prints
which had frightened Shah Pursund Khan twelve years ago. I was still
absorbed in reflections of no very gay colour, when one of the
attendants warned me that if I staid all day amongst the "dead
people," there would not be sufficient oil to feed the torches, and we
should be unable to visit the Ice Caves. I was immediately roused,
and proceeded onwards with the party through several low arches and
smaller caves,--suddenly a strange glare spread itself about me, and
after a few more steps a magnificent spectacle presented itself.

[Illustration: Drawn by Mr Gempertz Pelham Richardson Litho

View of the Ice Caves in the Cavern of Yeermallik.]

In the centre of a large cave stood an enormous mass of clear ice,
smooth and polished as a mirror, and in the form of a gigantic beehive,
with its dome-shaped top just touching the long icicles which depended
from the jagged surface of the rock. A small aperture led to the
interior of this wonderful congelation, the walls of which were nearly
two feet thick--the floor, sides, and roof were smooth and slippery,
and our figures were reflected from floor to ceiling and from side to
side in endless repetition. The inside of this chilly abode was divided
into several compartments of every fantastic shape; in some the glittering
icicles hung like curtains from the roof; in others the vault was
smooth as glass. Beautifully brilliant were the prismatic colours
reflected from the varied surface of the ice, when the torches flashed
suddenly upon them as we passed from cave to cave. Around, above,
beneath, every thing was of solid ice, and being unable to stand on
account of its slippery nature, we slid or rather glided mysteriously
along the glassy surface of this hall of spells. In one of the largest
compartments the icicles had reached the floor, and gave the idea of
pillars supporting the roof. Altogether the sight was to me as novel
as it was magnificent, and I only regret that my powers of description
are inadequate to do justice to what I saw.

After wandering for some time amongst these extraordinary chambers, we
proceeded further to examine the nature of the caverns in which they
were formed: these seemed to branch out into innumerable galleries,
which again intersected each other. Sometimes they expanded into
halls, the dimensions of which our feeble light prevented us from
calculating, and anon they contracted into narrow passages, so low
that we were obliged to creep al