here steam rushes out with great force and a loud report,
like many factory pipes. It seemed as if some angry goddess dwelt below,
whom we had insulted by coming into her domains, and that she was
belching out her fierce anger, and vowing vengeance.

But the final wonder was when the fiery gulf came into view. It must
have been half a mile square, and was about fifty feet below the level
of where we stood. It was boiling up all over its lead-colored surface.
Toward the center, it would blacken over, and the blacker it grew, the
more intently we watched, until finally it rose in a huge dome thousands
of tons in weight, red and fiery, and fell as suddenly. It was so hot,
that we had to cover our faces or turn away. There were several red-hot
fountains in various parts of the lake, throwing up jets of lava. One
was near a shallow cave, from the edges of which, the lava hung in
beautiful flame-colored stalactites.

"What are _stalactites_?" asked little Alice.

An icicle is a stalactite of frozen water; these were of lava, shaped
just like large icicles.

All the while, the lake was boiling up in some places, and wrinkling and
folding over at the edges. It was a terrible and exciting sight. One of
the party would shout, "There, there, the boiler is going to throw up
now!" and as it rose into the air, a grand chorus of "_There_" would
announce the end of that discharge. It is impossible to describe to you
the grandeur of the scene. It is one of God's most wonderful works. We
felt weak and powerless before it.

We took our lunch on the shore of this fiery lake, and afterwards spent
an hour in gathering specimens of the different kinds of lava.

Not far from the lake is a peak of lava which is called the "Gothic
Cathedral" from its shape. Some of the party passed by a block looking
like a lion. There were huge fields of "a-a" where the lava was thrown
up into rough heaps, as if some one had tried to knead up blocks a foot
square, and given it up as a bad job. We walked nearly six miles in the
crater, going and coming, which will give you an idea of its size. It is
nine miles in circumference. Our young gentlemen we left behind, as they
had discovered a new cave where they could see many valuable specimens.
When we reached the house, we were wet and tired; for it rained while we
were in the crater, and we had to change our clothes. We ladies saw the
yellow sulphur beds in the distance, but were too weary to visit them.