The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1842-05-03


MES Of the Church."
"Cer,ainly," said the Maior,"I expect all the Ger
emony' .e. ot
swell then, Major, begin by The usual ques'
tion-you acknowledge yourself father ofth's pup
py 2" roar of laughter burst from tho crowd,
and the officer threw tho candidate for baptism
away. Thus the witty Minister turned the laugh
against the nfdel, who intended 20 deride the sa-
cred ordinance. H,Hroi H4.It tls tHa
vEsUvIUS, HERCULANEUM, AND POM
PEiI, IN 1889.
Whoever soiourns at Naples, were it only bat a
day, experiences the irresistible desire OF gong to
see what is passing at the bottom Of that crater
which perpetually smokes. 1t is especially TO-
wards evening, when the has disappeared be-.
meath the horizon that the vapors OF Vesuyius ass
sumo denser lint and deck it's summit with a
brighter Wilderness. AT Resina, you find horses,
donkcys and conductors, who convey travellers
half way up the mountain 10 the spot called the
Hermitage This first ride is not an uninteres-
ting one. Here nature is not yet dead. You pass
through vineyards, planted in ashes, which yield
The celebrated Lachryn,a Christ wine, two sorts OF
which there much inferior to their fame; then
come some name less trees, the foremost senlincs
OF vegetation, which INC next eruption will devour;
and lastly you reach tho Hermitage, surrounded
on all sides, one, by the lava Of 1894, 1910,
1913, and 1922. Hee you alight and enter re-
gion Of chaos No more trees, vegetation, birds,
or insects, are 10 be seen. Every thing is dark,
brstlIng with points, rent into deep and rugged
fractures, covered with scoria, of sulphurous
SMELL which tear your feet before they burn them.
You at the foot OF the cone; all that ie-
mains to be done is to sscend vertically along the
external sides Of the volcano, haltng on your way
TO asst glance al tho. lateral plateau called La
Somma which was, no doubt, at one time, the
main focus Of Vesuvius.
II your heart has not failed you along this ladder
of dried lava, you will reach the top Of the volca-
in three quarters Of an hour Hero the sight
begins-a terrible, original, and unexpected one,
notwithstanding all the descriptions given of it, -
Imagine funnel i've hundred metres Deep whose
upper edges present innumerable crevces, whilst
from the lower part Use clouds of sulphurous va
por which escape by numberess apertures, burden
ed with dust Of lively orange color. ryou stop
to admire in the Distance the city OF Naples, softly
spreading round the gulf and at your feet the
smoking crater, you will feel the fire penetrating
your boots, and the guide will urge you to walk in
order 10 avoid accidents. The ground, when
strongly struck, yields certain metallic sound
and as you go round tho mountain, you meet the
gaping apertures, at the bottom of which burns a
red and fattish flame. have plunged into one Of
these pits long chestnut tree stick, fraoh cut, and
covered with its still moist bark and il has instant
iy caught fire. AS you kneel before those infer.
nal gates to ascertain their dePth,yeu distinctly per
ceive within hand reach, the fame bending upon
itself, Dense quiet. and almost lmpd; i. discharges
clouds OF sui phurc acid gas (which excite cough,
and soon compel the observer to quit the spot
The ground, If such name can he given TO the
dangerous floor which covers the orifice OF the vol
cano, is strewed with gray lava, ashes, melting
sulphur, and pyrite substances, whence escapes, at
intervals a white smoke, which affects your eyes
and lungs, and yet you cannot retire without reluc
lance from that awful scene One can scarcely
conceive how that crater, narrow in its lower
part, has vomited heaps of lava largo enough TO
form q mountain four times as bulky as the Vesu.
vius itself, without mentioning the ashes, small
pebbles and m asses OF boiling water, which the
wind has sometimes carried to enormous distances.
Notwithstanding its fearful aspect, the Vesnvius
may be easily approached, even when its eruptions
take place. The lava ITSELF whose progress is SO
formidable and infexible, advances with extreme
slowness, One has time TO avoid or fly before il.
The slightest obstacle stops it; it turns round OBJ
iects burns them if they be combustible, and en-.
velopes and perifies them as il coos, if they be
not so. Thus il is that the whole city OF Hnicu-
aneum has been sealed into semi metallic mass,
and as il were, cast in the lava which now covers
it. Pompeii has disappeared under diseharge
from vesuvius, under shower of ashes and little
stones, which have graduaIIy though rapidly, COW
cred it, Just as certain Alpine villages disappear
beneath the snow in our severe winters. Such is
the reason why so much money has been expen.
ded in uncovering but few snail parts OF llurcu-
laneum, namely, its theatre which continues hid
in utter darkness; whist a third part OF Pompel
has been cleared, exhibits itself to The open sky,
and renders us contemporary with its inhabitants
Lei us. therefore, hasten down the Vesuvus and
view its ravages, which have been miracuousIy
preserved for us in its whole splendor, city OF