American Republican And Baltimore Daily Clipper

MAMMOTH CAVE—OLE BULL. The editor of the Louisville Journal paid a visit to the Mammoth Cave, in company with Ole Bull, a few days ago, and thus briefly alludes to the wonders of the place, and the musical power of his companion:

We passed sixteen hours within the cave, during which we travelled eighteen miles, but at present we cannot attempt a description of it. We intend shortly to spend two or three weeks there, and then we shall probably endeavor to record a sketch of what we see and feel. No language, however, can ever give even a faint idea of the visitor's impressions. For years we have been reading descriptions of the cave given by different travellers, many of them eloquent and powerful, and we fancied that we had something like a correct conception of the great wonder, but we felt, on seeing it for ourselves, how poor and vain were all efforts at description and how infinitely all preconceived ideas must fall below the vast and tremendous reality. At every step of our progress for miles through the mighty cavern, the beautiful, the wild, the majestic, the gloomy, the mysterious, and the terrific, burst upon us on either hand, and above our heads and beneath our feet, exciting impressions that can never be told or forgotten. How strange that there are multitudes in the West, ay, even in Kentucky, that seem content to pass their lives without beholding this, the grandest and most stupendous of the works of God. Such a feeling is indeed a sin against nature and ingratitude to the Almighty.

We cannot here omit to mention, that Ole Bull took his violin into the cave and gave us some of his noblest performances, at the points most remarkable for their wonderful echoes. The music was like no earthly music. It seemed, indeed, superhuman. The whole company were as mute and motionless as statues, and tears, copious and gushing tears, streamed from every eye.