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. The lock,
however, was speedily forced, and at the period of my arrival the
gate swung idly upon its hinges.
As I left the place, I thought that perhaps similar to this was the
cave of Horeb, where dwelt Elijah, when he heard the still small
voice, after the great and strong wind which rent the mountains and
brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; the cave to the entrance
of which he went out and stood with his face wrapped in his mantle,
when he heard the voice say unto him, "What doest thou here,
Elijah?" (1 Kings xix. 11-13.)
And what am I doing here, I inquired of myself as, vexed at my
detention, I descended into the town.
That afternoon I dined in the company of a young American, a native
of South Carolina. I had frequently seen him before, as he had
been staying for some time at the inn previous to my arrival at
Gibraltar. His appearance was remarkable: he was low of stature,
and exceedingly slightly made; his features were pale but very well
formed; he had a magnificent head of crispy black hair, and as
superb a pair of whiskers of the same colour as I ever beheld. He
wore a white hat, with broad brim and particularly shallow crown,
and was dressed in a light yellow gingham frock striped with black,
and ample trousers of calico, in a word, his appearance was
altogether queer and singular. On my return from my ramble to the
cave, I found that he had himself just descended from the mountain,
having since a very early hour been absent exploring its wonders.
A man of the rock asked him how he liked the excavations. "Liked
them," said he; "you might just as well ask a person who has just
seen the Niagara Falls how he liked them - like is not the word,
mister." The heat was suffocating, as it almost invariably is in
the town of Gibraltar, where rarely a breath of air is to be felt,
as it is sheltered from all winds.
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