Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1843-09-22

sending il like frightened spirits over the
verge expected to see change when
light again fell upon it, but there it stood
churning on as steady and stern as ever.
We at length reached the bottom. And
sitting down at a respectful distance from
the base Of the cone enjoyed the sublime
spectacle There we were down in the
bowels Of the'mountain, while far up on the
brink of the crater, like children in size,
sat a group of men sending their hurrah
down at every discharge of scoria. Before
me assembled the column Of rolling smoke,
while every few seconds the melted mass
was elected into the air with report that
made me measure rather wlstiully the dis
lance between us and the top. Our guide
took some coppers and as the scoria fell a
little distance off, he would run up the side
Of the cone, drop them in the smaller por-
tions and retreat before the second discharge.
1t was amusing to see how coolly he would
stand and look up on the descending frag-
ments of fire, some Of which would have
crushed him to the earth, and calculate
their descent so nicely that with slight
movement he could escape each. When the
scoria cooled, the coppers were leit imbed-
ded in it, and thus carried off as remem-
ORANGES of Vesuvius.
We went around the crater, continually
descending. until we came to the lowest
part. close to the base of the cone. Here
lava was gathering and cooling and crack
ling off in large rolls, with that low continu-
Gus sound which is always made by the rap
id cooling of an intensely heated mass. i
assembled little emnence which the lava
was slowly undermining, and thrust my cane
into the molten substance. Ii was so hot
that had to cover nv face with my cap in
order to hold my stick in it for single mo-
ment. As stood and saw fold after fold
slowly roll over and fall off, and heard the
firing of volcanoes above me, and saw near
" a hundred feet over my head, red hot
masses of scoria suspended IN the arr,
/ am not ashamed TO say ] felt little nm
| comfortable. ! looked above and around
and saw that il needed but a slight tremulous
motion to conhne me there forever. IT was
not the work Of five or ten minutes TO reach
the top. 1000 feet high, and little heavier
discharge of fre-a small shower Of ashe:
and | should have been smothered oil
crisped in moment There might have
been no danger, but one cannot escape The
belief of it when at times he is compelled tc
dodge flaming masses Of scoria that other
wise would have smitten him TO the earth.
We assembled by different and mucf
easier path. 1t is longer but far preferable
to the one we came down. 1t led us to the
other side of the crater, from which we
looked down on Pompeii. | could trace
the stream Of lava to the plain, and coulC
well imagine the CONSERVATION OF the IN
habitants Of the doomed city as the storm o
ashes shot of from its bosom. Weary ant
exhausted we descended by different rout'
through bed OF ashes that reached from to-
TO bottom, mounted our horses and rod
homeward The glorious plain was sprea'
out before us, but we were too tired to en-
Joy it, We stopped at the hermitage
/ where a friar brought Us some Lachrym
Christi, and then proceeded homeward A
the bottom of the hill we found our super
numery guide half drunk on our credit, VIII
told US he had soup, fish, beef, foul, fruit
etcetera, provided for our entertainment II
a neighboring house, which proved to be
hovel.