CHAPTER X.
THE CAÑON ROAD.
This is a tropical forest,
Where myriad leaves forming a roof overhead, keep out the effulgence of sunlight,
So that beneath is the region of shadows and dimness;
Yet in this spectral twilight rise cities, magnificent, lonely;
Built in the far-distant days of giants—great architects they!
Sky-piercing pyramids, plinth, and column, and capital.
Line upon line of pillars, that loom in the darkness eternal,
Staircases huge, vast halls, and temples majestical;
Now no longer receiving the throngs of worshippers holy,