THE HELENA CAVE.
Leaving the Margherita Cave by a descent of five steps, and travelling
north-west about ten yards through a festooned hall, the Helena Cave
opens to view. It was named in 1880. Helena is the prenomen of Mrs.
Hart, whose husband accompanied Lieutenant-Colonel Cracknell on his
visit to the caves, and took photographs of some of the chambers, when
for the first time they were illuminated by electricity. Mr. Hart was
connected with the photographic branch of the Government Printing
Office. The pictures then produced, although large and fairly good, are
not equal to some more recent photographs taken when the chambers were
illuminated by the magnesium light.
[Illustration: THE HELENA CAVE.]
The Helena Cave is about 60 yards long, 15 to 20 feet high, and varies
in width from 20 to 50 feet. For stalactitic splendour it will bear
comparison with the most magnificent of the caves. There are columns
like the trunks of stately trees, covered with rough formation
resembling coarse bark. Coralline masses droop laden with myriads of
cells. In the recesses are stalactites perfect in shape--crystal, and
alabaster set off by others coloured like ferruginous sandstone. Lovely
grottoes and decorated rock ledges abound. In one or two instances
joined stalactites and stalagmites form pillars with bunches of
formation all about them like stony efflorescence. Several steps lead
into a recess, the floor of which contains basins made by the action of
water.
The formation throughout is remarkable for its lavish ornamentation and
purity. Among the grand cornices is one weighing about half a ton,
formed in such a manner as to resemble great bunches of grapes, like
those brought from Eschol by the Hebrew spies to illustrate their report
on "the promised land." In other parts are small clusters like vine
produce growing _en espalier_. It seems as though in these subterranean
sunless bowers nature had by some subtle process striven to reproduce in
stone the fruits and flowers of the sunned surface, clothing them in
pure white and sombre grey, and endowing them with charms as sweet and
mutely eloquent as the fragrance of the Cestrum nocturnum, or the cold
beauty of a night cactus bloom which caresses the moonbeams or wantons
in the stellar light.
This place, full of enchanted grottoes and elfin palaces, gives,
perhaps, the best illustration of the plan, so uniform and yet so
diverse, on which these limestone mountains have been honeycombed into
galleries, "high overarch'd with echoing walks between," and caverns
large and small, from cathedral spaciousness to the minimised dimensions
of the tiniest chamber in the finest coralline structure. Their infinite
gradation may be fairly described by certain well-known lines, and
substituting the word "caves" for the name of the most lively insects of
the genus pulex--
Big caves have little caves
And lesser caves about 'em;
These caves have other caves,
And so _ad infinitum_.
The most remarkable feature hereabouts is a piece of formation called
"The Madonna." It is supposed to represent a woman carrying an infant,
which rests on her right arm. The left arm hangs loosely by her side,
and the right knee is bent as in the act of walking. The head bears less
resemblance to that of one of the favourite creations of the Old Masters
than it does to the anterior part of a Russian bear. A pyramidal mound
about four feet high forms a pedestal for the figure, which is about two
feet six inches from crown to sole. A sculptor with mallet and chisel
might in an hour or two convert it into a representation of loveliness,
but at present it is only a veiled beauty. Visitors have to imagine all
those witcheries and feminine perfections portrayed by great artists who
have made "The Madonna and Child" a life study.
The best view of this cave is that looking south-east with "My Lady" in
the centre. The stalactites show to great advantage, and as the
manifold charms brought into bold relief by the magnesium light
disappear, and the sable goddess "from her ebon throne, stretches
forth her leaden sceptre," the sensation produced is one of pleasant
bewilderment. The deep gloom which follows celestial brightness
enshrouds the glorious scene. The pageant fades away as did the
celebrated palace which Potemkin reared for his Imperial Mistress. It
was made of blocks of ice. The portico was supported by Ionic pillars,
and the dome sparkled in the sun, which had just strength enough to
gild, but not to melt it. "It glittered afar like a palace of crystal
and diamonds, but there came one warm breeze from the south, and the
stately building dissolved away until none were able to gather up the
fragments." So it is with these underground wonders. They are brought
into bold relief, and gilded by the brilliant light of the magnesium
lamp. It is extinguished, and the gorgeous palaces and solemn temples
suddenly become like "stuff which dreams are made of."
Another beautiful feature in the Helena Cave is a formation under a mass
of stalactites which hang from the roof and drop water on to a jutting
rock below. On a corner of this shoulder is a huge epaulette, and
underneath are some elegantly-shaped brackets. Still farther down is an
enormous richly decorated mass, flanked by shell pattern formation. The
base rock rests on a mound of limestone gracefully curved, and the
intervening spaces are filled with myriads of ornate specimens. Some
distance above the floor is a bold rock with a sharply cut under-surface
like the sounding-board of a pulpit hung with stalactites. Here are also
terraces like miniatures of the celebrated White Terraces of New
Zealand, with basins, the sides of which are graced with a formation
which at one time was pure white, but the lower portions of which are
now discoloured. The upper part, however, still retains its pristine
purity and loveliness. The terraces approaching The Grotto are stained
by the tramping of feet. About halfway up is a handsome stalagmite of
fine proportions. This chamber is grandly impressive, and remarkable for
its charming variety of formation, as well as for its graceful contours.