Black crags frowned overhead: among them the shouts of the Islanders reverberated.

Yet steeper grew the defile, and more overhanging the crags till at last, the keystone of the arch seemed dropped into its place.

We found ourselves in a subterranean tunnel, dimly lighted by a span of white day at the end.
Emerging, what a scene was revealed! All round, embracing a circuit of some three leagues, stood heights inaccessible, here and there, forming buttresses, sheltering deep recesses between.

The bosom of the place was vivid with verdure.
Shining aslant into this wild hollow, the afternoon sun lighted up its eastern side with tints of gold.

But opposite, brooded a somber shadow, double-shading the secret places between the salient spurs of the mountains.