make out; the shore on either hand, widening rap-

idly imtil logt to sight; while its length was equally uncertain. A ha^e on the distant horizon bounded oni* view. Aa to its height we could see that it must be many miles to the roof. Looking upward, it was impossible to discover where the stupendous roof began. The lowest of the clouds must have been floating at an e]eva1;ion of two thousand yards, a height greater than that of tei-restria! vapors, which circumstance was doubtless owing to the ex- treme density of the air. I use the word cavern in order to give an idea of the place I cnnnot describe its awfui grandeur; hmnan language fails to convey an idea of its savage sublimity Whether this singular vacuum had or had not been caused by the sudden cooling of the earth when in a state of fusion, I could not say, J bad read of most wonderful and gigantic caverns — but none in any way lilte this. The great grotto of Guaehara, in Columbia, visit- ed by the learned I-Iumboldt; the vast and partially e?:ploi'ed Mammoth Cave in Kentucky; what were these holes in the earth compared to that in which I stood in speechless admiration! with its vapory clouds, its electric Hght, and mighty ocean slumbering in its bosom! Imagination, not description, can alone give an idea of the splendor and vastness of the cave. i gazed at these marvels in profound silence. Words were utterly wanting to ii d ate the sensa tions of wonder I experienced. I seemed as I 'itood upon that mysterious shore, to be some wii dei ng inhabitant of a distant planet, piesent foi the lirst time at the spectacle of some terie^tr il phei oraena belonging to another existence To give body ind existence to such new sensations, would have re- quired the coinage of new words— and here my feeble brain found itself wholly inadequate. I looked on, .1 thought, 1 reflected, I admired, in a state of stupefaction not altogether unmingled with fear! The unexpected spectacle restored some color to my pallid cheeks. I seemed to be actually getting better under the influence of this novelty. More- over, the vivacity of the dense atmosphere reani- mated my body, by inflating my lungs with unac- customed oxygen. It will be readily conceived that after an impri- sonment of forty-seven days, in a dark and miser- able tunnel, it was with iniinite delight that I breathed this saline air. It was like the genial, reviving influence of the salt aea waves. 'My uncle had already got over the first surprise. With the Latin poet, Horace, his idea was that — "Not»to admire, is all the art I know To make man happy and to keep him so." "Well," he said, after giving me time thoroughly to appreciate the marvels of this underground sea, "do you feel strong enough to walk up and down?" "Certainly," -was my ready answer, "nothing would give me greater pleasure." "Well, then, my boy," he said, "lean on my arm, and we will stroll along the beach." I accepted his offer eagerly, and we began to walk along the shores of this extraordinary lake. To our left were abrupt rocks, piled one upon the other,— a stupendous titahic pile; down their siflea leapt innumerable cascades, which at last, becoming limpid and murmuring streams, were lost in the waters of the lake. Light vapors, which rose here and there, and floated in fleecy clouds from rock to rock, indicated hot springs, which also poured their superfluity into the vast reservoir at our feet. Among them I recognized our old and faithful stream, the Hans-bach, which, lost in that wild basin, seemed as if it had been flowing since the creatipn of the world. "We shall miss our excellent friend," I remarked, with a deep sigh. "Bah!" said my uncle, testily, "what matters it. That or another, it ip all the same," I thought the remark ungrateful, and felt almost inclined to say so; but 1 forbore. At this 'moment my attention was attracted by an unexpected spec- tacle. After we had gone about five hundred yards, •we suddenly turned a steep promontory, and found ourselves close to a lofty forest! It consisted of straight trunks witb'tufted tops, in shape like para- sols. The air seemed to have no effect upon these trees — which in spite of a tolerable breeze remained as still and motionless as if they had been petrified. .1 hastened forward. I could find no name for these singular formations. Did they belong to the to thousand and more loiown trees — or were we to make the discovery of a new growth? When we at list leiehed the forest, and stood beneath the trees, my surprise gave way to admiration. In truth, I WIS simply in the presence of a VGiy ordinary prod- uct of the earth, of singular r.i'i gigantic propor- tions My uncle unhesitatingly called them by then- real names. "It is only," he said, in his coolest man- ner, "a forest of mushrooms." ' On close examination I found that he was not mistaken- Judge of the development attained by this product of damp hot soils. I had heard that the lycoperdon giganteuvi reaches nine feet in cir- cumference, but here were white mushrooms, nearly forty feet high, and with tops of equal dimensions. They grew in countless thousands — the light could not make its way through their massive substance, and beneath them reigned a gloomy and mystic darkness. Still I wished to go forward. The cold in the shades of this singular forest was intense. For nearly an hour we wandered about in this dai-k- ness visible. At length I left the spot, and once more returned to the shores of the lake, to light and comparative warmth. The amazing vegetation of this subterraneous region was not confined to gigantic mushrooms. New wonders awaited us at every step. We had not gone many hundred yards, when we came upon a mighty group of other trees with discolored leaves — the common humble trees of motlier earth, of an exorbitant and phenomenal size; mosses a hundred feet high; flowing ferns as tall as pines; gigantic "Astonishing, magnificent, splendid!" cried my uncle; here we have before us the whole flora of the second period of the world, that of transition. Behold the humble plants of our gardens, which in the first ages of the world were mighty trees.