eBooks Base 2000

It was very dark, indeed; the
Mammoth Cave of Kentucky could not be darker. The rough-hewn roof was
within touch, and sometimes we had to stoop to avoid hitting our heads;
it was covered with damps, which collected and fell upon us in occasional
drops. The passages, besides being narrow, were so irregular and
crooked, that, after going a little way, it would have been impossible to
return upon our steps without the help of the guide; and we appeared to
be taking quite an extensive ramble underground, though in reality I
suppose the tomb includes no great space. At several turns of our dismal
way, the guide pointed to inscriptions in Roman capitals, commemorating
various members of the Scipio family who were buried here; among them, a
son of Scipio Africanus, who himself had his death and burial in a
foreign land. All these inscriptions, however, are copies,--the
originals, which were really found here, having been removed to the
Vatican. Whether any bones and ashes have been left, or whether any were
found, I do not know.


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