Nothing could be more
weird than the appearance of these seemingly basaltic
summits; they stood out in fantastic profile against the
sombre sky, and the beholder might have fancied them to
be the legendary ruins of some vast city of the middle
ages, such as the icebergs of the polar seas sometimes
mimic them in nights of gloom.
"An admirable landscape for the 'Mysteries of Udolpho'!"
exclaimed the doctor. "Ann Radcliffe could not
have depicted yon mountains in a more appalling aspect."
"Faith!" said Joe, "I wouldn't like to be strolling
alone in the evening through this country of ghosts. Do
you see now, master, if it wasn't so heavy, I'd like to carry
that whole landscape home to Scotland! It would do for
the borders of Loch Lomond, and tourists would rush there
in crowds."
"Our balloon is hardly large enough to admit of that
little experiment--but I think our direction is changing.
Bravo!--the elves and fairies of the place are quite obliging.
See, they've sent us a nice little southeast breeze,
that will put us on the right track again."
In fact, the Victoria was resuming a more northerly
route, and on the morning of the 20th she was passing
over an inextricable network of channels, torrents, and
streams, in fine, the whole complicated tangle of the Niger's
tributaries.
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