their pockets, explaining to them that I wished
to know, not for the purpose of stating it in a
report, which there was little likelihood of my
living to make, but to ascertain if we possessed
the means of relighting our lamp in the event
of its going out. As I expected, every man
had got some, though there is a rule that
matches shall never be carried into a mine.
With the view of economising the oil, I directed
all the lamps to be extinguished but one, and
this I caused to be placed close to the passage
by which the carbonic acid must make its entry
into our place of refuge, so that we might not
be taken quite unawares. It was also agreed
that we should take it in turns to explore the
workings as far as we could go, at certain
intervals, so that no changes should take place
favourable to our escape without our being
aware of it.

Nothing else could be done, except to wait
the result with all the firmness we could exercise.
I made myself as comfortable and secure a seat
as I could, with the blocks of coal lying about:
heaping them up like a throne, so as to raise
myself as far above the ground as possible.
As nothing was said about food, I concluded
that each of us had a little, and wished to keep
what he had for himself. For my part, I had a
box of sandwiches, and a flask of weak brandy-
and-water, without which I never descended
into a mine: not from any fear of accidents, but
because I found such refreshments necessary,
when my stay lasted several hours. I ate only a
very small piece of sandwich, and drank about
a spoonful of the brandy-and-water that evening,
and then slept for several hours. When I awoke
I ceased to have any idea whether it was day or
night. Hour after hour passed in what was
only in the slightest degree removed from total
darkness; and scarcely a word was spoken by
anybody, except when the two men, whose turn
it was, returned from exploring the workings;
when somebody was certain to ask respecting
the advance of the poisonous gas. At first we
all felt great interest in these reports, and when
it came to my turn to make the expedition, both
myself and the miner pushed on as far as
possible. It was our practice to mark the
extreme point reached, and the next two who went
to examine, made it a point to reach this mark if
possible. Sometimes this was attained two or
three times in succession, at other times it was
never seen again, but surrounding objects were
generally sufficient to tell the distance within
which we approached it. After a while most of
us began to manifest indifference, arising, I
imagine, from the weakness consequent on want
of food, and the lethargy  consequent on breathing
an atmosphere largely vitiated by carbonic
acid. I believe that the chief reason of my
retaining a greater amount of vitality than the
rest, arose from my constantly keeping myself
as high above the floor of the pit as it was
possible to reach.

I do not know how long we had been in the
pit when I heard one of the men say, "Tom,
Charley's dead! "  Charley was one of the boys,
and was the first who perished. The manager
was the next who passed away from among us.
Then, very soon after, one of the miners, who
had been to explore the workings, returned
alone, and reported that his companion had
walked away into the gas before he was aware
of his intention, and had disappeared. He
called after him several times, but could get no
answer. He must have been suffocated almost
immediately. Then there came a time when a
man, whose turn it was to make the exploration,
would call on his companion, and receiving
no answer, would find, on holding the lamp close
to his face, that he was dead.

The overlooker who accompanied me on each
inspection was in appearance a middle-aged
man, though in reality but thirty-three years of
age; but this aged appearance is common enough
among the workers in coal-mines who have
gone into the pit when very young. I had
conceived a great liking for him. Within a few
hours of our imprisonment he had told me of
the young wife and the two little children he
had left behind him the last time he left home;
and when he found that I sympathised with
him, which I should have done if he had
expressed his feelings in less affecting terms than
he did, he often recurred to the subject. When
our turn came to make the inspection, he had
been for some time silent. I called him, but
he did not answer or move, he was sitting
just below me, and I stooped and shook his
head, and then I fetched the lamp and held it
to his face. The eyes were only half shut:
his face had the expression of sound sleep.
There was nothing indicative of the slightest
spasm having occurred at the instant when the
change had taken place.

While I was still looking at his face, the blood
was sent rushing back to my heart by an
extraordinary cry, very piercing, and wholly unlike
anything I had ever heard before. The miners lying
about seemed galvanised by it, and came pressing
round the light I held in my hand. I had
thus an opportunity of seeing their faces, and so
emaciated were they, and so strongly did their
eyes and features express the extremity of terror,
that—the cries continuing without cessation—
I could scarcely hold the lamp. To one poor
fellow the fright, in his weakened state, was
fatal; he fell forward, striking his face against
the blocks of coal on which I had been sitting,
and never moved afterwards. One of the miners
at last suggested that it might be the pony, and
I then remembered that I had, as we were
returning from the burning coal, noticed some
straw and hay littered about, but I was too
much excited by the dangers of our situation to
pay any attention to it. We all felt relieved
by the suggestion for the moment, but the
reflection which followed was hardly less alarming,
for, if it were well founded, they all agreed that
the fire must be very close upon us. Indeed,
now that our attention was called to it, we all
perceived the presence of smoke, though in
very small quantity. We went forward. Passing
round a curve at a little distance from our