[74]
The drop turned out to be a mere nothing, and, taking the candle, I
scrambled on, down the sloping floor of the fissure, towards the heart
of the mountain, expecting every moment that my further passage would be
stopped by solid rock. But, after reaching a part so narrow that I was
obliged to mount by both sides at once in order to get past it, I found
a commodious gallery, opening out into a long and narrow and very lofty
cavern, still only a fissure, the floor of which continued the regular
and rapid slope down which I had so far come. A short way farther down,
an opening appeared to the left; and I turned off the main passage into
a horizontal gallery or chamber, with a floor of ice resting on rock and
stones. This chamber seemed to be 3 or 4 yards wide at the entrance,
narrowing regularly to 4 1/2 feet. It was 40 feet long, and at the
farther end, which would not have been visible from the entrance, on
account of a slight bend in the ice-gallery, even if there had been any
light, it was closed by an ice-cascade 7 yards high and 4 1/2 feet broad
at the bottom.
Pages:
271
272
273
274
275
276
277
278
279
280
281
282
283
284
285
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295