Grotto of' Ganges. 2 1 9 



ed, held out the prospect of certain death to the person who 

 should be rash enough to attempt to descend ; we, therefore, 

 decided, though with much regret, on reascending by our 

 ladder. 



Marsollier describes another small grotto on the road to St 

 Bausile to Ganges, and then the preparations for a new expe- 

 dition. 



The Devil's Pass now presented itself. This was the place 

 where we had been stopped, and to which we gave this name, 

 from the dangers which it presents. Notwithstanding, in- 

 deed, all the labour which had been bestowed, this passage 

 had only a place for the foot. A projecting rock pressed the 

 knees together ; and, as there was a precipice behind, it was 

 necessary to walk sideways upon this inclined plane, the feet 

 being wholly without. We have never seen any person pass 

 here without terror. 



This difficulty being surmounted, we admired a transparent 

 column twenty-five feet high, as white as alabaster, and all 

 formed like cauliflowers placed above one another, till they 

 formed a pyramid. Here a new difficulty awaited us, and it 

 was necessary to descend : The plain was inclined — the ladder 

 could be of no use — the ground was slippery — a precipice 

 was beneath — and it was necessary either to fall right down, 

 or to run the risk of being lost in a deep hole, or dashed 

 against the rocks. We, therefore, pushed down a piece of 

 wood to lengthen the declivity, and, upon that alone, we found 

 it necessary to slide directly down, holding by the left hand 

 a rope, which every one fixed the best way he could. Upon 

 reaching that piece of wood, a broken stalactite, a foot in dia- 

 meter, was the first place where we considered ourselves in 

 safety, having now reached a sort of solid ground. 



Here we were first surprised by an altar as white as the 

 purest porcelain, and three feet in height, of a form perfectly 

 oval, and having regular steps. The table of that altar was 

 of the most dazzling enamel, consisting of leaves placed one 

 above the other, like the leaves of an artichoke. At a greater 

 distance were seen four twisted columns, of a yellowish hue, 

 and transparent in several places, notwithstanding their size. 



