Year: 1870

TO witness and share the interesting service. So
| Few days ago, the old companion of my walks in
the Black Country" the poet Capeu and few other
friends and myself made up little party TO visit the
pit and witness the scene do not know how differ
ent persons affected by the sight sense Of great
preciptous nights OF depths, but ustconfess TO
nerVous shrinking. which tried to conceal as
stepped with my companions upon the circular plat
form lid Of that pit of night and silence Tho pas
tor Of The suberranean flock placed properly for
the descent. each holding to chain above heads
The signal was given. and on the bottom Of that in
verted bucket we went down. down INTO q brick
walled well deep as two St. Pauls, atop OF the
other, would scarcely fathom. invountarily re-
membered the sensation when standing on the
dome Of that great edifce. and shut my
eyes closely tho first second against the light
that for n while revealed the speed and depth
of our descent In about minute and half we
had made tho perpendicular distance from the cross
OF St. Pauls to the pavement below. aud the platform
moved down evenly and.stcadily, With no BNaying
motion. Did the refTacious and runaway prophet OF
old ever descend into such depthsl Two minutes
more, perhaps less, human voices could be detected
coming up into the well; then feeble shoots Of
candle-light; then slight bump Of the bucket and
we stepped off to tho quay Of Plutonian shore,
and were received by two guards and guides of the
realm. whose candles net only revealed some Of its
features but our own TO each other. and am glad TO
say the latter expressed grateful sense of our safe
landing.


We were now armed and equipped for our walks In
the Black Country that never the sum- but sup
plies so much bottled sunshine" for the upper
world that basks in its light. This equipment was
very simple. 1t consisted only of small tallOw
candle lighted and stuck in q ball Of moist clay
which each carried in his hand. With guide at
each end Of our le We took up our line Of march on
the tramway that led into the workings. In many
places it was arched which coal but frequently with
timber. There were turnng-out places at conve-
nient distances. where party could sidc into to be
safe from passing truck or " skip Of coal These
we met frequently, and they put us on tho qn tire
both from before and behind, as they passed to
and fro. The rumble Of their wheels gave Us warn
ing of their approach and TO take siding in time
But we could not see until il was close upon u.s.
when the apparitOn Of horses head with two great
red-rmmed eyes, like the miners, came suddenly
out of the darkness into our very faces. What q
vista and yelling Of strange weird sights met us ut
every rod of our crooked walk walls Of solid coal
many yards thick in differently tinted strata; here
butments Of timber like wooden piers Of American
wharves supporting fat roofage of round beams of
oak men and boys and horses and loaded and un-
loaded trucks passing and repassng like halfdevel
oped shadows dartng out of and into the darkness
at every other minute.


After q long walk through such sights and incl
dents, sometimes STOPPING under low rOOfage, some
times climbing up ascents almost on our hands aud
knees we came to the workings md it would be
well for thousands who enjoy the coal fires Of sunny
homes on the upper earth if they could sec these
workings and the workers at them.


As the dinner hour approached, we made our way
TO the place of that rude and hasty meal IL was at
the junction of one broad passage with another at
right angles, forming the chancel and transept of
this underground Cathedral of st. Jonas 1t was Of
tho old Gothic order, both in shape and material
Butments Of round, unhewn timber supported a flat
roofage of round beams Of old English oak, laid
thckly in their bark overhead. If a scene could be
photographed by candle light, what picture might
have been brought up of that eating and listening
congregationl There sat in transept and chancel
about so men and boys each with his lighted candle
which he continued to hold or placed upright while
he ate his bread and cheese. or bread aud bacon IL
was a sight not easily conceived even by an upsider
how much more difficult for bilnt to describe it! Poets
have dilated with reverent admiration upon the


dim religious light of grand cathedras II one of
them should undertake TO describe the pale and lick
ering illumination which those short talow candles
shed over that swartfaced congregation squatted on
that rough, black pavement to their midday meal
and religious ministration he would have a theme
that would test his genius better than the tinted light
of painted windows. 1t would be rich study for an
artist TO sketch the scene with all its strange sur
roundings, especially when the young pastor OF the
flock arose and stood on bench against the wall in
front of the chance, aud opened bis Testament and
read TO them one of its Gospel chapters. lie closed
the book and spoke to them for 10 or Is minutes IN
the spirit of the Sermon on the Mount lie referred
to the subject of previous address in which he had
spoken Of the rolling away OF the stone rom the
grave of Lazarus, and Of the stones that must Dc
rolled away from thousands shut up in caves and
graves of ignorance, vice. prejudice, passion, and
suffering There nothing in the allusion OF ap-
pcation Of the simile that suggested the 200 fathoms
of rock that shut them down from the upper worlds
heaven He did not think Of it, nor did they. though
| could scarcely keep it out Of my mind as he went
on with his simple. earnest discourse Shakespeares
vivid description of the blacksmith listening to the
tailor news might have found amore telling subject


in the attitude and expression of the miners as they
sat in that dim light turning up the large deep whites
of their eyes through their red belts at the speaker
while they cut their bread and meat into morsels
and conveyed them to their mouths without losing
word A boy about fifteen sat just before me who
would have done credit a Sunday y-school scholar
listening in his Sunday best to his teacher lie sat
upon his haunch and heels with his candle stuck IN


ball of clay right on the toe of his heavy-nailed
shoe. watched him closely. and wondered how he
could keep his candle so upright eat bis bread and
cheese, and drink his small beer, and still keep his
eyes 80 fixed upon the minister. Truly 1t ws as
Christian a work as any ever performed in the DIS
tant mssion-felds of tho world. Here was congre-
CATION of men and boys. who to give light and heat
20 thousands Of luxurious homes, toed IN these
primy bowels of the earth full six months IN the


;.bc,, so.;po ~ tbe ann ,ore than once in seven