We then rode down a chasm from the gates,

And entered Elpholen’s enchanted states.

To a wild amphitheatre we rode,

Begirt with precipices. From an astounding

Cavern in the mountain-side, there flowed

A river deep and broad; but the surrounding

Dark hollows echoed not a single sounding;

For silently it moved—we only heard

At times the plunging of some dull cascade

Far up the tunnel, like a cannonade.