line and moral virtues. He was a good Christian, destitute of resentment, modest and patient. He frequently lived for whole days on a little bread and wine, that he might pay the greater attention to his work. Disinterested in the extreme, he refused every species of reward; liberal with his own he gave much to his friends. His will was comprised in three sentences. 'My soul to God, my body to the earth, and my estate to my nearest relatives." Princes lavished their honors and attention on Buonarotti. When Cosmo I, of Florence, went to Rome, he not only insisted on Angelo's

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being covered, but seated him between his knees almost on them. Ottaviono de Medici solicited him to stand sponsor to his son, and Cardinal Ippolito having heard that the artist was pleased with a Turkish horse belonging to him, sent it, with ten mules laden with corn, and a groom to attend them. Francis I, desired his services, and ordered him to receive three thousand crowns to enable him to undertake the journey. The Emperor Charles V, rose on seeing him and exclaimed: "Emperors may be found, but never your equal."

at eleven o'clock at night, and took our places in a stage for the south. The next day, at sunrise, we were in the centre of Green county, celebrated throughout the state for the excellent tobacco it produces. The country in this part of Kentucky is excessively monotonous; continual forests in the midst of which immense clearings leave exposed a rich soil of deep alluvial or vegetable mould accumulated since the origin of the world. Here the indolent slaves lightly pass the ploughshare through the earth, covering with a little soil the grains of maize or tobacco which they have carelessly sown for their masters; and notwithstanding so much negligence, the broomcorn with its superb tassel of stamens rises to the height of fifteen feet, and the tobacco supports upon strong stems its beautiful pyramid of large and velvet leaves, surmounted by innumerable clusters of bell-shaped flowers. The tobacco known in France, as Virginia, is oftener if it come from America at all, the production of Kentucky, more particularly of Green county. Virginia is exhausted, our soil is

still fertile; but improvidence and cupidity will very soon produce here the same effects which they have already caused on the other side of the Alleghanies. The day of the 10th of August had not yet closed when the aspect of the country through which we travelled entirely changed; we were about to enter the Barrens. Eighty years ago no European had settled in this country, and Kentucky, or "the bloody ground," was either the property of the Cherokees or a neutral territory upon which many savage tribes came to chase in turn. In these great hunts the trees it is said were cut down, the underwood burnt, and the surface of the ground became a kind of smooth plain where the game of the red man could neither be concealed nor escape his arrow. It is an astonishing fact that a third, or at least a fourth of Kentucky, a space which is equal to a third of France, was found thus stripped and bare when the first Virginians emigrated thither. They then attributed the absence of trees to the sterility of the soil, and applied to it the name of the Barrens, which I freely translate into French, by the word landes. Since then the trees and shrubs have again covered the

surface, and now present all the freshness of youth and an immense richness of vegetation; while nevertheless a name, now so inappropriate, will probably attach to it forever; because in languages reason never prevails against custom. Nothing could be more agreeable to us than the sight of the charming country which we were about to enter. There were no more fallen trees, no more great oaks scathed by lightning, no more immense vegetable remains which render the forests of America so desolate-in the eyes of a naturalist, as it were a field of battle strewn with dead bodies. In the Barrens nature is young; one does not yet see there the impress of death, it is a lovely country, a paradise freshly created. Verdant trees rise towards heaven and interlace their vigorous limbs: we see, and feel that life circulates in their branches, that the vessels which convey their nourishment are not yet closed by age. This continued forest of fifty years growth, is like a parterre of flowers in the month of May. But before arriving at the cavern which is to be the end of our journey, some general considerations upon the geological formations of this country would aid us to comprehend the astonishing phenomena which we were about to witness. All the learned agree in classing the vast plain which extends from the Alleghanies to the Rocky mountains, and from the lakes of Canada to the gulf of Mexico, among the secondary and transition formations. But this classification is excessively vague, and that branch of the geological series comprehends in all parts of the globe an astonishing variety of earths which science has not yet agreed to arrange. Each author has upon this point his own system, and it may be confidently asserted that the great difficulties of geology consist in this. In considering the features of Kentucky, we shall find it naturally divided into two regions, each perfectly characterised. The north and the east present principally specimens of the colithic and carbonic groups: lime abounds under the form of fossils; streams of water are numerous on the surface of the soil which is rendered excessively rich by powerful alluvions. The south and

west on the contrary, are undoubtedly to be placed in the group of red and mixed earths, and astonishing as it may appear, fossils there are almost totally wanting. I have discovered in that part of the country only some cyatophylla of three different kinds. Streams are rarely visible, their sources find subterranean conduits or lose themselves deep in the earth, and the soil thus presents beneath its surface a multitude of caverns and channels where the sand produced from the decomposition of the free-stone constantly accumulates. When the natural pillars which sustain these great vaults, fall under the weight of the earth and trees above them, a hole or cavity of a tunnel shape is formed at the surface, where the waters are engulfed, and thence filter into deeper caverns, depositing the lime which they contain in solution under the fantastic forms of varied stalactites. This is the whole secret of the formation of the cavern which we were about to penetrate. The grand, almost terrible aspect that the hills and vallies assume, at the bottom of which is the entrance of the Mammoth cave, prepares the soul for the emotions it is about to experience. The gigantic trees, the piles of rocks, the increasing obscurity, all vividly impress the imagination. The sun scarcely penetrates into the bottom of the valley, one seems about to quit the regions of light for that sombre empire which the Greeks peopled with phantoms and wandering spirits. As we approached it, the first sentiment was that of wonder and a sort of fear. A cavern thirty-five feet broad, twenty high, and at least fifty feet deep is terminated interiorly by a narrow gate which marks the limits of light and darkBefore passing the threshold a spontaneous and invincible movement impels one to return, to throw a last look on the blue heaven which God has extended for man's pavilion. Oh! how brilliant then appears the light which plays at the entrance of the cave in the large leaves of the wild balsamines, or on the waving branches of the thorns. But we must proceed; the negro who serves as guide would laugh at your simplicity if you spoke one word to him of the sentiments which fill your soul.

ness.

The threshold is past, and we are in the main cave. A nave without support, one hundred fathoms long, from eighty to one hundred and ten feet high, and fifty broad, forms the prodigious sarcophagus in which you are for the moment buried. The light of the lamps which the travellers hold in their hands is lost in the depth of the abyss. You see it at the distance of a few paces struggling against the shadows which darken around it. To discern an object, we must stop, enlarge the pupil and hold the lamp near.

The flame of a torch dissemi

nated in a space much too vast to be fully enlightened, adds more grandeur to the objects which surround us. No human architecture has ever furnished such imposing models. The gothic cathedrals of old Europe do not so entirely overpower the mind by their gigantic mass. At the end of this long avenue many branches of the main cave open in different directions. They bear some resemblance to the catacombs of Rome. But the emotions of the soul are of a very different character. It is not the sweet and melancholy remembrance of those sad yet glorious days when so many martyrs were immolated, it is not that unutterable sentiment of the Christian at the sight of the blood stained cradle of his dear and holy religion, but in considering these obscure galleries which extend to unknown distances and in various directions, the soul reviews the terrible catastrophes which formerly created these tortuous and sombre avenues. Whether one goes back to those first days when the earth, still under the action of the creative power, was a prey to the convulsions which preceded equilibrium and order, when, according to the energetic expression of Scripture, the mountains were exalted and the valleys made low; whether the mind stops in ascending the long succession of ages at the frightful deluge which overwhelmed the terrestrial surface with deep waters; whether one is contented with supposing a general cause, or seeks to explain all by a partial catastrophe, by an earthquake acting simultaneously with an inundation, or the sudden change of the course of waters, one must always suppose a prodigious lapse of

time and an extraordinary power to produce such results. The general impression produced in my mind by the sight of such a scene, is a sort of conviction that a sudden revolution of nature was at first necessary to commence the excavation of this cavern. The slow action of time is a term without meaning if secondary causes also are not reckoned: an inconsiderable stream could never have hollowed out, no matter in how long a series of ages, in such vast proportions, channels so multiplied, so monstrously great, and which have evidently been filled to the brink with water. But if we suppose, in addition, a powerful stream of water there must have been from the beginning, a way under the earth sufficiently large to allow it to pass. But this digression is already too long, time presses, we must proceed. Not wishing to prolong our first visit over five hours, we took another day for the exploration of the river. We traversed a suite of grottoes and avenues, such as are generally seen where nature has created subterranean cavities. The only thing which struck us here was, the evidences of the little respect which travellers have shown for this wonderful curiosity of the new world. The calcareous incrustations which formerly decorated the "Gothic avenue," the "temple," the "chapel," &c. now strew the ground; the wrecks only remain suspended from the walls and vaults to excite the regrets of the traveller; thousands of names also are inscribed on every side, as if the authors of these devastations feared that they should not be known. We stopped in the small apartment called the Haunted chamber, where those who first penetrated into the cavern found mummies, which it is said are now in Peale's museum. Among many others, the body of a woman, swathed and bound with little fillets like the Egyptian mummies, attracted particular attention: from her arm was suspended a bag filled with needles and jewels; she was seated, and of small stature; her features indicated a variety of the human race different from the red man, and if this singular fact is connected with the curious discoveries of Mr. Stephens in central America, where he

saw the remains of pyramids and colossal statues, of palaces where the full arch is not known, covered with hieroglyphics and bas-reliefs, figures of gods and heroes so like those which are still found in the ruins of Memphis and of Thebes, one cannot doubt the identity of the ancient Egyptians with the primitive American race. The valuable book of the envoy extraordinary from the United States to Guatimala is of itself a perfect demonstration of this identity, notwithstanding the preconceptions and prejudices of the author, who, in order to follow the systems of some illustrious travellers and geographers, draws at the end of his work a consequence contrary to all the laws of induction. But the discovery of the mummies in the mammoth cave is as one may say, the final destruction of the theory of autochtones,* borrowed from the Greeks, to the shame of our age, and sustained without reflection by learned men of the first order. If what a traveller relates is true, this cavern is destined to furnish hereafter important information upon the ancient population of the American continent. While excavations were being made here in 1810, for the purpose of obtaining saltpetre for the manufacture of powder, of which the republic was absolutely in want during its second struggle with England, one of the workmen found, it is said, two or three other mummies, which he returned to their first resting-place, and covered again with earth that he might not trouble the ashes of the dead. This fact is related by Davidson in his "Excursion to the Mammoth cave." Who knows then if hereafter one may not meet here with another Necropolis, as worthy of the researches of the learned as that of old Egypt: I love to hope that Providence will grant this favor to our posterity, and will thus convince the most incredulous of the unity of the human race, so monstrously combated even at this day. The "haunted chamber" suggested to us the preceding reflections; the sight of the "temple" surprised us after all the wonders we had seen.

*This expression designates the first inhabitants of a country, in opposition to those, who may have afterwards established themselves therein.

A circular space which the guides say comprehends about eight acres, and which more moderate visiters reduce to four, presents itself far below the surface of the earth, whose immense vault is entirely unsupported. The action of the waters which formerly created it, has adorned its walls with draperies, festooned in various fantastical or graceful forms, as in gothic churches the chisel of the architect has designed arabesques, foliage, and elegant garlands. The pantheon of Agrippa then returned to my thoughts, as the sublime diminutive of the colossal vault before me. The last complete remnant of Roman architecture at that time seemed to me like the little model in clay, which the sculptor forms before taking his chisel to design the athletic members, the swelling muscles, the bold proportions of the colossal gladiator which he is about to make. A thousand other objects worthy of being described were here to be seen, of which I might speak were it my wish to depict the curious domes, the numerous halls or picturesque avenues which the guide showed us, giving them names either well or ill applied. Thus the Devil's Forge was shown by the side of Hercules' and Pompey's Pillars, the Parapet of Napoleon was next to Vulcan's arm chair; Lot's wife constituted the pendant of an elephant's head. But a serious study may become in a manner a puerile and ridiculous amusement. Our guide was astonished that we preferred to the examination of these curiosities, a draught of the water of a sulphurous fountain which flows in their midst. This surprise was redoubled when he saw me take a flask from my pocket and fill it with this water which I intended to analyze. Alas! the flask was afterwards broken, and I am yet ignorant whether or not this fountain has properties distinct from the other sulphurous springs which are very abundant in Kentucky. We had entered the cavern at four o'clock in the afternoon; it was twilight when we left it. The next day, before the sun had yet appeared in the east, we descended again into the grotto, and without stopping at the curiosities in detail, we directed our steps towards the river whose course we proposed to examine.

Before reaching it we proceeded about four miles, sometimes over the rock itself or heaped stones which had fallen from the vault above, sometimes over fine sand, filled with pebbles. In many places, especially in the "Labyrinth," near "Gorin's dome," agates, chalcedons, and opals are found, which are for the most part common and of little value; but future researches may probably produce more valuable results. During our excursion, one of the negroes found a stone of the size of a pigeon's egg, and gave it to a Maryland lady who was of our party. I could not at that moment assure myself of its nature, but judging from external appearances I should have taken it for one of the most beautiful white opals I had ever seen. Before arriving at the river we passed over the gulf called the "Bottomless Pit." Two years ago this was the termination of all excursions; an abyss, which was believed to be fathomless, presented itself in the only path of the cavern. The distant noise of the waters of the river, which, repeated by the echoes of the cavern, resembles the dull roaring of a cascade, the sight of the disordered piles of rocks, the sudden contraction which causes the arch above to descend nearly to the pathway, all conspired to produce the fear that death would be the consequence of another step. But one traveller more daring than his predecessors, took a watch which showed the seconds, seated himself on the brink of the abyss, threw into it a stone, and observed that after having rebounded against the sides of the gulf it finally stopped producing a noise louder than that which had preceded. The calculation, after many trials gave him an approximate depth of one hundred and forty feet English. From the peculiar sound of the waters, he judged, besides, that beyond this precipice he should find, notwithstanding the momentary contraction of the cavern, other vaults and other avenues, larger, perhaps, than any he had yet seen. Arming himself then with courage, he threw a ladder transversely over the mouth of the gulf and clung to it with his feet and hands. A single negro accompanied him, and struck with a superstitious horror, solemnly an

nounced to him that he would perish. The prediction had almost proved true; the ladder, which was scarcely long enough, was but slightly supported at its opposite extremity, and at the moment when the adventurer thought to touch the other side, it slipped. The negro uttered a cry of terror, imagining that the hydra of the abyss had punished the white man for his audacious sacrilege; but the intrepid traveller, at the moment of the greatest danger, preserved all his presence of mind. While falling he reached out his hand, seized a point of the rock which happily did not give away, and not yet intimidated, soon found himself at the entrance of a new cavern. The negro, emboldened by the unexpected success of so rash an attempt, went to procure a longer ladder, passed in the same manner as the white man had done, and returned with him by the same route, after having seen the banks of the subterranean river towards which we were now directing our steps. It is scarcely necessary to say that at present a bridge of wood, thrown across the gulf, offers to visiters every facility for passing without danger, and every one is now astonished that such a trifle had proved a barrier so long.

It is undoubtedly surprising to find a river so far from day-light; it is wonderful to see a shadowy valley in the bosom of the earth, surrounded by hills, passes, and ravines, peopled with living beings, presenting with the exception of light all the characteristics of those valleys where we often love to wander. After having descended a little hill covered with sand and scattered rocks we found ourselves upon the borders of a new Styx. The river may be at this point about twenty feet wide; it is probably as much in depth. It runs over a bed of fine sand and pretty pebbles. Where it becomes shallower, and its banks are covered only to the depth of a few inches with water, a great number of craw-fish are found, generally small, stunted, and entirely white; they are sometimes, however, of the ordinary size, nearly black, and fatter than the other variety. The most striking characteristic of the two species, is the absence of eyes, owing, undoubtedly, to the total in