The Sun.
London, England, 1859-08-31 00:00:00

A SAILOR'S ASCENT OF ..110UNT
VES U VI US.

The following letter is from the pen of a young
seaman named Dymond, 20 years of age, servieg
on board her Majesty's ship Centurion. He is the
son of a messenger at one of the Plymouth banks.
The-writer is a true seaman, as far as spinning a
long yarn is concerned, but his description is pro-
bably more correct than many of those which have
been written on the same subject. We wish the
navy had some thousands of young fellows of his
pluck and perseverance. Should the enterprising
young seaman go to Mont Blanc Albert Smith
must look to his laurels :---
"Dear Mother—l have had a bit of a dangerous
walk since I wrote to you. I have been to the top
of Mount Vesuvius and looked into the crater ; it
was a most awful and grand sight. The height of
the mount is 3,000 feet from the level of the sea
and about ten miles sloping upwards. It was rather
a fatiguing walk. Four of us started, but after
they went up to the burninr, lava they turned back,
but it was no use; I was determined to mount to
the top. They watched me till they said I was as
small as a mouse, and shook their heads and turned
back, whilst I, nothing daunted, pushed on. It
was not walking, it was a jump and a spring,
slipping, falling, sinking to the knees in sand and
cinders. I started with the intention of going as
far as I could, so I took no refreshment whatever,
and can assure you I paid dearly for it. I suffered
the most extreme thirst. I put a silver coin
in my mouth and I sucked it as bright as a
diamond, so you may guess it was rather dry
work. After I passed the vineyard at the bottom
of the mount, I met with a dusty and soft soil, sink-
ing ankle deep every step until I came to the burn-
ing lava that forced itself through the mount. By
Jove it was hot. Talk about a blacksmith's foundry
—it's a mere trifle to it. I saw the lava rolling out
burning as bright as the sun and streaming down
the sides ; turning a steel blue as it got cool. Well,
after passing through that I came to the cold lava.
That was the stuff to walk on—like a large pie-
crust, you would think it firm but down you sink.
I think I must have a good pair of legs after I got
by that. Then I came to sand, up to knees every
step, very pleasant—the sun striking down and no
signs of water! Everything burnt and parched
up, fearfully choking with thirst. I scrambled on,
no sign of anything human ! I rested about 20
times to take off my shoes and stockings to
shake sand out, and got in the ravine! and now
comes the grand tug to the top ; it was climbing
hand over hand, sinking and falling. Every foot I
would catch hold of a lava, thinking it would hold
me, give a tug and down it would come right on
the top of me, had I not jumped on one side, or
rather fell, out of the way. Imagine, about four
cwt. of lava rolling down! no very pleasant thing
to stop, I can assure•you. I sat down regularly ex-
hausted. Shall I turn back ? No, Bill,' go a-head
or drop,' well, at it again.' Toiling, scrambling,
till I get up to about 100 feet from the top, when I
see a little thin vapour on the top, rolling down
towards me. I took no notice till it reached me,
when, talk about the essence of sulphur itself, 'twee
twenty times worse. I felt a shudder seize me ;
my lips grew rigid ; my nose felt as hard as a
bullet; my tongue clove to my mouth ; I felt a
stifling sensation in my throat, and giddiness, and
down I fell stiff.

" Oh! the sea breeze sprung up ; a fresh air re-
vived me. I plucked up courage—it was run,
Bill, run ; I did, or rather I sprung, I leaped, I
flew. Oh ! for dear life. I gained the top, -and
ran to windward. I gained the top, my hope was
reached. I rested then. Now lam going to tell
you about the crater,' or what they call the mouth
of the hill. It is about a quarter of a mile around,
and about half a mile deep ; you can't see the bot-
tom, owing to the smoke that keeps rolling up.
There it isn't smoke, it is a regular white vapour,
rank poison, and no mistake. By the small sniff I
got I think if it had lasted on me a minute longer
it would have been a slew-up; so I kept to wind-
ward. I can assure you it is just like looking down
a deep pit. You can hear the molten lava just like
frying fish on a fierce fire, fizzing, cracking, and
snapping. I started about one hundred weight of
lava and stuff down ; I saw it rolling down about
half way, and then it swept into the vapour and
vanished from my sight ; I could see it no more,
but I fancied I heard it drop into the boiling lava.
I suppose that it is about as far down as where the
lava forces through the sides of the Mount and finds
vent, and that it is about half a mile down from the
top ; so that by that I guess it must be about a half
mile deep. Well, I stopped about an hour on top
surveying the country. It was well worth the
trouble I took just to see the scenery. It isbeyond my
power to describe it to you. There was Naples, m
all its glory, underneath, to the right ; the sea in
front ; Castellamare to the left ; Pompeii and Her-
culaneum right underneath. You may imagine
what thoughts were in my head. I was standing
on the edge of the very crater, or mouth of the
mount, which emitted that pillar of fire which de-
stroyed those houses and cities 1,800 years ago.
There were the ruins still standing. What a sight !
Turn round. There the seething vapour is still
issuing up like a kettle singing. Should a shift of
wind come suddenly, down I should drop—pleasant
reflections, but wonderful feelings. I have taken
three specimens of the edge of the crater, which I
will show you when I can, and a stick which I took
up with me. I carved a few names, of which I will
tell you by and bye. I left the stick up ; come
down fine and tired and fatigued. I got a drink ;
I thought I should have drunk the sea dry. When
I came on board to them they would not believe me,
but I told them if they went on top they would se•
my stick, and offered any young fellow a " wet" if
they fetched it down. A young fellow brought it
down, and now they believe me. He gave me the
stick, which I shall bring home with me. So I
boast of being the first to ascend the Mount in this
ship's company. Since then Jack Gimblett went
up, but he had a guide, I had none ; he had refresh-
ments, I foolishly brought none ; he bad my direc-
tions how to go, but I had no one's; so I had the
honour of being the first of six that went up. It
took me from 6 a.m. till 9 p.m., nine hours, without
taking anything. Judge of my legs after that.—
Yours truly. " W. D."
—Plymouth Journal.

AN ADVENTURE ON GOATFELL.

A party of gentlemen left Invercloy Hotel oil
Monday forenoon, to ascend the lofty peak of Goat-
fell. The day was hot, and the sky was clear, but
over the distant landscape there was a haze which
invariably accompanies heat, and which gives dis-
t int coasts and headlands a shadowy, indefinite, and
to scme, with creative fancies to fill up the outline,
a poetical aspect, but to the matter-of-fact traveller
a disagreeable barrier to- vision. The party
numbered seven or eight gentlemen, some of them
youthful, nimble, and active, but more than one had
seen the snows of half-a-century. Having attained
the height of their ambition, the summit of Goat-
Tell, and enjoyed the refreshing breeze which on
the hottest day is felt there, and having partaken
of such refreshments for the inward man as are
ever welcome to the natives of merry England, they
commenced the descent by a different path from
that by which they ascended. Some of the party
had climbed the mountains of Switzerland, and
looked upon anything got up in this country
as mere molehills in comparison. One stout,
spectacled gentleman of 19 stone (Dr. Smith),
rubicund, noisy, and short-sighted, started of
down the southwest side among the loose debris
which had fallen from the rocks above. This steep
incline
whichneter a
terminates on
fellonthetotpwo yearsofafe ago and w
fearful precipice,as
over
killed. Down, down went our friend in a gully
made by a mountain torrent, till his eye caught the
fearful gulf below, and in desperation he clung to
a jutting rock, by which his progress downwards
was checked. Holding on like some" bold swimmer
binuthisthaegyonyh,a"dheenshorgthed
to do
ahois
trh ou
and heeded him not. They got friendsdown tfoorGlaeind_,
with themselves,
ro
muchsll ab below
out
their
bours ,
resting from his Ia concerning
astbetyhetbmoseuglyhets,
friend,t. whom they now ob-
servedon his lofty chair. _ They shouted to him to come
along, but their
shouts were lost in the noise of a
falling torrent. They now wended their way
homeward to Invercloy, consoling themselves with
the remark that their friend would not fail to be
at the inn in time for dinner But dinner passed,
nightfall came, and still no word of the lost
gentlemen, and: jokes were not so frequent, and
long faces and anxious looks were being put
on. The landlord of the Douglas Hotel
was now appealed to, and he is ever ready
and ever active to aid his friends. All the available
hands about the fan were called out, waiters and
coachmen were collected, and off they set, pro-
vided with ropes, &c. The whole night long the
search was continued, but not until nine o'clock on.
Tuesday morning was any trace of the lost travel-
ler discovered. But there, at the identical spot
where he first caught the jutting rock, still hung
the adventurous traveller, and there for eightem
hours had he held on without being able to effect, an
advance or retreat. By the aid f o ropes he was
got out of his perilous position, and, by the help of
a little mountain dew his speech was restoi'ed.—
Greenock Advertiser.

THE AURORA BOREALIS.—A -correspondent
writing from Bridgend,Glamorgan, says, "I beg t o inform
you that I witnessed the beautiful aurora borealis, 4-AiMon-
day morning about a quarter past one o'clock. The ap-
pearance was similar to that described in your edition of
yesterday."

RAILWAY INTELLIGENCE.

LEWES AND UCKFIELD.

The fifth ordinary general meeting of the share-
holders in this company was held yesterday after-
noon, at their offices, in High-street, Lewes, Mr. R.
W. Blencowe, chairman of the board of directors,
presiding.
The report, which was adopted unanimously,
stated that the directors have duly received the
stipulated rent for their line from the London,
Brighton, and South Coast Company, and recom-
mend a dividend of 2 per cent. (less income tax) for
the half-year ending the 30th June last. Attached
to the report was the regular statement of accounts
duly audited.
A motion that a dividend for the half-year end-
ing the 30th June last be declared at the rate of 4
per cent. per annum (less income tax) was unani-
mously adopted.

HEREFORD, ROSS, AND GLOUCESTER.
The sixteenth half-yearly meeting of this com-
pany was held yesterday, at the Barrs Court sta-
tion, Hereford ; Mr. John Omerod in the chair.
The report was adopted, as were also the follow-
ing resolutions :—" That a dividend at the rate of
£5 per cent. per annum upon the preference shares
of the company be, and the same is, hereby de-
clared ; that a dividend at the rate of 4s. per share
on the ordinary shares of the company be, and the
same is, hereby declared."
A vote of thanks to the chairman (who officiated
in the absence of Colonel Vaughan) closed the meet-
ing.