Great must have been the effect of Jack's eloquence on those at home,
for the timbers of the bridge were soon again resounding under the
swift but heavy tramp of his steed; and he was quickly followed by the
rest of our party in the cart.
All were in the highest state of excitement. Jack had stowed in the
cart all the candles he could find, and we now, lighting these,
shouldered our arms and entered. I led the way, sounding the ground as
I advanced with a long pole, that we might not fall unexpectedly into
any great hole or chasm.
Silently we marched--my wife, the boys, and even the dogs seeming
overawed with the grandeur and beauty of the scene We were in a grotto
of diamonds--a vast cave of glittering crystal; the candles reflected
on the walls a golden light, bright as the stars of Heaven, while great
crystal pillars rose from the floor like mighty trees, mingling their
branches high above us and drooping in hundreds of stalactites, which
sparkled and glittered with all the colours of the rainbow.
The floor of this magnificent palace was formed of hard, dry sand, so
dry that I saw at once that we might safely take up our abode therein,
without the slightest fear of danger from damp.
From the appearance of the brilliant crystals round about us, I
suspected their nature.
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