l down, down, and down, until
they go out, but can never see them stop, as if they had reached the
bottom.

The hole through which we are looking is cut through one side of this
well, so that there is a great deal of it above us as well as below;
but although we hold our lanterns up, hoping to see the top, we can
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
"River Styx."

This is a regular river, running through a great part of the Mammoth
Cave. You may float on it in a boat, and, if you choose, you may fish
in it, although you would not be likely to catch anything. But if you
did, the fish would have no eyes! All the fish in this river are
blind. You can easily perceive that eyes would be of no use in a place
where it is always as dark as pitch, except when travellers come along
with their lanterns.

There is a rough boat here, and we will get into