156 THE MAMMOTH CAVE. 
Mr. Taylor continues: “I now noticed that 
the ceiling became darker, and that the gray 
cornice of the walls stood out from it in strong 
relief. Presently it became a sheet of unvarying 
blackness, which reflected no light, like a cloudy 
night-sky All at once a few stars glimmered 
through the void, then more and more, and a 
firmament as far off and vast, apparently, as 
that which arches over the outer world, hung 
above our heads. We were in the celebrated 
Star Chamber. Leaning upon a rock which lay 
upon the right side of the avenue, we looked 
upward, lost in wonder at the marvelous illu- 
sion. It is impossible to describe the effect of 
this mock sky. Your reason vainly teils you 
that it is but a crust of black gypsum, sprinkled 
with points of the white limestone beneath, 
seventy-five feet above your head. You see that 
it is a fathomless heaven, with its constellations 
twinkling in the illimitable space. You are no 
longer upon this earth. You are in a thunder- 
riven gorge of the mountains of Jupiter, looking 
up at the strange firmament of that darker 
planet. You see other constellations rising, far 
up in the abyss of midnight, and witness the 
occultation of remoter stars.” 
The starry firmament which Mr. Taylor has 
