the world, but this is the largest I have read of, or feen. It differs from that of Brofeley in Shropshire, within fix miles of Bridgenorth, in this refpect, that Broseley well will not continue to burn for any time, unless the air be kept from it; to which purpose they have enclosed it in an iron ciftern with a cover to it; and to experiment the boiling a piece of meat by the fire of this fpring, they clap the pot close down when they cover is taken up, and then it burns as long as they will; making the largest joint of meat fit to eat in half the time the strongest culinary fire could do the work. As to the medicinal virtues of the fpring, in the mountains, I can only fay, that as it has a copious fulphur, and from thence flames like fpirit of wine, it is probable it might be as effectual in commuInicating fanity in various cafes, as the famous burning fpring is in the palatinate of of Cracow of the leffer Poland, mention'd in the Leipfic acts, An. 1684. p. 326. And as to the extinguishing this fire by beating it with twigs, it must to be fure be for the reafon given by Mr. Denis, that as the inflammability of fuch fprings is to be afcribed to fulphur, and to its exhalations bursting out of the water; fo this floating flame, which is too fubtle to heat the water, is ftifled, by involving these spirits in the aqueous particles, by brushing the furface with brooms.

Conradus tells us, concerning the Polifh

fpring,

fpring, that at one time, when it was kindled by lightning, the people neglected to put it out, and the stream proceeded on fire for almost three years, and reduced all the neighbouring wood to ashes. It is really a wonderful fight to fee fuch a river of fire, and adorable must be that power, who has caused fuch things. To say that matter and motion circumfcribe and regulate fuch powers, is idle to the last degree. It is an inversion of reafon. The very existence of the water and fulphur of this fpring, must be by the power' of the Creator conftantly put forth upon it, which causes the parts to be what we call fuch things; and the motion of both must be an impreffion; for motion is not effential to matter. Nothing elfe could produce them, and a cause there must be equal to the various and wonderful effects of both, a cause that is infinite, wife, and powerful. The Deity is every where prefent, and every where active. His power is indefinently working, gives exiftence to the various creatures, and produces the most noble phænomena in nature. All we fee, all we feel, fire and water, the univerfal variety of inanimate and animate creatures, are only the effects of his creating power conftantly repeated. The existence of the whole world is a continual new crea tion; and therefore it becomes the bounden duty of all rational creatures, to worship this Almighty Power, as well for his works of creation,

creation, as for the ways of his providence.. Great and wonderful are thy works, O Lord God Almighty and juft and righteous are thy ways, O King of faints: who would not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy. name, because thou only art holy.

loch on the

tain, and a

the bottom.

39. From the burning fountain we pro- Another ceeded for half an hour in the fame valley top of a right onwards, and then turned to the left in high mouna course to the weft, for about a mile, which swallow in brought us to the bottom of a steep mountain, we must ascend, or go no farther. It was hard to get the horfes over this, and no lefs difficult to defcend with them to a deep bottom on the other fide of the hill: but with great hazard to ourselves and the beafts, we came down in fafety. On the top of this mountain I saw another large loch that was black as ink in appearance, tho'. bright when taken up in a glass; which, (as before observed) must be owing I fuppofe to its top communicating with the abyss below; and in the bottom we defcended to, there was a fwallow larger than the one I faw before. I could make no discovery as to its depth, either by line or found; nor did my lead touch any water. On the floping way from the first chafm in day to the gulph, were feveral lateral chambers, that defcended one yard in fix; but tho' the bottom was hard, the horrors of the places hindered me from going far. I went to the

end

An amaz

a

in a delightful fpot of ground.

end of the first, which was 67 yards, and having looked into the fecond, to which a narrow fhort pass leads the inquirer, I made what hafte I could back; for the opening discovers a space fo vaft, difmal, and frightful, that it strikes one to the heart. The bottom, as far as my light could enable me to diftinguish, was a continuance of stone; but neither top nor fides were to be feen. It is a horrible place.

40. Leaving this bottom, we mounted anoing arch ther very high and dangerous hill, and from the mountain top of it defcended into twenty acres of as rich and beautiful ground as my eyes had ever feen. It was covered with flowers and aromatic herbs; and had, in the center of it, a little grove of beautiful trees; among which were fruits of feveral kinds. A flowing fpring of the pureft water was in the middle of this sweet little wood, and ran in pretty windings over the ground. It refreshed and adorned the field, and it was beautiful to see the deer from the hills, and the goats come down from the cliffs, to drink at these streams. The whole was furrounded with precipices that afcended above the clouds, and through one of thefe rocky mountains there was an opening that had a ftupendous appearance.

It was a vast amazing arch, that had some resemblance of the gothic ifle of a large cathedral church, and terminated in a view

N

1

of rocks hanging over rocks in a manner frightful to behold. It meafured an hun dred yards in length, 40 in breadth, and I judged it to be fifty yards high. The pending rocks in view inclosed a space of four acres, as it appeared to me, and the bottom was fo very deep that it looked like night below. What line I had could not reach it, nor could I make any thing of the depth by found. It feemed to me to be a vaft fwallow that went down to the abys. The whole was a fcene that harBrowed the foul with horror.

ordinary

thro' the

41. By the fpring in the little grove I have An extramentioned, I fat down at 8 in the morning, paffage to breakfast on fomething that one of my mountains fquires produced from his ftore, while the other was looking for a paffage or way onwards, between thofe vaft precipices that furrounded us. Two hours he wafted in an enquiry, and then returned, to let me know there was no paffage that he could find: the enclofed rocks were one continued chain of unpaffable mountains. Here then I thought was my ne plus ultra. As the man affirmed there was no getting beyond the vaft inclofing cliffs that walled in this charming fpot of earth, I imagined for fome time, that I muft of neceffity return, and give over all thoughts of getting to the borders of Cumberland or Bishoprick that way. It feemed impoffible to

proceed,