Chapter 6. The New World Kapitel 6. Die neue Welt

How long I slept I do not know. My sleep was profound, yet disturbed by troubled dreams, in which I lived over again all the eventful scenes of the past; and these were all intermingled in the wildest confusion. The cannibals beckoned to us from the peak, and we landed between the two volcanoes. Les cannibales nous ont fait signe du sommet, et nous avons atterri entre les deux volcans. There the body of the dead sailor received us, and afterward chased us to the boat. Then came snow and volcanic eruptions, and we drifted amid icebergs and molten lava until we entered an iron portal and plunged into darkness. Here there were vast swimming monsters and burning orbs of fire and thunderous cataracts falling from inconceivable heights, and the sweep of immeasurable tides and the circling of infinite whirlpools; while in my ears there rang the never-ending roar of remorseless waters that came after us, with all their waves and billows rolling upon us. Ici, il y avait de vastes monstres nageurs et des orbes de feu brûlants et des cataractes tonitruantes tombant de hauteurs inconcevables, et le balayage de marées incommensurables et le cercle de tourbillons infinis; tandis qu'à mes oreilles résonnait le rugissement sans fin des eaux sans remords qui nous suivaient, avec toutes leurs vagues et leurs flots roulant sur nous. It was a dream in which all the material terrors of the past were renewed; but these were all as nothing when compared with a certain deep underlying feeling that possessed my soul--a sense of loss irretrievable, an expectation of impending doom, a drear and immitigable despair. C'était un rêve où se renouvelaient toutes les terreurs matérielles du passé ; mais tout cela n'était rien en comparaison d'un certain sentiment sous-jacent profond qui possédait mon âme – un sentiment de perte irrémédiable, une attente d'un destin imminent, un désespoir affreux et immuable.

In the midst of this I awoke. It was with a sudden start, and I looked all around in speechless bewilderment. C'était avec un sursaut, et j'ai regardé tout autour avec une stupéfaction sans voix. The first thing of which I was conscious was a great blaze of light--light so lately lost, and supposed to be lost forever, but now filling all the universe--bright, brilliant, glowing bringing hope and joy and gladness, with all the splendor of deep blue skies and the multitudinous laughter of ocean waves that danced and sparkled in the sun. I flung up my arms and laughed aloud. Then I burst into tears, and falling on my knees, I thanked the Almighty Ruler of the skies for this marvellous deliverance.

Rising from my knees I looked around, and once more amazement overwhelmed me. I saw a long line of mountains towering up to immeasurable heights, their summits covered with eternal ice and snow. There the sun blazed low in the sky, elevated but a few degrees above the mountain crests, which gleamed in gold and purple under its fiery rays. Là, le soleil brillait bas dans le ciel, élevé à quelques degrés seulement au-dessus des crêtes des montagnes, qui brillaient d'or et de pourpre sous ses rayons de feu. The sun seemed enlarged to unusual dimensions, and the mountains ran away on every side like the segment of some infinite circle. At the base of the mountains lay a land all green with vegetation, where cultivated fields were visible, and vineyards and orchards and groves, together with forests of palm and all manner of trees of every variety of hue, which ran up the sides of the mountains till they reached the limits of vegetation and the regions of snow and ice.

Here in all directions there were unmistakable signs of human life--the outlines of populous cities and busy towns and hamlets; roads winding far away along the plain or up the mountain-sides, and mighty works of industry in the shape of massive structures, terraced slopes, long rows of arches, ponderous pyramids, and battlemented walls. Ici, dans toutes les directions, il y avait des signes indubitables de la vie humaine - les contours des villes peuplées et des villes et hameaux animés ; des routes serpentant au loin le long de la plaine ou sur les flancs des montagnes, et de puissants ouvrages industriels sous la forme de structures massives, de pentes en terrasses, de longues rangées d'arcs, de pyramides lourdes et de murs crénelés.

From the land I turned to the sea. I saw before me an expanse of water intensely blue--an extent so vast that never before in all my ocean voyages had anything appeared at all comparable with it. Я увидел перед собой водное пространство ярко-синего цвета - настолько обширное, что никогда прежде за все мои океанские путешествия не было ничего похожего на него. Out at sea, wherever I had been, the water had always limited the view; the horizon had never seemed far away; ships soon sank below it, and the visible surface of the earth was thus always contracted; but here, to my bewilderment, the horizon appeared to be removed to an immeasurable distance and raised high in the air, while the waters were prolonged endlessly. En mer, où que j'aie été, l'eau avait toujours limité la vue ; l'horizon n'avait jamais paru bien loin ; les navires s'enfoncèrent bientôt au-dessous, et la surface visible de la terre se contracta ainsi toujours ; mais ici, à ma grande stupéfaction, l'horizon semblait s'éloigner à une distance incommensurable et s'élever haut dans les airs, tandis que les eaux se prolongeaient sans fin. Где бы я ни был в море, вода всегда ограничивала обзор; горизонт никогда не казался далеким; корабли вскоре затонули под ним, и видимая поверхность земли, таким образом, всегда сужалась; но здесь, к моему недоумению, горизонт казался удаленным на неизмеримое расстояние и высоко поднятым в воздух, в то время как воды продолжались бесконечно. Starting from where I was, they went away to inconceivable distances, and the view before me seemed like a watery declivity reaching for a thousand miles, till it approached the horizon far up in the sky. Partant de là où j'étais, ils s'éloignèrent à des distances inconcevables, et la vue devant moi semblait être une pente d'eau s'étendant sur des milliers de kilomètres, jusqu'à ce qu'elle s'approche de l'horizon très haut dans le ciel. Nor was it any delusion of the senses that caused this unparalleled spectacle. Ce n'était pas non plus une illusion des sens qui provoquait ce spectacle sans précédent. Это беспрецедентное зрелище не было вызвано никаким чувственным обманом. I was familiar with the phenomena of the mirage, and knew well that there was nothing of that kind here; for the mirage always shows great surfaces of stillness, or a regular vibration--glassy tides and indistinct distances; but here everything was sharply defined in the clear atmosphere: the sky overhung a deep blue vault; the waves danced and sparkled in the sun; the waters rolled and foamed on every side; and the fresh breeze, as it blew over the ocean, brought with it such exhilarating influences that it acted upon me like some reviving cordial. Je connaissais les phénomènes du mirage, et je savais bien qu'il n'y avait rien de tel ici ; car le mirage montre toujours de grandes surfaces d'immobilité, ou une vibration régulière, des marées vitreuses et des distances indistinctes ; mais ici tout était nettement défini dans l'atmosphère claire : le ciel surplombait une voûte d'un bleu profond ; les vagues dansaient et scintillaient au soleil ; les eaux roulaient et écumaient de toutes parts ; et la brise fraîche, lorsqu'elle soufflait sur l'océan, apportait avec elle des influences si exaltantes qu'elle agissait sur moi comme un cordial revivifiant.

From the works of nature I turned to those of man. Des œuvres de la nature, je suis passé à celles de l'homme. От произведений природы я обратился к творениям человека. These were visible everywhere: on the land, in cities and cultivated fields and mighty constructions; on the sea, in floating craft, which appeared wherever I turned my eyes--boats like those of fishermen, ships long and low, some like galleys, propelled by a hundred oars, others provided with one huge square-sail, which enabled them to run before the wind. They were unlike any ships which I had ever seen; for neither in the Mediterranean nor in Chinese waters were there any craft like these, and they reminded me rather of those ancient galleys which I had seen in pictures.

I was lost in wonder as to where I was, and what land this could be to which I had been brought. I had not plunged into the interior of the earth, but I had been carried under the mountains, and had emerged again into the glad light of the sun. Could it be possible, I thought, that Agnew's hope had been realized, and that I had been carried into the warm regions of the South Pacific Ocean? Yet in the South Pacific there could be no place like this--no immeasurable expanse of waters, no horizon raised mountain high. It seemed like a vast basin-shaped world, for all around me the surface appeared to rise, and I was in what looked like a depression; yet I knew that the basin and the depression were an illusion, and that this appearance was due to the immense extent of level surface with the environment of lofty mountains. Cela ressemblait à un vaste monde en forme de bassin, car tout autour de moi la surface semblait s'élever, et j'étais dans ce qui ressemblait à une dépression ; pourtant je savais que le bassin et la dépression étaient une illusion, et que cette apparence était due à l'immense étendue de la surface plane avec l'environnement des hautes montagnes. I had crossed the antarctic circle; I had been borne onward for an immense distance. Over all the known surface of the earth no one had ever seen anything like this; there were but two places where such an immeasurable plain was possible, and those were at the flattened poles. Sur toute la surface connue de la terre, personne n'avait jamais rien vu de tel ; il n'y avait que deux endroits où une telle plaine incommensurable était possible, et ceux-ci étaient aux pôles aplatis. Where I was I now knew well. I had reached the antarctic pole. Here the earth was flat--an immense level with no roundness to lessen the reach of the horizon but an almost even surface that gave an unimpeded view for hundreds of miles. Ici, la terre était plate - un niveau immense sans arrondi pour réduire la portée de l'horizon, mais une surface presque plane qui offrait une vue imprenable sur des centaines de kilomètres.

The subterranean channel had rushed through the mountains and had carried me here. Here came all the waters of the Northern ocean pouring into this vast polar sea, perhaps to issue forth from it by some similar passage. Here, then, was the South Pole--a world by itself: and how different from that terrible, that iron land on the other side of the mountains!--not a world of ice and frost, but one of beauty and light, with a climate that was almost tropical in its warmth, and lands that were covered with the rank luxuriance of a teeming vegetable life. Voici donc le pôle Sud, un monde en soi : et combien différent de ce terrible, ce pays de fer de l'autre côté des montagnes ! - pas un monde de glace et de givre, mais un monde de beauté et de lumière, avec un climat presque tropical dans sa chaleur, et des terres couvertes de la luxuriance insipide d'une vie végétale foisonnante. I had passed from that outer world to this inner one, and the passage was from death unto life, from agony and despair to sunlight and splendor and joy. Above all, in all around me that which most impressed me now was the rich and superabundant life, and a warmth of air which made me think of India. It was an amazing and an unaccountable thing, and I could only attribute it to the flattening of the poles, which brought the surface nearer to the supposed central fires of the earth, and therefore created a heat as great as that of the equatorial regions. Here I found a tropical climate--a land warmed not by the sun, but from the earth itself. Or another cause might be found in the warm ocean currents. Whatever the true one might be, I was utterly unable to form a conjecture.

But I had no time for such speculations as these. After the first emotions of wonder and admiration had somewhat subsided, I began to experience other sensations. I began to remember that I had eaten nothing for a length of time that I had no means of calculating, and to look around to see if there was any way of satisfying my hunger. The question arose now, What was to be done? La question se posa alors : que fallait-il faire ? After my recent terrible experience I naturally shrank from again committing myself to the tender mercies of strange tribes; yet further thought and examination showed me that the people of this strange land must be very different from those frightful savages on the other side of the mountains. Après ma récente expérience terrible, j'ai naturellement hésité à m'engager à nouveau à la merci d'étranges tribus ; une réflexion et un examen plus poussés me montrèrent que les habitants de ce pays étrange devaient être très différents de ces effroyables sauvages de l'autre côté des montagnes. Everywhere I beheld the manifest signs of cultivation and civilization. Still, I knew that even civilized people would not necessarily be any kinder than savages, and that I might be seized and flung into hopeless imprisonment or slavery.

So I hesitated, yet what could I do? My hunger was beginning to be insupportable. I had reached a place where I had to choose between starvation on the one hand, or a venture among these people on the other. To go back was impossible. Who could breast those waters in the tremendous subterranean channel, or force his way back through such appalling dangers? Qui pourrait traverser ces eaux dans le formidable canal souterrain, ou se frayer un chemin à travers des dangers aussi épouvantables ? Wie zou die wateren in het enorme ondergrondse kanaal kunnen bedwingen, of zich een weg terug kunnen banen door zulke verschrikkelijke gevaren? Or, if that were possible, who could ever hope to breast those mighty currents beyond, or work his way amid everlasting ice and immeasurable seas? No; return was impossible. I had been flung into this world of wonders, and here would be my home for the remainder of my days; though I could not now imagine whether those days would be passed in peace or in bitter slavery and sorrow. Yet the decision must be made and the risk must be run. It must be so. I must land here, venture among these people, and trust in that Providence which had hitherto sustained me.

Having thus resolved at all hazards to try my fate, I rowed in toward the shore. Ayant ainsi résolu à tout prix d'essayer mon sort, je ramai vers le rivage. Thus far I had seen galleys passing and small boats, but they had taken no notice of me, for the reason that they were too far away to perceive anything about me that differed from any other boat; but now, as I rowed, I noticed a galley coming down toward me. She seemed to be going in toward the shore at the very point at which I was aiming, and her course and mine must soon meet if I continued to row. After some hesitation I concluded to make signals to her, so as to attract attention; for, now that I had resolved to venture among the people here, I was anxious to end my suspense as soon as possible. So I continued rowing, and gradually drew nearer. The galley was propelled by oars, of which there were fifty on either side. La galère était propulsée par des rames, au nombre de cinquante de chaque côté. The stem was raised, and covered in like a cabin. L'étrave était relevée et couverte comme une cabane. De stam was verhoogd en bedekt als een hut. At length I ceased rowing, and sat watching her. I soon saw that I was noticed, but this did not occur till the galley was close by me--so close, indeed, that I thought they would pass without perceiving me. I raised my hands, waved them, and gave a cry. The galley at once stopped, a boat was lowered, and some men descended and rowed toward me.

They were men of strange appearance--very small in stature and slender in frame. Their hair was black and straight, their features were quite regular, and their general expression was one of great gentleness. Leurs cheveux étaient noirs et raides, leurs traits étaient assez réguliers et leur expression générale était d'une grande douceur. I was surprised to notice that they kept their eyes almost closed, as though they were weak and troubled by the glare of the sun. J'ai été surpris de constater qu'ils gardaient les yeux presque fermés, comme s'ils étaient faibles et troublés par l'éclat du soleil. With their half-closed eyes they blinked at me, and then one who appeared to be their chief spoke to me. I understood not a word; and then I answered him in English, which, of course, was equally unintelligible to him. I then made signs, pointing to the mountains and endeavoring to make known to him that I had come from beyond them--that I had suffered shipwreck, that I had drifted here, and that I needed assistance. Je fis alors des signes indiquant les montagnes et m'efforçant de lui faire savoir que je venais d'au-delà, que j'avais fait naufrage, que j'avais dérivé ici et que j'avais besoin d'aide. Of all this it was quite evident that they understood nothing except the fact that I needed help. The moment that they comprehended this they took me in tow and rowed back to the galley. Dès qu'ils ont compris cela, ils m'ont pris en remorque et ont ramé jusqu'à la galère.

I found the galley to be about one hundred and fifty feet in length. For about two thirds of this length forward it was open and filled with seats, where there were about a hundred rowers, who all looked like those that I had first seen, all being of small stature, slender frames, and, moreover, all being apparently distressed by the sunlight. Sur environ les deux tiers de cette longueur en avant, il était ouvert et rempli de sièges, où il y avait une centaine de rameurs, qui ressemblaient tous à ceux que j'avais vus pour la première fois, tous étant de petite taille, de charpente élancée, et, de plus, tous étant apparemment affligé par la lumière du soleil. There was in all of them the same mild and gentle expression. In complexion and general outline of features they were not unlike Arabs, but they were entirely destitute of that hardness and austerity which the latter have. They all had beards, which were dressed in a peculiar way in plaits. Ils avaient tous des barbes, qui étaient vêtues d'une manière particulière en tresses. Their costume varied. The rowers wore a coarse tunic, with a girdle of rope. The officers wore tunics of fine cloth and very elegant mantles, richly embroidered, and with borders of down. Les officiers portaient des tuniques de drap fin et des manteaux très élégants, richement brodés et bordés de duvet. De officieren droegen tunieken van fijne stof en zeer elegante mantels, rijk geborduurd en met randen van dons. They all wore broad-brimmed hats, and the one who seemed to be chief had on his some golden ornaments. Ze droegen allemaal breedgerande hoeden en degene die opperhoofd leek te zijn, had gouden sieraden op.

Here once more I tried to explain to them who I was. They looked at me, examining me all over, inspecting my gun, pistol, coat, trousers, boots, and hat, and talking all the time among themselves. They did not touch me, but merely showed the natural curiosity which is felt at the sight of a foreigner who has appeared unexpectedly. There was a scrupulous delicacy and a careful and even ceremonious politeness in their attitude toward me which was at once amazing and delightful. All fear and anxiety had now left me; in the gentle manners and amiable faces of these people I saw enough to assure me of kind treatment; and in my deep joy and gratitude for this even my hunger was for a time forgotten.

At length the chief motioned to me to follow him. Eindelijk gebaarde de chef me hem te volgen. He led the way to the cabin, where, opening the door, he entered, and I followed, after which the others came in also and then the door was shut. At first I could see nothing. There were no windows whatever, and only one or two slight crevices through which the light came. After a time my eyes grew more accustomed to the darkness, and I could see that the cabin was a spacious compartment, adorned with rich hangings of some unknown material. There was a large table and seats. Taking me by the hand, the chief led me to this, where I seated myself, while the others remained standing. Then some of them went away, and soon returned with food and drink. The food was of different kinds--some tasting like goose, others like turkey, others like partridge. It was all the flesh of fowls, though, judging from the slices before me, they must have been of great size. I wondered much at the behavior of the officers of the ship, who all, and the chief himself more than all, stood and waited upon me; but it was a new world, and I supposed that this must be the fashion; so I made no objections, but accepted the situation and ate with a thankful heart.

As the first keenness of my appetite was satisfied I had more leisure to make observations. A mesure que la première vivacité de mon appétit était satisfaite, j'eus plus de loisir pour faire des observations. I noticed that the eyes of my new friends no longer blinked; they were wide open; and, so far as I could make them out, their faces were much improved. J'ai remarqué que les yeux de mes nouveaux amis ne clignaient plus ; ils étaient grands ouverts ; et, autant que j'ai pu les distinguer, leurs visages s'étaient beaucoup améliorés. Weakness of eyes seemed common among these people, and therefore the officers had their cabin darkened, while the unfortunate rowers had to labor in the blazing sun. La faiblesse des yeux semblait courante chez ces gens, et c'est pourquoi les officiers avaient leur cabine obscurcie, tandis que les malheureux rameurs devaient travailler sous le soleil de plomb. Such was my conclusion, and the fact reminded me of the miserable fellahin of Egypt, who have ophthalmia from the blazing sun and burning sand. Telle était ma conclusion, et le fait m'a rappelé le misérable fellah d'Égypte, qui souffre d'ophtalmie à cause du soleil brûlant et du sable brûlant.

After the repast they brought me water in a basin, and all stood around me. One held the basin, another a towel, another a flask, another took a sponge and proceeded to wash my face and hands. L'un tenait le bassin, un autre une serviette, un autre un flacon, un autre prit une éponge et se mit à me laver le visage et les mains. This was all strange to me, yet there was nothing left for me but submission. Then the chief, who had stood looking on with a smile on his face took off his rich furred mantle and handed it to me. I was half inclined to refuse it, but was afraid of giving offence, so I accepted it, and he himself fastened it around my shoulders. J'étais à moitié enclin à le refuser, mais j'avais peur d'offenser, alors je l'ai accepté, et il l'a lui-même attaché autour de mes épaules. The others seemed actually to envy the chief, as though he had gained some uncommon good-fortune. Then they offered me various drinks, of which I tasted several kinds. Some were sweet waters of different flavors, others tasted like mild wine, one was a fermented drink, light, sweet, and very agreeable to the palate. Certaines étaient des eaux douces de différentes saveurs, d'autres avaient un goût de vin doux, l'une était une boisson fermentée, légère, douce et très agréable au palais. I now wished to show my generous entertainers that I was grateful; so I raised my cup, bowed to all of them, particularly the chief, and drank their health. Je voulais maintenant montrer à mes généreux amuseurs que j'étais reconnaissant ; J'ai donc levé ma coupe, je me suis incliné devant eux tous, en particulier le chef, et j'ai bu à leur santé. They all watched this ceremony with very sober faces, and I could not quite make out whether they took my meaning or not. Ils regardaient tous cette cérémonie avec des visages très sobres, et je n'arrivais pas à deviner s'ils comprenaient ou non mon intention. They certainly did not look pleased, and it seemed to me as though they felt hurt at any expression of gratitude, so I concluded for the future to abstain from all such demonstrations.

Yet with every moment the manners of these people grew more bewildering. Pourtant, à chaque instant, les manières de ces gens devenaient de plus en plus déconcertantes. It was strange, indeed, for me to find myself so suddenly the centre of interest and of generous intentions. For a moment the thought occurred to me that they regarded me as some wonderful being with superior powers, and were trying to propitiate me by these services; yet I soon saw that these services were not at all acts of propitiation; they looked rather like those loving and profuse attentions which a family showers down upon some dear one long absent and at last returned, and with this my wonder grew greater than ever. Pendant un instant, la pensée me vint qu'ils me considéraient comme un être merveilleux avec des pouvoirs supérieurs, et essayaient de me concilier par ces services ; pourtant je vis bientôt que ces services n'étaient nullement des actes de propitiation ; elles ressemblaient un peu à ces attentions pleines d'amour et d'abondance qu'une famille fait pleuvoir sur un être cher longtemps absent et enfin revenu, et avec cela mon émerveillement devint plus grand que jamais. На мгновение мне пришла в голову мысль, что они считают меня каким-то чудесным существом с высшими способностями и пытаются умилостивить меня этими услугами; однако вскоре я понял, что эти службы вовсе не были актами умилостивления; они были скорее похожи на то любящее и обильное внимание, которое семья обрушивает на кого-то из близких, давно отсутствовавшего и наконец вернувшегося, и с этим мое удивление стало больше, чем когда-либо.

The galley had long since resumed her progress. La galère avait depuis longtemps repris sa marche. Галера уже давно возобновила свое продвижение. I heard the steady beat of the oars as they all moved in time, and at length the motion ceased. J'entendis le battement régulier des rames alors qu'elles se déplaçaient toutes dans le temps, et enfin le mouvement cessa. Я слышал ровный стук весел, когда они все двигались во времени, и, наконец, движение прекратилось. The chief then signed to me and went out. I followed, and the rest came after. And now as I emerged from the gloom of the cabin, I found myself once more in the glorious light of day, and saw that we had reached the land. The galley was hauled up alongside a stone quay, and on the shore there were buildings and walls and trees and people. The chief went ashore at once and I accompanied him. We walked for some distance along a road with stone walls on either side, from behind which there arose trees that from a distance had looked like palms. Nous marchâmes sur une certaine distance le long d'une route avec des murs de pierre de chaque côté, derrière lesquels s'élevaient des arbres qui, de loin, ressemblaient à des palmiers. I now found them to be giant ferns, arching overhead with their broad fanlike leaves and branches in dense masses, making the roadway quite dark in the shadow. Je trouvais maintenant qu'il s'agissait de fougères géantes, arquées au-dessus de ma tête avec leurs larges feuilles en éventail et leurs branches en masses denses, rendant la chaussée assez sombre dans l'ombre. Astonished as I was at the sight of these trees, I soon forgot them in a still more astonishing sight, for after going onward about a hundred paces I stopped, and found myself in a wide space where four cross-roads met. Tout étonné que j'étais à la vue de ces arbres, je les oubliai bientôt dans un spectacle plus étonnant encore, car après avoir fait une centaine de pas, je m'arrêtai et me trouvai dans un vaste espace où se rencontraient quatre carrefours. Here there were three birds of gigantic stature. Ici, il y avait trois oiseaux de stature gigantesque. They had vast bodies, short legs, short necks, and seemed as large as an ordinary-sized ox. Ils avaient un corps vaste, des pattes courtes, un cou court et semblaient aussi gros qu'un bœuf de taille ordinaire. Their wings were short, and evidently could not be used for flight; their beaks were like that of a sea-gull; each one had a man on his back, and was harnessed to a car. Их крылья были короткими и, очевидно, не могли использоваться для полета; их клювы были как у чайки; у каждого был мужчина на спине, и они были привязаны к машине. The chief motioned to me to enter one of these cars. I did so. He followed, and thereupon the driver started the bird, which set forth with long, rapid strides, at a pace fast as that of a trotting horse. Il le suivit, et là-dessus le cocher fit démarrer l'oiseau, qui partit à grandes enjambées rapides, à une allure rapide comme celle d'un cheval au trot. So astonished was I that for some time I did not notice anything else; but at length, when my first feeling had subsided, I began to regard other objects. All the way the dense fern foliage arched overhead, throwing down deep shadows. They grew on either side in dense rows, but between their stalks I could see the country beyond, which lay all bright in the sunlight. Ils poussaient de chaque côté en rangées denses, mais entre leurs tiges je pouvais voir le pays au-delà, qui s'étendait tout brillant au soleil.

Here were broad fields, all green with verdure; farther away arose clumps of tree-ferns; at every step of the way new vistas opened; amid the verdure and the foliage were the roofs of structures that looked like pavilions, and more massive edifices with pyramidal roofs. Ici, c'étaient de vastes champs, tout verts de verdure ; plus loin s'élevaient des touffes de fougères arborescentes ; à chaque étape du chemin s'ouvraient de nouvelles perspectives ; au milieu de la verdure et des feuillages se trouvaient les toits des constructions qui ressemblaient à des pavillons, et des édifices plus massifs à toits pyramidaux. Our road constantly ascended, and at length we came to a crossing. Notre route montait constamment, et enfin nous arrivâmes à un croisement. This was a wide terrace at the slope of the mountain; on the lower side was a row of massive stone edifices with pyramidal roofs, while on the upper there were portals which seemed to open into excavated caverns. C'était une large terrasse au flanc de la montagne ; sur le côté inférieur se trouvait une rangée d'édifices en pierre massifs avec des toits pyramidaux, tandis qu'en haut, il y avait des portails qui semblaient s'ouvrir sur des cavernes excavées. Here, too, on either side arose the giant ferns, overarching and darkening the terrace with their deep shadow. From this point I looked back, and through the trunks of the tree-ferns I could see fields and pavilions and the pyramidal roofs of massive edifices, and broad, verdant slopes, while in the distance there were peeps of the boundless sea. De ce point, j'ai regardé en arrière, et à travers les troncs des fougères arborescentes, je pouvais voir des champs et des pavillons et les toits pyramidaux des édifices massifs, et de larges pentes verdoyantes, tandis qu'au loin il y avait des lueurs de la mer sans limites. We continued on our way without stopping, and passed several successive terraces like the first, with the same caverns on the upper side and massive edifices on the lower, until at last the ascent ended at the fifth terrace, and here we turned to the left. Now the view became more varied. The tree-ferns arose on either side, arching overhead; on my right were the portals that opened into caverns, on my left solid and massive houses, built of great blocks of stone, with pyramidal roofs. As far as I could judge, I was in a city built on the slope of a mountain, with its streets formed thus of successive terraces and their connecting cross-ways, one half its habitations consisting of caverns, while the other half were pavilions and massive stone structures. Autant que j'en ai pu juger, j'étais dans une ville bâtie sur le versant d'une montagne, avec ses rues formées ainsi de terrasses successives et de leurs carrefours de jonction, une moitié d'habitations consistant en cavernes, tandis que l'autre moitié étaient des pavillons et structures massives en pierre. Few people, however, were to be seen. Occasionally I saw one or two groping along with their eyes half shut, seeking the darkest shadows; and it seemed to me that this extraordinary race of men had some natural and universal peculiarity of eyesight which made them shun the sunlight, and seek the darkness of caves and of dense, overshadowing foliage. Parfois j'en voyais un ou deux tâtonner les yeux mi-clos, cherchant les ombres les plus sombres ; et il me sembla que cette extraordinaire race d'hommes avait quelque particularité naturelle et universelle de la vue qui les faisait fuir la lumière du soleil, et rechercher l'obscurité des grottes et du feuillage dense et ombragé.

At length we came to a place where the terrace ran back till it formed a semicircle against the mountain slope, when several vast portals appeared. Enfin, nous arrivâmes à un endroit où la terrasse reculait jusqu'à former un demi-cercle contre le versant de la montagne, lorsque plusieurs vastes portails apparurent. Here there was a large space, where the tree-ferns grew in long lines crossing each other, and making a denser shade than usual. On the lower side were several stone edifices of immense size; and in the middle of the place there arose a singular structure, shaped like a half pyramid, with three sides sloping, and the fourth perpendicular, flat on the top, which was approached by a flight of steps. Sur la face inférieure se trouvaient plusieurs édifices de pierre d'une taille immense ; et au milieu de la place s'élevait une structure singulière, en forme de demi-pyramide, avec trois côtés inclinés, et le quatrième perpendiculaire, plat sur le dessus, auquel s'approchait une volée de marches. Aan de onderkant waren verschillende stenen gebouwen van enorme omvang; en in het midden van de plaats verrees een enkelvoudig bouwwerk, in de vorm van een halve piramide, met drie schuine zijden, en de vierde loodrecht, plat aan de bovenkant, die werd benaderd door een trap. We now went on until we reached the central portal of the range of caverns, and here we stopped. Nous avons maintenant continué jusqu'à ce que nous ayons atteint le portail central de la chaîne des cavernes, et ici nous nous sommes arrêtés. The chief got out and beckoned to me. I followed. He then led the way into the cavern, while I, full of wonder, walked behind him. Il ouvrit alors le chemin dans la caverne, tandis que moi, émerveillé, marchais derrière lui.