Rambles in sunny Spain . , holy mother! my voice seemed to knock itself to pieces on the sides of the shaft as it struggled up, and when it reached the top must have been a whisper. I sat down and fairly cried, when a loud shout of laughter rattled along the galleries, and broke as it were up the shaft; I trembled like quicksilver, and heavy beads of perspiration dropped from my forehead to the ground. There was another shout of laughter, and a voice cried out, Come here, Matthias; come here. Where, most wonderfulsefior? I asked, thinking it wellto be respectful. Here, here to the blackvein, —
Rambles in sunny Spain . , holy mother! my voice seemed to knock itself to pieces on the sides of the shaft as it struggled up, and when it reached the top must have been a whisper. I sat down and fairly cried, when a loud shout of laughter rattled along the galleries, and broke as it were up the shaft; I trembled like quicksilver, and heavy beads of perspiration dropped from my forehead to the ground. There was another shout of laughter, and a voice cried out, Come here, Matthias; come here. Where, most wonderfulsefior? I asked, thinking it wellto be respectful. Here, here to the blackvein, — the old leaden, uselessvein, cried the voice, mock-ingly ; and I thought with hor-ror of the abuse it had that dayreceived. Half dead with fear, I creptalong the gallery, and turningan abrupt angle, came upon thelode we had been working. AveMaria purissima ! what a sight met my eyes! The gallery seemed a mass of fire, yet there was no blaze andno heat. The rock which contained the vein of ore, and the ore itself, were. 220 RAMBLES IN SUNNY SPAIN. like solid fire; and yet it was nt fire, for there was no heat, as I said, but a glareso bright that one could see away into the rock, which seemed to extend miles andmiles, and every grain of quartz, and even the smallest particle of sand, of whichit was composed, was blazing with light, and shone separately, like a milliondiamonds knocked in one; and yet the eye saw miles into the bowels of the earth, and every grain of sandwas thus lighted up. But if thestone and the grit and the sandwere thus fiery bright, and theeye was scorched to look uponit, what words can describe theglitter of the vein, now of spark-ling silver, and white as it werewith flame, but over which ablack blush now and then shot,and instanta neously disap-peared ? It wanted not this, how-ever, to tell me that I was lookingat the endless vcta negra, thescorned, abused black vein,which throbbed, miles and milesaway into the earth, with virginsilver enough to supply
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Keywords: ., bookauthoroberfred, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, bookyear1889
