A Description of the Peak in Derbyshire, from Moritz's Travels in several parts of England.

Having arrived in Derbyshire, a distance of 170 miles from London, the author thus describes the town of Castleton, in which the Peak is situated:"I ascended one of the highest hills, and all at once perceived a beautiful vale below me, which was traversed by rivers and brooks, and inclosed on all sides by hills. In this vale lies Castleton, a small town, with low houses; so named from an old castle, whose ruins are still to be seen here.

"A narrow path, which wound itself down the side of the rock, led me through the vale into the street of Castleton, where I found an inn, and dined. After dinner, I made the best of my way to the cavern.

"A little rivulet, which runs through the middle of the town, led me to its entrance.

"I stood here a few moments, full of wonder and astonishment at the amazing height of the steep rock before me, covered on each side with ivy and other shrubs. At its summit are the decayed walls and towers of an ancient castle, which formerly stood on this rock; and at its foot the mon-strous aperture, or mouth to the entrance of the cavern; where it is totally dark, even at mid-day.

"As I was standing here full of admiration, I perceived at the entrance of the cavern, a man of a rude and rough appearance, who asked me if I wished to see the Peak; and an echo strongly reverberated his coarse voice.

"Answering him in the affirmative, he next inquired if I should want to be carried to the other side of the stream; telling me at the same time what the sum would be which I must pay for it.

"This man had, along with his black stringy hair, and his dirty and tattered clothes, such a singularly wild and infernal look, that he actually struck me as a real Charon: his voice, and the questions he asked me, were not of a kind to remove this notion; so that far from its requiring any effort of imagination, I found it not easy to avoid believing, that at length I had actually reached Avernus, - was about to cross Acheron, - and to be ferried by Charon!

"I had no sooner agreed to his demand, than he told me, all I had to do was boldly to follow him, - and thus we entered the cavern.

"In the entrance of the cavern lay the trunk of a tree that had been cut down, on which several of the boys of the town were playing.

"Our way seemed to be altogether on a descent, though not steep; so that the light, which came in at the mouth of the cavern near the entrance, gradually forsook it; and when we had gone forward a few steps farther, 1 was astonished by a sight, which, of all others, I here the least expected: I perceived to the right, in the hollow of the cavern, a whole subterranean village, where the inhabitants, on account of its being Sunday, were resting from their work, and with happy and cheerful looks were sitting at the doors of their huts along with their children.

"We had scarcely passed these small subterranean houses, when I perceived a number of large wheels, on which on weekdays these human moles, the inhabitants of the cavern, made ropes.

"I fancied I here saw the wheel of Ixion, and the incessant labour of the Danaides.

"The opening through which the light came, seemed, as we descended, every moment to become less and less, and the darkness at every step to increase, till at length only a few rays appeared, as if darting through a crevice, and just tinge-ing the small clouds of smoke which at dusk raised themselves to the mouth of the cavern.

"This gradual increase of darkness awakens in a contemplative mind a soft melancholy. As you go down the gentle descent of the cavern, you can hardly help fancying the moment is come when you are about to bid a final farewell to the abodes of mortals.

"At length the great cavern in the rock closed itself, in the same manner as heaven and earth seem to join in the horizon. We then approached a little door, where an old woman came out of one of the huts, and brought two candles, of which we each took one.

"My guide now opened the door, which completely shut out the faint glimmering of daylight, which till then it was still possible to perceive, and led us to the inmost centre of this dreary temple of old Chaos and Night, as if till now we had only been traversing the outer coasts of their dominions. The rock was here so low that we were obliged to stoop very much for some few steps, in order to get through; but how great was my astonishment, when we had passed this narrow passage, and again stood upright, at once to perceive, as welt as the feeble light of the candles would permit, the amazing length, breadth, and height of the cavern, compared to which, the monstrous opening through which we had already passed was nothing

"After we had wandered here more than an hour, as beneath a dark and dusky sky, on a level sandy soil, the rock gradu-ally lowered itself, and we suddenly found ourselves on the edge of a broad river, which, from the glimmering of our candles amid the total darkness, suggested a variety of interesting reflections. To the side of this river a small boat was moored, with some straw in its bottom. Into this vehicle my guide desired me to step, and lay myself down in it quite flat, because, as he said, towards the middle of the river the rock would almost touch the water.

"When I had laid myself down as directed, he himself jumped into the water, and drew the boat after him. All around us was one still, solemn, and deadly silence; and as the boat advanced, the rock seemed to stoop, and come nearer and nearer to us, till at length it nearly touched my face; and, as I lay, I could hardly hold the candle upright. I seemed to myself to be in a coffin rather than in a boat, as I had no room to stir hand or foot till we had passed this frightful strait, and the rock rose again on the other side,- where my guide once more handed me ashore.

"The cavern was now become all at once broad and high, and then suddenly it was again low and narrow. I observed on both sides, as we passed along, a prodigious number of great and small petrified plants and animals; but these we could not examine, unless we had been disposed to spend some days in the cavern.

"And thus we arrived at the opposite side, at the second river or stream, which, however, was not so broad as the first, as one may see across it to the other side : over this stream my guide carried me on his shoulders, because there was here, no boat to ferry us.

"From thence we only went a few steps farther, when we came to a very small piece of water, which extended itself lengthways, and led us to the end of the cavern.

"The path along the edge of this water was wet and slippery, and sometimes so very narrow that I could hardly set one foot before the other.

"Notwithstanding, I wandered with pleasure on this subterraneous shore, and was regaling myself with the interesting contemplation of all these various wonderful objects, in this land of darkness, and shadow of death, - when, all at once, something like music at a distance sounded in my ears. 1 instantly stopped, full of astonishment, and eagerly asked my guide what this might mean. He answered, "Only have patience, and you shall soon see." But as we advanced, the sounds of harmony seemed to die away, the noise became weaker, and at length it appeared to dwindle into a gentle hissing or hum. like distant drops of falling rain.

"It is not difficult to imagine how great was my wonder, when ere long I actually saw and felt a violent shower of rain falling from the rock as from a thick cloud, threatening to ex tinguish our candles, and leave us in entire darkness. It was this that had caused the melancholy sound which I had heard at a distance, the soft notes of which had been assisted by the distant echo.

"To this shower which fell from the ceiling or roof of the cavern through the veins of the rock, the inhabitants had given the name of a mizzling rain.

"We continued our march along the sides of the water, and often saw on its banks large apertures of the rock, which seemed to be new or subordinate caverns, all of which we passed without looking into. At length my guide prepared me for one of the finest sights we had yet beheld, and which was now soon to burst on our view.

"We had gone but a few paces farther, when we entered what might easily be taken for a majestic temple, with lofty arches, supported by beautiful pillars, formed by the plastic hand of some ingenious artist.

"This subterraneous temple, in the structure of which no human hand had borne a part, appeared to me at that moment to surpass all the must stupendous buildings I had ever seen, in point of regularity, magnificence, and beauty.

"Deeply impressed with awe and reverence at this grand display of the Creator's works, my mind became insensibly solemnized; and I felt that it became me silently to adore the Author of all, and acknowledge the hand of the divine Architect.