Round-about Rambles in Lands of Fact and Fancy by Frank Richard Stockton
page 46 of 313 (14%)
page 46 of 313 (14%)
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see nothing but pitchy darkness up there. The roof of this pit is too
high for the light to strike upon it. Here is a picture of some persons dropping lights down into this pit, hoping to be able to see the bottom. We must climb up and down some more ladders now, and then we will reach the "Mammoth Dome." This is a vast room--big enough for a gymnasium for giants--and the roof is so high that no ordinary light will show it. It is nearly four hundred feet from the floor. The next room we visit is one of the most beautiful places in the whole cave. It is called the Starry Chamber. The roof and walls and floor are covered with little bright bits of stone, which shine and glitter, when a light is brought into the room, like real stars in the sky. If the guide is used to his business, he can here produce most beautiful effects. By concealing his lantern behind a rock or pillar, and then gradually bringing it out, throwing more and more light upon the roof, he can create a most lovely star-light scene. [Illustration] At first all will be dark, and then a few stars will twinkle out, and then there will be more of them, and each one will be brighter, and at last you will think you are looking up into a dark sky full of glorious shining stars! And if you look at the walls you will see thousands of stars that seem as if they were dropping from the sky; and if you cast your eyes upon the ground, you will see it covered with other thousands of stars that seem to have already fallen! This is a lovely place, but we cannot stay here any longer. We want to reach the underground stream of which we have heard so much--the |
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