SPLENDID TRANSITION. "While engaged in meditating on the perils that environed me, I suddenly heard a little hissing noise, and found myself in utter and indescribable darkness. Our guides, indeed, called cheerfully to us, and told us they had accidentally dropped their torches into a puddle of water, but that they should soon reach their companions, when they would light them again, and we had nothing to do but crawl forward. I cannot say but that I was amazed at the courage of these people in a place where I thought four of their number had already perished, and from whence none of us could ever escape; and I determined to lie down and die where I was.
"One of our guides, perceiving that I did not advance, came up to me, and, clapping his fingers over my eyes, dragged me a few paces forward. While I was in this strange condition, expecting every moment death in a thousand shapes, and trembling to think what the fellow meant by this rough proceeding, he lifted me at once over a great stone, set me down upon my feet, and took his hand from before my eyes. What words can describe my astonishment and transport at that instant! Instead of darkness and despair, all was splendour and magnificence around me; the place was illumined with fifty torches; and our guides, who all reappeared about us, with a loud shout welcomed us to the Grotto of Antiparos! The four that were first missing, I now found, had only given us the slip to get the torches lighted up before we came; and the other two had put out their lights on purpose, to make us enter out of utter darkness into this pavilion of splendour and glory.
DIMENSIONS OF THE GROTTO. "The grotto is a cavern of about 120 yards wide, 113 long, and seems about 60 yards high in most places. Imagine, then, an immense arch like this, almost entirely lined with fine bright white marble, and the mind will then acquire some faint idea of the place I had the pleasure to spend three hours in: this, however, is but a very insufficient description of its beauties. The roof, which consists of a fine vaulted arch, is hung all over with icicles of fine white marble, some of them ten feet long, and as thick as one's middle at the root; and among these there hung a thousand festoons of leaves and flowers of the same substance, but so very glittering that there was no bearing to look at them. All the sides of the arch are planted with the representations of trees of the same white crystal, rising in rows one above the other. From these trees were also hung festoons, tied, as it were, from one to another, in vast quantities; and in some places among them are seen rivers of marble flowing in a thousand meanders. All these things have been produced, during a long series of years, by the dropping of water, but really look like petrified trees and brooks. Our guides had tied torches two or three to a pillar, and kept continually beating them to make them burn bright: imagine, then, what a glare of splendour and beauty must be the effect of this illumination among such rocks and columns of marble. All around the lower part of the sides of the arch are a thousand white masses of crystal, in the shape of oak trees, which are in many places large enough for a bedchamber. One of these chambers has a fine white curtain, whiter than satin, of the same marble, stretching all over the front of it. In this we cut our names and the date of the year."
TERRIFIED FRENCHMAN. I shall not dwell upon our return, though it was, if possible, more laborious and difficult than the descent. Just as I had got upon the first ladder and my white light was extinguished, there arose the most shrill and piercing shriek I ever remember to have heard, followed by loud exclamations of "Sauvez moi! sauvez moi! je suis perdu!" It immediately occurred to me that some unfortunate creature had fallen into the abyss; and, lowering my torch, I beheld a figure convulsively grasping the rock with one hand and the ladder with the other; while a Greek, who stood underneath, was endeavouring to force him onwards. There he hung, in perfect safety, though unable to assist himself; trembling like an aspen leaf, pale as death, and crying like a child. After we had drawn him up, he sat down for some time, to recover his scattered senses; and, positively, I could hardly refrain from laughing as he made his piteous complaint. It seems, without reflecting that the man did not understand a word of French, he had charged the Greek, who followed him, not to get upon the ladder until he was off. Just, however, as his hand was on the last step, he felt some one climbing after him. The poor Frenchman's terror was then at its height: he fancied the ladder slipping from under his feet, and, grasping the wood still more tightly, in doing so he got his finger pinched against the rock. In the exertion of releasing it, he nearly overbalanced himself in reality, and again he screamed out with terror and dismay! All this occurred in a brief instant; though, between his tears and his heart throbbing, many minutes were consumed in the narration.
A HINT FOR THE LADIES. I am not a little surprised that the two ladies who accompanied the party had courage to descend into such a place. In my opinion, excursions like these are by no means adapted to either the mental or corporeal delicacy of the fair sex; and, however disagreeable the position might have momentarily proved to them, it was impossible to witness the tall slender figure of one of them, grasped in the arms of a bearded swarthy Greek, now squeezed against the wall, now almost astride upon his shoulders, without indulging in the laughter such a spectacle was well calculated to inspire.
Thanks to the kind influence of the guardian genii of the cave, who preserved us from falling victims to the perils of the way, we all got safely out; and as each, begrimed with dirt, and black as a chimney-sweep, emerged into upper air, enveloped in smoke, which now issued in huge volumes from the cavern's mouth, he was received by his companions with shouts of mirth that made the old vault echo again. Verily, we could be likened to nothing but the devils in the opera of Don Giovanni.
We now turned our steps again towards the village of Antiparos, and, under the influence of those potent stimulants, hunger and thirst, got over the ground more rapidly than might have been anticipated, considering how exhausted the whole party felt previously to starting. The time passed rapidly enough in the interchange of a good deal of lively and amusing raillery on the truly laughable appearance which every individual presented, with clothes rent almost to tatters, and visage bedaubed with oil and soot; besides, each of us became the "hero of his little tale," and could narrate a hundred perilous incidents and hairbreadth escapes which he had encountered during his descent and ascent from the "antres vast" of this extraordinary place.
It was eleven o'clock before we got on board, where all did ample homage to the breakfast that awaited us.
PORT OF MILO. In the meantime the boat quitted the island, and after sailing between Serpho and Siphanto, and coasting along the Argentiera, all volcanic islands, she came in sight of the port of Milo. By properly fortifying the entrance of this harbour, it might be rendered perfectly impregnable. In shape it resembles a horse-shoe much contracted at the two extremities; and consists of the crater of an extinct volcano, the cone of which remains on three sides, but more or less in a state of degradation. The town is built on the top of the cone, and the whole island appears to be volcanic. In our passage here, we sailed by the Pelican sloop of war, bound to Malta, on her voyage home.
WARLIKE MOUNTAINEERS. Tuesday, 9th.—Early this morning, the Madagascar came in, in fine style, with every sail set, and anchored close to us. After bathing in the sea with the midshipmen, by leaping off the vessel's chains, the King of Greece landed, to go up to the town. The Greek soldiers and sailors, most of whom were pirates formerly, hailed his disembarkation on an old Turkey carpet, with shouts and acclamations, followed by a discharge of their long guns loaded with ball; several of which plunged into the water within a few feet of the steam-boat.