BOUT fifteen years ago, the

chafm called Elden-Hole is fituated, having loft feveral cattle, agreed with two men to fill it up. Thefe men fpent fome days in throwing down many loads of ftones, but, feeing no effect of their labour, ventured down them felves, and found at the bottom a vast cavern; upon which,defpairing to procure a quantity of tones fufficient to fill it up,they defifted from their work. Mr Lloyd having received this account from one of the men, and being afured that there were no damps at the bottom, went down himself.

The entrance is a chink in the direction of north and fouth, about thirty yards long, and nine wide.

Mr. Lloyd was let down by two ropes, about forty fathom long. For the first twenty yards, though he defcended obliquely, he could affift himfelf with his hands and his feet; but, below this, the rock projected in large irregular crags, fo that he found it very difficult to pafs. When he had defcended ten yards more, he found the rope, by which he was füfpended, at leaft fix yards from the perpendicular. From hence, the breadth of the chink

VOL. III.

was about three yards, and the length about fix. The fides were very irregular, and the crags were covered with mofs, being, befides, wet and dirty. Within fourteen yards of the bottom,

he fwung till he reached the floor of the cave, which was at the depth of fixty-two yards from the mouth; the light, however, which came in from a bove, was fufficient to read any print. There he found the cavern conlift of two parts; that in which he alighted was like an oven, the other, when he firft began to fwing, was a vaft dome, fhaped like the infide of a glafs house, and a fmali arched paffage formed a communication between them. In this paffage, the ftones which had been thrown in at the top formed a fl pe,extending from the wall at the weft fide of the firft dome, almoft to the bottom of the fecond cave, or oven, fo that the further end of the cave was lower by five and twenty-yards than the place where he alighted.

The diameter of this cavern he judged to be about fifty yards. The top he could not trace with his eye, but

had reafon to believe that it extended

to a prodigious heighth; for, when he was nearly at the top of one of the encrufted rocks, which was an elevation of at least twenty yards, he could fee no clofure of the dome, though he then

faw much farther than when he flood at the bottom.

After climbing up a few loofe ftones, on the fouth fide of the fecond cavern, he defcended again, through a fmall flit, into a little cave, about four yards long, and two yards high, which was lined throughout with a kind of sparkling ftalactites of a fine deep yellow, with fome fall ftalactical drops hang ing from the roof.

He found a noble column, above ninety feet high, of the fame kind of incruftation facing the first entrance. As he proceeded to the north, he cam to a large ftone that was covered with the fame fubftance, and, under it, he found a hole two yards deep, that was uniformly lined with it. From the edge of this hole fprung a rocky afcent, floping like a buttress agaiaft the fide of the cavern, and confifting of vaft, folid, round maffes, of the fame fubftance and colour. Up this afcent he climbed to the height of about fixty feet, and got fome fine pieces of the ftalactites, which hung from the craggy fides of the cavern which joined the projection he had afcended.

When he got down, which was not effected without confiderable difficulty and danger, he proceeded in the fame direction, and foon came to another pile of incrustations of a different kind and colour, thefe being much rougher, and not tinged with yellow, but brown. At the top of this he found a small cavern opening into the fide of the vault,which he entered. Here he faw vaft drops of the ftalactites, hanging, like icicles, from every part of the roof, fome of which were four or five feet long, and as thick as a man's body. The greater part of the wails of the large cavern, or vault, was lined with incrustations of three kinds; the firft was the deep yellow ftalactites; the fecond was a thin coating, refembling a light ftonecoloured varnish; this covered the lime-ftone, and reflected the light of the candles with great fplendor; the third fort was a rough efflorefcence, e

very fhoot of which resembled a kind of rofe-flower.

He returned through the arch which feparates the two vaults, re-ascending the flope of loofe ftones, which greatly leffened the magnificence of the entrance into the inner cavern.

When he had again - faftened the rope to his body, he gave the fignal to be drawn up, which he found much more dangerous and difficult than to be let down; because his weight drew the rope into clifts between the fragments of the rock, which made it ftick, and his body was continually jarring against the fides, notwithstanding all the defence he could make with his hands. The rope alfo loofened the ftones over his head, the fall of which he dreaded every moment; and, if any of them had fallen, he must inevitably have perished. As he was obliged to afcend with his face towards the wall, he could not make any particular obfervations on the rocks that were behind, or on each fide of him. He faw, however, under the projection of the rock, where the paffage firft became narrow, the entrance of a cavern, which feemed to penetrate a great way, but he could not get into it.

A gentleman, who lives upon this fpot, told Mr Lloyd, after his return from this fubterranean expedition, that there was formerly, in the floor of the great cavern, fomewhere near the large heap of ftones, the mouth of a fecond fhaft, which had been covered by the miners. It was faid to have gone down a vaft depth farther, and to have had water at the bottom.

There is fome reason to believe, that this water is the continuation of a subterraneous river, which runs out of the mouth of the great cavern at Castleton; for a large quantity of grit-ftone is obferved to grow in the earth near Eldenhole, but none near Caftleton, and yet, in high floods, the river at Castleton washes great quantities of that gritftone, in fragments, out of the mouth of Caftleton cavern.

There

There is alfo a tradition which confirms this opinion. As a poor, old woman, many years ago, was chafing her goofe, it fled from her, and, to her great grief,fell down Elden-hole. Some days afterwards,however, the good woman had the fatisfaction to hear that her goofe had been feen at the mouth of Caftleton cavera.

To the EDITOR of the PERTH MAGAZINE.

SIR,

T

HE laft cropt of corn falling fhort, makes it to be feared that a fcarcity of grain may enfue before the next cropt can be come at, and at this time the fcarcity is over all Europe, fo that we have no profpect of being eafily fupplied from any other place. We ought to confider what can be done at home. The planting of early potatoes in good rich fields,is the only remedy yet difcovered, as they will be ready food two months fooner than the corn cropt. This is the great eft discovery which ever was made in this country for the prefervation of mankind, and although of late years we have had great fcarcity, we never had famine, owing to this food,

The famine, in the beginning of this century cut off a fixth of the inhabitants of Scotland. In the year 1770, upwards of 5000,000 perished in the famine at Bengal. Three fucceffive bad cropts have depopulated the interior parts of Germany. Every one fhould exert himself to the utmost, to prevent the like calamity.

I am Your's &c.
JOSEPH,

PERTH, 18th Jan. 2

1773.

hunt down thofe heterogeneous animals, who call themfelves Macaronies, and have been fo very fuccefsful, that few are now to be feen, except in the city, the extremity of fathion; it is neceffary that we fhould take care, and not carry the fatire fo far, as by eradicating the folly of foppery, undermine the decency of drets: if we fhould convert all the petits maitres into flovens, I do not think the world would get much by the change. There is a certain decency in drefs, which befides particularly recommending a man to the ladies, greatly recommends him to the world.

It has been obferved by fome judicious writers, that for a man to obtain an easy fortune, it is neceffary he fhould appear to poffefs one. In the commerce of life, if a perfon's dress denotes indigence, he will be fhunned, as every one he addreffes will expect to hear of his misfortunes, and a petition for his relief. In a commerical country, it would be very pernicious to difcountenance drefs, fo far as to make us all appear quakers: our manufacturers in many branches, already greatly diftreffed, would then be ftarved; trade would in a great measure be ftagnated, and we might expect to fee the whereas's in the Gazette increase in proportion with our frugality

In the genteel callings, drefs is as abfolutely neceffary as food; a doctor, a councellor, nay, a dancing mafter, cannot figure in the world, with any hopes of fuccefs, unless they appear with fome elegance. I know one of the laft profeffion, who fays, "that without a chariot, a dancing mafter may foot it to the end of time, without being worth a grey groat."

As fashions commence at St. James's, make a rapid progrefs to the inns of court, where they ftick for fome time, and in direct oppofition to the course of the fun, decline and fet in the east; I am glad to find the ridiculous fashions, which have for near a twelvemonth prevailed here, attain their meR 2

ridian,

Lady Betty. Why I was fool enough to read a news-paper at breakfaft, and it has put me into fuch a train, that I am quite abfent.

Sir William. What I fuppofe you have been reading fome difmal ftory of an earth quake, a ghoft, a fire, or a moniter?

Lady Betty. O! no--more monftrous ftill--thefe fcribblers find fault with our drefs, our amusements, our card-parties, our routs, our hurricanes, and the like; are for retrenching our expences, and I know not what elfe, that we may pay our paltry tradesmen, forfooth.

Sir William. O barbarous, and had you the patience to go through fuch ftuff? It is enough to throw you into the hip for a month.

Lady Betty. Indeed, I skipped the moft shocking part of it, or else I should have fwooned.

Sir William. Think no more about it, Lady Betty--I vow you look like an angel to-day. I never fay you fo charming.

Lady B. Oh, you flatter, Sir William-but you are the effence of politenefs-you are indeed, Sir William, I must acknowledge, one of the most accomplished gentlemen of the age.

Sir William. Nay, now, Lady Bet ty, I am dumb-you know I am not vain, however, and that is at least a negative virtue.

[Servant announces Dr Saveall.] Lady Betty. The doctor is the most impertinent intruder upon earth, and yet I must acknowledge it is by my own appointment.

Enter Doctor.

[The doctor retires, after writing a recipe, which her ladyship does not defign to take, and receiving his fee; and we fhall leave Sir William and her ladyfhip, without any further interruption.]

Thus, Sir, glide the hours among thofe in the polite circle of life, whofe fole plan is to kill time, and deftroy themfelves; and yet they are furprized that it hangs more tedious on them, then in the agonies of mortality, or that their spirits fhould flag, by inceffantly exhaufting them.

I need not add, that I should like to fee these thoughts, &c. thrown together in this whimsical manner, in your

next.

I

Am no oddity, I can affure you; but for fear you should, from fome few uncommon traits in my portrait, miftake it for an original, I think it neceffary to give you a sketch of myfelf.

Though I am but a little man, I can declare to you, without vanity, I have a very great opinion of myself and perfon. To be fure, this is not without a proper foundation, for I have been particularly diftinguished by the ladies

-fo much diftinguished, that it is as plain as the nofe in my face (which indeed remains there by accident) that I had like to have loft a moft ornamental and prominent feature in their fervice. Still they never put my back up--for to let you into the fecret, I was born crooked; but preferved to declare myself their conftant votary. as they always particularly noticed me by their generous partiality, without the fmalleft mercenary view, that I could difcern; whilft my pockets were well lined, and my purfe politely dilated.

So much for my amours. With regard to politics, I am rather inclined