COAL TOWN
THREE years after the events which have just been related， the guide-books recommended as a "great attraction，" to the numerous tourists who roam over the county of Stirling， a visit of a few hours to the mines of New Aberfoyle.
No mine in any country， either in the Old or New World， could present a more curious aspect.
To begin with， the visitor was transported without danger or fatigue to a level with the workings， at fifteen hundred feet below the surface of the ground. Seven miles to the southwest of Callander opened a slanting tunnel， adorned with a castellated entrance， turrets and battlements.
This lofty tunnel gently sloped straight to the stupendous crypt， hollowed out so strangely in the bowels of the earth.
A double line of railway， the wagons being moved by hydraulic power， plied from hour to hour to and from the village thus buried in the subsoil of the county， and which bore the rather ambitious title of Coal Town.
Arrived in Coal Town， the visitor found himself in a place where electricity played a principal part as an agent of heat and light.
Although the ventilation shafts were numerous， they were not sufficient to admit much daylight into New Aberfoyle， yet it had abundance of light. This was shed from numbers of electric discs； some suspended from the vaulted roofs， others hanging on the natural pillars--all， whether suns or stars in size， were fed by continuous currents produced from electro-magnetic machines.
When the hour of rest arrived， an artificial night was easily produced all over the mine by disconnecting the wires.
Below the dome lay a lake of an extent to be compared to the Dead Sea of the Mammoth caves--a deep lake whose transparent waters swarmed with eyeless fish， and to which the engineer gave the name of Loch Malcolm.
There， in this immense natural excavation， Simon Ford built his new cottage， which he would not have exchanged for the finest house in Prince's Street， Edinburgh. This dwelling was situated on the shores of the loch， and its five windows looked out on the dark waters， which extended further than the eye could see. Two months later a second habitation was erected in the neighborhood of Simon Ford's cottage： this was for James Starr. The engineer had given 337 himself body and soul to New Aberfoyle， and nothing but the most imperative necessity ever caused him to leave the pit.
There， then， he lived in the midst of his mining world.
On the discovery of the new field， all the old colliers had hastened to leave the plow and harrow， and r閟um？the pick and mattock.
Attracted by the certainty that work would never fail， allured by the high wages which the prosperity of the mine enabled the company to offer for labor， they deserted the open air for an underground life， and took up their abode in the mines.
The miners' houses， built of brick， soon grew up in a picturesque fashion； some on the banks of Loch Malcolm， others under the arches which seemed made to resist the weight that pressed upon them， like the piers of a bridge. So was founded Coal Town， situated under the eastern point of Loch Katrine， to the north of the county of Stirling. It was a regular settlement on the banks of Loch Malcolm. A chapel， dedicated to St. Giles， overlooked it from the top of a huge rock， whose foot was laved by the waters of the subterranean sea.
When this underground town was lighted up by the bright rays thrown from the discs， hung from the pillars and arches， its aspect was so strange， so fantastic， that it justified the praise of the guide-books， and visitors flocked to see it.
It is needless to say that the inhabitants of Coal Town were proud of their place. They rarely left their laboring village-- in that imitating Simon Ford， who never wished to go out again.
The old overman maintained that it always rained "up there，" and， considering the climate of the United Kingdom， it must be acknowledged that he was not far wrong.
All the families in New Aberfoyle prospered well， having in three years obtained a certain com-petency which they could never have hoped to attain on the surface of the county.
Dozens of babies， who were born at the time when the works were resumed， had never yet breathed the outer air.
This made Jack Ryan remark， "It's eighteen months since they were weaned， and they have not yet seen daylight！"
