Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1890-04-19

,oI irnnnIses had been dashed to pieces upon the
lava-rocks below. 49,. .,o.o tho |
density of the darkness had gwen way. |
Through the murky gray the horHoh iLne Vi /
fracad We left our little shelter and found
solid footing in the crust of the crater Suse
where we could cling tightly 70 f Ene nm, NY
lobes angles and ridges which some former az
tion Of the boiling lava had provided. Hardy
was this done before the stars were swept from
sight. and the entire sky had changed TO dark
o,5 line bne Then as the first faint simmer
ings red quivered above the sea- DIS i ~
sweep
THE LAST vEsTAGE OF NIGHT
from the earth's face, came such blasI Vi
piercing wind as hurled showers OF laVa-grlt |
Ivbistling before it. tore great crusts of ice and
lava from their places, and caused US TO cilng 10
each other and the serrated cone-edge ior our
very lives. Il passed as quickly as |
it came, roaring across the B9sco to,
yards palermo When looked again
tba EASTERN sEy was ahame; the Ionian sea,
dimpled and rippled by the softer oreezeS oi
lesser altitude, mass of tremulo4s purple anu
The crests of the Calabrian mountains OF lower
Italv seemed emitting a sinuous stream OF uquIu
fire: 80, loot ve11ed Ra1hino az
he lifted me bodily from my feet and whlrled me
souarely about so that faced the West' MS
is the momento eminentisslmo!
1yas whitfield about the last glimpse was OF the
first glories of the grandest sunrise human eyes
can behold. The next instant my eyes rested
Us enUaiIv as grand a scene, curious and al
most sublime erect in light and shade; probably
one nowhere ell sc visible upon the gIoDe, OWE
to the non-exis tence elsewhere OF like comolneo
con ditions of altitude, contour and almost limit
| less expanse of panoramic DacSgrounu'
make this neT cldaF that Etna standing near
| tine center of the eastern shore OF tne
| island OF Sicily, rises from Dase, iuly sly
| miles in diameter, gradualiy anu al!uooo IN
brokenIv TO the tremendous altitude IN It's crater
| ~ THEORETICALLY IL 900 feet. The hrst rays OF Ine
| rieino sIIn strike horizontally athwart TINS put
| ia issdartness beyond. Half way across Sicily
7 is thrown a shadow worth a year traVel 70 see.
Tender mists OF gray ana pear ear anu ni Ieb,e
wing transforming it to purple as exquddS-
| ita az the untouched film OF the grape 10
its almost messureleSs o, poi Of ve1vet fa5rlC
stretched upon a bed OF green, ana no arsIs' =;
| brush will ever reveal sucn hqulu ssLSalAo 80
| rose fading to flushing green, as, lsaplns AnC =.
| aosbinO along its lines, startle ana aInaLe a
| though one had been granted a VISION OF H ggH
| for an instant possessing the essence VI III
From this brief and enhancing spectacle one
invoIuntarily turns to the contemplation OF tns
| Ioaiestic cyclorama spread out TO view. WneI
| LA can snch mighty reach OF vision be founo
There is
NOTHING TO INTER cEPT THE SIGHT.
rbree seas the Italian, Ionisn and tn
African. blend with the horizon, save where
IN the west, more than 100 mile
awav. stand the heights behind Paler
mo. and where, to the northeast, rise the Apu
L g,aV, MOI
Son+beTn Italy With your glass you can sc
! ocross the isles of Lapari to the eternal hres
! | Stromboli. the ancients' entrance to purgatory
hiIa over I25 miles to the south. are discerne
: | ~ ontIines of Malta, where Ca
fvn,o enslaved Odysseus, st. Pau
ypso sb,nV rocked, and the British Empire
heb;nd the most tremendous ramparts Of on
. | t;oa dominates the Mediterranean and hold
I The Golden KEY to all the Orient. Nearer, IN
> oTstsning roofs of more than 100 cities and vi
9ssgae simmer in the morning sunlight, an on
!. tbs greatest of which are Aci Real, Clare
S1ess;na RancazZo, Bronte, Aderno, Paternc
: IL ssic Catania and Syracuse. Nearer still
!. fhs vast rim of flowers, olive groves and Vlnt
: Ids Above this, the lesser but still stuper
- Sdors circle of green, where stand the massiS
= oeE chestnut and lex trees Then, desolatloI
;. | comnIefe horrid. hateful, unspeakable- FRO
: oUa1s feet. clearly traced to the farthest pas
e o5e1e Iesd great burrows of purply black, wher
= | ths Jivid rivers ran, interspersed with Jesse
= = SoIcanic-but specks from where we stand-an
= | I'LL ouIfs miles in width. hundreds OF fei
- = dent6 and so indescTibably blasted, curse
- - lifaless that even silence crouches shudde
:. ;ng1v II, their formless and hideous depths
- Ht;S the fairltest hint Of what one sees No OF
-, come with the power 70 reveal even TINS Del
= a-IIy rroportion of what is felt. n
=. Pnt here is the crater, and its ragged rim.
y - SniIen inactive now. Hundreds OF tantasl} =.
craqgy. Jagged masses stand upon It's smoptre