ent of the fissure. But this was not the work of a moment, more
especially as every two minutes they were interrupted by the little ones
rushing out with fresh wonders to detail, while the big ones shouted
more and more.

Gatty squeezed herself through with the loss of half her garments, fully
prepared to prove the new discovery nothing, while Schillie, Madame, and
I worked for another half hour, and went through like ladies to see a
sight which enchanted us. A most magnificent cavern, cool and dark,
though some light penetrated in from above somewhere, the ground was
covered with fine dry sand, the numerous grotesque shapes and oddities
all around the cavern seemed almost made on purpose for little private
habitations and snug corners. It was so large in size that it had
nothing of the musty feeling of the little caverns below, but was airy,
and even bright with sunshine during part of the day. Every body seemed
to find a nook or place in it so suited to their minds, that we called
it the "Cavern of Content." We nearly deserted our houses during the hot
weather, and lived almost entirely in the cavern, everybody choosing
their own private apartment, and fitting up according to their own
fashion. Schillie grumbled a good deal at the perversity of the cavern
in not having suffered itself to be discovered before, and saved her the
trouble of building a house. "I declare," said she, "my hands have never
been fit to look at since." These hands were her weak point, as I said
before, but, as they were just as white and pretty as ever, I would not
nibble at her fish for a compliment, and she held them up without a
remark from any of us until Gatty pinched them.

The only thing I did not like about the cavern was that it had
innumerable passages and windings about, and odd places, with dark
holes, and ghostly-looking corners. I was not satisfied until I had
explored them all, blocking up narrow little slits, and doing all I
could to rout out anything that might be harbouring there. There was one
passage very long and steep, the entrance to it out of the cavern was so
narrow we did not notice it at first; but, when once through, we had
every here and there light, and it led in one or two instances to other
caverns, though none so large as ours, but it always led downwards. At
last we came to a place utterly dark, and, as we stopped for a moment,
we heard the rushing of water. Of course I thought we should all be
drowned, and co