. The boy travellers in the Russian empire: adventures of two youths in a journey in European and Asiatic Russia, with accounts of a tour across first of the large halls that weentered, and was reached after a long journey through winding passagesand along foot-paths that sometimes overhung places where it was impos-sible for the eye, aided only by the light of the lamps, to ascertain the 3 34 THE BOY TRAVELLERS IN THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE. depth of the openings below. In some of the dangerous places there wasa rail to prevent one from falling over; but this was not always the case,and yo
. The boy travellers in the Russian empire: adventures of two youths in a journey in European and Asiatic Russia, with accounts of a tour across first of the large halls that weentered, and was reached after a long journey through winding passagesand along foot-paths that sometimes overhung places where it was impos-sible for the eye, aided only by the light of the lamps, to ascertain the 3 34 THE BOY TRAVELLERS IN THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE. depth of the openings below. In some of the dangerous places there wasa rail to prevent one from falling over; but this was not always the case,and you may be sure we kept on tlie safe side and close to the wall. In the hall we were treated to a song by one of the mining over-seers, an old soldier who had lost an arm in some way that was not ex-plained to us. He had an excellent voice that ought to have secured hima good place in the chorus of an o]3era troupe. He sang a mining songin quite a melodramatic style; and as he did so the notes echoed aud re-echoed through the hall till it seemed they Avould never cease. In thecentre of the hall is a chandelier cut from the solid salt, and on grand oc-. SCBTKRUANEAN STABLES. casions this chandelier is lighted and a band of music is stationed at oneend of the vast space. Its effect is said to be something beyond descrip-tion, and, judging from the effect of the overseers voice, I can well be-lieve it. From this hall we went through a series of chambers and galleriesnamed after the royal and imperial families of Poland and Austria, pass-ing chapels, shrines, altars, and other things indicating the religious char-acter of the people employed in the mines or controlling them, together SUBTERRANEAN FIREWORKS. 60 with many niches containing statues of kings, saints, and martyrs, all hewnfrom the solid salt. Some of the statues are rudely made, but the mostof them are well designed and executed. In some of the chapels wor-shippers were kneeling before the altars, and it was difficult to
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