216 



mMEOD OF THE SEA; OB, 



singular and beautiful formations by which we found our- 

 selves surrounded. After proceeding some distance through 

 a passage with a pretty uniform width of from fifteen to 

 twenty feet, and about an equal height, we paused to exam- 

 ine the formation of the cavern. The dim light of our lamps 

 illuminated the pilastered walls, and a roof raftered and groin- 

 ed with straight and curved beams of crystalline structure, 

 many feet in length. Some of these were of a reddish ap- 

 pearance, and others had a vitreous lustre, resembling im- 

 mense crystals, in places broken into the semblance of foli- 

 age, which reflected an olive-green, light. The gloomy splen- 

 dor of this solemn architecture was relieved by the gold or 

 amber reflections of crystals of sulphur, which, like mari- 

 gold or sunflower, gleamed in the arches of the passage. 



" The broad bases of the pilasters were enriched with 

 counterfeits of fern, palms, and growths intricate and del- 

 icate as the pencilings of the frost - spirit's pictures. But 

 these metallic pictures, under the limning of the fire-fiend, 

 had been inlaid with the brilliant facets of igneous minerals 

 green and brown in tint. Tempted onward by the increas- 

 ing beauty of the scene, our lamp revealed new objects of in- 

 terest in the increasing lustre of the arched ceiling and the 

 carved and painted walls. Our lamp was multiplied by the 

 sparkle from the faces of unknown minerals. • In places the 

 passage was divided by central columns of basalt crystals, 

 which terminated in curves, and were in form and tracery 

 varied beyond man's power. The rude Goth for his cathe- 

 dral, the Moslem for his mosque, the Celestial for his pago- 

 da, might have drawn inspiration from this solemn portal to' 

 Nature's vast workshop. 



"As we advanced farther into the recesses of the mount- 

 ain, the character of the cave changed. : The angular crys- 

 talline forms which indicated the sudden withdrawal of the 

 molten matter, or the deposit of elements sublimgd by in- 



