THE MAMMOTH CAVE. 157 



SO graphically described, could not be seen to 

 advantage under ordinary circumstances, — every 

 visitor having his lamp in hand. The guide 

 seats the visitors upon a bench provided for the 

 purpose, placed against the right wall of the 

 avenue; he then takes all the lamps from the 

 party, and, stepping back ten or fifteen feet, on 

 the same side, he holds them within a small 

 recess naturally formed in the rock, in such a 

 manner that none of the direct rays of the 

 light fall upon the eyes of the beholder, but are 

 thrown upon the ceiling. By this manoeuvre 

 the illusion of a starry sky is as complete as it 

 is possible to be ; a perfect representation of a 

 comet, as if especially provided to add to the 

 reality of the sublime scene, is also plainly dis- 

 coverable in the distance. 



After indulging the visitors in the fascination 

 of the scene long enough to produce a lasting 

 impression, the guide, with the lamps, passes to 

 the opposite side of the avenue, in front of us, 

 leaving us seated as before, and descends into 

 the -mouth of an avenue still lower. As he 

 slowly disappears below, we have the finest dis- 

 play of lights and shadow^s that it is possible to 

 imagine. A black cloud gradually passes over 

 the sky, and it is difficult to divest one's self of 



14 



