Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1886-11-03
BY EVAN STANTON.

/ LdIly III TIC vi 1000 LICuttudBl
Jones of H. NJ. S. Cambria proposed
trip to Silly. one night when we were din
ing together in Rome. One of his auces-
tors, so he informed me, was born in &es-
sina. and he was anxious to visit that
quaint old city, and also to make the as
cent of Etna. Our visit to Messina was
devoid OF any noteworthy incident. except
that we there made the acquaintance of an
English gentleman, who, with his wife
and daughter-a jolly, rosy checked
maiden of l6-expressing a strong desire
to accompany US to and from the volcano.
To my dismay and reluctance Lieutenant
Jones declared that such an arrangement
would be most charming, so of course
there was nothing left for me to do but to
agree with him. Miss Berwick. the young
woman in question, was sharpsighted
enough to see that was annoyed, and un-
kind enough to fatty tell me so; not once
alone, but as often as she could get an OPP
portunity to do so without attracting the
attention OF her generally preoccupied
parents. Tauntng me with nv ..bearish-
ness as she called it. seemed to be her
sole source of amusement and entertain
ment and she kept it up so persistently
that at last began counting the hours
ously rid myself OF her saucy badinage
and nonsense.
Her mother was so stout asthmatic
and whimsical that it took the combined
efforts of her husband and Lieutenant
Jones 10 keep her in position and condi-
ton of comfort and responsibility. So,
relieved of the responsibility of providing
for any OF her mothers incessant needs,
! RarNNIck Iaft n low oil har
feminine ingenuity and cuteness in whatev-
er direction contributed to my discomfort |
doubt if any one ever climbed that bleak.
desolate old mountain under more agora-
vating circumstances.
At Casa lnglese, where the actual ascent
of the cone begins. Mrs. Berwick's cour-
age failed her, and she declared her ina
bilitv to proceed further. After much en-
treating, she prevailed upon her husband
and daughter to continue on up the sum
NIT in accordance with the original plan.
So the rest OF cur little party left Mrs.
Berwick and Casa lnglese few minutes
past O'Clock in the morning. and began
the long scramble up the PERCEPTIONS cone
through the snow and lava dust. in the
yellow moonlight But neither the deep
dust the intense cold, nor the occasional
as the pestiferous Miss Berwick. who
jeering at the protfered courtesies of her
father and Lieutenant Jones, still claimed
me as her escort.
Before reaching the apex of the cone
we were favored with that rarest of all
phenomena which rewards those who
make the ascent OF high mountains in the
night-the fading OF the cold moonlight
no fpra rho hnrpt m ruy Of ba
One IMPLYING death and the other life.
the merging OF the two is always a strik-
ing spectacle wherever observed; but.
viewed from Etna, it is more impressive
than from any other point; more impress
sive, even, than the grim desolaton of the
volcano itself. High points in the
FImalayas, the Andes and the Rocky
Mountains. from whence have also wit
messed the tleetng of the moonlight be-
fore the broader glare of the bright shafts
of morning sunshine, may, in some
= respects, lay claim to superior sublmitv
and grandeur; but nowhere else is the
dreary absence of lite so majestic and
awful. The whole landscape is so full of
the dull, dead barrenness which the tele-
scope reveals to Us on the lunar surface.
that one almost wonders that the sun ever
shines upon Etna at all.
But , oubt if the sudden yawnnp. at
her very feet. of even the Internal realm
of Pluto would have moved. quenched, or
in any way checked the rrepressible Miss
Berwick. She needed neither the rising
sun on one hand. nor the setting moon on
the other, but still kept pouring such an
incessant chatter and babble into my ears
that would have hailed the event with
+ nj n II lp nratitnIa hnI
suddenly resolved to 90 into state of
eruption" .Etna however did no hing
of the sort. and we were soon on the mar
row rim of the crater, peering down into
its horrid depths.
Here the bOundless eXuberance of Miss
Berwick manifested itself again. and with
even wider latitude than before. Mr.
Berwick and Lieutenant Jones were
silenced and awed in a remarkable degree
by the magnificent scene but Miss Ber-
wick seemed only sensible of its splendid
facilities tor some wildcat escapade, and
at once set about devising some plan.
the execution of which would be in
keeping with her predominant character
isics and so. from her point OF view. do
her credit.
After due reflection she hit upon what
Sne ConStuereu was ABOUT inc rlgnt tnlnG.
Near where we were standing was de
clivitous slide, or inclined plane, a little
below the general surface, sloping straight
from the upper or approachable rim of
the crater down to its actual brink Its
downward direction was smooth and even,
as if its strange shape was the result of
dragging some tremendous body harder
than the lava continuously up and down
it. From the lower end OF this slide the
face OF the interior of the crater seemed
to form an almost perpendicular line The
rim was much narrower here than at any
other visible point, as ii huge mass of
the formation lining the top OF the inner
rim had. being detached by some mighty
convulsion, fallen into the troubled depths
: below.
1t was this place which the hilarious and
dauntless Miss Berwick selected as proper
and congenia spot for prank.
What a delightful place for coasting
if there was onlya little snow here" she
exclaimed. pointing to the slide, and then
clappug her hands. ''Of course, there
would be vast deal of uncertainty about
ones making the second trip, but that