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  • March 1, 1794
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The Freemasons' Magazine, March 1, 1794: Page 34

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    Article ACCOUNT OF PENPARK-HOLE, ← Page 3 of 5 →
Page 34

Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.

Account Of Penpark-Hole,

v ' ey to the mind an adequate idea of the gloomy appearance of these subterranean caverns . The deep water almost directly under your feet , rendered still more gloomy by the faint glimmering rays of li ght reflected upon its surface from the openings of the chasms above ; and the black rugged rocks , horrid precipices , and deep yawning- caverns © vet head , brought to my remembrance the following lines of Milton : '

" The dismal situation waste and wild , " A dungeon horrible on all sides" No light , but rather darkness visible , " Serv'd only to discover sights of woe , " Regions of horror , doleful shades , & c . " The cavern on the leftwhich runs westwardis seventy-eiht feet in

, , g length , and sixteen in breadth . The . entrance into it is rendered very awful by a shelving roof on the north side , about twenty feet hi gh , which gradually decreases till it terminates in small branches running in among the rocks . When I visited ' this place ( Easter-Monday , Apr . 17 , ) the water was totally desiccated , and as 1 had with me a sufficient quantity of lig hts , I had an opportunity , by disposing of them properly , of

traversing it quite to the end , and examining every part with the most , minnte circumspection , which I could not do before . I was however obliged to be very cautious how I proceeded , as the bottom and sides ! were still very slippery and damp , occasioned by the mud and slime , which the water had deposited . On examining this cavern , I observed a large quantity of semipellucid spar on the sides and bottom ; some of the former I brought up with me , but that which adheredto the bottom

, Was of a whiter colour , and appeared more opaque than the other . On the lower end and sides are chasms through which , I suppose , the water vents itself ; and from the mud and slime remaining on the sides of the rock , I conceive there must be at least ei ght feet of water , in this cavity in the wet seasons . The bottom was entirely covered with large rough , stones , some of them near a ton weight , which appeared to have fallen ,

from the roof and sides . On the ri ght , a large spacious apartment opens to your view , about ninety feet long , and fifty-two broad , running from the landing-place towards the north-east , with a hard rockyvaulted roof , about thirty feet above the water , when I' was there thefirst time ; but when the -water is at the lowest , I suppose it must be at least ' ninety feet , so that you cannot even with the assistance . of torches discover distinctly the summit of it .

A place so spacious and lofty must exhibit to a person unaccustomed to subterranean caverns , a scene the most dismal and dreary that imag ination can possibly paint ; and the pendant recks-which sometimes , break in very large pieces over head , and from the sides , strike the " mind with dreadful aprehensions of danger . . ' The roof appears to be of nearly an equal heiht in partand

g every ; , very much resembles the ceiling of a gothic cathedral . The sides are almost perpendicular , and considering the whole to be entirel y the work of nature , of uncommonly just proportion . The place is rendered still more awful by the great reverberation which attends the voice

“The Freemasons' Magazine: 1794-03-01, Page 34” Masonic Periodicals Online, Library and Museum of Freemasonry, 30 May 2025, django:8000/periodicals/fmm/issues/fmm_01031794/page/34/.
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Title Category Page
Untitled Article 1
LONDON: Article 1
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS TO CORRESPONDENTS. Article 2
THE FREEMASONS' MAGAZINE. OR GENERAL AND COMPLETE LIBRARY. Article 3
MASONIC ANECDOTE. Article 8
ACCOUNT OF JOHN WATKINS, L. L. D. Article 10
JOHN COUSTOS, FREEMASON. Article 12
BRIEF ACCOUNT OF COLONEL MAEK, Article 16
LETTER Article 17
TRANSLATION OF QUEEN ELIZABETH'S LETTER TO MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS, Article 17
CHARACTER OF RICHARD CUMBERLAND, Article 18
TO THE EDITOR OF THE FREEMASONS' MAGAZINE. Article 19
AN ACCOUNT OF DRUIDISM. Article 20
LIFE OF PHILIP EGALITE, LATE DUKE OF ORLEANS. Article 25
ACCOUNT OF PENPARK-HOLE, Article 32
ON READING. Article 36
CARD Article 37
TO THE EDITOR OF THE FREEMASONS' MAGAZINE. Article 38
CHARACTERS WRITTEN IN THE LAST CENTURY. Article 39
ON AFRICAN SLAVERY. Article 41
ORIGINAL LETTER OF DOCTOR JOHNSON. Article 45
ANECDOTES OF THE LATE HUGH KELLY. Article 47
PLAN OF EDUCATION. Article 52
A VIEW OF THE PROGRESS OF NAVIGATION. Article 55
ANECDOTES OF J—— SWARTS. Article 59
PARLIAMENTARY PROCEEDINGS. Article 60
HOUSE OF COMMONS, FINANCIAL MEASURE OF FRANCE. Article 62
STRICTURES ON PUBLIC AMUSEMENTS. Article 70
EPILOGUE. Article 71
PHILOSOPHICAL EXPERIMENT . Article 73
POETRY. Article 74
ADVICE TO A PAINTER. Article 75
THE ENQUIRY. Article 76
PROCRASTINATION. Article 76
MONTHLY CHRONICLE. Article 76
PREFERMENTS. Article 80
MARRIAGES. Article 80
DEATHS. Article 81
BANKRUPTS. Article 82
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Page 34

Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.

Account Of Penpark-Hole,

v ' ey to the mind an adequate idea of the gloomy appearance of these subterranean caverns . The deep water almost directly under your feet , rendered still more gloomy by the faint glimmering rays of li ght reflected upon its surface from the openings of the chasms above ; and the black rugged rocks , horrid precipices , and deep yawning- caverns © vet head , brought to my remembrance the following lines of Milton : '

" The dismal situation waste and wild , " A dungeon horrible on all sides" No light , but rather darkness visible , " Serv'd only to discover sights of woe , " Regions of horror , doleful shades , & c . " The cavern on the leftwhich runs westwardis seventy-eiht feet in

, , g length , and sixteen in breadth . The . entrance into it is rendered very awful by a shelving roof on the north side , about twenty feet hi gh , which gradually decreases till it terminates in small branches running in among the rocks . When I visited ' this place ( Easter-Monday , Apr . 17 , ) the water was totally desiccated , and as 1 had with me a sufficient quantity of lig hts , I had an opportunity , by disposing of them properly , of

traversing it quite to the end , and examining every part with the most , minnte circumspection , which I could not do before . I was however obliged to be very cautious how I proceeded , as the bottom and sides ! were still very slippery and damp , occasioned by the mud and slime , which the water had deposited . On examining this cavern , I observed a large quantity of semipellucid spar on the sides and bottom ; some of the former I brought up with me , but that which adheredto the bottom

, Was of a whiter colour , and appeared more opaque than the other . On the lower end and sides are chasms through which , I suppose , the water vents itself ; and from the mud and slime remaining on the sides of the rock , I conceive there must be at least ei ght feet of water , in this cavity in the wet seasons . The bottom was entirely covered with large rough , stones , some of them near a ton weight , which appeared to have fallen ,

from the roof and sides . On the ri ght , a large spacious apartment opens to your view , about ninety feet long , and fifty-two broad , running from the landing-place towards the north-east , with a hard rockyvaulted roof , about thirty feet above the water , when I' was there thefirst time ; but when the -water is at the lowest , I suppose it must be at least ' ninety feet , so that you cannot even with the assistance . of torches discover distinctly the summit of it .

A place so spacious and lofty must exhibit to a person unaccustomed to subterranean caverns , a scene the most dismal and dreary that imag ination can possibly paint ; and the pendant recks-which sometimes , break in very large pieces over head , and from the sides , strike the " mind with dreadful aprehensions of danger . . ' The roof appears to be of nearly an equal heiht in partand

g every ; , very much resembles the ceiling of a gothic cathedral . The sides are almost perpendicular , and considering the whole to be entirel y the work of nature , of uncommonly just proportion . The place is rendered still more awful by the great reverberation which attends the voice

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