The Sun.
London, England, 1830-09-03 00:00:00

ERUPTION OF ETNA, A.U. UM.

The lava, after overflowing fourteen towno
and villages, some having a population of be.
twcen 3,000 and 4,000 inhabitants, arrived at
length at the walls of Catania. These had been
Tpurposely - raised to protect the city ; but the
urning flood accumulated till it rose to the top
of the rampart, which was sixty feet in height,
and then it fell in a fiery cascade and. over-
whelmed part of the city. The wall, however,
WAS not thrown down, but Was discovered long
afterwards by excavations made in the rock by
:he Prince of l3iscari,; so that the traveller may
now see the solid lava • curling over the top of
the rampart as if still in the very act of fulling.
This great current had :performed a course of
fifteen miles before it entered the sea, where it
was still 600 yards broad and forty feet deep.
It covered some territories in the environs of
Catania, which had never before been visited by
the laves of Etna. While moving on, its sur-
face was in general a mass of solid rock ; and its
mode of advancing, as is usual with lava streams,
was by the occasional fissuring of the solid walls.
A gentleman of Catania, named 'Pappalardo, de-
siring to secure the city from the approach of
the threatening torrent, went out with a party
of fifty men whom he had dressed in skins to
.protect them from the heat, and -armed with
iron crows and hooks, They broke open one of
the solid walls which flanked the current near
l3elpasso, arid immediately forth issued a rivulet
of melted matter which .took the direction of
Paterno ,• but the inhabitants of that town,' being
alarmed for their safety, took up artrisand put a
• stop to further operations. As another illustra-
tion of the solidity of the walls of ani advancing
lava-stream, we may mention an adventure re-
lated by Recupero, who, in 1766, had ascended
a small hill formed of ancient volcanic matter, to
behold the slow and gradual approach of a fiery
current, two miles and a-half broad ; when sud-
denly two small threads of liquid matter issuing
from a crevice detached themselves from the
main stream, and ran rapidly towards the hill.
Ile and his guide had just time to escape, whet?
they saw the hill, which was fifty feet in height,
surrounded, and in a quarter of an hour melted
down into the burning mass, so as to flow on
with it. But it must not be supposed that this
complete fusion of rocky matter coming in con-
tact with lava is of universal, or even common
occurrence. On the site of Morripiliere, one of
the towns overflowed in the great eruptiOn above
described, an excavation was made in 1704 ; and
by immense labour the workmen reached, at the
depth of thirty-five feet, the gate of the principal
church, where there were three statues, held in
high veneration. One of these, together with a
bell, some money, and other articles, were ex-
tracted in a good state of preservation from be-
math a great arch formed by the lava. It seems
very extraordinary that any: works of art, not -en-
cased with tuff, like those Ilerculaneum,
should have escaped fusion in hollow spaces
left open in this lava-current, which was so hot
at Catania eight years after it entered the town,
that it was impossible to hold the hand in some
of the crevices.--4.ye/ts Geology. •

The new road, which commences at St. Jail's-
wood Chapel, in the parish of kit. Merykbeur, Arid tx-
tends to the North-East end of Mallard's-lane, *hutting
upon the North-road, At the eight mile-stone, on Fine
common, is now sompletsii. This read will Mrs s dia-
. tante of several miles to persOns travelling Notthward
from the Western part of the metropolis.bacidei avoiding
the hills upon the old reed by the Iligligstertrehway.—
There is also a new branch road 00tOplettsh from Maroica-
tield-bridge, in the Regent's-pork; which real enters the
main Finehley-road at the toropike-gattealled "Juttution.
road-gcte," about half-way between Hempstead and St.
John's-wood Chapel.
Peels full pOwers to War to every Government
A great sinecuriet, now in Egypt) left in
that might possibly be established.—Lt rohaty.
fast drawing to a conclusion, cm, Win
The harvest in this tie.iiglidwilirllritietaliriawer:tl::
continue a chart time longer, a very fine crop will he se-
eared in the best possible condition. /fattish Gazette.

About a fortnight ago, a child three years old,
belonging to —Juatoeax, a labourer, at Hermiston, while
playing in the yard, ran a thorn into bis thigh; his father
pulled it out t a week afterwards the child wart an ill front
the effect of it that a surgeon was sent for he perceive(
that eJjastni were Witted, and treated it Accordingly ; a
locked jaw, however, corm followed, and the child died
the next day.—Borten Gazette.

Since the use of the atontucii-hump was iii•
traduced in the Edinburgh PotirsAiftiee, such is the state
of drunkenness in the Modern Athens, that two or three
of these instruments have been actually worn out is the
service.— Caledonian Mercury.
A disturbance broke out at Lower }larches
on Sunday lest, arising front the introdution of worldliery
to put-I)ms of agriculture. To such excess bad the rio.
tern, 400 in number, suffered themselves to be led, that it
was yesterday found necessary to caktin tht 0101 ilia
litary ; accordingly, last uight a siluidiPtitt olpiel# ilta-
go(ins arrived here.--Kentish 9tetkil #4ll