Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1886-09-05

| cretmy Color OUT, on u0fuuB "6"'
behind the beautiful translucent sheets,
No see them to be tinged with red.
Passing under the lovely object just de-
scribed, pause 10 take last view--a
view which will never be forgotten.
Hence down mos, PERCEPTIONS night
Of steps, we enter the second chamber
about Ave feet high, at whose bottom
the only footing beside the boarded
way over which We pass is tumuitu-
GUS mess OF immense boalders, thrown
about in the utmost confusion. To the
left of the stairs is an immense fall, much
larger than that before mentioned,
whose adamsntine waters stream down
into eight or nine separate rolls Of stone,
called the orgsn-pipes, on which nearly
q whole chord may be struck Ia notes
Of silvery melody. The walls Of the
Organ Loft are covered with the most
fantastically. shaped coral-like formA-
tons. which are surprisingly beautifal.
In the wall to the right OF the ninth
fight of stairs IL a tiny little grotto
about a foot in diameter, whose bottom
is covered with what seems TO be mass
Of small snakes writing about in
sinuous fields.
THE DEVILS CANON.
/ Descending from the Organ Loft by
q fight Of nearly perpendicular stairs
/ leading through dangerous tunnel, the
sides Of which are covered with beauti-
| full formatIons-some conyoluted like
immense shells and others hanging
down in thick, tapestry-like curtains
we snter another chamber--if chamber
it may be called-whose floor, walls,
and roof are formed simply Of gigantic
boulders, hurled about above and be
meath us in most dreadful disorder.
Here we pause to gaze up the
DEVILS Canon, q Withholding gorge
filled with immense boulders, which
stretches far up above US, and
through whose dark depths we are
startled to catch gleam Of light; for
on our descent from the preceding vault
one Of the guides has slipped aside aud
lighted up an immense chamber across
which the canon makes its way. This
chamber we will visit on our upward
journey. Those mysterious forces
which pass countless dark ages in per-
forming their delicate work amid the
gloom Of the lower realms have put
forth all their marvellous powers in
beautify the wall to the lett of the
pathway with ethereally delicate forIna-
tions. The Flower. Garden. IS it is
called, extends dow the side of the pass
age nearly l0C feet, and is filled with
blossoms far more delicate than
any to be found 10 the whole range
Of the vegetable kingdom. One
msy form some ideas of their deli
cate beauty if be imagine each and
every atom Of water which has been
undergoing these protean changes for
an unknown period to have been sud
denly transformed into a snow crystal,
and that these crystals, in their expan-
sion, had been forced out OF The rock
into lovely blossoms, each covered with
spines so delicate that they break at a
touch. Although many Of the bios
sons are partly tinged with rich dark
bIown, their inner depths CLEAN a.
purely " hi,e as driven snow.
CURIOUS FORMATIONS.
II is extremely 10 be desired that
some minerslogist should examine these
formations and make known their ele-
ments, which he could most probably
do at glance from tho form Of their
CRY Civilizations.
1t NAV seem trivial to devote as much
space to these formations as - the
seemingly more curious phenomena OF
The cavern, OF which the most striking
are vet to be visited bat . single glance
st the garden will serve as plenary
dispensation for these few lines. Cast
ing a lingering look behind at the bios
SONS of the Gnomes' Garden, we en-
ter what may scarcely be called cham
Der, as it is simply an immense recess
left beneath the colossal boulders after
their fall, which pend above us in
most precarious.loOking positions. TalS
chamber, into which opens the lower
end of the Devils Canon, con-
tains several marvels. We first come
upon an alban plush OF what seems to
be absolutely spotless, fealhery snow,
nesting beneath the cool shade of the
southern wall, but il is hard as marble
to the touch. Mounting large boulder
beside the southern wall, which has
hitherto continued in unbroken solldity
from the FIRST chamber to this, when It
begins to break, we are overwhelmed
with beauties. Elevating our candles,
we can gaze up a vast creVice
whence foams down small cascade
as in several other instances before
described. but this ones distinguish
inc feature is that it has exactly the
appearance Of frosted silver, and Is
velvety.soft to the touch. This is not
ALWAYS shown to visitors, who must not
neglect to insist on a glimpse. To the
left Of this wonder depend side by side
from the low roof the lambreqnins.
Shich are about ten feet in length, and
whose lower edges are actually adorned
with beaded fringe most surprisingly
perfect.
THE CORAL GRoTTo.
Descending the large boulder over
which he lambrequins hang IN their
heavy folds, aud passing to the west
through a very low, narrow, and tor
turcus passage, covered with iioSeff-
Ike trscery, we stop to rest 10 the
indescribably beautiful Coral Grotto.
This is no more than cleft, though
gigantic one, extending far above Us,
aud every inch Of It's surface IS covered
With formations far more delicate than
the finest coral, which not only extend
as far above us as the eye can reach,
but entirely cover the very rocks UNI
der our feet, which trsmplo on
blossoms so lovely that We al
most expect a sweet perfume TO
be waited upward as We crush
them down. From the floor OF the
gro.to very narrow shaft leads down
for some ten feet. when IL suddenly