THE GROTTOES OF HAN. 237 



There is a grotto at Dinant which is, in its way, 

 well worth seeing. You enter it from the main street 

 of the village, and it leads you right up through the 

 limestone cliffs to the top thereof, and you can come 

 down through the gardens of the Hotel de la Tete 

 d'Or if so happen you are resting at that familiar 

 caravanserai. But the Dinant grotto " pales its in- 

 effectual fires " before its neighbours of Han, which, 

 being tolerably near us, should certainly be visited by 

 all geologically minded Britons at least once in their 

 lives. 



You drive from Rochefort to Han on the usual 

 lumbering diligence or char-a-banc, and the drive is 

 pleasant enough in its way. It occupies the best part 

 of an hour, and there is the usual needless foreign 

 delay about starting for the grottoes when you do get 

 to Han village itself. In the lobby of the hotel at 

 Han hangs a whole set of smock-frocks or overalls, 

 and visitors may don these if they please. But I 

 found no need for these protective garments (as an 

 old geologist I scorned them, in fact), and those ladies 

 who donned waterproofs (and who wore thick boots, 

 by the way) came off in their turn exceedingly well. 



Cave-hunting is apt to be wet work now and then, 

 and below foot it is often muddy here and there ; but, 

 as far as the Han grottoes are concerned, there need 

 be no great fear at any time on account of one's gar- 

 ments. There was quite a procession of visitors on 

 the occasion of my visit to Han. Over eighty persons 

 wended their way through the caves. We were a 

 motley crew English, Irish, Scotch, French, Belgians, 

 Germans, Spaniards, one Russian, and the usual con- 

 tingent of our American cousins. The ladies were 

 present in fair proportion, young and old alike; but 



