I am a native of _____, in the United States of America. My ancestors
migrated from England in the reign of Charles II.; and my grandfather
was not undistinguished in the War of Independence. My family,
therefore, enjoyed a somewhat high social position in right of birth;
and being also opulent, they were considered disqualified for the public
service. My father once ran for Congress, but was signally defeated by
his tailor. After that event he interfered little in politics, and lived
much in his library. I was the eldest of three sons, and sent at the age
of sixteen to the old country, partly to complete my literary education,
partly to commence my commercial training in a mercantile firm at
Liverpool. My father died shortly after I was twenty-one; and being left
well off, and having a taste for travel and adventure, I resigned, for
a time, all pursuit of the almighty dollar, and became a desultory
wanderer over the face of the earth.
In the year 18__, happening to be in _____, I was invited by a
professional engineer, with whom I had made acquaintance, to visit the
recesses of the ________ mine, upon which he was employed.
The reader will understand, ere he close this narrative, my reason for
concealing all clue to the district of which I write, and will perhaps
thank me for refraining from any description that may tend to its
discovery.
Let me say, then, as briefly as possible, that I accompanied the
engineer into the interior of the mine, and became so strangely
fascinated by its gloomy wonders, and so interested in my friend’s
explorations, that I prolonged my stay in the neighbourhood, and
descended daily, for some weeks, into the vaults and galleries hollowed
by nature and art beneath the surface of the earth. The engineer was
persuaded that far richer deposits of mineral wealth than had yet been
detected, would be found in a new shaft that had been commenced under
his operations. In piercing this shaft we came one day upon a chasm
jagged and seemingly charred at the sides, as if burst asunder at some
distant period by volcanic fires. Down this chasm my friend caused
himself to be lowered in a ‘cage,’ having first tested the atmosphere
by the safety-lamp. He remained nearly an hour in the abyss. When he
returned he was very pale, and with an anxious, thoughtful expression
of face, very different from its ordinary character, which was open,
cheerful, and fearless.
He said briefly that the descent appeared to him unsafe, and leading to
no result; and, suspending further operations in the shaft, we returned
to the more familiar parts of the mine.
All the rest of that day the engineer seemed preoccupied by some
absorbing thought. He was unusually taciturn, and there was a scared,
bewildered look in his eyes, as that of a man who has seen a ghost. At
night, as we two were sitting alone in the lodging we shared together
near the mouth of the mine, I said to my friend,--
“Tell me frankly what you saw in that chasm: I am sure it was something
strange and terrible. Whatever it be, it has left your mind in a state
of doubt. In such a case two heads are better than one. Confide in me.”
The engineer long endeavoured to evade my inquiries; but as, while he
spoke, he helped himself unconsciously out of the brandy-flask to a
degree to which he was wholly unaccustomed, for he was a very temperate
man, his reserve gradually melted away. He who would keep himself to
himself should imitate the dumb animals, and drink water. At last he
said, “I will tell you all. When the cage stopped, I found myself on
a ridge of rock; and below me, the chasm, taking a slanting direction,
shot down to a considerable depth, the darkness of which my lamp could
not have penetrated. But through it, to my infinite surprise, streamed
upward a steady brilliant light. Could it be any volcanic fire? In that
case, surely I should have felt the heat. Still, if on this there was
doubt, it was of the utmost importance to our common safety to clear it
up. I examined the sides of the descent, and found that I could venture
to trust myself to the irregular projection of ledges, at least for some
way. I left the cage and clambered down. As I drew nearer and nearer to
the light, the chasm became wider, and at last I saw, to my unspeakable
amaze, a broad level road at the bottom of the abyss, illumined as far
as the eye could reach by what seemed artificial gas-lamps placed at
regular intervals, as in the thoroughfare of a great city; and I heard
confusedly at a distance a hum as of human voices. I know, of course,
that no rival miners are at work in this district. Whose could be those
voices? What human hands could have levelled that road and marshalled
those lamps?
“The superstitious belief, common to miners, that gnomes or fiends dwell
within the bowels of the earth, began to seize me. I shuddered at the
thought of descending further and braving the inhabitants of this nether
valley. Nor indeed could I have done so without ropes, as from the spot
I had reached to the bottom of the chasm the sides of the rock sank down
abrupt, smooth, and sheer. I retraced my steps with some difficulty. Now
I have told you all.”
“You will descend again?”
“I ought, yet I feel as if I durst not.”
“A trusty companion halves the journey and doubles the courage. I will
go with you. We will provide ourselves with ropes of suitable length and
strength--and--pardon me--you must not drink more to-night, our hands
and feet must be steady and firm tomorrow.”