Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1855-03-31

L
And, oh Sabbath! bringing sIadness
| Unto heats of weary sadness
Still art thou ''The Poor Mans Dav -,
VISIT TO A VOLCANO. g.
The next morning by nine o'clock we
were off for Vesuvius. By the SINE car.
rage road as the day before, and with
many of the same sights around US, we
drove to Resina, where we were beset by
the motliest and sturdiesf set of suides.
tbeggars and boys, We had yet e1coun-
tered. The guides were ready to furnish
horses and conduct us to Vesuvius. The
beggars wanted money, and the bows
would sell us sticks to walk up the
mountain, or they would 60 along and
help us. We had been advised to find
Vincent Cozzolino, who had conductsl
Boss, Forbes, Humboldt and other great
men, and was therefore the man for us !,
We inquired for him, and one guide
claimed to be his brother, and another
bis cousin, but the real Cozzolino was
not to be found. His house was near,
and thither we went. He was absent,
but we found his son, a smart young
fellow, who produced his book of certifi.
Gates, and among them one from Pro-
lessor Silllman, whose commendstian
was all-sufficient, and we committed
ourselves at once to his care. Giovanni,
for that was his name, supplied us at
once with horses, and we set off with the
whole gang of boys, beggars, and guides
in full cry after us. They assured US
that one guide would not be enough we
should need help in climbing the noun
tain, and each one had some peculiar
service to render which was quite indis.
pensable to our success. By dint of
hard riding we managed to get away
from them, and by a road that was well
paved and had been for thousand wears.
we rode on for ON hour, and then com
menced an ascent by winding but easy
path, which, after another hour, brought
us to the tableland, where stands the
Hermitage with refreshments for tray.
elers. Our way had led us through
fields in which men were at work, and
many women Aluted us as we passed.
Vast strata of lava were lying in great
ridges, along the sides of which the vines
were growing luxuriantly, where the
waves of liquid stone had once flowed
and cooled, now stretching in long rows
like rivers from the mountain to the sea.
We often paused on our upward way .
look back on the enchanting prospect
the neat white cottages q the hill -sides,
the villages on the PLAIN, the city, the
bay, the islands, and the blue sea. A
glorious vision, every moment growing
more beautiful as we ascend and take in
a wider view. Now we observe success.
sive layers Of lava, with the common
earth between; on the border of q ra-
vine we could thus count four starta de.
posted by as many overfows of the
boiling caldron.
After leaving the Hermitage we crossed
immense fields of lava, over which q path
for the horses has been made, and in sin.
gle file we made our way to the foot of
the cone of Vesuvius. We are now be-
tween Monte Somma and Vesuvius. They
were one in olden times, till the great
eruption of A. D. 10 left this valley after
the mountain had flowed down to the plain
and the sea, and buried the cities of Her
culaneum and Pompeii. At the base of
the cone . dozen fellows were awaiting
the arrival of travellers, and with sedan
chairs would carry those to the summit
who preferred that to walking; and when
We all refused to be carried, they follow
ed us, insisting that we should allow
them to haul us up with q handkerchief
about our waists. Taking the track
along the side Of ridge of Lava, now and
then leaving it for the ashes, into which
we sank and slipped back about as fast
as we got up, we climbed as perpendicu-
larly as up ruined stairway of some old
castle. From time to time [ vas obliged
to sit down on the ragged piles of lavs,
and gather strength for the ascent, for
the summit seemed to recsde as we ap-
preached it. But we did it in forty min
utes from the base of the cone. Now on
the rim of the crater, the ground on
which we are tresding is opened with
seams or cracks, from which smeke or
steam issues continually, and if we
listen we can hear the roar of the in
ternal fires beneath our feet. We went
a few steps below the verge to get some
protection from the cool winds that blew
too freshly on US in our heat, and there
we placed lot ofeggs in the crevices of
the earth, and made Vesuvius cook them
for our dinner. Refreshed and rested,
we descended hundred feet into the
crater, and, standing on ledge of rocks,
we could see down into lower depths,
from which the smoke was rising, but no
fire was perceptible. -.f- 49,. .
After the interior of the crater has been
cleaned out by great. eruption it is
gradually filled up by the upheaving OF
J the boiling mass, and when full it flows
-rH.. -. us.t 1893 f. --4 e. .af Res ssG