"I am still rather warm," was his reply; "but do not let me hinder you. Swim in, I will follow immediately."

No, no," I answered; "that is not as we arranged. We must all enter together."

"But why all?"

"Because it would otherwise appear as if you were afraid, my Come, let me assist you to undress.'

"Oh no. But pray leave me alone; I really am too heated."
"Very well, then, we will wait a little."

The notary at last began to remove his upper clothing.
"Go in," said he; "I will certainly follow immediately."

dear sir.

"No, Mr. Notary," I replied, seizing him by the shoulders; "if you do not prepare for the water immediately, I'll throw you in!"

The words, spoken half in earnest and half in jest, had the desired effect, and he was speedily freed from all artificial covering. Jump in, however, he would not. I availed myself of a favourable opportunity, gave him a slight push, and plump! he lay in the water, from which he immediately emerged, shooting up like a cork. He was one of those who by nature can scarcely sink in water. We strangers now sprang in, and frisked merrily round him. He had taken my sport in good part, but felt by no means inclined to join in our mirth, for the eventful moment was now approaching. Angelo, squatting down in the little boat something after the custom of the Turks, drove the blazing pitch towards the opening. Not one of us, I believe, was perfectly free from fear. Not that I was terrified at the fabulous reports I had heard; but I certainly thought of the horrid sharks referred to by the canonico, and asked Angelo if he thought we were in danger from them? His answer, "There is no cause for fear-they never come between rocks," did not afford me much satisfaction; for it was all very well for him to say so with his legs in the boat, and mine in the water. Now, however, he had reached the opening, and groped his way in by the side of the cavern. The thick smoke of the burning pitch was extremely oppressive both to him and me as we made our way under the low arched roof, and I was compelled to shut my eyes to avoid the disagreeable sensation. reopening them, everything was dark around me except where Angelo was groping his way along the humid wall, and it was only by the reverberation of the breaking waves that I could form some idea of the extent of the place. I swam on in strange and anxious expectation, straining my eyes in vain to catch a glimpse of the looked-for antiquities, when I observed my friend and the notary, who followed me, both turn at the same time to make their exit, and glanced round hooting at their fears; but-good Heavens! what a sight met my eyes. I sprang, involuntarily, almost out of the liquid element, overcome by the most horrible feelings; for I now perceived that the water beneath me bore the appearance of inflamed spirits, burning fearfully blue. For the moment, dazzled with the brilliancy of the colour, I imagined that it was a volcanic phenomenon; as I became sensible, however, that the temperature of the water still remained the same, I cast my eyes towards the roof, supposing that the beautiful spectacle must have its origin in reflection; but there the dark and frowning rock alone met my gaze, and, with my back turned to

On

Angelo's pitch fire, I began at last to make out its sombre shape. The water still remained wonderful in its properties, and when the waves were for an instant quiet, I felt as if I were swimming in the clear blue sky, and, almost intoxicated with delight, I cried to my companions," By all that is lovely, come here! Were there nothing in the grotto but this beautiful water, it would still remain a world's wonder. Come, fear not; there are neither sharks nor devils to be seen, but the most splendid display of colouring ever beheld!"

Emboldened by my words, the two worthies took fresh courage, and again entered, and participated in my transport. We were not, however, able to comprehend the wonder which caused us so much astonishment. We could now understand the origin of the terror experienced by the priests who had entered the cavern some two centuries before us. Angelo had in the mean time reached the background, and discovered a favourable point for landing, whither we accordingly swam, and discovered, on stepping on shore, that the cavern extended considerably farther into the island.

"There's the emperor's passage!" shouted the notary, before he was well out of the water.

I thought it was not unlikely, took a lantern from Angelo in which a small lamp was burning, and went, shivering, onwards. The ground was very uneven and slippery, and pointed stalactites, hanging from the roof on every side, threw perplexing shadows on the curiously-shapen walls, and made me think every now and then that I saw something moving. My phantasy, excited by the incomprehensible phenomenon of the water, conjured up innumerable thoughts and shapes, and the idea seized me that we had stumbled upon the residence of a horde of pirates. I now suddenly observed the reflection of my lamp grow paler, and stopped to regard it more attentively. My friends asked me the reason of my shrinking back. I had almost replied" that I saw a skeleton;" but, on throwing the light of the lamp full on the object, I perceived that it was only a stalactite to which my imagination had assigned so horrible a shape. I stepped forward, but again my heart was almost in my mouth as I found my shadow, not behind me, as before, but at my side. "What can cause that?" thought I; some door must open this way, and I stand a chance of being set upon by murderers, with little hope of assistance from my companions.' I turned round, and perceived an opening, evidently artificially made, which looked towards the entrance of the grotto from which the light streamed in.

66

"Here is a sign of man's hand," cried I to my friends- "a window hewn in the rock."

The notary, followed by Fries, scrambled towards me as fast as the slippery rock would permit.

"A hewn window, certainly," said the notary, in a self-satisfied tone. "My head for it, this is the emperor's secret way."

From the window the grotto was visible in all its splendour; and we could perceive the large and deep basin, vaulted over with picturesque masses of rock, from which elegantly-formed stalactites were pendant on all sides, glittering in the faint blue light of the water rolling like a heaven beneath, whilst the waves, breaking on the landing-place, to

which animal remains had imparted a deep red tinge, dashed up showers of sparkling brilliants, and the bright daylight gleaming through the entrance shed a moon-like light over its narrow path.

Forgetting both the emperor and his passage in the beauty of the scene, we sprang into the water for our drawing materials, to make a sketch of the grotto, with the view of endeavouring at some future period to commit it to canvas. Returning with the needful articles, we seated ourselves in the window, one holding the lantern to the other, and completed two views of the place. In the mean time, little Pagano and the muleteer had given our boat in charge of some other which had approached, and swam shouting in, darting about in the splendid water like imps of darkness, and throwing fiery sparks on all sides. Our host, however, who had business to transact in Capri, was compelled to leave us, much against his inclination. On the outside he found the owner of the property, who, having heard our shouts, had sprung down the rocks like a goat, and with open mouth and inquisitive gaze was peering into the cavern when he made his exit. Not a little astonished to see a wellknown face, he exclaimed:

"Can that be you, Mr. Notary, coming out? What shouting is that within?"

"The devil's within!" cried the now courageous notary, waggishly. "Look in yourself, and you will see him."

The astonished proprietor soon gathered courage, threw off his garments, and swam in, meeting with a hearty reception from the muleteer and the landlord's son. The huzzaing, the cave, the water, the fire, and our arrangements for sketching, all combined to increase his astonishment; and he more than once gave utterance to his feelings of wonder at our temerity in entering a place which he, although the owner of it, whose life had been spent on the spot, had never dared to explore.

Having now completed our sketches, we resolved to penetrate farther into the cave, and, lantern in hand, I led the way along a passage on our left, the path winding like a labyrinth, in consequence of the position of the stalactites, and frequently leading us over a surface of stony incrustation scarcely half an inch thick, which, however, bore us safely. This passage brought us at last through an entrance, evidently formed by human hand, again into the large grotto. We retraced our steps, and, a little more to the right, discovered a longer passage, along which we proceeded.

In our way we stumbled on some stones, which bore the appearance of masonry, and on which the proprietor immediately threw himself, exclaiming, "Here is a treasure! It is mine!" Nothing was, however, discovered, and we enjoyed a hearty laugh at the expense of the poor man, who, however, was not to be discouraged on that account, for the scene was repeated several times, to our great amusement, until at length a little circumstance bereft him of all courage. He had been eagerly skipping on before me, when he suddenly stopped short and turned tail, almost dashing the lantern from my hand in his unexpected retreat. "What is the matter?" I asked, astonished at his movement. "Listen!" said he, in a whisper, pressing on me, and grasping my arm; and I could feel how he trembled. The muleteer and the little Pagano laid their fingers on their lips, and were silent. We now heard a

noise like dropping water sounding out of the pitchy darkness of the passage, and finding this was the cause of our treasure-seeker's fear we stepped forwards. The lantern, however, now burned strangely, quite dimly when held near the ground, and brightly when held above our heads. This did not escape the notice of the three Capraers, who exclaimed, crossing themselves, that there must certainly be something wrong in the place, and begged of us to return. To this we assented, as being only prudent; but before doing so I stepped a little farther forward, holding the lantern on high, and observed a thick heavy vapour rising out of the ground, which I knew must be "fire-damp." Never having seen this phenomenon before, we strangers stood for an instant to regard it; the islanders, however, besought us to return, and were already making the best of their way out in the darkness, not one of them wishing to be last. Amusing as this hasty retreat appeared to us, we grew rather serious on discovering that we were no longer in the passage we had at first penetrated. The confused groping about of those who preceded me distracted my attention, and prevented my observing our error, even by the light of the lantern, until the spot we at length reached was strikingly different from any we had before seen. "Heaven save us!" exclaimed the islanders, on perceiving from its greater size and regularity that we were in a new passage.

At the point where we had discovered our mistake I now laid some stones in a certain position as a mark, and begged of them all to search this, which I concluded was the principal passage, the other appearing to me too small for a Roman work, expecting by the aid of the stones to be enabled to retrace our steps easily. The islanders, however, entreated me to give up my new adventure, and my friend was on the point of calling my attention to the small supply of oil remaining, when the light suddenly became extinguished, and we were left enveloped in impenetrable darkness. Thus lost in the thick gloom, without any knowledge of the locality—for it was now impossible to find the mark I had madethe islanders lost all heart, trembling with fear, and looking only for a death of starvation, and crying to all the saints for help. As I laid all the blame of our unfortunate situation on myself, my utmost efforts were alone requisite to enable me to preserve my presence of mind.

"There is nothing now left for us but trust in Providence," I cried. "One of us must stand still whilst the other four search about for passages. By calling to each other we shall easily keep together, and set ourselves right by the one who remains here."

This idea was approved of by my German friend, and we were about carrying it into execution, when a terrible cry resembling the roar of a wild beast penetrated through the darkness, causing us all to huddle together in fear. The cry was repeated.

"God be praised!" exclaimed Michelo, the donkey-driver, "it is Angelo's voice which the echo renders so fearful-he is shouting Michelo !" "He is in truth an angel!" I cried. "He is not far distant, and we shall soon find the way out."

We moved cautiously forward, now shouting, then listening, in the direction of the sound, and had hardly gone fifty paces when we perceived a faint light, and shortly after the hewn window. After the thick darkness, the wonderful illumination of the water shone upon us with

twofold magnificence, and we all hailed good Angelo with a joyous "Eh viva!" He was still paddling about in his skiff; the fire, however, had burnt out, and as we had been so long a time absent he feared we might have met with an accident, and had shouted so lustily-half in fright for himself, and half for us. Gladly we plunged together into the subterranean sky, and as it was now ruffled by a fresh breeze Angelo begged of us to quit the grotto, observing that we must hurry if we hoped to complete the circuit of the island. We once more landed, threw our portfolios and camp-stools into the skiff which had carried the fire, regained the beautiful element, and swam out full of delight, but without the slightest idea as to the cause of the colour of the water, fully determined, on my part at least, to investigate the cause of it thoroughly at another time. The islanders thought themselves heroes, and looked with feelings of pride on the entrance to the grotto, thanking St. Anthony, however, that they had at length emerged. The donkey-driver anticipated a glorious reception on the part of the inhabitants of Capri, put the skiff into the smaller of the two boats, and went on board himself with the younger Pagano (the elder had already gone with a fisherman in another boat to Capri), whilst we embarked with Angelo in the larger.

"Does no one row us but you?" I asked.

"Be comforted,” replied Angelo; "I am as good as two."

He then seized the oars, hung on the pegs, and rowed us out of the small bay, turning to the left, round the north-west part of the island. We observed more small caves in that direction, and, as the wind became fresh, very beautiful breakers on the numberless rocks. In a wedgeshaped opening the waves hurried in, dashing up on high in a pillar of water, and descending in dazzling spray, refulgent with all the colours of the rainbow. As we passed the numerous cliffs steering southwards, the waves rose higher and higher, and the shore became more bold and precipitous. With a firm grasp, Angelo battled with the foaming waters, whilst our light bark with its painted eyes danced over the sea like a dolphin. My companion could not enjoy the pleasing spectacle of Angelo's daring; having but recently recovered from a fever, the tossing of our boat brought on a severe headache.

"Saint Anthony!" suddenly, however, shrieked Angelo. One of the oar-pins had given in the hard struggle, and Angelo, losing his balance, allowed the oar to slip through his hand, when it was borne on the boiling waves, and was dashed against the rugged shore. I was terrified; for with a single oar what could we do in such raging waters. Swimming would prove of little avail, for the jagged rocks mounted almost perpendicularly to a height of 1000 feet. Our danger was increased by submerged cliffs, whose presence the broken waters and lashed-up foam too plainly indicated. On a projecting ledge I observed a man, who had lowered himself by a rope to collect plants. On seeing us he flung down his staff, and raised his hands heavenward at beholding the danger we were in. To descend further was impossible, and to expect assistance from him, although he appeared most anxious to aid us, was therefore out of the question.

Angelo did not suffer our embarrassment to deprive him of his pre