Year: 1876

A letter from Naples, under date Of
December 70. says;


A fortnight ago there seemed TO be
every probability that Vesuyius would
speedily make grand display Many
people came up expressly from the Prov
inees, and returned to eat their Christ
mas dinners somewhat disappointed.
The expectation was not, indeed, without
fouudation, tor there were all the usual
indications of an explosion, such as the
gigantic palm tree, the black smoke and
the rumbhngs' and the shocks; but the
mountain is taking its time about it, and
waits, perhaps, for larger concourse of
people than we have at present in Ne
pies Why should it exhibit now, when,
as soon as the ieste are over, thousands
Of spectators will be coming in from all
points of the campass2


Bulletins are Issued daily as about a
patient. and the latest of importance is
TO the following effect: "The new mouth
which, by the by, opened on the night
Of the l7th instant-preserves its mod
est and quiet activity. Those who as
cend the cone by the usual path cannot
see the brightness of the internal fire OF
this mouth, in consequence of the dense
smoke which issues from it, We who
belong to the Observatory follow an
other path; we ascend the side facing
the northeast, and descend directly on
the vast crater Of 1872, thus approach
ing without any danger, at least for the
present, the very edge Of the new mouth,
which from some experiments made by
student in the Observatory, Signor
Bracale, appears to be about three hun
dred metres in depth. Should the lava
which glitters at the bottom of this
whirlpool mount up and arrive at the
edge after having filled the old crater
it will pour out on the cone in the direc
tion by which we enter. Its force will
then be about one hundred atmospheres;
and if some point in the walls of the
cone be too weak to resist it, the cut
pouring of the lava will be from the
sides or at the base, as has happened
very REORGANIZATION solum per crater
EN-, sed per una months latera. The
sismic instruments Of the Observatory,
with some slight exceptions, preserve the
same activity, which, though moderate,
appears TO be greater than that which
would correspond TO the almost cessation
Of dynamism in the crater" From
this report it may be inferred that,
though there was no direct connection
between Vesuvius and the subterraneau
shock which alarmed the Neapolitans,
aud every one else, indeed, at the begin.
ming of the month, the shock gave an
impulse to our mountain. For the pres
ent the alarm has subsided into state
of expectation, which will not end, how.
ever, in disappointment, for Palmieri has
all along said that it was impossible to
say when the grand eruption would hap.
pen. The lava is there, and any iu-
crease in the dynamic power OF the inte-
rior will cause it to rise. Those whose
visit to Naples has been retarded will
therefore have good chance of wit
Messing a gorgeous spectacle. | forget
in what year it was that | witnessed from
a distance an eruption from the side
such as that to which Palmieri alludes,
but the circumstances we're specially in
teresting and characteristic What an
enormous pine that is" ! said to a
friend, /" never saw it before" /" "Nor l
either" was the answer, "but it is no
pihe look, it is growing and expanding. I"
Before the night had passed the sky was
darkened as by pail, the lava was
pouring forth, and our eyes we're smart
ing from the effects of the fine dust.
was soon on the spot, and witnessed that
beautiful, though not terrific, spectacle,
called lava eruption, such as we may
probably have in 1876.