CHAPTER VI. 



THE LONG ROUTE. 



The Entrance. — The Rotunda. — The Vats and Water-pipes 

 used by the Saltpetre Miners. — The Methodist Church. — The 

 Giant's Coffin.— The Bottomless Pit.— Fat Man's Misery. — 

 Bacon Chamber. — River Styx and Lake Lethe. 



On the morning succeeding our arrival at the 

 Cave Hotel, our party, consisting of fifteen per- 

 sons, seven of the number being ladies, fully 

 equipped in Cave costume,* left the house at 

 nine o'clock precisely, to explore what is known 

 as the " Long Route," which terminates at the 

 Maelstrom. 



Our party being large, and one or two of the 



* For the information of the uninitiated, we will explain that 

 the costumes referred to are kept at the hotel for the use of the 

 visitors. It is necessary for its greater convenience in threading 

 narrow passages, and for the equally important object of pre- 

 serving from damage more expensive clothing. Ladies are pro- 

 vided with short dresses of stout material, generally of fancy and 

 picturesque colors, without the addition of crinoline. Gentlemen 

 have short woolen jackets, caps, and " over-alls." Many jocular 

 remarks are usually made by parties, thus oddly attired, at each 

 other's expense. 



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