CONTINUATION

« Our candies being now ail lighled up, and Ihe whole place eomplelely illuminated, never could Ihe eye be presenled wilh a more glillering, or a more magnifîcent scène. The whole roof hung wilh solid icicles, transparent as glass, yet solid as marble. The eye could scarcely reach the lofly and noble ceiling j the sides were regularly

formed wilh spars ; and the whole presented the idea of a magnificent théâtre, illuminate.d with an immense profusion of lighls. The floor consisted of solid marble ; and, in several places, magnificent columns, thrones, altars, and other objects, appeared, as if nature had designed to mock the curiosities of art. Our voices uponspeaiiing or singing, were redoubied to an astonishing loudness; and upon the firing of a gun, the noise and réverbérations >vere almost deafening. Jn the midst of this grand amphithéâtre rose a concrétion of about fifteen feet high, that, in some measure, resembled an aitar ; from which, laking the hint, we caused mass to be celebrated there. The beautiful columns that shot up round the altar, appeared V±e candieslicks ; and many olher natural objects represented the customary ornamenls of this rite.

« Below even this spacious grotlo, there seemed another cavern; down which I ventured with my former mariner, and descended about fîfly paces by means of a rope. I at iasl arrived at a small spot of level ground, where the boltom appeared différent from thatof the amphithéâtre, being composed of soit ciay, yielding to the pressure, and in which I thrust a stick to the depth of six feet. In this, however, as above, numbers of the most beautiful crystals were formed; one of which, particularly, resembled a table. Upon our egress from this amazing cavern, we perceived a Greek inscription upon a rock al the mouth, but so obliterated by lime, that we could not read it distinclly. Il seemed to import, that one Antipater, in the lime of Alexander, had come hither ; but whether he penetrated into the depths of the cavern, he does not think fît to inform us. )>

This account of so beautiful and striking a scène, may serve to give us some idea of the subterraneous wonders of nature.

{Gûldsmith.)

5. A LETTER SUPPOSED TO BE WRITTEN BY A COiMMON-COUNCIL- MAN, DESCRIBING THE CORONATION.

Sir,

I am the same common-council-man who troubled you some days ago. To whom can I complain but to you ? for you hâve many a

(lismal correspondent ; in tliis lime of joy my wifc docs nol clioose l > liear me, because, she says, l'm alvvays melancholy wlien she's in spirits. I liave been lo see Ihe coronalion, and a fine sighl il was, a> I ain lold, to Ihose wbo had Ihe pleasure of being near speclalors. The dianionds, I am lold, were as ihick as Brislol slones in ;i show-glass; Ihe ladies and genliemen ^vaIked along, one fool beforr anolher, and threw iheir eyes about them, on Ihis side ant Ihal. perfeclly like clock-work. 0 ! AF Primer, it had been a fine sighi indeed, if ihere was but a iillie more ealing.

Inslead of that, Ihere \ve sat, penned iip in our scaffolding, likc sheep upon a market-day in Smilhfield: but the devil a tliing could I get lo eat (God pardon me for swearing) except'the fragments of :i plumb-cake, that was ail squeezed into crumbs in my wife's pocket, as she came through the crowd. You must know, sir, that in ordor to do the thing" genleelly, and that ail my family might be amused al the same time, my wife,my daughter andI,tooktwo-guinea places for the coronalion, and I gave my two eldest boys (vvho by the by are twins, fine chiidren) eighteen-pence a pièce to go lo Sudrick fair, lo see the Court of the Black King of Morocco, which wiU serve to please ch'ldren well enough.

That we might bave good places on the scaffolding, my wife insisted upon going et seven o'clock in the evening before the coronation, for she said she would not lose a full prospect for the world. This résolution, I own, shocked me. « Grizzle, » said I to her, « Grizzle, my dear, consider that you are but weakly, always ailing, and will never bear sitting ail night upon the scaffold. You remember what a cold you caughl the last fast-day by rising but half an hour before your time to go to church, and how I was scolded as the cause of it. Besides, my dear, our daughter Anna Amelia Wilhelmina Carolina will look like a perfect fright, if she sits up ; and you know the girfs face is something at her time ôf life, considering her fortune is but smali. » « M*" Grogan », replied my wife, « M"" Grogan, this i.^ always the case, when you find me in spirits ; I don't w'ant to go, not I, nor ï don't care whether I go at ail ; it is. seldom that I am in spirits, but this is always the case. » In short, IVF Printer, what will you bave on't ? to the coronation we wenl.

What diflîcullies \ve had in gelling a coach ; liow we were shoved about in llie mob; how T liad ray pocket piclied of iho last new almanack, and my steel tobacco-box ; how my daughler iost half an eye-brow, and lier laced shoe in a gulter; my wife's lamentation upon lliis, with Ihe adventuresof a crumbled plumb-cake ; relaie ail thèse ; wesufîered this, and ten tinies more, before we got lo our places.

At last, however, wewere sealed. My wife is cerlainly a hearlof oak; I ihought silting up in Ihe damp night-air Avould hâve killed lier ; 1 hâve known her for two monlhs take possession of our easy chair, niobbed up in flannel night-caps, and Irembling at a brealh of air ; but she now bore Ihe night as merrily as if shc had sat up al a chrislening. My daughler and she did not seem lo value it a farlhing. Shc told me two or Ihree slories Ihat she kiiows will ahvays makc me laugh, and my daughler sung me « Ihe noontide air », lowards oiie o'clock in llie morning. Ilowever, ^vilh ail Iheir endeavours, I was as cold and as dismal as evcr I remcmbcr. If Ihis be Ihe picasures of a coronalion, cried I lo myself, I had rallier see llie Court of King Solomon in ail his glory, at niyeasc in Barlholomew l'air.

Towards morning, sieep began lo corne fast upon me ; and Ihe sun rising and warming Ihe air, sliil inclined me lo resl a lillle. You musl know, sir, ihal I am nalurally of a siecpy conslilution ; I hâve oflcn sat up attable wilh my eyes open, and bave been asleep ail Ihe while. What will you hâve on't? just about eight o'clock in Ihe morning I fel! asleep. I feil inlo the most pleasing drcani in Ihe world. I shall never forgcl it; I dreamed Ihat I was at my lord-mayor's feasl, and had sealed ihe crust of a venison-pasly; I kept ealing and ealing in my slee]), and Ihought I could never hâve enough. Afler some lime, Ihe pasty melhought was laken away, and Ihe dessert was broughl in ils room. Thought I lo myseif, if I bave not got enough of venison, I am resolved lo make it up by Ihe largest snap at ihe sweelmeats. Accordingly I grasped a wliole pyramid ; llie rest of Ihe guests seeing me wiih so much, one gave me a snap, Ihe other gave me a snap ; l was pulled Ihis way by my iieighbour on my right hand, and Ihat way by myneighbour on thelefl, but still keptmygroundwillioutflinching, and coulinued ealing and pockeling as fast as I could. I never was so

pulled and hauled in my wliole life. At lengtli, however, going to smell lo a lobster llial lay before me, melhought il caught me witli ils claws fasl by Ihe nose. Tiie pain I fell upon Ihis occasion is inexpressiblc ; in fact, il broke my dreani ; when awaking I found my wife and daughter applying a snielling-bottle to my nose, and teiling me il was lime to go home ; lliey assured me every means had been tried to awake me, while the procession was going fonvard, but Ihal I slill continued to sleep tiil the whoie ceremony was over. M"" Printer, Ihis is a hard case, and as I read your mosl ingénions work, it will be some comfort, when I see Ihis inserted, lo find that — I wrile for it loo.

I am, sir, Your dislressed humble servant,