After The Lapse Of Another Two Hours, The Jew Secretary Arrived And
Said Something To The Old Mate, Who Grumbled
Much; then coming up
to me, he took off his hat and informed me that we were not to
start
That day, saying at the same time that it was a shame to lose
such a noble wind, which would carry us to Tangier in three hours.
"Patience," said I, and went on shore.
I now strolled towards Saint Michael's cave, in company with the
Jewish lad whom I have before mentioned.
The way thither does not lie in the same direction as that which
leads to the excavations; these confront Spain, whilst the cave
yawns in the face of Africa. It lies nearly at the top of the
mountain, several hundred yards above the sea. We passed by the
public walks, where there are noble trees, and also by many small
houses, situated delightfully in gardens, and occupied by the
officers of the garrison. It is wrong to suppose Gibraltar a mere
naked barren rock; it is not without its beautiful spots - spots
such as these, looking cool and refreshing, with bright green
foliage. The path soon became very steep, and we left behind us
the dwellings of man. The gale of the preceding night had entirely
ceased, and not a breath of air was stirring; the midday sun shone
in all its fierce glory, and the crags up which we clambered were
not unfrequently watered with the perspiration drops which rained
from our temples: at length we arrived at the cavern.
The mouth is a yawning cleft in the side of the mountain, about
twelve feet high and as many wide; within there is a very rapid
precipitous descent for some fifty yards, where the cavern
terminates in an abyss which leads to unknown depths. The most
remarkable object is a natural column, which rises up something
like the trunk of an enormous oak, as if for the purpose of
supporting the roof; it stands at a short distance from the
entrance, and gives a certain air of wildness and singularity to
that part of the cavern which is visible, which it would otherwise
not possess. The floor is exceedingly slippery, consisting of soil
which the continual drippings from the roof have saturated, so that
no slight precaution is necessary for him who treads it. It is
very dangerous to enter this place without a guide well acquainted
with it, as, besides the black pit at the extremity, holes which
have never been fathomed present themselves here and there, falling
into which the adventurer would be dashed to pieces. Whatever men
may please to say of this cave, one thing it seems to tell to all
who approach it, namely, that the hand of man has never been busy
about it; there is many a cave of nature's forming, old as the
earth on which we exist, which nevertheless exhibits indications
that man has turned it to some account, and that it has been
subjected more or less to his modifying power; not so this cave of
Gibraltar, for, judging from its appearance, there is not the
slightest reason for supposing that it ever served for aught else
than a den for foul night birds, reptiles, and beasts of prey. It
has been stated by some to have been used in the days of paganism
as a temple to the god Hercules, who, according to the ancient
tradition, raised the singular mass of crags now called Gibraltar,
and the mountain which confronts it on the African shores, as
columns which should say to all succeeding times that he had been
there, and had advanced no farther. Sufficient to observe, that
there is nothing within the cave which would authorize the adoption
of such an opinion, not even a platform on which an altar could
have stood, whilst a narrow path passes before it, leading to the
summit of the mountain. As I have myself never penetrated into its
depths, I can of course not pretend to describe them. Numerous
have been the individuals who, instigated by curiosity, have
ventured down to immense depths, hoping to discover an end, and
indeed scarcely a week passes without similar attempts being made
either by the officers or soldiers of the garrison, all of which
have proved perfectly abortive. No termination has ever been
reached, nor any discoveries made to repay the labour and frightful
danger incurred; precipice succeeds precipice, and abyss succeeds
abyss, in apparently endless succession, with ledges at intervals,
which afford the adventurers opportunities for resting themselves
and affixing their rope-ladders for the purpose of descending yet
farther. What is, however, most mortifying and perplexing is to
observe that these abysses are not only before, but behind you, and
on every side; indeed, close within the entrance of the cave, on
the right, there is a gulf almost equally dark and full as
threatening as that which exists at the nether end, and perhaps
contains within itself as many gulfs and horrid caverns branching
off in all directions. Indeed, from what I have heard, I have come
to the opinion, that the whole hill of Gibraltar is honeycombed,
and I have little doubt that, were it cleft asunder, its interior
would be found full of such abysses of Erebus as those to which
Saint Michael's cave conducts. Many valuable lives are lost every
year in these horrible places; and only a few weeks before my
visit, two sergeants, brothers, had perished in the gulf on the
right hand side of the cave, having, when at a great depth, slipped
down a precipice. The body of one of these adventurous men is even
now rotting in the bowels of the mountain, preyed upon by its blind
and noisome worms; that of his brother was extricated. Immediately
after this horrible accident, a gate was placed before the mouth of
the cave, to prevent individuals, and especially the reckless
soldiers, from indulging in their extravagant curiosity.
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