THE GARDEN PALACE--THE STALAGMITE CAVE AND THE GEM OF THE WEST.
The "Garden Palace," about 14 yards north from the Flowering Column, is
remarkable for the beauty of its proportions and the charming grace of
its arches and dome. It has on the left hand side a magnificent
stalactite descending from the roof, and coming to a fine point on the
top of a stalagmite, which rises a short distance from the floor. There
are also many other stalactites and stalagmites of rare proportions.
Near to it is a fascinating little crypt that can be peered into from a
small aperture in the wall of the passage, which is here about 25 feet
wide and 14 feet high. This part of the "Palace" is about 4 feet by 4
feet 6 inches and about 10 inches high. There is no association about
this portion to vividly recall the elegant building which adorned the
Inner Domain, or even the grandeur of its ruins, which the fierce flames
could not consume. It is simply a charming little peepshow filled with
the most dainty specimens of crystallization, the purest stalactites,
and the most elaborate decoration. In front is a stalagmite called the
"Prince's Statue." Most of the stalactites are transparent. The
stalagmites are white as snow, and some of them sparkle with an external
coating like hoar-frost. There are small globular pieces covered with
tubular spikes, like those of the echinus, but as fine as the stings of
bees or the antennae of butterflies. In the centre is a little colour of
a roseate hue, and the most prevalent forms resemble transparent
flowers and plants which rival the skill of the glass-blower, and
surpass the most delicate work of the artificer in gold and silver. This
crypt is like a dreamland treasure-house filled with spoils of art and
fancy.
The Stalagmite Cave and the "Gem of the West" are about 30 yards north
of the Garden Palace, through a hall about 12 feet high and 14 feet
wide. The stalagmites are magnificent, and the walls are adorned with
glittering formation of delicate tracery. There are some fine specimens
of stalactites, and the distance between two of them has been carefully
measured with a view to accurate observation as regards the rate of
future growth. Not far from these are some remarkable stalagmites,
formed on and about a sugar-loaf-shaped mound. The uppermost one, which
appears incomplete--not having yet received its apex--is composed of
five sections. Another close by is formed of eight or nine sections,
and one lower down of about the same number of distinct portions. Like
some other stalagmites already described, their individual sections
represent separate periods of formation and of rest.
[Illustration: THE ALABASTER COLUMN.]
One of the most beautiful of the large stalagmites in the caves is the
Alabaster Column.
[Illustration: THE GEM OF THE WEST.]
The "Gem of the West" is in every respect worthy of its name. It is one
of the most attractive caves in the series, and calls forth expressions
of delight the moment it is illuminated by a magnesium lamp. It is
carefully protected by wire netting, and retains all its pristine
loveliness. It occupies but a small space, being seven or eight feet
high by about five feet wide. There is a considerable amount of
formation on the roof, extending down the wall to the ledge of a rock,
the flat under-surface of which forms the roof of the cave. From it
descend numbers of stalactites of various lengths, as clear as crystal.
In between these are numerous small glass-like ornaments, and here and
there are little rifts filled with a substance like drifted snow and
sleet. The stalactites are not all clear; some of them resemble
alabaster, and their shapes are very grotesque. Many are straight as
reeds; some are bulbous, and several are combinations of straight pipe
and bulb. A few have grown obliquely, but many of the smaller ones are
contorted in the most extraordinary manner. On the other side is a
formation like a miniature Niagara, with "wild shapes for many a strange
comparison," and forms of exquisite beauty.
"Full many a gem of purest ray serene
The dark, unfathomed caves of ocean bear."
But ocean caves do not contain anything more pure and captivating than
the splendours of the Gem of the West.