A woman in the Antipodes and in the Far East . to give even the faintest idea ofthe extraordinary beauty of the Glow-worm Grotto. Icould not believe my eyes. We glided round slowly in theboat beneath what was apparently a densely studded starryheaven. Some larger and brighter than others shone likeplanets, and all were of a bluish-green transparency. The tiny individual light, multiplied as it was by thou-sands, illuminated the long white fingers of the sparklingstalactites, and every star was reflected in the water be-neath. It was interesting to know that only the female emits alight, and al
A woman in the Antipodes and in the Far East . to give even the faintest idea ofthe extraordinary beauty of the Glow-worm Grotto. Icould not believe my eyes. We glided round slowly in theboat beneath what was apparently a densely studded starryheaven. Some larger and brighter than others shone likeplanets, and all were of a bluish-green transparency. The tiny individual light, multiplied as it was by thou-sands, illuminated the long white fingers of the sparklingstalactites, and every star was reflected in the water be-neath. It was interesting to know that only the female emits alight, and also to note the simultaneous diminution of theglow if we spoke louder than a whisper. To avoid allnoise, there were no oars used, but the guide drew the boatgently along by a rope encircling the little lake. After a time I felt a distinctly cooler current of air, andnoticed that the lights began to grow less numerous, betokening a lessening number of the wonderful Httle lumin-ous creatures, and found we were drifting down a tunnelto the THE HOT LAKES 65 I shall never forget the scene that met our eyes as weglided through the water and approached the exit. Framedby the roof and sides of the cave was a picture of surpassingbeauty. The river spread out in a silver streak, its banksdark with foliage, and in the mid-distance, a stately palm stooderect, sharply outlined against a deep blue sky, while lowin the heavens to one side hung the Queen of the Nightin full glory. The spectacle was quite Eastern in sentiment, and afterthe mysterious beauties we had been silently glidingthrough, our temperamental mood was attuned to the rightkey to appreciate the delicate splendour of the scene. Itis not given to mortals to have many such evenings toremember, and I deem myself very fortunate to haveexperienced this. The next morning we visited Ruakuri, or Cave of theDogs, so called because a number of the ancient wild Maoridogs were once found living in the holes at the entrance tothe cav
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, booksubjecteastasiadescriptiona
