The Blue Grotto of Capri.

Te Aroha News, Volume V, Issue 211, 16 July 1887, Page 3 (Supplement)

The Blue Grotto of Capri.

Tin, Blue Grotto, the pride of Capri and oiie of the chief curiosities of the clay of Naples, are nob to be destroyed by a modi m vanda from American shores. As i- well known to \i-,itors, the entrance is so lmv and narrow that it is only with a calm -t.a that ingress to its beauties can be ob- < -ined. Colonel McKowen. who has purcLn r ed the ground above the grotto, proposed to bore a staircase through the cliff .-o a- to procure an easy access to this natural curiosity at all times, without lotting in the garish light of day upon this lovely fairy-like structure. The grotto is 105 feet in length, with 100 feet as its greatest width ; its highest part is 40 feet above watei, with an average depth of 50 feet. It is Arell known that the indescribable beautiful ultramarine colour and glow, whether upon the walls of this natural cave, upon the calm surface of the water, or down in its clear crystalline depths, depend upon the light entering from the exterioi v, aiers by the small aperture at the sea level, and being refracted upward into the grotto. More than fifty years ago a Frenchman tiied to give an idea of the splendid effect of this singularly transmitted light through the blue waters of the Mediterranean into tho subterranean cave by the following matter-of-fact oomparipon : " All these combinations produce aluminous effect the most surprising that I have ever seen, and I can only give an idea of it to the effect produced by a great glass or crystal jar filled with clear, sparkling, blue liquid (such as decorates our pharmacies) when a- brilliant light is placed behind it." One of tho most striking effects is produced by the diving and swimming of huge Newfoundland dogs, the animals appearing to form one mass of bright stars in the foaming water. The poor boatmen fear that they will be the sufferers in case these improvements are made, so that the matter is still under consideration by the law courts at Naples.

ISTew Definitions : — Beauty — A chimera ; a personal quality or charm, resulting from the ufee of toilet soap. Happiness— The consciousness of exciting envy in the minds of others. Recreation — An exhausting form of labour, an exemption from rest ; an attempt at physical improvement, or relief from mental vacuity, ending in melancholia, or bankruptcy. Insanity — A condition of ,=elf-abandonment preceding an act of orimo. — " Life."