THE SUBTERRANEAN RIVER MIDROI. 



2 55 



The barometer indicated that we were one hundred and forty- 

 three feet above the mouth of the river a considerable fall in a 

 course of eleven hundred and forty feet. After a few moments of 

 rest, we turned back, and, crossing the hall of the Dome, we en- 

 gaged ourselves with the southern gallery, which presented quite 

 a fairy spectacle. In this succession of little halls connected by 

 narrow passages, where we had to pass creeping, the stalactites 

 were crowded in front of us, innumerable, resplendent, lengthen- 

 ing out into slender spindles, graceful little columns, and marvel- 

 ous pendants, intact and immaculate. A few steps farther on, 

 in the Diamond passage (Couloir des Diamants), the spectacle 

 became grand. The roof, the walls, and even the ground were 

 tapestried with crystals cut in facets, which shone under our 

 lamps in dazzling brightness. While absorbed in the scene from 

 the Thousand and One Nights, I heard my boatman Suau cry out, 

 " Monsieur, there is a dog ! " and then (Salle du Chien), in the 

 half-light of the back of the hall, I saw it in my turn. It was sit- 

 ting down and looked at us, but did not rise as we neared it ; 



Fig. 2. The Subterranean River Midroi (Ardeche, France). 

 (From a photograph.) 



it was a block of stalagmite, which quite deceived us for a 

 few seconds. Having recovered from our surprise, we ex- 

 amined the hall, passing from enchantment to enchantment. 

 From the roof hung broad curtains of stalactite nearly ten 

 feet long, and separated from one another by only a few inches, 

 just enough to permit us to put our lamp between them. They 



