i have one thing more (said the prefect) to show thee; prepare thy eyes and thy ears; and be frightened at nothing.
the rivulet, by the side of which we walked to the fantastical tree, receives several streams as it flows along; and, as if it left with regret so beautiful a residence, after forming a thousand serpentine windings in the meadow, it glides gently towards its mouth. in that place, a hole, formed by an opening of the earth, receives and transmits 319it through subterraneous channels.
we came to the place where it was broadest. the bottom was of smooth gravel, and the water not above an inch deep. the prefect went in and i followed him.
i had gone but a few paces, when the bottom gave way: i sunk, but it was only to my waste; and i remained in that posture, without being able to get to one side or the other. fear nothing, says the prefect, calmly enjoy the last spectacle i have reserved for thee.
320i then gave myself up to the efforts of the waters, which carried me away, and i soon entered into the subterraneous cavities, where they were lost. at a little distance, the rivulet flowed into another, and soon after, both ran into a river. i was carried from stream to stream; i crossed gulphs, lakes, and seas.
as long as a faint light permitted, i contemplated the internal frame of the earth. it is a labyrinth of immense caverns, deep grottos, irregular crevices, which have a communication with one another. the waters that flow in these subterranean places, spread themselves sometimes into vast basons, and seem to stagnate; sometimes they run with a 321rapid stream through narrow straits; and dash against the rocks with such impetuosity, as to produce the phosporus and flashes of lightening; very often they fall from the top of the vaults with a dreadful noise. the dazzled eye sees, as it imagines, the foundations of the earth shake; one would think, that the whole was turned upside down, and falling into chaos.
when the glimmering light, which i had enjoyed some time, came to fail, i found myself buried in profound darkness, which increased the horror, i had conceived at what i had seen. a hideous noise, mixed with the murmuring of the streams, with the whistling 322of the gulfs, with the roaring of the torrents, threw me into great perturbation of mind; and my troubled fancy formed to itself a thousand frightful images.
i went on a good while in this darkness; and i know not how far i had gone when a faint light struck my eyes. it was not like that which precedes sun-rising, or follows sun-set; but that melancholy light, which a town on fire spreads at a distance in the shade of the night. i was some time before i saw whence it came: at last, i found myself close to the most terrible of all the sights.
a vast opening exposed to my eyes in an immense cavern, an abyss of fire. the devouring flame rapidly consumed 323the combustible matter with which the arched roofs of the abyss were impregnated. a thick smoke mixed with fiery sparks, diffused itself to a great distance. from time to time, the calcined stones fell down by pieces, and the liquified metals formed flaming streams. sometimes whole rocks, rent from the tops of the vaults, gave passage to water, which poured down in boiling streams. the moment the water touched the calcined matters and melted minerals, it caused most shocking detonations: the concavities of the globe resounded, their foundations were shaken: and i conceived that such was the cause of those terrible earth-quakes, that have destroyed so many countries, and swallowed up so many cities.
324i was soon in darkness again; for i still went on. every moment i should have been destroyed, if the prefect of giphantia had not watched over me. i saw him no more: but his promise was with me: and the dangers, i had escaped, heartened me against those i had still to undergo. by degrees i took courage, and became so easy as to make some reflections.
alas! said i, through a frightful desart i came into the most beautiful mansions in the world, and i am now going thence through gulfs, abysses, and vulcanos. good and evil closely follow one another. it is thus, the light of the day and darkness of the night, the frosts of the winter and the flowers of the 325spring, the gentle zephyrs and the raging storms, succeed one another. however, by this strange concatenation, is formed the enchanting prospect of nature. let us not doubt it: the natural world, notwithstanding its disorders, is the master-piece of infinite wisdom; the moral world, in spite of its stains, is worthy the admiration of the philosopher: and babylon, with all its faults, is the chief city of the world.
at last, after many days of subterraneous navigation, i once more saw the light; i came out of these terrible vaults, and the last current landed me upon a maritime coast. the serenity of the air was not ruffled with the wind; the calm sea shone with the rays of the 326rising-sun; and, like a tender wife who stretches out her arms, and sweetly smiles on a beloved husband, the earth seemed to resume new life at the return of that glorious orb, from whence springs all its fertility. by degrees, my troubled senses were calmed: i looked round me, and found myself in my own country, six hundred furlongs north-west from babylon, to which city i address and dedicate this narrative of my hazardous travels.
