Memories of a life on earth go flashing past, Of home, of Grauben, friends of whom he's seen his last Contemplating what his life's been worth, While trapped beneath the earth, An embryo at birth Pain and fear destroy the beauty I have seen, Of caverns, where no other man has ever been Silurian epoch hosts me as my grave, My final blow I wave, A life too late to save Crystals of opaque quartz, studded limpid tears, Forming magic chandeliers, lighting blistered galleries NARRATION Narration 4 Suddenly the ground disappeared from beneath his feet. He fell down
a vertical shaft, his head hitting a sharp rock. He lost consciousness. On opening his eyes, he found himself with the Professor and the guide, and, looking around him, he saw an ocean stretching as faras the eye could see, a giant forest of mushrooms, a line of huge cliffs, and strange clouds hung overhead, as he lay on a deeply indented shore of golden sand strewn with shells. For a moment, he thought he was back on the surface of the earth, but soon realised that they had reached a world within a world.