But of all the sights I see that day I guess the one that stayed by me the longest, and that I thought more on than any of the other contents of Horticultural Hall, as I lay there on my peaceful pillow at Miss Plankses, wuz the reproduction of the Crystal Cave of Dakota.

[Illustration:  My peaceful pillow at Miss Plankses.]

The original cave, so fur as they have discovered it, is thirty-three milds long—­

Three times as long as the hull town of Lyme—­the idee!

Thirty lakes of pure water has been found in it, and one thousand four hundred rooms have been opened up.

Here is a reproduction of seven of them rooms.  Two men of Deadwood of Dakota wuz over a year a-gittin’ specimens of the stalactites and stalagmites which they have brought to the Exposition.

One of the rooms is called “Garden of the Gods;” another is “Abode of the Fairies,” and one is the “Bridal Chamber;” another is the “Cathedral Chimes.”

Language can’t paint nor do anything towards paintin’ the dazzlin’ glory of them rooms, with the great masses of gleamin’ crystal, and slender columns, and all sorts of forms and fancies wrought in the dazzlin’ crystalline masses.

The chimes wuz perfect in their musical records—­the guide played a tune on ’em.

They wuz all lit up by electricity, and it wuz here that the plants wuz a-growin’ by no other light but electricity.

By windin’ passages a-windin’ through groups of fairy-like beauty and grandeur, you at last come out into the principal chamber, and here indeed you did feel that you wuz in the Garden of the Gods, as you looked round and beheld with your almost dazzled eyes the gorgeous colors radiatin’ from the crystals, and the gleamin’ and glowin’ fancies on every side of you.

And I sez to Josiah—­

“The hull thirty-three milds that this represents wuz considered till about a year ago as only a small hole in the ground, so little do we know.”  Sez I, “What glorious and majestic sights are about us on every side, liable to be revealed to us when the time comes.”

And then he wuz all rousted up about a hole down in our paster.  Sez he, “Who knows what it would lead to if it wuz opened up?” Sez he, “I’ll put twenty men to diggin’ there the minute I git home.”

Sez I, “Josiah, that is a woodchuck hole—­the woodchuck wuz took in it; you have got to be megum in caves as much as anything.  Be calm,” sez I, for he wuz a-breathin’ hard and wuz fearful excited, and I led him out as quick as I could.

But he wuz a-sleepin’ now peaceful, forgittin’ his enthusiasm, while I, who took it calm at the time, kep awake to muse on the glory of the spectacle.

After we left the Horticultural Buildin’ I proposed that we should branch out for once and git a fashionable dinner.

“Dinner!” sez Josiah.  “Are you crazy, or what does ail you?  Talk about gittin’ dinner at this time of day—­most bedtime!”