LETTERS FROM ALABAMA. 
225 
and another, drop, as it were, into the chimney, as 
the circle passes over it, until they ponr down in 
a stream, with a roaring sound, which, when heard 
from within the building, sounds like the sullen 
boom of a distant cataract. At length, when 
objects begin to be dim and indiscernible, all have 
entered and taken up their places within the shaft, 
where they remain for the night. In the morning, 
near sunrise, they emerge in a dense stream, pour- 
ing out like bees, make a few wide evolutions^ and 
disperse on their daily occupation. 
Q 
