338 On the Mammoth Cave of Kentucky. 
was strange and overpowering as I stood in one of these before 
unvisited avenues, in which the glow of a lamp had never before 
shone, and considered the complex chain of phenomenon which 
were before me. There were the delicate silicions forms of cya- 
thophylla and encrinites, protruding from the softer limestone 
which had yielded to the dissolving power of the water; these 
carried me back to that vast and desolate ocean in which they 
ary: 
and these past, the slow but resistless force of the contracting 
sphere elevated and drained the rocky beds of the ancient ocean: 
the action of meteorological causes commenced and the dissolving 
power of fresh water, following the almost invisible lines of struc- 
ture in the rocks, began to hollow ont these winding paths, slowly 
apologise for detaining you so long. I wish that all my scientific 
friends could visit the Mammoth Cave; it teaches many lessons 
in a manner not to be learned so well elsewhere, and in this re- 
spect I was most agreeably disappointed. I had heard that its 
interest was chiefly scenic ; but I found it to exceed my utmost 
expectations as well in its illustrations of geological truth, as in 
the wonderful character of its features. I will not detain you 
with any attempts at descriptions of single parts, as no description 
can awaken those peculiar and deep emotions, which a person 
study of its details is calculated to produce. 
I know not how or where to stop, however, in my account of 
this interesting place. Excuse me if I trespass yet a little longer 
on your patience. In traversing the high vaulted galleries of the 
cave, our attention was occasionally arrested by the sound of fall- 
ing water. We soon learned that in such cases we were in the 
am satisfied that in one or two instances, they reach through the 
or 
near three hundred feet. Such is Gorin’s dome, one of the mest 
remarkable features of the cave. Without seeing them you will 
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