The Sun.
London, England, 1861-12-20 00:00:00

AVERAGE PRICE OF SUGAR.

Computed from the Returns made in the week ending
Dec. 17, 1861, exclusive of the duties of Customs paid or
payable thereon on the importation thereof into Great
Britain:— per cwt.
Muscovado, the produce of British America.. 23s 4d

BANKRUPTS.
The portion of the Gaut c containing the Bankrupts had
not arrived when we went to press.

THE ERUPTION OF MOUNT VESUVIUS

We have been favoured with the following extract from
a letter from an eye-witness :
" Last Sunday (December 8) I witnessed one of those
efforts of nature that have in this country so universally
left its mark in the way of buried cities, &c. About
half Test three in the afternoon, or earlier perhaps, I
received a message from the deck to say that an
immense deal of smoke was issuing from the side of the
hill immediately under Mount Vesuvius, and just
above the town of Torre del Greco. Up I went at once,
and then I saw one of the most extraordinary and
grandest sights that in my opinion can possibly be seen,
impressing on us, against our will, what mere atoms we
are. The earth then (if I may use the expression) had
opened, and a small volcano formed, and issuing from it,
to a height of 800 or 900 fact, were smoke, large stones,
and ashes, in the shape of very small sand, accom-
panied by a loud rumbling noise, and this at about 30 miles
or a little less distance. In one hour the horizon was per-
fectly obscured, and the mouth of the bay hidden by smoke
and ashes. As the night came on it became more violent,
and towards seven or eight o'clock the flames and large red
hot stones were coming forth, accompanied by the aforesaid
noise, to a height of 200 or 300 .feet. All this time Vesu-
vius was perfectly quiet. Towards 9 o'clock it slackened its
violence; but still the same amount of smoke but without
the rumbling noise. The next day (Monday), about 10 in
the morning, a loud report was heard, and on looking to-
wards Vesuvius, it was found it was not going to remain a
quiet spectator of the previous day's eruption, but as if to
show its contempt for the young crater that had formed itself
lower down, burst out in double fury,throwing up stones hot,
and its ashes far at sea, obscuring the mid-day sun, accom-
panied by noise more deep and sonorous than that of the dap
before. It was a most wonderful and terrific sight. About
one o'clock two of u, took a carriage and went out to the
scene of the eruption of the day before, and there you could
hardly obtain a better idea of the destruction of Pompeii, as
given by an eye-witness, Pliny,than the scene that was pre-
serif ed to our view when we came near the town of Torre
Greco. The whole way from Naples was full of carts of
household furniture belonging to those who had deserted
the town and fled from the eruptions and earthquakes, for
there:had been several of the latter. When we arrived
near the town, that is, within three miles, the fine ashes
began to fall fast (for hitherto we had only seen them, the
wind being in a contrary direction), all the shops and
houses were chat, sentinels were marching the streets to
keep people away from the danger of falling houses, for
earthquakes had parted the paved streets in several places,
and three houses had fallen in, and still apparently no
cessation of the eruption. As we got into the town the
sand and ashes were falling so thick that it was impossible
to keep your eyes open without a shade or umbrella, and
almost every one had adopted half a newspaper stuck under
their hats and projecting over their faces ; every one so
thickly covered in dust that it was impossible to discover
the colour of their clothes, On we went, now on our legs,
having left the carriages, at one time walking along the
beaten path cut in the lava, at another over the rough
lava itself, and so hot that we could not stand long on
it. At last we arrived within 100 yards of the crater,
and it appeared to be subsiding, though the smoke and
sand were still coming forth very fast. Vesuvius was es
active as ever, making most appalling noises as if the earth
was shaken to its very centre. The ground on which we
stood was shaking like an aspen leaf, with a heaving and
convulsive power underneath. At last I thought we might
try and climb up the cone so as to look into the crater, if
only for a minute ; so I went, followed by some others. We
were well repaid for our temerity, for we discovered that
the whole of the ground on which we were standing was
nothing more within a few inches only of its surface than
a red hot ash-heap, I should say 40 feet in thickness. We
had not been standing there ten minutes when, without
the least notice, a small eruption took place almost along-
side of us, throwing up ashes and smoke, and as we were
running for safety the red-hot stones, as big as one's head,
fell around us. However, as we had not yet seen down
the crater itself, but only the ridge adjoining it, I thought
I would make another attempt, and 1 succeeded in climbing
to the top and hooking down. I could see nothing but
smoke and fire, the latter almost on a level with myself.
Suddenly it made a great noise, which was sufficient for
me, and I ran down as hard as I could split ,and got
back all right. Ten minutes afterwards it burst forth and
the place on which I had been standing was literally covered
with red-hot stone or lava. Night was creeping on and it
increased in fury, and the ground was in one incessant
tremble. We remained for an hour after dark, and on our
way back we found that the whole of the lava onf
a which
inchesw we
had bean and were then treading was,
of i t surface,
isspli t
rightre red-bet. tewt .n
tTliroeuwg
irottlhei
leo f then hill-isideesowefa. Vesu-
viusl,jietteonw was very beautiful,
view from the bay that nifilintau,en
red-hot stones, there
e
gfwlersriecnacmao ndesditinat inoctonnbtrtoai geththtwe
.tirhseb:
the
oa
air.
Tnainoesvd,
a likerdsmidnight lightning, it as t h
sub-
sided.tolis,e iinhiettown is entirely deserted, and no one is allowed
It is the belief hero that we have not seen the
wor.t of it, but that it is only gathering fresh
auyf force rsevenstill
people
d ifr Torree..
rant
times,tG rec hasthe been
last destroyed
dloiOn yearshesame
amgoe; but
flock back to it.—Naples, Dec. 12, 1861."

The Ondine (the clerical journal of Malta) makes
ihe following announcement :—Yesterday Mr. Wm. Pee 1,
an English gentleman long resident in this island, abjured
Protestantism on his deathbed, in the village of Nexaro,
and having received the sacraments expired kissing our
Lord, and in the bosom of the Catholic Church, to the im-
mensejoy of his family and of all the population of thevillage.