Year: 1868

rising into peaks or ridges split in clefts or sinking
into ravines tho lava of dismal dead-black hue
suggests a world Of mOnstrOus, aborive shapes,
Which have first putrifed and then been perifed
HIDES of rhinOccros, strange crushed beasts and
saurians with the entrals protruding. backs legs,
and bellies of umpish halfhuman beings; huge
scalps and rolls Of sodden hair, and shapes which
represent you know not what only you know that 1t
is something disgusting. arc here tossed together
Everything is solid, yet 1t falling TO pieces
from corruption Nature must have been mOmenta-
rly insane when she did such a thing this.


Ugh, 1t was frightfu The path was built with
great labor through the heart OF the lavaelds, the
ridges Of which shut out almost everything else from
view. When we caught glimpse of Naples, down
one of the clefts it was like looking upon Paradise
from some deserted corner of He'll Notwithstanding
all the surface-soil must have been plowed up and
fused together with the lava there is yet no com
mencement of vegetation. Cultivation has been re-
sumod along the borders of this region, and every
little slet or inlet of fable earth is planted with
wheat hOrse-beans, and olives. In 30 to 100 years
more all this hdeous desolation will be terraced and
planted; the patience of Man will conquer Nature III
the end.


Winding and climbing for half an hour more. we
finally reached the hill upon which stand the her
mitage and the observatory These buildings crown
the summit of spur. thrust ont at the base OF the
cone ravne on either side affords passage ior
whatever lava may come in that direction, and thus
the buildings are tolcraIiy secure At tho hermitage,
a monk in very dirty gaberdno sold us some pro-
fcssed Lacyrma Christi at two francs the botle-in
reality the commonest sort of rim odipoe The build
ING was cold and drcary and with Vesuyius smoking
so near at hand we did not tarry longer, but puAel
forward to the burning district.


II was scarcely threequarteTs of mile further TO
the foot of the great cone, which now rose dark
against the sky, pouring from its crater immense
volumes of steam white aud lustrous new silver.
The growth of young oaks on the ridge soon teTni-
mated giving place to n dead waste region oil Dlack
lava opening on the left into the Atrio del Cayao.
The bare. red precipicos of Monte Somma, once
part of the mountain itself shone in the sun, but on
the right hand all was smoke, confusion, AMI hre.
The double stream of lava from the crater pour
ing its fluid ncandeSccnt rock into the valley ana
the burning mass constantly pushed from behi'
had already entered the rayine We had crossed
little distance below, moving downward over the
distorted lavabeds of 1853. There was much smoke
but little flame; at times a roaring rattling noise
was heard, but noticed no tremor or oSclIat on III
the earth, either then or later.


At the edge of the old lava-which hero took only
the shape of loose stones-we left our horses, and
went forward on foot. There was troddcn path at


first but il soon disappeared, and Onr progress over
the rolling and sliding heaps, which had the sharp
erit of ground glass, was rather painful We had
already passed the lower point of the lava current
and reached it at point where the larger eruption oi
the previous night had come down. The heat ana
smoke increased with every step; the nttng noises
were continuous. and lines Of creeping fire became
visible. There appeared to be two streams both
moving in the same manner-that Is only partly
flowing upon the surface of the old lava but burrOw-
ing under its loose crust splitting and upheavlng II,
and mixing its materials with the new mass. The
noise of the flow was thus produ cd. The fire was
silent and irresistible there was no hiss oi spntter-
ing OF the molten elements but the stream lifted and
threw of solid masses even tuns IN weight, with
out the least apparent force or check.


had always imagined thick sluggish stream.
with toleraby smooth surface. something like the
flow from a smelling furnacc-but here were moving
mounds rough and shapeless, the chief power OF
which lay in their bases, hidden from sight strange
creeping mining forces, moving forward with hor-
rble ptiless certainty in their manner OF locomo-


on If the scene was less grand in its features than
one would expect it at least diabolllcally I'M
pressve 1t expressed only Destruction and OF the
most cold blooded deliberate kind The main stream
had raised long ridge, some twenty feet IN lhght.
apparently cold on the surface until some squirming



and showed fangs and throats of intensest fire. The
front of this ridge was constantly hurting huge
masses, some Of them red-hot, down the gorge. The
nearer stream was not more than four feet in hight
and allowed us to approach near enough to poke its
glowing sides with stick. All along its edge boys
were busy roasting eggs for travellers, Embedding
coins in the fluid lava, which they snatched ont of
the mass and twisted Off very much as | have seen
children manage molasscscandy The heat, even at
a hundred yards distance. uncomfortable, and
could not stand beside the moving lava for more
than a few seconds at time.


We could distinctly see the new crater, just under
the summit Of the IL was not in violent action.
and an enterpriSng person might have climbed to
within short distance of it. Twas not strong enough
to undertake the ascent did feel sure that the
fatigue would be repaid. Such amount OF steam
and smoke issued from the opening, and rose from
the lava as it oyerran the lower rim, that doubt
whether much else could have been seen. was most
interested in observing the manner in which the lava
showed itself forward and the possibility of its cool
ing III such irregular forms was explained. 1t il
not likely that the present flow will reach the lower
parts Of the mountain as the old fields over which it
must pass will interpose greater obstacles to its
movement The smoke of tile eruption, however
finding its way through subterTanean crcvices
already issues from all parts of these old fields, and
at the present rate of advance the road to the Her
Intage viii be cut off i'll two or three days more.


On descending the mountains we constantly met
parties of travellers their way up. There were at
least so in all, goody proportion of them Amer-
cans The stock of horses in Resna seemed to be
hausted for many of them were mounted on donkeys
Though late in the day, the incompatible weather
was their luck, it had been In the suburbs
of the town we found other parties waiting for ami


1.,C.x.
tired horses were Immediately turned over to party
4lnt ont n11iue1 frnnl Nanles