ave, so that it
stood in the centre of the light pouring down in a long slope from the
outer world, the transparency of the ice made the whole appear as if it
were set in a frame of impalpable liquid blue, the effect of the light
penetrating through the mass at its extreme edges.

The Schafloch or Trou-aux-Moutons, a vast ice-cave on the Rothhorn, in
the canton of Berne, is equally beautiful and curious. It takes its
name from the fact that on the approach of a storm, the sheep and goats
fly to it for shelter, although never going as far in as the place where
the ice commences. The travellers entered the cave amid masses of loose
stone, with which in a short time the ice was found to intermingle until
it entirely hid the naked rock. They passed between two magnificent
columns of ice which formed the portal to the fairy cavern. The floor,
composed of ice, rose on either side to meet these columns in a graceful
swelling curve, so that it appeared as if their bases expanded and met
in the middle of the cave.

They had now to make their way amidst stalagmites rising from the floor,
met by stalactites descending from the roof. All the time as they
twisted in and out among the glittering pillars of ice, endeavouring to
do as little harm as possible, they were accompanied by an incessant
fall of small portions, shivering and glittering on reaching the ground.

Passing beyond the two columns, they saw before them a perfect sea of
ice, which became broader and broader until they reached the edge of a
magnificent ice-fall, smooth and unbroken, beyond which they were unable
to penetrate.

They afterwards visited another beautiful ice-cavern known as the
glacier of Saint Sivres, into which a stream flows, becoming completely
congealed.

There are many other ice-caverns in Bohemia, Hungary, the Hartz
Mountains, and in various parts of North America. One of them, however,
surpassing in size the others, is the cave of Yermalik, in the province
of Kondooz, in the centre of Asia. When Kondooz was invaded by the
savage warrior Genghis Khan, 700 men with their wives and children took
refuge in this cavern, and offered so brave a defence, that after
attempting in vain to destroy them by fire, the barbarous invader built
up the entrance with large blocks of stone, and left them to perish of
hunger.

Nearly forty years ago the cave was visited by two British officers, who
had great difficulty in obtaining guides, as the natives