Nashville union and dispatch. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1866-1868, 1868-04-10
THE TERRORS OF VESUVIUS.
A WOman's Experience on The Burn
Er.u

WOman's Experience on the Burn
tBg Mountain.
An adventurous lady who has assembled
Vesuvius and braved the dangers of an
approach to the burning crater, writes the
following sketch of her experience to the
Philadelphia Bulletin:
"A half an hour Of fatiguing journey
over desert more dreary and terrible than
imagination can possibly picture, with
Pompeii, Herculaneum, Tore del Greece,
and dozens of buried and ruined cities and
villages painfully expressing our sense of
the supremacy of mans ingenuity over
natural instinct, and inspiring dread of
the awful fiery monster We we're 40 reck-
lessly approaching, and not in the least
modified by the fact that seventy-tive thou
sand souls were actually clinging to their
old homes on the mountain side, down
which rivers Of fire rolled and surged, up
heaved and turned in great blocks of GRIM
son paste, as if the caldron of hell were
boiling over and seeking victims beyond
its limits.
Now we dismounted, our skirts were
tied close around US to prevent their be-
ing torn off by the sharp edges of hard
lava, and with guide to drag US by the
hand, every one of the party being fur
nished with stout stick, we started to-
ward the lakes and streams of liquid fire.
At every step the heat became more in
tense. We were pressing over lava that
had rolled down Only twelve hours before.
We dare not pause an instant, or our feet
were burned if we stepped one inch aside
from the spot pointed out by the guides
staff, we must plunge our feet into fiery
paste.
Sometimes the crust under our feet
cracked we sprang from it, and sulphur
GUS flames issued from the crevices. AT
last / found my strength exhausted. My
guide, perceiYing it, cried out; Courage,
Madame; dUances plds loin I" Not a
STEP" | answered, and all scenes appeared
to recede, when a glass of bright wine
flashed betweea my eyes and the light,
| and
Drink it is the wine of Vesuvius"
ave were so near the flowing lava that
our faces were all crimson with the heat
| but we dared to remain while coins were
| thrown into it and then fished them oui
with the metal sticking to them eggs were
roasted, and on the very places where We
stood, holes we're made, only one inch deep
through which papers were lighted for the
| gentlemen's cigars.
"Soon we returned to our ponies, begar
the descent, and will never forget that aw
| fully. grand scenel A black mountain
signing, groaning, breathing but FIRE anc
smoke Ruined cities, new villages, illu
minated by its flames. The snowy noun
tains, rearing their white peaks to thu
clouds that caught the golden glow o
Vesuvius, and broke into silvery light Al
the full moon rose triumphant, when thu
volcano sunk into gloomy, smoky dark
| ness.
Naples, beautiful white crescent city
lying at our feet the bay cleaning will
the thousand lights that lay like radien
cornet on the dancing waves; the deep bln'
belt of the Mediterranean stretching out
an iIlimitable line, beyond, and ], awe
struck, weary and subdued, bordering oil
the Majesty that rides on the clouds ant
holds the seas in the.hollow of His hands