among the glaciers on the land; now I ventured on the unsteady
trunk of a tree thrown across from one abyss to the other, without
looking under my feet, having only eyes to admire the wild sites of
this region.

There, monumental rocks, leaning on their regularly-cut bases, seemed
to defy all laws of equilibrium. From between their stony knees trees
sprang, like a jet under heavy pressure, and upheld others which upheld
them. Natural towers, large scarps, cut perpendicularly, like a
"curtain," inclined at an angle which the laws of gravitation could
never have tolerated in terrestrial regions.

Two hours after quitting the Nautilus we had crossed the line of trees,
and a hundred feet above our heads rose the top of the mountain, which
cast a shadow on the brilliant irradiation of the opposite slope. Some
petrified shrubs ran fantastically here and there. Fishes got up under
our feet like birds in the long grass. The massive rocks were rent
with impenetrable fractures, deep grottos, and unfathomable holes, at
the bottom of which formidable creatures might be heard moving. My
blood curdled when I saw enormous antennae blocking my road, or some
frightful claw closing with a noise in the shadow of some cavity.
Millions of luminous spots shone brightly in the midst of the darkness.
They were the eyes of giant crustacea crouched in their holes; giant
lobsters setting themselves up like halberdiers, and moving their claws
with the clicking sound of pincers; titanic crabs, pointed like a gun
on its carriage; and frightful-looking poulps, interweaving their
tentacles like a living nest of serpents.

We had now arrived on the first platform, where other surprises awaited
me. Before us lay some picturesque ruins, which betrayed the hand of
man and not that of the Creator. There were vast heaps of stone,
amongst which might be traced the vague and shadowy forms of castles
and temples, clothed with a world of blossoming zoophytes, and over
which, instead of ivy, sea-weed and fucus threw a thick vegetable
mantle. But what was this portion of the globe which had been
swallowed by cataclysms? Who had placed those rocks and stones like
cromlechs of prehistoric times? Where was I? Whither had Captain
Nemo's fancy hurried me?

I would fain have asked him; not being able to, I stopped him--I seized
his arm. But, shaking his head, and pointing to the highest point of
the mountain, he seemed to say:

"Come, come along; com