Chapter IV: Part 4

At this spot the rocks form a wide and massive arch, on which the tall pines and other trees stand firmly rooted. Beneath this arch, rude blocks are tumbled one upon another in wild confusion, through which the water of the upper fall forces its way to the lower one. Above the arch which nature has thus formed, a slight wooden bridge is built, so that two openings are thus formed, the one above the other, through which the water is seen descending in a broad sheet of foam. Standing at the foot of this cascade, it is first seen gushing forth from the rock amongst the trees immediately above the wooden bridge; between this and the natural arch it again appears, and is for the third time seen below the arch, closing the opening between it and the rocks beneath like a white curtain. The rainbow was seen beautifully shadowing the spray wafted from the fall, which was itself in a dark recess of the mountain, and the sun tipped the tops of the surrounding trees with a brilliant light, whilst now and then a single ray shot through the leaves and fell upon the white fall. It was a scene before which a painter might have sat for hours.

We afterwards went upon the bridge, from whence we had a view of the whole fall, looking down into the basin which receives it. A little footpath leads from the bridge to the spot where the water issues as clear as crystal from the rock, in the same manner as that of the Savitza in Wochain. After taking one or two rapid sketches, I returned with my little guide to Golling, which Sir Humphry soon after left for Werfen, and we turned into the mountains, passing through a magnificent defile where the Salza is quite hemmed in by rocks, through which this foaming river forces its way with irresistible violence.

The Salza in its whole course is a muddy river, which considerably detracts from the beauty of the scene. Towards evening we arrived at Werfen, a small insignificant town with an ancient fort on the hill above it, and passed the night at a tolerable inn.

_14th._ Rising early this morning and looking from my window before sunrise, I beheld one of the finest scenes imaginable. The distant snowy Watzmann appeared quite near, and was encircled by beautiful rose-coloured clouds, though not so dense as to hide the mountain which glimmered through them, tinged with the same beautiful hue. These clouds, which kept ascending and descending, and now and then breaking and leaving the mountain quite clear, became gradually fainter and fainter, till the sun rose, bringing with him the mists of morning, when the whole scene vanished from my eyes, and this so quickly, that I was almost tempted to fancy it a dream.

At nine o'clock we left Werfen, and crossing the Salza drove on through some very pretty villages to Itan, a little hamlet, where we had to wait a considerable time for horses, the Archduke John having passed through but a few hours before, on his road from the baths of Gastein to Grätz. From Itan we proceeded to Radstadt, and from thence along our former road to Unter-Tauern.

_15th._ This morning was rainy, but in spite of this I preferred walking up the mountain, to the slow pace at which the carriage ascended with four horses and two oxen. The rain ceased in about an hour, but the distant views, on our former descent so beautiful, were now all veiled in mist and cloud. We passed two very fine falls, one of them a little out of the road, which Sir Humphry got out to see. It is called Prince John's Fall, and is a cascade of from three to four hundred feet high, and is well worth seeing.

On arriving at Auf-dem-Tauern, the little village near the summit of the pass, we found the fields and the greater part of the surrounding Alps, which when we passed the first time were hidden as far as the eye could reach in snow, now richly clad with fine grass and alpine flowers. The road descending to Tweng is formed of white primary marble, mixed with mica-schist. At Tweng we struck into a cross road to Tamsweg, a large village lying in a fine broad valley, in the middle of which runs a branch of the Murr, which we have followed from the very peak of the Tauern. The inn here was very bad. In the evening I went to the village doctor for some medicine for Sir Humphry, who told me that this valley was one of the highest in Austria, the village itself lying three thousand and twenty-two Paris feet above the level of the sea, and that the pass of the Tauern was rather more than two thousand feet higher.

_16th._ We left Tamsweg this morning, and drove on, over abominable roads, to Murrau, a dirty little town on the Murr. Sir Humphry said he should stay a day here to see if he could shoot some quails, or catch any huchos[D] in the river, and he went out immediately after we arrived, about two o'clock, but found no quails. The Murr forms a very pretty cascade about a mile below the town.

_17th._ Sir Humphry went this morning to the river and fished for some hours, but in vain. This, added to an exorbitant bill brought in by the host, determined him to proceed, and we left Murrau at four in the afternoon. The scenery of the valley of the Murr is always of the same kind; mountains clad with fine woods diversified with fields and villages, and the river winding through the valley. We passed on our road two old feudal castles, rearing their grey walls out of the wood. At the next station, Neumarkt, we found ourselves on the same road which we had traversed on our way to Carniola. There being no tolerable inn here, we proceeded a post further, to Friesach, and had a very pleasant moonlight drive along the banks of a foaming brook, and through some dark and shady glens.

_18th._ Sir Humphry spent the whole of this day in the fields round Friesach, in the hope of finding a good many quails, but returned late in the afternoon with only one or two, and complaining terribly of the heat.

_19th._ We left Friesach early this morning, and drove on, over our old road, to St. Veit and Klagenfurth, where we turned off to the right, and proceeded along the banks of the Lake of Klagenfurth to Velden. The length of this lake is about fifteen miles, its greatest breadth three or four. The scenery of its banks near Klagenfurth is rather flat and uninteresting, but towards Velden it becomes more diversified and beautiful. Sir Humphry intended passing the night at Velden, but the old ruined chateau, which now serves as the post-house, was better adapted for the habitation of bats and owls than the accommodation of a sickly and susceptible traveller; and accordingly he ordered horses for Villach, in spite of the approaching night. Whilst they were being put to, we enjoyed a fine view of the lake through the arched windows of the earth-floored hall of the chateau. Some time before we arrived at Villach it was quite dark, but the road being very good and perfectly safe, Sir Humphry, notwithstanding his reluctance to travel after nightfall, said that he was glad that he had gone on to Villach, where he would stay to try the shooting.

_20th._ This morning he changed his mind, and we went on to Wurzen, crossing over the same mountain which we had passed on our road to Ischl. The ascent on this side is much longer than that from Wurzen. At the foot of the mountain are some hot baths, much used by the inhabitants of Villach. We tried their temperature and found it to be 85° Fahrenheit. The proprietor said that the water contained principally sulphur and magnesia.

_21st-25th._ These days were chiefly wet and rainy, but when it did not pour Sir Humphry was out shooting in the marshes. Two mornings, when the rain kept him at home, he occupied himself with the additions to "Salmonia," and in dictating _an ancient Irish Tale_; a fairy fiction, or a tale of enchantment, founded on the supposed adventures of a Norwegian hero in Ireland.

_26th._ A fine day at last, and we see the Alps unveiled for the first time since we have been here. I thought I should have seen them quite free from snow, and was not a little surprised, on the clearing away of the clouds, to find them covered with a newly fallen crest, which was brilliantly white, for I believed that the temperature of the air would be too high to allow the snow, which falls on the heights when it rains in the valleys, to remain unmelted even for the shortest time. In the afternoon I took a ramble with the postmaster, as a guide, to see a waterfall in the neighbourhood, which I suspected from what he told me was the feeder of the pond from which the Wurzen-Save rises. After a long walk through the woods in one of the smaller side valleys, at the opening of which the pond or source of the Save is situated, we arrived at the end of the valley, where all progress was put an end to by the lofty and rocky mountains which shut it in on all sides; mountains, through which there is hardly a path for the most adventurous chamois hunter. In the centre of this vale is a hut, or, as it is called by the peasants, an _Alpe_, (a hut on the mountains,) built with the trunks of trees, in which a few cowherds were employed in making cheese. Opposite this hut, high up in the rocks, is a considerable cascade, which without doubt is the source of the Save. The water issues in a considerable stream from an opening in the side of the mountain, and rushes down into the valley foaming and dashing over the rocks; it then flows on for a short time in a bed of limestone pebbles, where it suddenly disappears, sinking into the ground, and in all probability continues its subterraneous course through the whole length of the valley, till it rises in the pond near Wurzen. We ascended with considerable difficulty to the top of the fall, and in order to examine the hole, I was obliged to take off my shoes to prevent my slipping over the rocks. The water flowed perfectly clear and intensely cold from a reservoir in the interior of the mountain, but the opening in the rocks was not sufficiently large to enable me to look in. Having descended safely, and drank some curds and whey in the _Alpe_, we returned home; and I determined, if the weather should be fine to-morrow, to cross over the Alps to Trenta, and see the source of the Isonzo, to seek which we made such a long trip in vain the last time we were here.

_27th._ I started from Wurzen at eight o'clock with a guide, who said that he was well acquainted with the pass across the Alps, and as he told me we should find nothing to eat at Trenta, we took some cold meat and eggs with us. At Kronau we turned into the beautiful defile which lies behind this village, and which is called the Valley of Pisching, from a little stream which flows through it, along whose banks we walked briskly for about an hour and a half, surrounded on all sides by rocky and magnificent mountains. At the end of the valley we turned off to the right, and began to ascend one of the mountains by a very rugged and steep path, passing sometimes through fir woods, and at other times over white limestone rocks. After a very fatiguing ascent of more than two hours, we found ourselves on the top of a pass between two mountains. To our left was a still more lofty mountain, through which, near the summit, there was a large hole like a window, so that the blue sky was distinctly seen through it. My guide told me that it was possible to ascend to this hole from the other side, but that he had never been there. The descent to Trenta on the other side was much worse than our ascent had been, the path or rather track that we followed being every now and then impeded by great blocks of limestone and shattered fir-trees. The points of view were very fine and wild, though the whole seemed desolate and dreary. In less than an hour we reached the valley and the few huts which form the hamlet of Trenta. In the middle of the valley runs the Isonzo, which is seen gushing forth from the rocks, and forming a magnificent cascade in a gulley or crevice of the mountain, a few hundred yards distant from Trenta. I immediately went to it, and found that the fall consisted of three distinct cascades, one above the other, all three highly picturesque, but chiefly so the upper one, which is by far the loftiest. My guide said the quantity of water was not now so considerable as in general, and that if I liked to go to the top of the uppermost fall I could see the place from whence it issued out of the mountain. We accordingly climbed up the rocks till we came to a heap of loose and detached fragments of limestone, from under which the water appeared to issue, but on climbing up still further, I came to a large opening in the rock, through which a sunbeam fell, and upon looking into it, I saw that within there was a large cavern filled with water perfectly clear, and apparently of great depth, for when I threw in a large white stone on the spot where the sunbeam played upon the water, I saw it descend through it for a long time. Of the extent of this subterraneous lake and cavern it was impossible to form any idea, for all beyond a few feet from the opening was darkness. The peasants at Trenta call this source the _Sorga_, and they told me that after great melting of the snows the water rushes also out from the opening, and then forms a very noble cascade. The water is intensely cold, yet an old peasant assured me, that on looking through the hole he had sometimes seen fish in the lake. This, however, seemed very doubtful, for many others said they had repeatedly been there and had never seen a trace of any living animal in the water within the mountain. Having taken a sketch or two and eaten our frugal dinner, we began to think of returning home, and reascended the rugged path which had brought us to Trenta, but before we reached the summit of the pass I experienced great pain in the thighs and legs, so that I was obliged to rest every now and then. At last, however, we gained the top, and having staid there for a good quarter of an hour to recruit my strength, we descended briskly, passed again through the romantic glen of Kronau, and I found myself at home by seven o'clock. Fifty kreutzers (1_s._ 8_d._ English) made my guide a happy man, and the evening was passed in recounting to Sir Humphry the adventures of the day.

_29th._ We left Wurzen this morning, and passed over our old road to Assling. The scenery of the valley is now more beautiful than when we last saw it, for trees of every kind appear in full verdure on the sides of the mountains; beech, oak, ash, walnut, birch, and, last and highest, the pine, above which are the bare brown rocks, just tipped with snow. Three leagues beyond Assling we turned out of the post road, and drove to Radmannsdorf, passing through what much resembled an English park; fine large trees rising from a verdant turf, rendering the drive at once shady and agreeable. Radmannsdorf is a small insignificant town; the only inn it has to boast of was being repaired and not habitable, so that we were obliged to go somewhere else, and Sir Humphry determined to proceed to Veldes and to spend a day or two in that beautiful neighbourhood. After an hour's drive we arrived there, and with considerable difficulty, and some danger to the carriage, we got up a narrow and hilly lane, at the top of which the best inn in the village is situated, which we however found bad enough. Sir Humphry begged me immediately to go to the fisherman's at the other side of the lake, and see what he had. I found in his tank only very large carp and some small specimens of _Silurus glanis_. This latter fish is found in this and one or two more of the Austrian lakes. The fisherman told me that it here sometimes grows to a great size, and that the last year he and his fellow-fisherman had caught one that weighed upwards of two hundred pounds. I chose the smallest carp, one of five pounds, and a little _Silurus_, and was then rowed back to Veldes by the fisherman. The lake was beautifully tranquil and clear, and in the shade of the mountains, for the evening was already set in, resembled an extensive surface of black polished marble, only ruffled by the paddle of the canoe which bore us across it. We had part of the fish dressed for supper, and we found the carp far preferable to the _Silurus_, for the flesh of the latter is flabby and insipid.

_30th._ At one o'clock in the morning George called me to Sir Humphry, who told me that he felt very ill. At four he begged I would order horses to quit Veldes as soon as possible, but none could be procured till seven, and then only a pair of cart horses. Sir Humphry in the meanwhile applied leeches, and found himself considerably relieved. At seven o'clock we left Veldes, but, as if fated to be unfortunate in this village, our peasant-postilion drove us against the projecting roof of a small house, which however did no further damage than that of dashing the lamps to pieces. We at last got clear of Veldes, and without further accident soon reached Safnitz, where we found post horses which took us to Krainburg by one o'clock, and from thence to Laibach by four, where we took up our old quarters at Detella's inn.

_31st August-7th October._ Sir Humphry continued very unwell for two days, but on the third went out shooting as he used to do formerly. The ennui of Laibach is terrible, for Sir Humphry sees nobody, and is daily occupied in shooting or fishing, and it is only when the rain keeps him at home that he dictates to me the additions and corrections for "Salmonia," or continues his Irish Tale, "_The last of the O'Donohoes_," which he finished on the 13th of September. The second edition of "Salmonia" was not finished till the 25th, and I added six little views to it, which Sir Humphry begged I would draw for him; the first three are from his description, and the remainder from sketches I have taken on our journey. After "Salmonia" had been safely despatched to the English Embassy at Vienna, Sir Humphry determined upon making a little tour to Trieste, and there to examine the electrical phoenomena presented by the _Torpedo_, or Electrical Ray, and we accordingly left Laibach on the 6th of October, in the afternoon, in a little carriage drawn by Sir Humphry's two ponies, for he bought another shortly after our arrival at Laibach. We only went on to Oberlaibach, where we spent the night. Not far from this small village the river Laibach issues, for the last time, from its subterraneous passage.

_7th._ Early this morning I went with two students from Munich, whom I met on their road to Adelsberg, to see the source of the river. At the end of a romantic glen, surrounded by fine rocks and wood, the river oozes out of the hill, forming a large pond, which falls over a natural dam in front, and is then joined, a few hundred yards below, by another subterraneous stream, and they together form a tolerably large river. Parting here from my Munich companions, I returned to Oberlaibach, when I found Sir Humphry was already gone out shooting, but he shortly returned, and having shot nothing, we set out for Planina. Immediately upon leaving Oberlaibach we ascended a very long and steep hill, the surface of which was everywhere perforated with large conical pits, much resembling funnels, affording a striking example of that species of country called by geologists funnel land. Arrived at the top of the hill we found ourselves in a wide fertile valley, through which we saw the Laibach winding slowly, till on reaching the end of the valley it disappears in the fields, and after pursuing its subterraneous course through the mountain, again rises to the surface near Ober-Laibach. We stopped to bait the horses at Loitsch, and then drove on through the valley to Planina, a dirty village, where we passed the night in a miserable inn.

_8th._ Leaving Planina early this morning, we ascended a very steep hill, at the foot of which the Laibach again rises out of the mountains as it does at Ober-Laibach. The country between Planina and Adelsberg is bleak and barren, and presents nothing interesting. The mountain near the latter small town contains the famous grottos of Adelsberg, formerly thought to be the only spot where that singular animal the _Proteus Anguinus_ was found. Sir Humphry said there was no time for me to visit these grottos now, but he thought that he should pass through Adelsberg again upon his return, and we accordingly drove into Trewalchen, where we passed over another long and steep hill. At Sesana we saw the first olive trees; they much resemble the common willow, but are darker; these and the flat-roofed houses, and a lighter and more airy style of architecture, told us that we were approaching Italy. The country between Sesana and Trieste is wild and bleak, completely covered with broken and waterworn rocks, over which, ages ago, some great current of the ocean must have passed, and thus occasioned their present singular and often fantastic shapes. At the foot of the last hill, which is not steep, we entered the territory of Trieste, and from its summit one of the most magnificent sea views I ever beheld burst upon our sight. Nearly two thousand feet below us lay the wide expanse of the blue Adriatic, its light waves glittering in the sun-beams, occasionally shaded by the intercepting clouds. At the foot of the mountain, and partly concealed by it, appeared Trieste, with its harbour full of vessels, lying on a small promontory. Looking over the town and across the bay the eye embraces the whole hilly coast of Istria, with the towns of Capo d'Istria, Pirano, and others; and promontory is seen beyond promontory till the more distant ones can no longer be distinguished from the waves. The right or opposite coast, stretching down to Venice, is flat, and the last visible point on it is the ancient town of Aquilea; but behind this low and marshy tract the distant Alps of the Friul are seen, covered with eternal snow. After stopping the carriage for some time to admire this magnificent view, we descended the hill by a very winding and steep road. Every thing bespoke the approach to a large and commercial city, and the road was filled with carts and waggons coming and going, loaded with merchandize. In some of them we counted twenty horses, in another twenty-four oxen, with twelve drivers, who made a terrible noise with their mouths as well as their whips to animate their strong and fine beasts during their ascent. A new road is now building which, when finished, will render the great number of cattle now obliged to be used unnecessary. We reached the gate of Trieste about four o'clock, and after driving through some fine wide streets wholly paved with flagstones, and across the Ponterosso, a miserable little bridge, we took up our quarters at the Locanda Grande, in the market-place; but our rooms looked towards the harbour and sea, and immediately beneath them we heard the joyous noise and bustle of the sailors. What a difference between this town and the inland cities of Germany! There all seems dead or asleep, and hardly a living soul is to be seen in the streets; here, on the contrary, all is activity and animation. The representatives of all nations seem assembled here,--Italians, Germans, English, and Americans, with Greeks and Turks in their national dresses, are seen walking through the streets or sitting before the doors of the cafés: this latter applies especially to the Turks, who, in their graceful costume with their long pipes, attract the notice of every stranger unaccustomed to see individuals of this nation.

Leaving Sir Humphry to repose in his room, I took a walk about the town and harbour. The streets are generally broad, well paved, and clean, and the houses are lofty and well built. The harbour is full of small craft, but I saw but one large merchantman, lately arrived from the Brazils. Near the Molo san Carlo, a small pier, lay a steam-boat which was to start the next morning for Venice. To the left of the town, looking towards the sea, and at a considerable distance from the houses, is the Lazaretto, a large and spacious building, close to a basin or dock, in which the vessels lie whilst performing quarantine. After dinner I went with Sir Humphry to the theatre, which is an elegant and lofty building, with five tiers of boxes very tastefully ornamented. The piece performed was an opera, _The Arabs in Gaul_, but spite of the magnificent decorations and really fine music, Sir Humphry soon became tired, and we returned to our Shakspeare and _ecarté_. I sleep to-night, for the first time in my life, in the bed-room of an Emperor; a little chamber with only one window in it, and with which, I think, few Emperors of the present day would be content. Above the bed is painted a gorgeous crown and encircling canopy, beneath which, on a small marble tablet, are the following words:--

Locus iste Imperatoris
Josephi Secundi
Habitatio fuit XV Maji.

The year was either never mentioned, or has been rubbed out.

_9th._ The noise of the sailors and the hum of business--sounds long foreign to my ear--greeted me upon waking this morning, and on looking out of my window I saw a number of people upon the quay below, buying fish from the sailors of some fishing-boats that had just come into the harbour. After breakfast I accompanied Sir Humphry on a visit to the British Consul, Colonel D----, who politely promised to send Sir Humphry a fisherman who could supply him with some living torpedos for his experiments. Sir Humphry afterwards rode out on his pony, George attending him, whilst I took a walk on the hill above the town. I had intended to visit the stalactite grotto at Corneale to-day, as Sir Humphry, who had seen it ten years ago, said it was well worth notice; but on coming away from Colonel D----'s I found that it was too late.

_10th._ I left Trieste early this morning, with a guide, to visit the grotto. After a three hours' walk over two very long and steep hills, from which however the view over the Adriatic, with numberless white sails flitting across its waves, the two coasts, the harbour with its shipping, the town and the gardens surrounding it planted with cypresses and olives, was magnificent, we reached Corneale, a small and dirty village, and having here provided ourselves with a man carrying a large lamp, and some boys with candles, proceeded over some very rough and stony fields to the grotto. The entrance was not, as I had expected, in the side of a hill, but in the open fields, and surrounded by a wall. Having lighted our lamp and candles, I took off my coat, and we began the descent down some very slight wooden stairs, the steps and railing of which were, as I afterwards found to my cost, not only slippery, but quite rotten from the continual dripping. The entrance, or hall, is a fine lofty dark vault, supported in the middle by one enormous stalactite column. Beyond this the cave becomes narrower, and the numberless stalactites of all sizes present a greater variety of forms than it is possible to describe: immense cauliflowers, trunks of trees, fruits; rounds and ovals of all sizes, from that of a marble to globes of many feet in diameter; pyramids rising up from below, and whose bases are lost in profound darkness; myriads of peaks hanging from the roof, often invisible to the eye, are seen at every step.

These different forms, the deathlike stillness of the cave, the total darkness, except in those points where the guides placed themselves so as to illuminate the most striking objects; deep precipices before and around me, from out of which here and there a single snow white column rose, formed, and still forming, by the water which falls in measured time from the unseen roof; the flickering lights of our candles,--all this, and the thought of where I should roll to were I to slip from the frail steps into one of those dark abysses, produced an indescribable feeling of awe and fear. Descending further into the cavern, we passed by the _Lion's head_, the _Melon_, the _Death's head_, and two magnificent single pillars, the one plain, the other beautifully fluted, both of which upon being struck by the hand emit a loud sonorous sound, that thrills mournfully through the surrounding silence. Beyond these we came to the _Waterfall_, one of the finest specimens of stalactites in the cavern; other pillars and pyramids, and last of all to the _Baldachin_, or canopy formed of beautifully fluted hanging stalactites. Beyond this point the cave had not been explored, as the precipices are very dangerous. Even the descent to this spot is not very safe, being often along very narrow slippery paths and rotten stairs, or rather ladders. On my return I sketched different subjects in the cave, and whilst drawing the entrance-hall, incautiously sat upon the wooden hand-rail, when I heard a sudden crack, and felt that I was falling backwards. Not being able to recover myself, I slipped from rock to rock, turning twice head over heels, but without injury, and with perfect presence of mind, although I expected every instant to be dashed over the edge of a precipice. As soon as I felt my fall become slower, I stopped myself with my hands, with my head downwards, and my heels in the air. In this position I remained some minutes, not daring to move a finger, till the guide came down through the rocks with his lamp to my assistance; with his help I regained my feet, and found that I had been lying on the very verge of a smooth rock, beneath which was a dark and impenetrable abyss. My next fall would probably have been into eternity.

After the whirl of my brain had passed away, I found, with the exception of some light bruises, that I had not injured myself, as the rocks were very smooth and round. Having reascended, we left the cave, and I sat for a long time in the fresh air as I felt very sick. The guide and the boy had been exceedingly terrified, and still looked as pale as I think I must have done myself; nor shall I soon forget the shriek they uttered when they saw me falling. After a draught of water that was very refreshing, though from a dirty pool in the field, and paying the man and boys who had been in the grotto with me for upwards of two hours, I returned to Trieste, where the tailor and a good dinner set every thing to rights again.

Sir Humphry had just received two living torpedos, and made some experiments with them upon the power and effect of their electricity, which he seemed inclined to think of a peculiar kind. These finished, he determined to quit Trieste to-morrow, and to return to Laibach.

_11th._ We started from Trieste this morning early, and having ascended the hill above the town, from whence we had such a beautiful view upon our arrival, we turned out of the road and drove across the country over very bad roads to Wippach, where we did not arrive till evening. We had stopped to bait at mid-day in a miserable little village, and after leaving it we lost our way, Robert (the coachman) being a perfect stranger in this part of the country, and spent some hours in vain before we again got into the right road. Wippach lies in a fine fertile valley at the foot of a lofty range of mountains. The river of the same name rises close behind the town, out of the rock, in the same manner as the river Laibach. The trout in this river were the object of Sir Humphry's trip hither, and as soon as he arrived, though the evening was too far advanced to allow of his fishing, he went to look at the river, and found it very foul from rain. When he returned to the inn, he dictated to me his observations on the experiments with the torpedos which he had made at Trieste.

_12th._ In the morning Sir Humphry went out to try the fishing in the river, and returned about twelve o'clock not having caught anything. We then quitted Wippach, which has nothing at all attractive or interesting in it. At the end of the town is a large and handsome chateau, belonging to the Counts of Wippach, and on the other side an extensive cotton manufactory. The drive from hence to Trewalchen is steep and hilly, the road passing over a lofty ridge of the mountain. From Trewalchen we went on to Adelsberg, where we did not arrive till night, and as Sir Humphry said that he should the next morning go on to Zirknitz, I determined to visit the principal grotto in the night. There are two here, the grotto of the Magdalen, long known and celebrated as being the only spot in which the Proteus Anguinus[E] had been found; and the great grotto, only lately discovered, and more remarkable for the variety and grandeur of the stalactite formations which it contains.

After having read to Sir Humphry till nearly ten, I set out, accompanied by three guides furnished with lamps and some pounds of candles. We walked across the fields for about a mile in darkness, the moon not having yet risen, till we came to a slight ascent which brought us to a door in the mountain. The guides here lighted their lamps, and cut the candles into bits, and unlocking the door, we entered and found ourselves in a low and dark passage. Two of the guides went on before with the candles, and I followed a few minutes after with the other, the only one of the three who spoke German. The passage brought us to the top of a rock, where we found ourselves in an immense vault, the roof and sides of which could not be distinguished by the eye. Below us, at the foot of the rock, we heard the rushing of a river, whose waters were invisible to us owing to the extreme darkness. We saw the other two guides upon a frail wooden bridge, which is thrown across this subterraneous stream, they having already lighted some of the candles, which they were engaged in fixing upon the side rail, and in a few minutes, more than thirty candles in some degree dispelled the darkness which surrounded us. The river became visible for about one hundred yards on each side of the bridge, flowing as it were out of total darkness above, and passing again into gloom and shade below it. The light however was by no means sufficient to enable me to discover the roof of this vast dome. It is a striking scene, but very different from any presented by the grotto of Corneale, and a poet might have thought the vault a banquetting room for the giants of old, or the council-chamber of Lucifer and his host; the dark and rushing water the gloomy river Styx, dividing him from the kingdom of Pluto, and have expected to see the grim ferryman appear with his boat. There was however no Charon to ferry us over, and we accordingly descended the steps in the rock, and crossed the river by the tottering and slippery bridge. A steep path cut in the rocks on the other side conducted us to the _Little Temple_, a small vault, whose roof and sides were covered with stalactites of the most varied and grotesque forms, hanging down from the roof, shooting out from the sides, or rising as stalagmites[F] from the floor, some pointed, some round, and others flat, thin, and transparent. In one part of this temple are inscribed the names of the strangers who have visited the grotto. From hence we went to the _Hall_, or _Place of the Tournament_, passing in another vault by the _Butcher's stall_, perhaps one of the most apt denominations of the many which the guides have given to the numerous larger masses of stalactite met with in these caverns. It stands alone, projecting from the walls of the vault, and somewhat resembles a pulpit in form. One of the guides enters this stall with a lamp, and illuminates the different joints of limestone meat, sausages, hams, &c., which hang around. The _Tournier-platz_ or Place of the Tournament, is a lofty and extensive cavern, the floor of which is formed of very fine sand, and is exceedingly level and firm. The shape of the vault is oval, and the sides have some slight resemblance to an amphitheatre. On Whit-Monday the whole of the grotto is illuminated, and hundreds flock to behold this curious scene, the _Tournier-platz_ being arranged as a ball-room, and in which the visitors dance till a very late hour. From thence we went through long passages and caverns, each of which presents something remarkable. In one, a large pillar rises from the ground, which, on being struck with a stone or stick, gives out a sound resembling the deep and sonorous tone of a tolling bell; and in another, stands a large fluted pillar, to which the guides give the strange name of the _Kanonen-Säule zu Moskau_, or the Pillar of Canons at Moscau. In another part of the cavern we see a vase, on the top of a small pillar, constantly full of water, which falls into it, drop by drop, from the roof; it is perfectly clear, and icy cold. Beyond this font, we came to the _great curtain_, the most striking single stalactite in the whole cavern. The limestone here descends in many a waving and beautiful fold from the roof, from a height of upwards of twenty feet, and projecting about six feet out from the rock. The whole mass is exceedingly thin, and is bordered by a stripe of red. Seen from a distance, when the guides hold their lamps behind it, the effect is highly striking, and the spectator can hardly believe that the transparent curtain before him is formed of hard stone. The red colour in the edge of this mass of limestone, is the only instance of the kind I met with in the grotto, the general colour of the stalactites being either pure white or whitish brown: and they are often covered with a crust of very fine crystals. At some distance beyond the curtain, the cave divides into two branches, one of which ends with a large block of limestone, that bears the name of the _high altar_; the other has been rarely trodden by the foot of a stranger, for my guide said that this was only the second time that he had been there, since the discovery of that part of the cave, by him and another of the men who were with me, six or seven years ago. It extends for a considerable way, till all further progress is stopped by a large pool of water, over which the guides said no one had ever crossed. This pool did not appear to me to be of any very great extent, and I felt persuaded, that with the help of a few long poles, it would have been possible to have passed over the slippery rocks on its sides; we had, however, nothing of the kind with us, and I was obliged to abandon the idea, nor did the guides appear at all inclined to continue our peregrinations, having already penetrated to a greater distance than usual. I carefully examined the water, but in vain, to see if I could discover anything like a proteus, and I asked the guide if on his former visit he had seen any animal in the pool, but he said he had not. The paths through the cavern are generally very good, and broad enough for two or three persons to walk abreast, and have in many places been widened and levelled by art, but the road from the curtain to the end of the grotto, passes over a chaos of rocks and large broken stalactites; these, though now united by the all-binding lime-water into shapeless masses of rock, formerly composed the roof, but have now given place to newer formations, so that even in these subterraneous caverns, as in all other of nature's works, man beholds destruction only as making way for regeneration. The process is one of the slowest, but sure in its effects; an accident, the shock of an earthquake for example, may strew the floor of the cavern with the stalactites which hang from the roof, yet the impregnated water flows from above, deposits the limestone, and in a few centuries, the roof is again ornamented with its curious and beautiful fretwork. Retracing our steps through the different halls, temples, and passages, we again found ourselves on the banks of the subterraneous river. This is the Laibach, which rising in the plain above Adelsberg, enters the mountain, and after flowing through the cavern and underground for a considerable distance, again appears at the foot of the hill near Planina. We crossed the little bridge, ascended the rocks, and taking a last look around the vast and dark cupola by which we had first entered, I bade adieu to the caverns of Adelsberg. On coming out of the mountain, the air felt very cold, for the temperature within had been very agreeable, almost warm. It was past one o'clock, so that we had been three hours under ground. The moon was up, and guided by her clear light, we soon reached the inn, where I dreamt till morning of grottos, and caverns and their spirit inhabitants.

_13th._ We left Adelsberg this morning, and after a drive of about three hours through a wild and hilly country, we arrived at the village of Zirknitz, on the borders of the celebrated Zirknitzer-See. The inn, though small, had two decent rooms, and Sir Humphry determined to remain here for a day or two, in order to shoot quails, which abound in the neighbourhood; he accordingly went out in the afternoon with his gun, accompanied by the innkeeper, who had recommended himself to him by speaking Italian; and I went in the meantime to look at the lake. Its banks are formed by mountains of no great height, completely covered with forests of pine, and in the lake are three islands, each of which has a different name. On the largest, called _Vomek_, is a little village; the other two, _Goritza_ and _Malagoritza_, are smaller and barren. The lake itself is of an oblong form, and, as I ascertained from "The Chronicle of Carniola," (a voluminous and old work on the history and geography of this part of Austria, by Baron Valvasor, and the only book to be found in the inn,) about one German mile (four and three quarters English) in length, and rather more than half a one in breadth. Its depth varies, but it is no where considerable. In different parts of it are large and deep conical holes, Valvasor says eighteen, each of which has also a name: the chief of them are _Koten_, _Zeschenza_, _Malabonarza_, _Velkioberk_, _&c._, and through these holes the lake is filled with water. This generally takes place annually, in October or November, and the water again disappears through these holes in the beginning of summer.

In twenty days after the disappearance of the water, grass springs up, and produces very good hay; numbers of birds flock to the fields, and the bed of the lake then becomes a sporting ground. The disappearance of the waters, however, is by no means certain, for sometimes a whole year will elapse without the lake becoming dry, while at times it will sink and re-appear twice, or even thrice, in one year. At the end of the lake, near Zirknitz, are two large openings in a rock called _Malakarlouza_ and _Valkakarlouza_, through which the water runs off when the lake rises higher than usual. During the winter the lake is generally frozen over. The temperature and colour of its water are similar to that of the other lakes in this part of the country, though the fish which inhabit it, chiefly pike, are said to be unwholesome. By what means and from whence this lake is filled, it is very difficult to say; the most probable conjecture is that it is supplied by some vast reservoir of water in the interior of the earth, which may also be the feeder of the many subterraneous rivers with which the surrounding country abounds. Not a single stream flows out of the lake, but six or seven small rivulets fall into it, the largest of which is the _Zirknitzbach_. In the evening Sir Humphry returned from his sport, bringing with him some quails and a few snipes.

_14th._ Sir Humphry again went out shooting in the morning, and I went to see the caves of St. Kanzian, with a lad, who spoke a little German, as a guide. These caves are situated about four miles from Zirknitz, and are merely large and deep natural caverns, through which a small river runs, which again appears about half a mile further, in a beautiful fertile valley, through which it flows for a short distance, when it passes under a natural bridge of rock, on the other side of which it disappears, and does not again rise till near Adelsberg. Although it has here no particular name, it is probably the same as the Laibach river, and may take its rise from the lake of Zirknitz. The natural bridge under which it flows before its disappearance, is a fine arch of rock, from thirty to forty feet in height, covered with trees on the top, between which are seen the remains of an old church, dedicated to St. Kanzian.

_15th._ Sir Humphry's sport yesterday not having proved so good as he expected, he went to-day, on his pony, up to the mountains with the innkeeper, to see if he could not shoot a _Steinhuhn_, or alpine partridge, and I went with my guide of yesterday to see the grotto of Heiligen-kreutz, where, he told me, a little white fish with four feet and two red fins on its neck, had been lately found. From this description I knew it to be the proteus, the inhabitant of the Magdelena grotto at Adelsberg; and the hope of finding this animal in the caves at the other end of the lake of Zirknitz, induced me to go thither. We coasted round the lake, passing through many little hamlets on its banks, till we arrived at the end of it, when we turned up a side valley, which brought us to the foot of the mountain of Heiligen-kreutz. We here found two small huts, in one of which was an old man, who agreed to be our guide to the grotto, and who furnished us with large pieces of fir-wood for torches. After an ascent of half an hour up the mountain, we came to a great hole, which was the entrance of the cavern. Here the guide put a bit of ignited fungus or tinder into a handful of dry moss, and whirling it round with rapidity, soon produced a flame, at which we lighted our torches. We then scrambled down into the hole, and entered a long and lofty passage, the floor of which was covered with great stones and masses of rock, over which it was with great difficulty that we could proceed, and the roof and sides presented nothing but dark and rugged rock, unadorned by stalactites. After advancing for some hundred yards through this passage, we came to a running stream of water of considerable breadth, but only six or eight inches deep. We walked through this for some time, till it fell with a deafening noise into a large hole on one side of the cave, probably into some deep cavern below. The passage then turned to the left, and conducted us into a small round vault, from the roof and sides of which hung a considerable number of stalactites. This the old man said was the end of the cavern, and finding it so, I felt there was nothing to recompense one for the fatigue of a walk of ten miles, and the scramble over the rocks in the passage. During our course through the stream, as well as in the many large holes filled with water, I had in vain looked for the proteus, which however the old man assured me had been found by the peasants in the stream during its course through the cavern, and that it had also been cast up by it, when swelled by rain, near Laas, a small town about five miles distant, where this subterraneous stream again appears upon the surface. Quitting the cavern, I returned to Zirknitz, which I reached late in the afternoon, with a very good appetite, for all that we had partaken of since an early breakfast, was a few smoked pears and a pint of wine, sourer than the sourest vinegar, which, with a bit of black bread, were the only eatables afforded by one of the village inns of the banks of the lake of Zirknitz. Sir Humphry had returned from his pursuit of the mountain partridge, nearly as fatigued and dissatisfied with his ill-success as I was with mine, and he determined upon returning to Laibach to-morrow.

_16th-30th._ Quitting Zirknitz, and driving through Planina and Ober-Laibach, we returned to Laibach, where we remained in our old quarters till the 30th. Sir Humphry, as usual, occupying the day in shooting or fishing, and now and then in completing his experiments on the torpedo, by comparing the results of the electricity of this fish with the effects produced by a very small voltaic pile. He found them to be essentially different in their action, and summed up the whole series of his experiments and observations in a long letter to the Royal Society.[G] He has at last met with a pair of carriage horses that please him, and has bought them for four hundred florins (40_l._), so that he now intends travelling with his own four horses. The weather has been getting colder and colder, but I think that nothing less than the sight of the snow that fell to-day (30th) would have determined his departure, which is now fixed for to-morrow, when we start for Italy and Rome.

_31st._ We have at last quitted Laibach, and I never recollect having left any place, not even the most wretched village, with the joy and delight I experienced on quitting Detella's inn, which has so long been for me an abode of listlessness and ennui. We slept this night at Planina, in the same bad inn which we stopped at on our trip to Trieste.