w and ass, led by Ernest.
Jack rode before on his buffalo, blowing through his hand to imitate a
horn, and whipping the lazy cow and ass. He rode up first, and alighted
from his huge courser, to help his mother out.

I then lighted our candles, giving one to each, with a spare candle and
flint and steel in our pockets. We took our arms, and proceeded in a
solemn manner into the rock. I walked first, my sons followed, and their
mother came last, with Francis. We had not gone on above a few steps,
when we stopped, struck with wonder and admiration; all was glittering
around us; we were in a grotto of diamonds! From the height of the lofty
vaulted roof hung innumerable crystals, which, uniting with those on the
walls, formed colonnades, altars, and every sort of gothic ornament of
dazzling lustre, creating a fairy palace, or an illuminated temple.

When we were a little recovered from our first astonishment, we advanced
with more confidence. The grotto was spacious, the floor smooth, and
covered with a fine dry sand. From the appearance of these crystals, I
suspected their nature, and, on breaking off a piece and tasting it, I
found, to my great joy, that we were in a grotto of rock salt, which is
found in large masses in the earth, usually above a bed of gypsum, and
surrounded by fossils. We were charmed with this discovery, of which we
could no longer have a doubt. What an advantage this was to our cattle,
and to ourselves! We could now procure this precious commodity without
care or labour. The acquisition was almost as valuable as this brilliant
retreat was in itself, of which we were never tired of admiring the
beauty. My wife was struck with our good fortune in opening the rock
precisely at the right spot; but I was of opinion, that this mine was of
great extent, and that we could not well have missed it. Some blocks of
salt were scattered on the ground, which had apparently fallen from the
vaulted roof. I was alarmed; for such an accident might destroy one of
my children; but, on examination, I found the mass above too solid to be
detached spontaneously, and I concluded that the explosion of the
fireworks had given this shock to the subterranean palace, which had not
been entered since the creation of the world. I feared there might yet
be some pieces loosened; I therefore sent out my wife and younger sons.
Fritz and I remained, and, after carefully examining the suspected
parts, we fired our guns, and watched the e