. . . chasms and bridges, built or hollowed out with a weird architectural magnificence wonderful to behold. We stand in the spacious nave of the cathedral, and gaze at its groined and glittering roof, and Gothic columns of many-coloured stalactite. The utter silence (which never exists in the outer world, where there is always the whirr of invisible insects, the stir of leaves, the whispering of grasses, and a thousand other nameless sounds) here is supremely impressive; the air, laden with solemn stillness, lies heavy and close round us. We listen for the roll of some hidden organ to fill the darkening shadows with music, and tempt us to fall upon our knees in worship of the Great Unknown. We pass through a narrow jagged passage full of grotesque shapes and caricatures of things real and unreal, till we come to a damp, low-roofed opening called the bridal chamber, which is profusely ornamented with fantastic formations of crystalline rock. It is said, I don’t know how . . . Read More