106 HAPPY HUNTING-GROUNDS 



But he cannot exaggerate the beauty of the vision 

 that meets the eye when the seal of the tide 



"On the seventh day breaks but a little, that man by its mean 

 May behold what the sun hath not looked on, the stars of the 

 night have not seen. 



Afloat and afar in the darkness a tremulous colour subsides, 

 From the crimson high crest of the purple-peaked roofs to the soft- 

 coloured sides 



That brighten as ever they widen, till downward the level is won 

 Of the soundless and colourless water that knows not the sense of 



the sun ; 

 From the crown of the culminant arch to the floor of the lakelet 



abloom, 



One infinite blossom of blossoms innumerable aflush through the 

 gloom." 



I have twice had the good fortune to visit these 

 caverns of mystery, once by landing from a boat, once 

 by climbing down the path on the cliff side, and on 

 each occasion managed to penetrate to the extreme 

 depths, although not without a certain amount of 

 wading. Where the two galleries nearly meet a 

 natural shaft pierces upward to the daylight, and it is 

 impossible to exaggerate the loveliness of the jewel- 

 studded arches and walls when the rays of the sun 

 strike down upon them. Most of the anemones are 

 closed, but their brilliant colour remains. Myriads of 

 smaller gorgeous zoophytes and sponges glitter around 

 their big brothers, and the strange tubularia indivisa 

 hangs all round, like bunches of white currants, 

 with its flower-like petals closed. It needs no great 

 stretch of imagination for the visitor to fancy that 

 he has forced an entrance into Aladdin's cavern, where, 

 as the old but ever young romance tells us : " The 



