THE GROTTO CAVE.
At the point of exit from the Helena Cave there is a descent of four
steps. Then it is necessary to ascend 14 steps north-north-east on the
way to the right-hand branch of the Imperial Cave. From the top of the
steps the distance to the junction is about 80 yards. On the left side
of the passage, at the foot of the lower steps in the left-hand branch,
is a drive down into the gallery of the right-hand branch, the fall
being about 70 feet. It was by being lowered down this hole that the
cave-keeper found that portion of the right-hand branch which extends
from the shaft to the junction of the two branches. This perilous part
is railed off with two wires supported on iron standards let into the
rock. At a point 22 yards north, on the passage to the Grotto Cave, at
an angle, is a drop of 100 feet into the right-hand branch of the
Imperial Cave.
Sitting on a thin shell of limestone, on the right-hand side, the
visitor may pitch a stone into a hole 10 inches by 14 inches, and hear
it strike the bottom of the black depth. He may thrust his candle down
to arm's length underneath the mineral crust, and (if he be in a very
cheerful vein) fancy he is peering into the Infernal Regions, over which
he rests on a thin and fragile screen. From this point the Grotto Cave
is south-south-west about 50 yards. Precautions have been taken against
accident at this spot. Iron standards are let into the rock, and there
are double wires stayed back to the walls of the cave. It is intended to
make it still more secure on the lower side by a netting of three inch
wire, on one and a quarter inch iron standards, from four to six feet
high.
Where the rock has been cut to make the passage wide enough, the steps
are wet, and there is a little basin always full of bright water of a
bluish tint. A false step here might precipitate a sight-seer into an
almost perpendicular hole, some idea of the depth of which may be formed
by casting a stone down, and listening to its striking against the
sides, until after the lapse of several seconds the sound of its contact
with the floor rises like a feeble voice, still further subdued by
distance. Descending five steps, a good sight is obtained of the Grotto
Cave. It is 25 feet high in places, and about 10 feet wide, with
passages in all directions. It runs south-south-east and
north-north-west, and is full of interesting vaults and crypts, over
which Nature seems to have cast a mystic spell. For alluring charms,
fantastic combinations, and disposition of matter, no comparison can be
found between it and the most artistic grottoes built by human hands.
One grotto is roofed with delicately white and richly-traced formation,
studded with stalactites of rare splendour. Here is a delicate white
shaft piercing the dome; there a stalagmite within half-an-inch of the
stalactite above. A broken pillar suggests either an accident or a
barbaric act; near to it is a perfect column, which, in the dim light,
seems like a figure emerging from the cave. Close inspection reveals
imitations of coral and seaweed, curved stalactites, and filagree work
of the most intricate design. Little flakes of lime, like snow, at the
back of the grotto, sparkle like twinkling stars.
Another grotto, in the centre of the cave, is made entirely by large
stalactites, set off with small ones. Some are covered with filaments
about the thickness of ordinary sewing-cotton; others seem as though
they were covered with beautiful mosses. Many of the pendants are richly
wrought and extremely graceful. The upper stalactites are covered with
thicker filaments like twine and pack-thread. A third grotto is
remarkable chiefly for a splendid cornice or buttress projecting from a
pillar. It is as grand, though not as ornate, as similar formation in
the Margherita Cave. It was named on the 10th March 1881, and its
designation is appropriate.
Near the exit is a marvellous grotto, at the entrance to which is a
massive stalagmitic pillar, five feet in diameter, meeting the end of a
stalactite about 15 feet long. The back of the stalagmite constitutes a
separate grotto of stalactites and shell-pattern formation. Near to it
is a remarkable rock, covered with cauliflower-shaped masses of
limestone. It is known as the Cauliflower Rock--the _choufleur_ of the
gnomes who guard the unfathomable caves of Jenolan. In yet another
grotto, at the rear of the main pillar, is a beautiful canopy, with thin
stalactites, straight like walking-canes, and others thin as straws,
crystal and opaque. There are also many contorted stalactites and other
eccentricities in stone. A little iron ladder makes it easy to descend
into this cave of so many beautiful grottoes on gracefully undulating
foundations. Near the point of departure is a dangerous spot, for the
proper guarding of which arrangements are being made. Adjacent is a
considerable quantity of red clay covered with smooth white formation,
and fractures of rock round about sparkle with crystals.
[Illustration: THE LUCINDA CAVE.]