In one of
the domes we had only one candle, and the bearer of this after a time
contrived to let it fall, leaving us standing with our heads in perfect
darkness; while the indistinct light which strayed about our feet showed
faintly a circle of icicles, hanging from the lower part of the dome,
the fringe, as it were, of our rocky petticoats.
In one of the lower parts of the cave, where darkness prevailed, and
locomotion was only possible on the lowest reptile principles, M.
announced that she could see clear through the ice-floor, as if there
were nothing between her and the rock below. I ventured to doubt this,
for there was an air of immense thickness about the whole ice; and as
soon as A. and I had succeeded in grovelling across the intervening
space, and converged upon her, we found that the appearance she had
observed was due to a most perfect reflection of the roof, as shown by
the candles we carried, which may give some idea of the character of the
ice. We did not care to study this effect for any very prolonged time,
inasmuch as we were obliged meanwhile to stow away the length of our
legs on a part of the ice which was thinly covered with water,--one
result of its proximity to the arch communicating with the smallest pit.
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