Martinsburg gazette. [volume] (Martinsburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1833-1855, 1842-10-13
a3eu & Euk GAetthes of an artist.
NJ NJ ID Err XII.
FroRxscr, July, 1912.


snce in favor Of the Italian city. never saw such
concentration Of the beautiful and picturesque as
the enyirons Of Naples present.
The FIRST thing we did after establishing ourselves
in cheap hotel, was TO bolt straight forward to-
ward. vesuvius. There is a rail roaa from Naples
10 Potsici which stands on the bay 81 the toot OF
the mountain, where travellers are suPPhed WIN
guides and horses. We scorned any thing oil ibis
sort. however, and undertook the ascent on loot
| and alone The base OF the mountain for a consid-
cradle distance up is covered with vineyards and
| farm houses At the distance OF two or three
milss can, be very exactl these cease, and the
road enters into desert Of lava, half or three
quarters of mile wide; believe the product of
the last eruption which took place in 1887 This
passed, we come TO a steep ascent of spur Of the
mountain composed of sand and ashes, said 10 have
been formed by the same eruption which buried
Pompeii. At the top OF this is the Hermitage,
hotel where travellers stop to refresh themselves
and prepare for the fatiguiug part of the trip
which is 10 come. comparatively gentle ascent
of about mile brings you to the level of the great
crater, which according to Madam Starks is three
miles in circumference, and 10 some places two
thousand feet deep. This statement however is
calculated to mislead; because, one expecting to
see a regularly formed crater Of this size
would be disappointed. You ascend from the Her
mtage to plain Of send and ashes half encifcled
by enormous gloomy cliffs Of the height stated
he, IL Ia nd ba .har
side rises the cone which contains the real burning
crater. The view from this point gives the idea Of
valley surrounded by group of hills, as far as
snaps and position concerned; otherwise it is
most magnhcenlly volcanic. Ever, thing is black
and sulphurous. On the right and left two
great streams Of lava divided by the spur which
the Her snitage is situated. One of the streams
forms a cataract of melted iron and cnders, where
it passed over precipice If some height. The
whole, as nearly as can compare it with familiar
things, looks like the cooled off outpourings Of an
immensely sublime iron furnace. Blu, to up
every thing, Yssuyius cannot be described. The
features Of active volcanic mountain too Pc
culiar to be got hold Of by comparisons with things
scriptions are collections of words without meanisg
There throughout this plain of ashes number
ess caves and holes from hence issue heated sir
and steam but it Is not usual to see FIRE here
cept extraordinary occasions. The ascent of
the soue, which nearly as can guess is 1000
OF 1900 feet in height, is the difficult part of
the undertaking. There is road, and one
climb from one lump Of lava to another as be can
Luckily for US encountered English and an
Italian traveller at the foot of this who had
guide, and who advised US to join them as the top
of the enveloped in clouds. We did SO,
and found on ascending, that we had done WELL the
mist on the top being 40 dense that we could moi
see three PAGES from u.s. The top WAS an irregular
fla, from thirty to fifty yards broad forming border
10 the crater which appeared to me about 500 feet
across. 1t did not appear to me at all on this visit,
however, as we could see nothing more than the
ground we walked on This ashes, eiHder,
ulphur in some places burning, and more or less
heated throughout. After waiting half an hour in
vain FOR the clouds to clear away, we finally con-
tented ourselves with eating some eggs roasted in
the FIRE of the crater. which issued from crevce
at the top, and emptsing few bottles of iaehryma
christi we prepared TO descend. The Englishman
returned by the regular wey, anil our party accom-
panied by the Italian took the toward Pom
pei, which is on he opposite side of the mountain
from Naples. We found tie descent much more
agreeable and easy than the ascent. This side Of
the mountain being covered with loose sand and
ashes into which at every step sunk foot or
eighteen inches and sliding two yards where we
stepped one got to the bottom in an incredibly
short time, almost regretting that we had finished
so soon. We afterwards informed that this
mode Of descending is very dangerous, and tina,
many person. have had legs broken, owing to Jumps
Of ava under the ashes, and TO the foot sometimes
slipping into a crcvice concealed under the surface.
The impetus which you get running and sliding |
makes the result certain, if either of these inter-
ruptons should occur. walk Of several miles
from the foot of the mountain brought us to Pom
pei. have not room to go into the curious ac-
counts of what saw there, but will make it the
subject of some future letter-for the present |
will narrate the adventures Of a second visit made
to the top OF vesuvius few days afterwards.
One of my friends only and myself ascended.-
The day was clear, and well repaid for
our fatigue by the magnificent view we had of the
crater. think ii excels any thing ever saw in
the sublime and terrific. OF the size of the crater
| could give 20 guess, but it seemed To me enor
nous; four or FIVE hundred feet across and as many
deep, probably more. 1t was so much obscured
within by clouds of phurous smoke that could
get but very ndisinci views of the lower part and
we determined to descend irto il; although the
thing seemed impracticable from where stood,
the sides being at an apparent angle of As degrees
10 some places precptous, and presenting foot
ing of the slippery ashes before spoken of; or was
ncrusted with burning sulphur Nevertheless we
attempted it; and creeping carefully from one point
10 another, avoiding the FIRE and slippery places,
we found ourselves arrested by precipice about
half way down the crater. On approaching a.
near the edge as we could flor every thing under
foot was loose and uncert,in1 we saw Immediately
below US the great opening vomiting out clouds of
smoke. This principal aperture i, the centre
of the crater and is about twenty feet in diameter
and occasionally when the wind favored or when
the volume of smoke diminished, we could see a
distance downinto Except the ocean in storm,
have never seen any thing SO calculated to excite