12 THE STORY-BOOK OF SCIENCE 



divided into short ones, crossing one another here 

 and there, sometimes ascending, sometimes descend- 

 ing, and opening into large halls. These immense 

 works air executed grain by grain, drawn by 

 airth of the jaws. If any one could see that black 

 army of miners at work under the ground, he would 

 be filled with astonishment. 



"They are there by the thousands, scratching, bit- 

 ing, drawing, pulling, in the deepest darkness. 

 What patience! What efforts! And when the grain 

 of sand has at last given way, how they go off, head 

 held high and proud, carrying it triumphantly above ! 

 I have seen ants, whose heads tottered under the tre- 

 mendous load, exhaust themselves in getting to the 

 top of the mound. In jostling their companions, 

 they seemed to say : See how I work ! And nobody 

 could blame them, for the pride of work is a noble 

 pride. Little by little, at the gate of the town, that 

 is to say at the edge of the hole, this little mound 

 of earth is piled up, formed by excavated material 

 from the city that is being built. The larger the 

 mound, the larger the subterranean dwelling, it is 

 plain. 



"Hollowing out these galleries in the ground is not 

 all ; they must also prevent landslides, fortify weak 

 places, uphold the vaults with pillars, make parti- 

 tions. These miners are then seconded by carpen- 

 ters. The first carry the earth out of the ant-hill, 

 the second bring the building materials. What are 

 these materials? They are pieces of timber-work, 

 learns, and small joists, suitable for the edifice. A 

 tiny little bit of straw is a solid beam for a ceiling, 



