy trepangs sboAving perfectly
clearly on the bottom at a fathom deptb.
Every here and there throughout tbe islands there
are groups of bodies of A'ery peculiar form projecting
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