rolling dimly away like a cloud, arid many but-
tresses bending under their weight begin to pro-
ject their enormous masses from their shadowy
wall.'' Two avenues lead out of this hall, at
opposite extremities, which are about 100 feet
wide and 500 feet long, with roofs as flat and
smooth almost as if finished by the mason's
trowel. About half a mile farther on, you pass
the Kentucky Cliffs, so called from their resem-
blance to the famous cliffs on the Kentucky
River. About half a mile beyond these is the
Church, which is 300 feet in circumference, and
its ceiling 63 feet high. A huge protuberance
of the rock on one side serves the fancy for a
pulpit, and a recess in the wall, in a correspond-
ing position, serves for a gallery. From this
hint of nature, religious worship has more than
once been celebrated here. Concerts of music
have been held here, which have been said to
produce singularly fine effects. After leaving
the Church, a passage leads off at an acute angle
from the main cave to the Gothic Avenue, which
is nearly 50 feet wide, 15 feet high, and about 2
miles in length. The ceiling of this avenue is
so smooth and white that it is difficult to believe
that the trowel of the mason has not been used
upon it. A good road extends through its entire
length, and so pleasant is the temperature, pu-
rity, and salubrity of its atmosphere, that it has
been selected as a most desirable promenade for
invalids, who have sometimes resorted to this
cave for their health. In one of the recesses of
this avenue were to be seen, as late as 1813, two
mummies in a good state of preservation, one of
which was a female, in a sitting posture, with
arms folded, and having before her various arti-
cles of her wardrobe. When, or by whom, these
remains were placed in this dark and silent
sepulchre, is of course unknown. A little far-
ther on in this direction are the Registry Rooms,
the ceiling of which, being perfectly white and
smooth, serves as the register of the cave. Thou-
sands of names have been traced upon it with
the smoke of the torches. Next is the Gothic
Chapel, a hall of almost overwhelming grandeur,
elliptical in form, and 80 feet long by 50 in
width. Immense stalagmites have been formed
at each end, which almost close the entrance.
There are also two rows of smaller pillars, ex-
tending from the ceiling on each side of the wall
through its entire length. These impart to it,
when strongly lighted up, the grand and solemn
effect of a Gothic cathedral. Near this place is
Brewer's Studio, a small room to which this
name has recently been given by Mr. Brewer,
author of the celebrated Panorama of the Mam-
moth Cave, from whose descriptions many of
these notices have been compiled. He finished
many of his sketches in this room. One or two
other points of curious interest, such as the Dev-
il's Arm-chair and the Lover's Leap, bring you
to the termination of this Gothic Avenue.

Returning back to the main cave by another
route, of more than a mile, through uninteresting
scenery, and proceeding onward with this grand
gallery, you soon reach the Star Chamber, one
of the most brilliant apartments in the whole
cave, and called by this name from the myriads
of glittering points reflecting the light of the
torches from the darkness overhead. The resem-
blance here to the splendid canopy of night is
very perfect. Further on, the Chief City, or
Temple, is formed by an immense dome, which
rises 120 feet high, and covers an area of 2 acres.
It exceeds in size the Cave of Staffa, and rivals
the celebrated vault in the Grotto of Antiparos.
In passing through it from side to side, the dome
appears to follow the spectator, like the sky in
passing from place to place on the earth. In
comparison with this dome of nature's rearing,
the most celebrated of human structure sink
into insignificance. There are, however, other
domes in this wonderful cave, which, for height
and extent, are even more extraordinary than
this. Such is that, especially, which is called
the Mammoth Dome. This dome of domes is
nearly 400 feet above the floor of the room which
it covers. Its elevation has been carefully de-
termined by a competent civil engineer.

It would be impossible, within the limits of
this article, to describe in detail the many objects
of curiosity and scenes of grandeur which are to
be found in the apparently interminable recesses
of the Mammoth Cave. The names of the prin-
cipal apartments, not already mentioned, will
serve, by the aid of the foregoing descriptions,
to suggest to the imagination of the reader some
idea of their most impressive characteristics.
Such are the Giant's Coffin, the Labyrinth, the
Cascade, Gorin's Dome, the Bottomless Pit, the
Winding Way, the Bandit's Hall, Great Relief
Hall, River Hall and Dead Sea, Natural Bridge
over the River Styx, (80 feet high,) Pass of El-
Ghor, Crogan's Hall, City of the Tombs, Saint
Cecilia's Grotto, Silliman's Avenue, Great West-
ern Vestibule, Martha's Vineyard, Snowball
Room, the Holy Sepulchre, Cleveland's Cabinet,
Serena's Harbor, Fairy Grotto, Paradise, and
others of a hardly less remarkable character.

To select one only from this list of wonders
for the conclusion of our descriptions, we would
offer the remarks of an intelligent clergyman,
who lately paid a visit to the cave, upon that
splendid hall known by the name of Cleveland's
Cabinet. “ The most imaginative poet,'' says
this gentleman, “never conceived or painted a
palace of such exquisite beauty and loveliness
as Cleveland's Cabinet. Were the wealth of
princes bestowed on the most skilful lapidaries,
with a view of rivalling the splendors of this
single chamber, the attempt would be vain. The
Cabinet was discovered by Mr. Patten of Louis-
ville and Mr. Craig of Philadelphia, accompa-
nied by Stephen, the guide, and extends in nearly
a direct line about l£ miles, (the guides say 2
miles.) It is a perfect arch, of 50 feet span, and
of an average height of 10 feet in the centre —
just high enough to be viewed with ease in all
its parts. The base of the whole is carbonate
(sulphate) of lime, in part of a dazzling white-
ness and perfectly smooth, and in part crystal-
lized, so as to glitter like diamonds in the light
Growing from this, in endlessly diversified forms,
is a substance resembling selenite, translucent
and imperfectly laminated. Some of the crys-
tals bear a striking resemblance to branches of
celery; others, a foot or more in length, have the
color and appearance of vanilla cream candy:
others are set in sulphate of lime in the form of
a rose; and others roll out from the base in
forms resembling the ornaments on the capital
of a Corinthian column. Some of the incrusta-
tions are massive and splendid, others are as
delicate as the lily, or as fancy work of shell or
wax. Think of traversing an arched way like
this for a mile and a half; and all the wonder*