The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1838-08-17 00:00:00

tion of the difficulty; but she told me the unknown person
was considerably in advance of the other, and on reaching
the door, had turned back as if to communicate something
,to his companion—it was then a mystery. Was the dream
verified ?—Whither was the disembodied spirit sped ?—who
can say ? We know not. But I left the house of death that
day in a state of horror which I could not describe. It
seemed to me I was scarce awake. I heard and saw every
thing as if under the spell of a nightmare. The coincidence
was terrible.'

SALT MINES, NORTHWICII.

(Flom the Liverpool Courier.)

Although most of our readers are aware that a considera-
ble portion of the civilised word is supplied with salt from
the prolific vein of rock in this neighbourhood, and although
many spend considerable sums in travel for the gratification
of their curiosity, and compass sea and land to discover a
shattered fragment or a mutilated statue, yet we are per-
suaded, that thousands of intelligent persons may be found,
in our immediate vicinity, who have not the most remote idea
of the magnificent spectacle which the salt mines of North.:
wich present. Having had the recent gratification of wit-
nessing the huge cavern in which the present Emperor of
Russia and his suite, and also our late lamented representa-
tive, Mr. Canning, were once so hospitably received and en-
tertained, we think a slight sketch of this wonderful mine
may not be uninteresting to our readers.
Several gentlemen having expressed a desire, at the-hospi-
table table of one of the proprietors, that they might be per-
mitted to explore the subterranean world, the request was not
only acceded to, but a large party of ladies and gentlemen
were invited from Liverpool, Bolton, St. Helen's, Congleton,
and other places, to meet at Northsvich on Wednesday, where
Mr. Worthington, Mr. Johnson, and other gentlemen con-
nected with the extensive works, had made preparations for
their reception. We left Liverpool by the eight o'clock Bir-
mingham train, and, with the aid of one of those wonderful
machines which is destined to assist in civilising mankind,
and to effect kindly feelings between distant nations by mak-
ing them acquainted with each other, and which will, in a
few years, lay open the wonders of unknown regions to every
class, we arrived at Hartford station in about an hour-ami-
a-half, where we found vehicles ready to carry us to North-
wich. distant only two miles. From this smoky but busy and
thriving place to the great mine is about a mile, and the
whole of the party, consisting of about seventy persons,
having assembled at the " eye of the mine," preparations
were made for the descent. Some little hesitation was evinced
by the ladies, and not a few of the gentlemen were suddenly
seized with that troublesome disorder called palpitation of
the heart, when the rope and bucket were adjusted, and the
question asked, " Who will descend first?" After a little
bantering, one of the ladies stepped forward, escorted by a
gentleman, and seated herself in the large tub, which was
lihed with brown Holland, and• the signal being given, the
slide was withdrawn which covers the shaft of the mine, and
in a few seconds they were out of sight. Friendly-messages
were sent by them to Pluto, and the gentleman was advised
when he saw old Charon, to " trim the boat and sit quiet."
Successive pairs presented themselves and quickly disap-
peared, each accompanied by a miner, to steady the tub,
and pass in security the one ascending. Some of the gentle-
men, on the principle of the schoolboy passing the church.
yard at midnight, who " whistled aloud to keep his courage
up," amused themselves by uttering, not singing,
Friends depart and memory takes them
To her caverns pure and deep, &c.

The diameter of the shaft is about 12 feet, and the sides
are strongly cased with brickwork until the rock is sufficiently
strong to stand without such support. At a depth of 70 yards
we passed the entrance to the upper bed of rock-salt, which
is about 15 feet thick, and is entered horizontally from the
shaft. The sensation of descending is peculiar, but it is
neither dangerous nor unpleasant. The rope, which is quad-
rupled, is calculated to raise a ton weight, and seldom more
than three persons, including the conductor, went down at
one time. On arriving at the the bottom, the most splendid
scene imaginable awaited us. It seemed as if we had been
suddenly ushered into a spacious city at midnight, when
every inhabitant was fast asleep, and where nothing inter-
vened to break the solemn silence. The view is at first
most astounding; the visitor sees long and spacious streets
diverging at every point, and vanishing away in a long
perspective. Here a noble square,—there an extended cre-
scent; here a magnificent avenue,—there a space which
imagination peoples with a thousand forms. Seventeen
hundred candles, disposed so as to imitate the street lamps,
but only twenty or thirty feet apart, illuminated this subterra-
neous world, and shed over it a magnificence which no pen
can fully describe. It seemed as if one had suddenly dropped
into the grotto of Antiparos. or had been carried back to a
midnight at Bagdad, an, .xpected to meet the Caliph
Haroun Alraschid, in one of his nocturnal rambles through
that once brilliant city. When the whole party had arrived
safely at the bottom, a sort of procession was spontaneously
formed, and moved onwards through the fairy scene, all, both
ladies and gentlemen, taking care not to be left far behind,
as it would really be a difficult, if not impossible, matter, for
a stranger to find his way alone to the pit's mouth. The
party moved onwards through avenues of immense length,
all exhibiting a blaze of splendour, and occasionally stopped
to examine the square blocks of pure salt which are now and
then cut out of the rock. After a walk of more than a mite
through this scene of enchantment, on turning a corner, we
saw, at the end of what seemed a vast square, the Royal
Crown of Great Britain, and the letters V. R. glittering
before us in all their brilliancy, and three cheers were imme-
diately called for the Queen, and most heartily given by all
present, the echoes dying away in the far distance. Pursuing
our course, we were struck with a most singular appearance
at the end of an adjoining avenue which had been purposely
left in darkness. The whole vault was at once lit up with an
unearthly splendour. The roof and the huge pillars which
support it were vastly magnified, and the shadows were
blended with the beautiful /slate in a most remarkable man-
ner. It seemed as if a rainbow had suddenly made its ap-
pearance, and that the sun and clouds were striving for the
mastery to gild or quench it. At last we saw a flame such
as the witches in Macbeth had kindled, and several figures
bending over it, whose shadows on the opposite wail were
magnified to twenty times their size, exhibiting, with the
rough edges of the pillars, a sharp distinctiveness of outline,
which had a singular but beautiful effect. This illumination,
which was several times repeated, was produced by burning
blue lights in the distance, and gave us a good idea of the
vastness of the excavation. We next came upon the miners
at work, and, as two blasts had been prepared, after all the
party had ascended a ridge of the rock, and were placed at
some distance behind the blasts, in a secure place, the match
was applied and the explosion ensued. Many tons of the
rock-salt were immediately loosened, and some of the shat-
tered fragments were blown to a considerable distance. The
shock of the explosion did not subside for several minutes,
but kept rolling onwards like thunder, echoed and re-echoed
from vault to vault, until it grarfually subsided into a dying
cadence, and was finally lost in the distance.
A few streets further we entered another spacious square,
and after our long walk, which, with the windings, must have
been from two to three miles., were not a little gratified to see
a table spread in the upper end of the square, which we found
covered with a profusion of good things, both edible and di-
lutable, to which ample justice was done. The health of
her Majesty was drunk in sparkling champagne, amidst the
loudest cheers, and God save the Queen was sung by all
present, the sweet voices of the ladies blending Most har-
moniously with the continual reverberations of this exten-
sive cavern'. Much humour was caused by references to the
unhappy mortals in the toiling world above ; and it was ob-
served by the chairman, who sat in front of an illuminated
arch, that those were mistaken who asserted that the sun
never set on any part of her Majesty's dominions, for we
were then in one portion of it where it never set, unless it
were contended, that it could not set upon a territory on
which it had never yet riser:. '['he health of the proprietors,
with thanks for their splendid treat, was • next proposed,
and after a libation had been poured out to the ladies,
whose presence added so much to the happiness of the
day, the party rose to pursue their researches, and the
miners were left to gather up the fragments of the feast, when
it was soon found that nothing was lost. After the banquet,
the chairman proposed that, as we were assembled in one of
the wonders of creation, and had all been so highly delighted
with the scene, it would display our gratitude if we praised
Him from whom all blessings flowed, and it would not be in-
consistent with the rational enjoyment we had that day pos-
sessed. The doxology was accordingly sang, none joining in
it with great fervour than the poor miners who now crowded
around, and as the lights soon after began to give symptoms,
of decay, one here and another there going out, preparation
was made for the ascent, after three and a half delighted hours
in the realisation of scenes to which the artificial exhibitions
of earth, when decorated with all tire skill and splendour of
the most ingenious and talented artists, bear a faint com-
parison.
In about half an hour, the whole party were safely landed
on the upper platform, the steam-engine drawing up four per-
sons in about a minute and a half, or, at most, not exceeding
two minutes, the depth being 112 yards. After mutual con-
gratulations the party separated for their respective residen-
ces, and the Birmingham and Liverpool train passing Hart-
ford at half-past five o'clock, gave those who were disposed
an opportunity of arriving very early at home.
We are not intending to enter into any scientific explana-
tion respecting the formation of the immense and valuable
mines which extend for some miles around and under North-
vvich, more especially as the philosophers who visited this
town last year investigated the subject most minutely, and
the result of their visit is before the world; but we may add,
that it is generally believed, that the climate of this country,
in a former period, has partaken more of a tropical character
than it does now,—that these mines have probably been the
bed of a large salt-water lake,—that evaporation has pro-
ceeded slowly,—and that during the deposition of the saline
particles, the lake has been subject to great inundations, and
the deposition has, by such means, been subjected to an ad-
mixture of iron, sand, and feruginous clay, which, with a
small portion of'magnesia, forms the rock-salt, of which this
stratification is composed.
The upper bed of this great mine contains a deposit of sul-
phate of lime and clear crystals; but, as far as we could learn,
is not so valuable as the bed we have described. Blocks of
two feet square are occasionally found in a state of crystalli-
sation, unmixed with any eaa'sy particles; a few specimens
of these we observed in our underground peregrinations. The
circumference of the mine is about two miles, and the aver-
age height is probably 15 to 18 feet. It is perfectly dry, and
most admirably ventilated. The temperature, both summer
and winter, is about 55 deg. The avenues are from 70 to 80
feet wide, and the roof is supported by pillars of 20 feet square.
It has a most elegant appearance when illuminated, being
spotted with figures of every shape and variety of shade; some
are elliptical, some pentagonal, some circular, some triangu-
lar, &c. Ponies are kept below to draw the rock on the rail-
ways to the mouth of the pit, and the stables are the first ob-
jects to arrest the eye on alighting, being placed so near the
shaft for purposes of ventilation.
We have been induced to give the above slight sketch of
this wonderful region, because we are assured that numbers
exist within a few hours' journey whose curiosity would be sa-
tisfied, and whose knowledge would be increased, by visiting
them. To the geologist they form an interesting study ;to
the lover of natural beauty a rich treat; and all may visit
them with profit and delight, as a part of the works of Him
of whom it is said with such majestic simplicity, "The sea is
his and he made it, and his hands prepared the dry land."

A girl, on being asked at the Mayor's Court, Clonmel, on
Wednesday, the 25th July, where she would go if she took
a false oath, replied, "To Father Baldwin's for absolution,
of course."

APPROACH TO THE Al IR ACULOUS.—Ori Saturday evening,
a little boy, aged six years, was amusing himself by throwing
stones into an old coal-pit at Dudley Hill, when, having the
curiosity to look after a stone in its -descent, he was precipita-
ted to the bottom of the pit, a depth of fifty-four feet. Having
been seen to fall by a person at the time, means were imme-
diately employed to bring him up. On being taken home,
surgical aid was promptly procured, when, on a careful ex-
amination, it was found that not a bone was broken, nor a
joint dislocated ! The only wounds were one or two trifling
scalp wounds, and neither the brain nor the spinal marrow
appeared to have sustained any injury. He is now doing well.
—Bradford Observer.

FATAL EFFECTS OF FEAR.—During the journey north-
wards of the stage-waggon of Messrs. Deacon and Co., of the
White Horse-yard, Cripplegate, when entering Wormley
from Cheshunt, it was found to be on fire, and the-conductor
having an impression that there were two barrels of gun-
powder in the vehicle, the horses were taken off, and they
were got away as soon as possible. The result was, the
waggon and its contents, thus left to their fate, were con-
sumed to ashes. It since appears that there was not a
particle of powder in the waggon. The property destroyed
is estimated at £3,000 It consisted of tea, a pianoforte,
with case, weighing six cwt., household furniture of various
descriptions, linen, hams (several of which were yesterday
brought to Messrs. Deacon completely roasted), a large
quantity of percussion caps, wine,, spirits, &c.—County
Chronicle.