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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Observations on Mount Vesuvius, Mount Etna,
+and Other Volcanos, by William Hamilton
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Observations on Mount Vesuvius, Mount Etna, and Other Volcanos
+
+Author: William Hamilton
+
+Editor: Thomas Cadell
+
+Release Date: March 1, 2011 [EBook #35433]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK OBSERVATIONS ON MOUNT VESUVIUS ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Bryan Ness, Stephen H. Sentoff, Alicia Williams
+and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at
+https://www.pgdp.net (This book was produced from scanned
+images of public domain material from the Google Print
+project.)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+OBSERVATIONS
+ON
+MOUNT VESUVIUS,
+MOUNT ETNA,
+AND OTHER VOLCANOS:
+
+IN
+A SERIES OF LETTERS,
+
+Addressed to THE ROYAL SOCIETY,
+
+From the Honourable Sir W. HAMILTON,
+K.B. F.R.S.
+
+His Majesty's Envoy Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
+at the Court of NAPLES.
+
+To which are added,
+
+Explanatory NOTES by the AUTHOR,
+hitherto unpublished.
+
+A NEW EDITION.
+
+LONDON,
+Printed for T. CADELL, in the Strand.
+M DCC LXXIV.
+
+
+
+
+THE EDITOR
+TO
+THE PUBLIC.
+
+
+Having mentioned to Sir WILLIAM HAMILTON the general Desire of all
+Lovers of Natural History, that his Letters upon the Subject of VOLCANOS
+should be collected together in one Volume, particularly for the
+Convenience of such as may have an Opportunity of visiting the curious
+Spots described in them: He was not only pleased to approve of my
+having undertaken this Publication, but has likewise favoured with the
+additional explanatory Notes and Drawings,
+
+                              The PUBLIC's most obliged,
+                              and devoted
+                              humble Servant,
+
+                              T. CADELL.
+
+May 30, 1772.
+
+
+
+
+OBSERVATIONS
+ON
+MOUNT VESUVIUS, &c.
+
+
+
+
+LETTER I.
+
+To the Right Honourable the Earl of MORTON, President of the Royal
+Society.
+
+
+                              Naples, June 10, 1766.
+
+My LORD,
+
+As I have attended particularly to the various changes of Mount
+Vesuvius, from the 17th of November 1764, the day of my arrival at this
+capital; I flatter myself, that my observations will not be unacceptable
+to your Lordship, especially as this Volcano has lately made a very
+considerable eruption. I shall confine myself merely to the many
+extraordinary appearances that have come under my own inspection, and
+leave their explanation to the more learned in Natural Philosophy.
+
+During the first twelvemonth of my being here, I did not perceive any
+remarkable alteration in the mountain; but I observed, the smoke from
+the Volcano was much more considerable in bad weather than when it was
+fair[1]; and I often heard (even at Naples, six miles from Vesuvius) in
+bad weather, the inward explosions of the mountain. When I have been at
+the top of Mount Vesuvius in fair weather, I have sometimes found so
+little smoke, that I have been able to see far down the mouth of the
+Volcano; the sides of which were incrusted with salts and mineral of
+various colors, white, green, deep and pale yellow. The smoke that
+issued from the mouth of the Volcano in bad weather was white, very
+moist, and not near so offensive as the sulphureous steams from various
+cracks on the sides of the mountain.
+
+Towards the month of September last, I perceived the smoke to be more
+considerable, and to continue even in fair weather; and in October I
+perceived sometimes a puff of black smoke shoot up a considerable height
+in the midst of the white, which symptom of an approaching eruption grew
+more frequent daily; and soon after, these puffs of smoke appeared in
+the night tinged like clouds with the setting sun.
+
+About the beginning of November, I went up the mountain: it was then
+covered with snow; and I perceived a little hillock of sulphur had been
+thrown up, since my last visit there, within about forty yards of the
+mouth of the Volcano; it was near six feet high, and a light blue flame
+issued constantly from its top. As I was examining this ph�nomenon, I
+heard a violent report; and saw a column of black smoke, followed by a
+reddish flame, shoot up with violence from the mouth of the Volcano; and
+presently fell a shower of stones, one of which, falling near me, made
+me retire with some precipitation, and also rendered me more cautious of
+approaching too near, in my subsequent journies to Vesuvius.
+
+From November to the 28th of March, the date of the beginning of this
+eruption, the smoke increased, and was mixed with ashes, which fell, and
+did great damage to the vineyards in the neighbourhood of the
+mountain[2]. A few days before the eruption I saw (what Pliny the
+younger mentions having seen, before that eruption of Vesuvius which
+proved fatal to his uncle) the black smoke take the form of a pine-tree.
+The smoke, that appeared black in the day-time, for near two months
+before the eruption, had the appearance of flame in the night.
+
+On Good Friday, the 28th of March, at 7 o'clock at night, the lava began
+to boil over the mouth of the Volcano, at first in one stream; and soon
+after, dividing itself into two, it took its course towards Portici. It
+was preceded by a violent explosion, which caused a partial earthquake
+in the neighbourhood of the mountain; and a shower of red hot stones and
+cinders were thrown up to a considerable height. Immediately upon sight
+of the lava, I left Naples, with a party of my countrymen, whom I found
+as impatient as myself to satisfy their curiosity in examining so
+curious an operation of nature. I passed the whole night upon the
+mountain; and observed that, though the red hot stones were thrown up in
+much greater number and to a more considerable height than before the
+appearance of the lava, yet the report was much less considerable than
+some days before the eruption. The lava ran near a mile in an hour's
+time, when the two branches joined in a hollow on the side of the
+mountain, without proceeding farther. I approached the mouth of the
+Volcano, as near as I could with prudence; the lava had the appearance
+of a river of red hot and liquid metal, such as we see in the
+glass-houses, on which were large floating cinders, half lighted, and
+rolling one over another with great precipitation down the side of the
+mountain, forming a most beautiful and uncommon cascade; the color of
+the fire was much paler and more bright the first night than the
+subsequent nights, when it became of a deep red, probably owing to its
+having been more impregnated with sulphur at first than afterwards. In
+the day-time, unless you are quite close, the lava has no appearance of
+fire; but a thick white smoke marks its course.
+
+The 29th, the mountain was very quiet, and the lava did not continue.
+The 30th, it began to flow again in the same direction, whilst the mouth
+of the Volcano threw up every minute a girandole of red hot stones, to
+an immense height. The 31st, I passed the night upon the mountain: the
+lava was not so considerable as the first night; but the red hot stones
+were perfectly transparent, some of which, I dare say of a ton weight,
+mounted at least two hundred feet perpendicular, and fell in, or near,
+the mouth of a little mountain, that was now formed by the quantity of
+ashes and stones, within the great mouth of the Volcano, and which made
+the approach much safer than it had been some days before, when the
+mouth was near half a mile in circumference, and the stones took every
+direction. Mr. Hervey, brother to the Earl of Bristol, was very much
+wounded in the arm some days before the eruption, having approached too
+near; and two English gentlemen with him were also hurt. It is
+impossible to describe the beautiful appearance of these girandoles of
+red hot stones, far surpassing the most astonishing artificial
+fire-work.
+
+From the 31st of March to the 9th of April, the lava continued on the
+same side of the mountain, in two, three, and sometimes four branches,
+without descending much lower than the first night. I remarked a kind of
+intermission in the fever of the mountain[3], which seemed to return
+with violence every other night. On the 10th of April, at night, the
+lava disappeared on the side of the mountain towards Naples, and broke
+out with much more violence on the side next the _Torre dell'
+Annunciata_.
+
+I passed the whole day and the night of the twelfth upon the mountain,
+and followed the course of the lava to its very source: it burst out of
+the side of the mountain, within about half a mile of the mouth of the
+Volcano, like a torrent, attended with violent explosions, which threw
+up inflamed matter to a considerable height, the adjacent ground
+quivering like the timbers of a water-mill; the heat of the lava was so
+great, as not to suffer me to approach nearer than within ten feet of
+the stream, and of such a consistency (though it appeared liquid as
+water) as almost to resist the impression of a long stick, with which I
+made the experiment; large stones thrown on it with all my force did not
+sink, but, making a slight impression, floated on the surface, and were
+carried out of sight in a short time; for, notwithstanding the
+consistency of the lava, it ran with amazing velocity; I am sure, the
+first mile with a rapidity equal to that of the river Severn, at the
+passage near Bristol. The stream at its source was about ten feet wide,
+but soon extended itself, and divided into three branches; so that these
+rivers of fire, communicating their heat to the cinders of former lavas,
+between one branch and the other, had the appearance at night of a
+continued sheet of fire, four miles in length, and in some parts near
+two in breadth. Your Lordship may imagine the glorious appearance of
+this uncommon scene, such as passes all description.
+
+The lava, after having run pure for about a hundred yards, began to
+collect cinders, stones, &c.; and a scum was formed on its surface,
+which in the day-time had the appearance of the river Thames, as I have
+seen it after a hard frost and great fall of snow, when beginning to
+thaw, carrying down vast masses of snow and ice. In two places the
+liquid lava totally disappeared, and ran in a subterraneous passage for
+some paces; then came out again pure, having left the scum behind. In
+this manner it advanced to the cultivated parts of the mountain; and I
+saw it, the same night of the 12th, unmercifully destroy a poor man's
+vineyard, and surround his cottage, notwithstanding the opposition of
+many images of St. Januarius, that were placed upon the cottage, and
+tied to almost every vine. The lava, at the farthest extremity from its
+source, did not appear liquid, but like a heap of red hot coals,
+forming a wall in some places ten or twelve feet high, which rolling
+from the top soon formed another wall, and so on, advancing slowly, not
+more than about thirty feet in an hour[4].
+
+The mouth of the Volcano has not thrown up any large stones since the
+second eruption of lava on the 10th of April; but has thrown up
+quantities of small ashes and pumice stones, that have greatly damaged
+the neighbouring vineyards. I have been several times at the mountain
+since the 12th; but, as the eruption was in its greatest vigour at that
+time, I have ventured to dwell on, and I fear tire your Lordship with,
+the observations of that day.
+
+In my last visit to Mount Vesuvius, the 3d of June, I still found that
+the lava continued; but the rivers were become rivulets, and had lost
+much of their rapidity. The quantity of matter thrown out by this
+eruption is greater than that of the last in the year 1760; but the
+damage to the cultivated lands is not so considerable, owing to its
+having spread itself much more, and its source being at least three
+miles higher up. This eruption seems now to have exhausted itself; and I
+expect in a few days to see Vesuvius restored to its former
+tranquillity.
+
+Mount Etna in Sicily broke out on the 27th of April; and made a lava, in
+two branches, at least six miles in length, and a mile in breadth; and,
+according to the description given me by Mr. Wilbraham, (who was there,
+after having seen with me part of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius)
+resembles it in every respect, except that Mount Etna, at the place from
+whence the lava flowed (which was twelve miles from the mouth of the
+Volcano), threw up a fountain of liquid inflamed matter to a
+considerable height; which, I am told, Mount Vesuvius has done in former
+eruptions.
+
+I beg pardon for having taken up so much of your time; and yet I flatter
+myself, that my description, which I assure your Lordship is not
+exaggerated, will have afforded you some amusement. I have the honour to
+be,
+
+                              My LORD,
+                              Your Lordship's
+                              Most obedient
+                              and most humble servant,
+
+                              WILLIAM HAMILTON.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+                              Naples, February 3, 1767.
+
+Since the account of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, which I had the
+honour of giving to your Lordship, in my letter of the 10th of June
+last; I have only to add, that the lava continued till about the end of
+November, without doing any great damage, having taken its course over
+antient lavas. Since the cessation of this eruption, I have examined
+the crater, and the crack on the side of the mountain towards _Torre
+dell' Annunciata_, about a hundred yards from the crater from whence
+this lava issued: and I found therein some very curious salts and
+sulphurs; a specimen of each sort I have put into bottles myself, even
+upon the mountain, that they might not lose any of their force, and have
+sent them in a box directed to your Lordship, as you will see, by the
+bill of lading: I am sure, you will have a pleasure in seeing them
+analyzed[5]. I have also packed in the same box some lava, and cinders,
+of the last eruption; there is one piece in particular very curious,
+having the exact appearance of a cable petrified. I shall be very happy
+if these trifles should afford your Lordship a moment's amusement.
+
+It is very extraordinary, that I cannot find, that any chemist here has
+ever been at the trouble of analyzing the productions of Vesuvius.
+
+The deep yellow, or orange-color salts, of which there are two bottles,
+I fetched out of the very crater of the mountain, in a crevice that was
+indeed very hot. It seems to me to be powerful, as it turns silver black
+in an instant, but has no effect upon gold. If your Lordship pleases, I
+will send you by another opportunity specimens of the sulphurs and salts
+of the Solfa terra, which seem to be very different from these.
+
+Within these three days, the fire has appeared again on the top of
+Vesuvius, and earthquakes have been felt in the neighbourhood of the
+mountain. I was there on Saturday with my nephew Lord Greville; we heard
+most dreadful inward grumblings, rattling of stones, and hissing; and
+were obliged to leave the crater very soon, on account of the emission
+of stones. The black smoak arose, as before the last eruption; and I saw
+every symptom of a new eruption, of which I shall not fail to give your
+Lordship an exact account.
+
+
+
+
+LETTER II.
+
+To the Right Honourable the Earl of MORTON, President of the Royal
+Society.
+
+
+                              Naples, December 29, 1767.
+
+My LORD,
+
+The favourable reception, which my account of last year's eruption of
+Mount Vesuvius met with from your Lordship; the approbation which the
+Royal Society was pleased to shew, by having ordered the same to be
+printed in their Philosophical Transactions; and your Lordship's
+commands, in your letter of the 3d instant; encourage me to trouble you
+with a plain narrative of what came immediately under my observation,
+during the late violent eruption, which began October 19, 1767, and is
+reckoned to be the twenty-seventh since that, which, in the time of
+Titus, destroyed Herculaneum and Pompeii.
+
+The eruption of 1766 continued in some degree till the 10th of December,
+about nine months in all[6]; yet in that space of time the mountain did
+not cast up a third of the quantity of lava, which it disgorged in only
+seven days, the term of this last eruption. On the 15th of December,
+last year, within the ancient crater of Mount Vesuvius, and about twenty
+feet deep, there was a crust, which formed a plain, not unlike the
+Solfa terra in miniature; in the midst of this plain was a little
+mountain, whose top did not rise so high as the rim of the ancient
+crater. I went into this plain, and up the little mountain, which was
+perforated, and served as the principal chimney to the Volcano: when I
+threw down large stones, I could hear that they met with many
+obstructions in their way, and could count a hundred moderately before
+they reached the bottom.
+
+Vesuvius was quiet till March 1767, when it began to throw up stones
+from time to time; in April, the throws were more frequent, and at night
+fire was visible on top of the mountain, or, more properly speaking, the
+smoak, which hung over the crater, was tinged by the reflection of the
+fire within the Volcano. These repeated throws of cinders, ashes, and
+pumice stones, increased the little mountain so much, that in May the
+top was visible above the rim of the ancient crater. The 7th of August,
+there issued a small stream of lava, from a breach in the side of this
+little mountain, which gradually filled the valley between it and the
+ancient crater; so that, the 12th of September, the lava overflowed the
+ancient crater, and took its course down the sides of the great
+mountain; by this time, the throws were much more frequent, and the red
+hot stones went so high as to take up ten seconds in their fall. Padre
+Torre, a great observer of Mount Vesuvius, says they went up above a
+thousand feet.
+
+The 15th of October, the height of the little mountain (formed in about
+eight months) was measured by Don Andrea Pigonati, a very ingenious
+young man, in his Sicilian Majesty's service, who assured me that its
+height was 185 French feet.
+
+From my villa, situated between Herculaneum and Pompeii, near the
+convent of the Calmaldolese (marked 7 in Plate I.) I had watched the
+growing of this little mountain; and, by taking drawings of it from
+time to time, I could perceive its increase most minutely. I make no
+doubt but that the whole of Mount Vesuvius has been formed in the same
+manner; and as these observations seem to me to account for the various
+irregular strata, which are met with in the neighbourhood of Volcanos, I
+have ventured to inclose, for your Lordship's inspection, a copy of the
+abovementioned drawings. (Plate III.)
+
+The lava continued to run over the ancient crater in small streams,
+sometimes on one side, and sometimes on another, till the 18th of
+October, when I took particular notice that there was not the least lava
+to be seen; owing, I imagine, to its being employed in forcing its way
+towards the place where it burst out the following day. As I had,
+contrary to the opinion of most people here, foretold the approaching
+eruption[7], and had observed a great fermentation in the mountain
+after the heavy rains which fell the 13th and 14th of October; I was not
+surprized, on the 19th following, at seven of the clock in the morning,
+to perceive from my villa every symptom of the eruption being just at
+hand. From the top of the little mountain issued a thick black smoak, so
+thick that it seemed to have difficulty in forcing its way out; cloud
+after cloud mounted with a hasty spiral motion, and every minute a
+volley of great stones were shot up to an immense height in the midst of
+these clouds; by degrees, the smoak took the exact shape of a huge
+pine-tree, such as Pliny the younger described in his letter to Tacitus,
+where he gives an account of the fatal eruption in which his uncle
+perished[8]. This column of black smoak, after having mounted an
+extraordinary height, bent with the wind towards Caprea, and actually
+reached over that island, which is not less than twenty-eight miles from
+Vesuvius.
+
+I warned my family, not to be alarmed, as I expected there would be an
+earthquake at the moment of the lava's bursting out; but before eight of
+the clock in the morning I perceived that the mountain had opened a
+mouth, without noise, about a hundred yards lower than the ancient
+crater, on the side towards the Monte di Somma; and I plainly perceived,
+by a white smoak, which always accompanies the lava, that it had forced
+its way out: as soon as it had vent, the smoak no longer came out with
+that violence from the top. As I imagined that there would be no danger
+in approaching the mountain when the lava had vent, I went up
+immediately, accompanied by one peasant only. I passed the hermitage (3.
+in Plate I.), and proceeded as far as the spot marked (X), in the valley
+between the mountain of Somma and that of Vesuvius, which is called
+Atrio di Cavallo. I was making my observations upon the lava, which had
+already, from the spot (E) where it first broke out, reached the valley;
+when, on a sudden, about noon, I heard a violent noise within the
+mountain, and at the spot (C), about a quarter of a mile off the place
+where I stood, the mountain split; and, with much noise, from this new
+mouth, a fountain of liquid fire shot up many feet high, and then, like
+a torrent, rolled on directly towards us. The earth shook, at the same
+time that a volley of pumice stones fell thick upon us; in an instant,
+clouds of black smoak and ashes caused almost a total darkness; the
+explosions from the top of the mountain were much louder than any
+thunder I ever heard, and the smell of the sulphur was very offensive.
+My guide, alarmed, took to his heels; and I must confess, that I was not
+at my ease. I followed close, and we ran near three miles without
+stopping; as the earth continued to shake under our feet, I was
+apprehensive of the opening of a fresh mouth, which might have cut off
+our retreat. I also feared that the violent explosions would detach some
+of the rocks off the mountain Somma, under which we were obliged to
+pass; besides, the pumice-stones, falling upon us like hail, were of
+such a size as to cause a disagreeable sensation upon the part where
+they fell. After having taken breath, as the earth still trembled
+greatly, I thought it most prudent to leave the mountain, and return to
+my villa; where I found my family in a great alarm, at the continual and
+violent explosions of the Volcano, which shook our house to its very
+foundation, the doors and windows swinging upon their hinges. About two
+of the clock in the afternoon another lava forced its way out of the
+same place from whence came the lava last year, at the spot marked B (in
+Plate II.); so that the conflagration was soon as great on this side of
+the mountain, as on the other which I had just left.
+
+The noise and smell of sulphur increasing, we removed from our villa to
+Naples; and I thought proper, as I passed by Portici, to inform the
+Court of what I had seen; and humbly offered it as my opinion, that his
+Sicilian Majesty should leave the neighbourhood of the threatening
+mountain. However, the Court did not leave Portici till about twelve of
+the clock, when the lava had reached as far as (4. in Plate I.)--I
+observed, in my way to Naples, which was in less than two hours after I
+had left the mountain, that the lava had actually covered three miles of
+the very road through which we had retreated. It is astonishing that it
+should have run so fast; as I have since seen, that the river of lava,
+in the Atrio di Cavallo, was sixty and seventy feet deep, and in some
+places near two miles broad. When his Sicilian Majesty quitted Portici,
+the noise was greatly increased; and the concussion of the air from the
+explosions was so violent, that, in the King's palace, doors and windows
+were forced open; and even one door there, which was locked, was
+nevertheless burst open. At Naples, the same night, many windows and
+doors flew open; in my house, which is not on the side of the town next
+Vesuvius, I tried the experiment of unbolting my windows[9], when they
+flew wide open upon every explosion of the mountain. Besides these
+explosions, which were very frequent, there was a continued
+subterraneous and violent rumbling noise, which lasted this night about
+five hours. I have imagined, that this extraordinary noise might be
+owing to the lava in the bowels of the mountain having met with a
+deposition of rain water; and that the conflict between the fire and the
+water may, in some measure, account for so extraordinary a crackling and
+hissing noise. Padre Torre, who has wrote so much and so well upon the
+subject of Mount Vesuvius, is also of my opinion. And indeed it is
+natural to imagine, that there may be rain-water lodged in many of the
+caverns of the mountain; as, in the great eruption of Mount Vesuvius in
+1631, it is well attested, that several towns, among which Portici and
+Torre del Greco, were destroyed, by a torrent of boiling water having
+burst out of the mountain with the lava, by which thousands of lives
+were lost. About four years ago, Mount Etna in Sicily threw up hot water
+also, during an eruption.
+
+The confusion at Naples this night cannot be described; his Sicilian
+Majesty's hasty retreat from Portici added to the alarm; all the
+churches were opened and filled; the streets were thronged with
+processions of saints: but I shall avoid entering upon a description of
+the various ceremonies that were performed in this capital, to quell the
+fury of the turbulent mountain.
+
+Tuesday the 20th, it was impossible to judge of the situation of
+Vesuvius, on account of the smoak and ashes, which covered it entirely,
+and spread over Naples also, the sun appearing as through a thick London
+fog, or a smoaked glass; small ashes fell all this day at Naples. The
+lavas on both sides of the mountain ran violently; but there was little
+or no noise till about nine o'clock at night, when the same uncommon
+rumbling began again, accompanied with explosions as before, which
+lasted about four hours: it seemed as if the mountain would split in
+pieces; and, indeed, it opened this night almost from the spot E to C
+(in Plate I.). The annexed plans were taken upon the spot at this time,
+when the lavas were at their height; and I do not think them
+exaggerated. The Parisian barometer was, as yesterday, at 279, and
+Fahrenheit's thermometer at 70 degrees; whereas, for some days preceding
+the eruption, it had been at 65 and 66. During the confusion of this
+night, the prisoners in the public jail attempted to escape, having
+wounded the jailer; but were prevented by the troops. The mob also set
+fire to the Cardinal Archbishop's gate, because he refused to bring out
+the relicks of Saint Januarius.
+
+Wednesday 21st, was more quiet than the preceding days, though the lavas
+ran briskly. Portici was once in some danger, had not the lava taken a
+different course when it was only a mile and a half from it; towards
+night, the lava slackened.
+
+Thursday 22d, about ten of the clock in the morning, the same thundering
+noise began again, but with more violence than the preceding days; the
+oldest men declared, they had never heard the like; and, indeed, it was
+very alarming: we were in expectation every moment of some dire
+calamity. The ashes, or rather small cinders, showered down so fast,
+that the people in the streets were obliged to use umbrellas, or flap
+their hats; these ashes being very offensive to the eyes. The tops of
+the houses, and the balconies, were covered above an inch thick with
+these cinders[10]. Ships at sea, twenty leagues from Naples, were also
+covered with them, to the great astonishment of the sailors. In the
+midst of these horrors, the mob, growing tumultuous and impatient,
+obliged the Cardinal to bring out the head of Saint Januarius, and go
+with it in procession to the Ponte Maddalena, at the extremity of
+Naples, towards Vesuvius; and it is well attested here, that the
+eruption ceased the moment the Saint came in sight of the mountain; it
+is true, the noise ceased about that time, after having lasted five
+hours, as it had done the preceding days.
+
+Friday 23d, the lavas still ran, and the mountain continued to throw up
+quantities of stones from its crater; there was no noise heard at Naples
+this day, and but little ashes fell there.
+
+Saturday 24th, the lava ceased running; the extent of the lava, from
+the spot C (Plate I.), where I saw it break out, to its extremity F,
+where it surrounded the chapel of Saint Vito, is above six miles. In the
+Atrio di Cavallo, and in a deep valley that lies between Vesuvius (1.)
+and the hermitage (3.), the lava is in some places near two miles broad,
+and in most places from sixty to seventy feet deep; at (4.), the lava
+ran down a hollow way, called Fossa grande, made by the currents of rain
+water; it is not less than two hundred feet deep, and a hundred broad;
+yet the lava in one place has filled it up. I could not have believed
+that so great a quantity of matter could have been thrown out in so
+short a time, if I had not since examined the whole course of the lava
+myself. This great compact body will certainly retain some heat many
+months[11]; at this time, much rain having fallen for some days past,
+the lava smoaks, as if it ran afresh: and about ten days ago, when I was
+up the mountain with Lord Stormont, we thrust sticks into the crevices
+of the lava, which took fire immediately: But to proceed with my
+journal.
+
+The 24th, Vesuvius continued to throw up stones as on the preceding
+days: during the whole of this eruption, it had differed in this
+circumstance from the eruption of 1766, when no stones were thrown out
+of the crater from the moment the lava ran freely.
+
+Sunday 25th, small ashes fell all day at Naples; they issued from the
+crater of the Volcano, and formed a vast column, as black as the
+mountain itself, so that the shadow of it was marked out on the surface
+of the sea; continual flashes of forked or zig-zag lightning shot from
+this black column, the thunder of which was heard in the neighbourhood
+of the mountain, but not at Naples: there were no clouds in the sky at
+this time, except those of smoak issuing from the crater of Vesuvius. I
+was much pleased with this ph�nomenon, which I had not seen before in
+that perfection[12].
+
+Monday 26th, the smoak continued, but not so thick, neither were there
+any flashes of the mountain lightning. As no lava has appeared after
+this column of black smoak, which must have been occasioned by some
+inward operation of fire; I am apt to think, that the lava, which should
+naturally have followed this symptom, has broke its way into some deeper
+cavern, where it is silently brooding future mischief; and I shall be
+much mistaken if it does not break out a few months hence.
+
+Tuesday 27th, no more black smoak, nor any signs of eruption.
+
+Thus, my Lord, I have had the honor of giving your Lordship a faithful
+narrative of my observations during this eruption, which is universally
+allowed to have been the most violent of this century; and I shall be
+happy, if it should meet with your approbation, and that of the Royal
+Society, if your Lordship should think it worthy of being communicated
+to so respectable a body.
+
+I have just sent a present to the British Museum of a complete
+collection of every sort of matter produced by Mount Vesuvius, which I
+have been collecting with some pains for these three years past; and it
+will be a great satisfaction to me, if, by the means of this collection,
+some of my countrymen, learned in natural history, may be enabled to
+make some useful discoveries relative to Volcanos[13].
+
+I have also accompanied that collection with a view of a current of
+lava from Mount Vesuvius; it is painted with transparent colours, and,
+when lighted up with lamps behind it, gives a much better idea of
+Vesuvius, than is possible to be given by any other sort of painting.
+
+                              I have the honor to be,
+                              My LORD,
+                              Your Lordship's
+                              Most obedient
+                              and most humble servant,
+
+                              WILLIAM HAMILTON.
+
+
+[Illustration: _Plate I._
+View of the GREAT ERUPTION of VESUVIUS 1767 from Portici.]
+
+PLATE I.
+
+   A. Crater of Mount Vesuvius.
+
+   B. Mouth from whence came the lava of 1766; and which opened
+      afresh, October 19, 1767, and produced the conflagration
+      represented in Plate II.
+
+   C. The mouth which opened at 12 o'clock, October 19, 1767, whilst
+      I was at the spot marked X; from thence came all the lava
+      represented in Plate I.
+
+   D. The lava.
+
+   E. Mouth from whence the lava flowed at eight o'clock, October 19,
+      when the eruption began first.
+
+   F. Chapel of Saint Vito, surrounded with lava.
+
+   1. Vesuvius.
+
+   2. Mountain of Somma.
+
+   3. Hermitage, between which and Vesuvius there is a deep valley
+      two miles broad.
+
+   4. The Fossa Grande.
+
+   5. His Sicilian Majesty's Palace at Portici.
+
+   6. Church of Pugliano.
+
+   7. Calmaldolese Convent, near which is my Villa.
+
+   8. Saint Jorio.
+
+   9. Barra.
+
+  10. Spot, under which lies Herculaneum.
+
+
+[Illustration: _Plate II._
+View of the GREAT ERUPTION of VESUVIUS 1767, from Torre dell'
+Annunziata.]
+
+PLATE II.
+
+   A. Crater of Vesuvius.
+
+   B. Mouth, from whence came the lava of 1766, and which opened
+      afresh at two o'clock, October 19, 1767, and caused the
+      conflagration on this side of the mountain.
+
+   C. Mouth which opened at 12 o'clock, October 19, 1767, whilst I
+      was at the spot X, and which produced all the lava
+      represented in Plate I.
+
+   D. Rivulets of lava, which flowed from the crater, and united with
+      the great river E.
+
+   F. Extremities of the lava, about five miles from B.
+
+   1. Mountain of Somma.
+
+   2. Mount Vesuvius.
+
+   3. Montagna di Trecase.
+
+   4. Trecase.
+
+   5. Oratorio di Bosco.
+
+   6. Ottaiano.
+
+
+[Illustration: _Plate III._
+_The ancient Crater of Mount Vesuvius._
+
+_With the gradual increase of the little Mountain within the Crater._
+
+_The exteriour black line marks each increase & the interiour dotted
+line shews the state of the little Mountain before that increase, so
+that the dotted line in the Drawing of Oct 18.^{th} shews the Size of
+the little Mountain July 8.^{th} the little spot A. marks where the lava
+came out some days before the great Eruption. B. C. D. mark the ancient
+Crater & E. the little Mountain the day before the Eruption. F. G. is
+the present Crater, & the exteriour black line H. F. G. the present
+shape of the top of Mount Vesuvius. Since May last the Mountain is
+increased from B. to F. which is near 200 feet._]
+
+PLATE III.
+
+  Views of the gradual increase of the little mountain within the
+      ancient crater; and of the present shape of Mount Vesuvius.
+
+
+
+
+LETTER III.
+
+To MATHEW MATY, M. D. Secretary to the Royal SOCIETY.
+
+
+                              Villa Angelica, near Mount Vesuvius,
+                              October 4, 1768.
+
+SIR,
+
+I have but very lately received your last obliging letter, of the 5th of
+July, with the volume of Philosophical Transactions.
+
+I must beg of you to express my satisfaction at the notice which the
+Royal Society hath been pleased to take of my accounts of the two last
+eruptions of Mount Vesuvius. Since I have been at my villa here, I have
+enquired of the inhabitants of the mountain, after what they had seen
+during the last eruption. In my letter to Lord Morton, I mentioned
+nothing but what came immediately under my own observation: but as all
+the peasants here agree in their account of the terrible thunder and
+lightning, which lasted almost the whole time of the eruption, upon the
+mountain only; I think it a circumstance worth attending to. Besides the
+lightning, which perfectly resembled the common forked lightning, there
+were many meteors, like what are vulgarly called _falling stars_. A
+peasant, in my neighbourhood, lost eight hogs, by the ashes falling into
+the trough with their food: they grew giddy, and died in a few hours.
+The last day of the eruption, the ashes, which fell abundantly upon the
+mountain, were as white almost as snow[14]; and the old people here
+assure me, that is a sure symptom of the eruption being at an end.
+These circumstances, being well attested, I thought worth relating.
+
+It would require many years close application, to give a proper and
+truly philosophical account of the Volcanos in the neighbourhood of
+Naples; but I am sure such a history might be given, supported by
+demonstration, as would destroy every system hitherto given upon this
+subject. We have here an opportunity of seeing Volcanos in all their
+states. I have been this summer in the island of Ischia; it is about
+eighteen miles round, and its whole basis is lava. The great mountain in
+it, near as high as Vesuvius, formerly called Epomeus, and now San
+Nicolo, I am convinced, was thrown up by degrees; and I have no doubt
+in my own mind, but that the island itself rose out of the sea in the
+same manner as some of the Azores. I am of the same opinion with respect
+to Mount Vesuvius, and all the high grounds near Naples; as having not
+yet seen, in any one place, what can be called virgin earth. I had the
+pleasure of seeing a well sunk, a few days ago, near my villa, which is,
+as you know, at the foot of Vesuvius, and close by the sea-side. At
+twenty-five feet below the level of the sea, they came to a stratum of
+lava, and God knows how much deeper they might have still found other
+lavas. The soil all round the mountain, which is so fertile, consists of
+stratas of lavas, ashes, pumice, and now-and-then a thin stratum of good
+earth, which good earth is produced by the surface mouldering, and the
+rotting of the roots of plants, vines, &c. This is plainly to be seen at
+Pompeii, where they are now digging into the ruins of that ancient city;
+the houses are covered about ten or fifteen feet, with pumice and
+fragments of lava, some of which weigh three pounds (which last
+circumstance I mention, to shew, that, in a great eruption, Vesuvius has
+thrown stones of this weight six miles[15], which is its distance from
+Pompeii, in a direct line); upon this stratum of pumice, or _rapilli_,
+as they call them here, is a stratum of excellent mould, about two feet
+thick, on which grow large trees, and excellent grapes. We have then the
+Solfaterra, which was certainly a Volcano, and has ceased erupting, for
+want of metallic particles, and over-abounding with sulphur. You may
+trace its lavas into the sea. We have the Lago d'Averno and the Lago
+d'Agnano, both of which were formerly Volcanos; and Astroni, which still
+retains its form more than any of these. Its crater is walled round, and
+his Sicilian Majesty takes the diversion of boar-hunting in this
+Volcano; and neither his Majesty nor any one of his Court ever dreamt of
+its former state. We have then that curious mountain, called Montagno
+Nuovo, near Puzzole, which rose, in one night, out of the Lucrine Lake;
+it is about a hundred and fifty feet high, and three miles round. I do
+not think it more extraordinary, that Mount Vesuvius, in many ages,
+should rise above two thousand feet; when this mountain, as is well
+attested, rose in one night, no longer ago than the year 1538. I have a
+project, next spring, of passing some days at Puzzole, and of dissecting
+this mountain, taking its measures, and making drawings of its stratas;
+for, I perceive, it is composed of stratas, like Mount Vesuvius, but
+without lavas. As this mountain is so undoubtedly formed intirely from a
+plain, I should think my project may give light into the formation of
+many other mountains, that are at present thought to have been original,
+and are certainly not so, if their strata correspond with those of the
+Montagno Nuovo. I should be glad to know whether you think this project
+of mine will be useful; and, if you do, the result of my observations
+may be the subject of another letter[16].
+
+I cannot have a greater pleasure than to employ my leisure hours in what
+may be of some little use to mankind; and my lot has carried me into a
+country, which affords an ample field for observation. Upon the whole,
+if I was to establish a system, it would be, that _Mountains are
+produced by Volcanos, and not Volcanos by Mountains_.
+
+I fear I have tired you; but the subject of Volcanos is so favourite a
+one with me, that it has led me on I know not how: I shall only add,
+that Vesuvius is quiet at present, though very hot at top, where there
+is a deposition of boiling sulphur. The lava that ran in the Fossa
+Grande during the last eruption, and is at least two hundred feet thick,
+is not yet cool; a stick, put into its crevices, takes fire immediately.
+On the sides of the crevices are fine crystalline salts: as they are the
+pure salts, which exhale from the lava that has no communication with
+the interiour of the mountain, they may perhaps indicate the composition
+of the lava.
+
+I have done. Let me only thank you for the kind offers and expressions
+in your letter, and for the care you have had in setting off my present
+to the Museum to the best advantage; of which I have been told from many
+quarters.
+
+                              I am,
+                              SIR,
+                              Your most obedient
+                              humble servant,
+
+                              W. HAMILTON.
+
+
+
+
+LETTER IV.
+
+To MATHEW MATY, M. D. Secretary to the Royal SOCIETY.
+
+An Account of a Journey to MOUNT ETNA.
+
+    "Artificis natur� ingens opus aspice, nulla
+    "Tu tanta humanis rebus spectacula cernes."
+
+                              P. CORNELII SEVERI _�tna_.
+
+
+                              Naples, Oct. 17, 1769.
+
+SIR,
+
+Encouraged by the assurances you give me, in your last obliging letter
+of the 15th of June, that any new communication upon the subject of
+Volcano's would be received with satisfaction by the Royal Society; I
+venture to send you the following account of my late observations upon
+Mount Etna, which you are at liberty to lay before our respectable
+Society, should you think it worth its notice. [See Plate IV.]
+
+[Illustration: _Plate IV._
+A View of MOUNT �TNA from Taormina.]
+
+After having examined with much attention the operations of Mount
+Vesuvius, during the five years that I have had the honour of residing
+as his Majesty's Minister at this Court, and after having carefully
+remarked the nature of the soil for fifteen miles round this capital; I
+am, in my own mind, well convinced that the whole of it has been formed
+by explosion. Many of the craters, from whence this matter has issued,
+are still visible; such as the Solfaterra near Puzzole, the lake of
+Agnano, and near this lake a mountain composed of burnt matter, that has
+a very large crater surrounded with a wall, to inclose the wild boars
+and deer, that are kept there for the diversion of his Sicilian Majesty;
+it is called Astruni: the Monte Nuovo, thrown up from the bottom of the
+Lucrine lake[17] in the year 1538, which has likewise its crater; and
+the lake of Averno. The islands of Nisida and Procida are entirely
+composed of burnt matter; the island of Ischia is likewise composed of
+lava, pumice, and burnt matter; and there are in that island several
+visible craters, from one of which, no longer ago than the year 1303,
+there issued a lava, which ran into the sea, and is still in the same
+barren state as the modern lavas of Vesuvius. After having, I say, been
+accustomed to these observations, I was well prepared to visit the most
+ancient, and perhaps the most considerable, Volcano that exists; and I
+had the satisfaction of being thoroughly convinced there, of the
+formation of very considerable mountains by meer explosion, having seen
+many such on the sides of Etna, as will be related hereafter.
+
+On the 24th of June last, in the afternoon, I left Catania, a town
+situated at the foot of Mount Etna, or, as it is now called,
+Mon-Gibello, in company with Lord Fortrose and the Canonico Recupero, an
+ingenious priest of Catania, who is the only person there that is
+acquainted with the mountain: he is actually employed in writing its
+natural history; but, I fear, will not be able to compass so great and
+useful an undertaking, for want of proper encouragement.
+
+We passed through the inferior district of the mountain, called by its
+inhabitants La Regione Piemontese. It is well watered, exceedingly
+fertile, and abounding with vines and other fruit trees, where the lava,
+or, as it is called there, the _sciara_, has had time to soften, and
+gather soil sufficient for vegetation, which, I am convinced from many
+observations, unless assisted by art, does not come to pass for many
+ages[18], perhaps a thousand years or more; the circuit of this lower
+region, forming the basis of the great Volcano, is upwards of one
+hundred Italian miles. The vines of Etna are kept low, quite the reverse
+of those on the borders of Vesuvius; and they produce a stronger wine,
+but not in so great abundance. The Piemontese district is covered with
+towns, villages, monasteries, &c. and is well peopled, notwithstanding
+the danger of such a situation. Catania, so often destroyed by eruptions
+of Etna, and totally overthrown by an earthquake towards the end of the
+last century[19], has been re-built within these fifty years, and is now
+a considerable town, with at least thirty-five thousand inhabitants. I
+do not wonder at the seeming security with which these parts are
+inhabited, having been so long witness to the same near Mount Vesuvius.
+The operations of Nature are slow: great eruptions do not frequently
+happen; each flatters himself it will not happen in his time, or, if it
+should, that his tutelar saint will turn away the destructive lava from
+his grounds; and indeed the great fertility in the neighbourhoods of
+Volcanos tempts people to inhabit them.
+
+In about four hours of gradual ascent, we arrived at a little convent of
+Benedictine monks, called St. Nicolo dell' Arena, about thirteen miles
+from Catania, and within a mile of the Volcano from whence issued the
+last very great eruption in the year 1669; a circumstantial account of
+which was sent to our court by a Lord Winchelsea, who happened to be
+then at Catania in his way home, from his embassy at Constantinople. His
+Lordship's account is curious, and was printed in London soon after; I
+saw a copy of it at Palermo, in the library of the Prince
+Torremuzzo[20]. We slept in the Benedictines convent the night of the
+24th, and passed the next morning in observing the ravage made by the
+abovementioned terrible eruption, over the rich country of the
+Piemontese. The lava burst out of a vineyard within a mile of St.
+Nicolo, and, by frequent explosions of stones and ashes, raised there a
+mountain, which, as near as I can judge, having ascended it, is not less
+than half a mile perpendicular in height, and is certainly at least
+three miles in circumference at its basis. The lava that ran from it,
+and on which there are as yet no signs of vegetation, is fourteen miles
+in length, and in many parts six in breadth; it reached Catania, and
+destroyed part of its walls, buried an amphitheatre, an aqueduct, and
+many other monuments of its ancient grandeur, which till then had
+resisted the hand of Time, and ran a considerable length into the sea,
+so as to have once formed a beautiful and safe harbour; but it was soon
+after filled up by a fresh torrent of the same inflamed matter: a
+circumstance the Catanians lament to this day, as they are without a
+port. There has been no such eruption since, though there are signs of
+many, more terrible, that have preceded it.
+
+For two or three miles round the mountain raised by this eruption, all
+is barren, and covered with ashes; this ground, as well as the mountain
+itself, will in time certainly be as fertile as many other mountains in
+its neighbourhood, that have been likewise formed by explosion. If the
+dates of these explosions could be ascertained, it would be very
+curious, and mark the progress of time with respect to the return of
+vegetation, as the mountains raised by them are in different states;
+those which I imagine to be the most modern are covered with ashes only;
+others of an older date, with small plants and herbs; and the most
+ancient, with the largest timber-trees I ever saw: but I believe the
+latter are so very ancient, as to be far out of the reach of history. At
+the foot of the mountain, raised by the eruption of the year 1669, there
+is a hole, through which, by means of a rope, we descended into several
+subterraneous caverns, branching out and extending much farther and
+deeper than we chose to venture; the cold there being excessive, and a
+violent wind frequently extinguishing some of our torches. These caverns
+undoubtedly contained the lava that issued forth, and extended, as I
+said before, quite to Catania. There are many of these subterraneous
+cavities known, on other parts of Etna; such as that called by the
+peasants La Baracca Vecchia, another La Spelonca della Palomba (from the
+wild pigeons building their nests therein), and the cavern Thalia,
+mentioned by Boccaccio. Some of them are made use of as magazines for
+snow; the whole island of Sicily and Malta being supplied with this
+essential article (in a hot climate) from Mount Etna. Many more would be
+found, I dare say, if searched for, particularly near and under the
+craters from whence great lavas have issued, as the immense quantities
+of such matter we see above ground, must necessarily suppose very great
+hollows underneath.
+
+After having passed the morning of the 25th in these observations, we
+proceeded through the second or middle region of Etna, called La
+Selvosa, _the woody_, than which nothing can be more beautiful. On every
+side are mountains, or fragments of mountains, that have been thrown up
+by various ancient explosions; there are some near as high as Mount
+Vesuvius; one in particular (as the Canon our guide assured me, having
+measured it) is little less than one mile in perpendicular height, and
+five in circumference at its basis. They are all more or less covered,
+even within their craters, as well as the rich vallies between them,
+with the largest oak, chesnut, and firr trees, I ever saw any where; and
+indeed it is from hence chiefly, that his Sicilian Majesty's dockyards
+are supplied with timber. As this part of Etna was famous for its timber
+in the time of the Tyrants of Syracusa, and as it requires the great
+length of time I have already mentioned before the matter is fit for
+vegetation, we may conceive the great age of this respectable Volcano.
+The chesnut-trees predominated in the parts through which we passed,
+and, though of a very great size, are not to be compared to some on
+another part of the Regione Selvosa, called Carpinetto. I have been told
+by many, and particularly by our guide, who had measured the largest
+there, called La Castagna Cento Cavalli, that it is upwards of
+twenty-eight Neapolitan canes in circumference. Now as a Neapolitan cane
+is two yards and half a quarter, English measure, you may judge, Sir, of
+the immense size of this famous tree[21]. It is hollow from age, but
+there is another near it almost as large and sound. As it would have
+required a journey of two days to have visited this extraordinary tree,
+and the weather being already very hot, I did not see it. It is amazing
+to me, that trees should flourish in so shallow a soil; for they cannot
+penetrate deep without meeting with a rock of lava; and indeed great
+part of the roots of the large trees we passed by are above ground, and
+have acquired, by the impression of the air, a bark like that of their
+branches. In this part of the mountain, are the finest horned cattle in
+Sicily; we remarked in general, that the horns of the Sicilian cattle
+are near twice the size of any we had ever seen; the cattle themselves
+are of the common size. We passed by the lava of the last eruption in
+the year 1766, which has destroyed above four miles square of the
+beautiful wood abovementioned. The mountain raised by this eruption
+abounds with sulphur and salts, exactly resembling those of Vesuvius;
+specimens of which I sent some time ago to the late Lord Morton.
+
+In about five hours from the time we had left the convent of St. Nicolo
+dell' Arena, we arrived at the borders of the third region, called La
+Netta, or Scoperta, _clean_ or _uncovered_, where we found a very sharp
+air indeed; so that, in the same day, the four seasons of the year were
+sensibly felt by us, on this mountain; excessive summer heats in the
+Piemontese, spring and autumn temperature in the middle, and extreme
+cold of winter in the upper region. I could perceive, as we approached
+the latter, a gradual decrease of vegetation; and from large timber
+trees we came to the small shrubs and plants of the northern climates: I
+observed quantities of juniper and tanzey; our guide told us that later
+in the season there are numberless curious plants here, and that in some
+parts there are rhubarb and saffron in plenty. In Carrera's History of
+Catania, there is a list of all the plants and herbs of Etna in
+alphabetical order.
+
+Night coming on, we here pitched a tent, and made a good fire, which was
+very necessary; for without it, and very warm cloathing, we should
+surely have perished with cold; and at one of the clock in the morning
+of the 26th, we pursued our journey towards the great crater. We passed
+over vallies of snow, that never melts, except there is an eruption of
+lava from the upper crater, which scarcely ever happens; the great
+eruptions are usually from the middle region, the inflamed matter
+finding (as I suppose) its passage through some weak part, long before
+it can rise to the excessive height of the upper region, the great mouth
+on the summit only serving as a common chimney to the Volcano. In many
+places the snow is covered with a bed of ashes, thrown out of the
+crater, and the sun melting it in some parts makes this ground
+treacherous; but as we had with us, besides our guide, a peasant well
+accustomed to these vallies, we arrived safe at the foot of the little
+mountain of ashes that crowns Etna, about an hour before the rising of
+the sun. This mountain is situated in a gently inclining plain of about
+nine miles in circumference; it is about a quarter of a mile
+perpendicular in height, very steep, but not quite so steep as Vesuvius;
+it has been thrown up within these twenty-five or thirty years, as many
+people at Catania have told me they remembered when there was only a
+large chasm or crater, in the midst of the abovementioned plain. Till
+now, the ascent had been so gradual (for the top of Etna is not less
+than thirty miles from Catania, from whence the ascent begins) as not to
+have been the least fatiguing; and if it had not been for the snow, we
+might have rode upon our mules to the very foot of the little mountain,
+higher than which the Canon our guide had never been: but as I saw that
+this little mountain was composed in the same manner as the top of
+Vesuvius, which, notwithstanding the smoak issuing from every pore, is
+solid and firm, I made no scruple of going up to the edge of the crater;
+and my companions followed. The steep ascent, the keenness of the air,
+the vapours of the sulphur, and the violence of the wind, which obliged
+us several times to throw ourselves flat upon our faces to avoid being
+overturned by it, made this latter part of our expedition rather
+inconvenient and disagreeable. Our guide, by way of comfort, assured us,
+that there was generally much more wind in the upper region at this
+time.
+
+Soon after we had seated ourselves on the highest point of Etna, the sun
+arose, and displayed a scene that indeed passes all description. The
+horizon lighting up by degrees, we discovered the greatest part of
+Calabria, and the sea on the other side of it; the Phare of Messina, the
+Lipari Islands; Stromboli, with its smoaking top, though at above
+seventy miles distance, seemed to be just under our feet; we saw the
+whole island of Sicily, its rivers, towns, harbours, &c. as if we had
+been looking on a map. The island of Malta is low ground, and there was
+a haziness in that part of the horizon, so that we could not discern
+it; our guide assured us, he had seen it distinctly at other times,
+which I can believe, as in other parts of the horizon, that were not
+hazy, we saw to a much greater distance; besides, we had a clear view of
+Etna's top from our ship, as we were going into the mouth of the harbour
+of Malta some weeks before; in short, as I have since measured on a good
+chart, we took in at one view a circle of above nine hundred English
+miles. The pyramidal shadow of the mountain reached across the whole
+island, and far into the sea on the other side. I counted from hence
+forty-four little mountains (little I call them in comparison of their
+mother Etna, though they would appear great any where else) in the
+middle region on the Catania side, and many others on the other side of
+the mountain, all of a conical form, and each having its crater; many
+with timber trees flourishing both within and without their craters.
+The points of those mountains that I imagine to be the most ancient are
+blunted, and the craters of course more extensive and less deep than
+those of the mountains formed by explosions of a later date, and which
+preserve their pyramidal form entire. Some have been so far mouldered
+down by time, as to have no other appearance of a crater than a sort of
+dimple or hollow on their rounded tops, others with only half or a third
+part of their cone standing; the parts that are wanting having mouldered
+down, or perhaps been detached from them by earthquakes, which are here
+very frequent. All however have been evidently raised by explosion; and
+I believe, upon examination, many of the whimsical shapes of mountains
+in other parts of the world would prove to have been occasioned by the
+same natural operations. I observed that these mountains were generally
+in lines or ridges; they have mostly a fracture on one side, the same as
+in the little mountains raised by explosion on the sides of Vesuvius,
+of which there are eight or nine. This fracture is occasioned by the
+lava's forcing its way out, which operation I have described in my
+account of the last eruption of Vesuvius. Whenever I shall meet with a
+mountain, in any part of the world, whose form is regularly conical,
+with a hollow crater on its top, and one side broken, I shall be apt to
+decide such a mountain's having been formed by an eruption; as both on
+Etna and Vesuvius the mountains formed by explosion are without
+exception according to this description. But to return to my narrative.
+
+After having feasted our eyes with the glorious prospect above-mentioned
+(for which, as Spartian tells us, the Emperor Adrian was at the trouble
+of ascending Etna), we looked into the great crater, which, as near as
+we could judge, is about two miles and a half in circumference; we did
+not think it safe to go round and measure it, as some parts seemed to
+be very tender ground. The inside of the crater, which is incrusted with
+salts and sulphurs like that of Vesuvius, is in the form of an inverted
+hollow cone, and its depth nearly answers to the height of the little
+mountain that crowns the great Volcano. The smoak, issuing abundantly
+from the sides and bottom, prevented our seeing quite down; but the wind
+clearing away the smoak from time to time, I saw this inverted cone
+contracted almost to a point; and, from repeated observations, I dare
+say, that in all Volcanos, the depth of the craters will be found to
+correspond nearly to the height of the conical mountains of cinders
+which usually crown them; in short, I look upon the craters as a sort of
+suspended funnels, under which are vast caverns and abysses. The
+formation of such conical mountains with their craters are easily
+accounted for, by the fall of the stones, cinders, and ashes, emitted at
+the time of an eruption.
+
+The smoak of Etna, though very sulphureous, did not appear to me so
+fetid and disagreeable as that of Vesuvius; but our guide told me, that
+its quality varies, as I know that of Vesuvius does, according to the
+quality of the matter then in motion within. The air was so very pure
+and keen in the whole upper region of Etna, and particularly in the most
+elevated parts of it, that we had a difficulty in respiration, and that,
+independent of the sulphureous vapour. I brought two barometers and a
+thermometer with me from Naples, intending to have left one with a
+person at the foot of the mountain, whilst we made our observation with
+the other, at sun-rising, on the summit; but one barometer was unluckily
+spoilt at sea, and I could find no one expert enough at Catania to
+repair it: what is extraordinary, I do not recollect having seen a
+barometer in any part of Sicily. At the foot of Etna, the 24th, when we
+made our first observation, the quicksilver stood at 27 degrees 4
+lines; and the 26th, at the most elevated point of the Volcano, it was
+at 18 degrees 10 lines. The thermometer, on the first observation at the
+foot of the mountain was at 84 degrees, and on the second at the crater
+at 56[22]. The weather had not changed in any respect, and was equally
+fine and clear, the 24th and 26th. We found it difficult to manage our
+barometer in the extreme cold and high wind on the top of Etna; but,
+from the most exact observations we could make in our circumstances, the
+result was as abovementioned. The Canon assured me, that the
+perpendicular height of Mount Etna is something more than three Italian
+miles, and I verily believe it is so.
+
+After having passed at least three hours on the crater, we descended,
+and went to a rising ground, about a mile distant from the upper
+mountain we had just left, and saw there some remains of the foundation
+of an ancient building; it is of brick, and seems to have been
+ornamented with white marble, many fragments of which are scattered
+about. It is called the Philosopher's Tower, and is said to have been
+inhabited by Empedocles. As the ancients used to sacrifice to the
+celestial gods on the top of Etna[23], it may very well be the ruin of a
+temple that served for that purpose. From hence we went a little further
+over the inclined plain abovementioned, and saw the evident marks of a
+dreadful torrent of hot water, that came out of the great crater at the
+time of an eruption of lava in the year 1755, and upon which ph�nomenon
+the Canonico Recupero, our guide, has published a dissertation. Luckily
+this torrent did not take its course over the inhabited parts of the
+mountain; as a like accident on Mount Vesuvius in 1631 swept away some
+towns and villages in its neighbourhood, with thousands of their
+inhabitants. The common received opinion is, that these eruptions of
+water proceed from the Volcanos having a communication with the sea; but
+I rather believe them to proceed merely from depositions of rain water
+in some of the inward cavities of them. We likewise saw from hence the
+whole course of ancient lava, the most considerable as to its extent of
+any known here; it ran into the sea near Taormina, which is not less
+than thirty miles from the crater whence it issued, and is in many parts
+fifteen miles in breadth. As the lavas of Etna are very commonly fifteen
+and twenty miles in length, six or seven in breadth, and fifty feet or
+more in depth; you may judge, Sir, of the prodigious quantities of
+matter emitted in a great eruption of this mountain, and of the vast
+cavities there must necessarily be within its bowels. The most extensive
+lavas of Vesuvius do not exceed seven miles in length. The operations of
+nature on the one mountain and the other are certainly the same; but on
+Mount Etna, all are upon a great scale. As to the nature and quality of
+their lavas, they are much the same; but I think those of Etna rather
+blacker, and in general more porous, than those of Vesuvius. In the
+parts of Etna that we went over, I saw no stratas of pumice stones,
+which are frequent near Vesuvius, and cover the ancient city of Pompeii;
+but our guide told us, that there are such in other parts of the
+mountain. I saw some stratas of what is called here _tufa_; it is the
+same that covers Herculaneum, and that composes most of the high grounds
+about Naples; it is, upon examination, a mixture of small pumice stones,
+ashes, and fragments of lava, which is by time hardened into a sort of
+stone[24]. In short, I found, with respect to the matter erupted,
+nothing on Mount Etna that Vesuvius does not produce; and there
+certainly is a much greater variety in the erupted matter and lavas of
+the latter, than of the former; both abound with pyrites and
+crystallizations, or rather vitrifications. The sea shore at the foot of
+Etna, indeed, abounds with amber, of which there is none found at the
+foot of Vesuvius. At present there is a much greater quantity of sulphur
+and salts on the top of Vesuvius than on that of Etna; but this
+circumstance varies according to the degree of fermentation within; and
+our guide assured me, he had seen greater quantities on Etna at other
+times. In our way back to Catania, the Canon shewed me a little hill,
+covered with vines, which belonged to the Jesuits, and, as is well
+attested, was undermined by the lava in the year 1669, and transported
+half a mile from the place where it stood, without having damaged the
+vines.
+
+In great eruptions of Etna, the same sort of lightning, as described in
+my account of the last eruption of Vesuvius, has been frequently seen to
+issue from the smoak of its great crater. The antients took notice of
+the same ph�nomenon; for Seneca (lib. ii. Nat. Qu�st.) says,--"�tna
+aliquando multo igne abundavit, ingentem vim aren� urentis effudit,
+involutus est dies pulvere, populosque subita nox terruit, _illo tempore
+aiunt plurima fuisse tonitrua et fulmina_."
+
+Till the year 252 of Christ, the chronological accounts of the eruptions
+of Etna are very imperfect: but as the veil of St. Agatha was in that
+year first opposed to check the violence of the torrents of lava, and
+has ever since been produced at the time of great eruptions; the
+miracles attributed to its influence, having been carefully recorded by
+the priests, have at least preserved the dates of such eruptions. The
+relicks of St. Januarius have rendered the same service to the lovers of
+natural history, by recording the great eruptions of Vesuvius. I find,
+by the dates of the eruptions of Etna, that it is as irregular and
+uncertain in its operations as Vesuvius[25]. The last eruption was in
+1766.
+
+On our return from Messina to Naples, we were becalmed three days in the
+midst of the Lipari islands, by which we had an opportunity of seeing
+that they have all been evidently formed by explosion[26]; one of them,
+called Vulcano, is in the same state as the Solfaterra. Stromboli is a
+Volcano, existing in all its force, and, in its form of course, is the
+most pyramidal of all the Lipari Islands; we saw it throw up red hot
+stones from its crater frequently, and some small streams of lava issued
+from its side, and ran into the sea[27]. This Volcano differs from Etna
+and Vesuvius, by its continually emitting fire, and seldom any lava;
+notwithstanding its continual explosions, this island is inhabited, on
+one side, by about an hundred families.
+
+[Illustration: _Plate V._
+STROMBOLI, one of the LIPARI ISLANDS.]
+
+These, as well as I can recollect, are all the observations that I made
+with respect to Volcanos, in may late curious tour of Sicily; and I
+shall be very happy should the communication of them afford you, or any
+of our countrymen (lovers of natural history) satisfaction or
+entertainment.
+
+                              I am,
+                              SIR,
+                              With great regard and esteem,
+                              Your most obedient
+                              humble servant,
+
+                              W. HAMILTON.
+
+
+
+
+LETTER V.
+
+To MATHEW MATY, M. D. Secretary to the Royal SOCIETY.
+
+REMARKS upon the NATURE of the SOIL of NAPLES, and its Neighbourhood.
+
+  "Mille miracula movet saciemque mutat locis, et defert montes,
+  subrigit plana, valles extuberat novas, in profundo insulas
+  eregit."
+
+                              SENECA, De Terra-motu.
+
+
+                              Naples, Oct. 16, 1770.
+
+SIR,
+
+According to your desire, I lose no time in sending you such further
+remarks as I have been making with some diligence, for six years past,
+in the compass of twenty miles, or more, round this capital. By
+accompanying these remarks with a map of the country I describe [Plate
+VI.], and with the specimens of different matters that compose the most
+remarkable spots of it, I do not doubt but that I shall convince you, as
+I am myself convinced, that the whole circuit (so far as I have
+examined) within the boundaries marked in the map is wholly and totally
+the production of subterraneous fires; and that most probably the sea
+formerly reached the mountains that lie behind Capua and Caserta, and
+are a continuation of the Appenines. If I may be allowed to compare
+small things with great, I imagine the subterraneous fires to have
+worked in this country, under the bottom of the sea, as moles in a
+field, throwing up here and there a hillock; and that the matter thrown
+out of some of these hillocks, formed into settled Volcanos, filling up
+the space between one and the other, has composed this part of the
+continent, and many of the islands adjoining.
+
+From the observations I have made upon Mount Etna, Vesuvius, and its
+neighbourhood, I dare say, that, after a careful examination, most
+mountains, that are or have been Volcanos, would be found to owe their
+existence to subterraneous fire; the direct reverse of what I find the
+commonly received opinion.
+
+Nature, though varied, is certainly in general uniform in her
+operations; and I cannot conceive that two such considerable Volcanos as
+Etna and Vesuvius should have been formed otherwise than every other
+considerable Volcano of the known world. I do not wonder that so little
+progress has been made in the improvement of natural history, and
+particularly in that branch of it which regards the theory of earth;
+Nature acts slowly, it is difficult to catch her in the fact. Those who
+have made this subject their study have, without scruple, undertaken at
+once to write the natural history of a whole province, or of an entire
+continent; not reflecting, that the longest life of man scarcely
+affords him time to give a perfect one of the smallest insect.
+
+I am sensible of what I undertake in giving you, Sir, even a very
+imperfect account of the nature of the soil of a little more than twenty
+miles round Naples: yet I flatter myself that my remarks, such as they
+are, may be of some use to any one hereafter, who may have leisure and
+inclination to follow them up. The kingdom of the Two Sicilies offers
+certainly the fairest field for observations of this kind, of any in the
+whole world; here are Volcanos existing in their full force, some on
+their decline, and others totally extinct.
+
+To begin with some degree of order, which is really difficult in the
+variety of matter that occurs to my mind, I will first mention the basis
+on which I found all my conjectures. It is the nature of the soil that
+covers the antient towns of Herculaneum and Pompeii, and the interior
+and exterior form of the new mountain, near Puzzole, with the sort of
+materials of which it is composed. It cannot be denied, that Herculaneum
+and Pompeii stood once above ground; though now, the former is in no
+part less than seventy feet, and in some parts one hundred and twelve
+feet, below the present surface of the earth; and the latter is buried
+ten or twelve feet deep, more or less. As we know from the very accurate
+account given by Pliny the younger to Tacitus, and from the accounts of
+other contemporary authors, that these towns were buried by an eruption
+of Mount Vesuvius in the time of Titus; it must be allowed, that
+whatever matter lies between these cities and the present surface of the
+earth over them, must have been produced since the year 79 of the
+Christian �ra, the date of that formidable eruption.
+
+Pompeii, which is situated at a much greater distance from the Volcano
+than Herculaneum, has felt the effects of a single eruption only; it is
+covered with white pumice stones, mixed with fragments of lava and
+burnt matter, large and small: the pumice is very light; but I have
+found some of the fragments of lava and cinders there, weighing eight
+pounds. I have often wondered, that such weighty bodies could have been
+carried to such a distance (for Pompeii cannot be less than five miles,
+in a strait line, from the mouth of Vesuvius). Every observation
+confirms the fall of this horrid shower over the unfortunate city of
+Pompeii, and that few of its inhabitants had dared to venture out of
+their houses; for in many of those which have been already cleared,
+skeletons have been found, some with gold rings, ear rings, and
+bracelets. I have been present at the discovery of several human
+skeletons myself; and under a vaulted arch, about two years ago, at
+Pompeii, I saw the bones of a man and a horse taken up, with the
+fragments of the horse's furniture, which had been ornamented with false
+gems set in bronze. The skulls of some of the skeletons found in the
+streets had been evidently fractured by the fall of the stones. His
+Sicilian Majesty's excavations are confined to this spot at present; and
+the curious in antiquity may expect hereafter, from so rich a mine,
+ample matter for their dissertations: but I will confine myself to such
+observations only as relate to my present subject.
+
+Over the stratum of pumice and burnt matter that covers Pompeii, there
+is a stratum of good mould, of the thickness of about two feet and more
+in some parts, in which vines flourish, except in some particular spots
+of this vineyard, where they are subject to be blasted by a foul vapour,
+or _mofete_, as it is called here, that rises from beneath the burnt
+matter. The abovementioned shower of pumice stones, according to my
+observations, extended beyond Castel-a-mare (near which spot the ancient
+town of Stabia also lies buried under them) and covered a tract of
+country not less than thirty miles in circumference. It was at Stabia
+that Pliny the elder lost his life, and this shower of pumice stones is
+well described in the younger Pliny's letter. Little of the matter that
+has issued from Vesuvius since that time, has reached these parts: but I
+must observe, that the pavement of the streets of Pompeii is of lava;
+nay, under the foundation of the town, there is a deep stratum of lava
+and burnt matter. These circumstances, with many others that will be
+related hereafter, prove, beyond a doubt, that there have been eruptions
+of Vesuvius previous to that of the year 79, which is the first recorded
+by history.
+
+The growth of soil by time is easily accounted for; and who, that has
+visited ruins of ancient edifices, has not often seen a flourishing
+shrub, in a good soil, upon the top of an old wall? I have remarked many
+such on the most considerable ruins at Rome and elsewhere. But from the
+soil which has grown over the barren pumice that covers Pompeii, I was
+enabled to make a curious observation. Upon examining the cuts and
+hollow ways made by currents of water in the neighbourhood of Vesuvius
+and of other Volcanos, I had remarked that there lay frequently a
+stratum of rich soil, of more or less depth, between the matter produced
+by the explosion of succeeding eruptions[28]; and I was naturally led to
+think, that such a stratum had grown in the same manner as the one
+abovementioned over the pumice of Pompeii. Where the stratum of good
+soil was thick, it was evident to me that many years had elapsed between
+one eruption and that which succeeded it. I do not pretend to say, that
+a just estimate can be formed of the great age of Volcanos from this
+observation; but some sort of calculation might be made: for instance,
+should an explosion of pumice cover again the spot under which Pompeii
+is buried, the stratum of rich soil abovementioned would certainly lie
+between two beds of pumice; and if a like accident had happened a
+thousand years ago, the stratum of rich soil would as certainly have
+wanted much of its present thickness, as the rotting of vegetables,
+manure, &c. is ever increasing a cultivated soil. Whenever I find then a
+succession of different strata of pumice and burnt matter, like that
+which covers Pompeii, intermixed with strata of rich soil, of greater or
+less depth, I hope I may be allowed reasonably to conclude, that the
+whole has been the production of a long series of eruptions, occasioned
+by subterraneous fire. By the size and weight of the pumice, and
+fragments of burnt erupted matter in these strata, it is easy to trace
+them up to their source, which I have done more than once in the
+neighbourhood of Puzzole, where explosions have been frequent. The
+gradual decrease in the size and quantity of the erupted matter in the
+stratum abovementioned, from Pompeii to Castle-a-Mare, is very visible:
+at Pompeii, as I said before, I have found them of eight pounds weight,
+when at Castle-a-Mare the largest do not weigh an ounce.
+
+The matter which covers the ancient town of Herculaneum is not the
+produce of one eruption only; for there are evident marks that the
+matter of six eruptions has taken its course over that which lies
+immediately above the town, and was the cause of its destruction. These
+strata are either of lava or burnt matter, with veins of good soil
+between them. The stratum of erupted matter that immediately covers the
+town, and with which the theatre and most of the houses were filled, is
+not of that foul vitrified matter, called lava, but of a sort of soft
+stone, composed of pumice, ashes, and burnt matter. It is exactly of
+the same nature with what is called here the Naples stone; the Italians
+distinguish it by the name of _tufa_, and it is in general use for
+building. Its colour is usually that of our free stone, but sometimes
+tinged with grey, green, and yellow; and the pumice stones, with which
+it ever abounds, are sometimes large, and sometimes small: it varies
+likewise in its degree of solidity.
+
+The chief article in the composition of _tufa_ seems to me to be, that
+fine burnt material, which is called _puzzolane_, whose binding quality
+and utility by way of cement are mentioned by Vitruvius[29], and which
+is to be met with only in countries that have been subject to
+subterraneous fires. It is, I believe, a sort of lime prepared by
+nature. This, mixed with water, great or small pumice stones, fragments
+of lava, and burnt matter, may naturally be supposed to harden into a
+stone of this kind[30]; and, as water frequently attends eruptions of
+fire, as will be seen in the accounts I shall give of the formation of
+the new mountain near Puzzole, I am convinced the first matter that
+issued from Vesuvius, and covered Herculaneum, was in the state of
+liquid mud. A circumstance strongly favouring my opinion is, that, about
+two years ago, I saw the head of an antique statue dug out of this
+matter within the theatre of Herculaneum; the impression of its face
+remains to this day in the _tufa_, and might serve as a mould for a cast
+in plaister of Paris, being as perfect as any mould I ever saw. As much
+may be inferred from the exact resemblance of this matter, or _tufa_,
+which immediately covers Herculaneum, to all the _tufas_ of which the
+high grounds of Naples and its neighbourhood are composed. I detached a
+piece of it sticking to, and incorporated with, the painted stucco of
+the inside of the theatre of Herculaneum, and shall send it for your
+inspection[31]. It is very different, as you will see, from the
+vitrified matter called lava, by which it has been generally thought
+that Herculaneum was destroyed. The village of Resina and some villas
+stand at present above this unfortunate town.
+
+To account for the very great difference of the matters that cover
+Herculaneum and Pompeii, I have often thought that, in the eruption of
+79, the mountain must have been open in more than one place. A passage
+in Pliny's letter to Tacitus seems to say as much: "Interim � Vesuvio
+monte pluribus locis latissim� flamm�, atque incendia relucebant, quorum
+fulgor et claritas tenebras noctis pellebat:" so that very probably the
+matter that covers Pompeii proceeded from a mouth, or crater, much
+nearer to it than is the great mouth of the Volcano, from whence came
+the matter that covers Herculaneum. This matter might nevertheless be
+said to have proceeded from Vesuvius, just as the eruption in the year
+1760, which was quite independent of the great crater (being four miles
+from it), is properly called an eruption of Vesuvius.
+
+In the beginning of eruptions, Volcanos frequently throw up water mixed
+with the ashes. Vesuvius did so in the eruption of 1631, according to
+the testimony of many contemporary writers. The same circumstance
+happened in 1669, according to the account of Ignazzio Sorrentino, who,
+by his history of Mount Vesuvius, printed at Naples in 1734, has shewn
+himself to have been a very accurate observer of the ph�nomena of the
+Volcano, for many years that he lived at Torre del Greco, situated at
+the foot of it. At the beginning of the formation of the new mountain,
+near Puzzole, water was mixed with the ashes thrown up, as will be seen
+in two very curious and particular accounts of the formation of that
+mountain, which I shall have the pleasure of communicating to you
+presently; and in 1755, Etna threw up a quantity of water in the
+beginning of an eruption, as is mentioned in the letter I sent you last
+year upon the subject of that magnificent Volcano[32]. Ulloa likewise
+mentions this circumstance of water attending the eruptions of Volcanos
+in America. Whenever therefore I find a _tufa_ composed exactly like
+that which immediately covers Herculaneum, and undoubtedly proceeded
+from Vesuvius, I conclude such a _tufa_ to have been produced by water
+mixing with the erupted matter at the time of an explosion occasioned by
+subterraneous fire; and this observation, I believe, will be of more use
+than any other, in pointing out those parts of the present _terra
+firma_, that have been formed by explosion. I am convinced, it has often
+happened that subterraneous fires and exhalations, after having been
+pent up and confined for some time, and been the cause of earthquakes,
+have forced their passage, and in venting themselves formed mountains of
+the matter that confined them, as you will see was the case near
+Puzzole in the year 1538, and by evident signs has been so before, in
+many parts of the neighbourhood of Puzzole; without creating a regular
+Volcano. The materials of such mountains will have but little appearance
+of having been produced by fire, to any one unaccustomed to make
+observations upon the different nature of Volcanos.
+
+If it were allowed to make a comparison between the earth and a human
+body, one might consider a country replete with combustibles occasioning
+explosions (which is surely the case here) to be like a body full of
+humours. When these humours concentre in one part, and form a great
+tumour out of which they are discharged freely, the body is less
+agitated; but when, by any accident, the humours are checked, and do not
+find free passage through their usual channel, the body is agitated, and
+tumours appear in other parts of that body, but soon after the humours
+return again to their former channel. In a similar manner one may
+conceive Vesuvius to be the present great channel, through which nature
+discharges some of the foul humours of the earth: when these humours are
+checked by any accident or stoppage in this channel for any considerable
+time, earthquakes will be frequent in its neighbourhood, and explosions
+may be apprehended even at some distance from it. This was the case in
+the year 1538, Vesuvius having been quiet for near 400 years. There was
+no eruption from its great crater, from the year 1139 to the great
+eruption of 1631, and the top of the mountain began to lose all signs of
+fire. As it is not foreign to my purpose, and will serve to shew how
+greatly they are mistaken, who place the seat of the fire in the centre,
+or towards the top, of a Volcano; I will give you a curious description
+of the state of the crater of Vesuvius, after having been free from
+eruption 492 years, as related by Bracini, who descended into it not
+long before the eruption of 1631: "The crater was five miles in
+circumference, and about a thousand paces deep; its sides were covered
+with brush wood, and at the bottom there was a plain on which cattle
+grazed. In the woody parts, boars frequently harboured; in the midst of
+the plain, within the crater, was a narrow passage, through which, by a
+winding path, you could descend about a mile amongst rocks and stones,
+till you came to another more spacious plain covered with ashes: in this
+plain were three little pools, placed in a triangular form, one towards
+the East, of hot water, corrosive and bitter beyond measure; another
+towards the West, of water salter than that of the sea; the third of hot
+water, that had no particular taste."
+
+The great increase of the cone of Vesuvius, from that time to this,
+naturally induces one to conclude, that the whole of the cone was raised
+in the like manner; and that the part of Vesuvius, called Somma, which
+is now considered as a distinct mountain from it, was composed in the
+same manner. This may plainly be perceived, by examining its interior
+and exterior form, and the strata of lava and burnt matter of which it
+is composed. The ancients, in describing Vesuvius, never mention two
+mountains. Strabo, Dio, Vitruvius, all agree, that Vesuvius, in their
+time, shewed signs of having formerly erupted[33], and the first
+compares the crater on its top to an amphitheatre. The mountain now
+called Somma was, I believe, that which the ancients called Vesuvius:
+its outside form is conical; its inside, instead of an amphitheatre, is
+now like a great theatre. I suppose the eruption in Pliny's time to have
+thrown down that part of the cone next the sea, which would naturally
+have left it in its present state; and that the conical mountain, or
+existing Vesuvius, has been raised by the succeeding eruptions: all my
+observations confirm this opinion. I have seen antient lavas in the
+plain on the other side of Somma, which could never have proceeded from
+the present Vesuvius. Serao, a celebrated physician now living at
+Naples, in the introduction of his account of the eruption of Vesuvius
+in 1737 (in which account many of the ph�nomena of the Volcano are
+recorded and very well accounted for), says, that at the convent of
+Dominican Fryars, called the Madona del Arco, some years ago, in sinking
+a well, at a hundred feet depth, a lava was discovered, and soon after
+another; so that, in less than three hundred feet depth, the lavas of
+four eruptions were found. From the situation of this convent, it is
+clear beyond a doubt, that these lavas proceeded from the mountain
+called Somma, as they are quite out of the reach of the existing
+Volcano.
+
+From these circumstances, and from repeated observations I have made in
+the neighbourhood of Vesuvius, I am sure that no virgin soil is to be
+found there, and that all is composed of different strata of erupted
+matter, even to a great depth below the level of the sea. In short, I
+have not any doubt in my own mind, but that this Volcano took its rise
+from the bottom of the sea; and as the whole plain between Vesuvius and
+the mountains behind Caserta, which is the best part of the Campagna
+Felice, is (under its good soil) composed of burnt matter, I imagine the
+sea to have washed the feet of those mountains, until the subterraneous
+fires began to operate, at a period certainly of a most remote
+antiquity.
+
+The soil of the Campagna Felice is very fertile; I saw the earth opened
+in many places last year in the midst of that plain, when they were
+seeking for materials to mend the road from Naples to Caserta. The
+stratum of good soil was in general four or five feet thick; under which
+was a deep stratum of cinders, pumice, fragments of lava, and such burnt
+matter as abounds near Vesuvius and all Volcanos. The mountains at the
+back of Caserta are mostly of a sort of lime-stone, and very different
+from those formed by fire; though Signior Van Vitelli, the celebrated
+architect, has assured me, that, in the cutting of the famous aqueduct
+of Caserta through these mountains, he met with some soils, that had
+been evidently formed by subterraneous fire. The high grounds, which
+extend from Castel-a-Mare, to the point of Minerva towards the island of
+Caprea, and from the promontory that divides the bay of Naples from that
+of Salerno, are of lime-stone. The plain of Sorrento, that is bounded by
+these high grounds, beginning at the village of Vico, and ending at that
+of Massa, is wholly composed of the same sort of _tufa_ as that about
+Naples, except that the cinders or pumice stones intermixed in it are
+larger than in the Naples _tufa_. I conceive then that there has been an
+explosion in this spot from the bottom of the sea. This plain, as I have
+remarked to be the case with all soils produced by subterraneous fire,
+is extremely fertile; whilst the ground about it, being of another
+nature, is not so. The island of Caprea does not shew any signs of
+having been formed by subterraneous fire; but is of the same nature as
+the high grounds last mentioned, from which it has been probably
+detached by earthquakes, or the violence of the waves. Rovigliano, an
+island, or rather a rock, in the bay of Castel-a-Mare, is likewise of
+lime-stone, and seems to have belonged to the original mountains in its
+neighbourhood: in some of these mountains there are also petrified fish
+and fossil shells, which I never have found in the mountains which I
+suppose to have been formed by explosion[34].
+
+You have now, Sir, before you the nature of the soil, from Caprea to
+Naples. The soil on which this great metropolis stands has been
+evidently produced by explosions, some of which seem to have been upon
+the very spot on which this city is built; all the high grounds round
+Naples, Pausilipo, Puzzole, Ba�a, Misenum, the islands of Procita and
+Ischia, appear to have been raised by explosion. You can trace still in
+many of these heights the conical shape that was naturally given them at
+first, and even the craters out of which the matter issued, though to be
+sure others of these heights have suffered such changes by the hand of
+time, that you can only conjecture that they were raised in the like
+manner, by their composition being exactly the same as that of those
+mountains which still retain their conical form and craters entire. A
+_tufa_, exactly resembling the specimen I took from the inside of the
+theatre of Herculaneum, layers of pumice intermixed with layers of good
+soil, just like those over Pompeii, and lavas like those of Vesuvius,
+compose the whole soil of the country that remains to be described.
+
+The famous grotto anciently cut through the mountain of Pausilipo, to
+make a road from Naples to Puzzole, gives you an opportunity of seeing
+that the whole of that mountain is _tufa_. The first evident crater you
+meet with, after you have passed the grotto of Pausilipo, is now the
+lake of Agnano; a small remain of the subterraneous fire (which must
+probably have made the bason for the lake, and raised the high grounds
+which form a sort of amphitheatre round it) serves to heat rooms, which
+the Neapolitans make great use of in summer, for carrying off diverse
+disorders, by a strong perspiration. This place is called the Sudatorio
+di San Germano; near the present bagnios, which are but poor little
+hovels, there are the ruins of a magnificent ancient bath. About an
+hundred paces from hence is the Grotto del Cane; I shall only mention,
+as a further proof of the probability that the lake of Agnano was a
+Volcano, that vapours of a pernicious quality, as that in the Grotto
+del Cane, are frequently met with in the neighbourhood of Etna and
+Vesuvius, particularly at the time of, before, and after, great
+eruptions. The noxious vapour having continued in the same force
+constantly so many ages, as it has done in the Grotto del Cane (for
+Pliny mentions this Grotto[35]), is indeed a circumstance in which it
+differs from the vapours near Vesuvius and Etna, which are not constant.
+The cone forming the outside of this supposed Volcano is still perfect
+in many parts.
+
+Opposite to the Grotto del Cane, and immediately joining to the lake,
+rises the mountain called Astruni, which, having, as I imagine, been
+thrown up by an explosion of a much later date, retains the conical
+shape and every symptom of a Volcano in much greater perfection than
+that I have been describing. The crater of Astruni is surrounded with a
+wall, to confine boars and deers (this Volcano having been for many
+years converted to a royal chace). It may be about six miles or more in
+circumference: in the plain at the bottom of the crater are two lakes;
+and in some books there is mention made of a hot spring, which I never
+have been able to find. There are many huge rocks of lava within the
+crater of Astruni, and some I have met with also in that of Agnano; the
+cones of both these supposed Volcanos are composed of _tufa_ and strata
+of loose pumice, fragments of lava and other burnt matter, exactly
+resembling the strata of Vesuvius. Bartholomeus Fatius, who wrote of the
+actions of King Alphonso the First (before the new mountain had been
+formed near Puzzole), conjectured that Astruni had been a Volcano.
+These are his words: "Locus Neapoli quatuor millia passuum proximus,
+quem vulgo Listrones vocant, nos unum � Phlegr�is Campis ab ardore
+nuncupandum putamus." There is no entrance into the crater of either
+Astruni or Agnano, except one, evidently made by art, and they both
+exactly correspond with Strabo's description of Avernus; the same may be
+said of the Solfaterra and the Monte Gauro, or Barbaro as it is
+sometimes called, which I shall describe presently.
+
+Near Astruni and towards the sea rises the Solfaterra, which not only
+retains its cone and crater, but much of its former heat. In the plain
+within the crater, smoak issues from many parts, as also from its sides;
+here, by means of stones and tiles heaped over the crevices through
+which the smoak passes, they collect in an aukward manner what they call
+_sale armoniaco_; and from the sand of the plain they extract sulphur
+and alum. This spot, well attended to, might certainly produce a good
+revenue, whereas I doubt if they have hitherto ever cleared 200_l._ a
+year by it. The hollow sound produced by throwing a heavy stone on the
+plain of the crater of the Solfaterra seems to indicate, that it is
+supported by a sort of arched natural vault; and one is induced to think
+that there is a pool of water beneath this vault (which boils by the
+heat of a subterraneous fire still deeper), by the very moist steam that
+issues from the cracks in the plain of the Solfaterra, which, like that
+of boiling water, runs off a sword or knife, presented to it, in great
+drops. On the outside, and at the foot of the cone of the Solfaterra,
+towards the lake of Agnano, water rushes out of the rocks, so hot, as to
+raise the quicksilver in Fahrenheit's thermometer to the degree of
+boiling water[36], a fact of which I was myself an eye-witness. This
+place, well worthy the observation of the curious, has been taken little
+notice of; it is called the _Pisciarelli_. The common people of Naples
+have great faith in the efficacy of this water; and make much use of it
+in all cutaneous disorders, as well as for another disorder that
+prevails here. It seems to be impregnated chiefly with sulphur and alum.
+When you approach your ear to the rocks of the Pisciarelli, from whence
+this water ouzes, you hear a horrid boiling noise, which seems to
+proceed from the huge cauldron, that may be supposed to be under the
+plain of the Solfaterra. On the other side of the Solfaterra, next the
+sea, there is a rock, which has communicated with the sea, till part of
+it was cut away to make the road to Puzzole; this was undoubtedly a
+considerable lava, that ran from the Solfaterra when it was an active
+Volcano. Under this rock of lava, which is more than seventy feet high,
+there is a stratum of pumice and ashes. This ancient lava is about a
+quarter of a mile broad; you meet with it abruptly before you come in
+sight of Puzzole, and it finishes as abruptly within about an hundred
+paces of the town. I have often thought that many quarries of stone,
+upon examination, would be found to owe their origin to the same cause,
+though time may have effaced all signs of the Volcano from whence they
+proceeded. Except this rock, which is evidently lava and full of
+vitrifications like that of Vesuvius, all the rocks upon the coast of
+Ba�a are of _tufa_.
+
+I have observed in the lava of Vesuvius and Etna, as in this, that the
+bottom, as well as the surface of it, was rough and porous, like the
+cinders or scori� from an iron foundery; and that for about a foot from
+the surface and from the bottom, they were not near so solid and
+compact as towards the centre; which must undoubtedly proceed from the
+impression of the air upon the vitrified matter whilst in fusion. I
+mention this circumstance, as it may serve to point out true lavas with
+more certainty. The ancient name of the Solfaterra was, _Forum Vulcani_;
+a strong proof of its origin from subterraneous fire. The degree of
+heat, that the Solfaterra has preserved for so many ages, seems to have
+calcined the stones upon its cone, and in its crater, as they are very
+white, and crumble easily in the hottest parts.
+
+We come next to the new mountain near Puzzole, which, being of so very
+late a formation, preserves its conical shape entire, and produces as
+yet but a very slender vegetation. It has a crater almost as deep as the
+cone is high, which may be near a quarter of a mile perpendicular, and
+is in shape a regular inverted cone. At the basis of this new mountain
+(which is more than three miles in circumference), the sand upon the
+sea shore, and even that which is washed by the sea itself, is burning
+hot for above the space of an hundred yards; if you take up a handful of
+the sand below water, you are obliged to get rid of it directly, on
+account of its intense heat.
+
+I had been long very desirous of meeting with a good account of the
+formation of this new mountain, because, proving this mountain to have
+been raised by mere explosion in a plain, would prove at the same time,
+that all the neighbouring mountains, which are composed of the same
+materials, and have exactly or in part the same form, were raised in the
+like manner; and that the seat of fire, the cause of these explosions,
+lies deep; which I have every reason to think.
+
+Fortunately, I lately found two very good accounts of the ph�nomena that
+attended the explosion, which formed the new mountain, published a few
+months after the event. As I think them very curious, and greatly to my
+purpose, and as they are rare, I will give you a literal translation of
+such extracts as relate to the formation of the Monte Nuovo. They are
+bound in one volume[37].
+
+The title of the first is, _Dell Incendio di Pozzuolo, Marco Antonio
+delli Falconi all Illustrissima Signiora Marchesa della Padula nel
+MDXXXVIII_.
+
+At the head of the second is, _Ragionamento del Terremoto, del Nuovo
+Monte, del Aprimento di Terra in Pozzuolo nell' Anno 1538, � della
+significatione d'essi. Per Piero Giacomo da Toledo_; and at the end of
+the book, _Stampata in Nap. per Giovanni Sulztbach Alemano, a 22di
+Genaro 1539, con gratia, � privilegio_.
+
+"First then (says Marco Antonio delli Falconi), will I relate simply and
+exactly the operations of nature, of which I was either myself an
+eye-witness, or as they were related to me by those who had been
+witnesses of them. It is now two years that there have been frequent
+earthquakes at Pozzuolo, at Naples, and the neighbouring parts; on the
+day and in the night before the appearance of this eruption, above
+twenty shocks great and small were felt at the abovementioned places.
+The eruption made its appearance the 29th of September 1538, the feast
+of St. Michael the angel; it was on a Sunday, about an hour in the
+night; and, as I have been informed, they began to see on that spot,
+between the hot baths or sweating rooms, and Trepergule, flames of fire,
+which first made their appearance at the baths, then extended towards
+Trepergule, and fixing in the little valley that lies between the Monte
+Barbaro and the hillock called del Pericolo (which was the road to the
+lake of Avernus and the baths), in a short time the fire increased to
+such a degree, that it burst open the earth in this place, and threw up
+so great a quantity of ashes and pumice stones mixed with water, as
+covered the whole country; and in Naples a shower of these ashes and
+water fell a great part of the night. The next morning, which was
+Monday, and the last of the month, the poor inhabitants of Pozzuolo,
+struck with so horrible a sight, quitted their habitations, covered with
+that muddy and black shower, which continued in that country the whole
+day, flying death, but with faces painted with its colours; some with
+their children in their arms, some with sacks full of their goods;
+others leading an ass, loaded with their frightened family, towards
+Naples; others carrying quantities of birds of various sorts, that had
+fallen dead at the time the eruption began; others again with fish which
+they had found, and were to be met with in plenty upon the shore, the
+sea having been at that time considerably dried up. Don Pedro di Toledo,
+Viceroy of the kingdom, with many gentlemen, went to see so wonderful
+an appearance; I also, having met with the most honourable and
+incomparable gentleman, Signior Fabritio Moramaldo, on the road, went
+and saw the eruption and the many wonderful effects of it. The sea
+towards Ba�a had retired a considerable way; though, from the quantity
+of ashes and broken pumice stones thrown up by the eruption, it appeared
+almost totally dry. I saw likewise two springs in those
+lately-discovered ruins, one before the house that was the Queen's, of
+hot and salt water; the other of fresh and cold water, on the shore,
+about 250 paces nearer to the eruption: some say, that, still nearer to
+the spot where the eruption happened, a stream of fresh water issued
+forth like a little river. Turning towards the place of the eruption,
+you saw mountains of smoak, part of which was very black and part very
+white, rise up to a great height; and in the midst of the smoak, at
+times, deep-coloured flames burst forth with huge stones and ashes, and
+you heard a noise like the discharge of a number of great artillery. It
+appeared to me as if Typheus and Enceladus from Ischia and Etna with
+innumerable giants, or those from the Campi Phlegrei (which, according
+to the opinions of some, were situated in this neighbourhood), were come
+to wage war again with Jupiter. The natural historians may perhaps
+reasonably say, that the wise poets meant no more by giants, than
+exhalations, shut up in the bowels of the earth, which, not finding a
+free passage, open one by their own force and impulse, and form
+mountains, as those which occasioned this eruption have been seen to do;
+and methought I saw those torrents of burning smoak that Pindar
+describes in an eruption of Etna, now called Mon Gibello, in Sicily; in
+imitation of which, as some say, Virgil wrote these lines:
+
+  "Ipse sed horrificis juxta tonat �tna ruinis, &c.
+
+"After the stones and ashes with clouds of thick smoak had been sent up,
+by the impulse of the fire and windy exhalation (as you see in a great
+cauldron that boils), into the middle region of the air, overcome by
+their own natural weight, when from distance the strength they had
+received from impulse was spent, rejected likewise by the cold and
+unfriendly region, you saw them fall thick, and, by degrees, the
+condensed smoak clear away, raining ashes with water and stones of
+different sizes, according to the distance from the place: then, by
+degrees, with the same noise and smoak, it threw out stones and ashes
+again, and so on by fits. This continued two days and nights, when the
+smoak and force of the fire began to abate. The fourth day, which was
+Thursday, at 22 o'clock, there was so great an eruption, that, as I was
+in the gulph of Puzzole, coming from Ischia, and not far from Misenum, I
+saw, in a short time, many columns of smoak shoot up, with the most
+terrible noise I ever heard, and, bending over the sea, came near our
+boat, which was four miles or more from the place of their birth; and
+the quantity of ashes, stones, and smoak, seemed as if they would cover
+the whole earth and sea. Stones, great and small, and ashes more or
+less, according to the impulse of the fire and exhalations, began to
+fall, so that a great part of this country was covered with ashes; and
+many, that have seen it, say, they reached the vale of Diana, and some
+parts of Calabria, which are more than 150 miles from Pozzuolo. The
+Friday and Saturday nothing but a little smoak appeared; so that many,
+taking courage, went upon the spot, and say, that with the stones and
+ashes thrown up, a mountain has been formed in that valley, not less
+than three miles in circumference, and almost as high as the Monte
+Barbaro, which is near it, covering the Canettaria, the castle of
+Trepergule, all those buildings and the greatest part of the baths that
+were about them; extending South towards the sea, North as far as the
+lake of Avernus, West to the Sudatory, and joining East to the foot of
+the Monte Barbaro; so that this place has changed its form and face in
+such a manner as not to be known again: a thing almost incredible, to
+those who have not seen it, that in so short a time so considerable a
+mountain could have been formed. On its summit there is a mouth in the
+form of a cup, which may be a quarter of a mile in circumference, though
+some say it is as large as our market-place at Naples, from which there
+issues a constant smoak; and though I have seen it only at a distance,
+it appears very great. The Sunday following, which was the 6th of
+October, many people going to see this ph�nomenon, and some having
+ascended half the mountain, others more, about 22 o'clock there happened
+so sudden and horrid an eruption, with so great a smoak, that many of
+these people were stifled, some of which could never be found. I have
+been told, that the number of the dead or lost amounted to twenty-four.
+From that time to this, nothing remarkable happened; it seems as if the
+eruption returned periodically, like the ague or gout. I believe
+henceforward it will not have such force, though the eruption of the
+Sunday was accompanied with showers of ashes and water, which fell at
+Naples, and were seen to extend as far as the mountain of Somma, called
+Vesuvius by the ancients; and, as I have often remarked, the clouds of
+smoak proceeding from the eruption moved in a direct line towards that
+mountain, as if these places had a correspondence and connection one
+with the other. In the night, many beams and columns of fire were seen
+to proceed from this eruption, and some like flashes of lightning[38].
+We have then, many circumstances for our observation, the earthquakes,
+the eruption, the drying up of the sea, the quantity of dead fish and
+birds, the birth of springs, the shower of ashes with water and without
+water, the innumerable trees in that whole country, as far as the Grotto
+of Lucullus, torn from their roots, thrown down, and covered with ashes,
+that it gave one pain to see them: and as all these effects were
+produced by the same cause that produces earthquakes; let us first
+enquire how earthquakes are produced, and from thence we may easily
+comprehend the cause of the abovementioned events." Then follows a
+dissertation on earthquakes, and some curious conjectures relative to
+the ph�nomena which attended this eruption, clearly and well expressed,
+considering, as the author himself apologizes, that at that time the
+Italian language had been little employed on such subjects.
+
+The account of the formation of the Monte Nuovo, by Pietro Giacomo di
+Toledo, is given in a dialogue between the feigned personages of
+Peregrino and Svessano; the former of which says, "It is now two years
+that this province of Campagna has been afflicted with earthquakes, the
+country about Pozzuolo much more so than any other parts; but the 27th
+and the 28th of the month of September last, the earthquakes did not
+cease day or night, in the abovementioned city of Pozzuolo; that plain,
+which lies between the lake of Averno, the Monte Barbaro, and the sea,
+was raised a little, and many cracks were made in it, from some of which
+issued water; and at the same time the sea, which was very near the
+plain, dried up about two hundred paces, so that the fish were left on
+the sand, a prey to the inhabitants of Pozzuolo. At last, on the 29th of
+the said month, about two hours in the night, the earth opened near the
+lake, and discovered a horrid mouth, from which were vomited furiously,
+smoak, fire, stones, and mud composed of ashes; making, at the time of
+its opening, a noise like very loud thunder: the fire, that issued from
+this mouth, went towards the walls of the unfortunate city; the smoak
+was partly black and partly white; the black was darker than darkness
+itself, and the white was like the whitest cotton: these smoaks, rising
+in the air, seemed as if they would touch the vault of heaven; the
+stones that followed were, by the devouring flames, converted to pumice,
+the size of which (of some I say) were much larger than an ox. The
+stones went about as high as a cross-bow can carry, and then fell down,
+sometimes on the edge, and sometimes into the mouth itself. It is very
+true that many of them in going up could not be seen, on account of the
+dark smoak; but, when they returned from the smoaky heat, they shewed
+plainly where they had been, by their strong smell of fetid sulphur,
+just like stones that have been thrown out of a mortar, and have passed
+through the smoak of inflamed gunpowder. The mud was of the colour of
+ashes, and at first very liquid, then by degrees less so; and in such
+quantities, that in less than twelve hours, with the help of the
+abovementioned stones, a mountain was raised of a thousand paces in
+height. Not only Pozzuolo and the neighbouring country was full of this
+mud, but the city of Naples also, the beauty of whose palaces were, in a
+great measure, spoiled by it. The ashes were carried as far as Calabria
+by the force of the winds, burning up in their passage the grass and
+high trees, many of which were borne down by the weight of them. An
+infinity of birds also, and numberless animals of various kinds, covered
+with this sulphureous mud, gave themselves up a prey to man. Now this
+eruption lasted two nights and two days without intermission, though, it
+is true, not always with the same force, but more or less: when it was
+at its greatest height, even at Naples you heard a noise or thundering
+like heavy artillery when two armies are engaged. The third day the
+eruption ceased, so that the mountain made its appearance uncovered, to
+the no small astonishment of every one who saw it. On this day, when I
+went up with many people to the top of this mountain; I saw down into
+its mouth, which was a round concavity of about a quarter of a mile in
+circumference, in the middle of which the stones that had fallen were
+boiling up, just as in a great cauldron of water that boils on the
+fire. The fourth day it began to throw up again, and the seventh much
+more, but still with less violence than the first night; it was at this
+time that many people, who were unfortunately on the mountain, were
+either suddenly covered with ashes, smothered with smoak, or, knocked
+down by stones, burnt by the flame, and left dead on the spot. The smoak
+continues to this day[39], and you often see in the night-time fire in
+the midst of it. Finally, to complete the history of this new and
+unforeseen event, in many parts of the new-made mountain, sulphur begins
+to be generated." Giacomo di Toledo, towards the end of his dissertation
+upon the ph�nomena attending this eruption, says, that the lake of
+Avernus had a communication with the sea, before the time of the
+eruption; and that he apprehended that the air of Puzzole might come to
+be affected in summer time, by the vapours from the stagnated waters of
+the lake; which is actually the case.
+
+You have, Sir, from these accounts, an instance of a mountain, of a
+considerable height and dimensions, formed in a plain, by mere
+explosion, in the space of forty-eight hours. The earthquakes having
+been sensibly felt at a great distance from the spot where the opening
+was made, proves clearly, that the subterraneous fire was at a great
+depth below the surface of the plain; it is as clear that those
+earthquakes, and the explosion, proceeded from the same cause, the
+former having ceased upon the appearance of the latter. Does not this
+circumstance evidently contradict the system of M. Buffon, and of all
+the natural historians, who have placed the seat of the fire of
+Volcanos towards the center, or near the summit of the mountains, which
+they suppose to furnish the matter emitted? Did the matter which
+proceeds from a Volcano in an eruption come from so inconsiderable a
+depth as they imagine, that part of the mountain situated above their
+supposed seat of the fire must necessarily be destroyed, or dissipated
+in a very short time: on the contrary, an eruption usually adds to the
+height and bulk of a Volcano; and who, that has had an opportunity of
+making observations on Volcanos, does not know, that the matter they
+have emitted for many ages, in lavas, ashes, smoak, &c. could it be
+collected together, would more than suffice to form three such mountains
+as the simple cone or mountain of the existing Volcano? With respect to
+Vesuvius, this could be plainly proved; and I refer to my letter upon
+the subject of Etna, to shew the quantity of matter thrown up in one
+single eruption, by that terrible Volcano. Another proof, that the real
+seat of the fire of Volcanos lies even greatly below the general level
+of the country whence the mountain springs, is, that was it only at an
+inconsiderable depth below the basis of the mountain, the quantity of
+matter thrown up would soon leave so great a void immediately under it,
+that the mountain itself must undoubtedly sink and disappear after a few
+eruptions.
+
+In the above accounts of the formation of the new mountain, we are told
+that the matter first thrown up, was mud composed of water and ashes,
+mixed with pumice stones and other burnt matter: on the road leading
+from Puzzole to Cuma, part of the cone of this mountain has been cut
+away, to widen the road. I have there seen that its composition is a
+_tufa_ intermixed with pumice, some of which are really of the size of
+an ox, as mentioned in Toledo's account, and exactly of the same nature
+as the _tufa_ of which every other high ground in its neighbourhood is
+composed; similar also to that which covers Herculaneum. According to
+the above accounts, after the muddy shower ceased, it rained dry ashes:
+this circumstance will account for the strata of loose pumice and ashes,
+that are generally upon the surface of all the _tufas_ in this country,
+and which were most probably thrown up in the same manner. At the first
+opening of the earth, in the plain near Puzzole, both accounts say, that
+springs of water burst forth; this water, mixing with the ashes,
+certainly occasioned the muddy shower; when the springs were exhausted,
+there must naturally have ensued a shower of dry ashes and pumice, of
+which we have been likewise assured. I own, I was greatly pleased at
+being in this manner enabled to account so well for the formation of
+these _tufa_ stones and the veins of dry and loose burnt matter above
+them, of which the soil of almost the whole country I am describing is
+composed; and I do not know that any one has ever attended to this
+circumstance, though I find that many authors, who have described this
+country, have suspected that parts of it were formed by explosion.
+Wherever then this sort of _tufa_ is found, there is certainly good
+authority to suspect its having been formed in the same manner as the
+_tufa_ of this new mountain, for, as I said before, Nature is generally
+uniform in all her operations.
+
+It is commonly imagined that the new mountain rose out of the Lucrine
+lake, which was destroyed by it; but in the above account, no mention is
+made of the Lucrine lake; it may be supposed then, that the famous dam,
+which Strabo and many other ancient authors mention to have separated
+that lake from the sea, had been ruined by time or accident, and that
+the lake became a part of the sea before the explosion of 1538.
+
+If the above-described eruption was terrible, that which formed the
+Monte Barbaro (or Gauro, as it was formerly called), must have been
+dreadful indeed. It joins immediately to the new mountain, which in
+shape and composition it exactly resembles; but it is at least three
+times as considerable. Its crater cannot be less than six miles in
+circumference; the plain within the crater, one of the most fertile
+spots I ever saw, is about four miles in circumference: there is no
+entrance to this plain, but one on the East side of the mountain, made
+evidently by art; in this section you have an opportunity of seeing that
+the matter of which the mountain is composed is exactly similar to that
+of the Monte Nuovo. It was this mountain that produced (as some authors
+have supposed) the celebrated Falernian wine of the ancients.
+
+Cuma, allowed to have been the most ancient city of Italy, was built on
+an eminence, which is likewise composed of _tufa_, and may be naturally
+supposed a section of the cone formed by a very ancient explosion.
+
+The lake of Avernus fills the bottom of the crater of a mountain,
+undoubtedly produced by explosion, and whose interior and exterior
+form, as well as the matter of which it is composed, exactly resemble
+the Monte Barbaro and Monte Nuovo. At that part of the basis of this
+mountain which is washed by the sea of the bay of Puzzole, the sand is
+still very hot, though constantly washed by the waves; and into the cone
+of the mountain, near this hot sand, a narrow passage of about 100 paces
+in length is cut, and leads to a fountain of boiling water, which,
+though brackish, boils fish and flesh without giving them any bad taste
+or quality, as I have experienced more than once. This place is called
+Nero's bath, and is still made use of for a sudatory, as it was by the
+ancients; the steam that rises from the hot fountain abovementioned,
+confined in the narrow subterraneous passage, soon produces a violent
+perspiration upon the patient who sits therein. This bath is reckoned a
+great specifick in that distemper which is supposed to have made its
+appearance at Naples before it spread its contagion over the other
+parts of Europe.
+
+Virgil and other ancient authors say, that birds could not fly with
+safety over the lake of Avernus, but that they fell therein; a
+circumstance favouring my opinion, that this was once the mouth of a
+Volcano. The vapour of the sulphur and other minerals must undoubtedly
+have been more powerful, the nearer we go back to the time of the
+explosion of the Volcano; and I am convinced that there are still some
+remains of those vapours upon this lake, as I have observed there are
+very seldom any water-fowl upon it; and that when they do go there, it
+is but for a short time; whilst all the other lakes in the neighbourhood
+are constantly covered with them, in the winter season. Upon Mount
+Vesuvius, in the year 1766, during an eruption, when the air was
+impregnated with noxious vapours, I have myself picked up dead birds
+frequently.
+
+The castle of Ba�a stands upon a considerable eminence, composed of the
+usual _tufa_ and strata of pumice and ashes; from which I concluded I
+should find some remains of the craters from whence the matter issued:
+accordingly, having ascended the hill, I soon discovered two very
+visible craters, just behind the castle.
+
+The lake called the Mare-morto was also, most probably, the crater, from
+whence issued the materials which formed the Promontory of Misenum, and
+the high grounds around this lake. Under the ruins of an ancient
+building, near the point of Misenum, in a vault, there is a vapour, or
+_mofete_, exactly similar in its effects to that of the Grotto del Cane,
+as I have often experienced.
+
+The form of the little island of Nisida shews plainly its origin[40]. It
+is half a hollow cone of a Volcano cut perpendicularly; the half crater
+forms a little harbour called the Porto Pavone; I suppose the other half
+of the cone to have been detached into the sea by earthquakes, or
+perhaps by the violence of the waves, as the part that is wanting is the
+side next to the open sea.
+
+The fertile and pleasant island of Procita shews also most evident signs
+of its production by explosion, the nature of its soil being directly
+similar to that of Ba�a and Puzzole; this island seems really, as was
+imagined by the ancients, to have been detached from the neighbouring
+island of Ischia.
+
+There is no spot, I believe, that could afford a more ample field for
+curious observations, than the island of Ischia, called Enaria, Inarime,
+and Pithecusa, by the ancients. I have visited it three times; and this
+summer passed three weeks there, during which time I examined, with
+attention, every part of it. Ischia is eighteen miles in circumference:
+the whole of its soil is the same as that near Vesuvius, Naples, and
+Puzzole. There are numberless springs, hot, warm, and cold[41],
+dispersed over the whole island, the waters of which are impregnated
+with minerals of various sorts; so that, if you give credit to the
+inhabitants of the country, there is no disorder but what finds its
+remedy here. In the hot months (the season for making use of these
+baths), those who have occasion for them flock hither from Naples. A
+charitable institution sends and maintains three hundred poor patients
+at the baths of Gurgitelli every season. By what I could learn of these
+poor patients, those baths have really done wonders, in cases attended
+with obstinate tumours, and in contractions of the tendons and muscles.
+The patient begins by bathing, and then is buried in the hot sand near
+the sea. In many parts of the island, the sand is burning hot, even
+under water. The sand on some parts of the shore is almost entirely
+composed of particles of iron ore; at least they are attracted by the
+load-stone, as I have experienced. Near that part of the island called
+Lacco, there is a rock of an ancient lava, forming a small cavern, which
+is shut up with a door; this cavern is made use of to cool liquors and
+fruit, which it does in a short time as effectually as ice. Before the
+door was opened, I felt the cold to my legs very sensibly; but when it
+was opened, the cold rushed out so as to give me pain; and within the
+grotto it was intolerable. I was not sensible of wind attending this
+cold; though upon Mount Etna and Mount Vesuvius, where there are caverns
+of this kind, the cold is evidently occasioned by a subterraneous wind:
+the natives call such places _ventaroli_. May not the quantity of nitre,
+with which all these places abound, account in some measure for such
+extreme cold? My thermometer was unluckily broken, or I would have
+informed you of the exact degree of the cold in this _ventaroli_ of
+Ischia, which is by much the strongest in its effects I ever felt. The
+ancient lavas of Ischia shew, that the eruptions there have been very
+formidable; and history informs us, that its first inhabitants were
+driven out of the island by the frequency and the violence of them.
+There are some of these ancient lavas not less than two hundred feet in
+depth. The mountain of St. Nicola, on which there is at present a
+convent of hermits, was called by the ancients Epomeus; it is as high,
+if not higher, than Vesuvius, and appears to me to be a section of the
+cone of the ancient and principal Volcano of the island, its composition
+being all _tufa_ or lava. The cells of the convent abovementioned are
+cut out of the mountain itself; and there you see plainly that its
+composition no way differs from the matter that covers Herculaneum, and
+forms the Monte Nuovo. There is no sign of a crater on the top of this
+mountain, which rises almost to a sharp point: time, and other
+accidents, may be reasonably supposed to have worn away this distinctive
+mark of its having been formed by explosion, as I have seen to be the
+case in other mountains, formed evidently by explosion, on the flanks of
+Etna and Vesuvius. Strabo, in his 5th book, upon the subject of this
+island, quotes Tim�us, as having said, that, a little before his time, a
+mountain in the middle of Pithecusa, called Epomeus, was shook by an
+earthquake, and vomited flames.
+
+There are many other rising grounds in this island, that, from the
+nature of their composition, must lead one to think the same as to their
+origin. Near the village of Castiglione, there is a mountain formed
+surely by an explosion of a much later date, having preserved its
+conical form and crater entire, and producing as yet but a slender
+vegetation: there is no account, however, of the date of this eruption.
+Nearer the town of Ischia, which is on the sea shore, at a place called
+_Le Cremate_, there is a crater, from which, in the year 1301 or 1302, a
+lava ran quite into the sea; there is not the least vegetation on this
+lava, but it is nearly in the same state as the modern lavas of
+Vesuvius. Pontano, Maranti, and D. Francesco Lombardi, have recorded
+this eruption; the latter of whom says, that it lasted two months; that
+many men and beasts were killed by the explosion; and that a number of
+the inhabitants were obliged to seek for refuge at Naples and in the
+neighbouring islands. In short, according to my idea, the island of
+Ischia must have taken its rise from the bottom of the sea, and been
+increased to its present size by divers later explosions. This is not
+extraordinary, when history tells us (and from my own observation I have
+reason to believe) that the Lipari islands were formed in the like
+manner. There has been no eruption in Ischia since that just mentioned,
+but earthquakes are very frequent there; two years ago, as I was told,
+they had a very considerable shock of an earthquake in this island.
+
+Father Goree's account of the formation of the new island in the
+Archipelago (situated between the two islands called Kammeni, and near
+that of Santorini) of which he was an eye-witness, strongly confirms the
+probability of the conjectures I venture to send you, relative to the
+formation of those islands and that part of the continent above
+described: it seems likewise to confirm the accounts given by Strabo,
+Pliny, Justin, and other ancient authors, of many islands in the
+Archipelago, formerly called the Ciclades, having sprung up from the
+bottom of the sea[42] in the like manner. According to Pliny, in the
+4th year of the CXXXVth Olympiad, 237 years before the Christian �ra,
+the island of Thera (now Santorini) and Theresia were formed by
+explosion; and, 130 years later, the island Hiera (now called the great
+Kammeni) rose up. Strabo describes the birth of this island in these
+words: "In the middle space between Thera and Theresia flames burst out
+of the sea for four days, which, by degrees, throwing up great masses,
+as if they had been raised by machines, they formed an island of twelve
+stadia in circuit." And Justin says of the same island, "Eodem anno
+inter insulas Theramenem et Theresiam, medio utriusque rip� et maris
+spatio, terr� motus fuit: in quo, cum admiratione navigantium, repente
+ex profundo cum calidis aquis Insula emersit."
+
+Pliny mentions also the formation of Aspronisi, or the White Island, by
+explosion, in the time of Vespasian. It is known, likewise, that in the
+year 1628, one of the islands of the Azores, near the island of St.
+Michael, rose up from the bottom of the sea, which was in that place 160
+fathoms deep; and that this island, which was raised in fifteen days, is
+three leagues long, a league and a half broad, and rises three hundred
+and sixty feet above water.
+
+Father Goree, in his account of the formation of the new island in the
+Archipelago, mentions two distinct matters that entered into the
+composition of this island, the one black, the other white. Aspronisi,
+probably from its very name, is composed of the white matter, which if,
+upon examination, it proves to be a _tufa_, as I strongly suspect, I
+should think myself still more grounded in my conjectures; though I must
+confess, as it is, I have scarcely a doubt left with respect to the
+country I have been describing having been thrown up in a long series
+of ages by various explosions from subterraneous fire. Surely there are
+at present many existing Volcanos in the known world; and the memory of
+many others have been handed down to us by history. May there not
+therefore have been many others, of such ancient dates as to be out of
+the reach of history[43]?
+
+Such wonderful operations of Nature are certainly intended by all-wise
+Providence for some great purpose. They are not confined to any one part
+of the globe, for there are Volcanos existing in the four quarters of
+it. We see the great fertility of the soil thrown up by explosion, in
+part of the country I have described, which on that account was called
+by the ancients _Campania Felix_. The same circumstance is evident in
+Sicily, justly esteemed one of the most fertile spots in the world, and
+the granary of Italy. May not subterraneous fire be considered as the
+great plough (if I may be allowed the expression), which Nature makes
+use of to turn up the bowels of the earth, and afford us fresh fields to
+work upon, whilst we are exhausting those we are actually in possession
+of, by the frequent crops we draw from them? Would it not be found, upon
+enquiry, that many precious minerals must have remained far out of our
+reach, had it not been for such operations of Nature? It is evidently so
+in this country. But such great enquiries would lead me far indeed. I
+will only add a reflection, which my little experience in this branch of
+natural history furnishes me with. It is, that we are apt to judge of
+the great operations of Nature on too confined a plan. When first I came
+to Naples, my whole attention, with respect to natural history, was
+confined to Mount Vesuvius, and the wonderful ph�nomena attending a
+burning mountain: but, in proportion as I began to perceive the evident
+marks of the same operation having been carried on in the different
+parts above described, and likewise in Sicily in a greater degree, I
+looked upon Mount Vesuvius only as a spot on which Nature was at present
+active; and thought myself fortunate in having an opportunity of seeing
+the manner in which one of her great operations (an operation, I
+believe, much less out of her common course than is generally imagined)
+was effected.
+
+Such remarks as I have made on the eruptions of Mount Vesuvius, during
+my residence at Naples, have been transmitted to the Royal Society, who
+have done them more honour than they deserved. Many more might be made
+upon this active Volcano, by a person who had leisure, a previous
+knowledge of the natural history of the earth, a knowledge of chemistry,
+and was practised in physical experiments, particularly those of
+electricity[44]. I am convinced, that the smoak of Volcanos contains
+always a portion of electrical matter; which is manifest at the time of
+great eruptions, as is mentioned in my account of the great eruption of
+Vesuvius in 1767. The peasants in the neighbourhood of my villa,
+situated at the foot of Vesuvius, have assured me, that, during the
+eruption last mentioned, they were more alarmed by the lightning and
+balls of fire that fell about them with a crackling noise, than by the
+lava and the usual attendants of an eruption. I find in all the accounts
+of great eruptions mention made of this sort of lightning, which is
+distinguished here by the name of _Ferilli_. Bracini, in his account of
+the great one of Vesuvius in 1631, says, that the column of smoak, which
+issued from its crater, went over near an hundred miles of country, and
+that several men and beasts were struck dead by lightning, issuing from
+this smoak in its course.
+
+The nature of the noxious vapours, called here _mofete_, that are
+usually set in motion by an eruption of the Volcano, and are then
+manifest in the wells and subterraneous parts of its neighbourhood, seem
+likewise to be little understood. From some experiments very lately
+made, by the ingenious Dr. Nooth, on the _mofete_ of the Grotto del
+Cane, it appears that all its known qualities and effects correspond
+with those attributed to fixed air. Just before the eruption of 1767, a
+vapour of this kind broke into the King's chapel at Portici, by which a
+servant, opening the door of it, was struck down. About the same time,
+as his Sicilian Majesty was shooting in a paddock near the palace, a dog
+dropped down, as was supposed, in a fit; a boy going to take him up
+dropped likewise; a person present, suspecting the accident to have
+proceeded from a _mofete_, immediately dragged them both from the spot
+where they lay, in doing which, he was himself sensible of the vapour;
+the boy and the dog soon recovered. His Sicilian Majesty did me the
+honour of informing me himself of this accident soon after it had
+happened. I have met with these _mofetes_ often, when I have been making
+my observations on the borders of Mount Vesuvius, particularly in
+caverns, and once on the Solfaterra. The vapour affects the nostrils,
+throat, and stomach, just as the spirit of hartshorn, or any strong
+volatile salts; and would soon prove fatal, if you did not immediately
+remove from it. Under the ancient city of Pompeii, the _mofetes_ are
+very frequent and powerful, so that the excavations that are carrying on
+there are often interrupted by them; at all times _mofetes_ are to be
+met with under ancient lavas of Vesuvius, particularly those of the
+great eruption of 1631. In Serao's account of the eruption of 1737, and
+in the chapter upon _mofetes_, he has recorded several curious
+experiments relative to this ph�nomenon. The Canonico Recupero, who, as
+I mentioned to you in a former letter, is watching the operations of
+Mount Etna, has just informed me, that a very powerful _mofete_ has
+lately manifested itself in the neighbourhood of Etna; and that he
+found, near the spot from whence it rises, animals, birds, and insects,
+dead, and the stronger sort of shrubs blasted, whilst the grass and the
+tenderer plants did not seem to be affected. The circumstance of this
+_mofete_, added to that of the frequent earthquakes felt lately at
+Rhegio and Messina, makes it probable that an eruption of Mount Etna is
+at hand.
+
+I am alarmed at the length of this letter. By endeavouring to make
+myself clearly understood, I have been led to make, what I thought,
+necessary digressions. I must therefore beg of your goodness, that,
+should you find this memoir, in its present state, too tedious (which I
+greatly apprehend) to be presented to our respectable Society, you will
+make only such extracts from it as you shall think will be most
+agreeable and interesting. I am,
+
+                              SIR,
+                              With great truth and regard,
+                              Your most obedient
+                              humble servant,
+
+                              W. HAMILTON.
+
+
+[Illustration: _Plate VI._]
+
+REFERENCES to the MAP,
+[Plate VI.]
+
+   1. Naples.
+
+   2. Portici.
+
+   3. Resina, under which Herculaneum is buried.
+
+   4. Torre del Greco.
+
+   5. Hermitage, at which travellers usually rest, in their way up
+      Mount Vesuvius.
+
+   6. St. Angelo, a convent of Calmaldolese, situated upon a cone of
+      a mountain formed by an ancient explosion.
+
+   7. Cones formed by the eruption of 1760, and lava that ran from
+      them almost into the sea.
+
+   8. Mount Vesuvius and Somma.
+
+   9. Village of Somma.
+
+  10. The convent of the Madona del Arco, under which lavas have
+      been found at 300 feet depth, and which must have proceeded
+      from the mountain of Somma, when an active Volcano.
+
+  11. Ottaiano.
+
+  12. Torre del Annunziata.
+
+  13. Castel a Mare, near which the ancient town of Stabia is
+      buried, and where Pliny the elder lost his life.
+
+  14. Vico.
+
+  15. Sorrento, and the plain formed evidently by subterraneous
+      fire.
+
+  16. Massa.
+
+  17. Island of Caprea.
+
+  18. The Grotto of Pausilipo, cut through the mountain anciently,
+      to make a road from Naples to Puzzole.
+
+  19. Point of Pausilipo.
+
+  20. The Gaiola, where there are ruins of ancient buildings,
+      supposed to have belonged to Lucullus.
+
+  21. The island of Nisida, evidently formed by explosion.
+
+  22. The Lazaret.
+
+  23. The Bagnoli.
+
+  24. Puzzole, or Pozzuolo.
+
+  25. The Solfaterra, anciently called Forum Vulcani: between the
+      Solfaterra and the lake of Agnano, are the boiling waters of
+      the Pisciarelli.
+
+  26. The New Mountain, formed by explosion in the year 1538; the
+      sand of the sea shore at its basis burning hot.
+
+  27. The lake of Agnano, supposed the crater of an ancient Volcano:
+      here are the baths called St. Germano, and the famous Grotto
+      del Cane.
+
+  28. Astruni, which has been evidently a Volcano, and is now a
+      Royal Chace, the crater being surrounded with a wall.
+
+  29. The Monte Gauro or Barbaro, anciently a Volcano.
+
+  30. The lake of Avernus, evidently the crater of an ancient
+      Volcano.
+
+  31. Lake of Fusaro.
+
+  32. Point of Misenum, from whence Pliny the elder discovered the
+      eruption of Vesuvius that proved fatal to him; near this
+      place, in a vault of an ancient building, is a constant
+      vapour, or _mofete_, of the same quality with that of the
+      Grotto del Cane.
+
+  33. The Mare Morto, the ancient Roman Harbour.
+
+  34. Ba�a; behind the castle are two evident craters of ancient
+      Volcanos.
+
+  35. Island of Procita.
+
+  36. A perfect cone and crater of a Volcano near Castiglione in the
+      island of Ischia.
+
+  37. Lava that ran into the sea in the last eruption on this
+      island, in the year 1301, or 1302: the place now called Le
+      Cremate.
+
+  38. Town of Ischia and castle.
+
+  39. Lake of Licola.
+
+  40. Lake of Patria.
+
+  41. The river Volturnus.
+
+  42. Capua.
+
+  43. Caserta.
+
+  44. Aversa.
+
+  45. Mataloni.
+
+  46. Acerra.
+
+  47. Island of Ischia, anciently called �naria, Inarime, and
+      Pithecusa.
+
+  48. The mountain of St. Nicola, anciently called Mons Epomeus,
+      supposed the remains of the principal Volcano of the island.
+
+  49. Castiglione, near which are the baths of Gurgitelli.
+
+  50. Lacco, near which is that very cold vapour called by the
+      natives _ventarole_.
+
+  51. Ancient city of Pompeii, where his Sicilian Majesty's
+      excavations are carrying on at present.
+
+  52. Rovigliano.
+
+  53. River of Sarno.
+
+  54. Cuma.
+
+  55. Hot sands and sudatory, called Nero's baths.
+
+  56. The Lucrine lake, supposed to have been here, and of which
+      there is still some little remain.
+
+  57. Villa Angelica, Sir William Hamilton's villa, from whence he
+      has made many of his observations upon Mount Vesuvius.
+
+  58. Cones formed by an ancient eruption called _viuli_; here are
+      likewise cold vapours called _ventaroli_.
+
+  59. High grounds, probably sections of cones of ancient Volcanos,
+      being all composed of _tufa_ and strata of loose pumice and
+      burnt matter.
+
+  60. Plain of the Campagna Felice, four or five feet of excellent
+      soil, under which are strata of burnt and erupted matter.
+
+  ...... Marks the boundary of Sir William Hamilton's observations.
+
+
+
+
+LETTER VI.[45]
+
+To MATHEW MATY, M. D. Secretary to the Royal SOCIETY.
+
+
+                              Naples, March 5, 1771.
+
+Since I had the pleasure of sending you my letter, in which the nature
+of the soil of more than twenty miles round this capital is described;
+examining a deep hollow way cut by the rain waters into the outside cone
+of the Solfaterra, I discovered, that a great part of the cone of that
+ancient Volcano has been calcined by the hot vapours above described.
+Pumice calcined seems to be the chief ingredient, of which several
+specimens of (as I suppose) variegated unformed marble are composed, and
+the beautiful variegations in them may have probably been occasioned by
+the mineral vapours. As these specimens are now sent to the Royal
+Society, you will see that these variegations are exactly of the same
+pattern and colours as are met in many marbles and flowered alabasters;
+and I cannot help thinking that they are marble or alabaster in its
+infant state. What a proof we have here of the great changes the earth
+we inhabit is subject to! What is now the Solfaterra, we have every
+reason to suppose to have been originally thrown up by a subterraneous
+explosion from the bottom of the sea. That it was long an existing
+Volcano, is plain, from the ancient currents of lava, that are still to
+be traced from its crater to the sea, from the strata of pumice and
+erupted matter, of which its cone, in common with those of other
+Volcanos, is composed, and from the testimony of many ancient authors.
+Its cone in many parts has been calcined, and is still calcining, by the
+hot vapours that are continually issuing forth through its pores; and
+its nature is totally changed by this chemical process of Nature. In the
+hollow way, where I made these remarks, you see the different strata of
+erupted matter, that compose the cone, in some places perfectly
+calcined, in others not, according as the vapours have found means to
+insinuate themselves more or less.
+
+A hollow way, cut by the rains on the back of the mountain on which part
+of Naples is situated, towards Capo di China, shews that the mountain is
+composed of strata of erupted matter, among which are large masses of
+bitumen, in which its former state of fluidity is very visible. Here it
+was I discovered that pumice stone is produced from bitumen, which I
+believe has not yet been remarked. Some specimens shew evidently the
+gradual process from bitumen to pumice: and you will observe that the
+crystalline vitrifications, which are visible in the bitumen, suffer no
+alteration, but remain in the same state in the perfect pumice as in the
+bitumen.
+
+In a piece of stratum, calcined from the outside of the Solfaterra, the
+form and texture of the pumice stones is very discernible. In several
+parts of the outside cone, this calcining operation is still carried on,
+by the exhalation of constant very hot and damp vapours, impregnated
+with salts, sulphur, alum, &c. Where the abovementioned vapours have not
+operated, the strata of pumice and erupted matter, that compose the cone
+of the Solfaterra, are like those of all the high grounds in its
+neighbourhood, which I suppose to have been thrown up likewise by
+explosion. I have seen here, half of a large piece of lava perfectly
+calcined, whilst the other half out of the reach of the vapours has
+been untouched; and in some pieces the centre seems to be already
+converted into true marble.
+
+The variegated specimens then, above described, are nothing more than
+pumice and erupted matter, after having been acted upon in this manner
+by the hot vapours; and if you consider the process, as I have traced
+it, from bitumen to pumice, and from pumice to marble, you will think
+with me, that it is difficult to determine the primitive state of the
+many wonderful productions we see in Nature.
+
+I found, in the _tufa_ of the mountain of Pausilipo, a fragment of lava:
+one side I polished, to shew it to be true lava; the other shews the
+signs of the _tufa_, with which it is incorporated. It has evidently
+been rounded by friction, and most probably by rolling in the sea. Is it
+not natural then to imagine that there must have been Volcanos near this
+spot, long before the formation of the mountain of Pausilipo? This
+little stone may perhaps raise in your mind such reflections as it did
+in mine, relative to the great changes our globe suffers, and the
+probability of its great antiquity.
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[1] Having reflected since upon this circumstance, I rather believe that
+the weight of the atmosphere in bad weather, preventing the free
+dissipation of the smoke, and collecting it over the crater, gives it
+the appearance of being more considerable; whereas in fine weather the
+smoke is dispersed soon after its emission. It is, however, the
+common-received opinion at Naples (and from my own observation is, I
+believe, well founded), that when Vesuvius grumbles, bad weather is at
+hand. The sea of the Bay of Naples, being particularly agitated, and
+swelling some hours before the arrival of a storm, may very probably
+force itself into crevices, leading to the bowels of the Volcano, and,
+by causing a new fermentation, produce those explosions and grumblings.
+
+[2] These ashes destroy the leaves and fruit, and are greatly
+detrimental to vegetation for a year or two; but are certainly of great
+service to the land in general, and are among the principal causes of
+that very great fertility which is remarkable in the neighbourhood of
+Volcano's.
+
+[3] In the subsequent eruptions of Vesuvius, I have constantly remarked
+something of the same nature, as appears in my account of the great
+eruption of 1767. I have found the same remark in many accounts of
+former eruptions of Vesuvius: in the very curious one of the formation
+of a new mountain near Puzzole, in 1538, (as may be seen in my letter to
+Dr. Maty, Oct. 16, 1770[46],) the same observation is made. This
+ph�nomenon, is well worthy of a curious inquiry, which might give some
+light into the theory of the earth, of which, I believe, we are very
+ignorant.
+
+[4] I am convinced, that it might be very practicable to divert the
+course of a lava when in this state, by preparing a new bed for it, as
+is practised with rivers. I was mentioning this idea at Catania in
+Sicily, when I was assured, that it had been done with success during
+the great eruption of Etna, in 1669; that the lava was directing its
+course towards the walls of Catania, and advancing slowly like the
+abovementioned, when they prepared a channel for it round the walls of
+the town, and turned it into the sea; that a succession of men, covered
+with sheep-skins wetted, were employed to cut through the tough flanks
+of the lava, till they made a passage for that in the centre (which was
+in perfect fusion) to disgorge itself into the channel prepared for it.
+A book I have since met with gives the same account of this curious
+operation; it is intituled, _Relatione del nuovo incendio fatto da
+Mongibello 1669. Messina, Giuseppe Bisagni, 1670_. His Sicilian
+Majesty's palace at Portici, and the valuable collection of antiquities
+that have been recovered from beneath the destructive lava's of
+Vesuvius, are in imminent danger of being overwhelmed again by the next
+that shall take its course that way; whereas, by taking a level, cutting
+away and raising ground, as occasion might require, the palace and
+museum would, in all probability, be insured, at least against one
+eruption; and, indeed, I once took the liberty of communicating this
+idea to the King of Naples, who seemed to approve of it.
+
+[5] The late Lord Morton was pleased to give these specimens to Dr.
+Morris, who has made several chemical experiments on them, the result of
+which will be communicated to the Royal Society.
+
+[6] From what I have seen and read of eruptions of Vesuvius and Etna, I
+am convinced that Volcano's lie dormant for several years, nay even for
+centuries, as probably was the case of Vesuvius before its eruption in
+the reign of Titus, and certainly was so before that of the year 1631.
+When I arrived at Naples in 1764, Vesuvius was quiet, very seldom smoak
+was visible on its top; in the year 1766, it seemed to take fire, and
+has never since been three months without either throwing up red hot
+stones, or disgorging streams of lava, nor has its crater been ever free
+from smoak. At Naples, when a lava appears, and not till then, it is
+styled an eruption; whereas I look upon the five nominal eruptions I
+have been witness to, from March 1766 to May 1771, as, in effect, but
+one continued eruption.
+
+[7] It is certain, that, by constant attention to the smoak that issues
+from the crater, a very good guess may be given as to the degree of
+fermentation within the Volcano. By this alone I foretold[47] the two
+last eruptions, and, by another very simple observation, I pointed out,
+some time before, the very spot from whence the lava has issued. When
+the cone of Vesuvius was covered with snow, I had remarked a spot on
+which it would not lie: concluding very naturally that this was the
+weakest part of the cone, and that the heat from within prevented the
+snow from lying; it was as natural to imagine that the lava, seeking a
+vent, would force this passage sooner than another; and so indeed it
+came to pass.
+
+[8] These are his words: "Nubes (incertum procul intuentibus ex quo
+monte Vesuvium fuisse postea cognitum est) oriebatur, cujus
+similitudinem & formam, non alia magis arbor, quam pinus expresserit.
+Nam longissimo veluti trunco elata in altum, quibusdam ramis
+diffundebatur, credo quia recenti spiritu evecta, dein senescente eo
+destituta, aut etiam pondere suo victa, in latitudinem evanescebat:
+candida interdum, interdum sordida & maculosa, prout terram cineremve
+sustulerat." Plin. lib. vi. ep. 16.
+
+[9] The windows at Naples open like folding-doors.
+
+[10] In several accounts of former eruptions of Vesuvius, I have found
+mention of the ashes falling at a much greater distance; that, in the
+year 472 and 473, they had reached Constantinople: Dio says, that during
+the eruption of Vesuvius in the time of Titus--"tantus fuit pulvis ut ab
+eo loco in Africam et Syriam et �gyptum penetraverit." A book printed at
+Lecce, in the kingdom of Naples, in MDCXXXII, and intituled, _Discorso
+sopra l'origine de fuochi gettati dal Monte Vesuvio di Gio Francesco
+Sorrata Spinola Galateo_, says, that the 16th of December, 1631, the
+very day of the great eruption of Vesuvius (though perfectly calm), it
+rained ashes at Lecce, which is nine days journey from the mountain:
+that the day was darkened by them, and that they covered the ground
+three inches deep; that ashes of a different quality fell at Bari the
+same day; and that at both these places the inhabitants were very
+greatly alarmed, not being able to conceive the occasion of such a
+ph�nomenon. Antonio Bulifon, in his account of the same eruption, says,
+that the ashes fell, and lay several inches deep at Ariano in Puglia;
+and I have been assured, by many persons of credit at Naples, that they
+have been sensible of the fall of ashes, during an eruption, at above
+two hundred miles distance from Vesuvius. The Abbate Giulio Cesare
+Bracini, in his account of the eruption of Vesuvius, in 1631, says, that
+the height of the column of smoak and ashes, taken from Naples by a
+quadrant, was upwards of thirty miles. Though such uncertain
+calculations demand but little attention; yet, by what I have seen, I am
+convinced, that in great eruptions the ashes are sent up to so great a
+height as to meet with extraordinary currents of air, which is the most
+probable way of accounting for their having been carried to so great a
+distance in a few hours. In a book, intituled, _Salvatoris Varonis
+Vesuviani incendii Libri tres: Neapoli_, MDCXXXIV, I found a very
+poetical description of the ashes that lay in the neighbourhood of
+Vesuvius, after the eruption of 1631, in depth, from twenty to a hundred
+palms: "Quare," says this author, "multi patrio in solo requirunt
+patriam, et vix ibi se credunt vivere ubi certo sciant sese natos, adeo
+totam loci speciem tempestas vertit."
+
+[11] This conjecture has proved true; for, even in the month of April
+1771, I again thrust sticks into some crevices of this lava, and they
+immediately took fire. On Mount Etna, in 1769, I observed the lava, that
+had been disgorged in 1766, smoak in many parts.
+
+[12] In all accounts of great eruptions of Mount Etna and Mount
+Vesuvius, I have found mention of this sort of lightning. Pliny the
+younger, in his second letter to Tacitus upon the eruption of Vesuvius
+in the time of Titus, says, that a black and horrible cloud covered them
+at Misenum (which is above fifteen miles from the Volcano), and that
+flashes of zig-zag fire, like lightning, but stronger, burst from it;
+these are his words: "ab altero latere nubes atra et horrenda ignei
+spiritus tortis vibratisque discursibus rupta, in longas flammarum
+figuras dehiscebat; fulgoribus ill� et similes et majores erant." This
+was evidently the same electrical fire, and with which I am convinced
+that the smoak of all Volcanos is pregnant. In several accounts of the
+great eruption of Vesuvius in 1631, mention is made of damage done by
+the lightning that issued from the column of smoak. Bulifon, in
+particular, says, that, in the neighbourhood of the Volcano, people were
+struck dead in the same manner as if by lightning, without having their
+cloaths singed. Pliny mentions a like instance, which shews that the
+ancients had observed this ph�nomenon; for he says, that at Pompeii, the
+day being fair, Marcus Herennius was struck dead by lightning. These are
+his words; "In Catilianis prodigiis, Pompeiano ex municipio M. Herennius
+Decurio _serena die_, fulmine ictus est." Plin. Hist. Nat. lib. II. cap.
+LI. The learned and ingenious Father Beccaria, at Turin, assured me,
+that he had been greatly pleased with my observations on this species of
+lightning, as coinciding perfectly with several of his electrical
+experiments.
+
+[13] "I am well convinced, by this collection, that many variegated
+marbles, and many precious stones, are the produce of Volcanos; and that
+there have been Volcanos in many parts of the world, where at present
+there are no traces of them visible." This is taken from a prior letter
+to Lord Morton, dated April 7, 1767.
+
+[14] In some accounts of an eruption of Vesuvius in 1660, I find mention
+made of ashes which fell in the shape of crosses, and were looked upon
+as highly miraculous; but in one book upon this subject, intituled,
+_Athanasii Kircheri Soc. Jes. De prodigiosis crucibus, &c. Rom�_,
+MDCLXI, a very philosophical account is given of this ph�nomenon; he
+says, that, in 1660, from the 16th of August to the 15th of October,
+Vesuvius cast up ashes, impregnated with nitrous, saline, and bituminous
+sulphur, which upon linen garments took the form of crosses, probably
+directed by the cross-threads in the linen, and therefore that the salts
+did not shoot into such a shape when they fell upon garments of woollen;
+a very particular description of these crosses may be found in page 38,
+of the abovementioned book.
+
+[15] I have since found in this stratum of erupted matter at Pompeii,
+stones weighing eight pounds: but many accounts of the great eruption of
+Vesuvius, particularly that of Antonio Bulifon, mention that a stone
+like a bomb was thrown from the crater of Vesuvius in 1631; and fell
+upon the Marquis of Lauro's house at Nola, which it set on fire. As Nola
+is twelve miles from Vesuvius, this circumstance seems rather
+extraordinary: however, I have seen stones of an enormous size shot up
+to a very great height by Mount Vesuvius. In May 1771, having a stop
+watch in my hand, I observed that one of these stones was eleven seconds
+falling from its greatest height, into the crater from whence it had
+been ejected. In 1767, a solid stone, measuring twelve feet in height,
+and forty-five in circumference, was thrown a quarter of a mile from the
+crater; the eruption of 1767, though by much the most violent of this
+century, was, comparatively to those of the year 79 and 1631, very mild.
+
+[16] See Letter V. in this collection.
+
+[17] It is the common received opinion, that this mountain rose from the
+bottom of the Lucrine lake. I had not seen the very curious and
+particular account of its formation (which account is in my next letter)
+when I wrote this, and was therefore in the same error.
+
+[18] This must depend greatly upon the quality of the lava's; some have
+been in a more perfect state of vitrification than others, and are
+consequently less liable to the impressions of time. I have often
+observed on Mount Vesuvius, when I have been close to the mouth from
+whence a lava was disgorging itself, that the quality of it varied
+greatly from time to time: I have seen it as fluid and coherent as glass
+when in fusion: and I have seen it farinacious, the particles separating
+as they forced their way out, just like meal coming from under the
+grindstones. A stream of lava of this sort, being less compact, and
+continuing more earthy particles, would certainly be much sooner fit for
+vegetation, than one composed of the more perfect vitrified matter.
+
+[19] This earthquake happened in the year 1693, and destroyed forty-nine
+towns and villages, nine hundred and twenty-two churches, colleges, and
+convents; and near one hundred thousand persons were buried in their
+ruin.
+
+[20] It is intituled, "A true and exact relation of the late prodigious
+earthquake and eruption of Mount �tna, or Monte Gibello; as it came in a
+letter written to his Majesty from Naples, by the Right Honourable the
+Earl of Winchelsea, his Majesty's late Embassador at Constantinople,
+who, in his return from thence, visiting Catania in the island of
+Sicily, was an eye-witness of that dreadful spectacle; together with a
+more particular narrative of the same, as it is collected out of the
+several relations sent from Catania; published by authority. Printed by
+T. Newcomb, in the Savoy, 1669."
+
+"I accepted, says the author, p. 38, the invitation of the Bishop of
+Catania, to stay a day with him, that so I might be the better able to
+inform your Majesty of that extraordinary fire, which comes from Mount
+Gibel, fifteen miles distant from that city, which, for its horridness
+in the aspect, for the vast quantity thereof (for it is fifteen miles in
+length, and seven in breadth), for its monstrous devastation and quick
+progress, may be termed an inundation of fire, a flood of fire, cinders,
+and burning stones, burning with that rage as to advance into the sea
+six hundred yards, and that to a mile in breadth, which I saw; and that
+which did augment my admiration was, to see in the sea this matter like
+ragged rocks, burning in four fathom water, two fathom higher than the
+sea itself, some parts liquid, and throwing off, not with great
+violence, the stones about it, which, like a crust of a vast bigness,
+and red hot, fell into the sea every moment, in some place or other,
+causing a great and horrible noise, smoak, and hissing in the sea; and
+that more and more coming after it, making a firm foundation in the sea
+itself. I stayed there from nine a clock on Saturday morning, to seven
+next morning;" (this must have been towards the middle or latter end of
+April;) "and this mountain of fire and stones with cinders had advanced
+into the sea twenty yards at least, in several places; in the middle of
+this fire, which burnt in the sea, it hath formed like to a river, with
+its banks on each side very steep and craggy; and in this channel moves
+the greatest quantity of this fire, which is the most liquid, with
+stones of the same composition, and cinders all red hot, swimming upon
+the fire of a great magnitude; from this a river of fire doth proceed
+under the great mass of the stones, which are generally three fathoms
+high all over the country, where it burns, and in other places much
+more. There are secret conduits or rivulets of the liquid matter, which
+communicates fire and heat into all parts more or less, and melts the
+stones and cinders by fits in those places where it toucheth them, over
+and over again; where it meets with rocks or houses of the same matter
+(as many are), they melt and go away with the fire; where they find
+other compositions, they turn them to lime or ashes (as I am informed).
+The composition of this fire, stones, and cinders, are sulphur, nitre,
+quicksilver, sal ammoniac, lead, iron, brass, and all other metals. It
+moves not regularly, nor constantly down hill[48]; in some places it
+hath made the vallies hills, and the hills that are not high are now
+vallies. When it was night, I went upon two towers, in divers places;
+and could plainly see at ten miles distance, as we judged, the fire to
+begin to run from the mountain in a direct line, the flame to ascend as
+high and as big as one of the greatest steeples in your Majesty's
+kingdoms, and to throw up great stones into the air; I could discern the
+river of fire to descend the mountain of a terrible fiery or red colour,
+and stones of a paler red to swim thereon, and to be some as big as an
+ordinary table. We could see this fire to move in several other places,
+and all the country covered with fire, ascending with great flames[49],
+in many places, smoaking like to a violent furnace of iron melted,
+making a noise with the great pieces that fell, especially those which
+fell into the sea. A Cavalier of Malta, who lives there, and attended
+me, told me, that the river was as liquid where it issues out of the
+mountain, as water, and came out like a torrent with great violence, and
+is five or six fathom deep, and as broad, and that no stones sink
+therein. I assure your Majesty, no pen can express how terrible it is,
+nor can all the art and industry of the world quench or divert that
+which is burning in the country. In forty days time, it hath destroyed
+the habitations of 27,000 persons; made two hills of one, 1000 paces
+high apiece, and one is four miles in compass; of 20,000 persons, which
+inhabit Catania, 3000 did only remain; all their goods are carried away,
+the cannons of brass are removed out of the castle, some great bells
+taken down, the city-gates walled up next the fire, and preparations
+made to abandon the city.
+
+"That night which I lay there, it rained ashes all over the city, and
+ten miles at sea it troubled my eyes. This fire in its progress met with
+a lake of four miles in compass; and it was not only satisfied to fill
+it up, though it was four fathom deep, but hath made of it a mountain."
+
+[21] I have heard since, from some of our countrymen who have measured
+this tree, that its dimensions are actually as abovementioned, but that
+they could perceive some signs of four stems having grown together, and
+formed one tree.
+
+[22] No great stress should be laid upon these observations, as the many
+inconveniences we laboured under, and the little practice we had in such
+nice operations, must necessarily have rendered them very inaccurate.
+The Canon Recupero, who was our guide, attended Mess. Glover, Fullerton,
+and Brydone, up Mount Etna in June 1770. The latter is a very ingenious
+and accurate observer, and has taken the height of many of the highest
+mountains in the Alps. His observations, as the Canon informed me, were
+as follows: At the top of the mountain the quicksilver in the
+thermometer was 9 degrees below freezing point, when at the foot of the
+mountain it rose to 76. At the foot of the little mountain that crowns
+the Volcano the barometer stood at 20� 4-2/3', half way up this little
+mountain it was at 19� 6'; but the wind was too violent for them to
+attempt any more observations. The barometer and thermometer were of
+Fahrenheit's. Mr. Brydone remarked, as he went up in the night, that he
+could distinguish the stars in the milky way with wonderful clearness,
+and that the cold was much more intense than he had ever felt upon the
+highest mountains of the Alps.
+
+[23] This passage, in Cornelius Severus's poem upon Etna, seems to
+confirm my opinion:
+
+    "Placantesque etiam c�lestia numina thure
+    "Summo cerne jugo, vel qu� liberrimus �tna
+    "Improspectus hiat; tantarum semina rerum
+    "Si nihil irritet flammas, stupeatque profundum."
+
+[24] A better account of the formation of _tufa_ will be seen in my next
+letter.
+
+[25] The dates of the eruptions of Mount Etna, recorded by history, are
+as follows: Before the Christian �ra four, in the years 3525. 3538.
+3554. 3843. After Christ, twenty-seven have been recorded, 1175. 1285.
+1321. 1323. 1329. 1408. 1530. 1536. 1537. 1540. 1545. 1554. 1556. 1566.
+1579. 1614. 1634. 1636. 1643. 1669. 1682. 1689. 1692. 1702. 1747. 1755.
+1766.
+
+The dates of the eruptions of Vesuvius are as follows: After Christ--79.
+203. 472. 512. 685. 993. 1036. 1043. 1048. 1136. 1506. [1538, the
+eruption at Puzzole.] 1631. 1660. 1682. 1694. 1701. 1704. 1712. 1717.
+1730. 1737. 1751. 1754. 1760. 1766. 1767. 1770. 1771.
+
+[26] Pliny, in his account of these islands, in the IX chapter of the
+third book of his Natural History, seems to confirm this opinion.
+
+"Lipara cum civium Romanorum oppido, dicta � Liparo rege, qui successit
+�olo, antea Melogonis vel Meliganis vocitata, abest XII millia pass. ab
+Italia, ipsa circuitu paulo minori. Inter hanc et Siciliam altera, antea
+Therasia appellata, nunc Hiera; qui sacra Vulcano est, colle in ea
+nocturnas evomente flammas. Tertia Strongyle, a Lipara millia passuum ad
+exortum solis vergens, in qua regnavit �olus, qu� � Lipara liquidiore
+flamma tantum differt: e cujus fumo equinam flaturi sint venti, in
+triduum pr�dicere incol� traduntur; unde ventos �olo paruisse
+existimatum. Quarta Didyme, minor quam Lipara. Quinta Ericusa; sexta
+Phoenicusa; pabulo proximarum relicta. NOVISSIMA, eademque Minima,
+Evonymos."
+
+[27] See Plate V.
+
+[28] The Abate Giulio Cesare Bruccini describes very elegantly, in his
+account of the eruption of Vesuvius in 1631, his having made an
+observation of the like nature--his words are (after having
+particularized the different strata of erupted matter lying one over
+another)--"parendo appunto che la natura ci abbia voluto lasciare
+scritto in questa terra tutti gli incendii memorabili raccontati delli
+autori."
+
+[29] These are his words, book II. chap. vi.
+
+"De Pulvere Puteolano.
+
+"Est etiam genus pulveris, quod efficit naturaliter res admirandas.
+Nascitur in regionibus Ba�anis, et in agris municipiorum, qu� sunt circa
+Vesuvium montem, quod commixtum cum calce et c�mento non modo c�teris
+�dificiis pr�stat firmitates, sed etiam moles, qu� construuntur in mari,
+sub aqua solidescunt. Hoc autem fieri hac ratione videtur, quod sub his
+montibus et terra ferventes sunt fontes crebri, qui non essent, si non
+in imo haberent, aut de sulfure, aut alumine, aut bitumine ardentes
+maximos ignes: igitur penitus ignis, et flamm� vapor per intervenia
+permanans et ardens, efficet levem eam terram, et ibi, qui nascitur
+tophus, exugens est, et sine liquore. Ergo cum tres res consimili
+ratione, ignis vehementia format� in unam pervenerint mixtionem, repente
+recepto liquore una coh�rescunt, et celeriter humore durat� solidantur,
+neque eas fluctus, neque vis aqu� potest dissolvere."
+
+About Ba�a, Puzzole, and Naples, we have an opportunity of remarking the
+truth of these last words. Several of the piers of the ancient harbour
+of Puzzole, vulgarly called Caligula's bridge, and which are composed of
+bricks joined with this sort of cement, are still standing in the sea,
+though much exposed to the waves; and upon every part of the shore you
+find large masses of brick-walls rounded and polished by friction in the
+sea, the brick and mortar making one body, and appearing like a
+variegated stone. Large pieces of old walls are likewise often cut out
+into square pieces, and made use of in modern buildings instead of
+stone.
+
+Soon after the first quotation, Pliny says, "Si ergo in his locis
+aquarum ferventes inveniuntur fontes, et in montibus excavatis calidi
+vapores, ipsaque loca ab antiquis memorantur pervagantes in agris
+habuisse ardores, videtur esse certum ab ignis vehementia ex topho
+terraque, quemadmodum in fornacibus et a calce, ita ex his ereptum esse
+liquorem. Igitur dissimilibus, et disparibus rebus correptis, et in unam
+potestatem collatis, callida humoris jejunitas aqua repente satiata,
+communibus corporibus latenti calore confervescit et vehementer effecit
+ea coire, celeriterque una soliditatis percipere virtutem."
+
+[30] Scipione Falcone, a very good observer, in his _Discorso naturale
+delli cause et effetti del Vesuvio_, says, that he saw, after the
+eruption of Vesuvius in 1631 (which was attended with hot water), the
+mud harden almost to a stone in a few days; his words are these--"fatta
+dura a modo di calcina e di pietra non altrimenti di cenere, perch� dop�
+alcuni giorni vi ci e caminato per sopra e si e conosciuta durissima che
+ci vogliono li picconi per romperla." This account, with other
+circumstances mentioned in this letter, make it highly probable, that
+all the _tufas_ in the neighbourhood of Vesuvius have been formed by a
+like operation.
+
+[31] This piece is now in the Museum of the Royal Society, together with
+other specimens, mentioned in this and in the following letter. M. M.
+
+[32] Letter IV.
+
+[33] Strabo, in his fifth book of Geography, says, "Supra h�c loca situs
+est Vesuvius mons agris cinctus optimis: dempto vertice, qui magna sui
+parte planus, totus sterilis est, adspectu cin�reus, cavernasque
+ostendens fistularum plenas et lapidum colore fuliginoso, utpote ab igni
+exesorum, ut conjecturam facere possit ista loca quondam arsisse, et
+crateras ignis habuisse, deinde materia deficiente restincta fuisse."
+
+Diodorus Siculus, in his fourth book, describing the voyage of Hercules
+into Italy, says, "Phlegr�us quoque campus is locus appellatur a colle
+nimirum, qui �tn� instar Sicul� magnam vim ignis eructabat; nunc
+Vesuvius nominatur, multa inflammationis pristin� vestigia reservans."
+And Vitruvius, in the sixth chapter of the second book, says, "Non minus
+etiam memoratur antiquitus crevisse ardores et abundasse sub Vesuvio
+monte et inde evomuisse circa agros flammas." Tacitus, mentioning the
+eruption of Vesuvius in the reign of Titus, seems to hint likewise at
+former eruptions, in these words: "Jam ver� novis cladibus, vel post
+longam s�culorum repetitis afflict�, haust� aut abrut� fecundissima
+Campani� ora et urbs incendiis vastata."
+
+[34] Bracini, in his account of the eruption of 1613, says, that he
+found many sorts of sea shells on Vesuvius after that eruption; and P.
+Ignatio, in his account of the same eruption, says, that he and his
+companions picked up many shells likewise at that time upon the
+mountain: this circumstance would induce one to believe, that the water
+thrown out of Vesuvius, during that formidable eruption, came from the
+sea.
+
+[35] In book xi. c. 93. he observes, that about Sinuessa and Puteoli,
+"Spiracula vocant--alii Caroneas scrobes, mortiferum spiritum
+exhalantes." And Seneca, Nat. Qu�st. lib. vi. cap. 28. "Pluribus Itali�
+locis per qu�dam foramina pestilens exhalatur vapor, quem non homini
+ducere, non fer� tutum est. Aves quoque si in illum inciderint, antequam
+coelo meliore leniatur, in ipso volatu cadunt, liventque corpora, et non
+aliter quam per vim elis� fauces tument."
+
+[36] I have remarked, that, after a great fall of rain, the degree of
+heat in this water is much less, which will account for what the Padre
+Torre says (in his book, entituled, _Histoire et Phenomenes du Vesuve_),
+that, when he tried it in company with Monsieur de la Condamine, the
+degree of heat, upon Reaumur's thermometer, was 68�.
+
+[37] This very scarce volume has been presented by Sir William Hamilton
+to the British Museum. M. M.
+
+[38] Here again we have an example of the electrical fire attending a
+great eruption.
+
+[39] The cup, or crater, on the top of the new mountain is now covered
+with shrubs; but I discovered at the bottom of it, in the year 1770,
+amidst the bushes, a small hole, which exhales a constant hot and damp
+vapour, just such as proceeds from boiling water, and with as little
+smell; the drops of this steam hang upon the neighbouring bushes.
+
+[40] The noxious vapours which Lucan mentions to have prevailed at
+Nisida, favour my opinion as to its origin:
+
+            "--Tali spiramine Nesis
+    "Emittit stygium nebulosis a�ra saxis."
+
+                              Lucan. lib. vi.
+
+[41] Giulio Cesare Capaccio, in his account of this island, says, that
+there are eleven springs of cold water, and thirty-five of hot and
+mineral waters.
+
+[42] By having remarked, that all the implements of stone brought by
+Mess. Banks and Solander from the new-discovered islands in the
+South-Seas, are evidently of such a nature as are only produced by
+Volcanos; and as these gentlemen have assured me, that no other kind of
+stone is to be met with in the islands; I am induced to think, that
+these islands (at so great a distance from any continent) may have
+likewise been pushed up from the bottom of the sea by like explosions.
+
+[43] Any one, the least conversant in Volcanos, must be struck with the
+numberless evident marks of them the whole road from the lake of Albano
+to Radicofani, between Naples and Florence; and yet, though this soil
+bears such fresh and undoubted marks of its origin, no history reaches
+the date of any one eruption in these parts.
+
+[44] May not the air in countries replete with sulphur be more
+impregnated with electrical matter than the air of other soils? and may
+not the sort of lightning, which is mentioned by several ancient authors
+to have fallen in a serene day, and was considered as an omen, have
+proceeded from such a cause?
+
+Horace says, Ode xxxiv.
+
+            "--Namque Diespeter
+    "Igni corusco nubila dividens
+      "Plerumque per purum tonantes
+        "Egit equos volucremque currum."
+
+      "Non alias coelo ceciderunt plura sereno
+      "Fulgura----"
+
+                              Virgil. Georgic. i.
+
+    "Aut cum terribili perculsus fulmine civis
+    "Luce serenanti vitalia lumina liquit."
+
+                              Cic. i. de Divin. n. 18.
+
+  "--Sabinos petit aliquanto tristior, quod sacrificanti hostia
+  aufugerat: quodque tempestate serena tonuerat."
+
+                              Sueton. _Tit._ cap. 10.
+
+[45] This letter was not received by Dr. Maty in its present form: and
+is rather the substance of an explanatory catalogue, which was sent to
+that gentleman with sundry specimens of the different materials that
+compose the soil described in the preceding letter; which catalogue
+remains, with the specimens, in the Museum of the Royal Society, for the
+inspection, and, I flatter myself, the satisfaction, of the curious in
+natural history.
+
+[46] See p. 103 of this collection.
+
+[47] See Letter I. p. 18.
+
+[48] Having heard the same remark with respect to the lava's of
+Vesuvius, I determined, during an eruption of that Volcano, to watch the
+progress of a current of lava, and I was soon enabled to comprehend this
+seeming ph�nomenon; though it is, I fear, very difficult to explain.
+Certain it is, that the lava's, whilst in their most fluid state, follow
+always the law of other fluids; but when at a great distance from their
+source, and consequently incumbered with scori� and cinders, the air
+likewise having rendered their outward coat tough, they will sometimes
+(as I have seen) be forced up a short ascent, the fresh matter pushing
+forward that which went before it, and the exterior parts of the lava
+acting always as conductors (or pipes, if I may be allowed the
+expression), for the interior parts, that have retained their fluidity
+by not having been exposed to the air.
+
+[49] The flames Lord Winchelsea mentions, were certainly produced by the
+lava having met with trees in the way; or perhaps his Lordship may have
+mistaken the white smoak which constantly rises from a lava (and in the
+night is tinged by the reflection of the red hot matter), for flame, of
+which indeed it has greatly the appearance at a distance. I have
+observed upon Mount Vesuvius, that, soon after a lava has borne down and
+burned a tree, a bright flame issues from its surface; otherwise I have
+never seen any flame attending an eruption.
+
+
+THE END.
+
+
+
+
+IMPORTED from NAPLES,
+
+By T. CADELL, in the Strand.
+
+
+A Collection of Etruscan, Greek, and Roman Antiquities, from the Cabinet
+of the Hon. Sir WILLIAM HAMILTON, K.B. F.R.S. His Majesty's Envoy
+Extraordinary at the Court of Naples. The Whole to be comprised in four
+Volumes Folio. The Plates finely coloured. The Price to Subscribers 9l.
+9s. in Sheets; Six Guineas of which is to be paid on the Delivery of the
+first and second Volumes, and the remaining Three Guineas upon the
+Delivery of the third and fourth. After the Subscription is closed, the
+Price will be considerably raised.
+
+Specimens of all the Plates of the third Volume are arrived, and the
+fourth and last Volume is now doing; so that the Public may be assured
+the Whole of this elegant Work will be finished with all possible
+Expedition.
+
+** Those Noblemen and Gentlemen who subscribed for the first Volume may
+have the second upon paying 2l. 2s.
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber's Notes
+
+
+This document was taken from hand-written letters in the eighteenth
+century, and also contains quotes from other authors. As such, it's no
+surprise that there are many spelling and punctuation irregularities.
+Except where explicitly noted below, these were kept as is. Spelling
+variants that were preserved include: "Abbate" and "Abate;"
+"abovementioned" and "above-mentioned;" "�naria" and "Enaria;" "ancient"
+and "antient" (and derivatives); "Astruni" and "Astroni;" "Averno" and
+"Avernus;" "Giulio Cesare Bracini" and "Giulio Cesare Bruccini;"
+"Castel-a-Mare," "Castel-a-mare," "Castel a Mare" and "Castle-a-Mare;"
+"centre" and "center;" "colour" and "color" (and derivatives); "deer"
+and "deers" (for the plural of "deer"); "enquiry" and "inquiry;"
+"entirely" and "intirely;" "entituled" and "intituled;" "exteriour" and
+"exterior;" "honour" and "honor;" "interiour" and "interior;" "lavas"
+and "lava's" (for the plural of "lava"); "Mare-morto" and "Mare Morto;"
+"mere" and "meer;" "Mon-Gibello," "Mongibello," "Mon Gibello," "Monte
+Gibello" and "Mount Gibel;" "o'clock" and "a clock;" "Procida" and
+"Procita;" "rain water" and "rain-water;" "smoke" and "smoak" (and
+derivatives); "Solfaterra" and "Solfa terra;" "strata" and "stratas"
+(for the plural of "stratum"); "Torre dell' Annunciata," "Torre dell'
+Annunziata" and "Torre del Annunziata;" "Volcanos" and "Volcano's" (for
+the plural of "Volcano"); "Volcano's" and "Volcanos" (for the possessive
+of "Volcano").
+
+Changed "that" to "than" on page 85: "on the top of Vesuvius than on
+that of Etna."
+
+Changed "thermomether" to "thermometer" on page 122: "Fahrenheit's
+thermometer."
+
+Inserted missing word "a" on page 129: "fell a great part of the night."
+
+A small right-pointing hand appeared at the beginning of the last line
+of the advertisement. It was replaced by two asterisks.
+
+In the text version of this book, the oe-ligature character was replaced
+by the separate characters, "oe."
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Observations on Mount Vesuvius, Mount
+Etna, and Other Volcanos, by William Hamilton
+
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+
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Observations on Mount Vesuvius, Mount Etna,
+and Other Volcanos, by William Hamilton
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Observations on Mount Vesuvius, Mount Etna, and Other Volcanos
+
+Author: William Hamilton
+
+Editor: Thomas Cadell
+
+Release Date: March 1, 2011 [EBook #35433]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK OBSERVATIONS ON MOUNT VESUVIUS ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Bryan Ness, Stephen H. Sentoff, Alicia Williams
+and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at
+https://www.pgdp.net (This book was produced from scanned
+images of public domain material from the Google Print
+project.)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+
+
+
+<h1>OBSERVATIONS<br />
+ON<br />
+MOUNT VESUVIUS,<br />
+MOUNT ETNA,<br />
+AND OTHER VOLCANOS:</h1>
+
+<div class="likeheading2">IN
+A SERIES OF LETTERS,<br />
+
+<span style="font-weight:normal;">Addressed to <span class="smcap">The Royal Society</span>,</span></div>
+
+<div class="likeheading3">From the Honourable Sir <span class="smcap">W. Hamilton</span>,<br />
+K.B. F.R.S.<br />
+
+<span style="font-weight:normal;">His Majesty's Envoy Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
+at the Court of <span class="smcap">Naples</span>.</span></div>
+
+<p class="center">To which are added,</p>
+
+<div class="likeheading3">Explanatory <span class="smcap">Notes</span> by the <span class="smcap">Author</span>,<br />
+hitherto unpublished.</div>
+
+<p class="center">A NEW EDITION.</p>
+
+<p class="center">LONDON,<br />
+Printed for <span class="smcap">T. Cadell</span>, in the Strand.<br />
+M DCC LXXIV.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_iii" id="Page_iii">[Pg iii]</a></span></p>
+<h2>THE EDITOR<br />
+TO<br />
+THE PUBLIC.<br />
+</h2>
+
+
+<p>Having mentioned to Sir <span class="smcap">William Hamilton</span> the general Desire of all
+Lovers of Natural History, that his Letters upon the Subject of <span class="smcap">Volcanos</span>
+should be collected together in one Volume, particularly for the
+Convenience of such as may have an Opportunity of visiting the curious
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_iv" id="Page_iv">[Pg iv]</a></span>Spots described in them: He was not only pleased to approve of my
+having undertaken this Publication, but has likewise favoured with the
+additional explanatory Notes and Drawings,</p>
+
+<p class="letterindent">
+The <span class="smcap">Public</span>'s most obliged,<br />
+and devoted<br />
+humble Servant,<br />
+<br />
+T. CADELL.<br />
+</p>
+
+<p>May 30, 1772.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+<p>
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[Pg 1]</a></span></p>
+<div class="likeheading1">OBSERVATIONS<br />
+ON<br />
+MOUNT VESUVIUS, &amp;c.</div>
+
+
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+<h2><a name="LETTER_I" id="LETTER_I"></a>LETTER I.</h2>
+
+<p>To the Right Honourable the Earl of <span class="smcap">Morton</span>, President of the Royal
+Society.</p>
+
+
+<p class="letterindent">
+Naples, June 10, 1766.<br />
+</p>
+
+<p>My <span class="smcap">Lord</span>,</p>
+
+<p>As I have attended particularly to the various changes of Mount
+Vesuvius, from the 17th of November 1764, the day of my arrival at this
+capital; I flatter myself, that my observations will not be unacceptable
+to your Lordship, especially as this Volcano has lately made a very
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[Pg 2]</a></span>considerable eruption. I shall confine myself merely to the many
+extraordinary appearances that have come under my own inspection, and
+leave their explanation to the more learned in Natural Philosophy.</p>
+
+<p>During the first twelvemonth of my being here, I did not perceive any
+remarkable alteration in the mountain; but I observed, the smoke from
+the Volcano was much more considerable in bad weather than when it was
+fair<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a>; and I often heard (even at Naples, six miles from Vesuvius) in
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[Pg 3]</a></span>bad weather, the inward explosions of the mountain. When I have been at
+the top of Mount Vesuvius in fair weather, I have sometimes found so
+little smoke, that I have been able to see far down the mouth of the
+Volcano; the sides of which were incrusted with salts and mineral of
+various colors, white, green, deep and pale yellow. The smoke that
+issued from the mouth of the Volcano in bad weather was white, very
+moist, and not near so offensive as the sulphureous steams from various
+cracks on the sides of the mountain.</p>
+
+<p>Towards the month of September last, I perceived the smoke to be more
+considerable, and to continue even in fair weather; and in October I
+perceived sometimes a puff of black smoke shoot up a considerable height
+in the midst of the white, which symptom of an approaching eruption grew
+more frequent daily; and soon after, these puffs of smoke appeared in
+the night tinged like clouds with the setting sun.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[Pg 4]</a></span></p><p>About the beginning of November, I went up the mountain: it was then
+covered with snow; and I perceived a little hillock of sulphur had been
+thrown up, since my last visit there, within about forty yards of the
+mouth of the Volcano; it was near six feet high, and a light blue flame
+issued constantly from its top. As I was examining this ph�nomenon, I
+heard a violent report; and saw a column of black smoke, followed by a
+reddish flame, shoot up with violence from the mouth of the Volcano; and
+presently fell a shower of stones, one of which, falling near me, made
+me retire with some precipitation, and also rendered me more cautious of
+approaching too near, in my subsequent journies to Vesuvius.</p>
+
+<p>From November to the 28th of March, the date of the beginning of this
+eruption, the smoke increased, and was mixed with ashes, which fell, and
+did great damage to the vineyards in the neighbourhood of <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[Pg 5]</a></span>the
+mountain<a name="FNanchor_2_2" id="FNanchor_2_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a>. A few days before the eruption I saw (what Pliny the
+younger mentions having seen, before that eruption of Vesuvius which
+proved fatal to his uncle) the black smoke take the form of a pine-tree.
+The smoke, that appeared black in the day-time, for near two months
+before the eruption, had the appearance of flame in the night.</p>
+
+<p>On Good Friday, the 28th of March, at 7 o'clock at night, the lava began
+to boil over the mouth of the Volcano, at first in one stream; and soon
+after, dividing itself into two, it took its course towards Portici. It
+was preceded by a violent explosion, which caused a partial earthquake
+in the neighbourhood of the mountain; and a shower of red hot stones and
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[Pg 6]</a></span>cinders were thrown up to a considerable height. Immediately upon sight
+of the lava, I left Naples, with a party of my countrymen, whom I found
+as impatient as myself to satisfy their curiosity in examining so
+curious an operation of nature. I passed the whole night upon the
+mountain; and observed that, though the red hot stones were thrown up in
+much greater number and to a more considerable height than before the
+appearance of the lava, yet the report was much less considerable than
+some days before the eruption. The lava ran near a mile in an hour's
+time, when the two branches joined in a hollow on the side of the
+mountain, without proceeding farther. I approached the mouth of the
+Volcano, as near as I could with prudence; the lava had the appearance
+of a river of red hot and liquid metal, such as we see in the
+glass-houses, on which were large floating cinders, half lighted, and
+rolling one over another with great precipitation down the side of the
+mountain, forming a most <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</a></span>beautiful and uncommon cascade; the color of
+the fire was much paler and more bright the first night than the
+subsequent nights, when it became of a deep red, probably owing to its
+having been more impregnated with sulphur at first than afterwards. In
+the day-time, unless you are quite close, the lava has no appearance of
+fire; but a thick white smoke marks its course.</p>
+
+<p>The 29th, the mountain was very quiet, and the lava did not continue.
+The 30th, it began to flow again in the same direction, whilst the mouth
+of the Volcano threw up every minute a girandole of red hot stones, to
+an immense height. The 31st, I passed the night upon the mountain: the
+lava was not so considerable as the first night; but the red hot stones
+were perfectly transparent, some of which, I dare say of a ton weight,
+mounted at least two hundred feet perpendicular, and fell in, or near,
+the mouth of a little mountain, that was now formed by the quantity <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</a></span>of
+ashes and stones, within the great mouth of the Volcano, and which made
+the approach much safer than it had been some days before, when the
+mouth was near half a mile in circumference, and the stones took every
+direction. Mr. Hervey, brother to the Earl of Bristol, was very much
+wounded in the arm some days before the eruption, having approached too
+near; and two English gentlemen with him were also hurt. It is
+impossible to describe the beautiful appearance of these girandoles of
+red hot stones, far surpassing the most astonishing artificial
+fire-work.</p>
+
+<p>From the 31st of March to the 9th of April, the lava continued on the
+same side of the mountain, in two, three, and sometimes four branches,
+without descending much lower than the first night. I remarked a kind of
+intermission in the fever of the mountain<a name="FNanchor_3_3" id="FNanchor_3_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a>, which seemed to <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</a></span>return
+with violence every other night. On the 10th of April, at night, the
+lava disappeared on the side of the mountain towards Naples, and broke
+out with much more violence on the side next the <i>Torre dell'
+Annunciata</i>.</p>
+
+<p>I passed the whole day and the night of the twelfth upon the mountain,
+and followed the course of the lava to its very source: it burst out of
+the side of the mountain, within about half a mile of the mouth of the
+Volcano, like a torrent, attended with violent explosions, which threw
+up inflamed matter to a considerable height, the adjacent ground
+quivering like <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</a></span>the timbers of a water-mill; the heat of the lava was so
+great, as not to suffer me to approach nearer than within ten feet of
+the stream, and of such a consistency (though it appeared liquid as
+water) as almost to resist the impression of a long stick, with which I
+made the experiment; large stones thrown on it with all my force did not
+sink, but, making a slight impression, floated on the surface, and were
+carried out of sight in a short time; for, notwithstanding the
+consistency of the lava, it ran with amazing velocity; I am sure, the
+first mile with a rapidity equal to that of the river Severn, at the
+passage near Bristol. The stream at its source was about ten feet wide,
+but soon extended itself, and divided into three branches; so that these
+rivers of fire, communicating their heat to the cinders of former lavas,
+between one branch and the other, had the appearance at night of a
+continued sheet of fire, four miles in length, and in some parts near
+two in breadth. Your <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</a></span>Lordship may imagine the glorious appearance of
+this uncommon scene, such as passes all description.</p>
+
+<p>The lava, after having run pure for about a hundred yards, began to
+collect cinders, stones, &amp;c.; and a scum was formed on its surface,
+which in the day-time had the appearance of the river Thames, as I have
+seen it after a hard frost and great fall of snow, when beginning to
+thaw, carrying down vast masses of snow and ice. In two places the
+liquid lava totally disappeared, and ran in a subterraneous passage for
+some paces; then came out again pure, having left the scum behind. In
+this manner it advanced to the cultivated parts of the mountain; and I
+saw it, the same night of the 12th, unmercifully destroy a poor man's
+vineyard, and surround his cottage, notwithstanding the opposition of
+many images of St. Januarius, that were placed upon the cottage, and
+tied to almost every vine. The lava, at the farthest extremity from its
+source, did not appear liquid, but like a <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</a></span>heap of red hot coals,
+forming a wall in some places ten or twelve feet high, which rolling
+from the top soon formed another wall, and so on, advancing slowly, not
+more than about thirty feet in an hour<a name="FNanchor_4_4" id="FNanchor_4_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_4_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a>.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</a></span></p><p>The mouth of the Volcano has not thrown up any large stones since the
+second eruption of lava on the 10th of April; but has thrown up
+quantities of small ashes and pumice stones, that have greatly damaged
+the neighbouring vineyards. I have been several times at the mountain
+since the 12th; but, as the eruption was in its greatest vigour at that
+time, I have ventured to dwell on, and I fear tire your Lordship with,
+the observations of that day.</p>
+
+<p>In my last visit to Mount Vesuvius, the 3d of June, I still found that
+the lava continued; but the rivers were become rivulets, and had lost
+much of their rapidity. The quantity of matter thrown out by this
+eruption is greater than that of the last in the year 1760; but the
+damage <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</a></span>to the cultivated lands is not so considerable, owing to its
+having spread itself much more, and its source being at least three
+miles higher up. This eruption seems now to have exhausted itself; and I
+expect in a few days to see Vesuvius restored to its former
+tranquillity.</p>
+
+<p>Mount Etna in Sicily broke out on the 27th of April; and made a lava, in
+two branches, at least six miles in length, and a mile in breadth; and,
+according to the description given me by Mr. Wilbraham, (who was there,
+after having seen with me part of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius)
+resembles it in every respect, except that Mount Etna, at the place from
+whence the lava flowed (which was twelve miles from the mouth of the
+Volcano), threw up a fountain of liquid inflamed matter to a
+considerable height; which, I am told, Mount Vesuvius has done in former
+eruptions.</p>
+
+<p>I beg pardon for having taken up so much of your time; and yet I flatter
+myself, that my description, which I assure <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</a></span>your Lordship is not
+exaggerated, will have afforded you some amusement. I have the honour to
+be,</p>
+
+<p class="letterindent">
+My <span class="smcap">Lord</span>,<br />
+Your Lordship's<br />
+Most obedient<br />
+and most humble servant,<br />
+<br />
+<span class="smcap">William Hamilton</span>.<br />
+</p>
+
+<hr class="tb" />
+
+<p class="letterindent">
+Naples, February 3, 1767.<br />
+</p>
+
+<p>Since the account of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, which I had the
+honour of giving to your Lordship, in my <a href="#LETTER_I">letter</a> of the 10th of June
+last; I have only to add, that the lava continued till about the end of
+November, without doing any great damage, having taken its course over
+antient <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</a></span>lavas. Since the cessation of this eruption, I have examined
+the crater, and the crack on the side of the mountain towards <i>Torre
+dell' Annunciata</i>, about a hundred yards from the crater from whence
+this lava issued: and I found therein some very curious salts and
+sulphurs; a specimen of each sort I have put into bottles myself, even
+upon the mountain, that they might not lose any of their force, and have
+sent them in a box directed to your Lordship, as you will see, by the
+bill of lading: I am sure, you will have a pleasure in seeing them
+analyzed<a name="FNanchor_5_5" id="FNanchor_5_5"></a><a href="#Footnote_5_5" class="fnanchor">[5]</a>. I have also packed in the same box some lava, and cinders,
+of the last eruption; there is one piece in particular very curious,
+having the exact appearance of a cable petrified. I shall be very happy
+if these trifles should afford <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</a></span>your Lordship a moment's amusement.</p>
+
+<p>It is very extraordinary, that I cannot find, that any chemist here has
+ever been at the trouble of analyzing the productions of Vesuvius.</p>
+
+<p>The deep yellow, or orange-color salts, of which there are two bottles,
+I fetched out of the very crater of the mountain, in a crevice that was
+indeed very hot. It seems to me to be powerful, as it turns silver black
+in an instant, but has no effect upon gold. If your Lordship pleases, I
+will send you by another opportunity specimens of the sulphurs and salts
+of the Solfa terra, which seem to be very different from these.</p>
+
+<p>Within these three days, the fire has appeared again on the top of
+Vesuvius, and earthquakes have been felt in the neighbourhood of the
+mountain. I was there on Saturday with my nephew Lord Greville; we heard
+most dreadful inward grumblings, rattling of stones, and hissing; <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</a></span>and
+were obliged to leave the crater very soon, on account of the emission
+of stones. The black smoak arose, as before the last eruption; and I saw
+every symptom of a new eruption, of which I shall not fail to give your
+Lordship an exact account.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr class="chap" /><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="LETTER_II" id="LETTER_II"></a>LETTER II.</h2>
+
+<p>To the Right Honourable the Earl of <span class="smcap">Morton</span>, President of the Royal
+Society.</p>
+
+
+<p class="letterindent">
+Naples, December 29, 1767.<br />
+</p>
+
+<p>My <span class="smcap">Lord</span>,</p>
+
+<p>The favourable reception, which my account of last year's eruption of
+Mount Vesuvius met with from your Lordship; the approbation which the
+Royal Society was pleased to shew, by having ordered the same to be
+printed in their Philosophical Transactions; and your Lordship's
+commands, in your letter of the 3d instant; encourage me to trouble you
+with a plain narrative of what came immediately under my observation,
+during the late violent eruption, which began October 19, 1767, and is
+reckoned to be the twenty-seventh since that, which, in the <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</a></span>time of
+Titus, destroyed Herculaneum and Pompeii.</p>
+
+<p>The eruption of 1766 continued in some degree till the 10th of December,
+about nine months in all<a name="FNanchor_6_6" id="FNanchor_6_6"></a><a href="#Footnote_6_6" class="fnanchor">[6]</a>; yet in that space of time the mountain did
+not cast up a third of the quantity of lava, which it disgorged in only
+seven days, the term of this last eruption. On the 15th of December,
+last year, within the ancient crater of Mount Vesuvius, and about twenty
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</a></span>feet deep, there was a crust, which formed a plain, not unlike the
+Solfa terra in miniature; in the midst of this plain was a little mountain,
+whose top did not rise so high as the rim of the ancient crater. I went
+into this plain, and up the little mountain, which was perforated, and
+served as the principal chimney to the Volcano: when I threw down large
+stones, I could hear that they met with many obstructions in their way,
+and could count a hundred moderately before they reached the bottom.</p>
+
+<p>Vesuvius was quiet till March 1767, when it began to throw up stones
+from time to time; in April, the throws were more frequent, and at night
+fire was visible on top of the mountain, or, more properly speaking, the
+smoak, which hung over the crater, was tinged by the reflection of the
+fire within the Volcano. These repeated throws of cinders, ashes, and
+pumice stones, increased the little mountain so much, that in May the
+top was visible above the rim of the ancient <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</a></span>crater. The 7th of August,
+there issued a small stream of lava, from a breach in the side of this
+little mountain, which gradually filled the valley between it and the
+ancient crater; so that, the 12th of September, the lava overflowed the
+ancient crater, and took its course down the sides of the great
+mountain; by this time, the throws were much more frequent, and the red
+hot stones went so high as to take up ten seconds in their fall. Padre
+Torre, a great observer of Mount Vesuvius, says they went up above a
+thousand feet.</p>
+
+<p>The 15th of October, the height of the little mountain (formed in about
+eight months) was measured by Don Andrea Pigonati, a very ingenious
+young man, in his Sicilian Majesty's service, who assured me that its
+height was 185 French feet.</p>
+
+<p>From my villa, situated between Herculaneum and Pompeii, near the
+convent of the Calmaldolese (marked 7 in <a href="#PLATE_1">Plate I.</a>) I had watched the
+growing of this little mountain; and, by taking drawings of it <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</a></span>from
+time to time, I could perceive its increase most minutely. I make no
+doubt but that the whole of Mount Vesuvius has been formed in the same
+manner; and as these observations seem to me to account for the various
+irregular strata, which are met with in the neighbourhood of Volcanos, I
+have ventured to inclose, for your Lordship's inspection, a copy of the
+abovementioned drawings. (<a href="#PLATE_3">Plate III.</a>)</p>
+
+<p>The lava continued to run over the ancient crater in small streams,
+sometimes on one side, and sometimes on another, till the 18th of
+October, when I took particular notice that there was not the least lava
+to be seen; owing, I imagine, to its being employed in forcing its way
+towards the place where it burst out the following day. As I had,
+contrary to the opinion of most people here, foretold the approaching
+eruption<a name="FNanchor_7_7" id="FNanchor_7_7"></a><a href="#Footnote_7_7" class="fnanchor">[7]</a>, and had observed a <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</a></span>great fermentation in the mountain
+after the heavy rains which fell the 13th and 14th of October; I was not
+surprized, on the 19th following, at seven of the clock in the morning,
+to perceive from my villa every symptom of the eruption being just at
+hand. From the top of the little mountain issued a thick black smoak, so
+thick that it seemed to have difficulty in forcing its way out; cloud
+after cloud mounted with a hasty spiral motion, and every minute a
+volley of great stones were shot up to an immense height in the midst of
+these clouds; by degrees, the smoak <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</a></span>took the exact shape of a huge
+pine-tree, such as Pliny the younger described in his letter to Tacitus,
+where he gives an account of the fatal eruption in which his uncle
+perished<a name="FNanchor_8_8" id="FNanchor_8_8"></a><a href="#Footnote_8_8" class="fnanchor">[8]</a>. This column of black smoak, after having mounted an
+extraordinary height, bent with the wind towards Caprea, and actually
+reached over that island, which is not less than twenty-eight miles from
+Vesuvius.</p>
+
+<p>I warned my family, not to be alarmed, as I expected there would be an
+earthquake at the moment of the lava's bursting out; but before eight of
+the clock in the morning I perceived that the mountain <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</a></span>had opened a
+mouth, without noise, about a hundred yards lower than the ancient
+crater, on the side towards the Monte di Somma; and I plainly perceived,
+by a white smoak, which always accompanies the lava, that it had forced
+its way out: as soon as it had vent, the smoak no longer came out with
+that violence from the top. As I imagined that there would be no danger
+in approaching the mountain when the lava had vent, I went up
+immediately, accompanied by one peasant only. I passed the hermitage (3.
+in <a href="#PLATE_1">Plate I.</a>), and proceeded as far as the spot marked (X), in the valley
+between the mountain of Somma and that of Vesuvius, which is called
+Atrio di Cavallo. I was making my observations upon the lava, which had
+already, from the spot (E) where it first broke out, reached the valley;
+when, on a sudden, about noon, I heard a violent noise within the
+mountain, and at the spot (C), about a quarter of a mile off the place
+where I stood, the mountain split; <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</a></span>and, with much noise, from this new
+mouth, a fountain of liquid fire shot up many feet high, and then, like
+a torrent, rolled on directly towards us. The earth shook, at the same
+time that a volley of pumice stones fell thick upon us; in an instant,
+clouds of black smoak and ashes caused almost a total darkness; the
+explosions from the top of the mountain were much louder than any
+thunder I ever heard, and the smell of the sulphur was very offensive.
+My guide, alarmed, took to his heels; and I must confess, that I was not
+at my ease. I followed close, and we ran near three miles without
+stopping; as the earth continued to shake under our feet, I was
+apprehensive of the opening of a fresh mouth, which might have cut off
+our retreat. I also feared that the violent explosions would detach some
+of the rocks off the mountain Somma, under which we were obliged to
+pass; besides, the pumice-stones, falling upon us like hail, were of
+such a size as to cause a disagreeable <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</a></span>sensation upon the part where
+they fell. After having taken breath, as the earth still trembled
+greatly, I thought it most prudent to leave the mountain, and return to
+my villa; where I found my family in a great alarm, at the continual and
+violent explosions of the Volcano, which shook our house to its very
+foundation, the doors and windows swinging upon their hinges. About two
+of the clock in the afternoon another lava forced its way out of the
+same place from whence came the lava last year, at the spot marked B (in
+<a href="#PLATE_2">Plate II.</a>); so that the conflagration was soon as great on this side of
+the mountain, as on the other which I had just left.</p>
+
+<p>The noise and smell of sulphur increasing, we removed from our villa to
+Naples; and I thought proper, as I passed by Portici, to inform the
+Court of what I had seen; and humbly offered it as my opinion, that his
+Sicilian Majesty should leave the neighbourhood of the threatening
+mountain. However, the Court did <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</a></span>not leave Portici till about twelve of
+the clock, when the lava had reached as far as (4. in <a href="#PLATE_1">Plate I.</a>)&mdash;I
+observed, in my way to Naples, which was in less than two hours after I
+had left the mountain, that the lava had actually covered three miles of
+the very road through which we had retreated. It is astonishing that it
+should have run so fast; as I have since seen, that the river of lava,
+in the Atrio di Cavallo, was sixty and seventy feet deep, and in some
+places near two miles broad. When his Sicilian Majesty quitted Portici,
+the noise was greatly increased; and the concussion of the air from the
+explosions was so violent, that, in the King's palace, doors and windows
+were forced open; and even one door there, which was locked, was
+nevertheless burst open. At Naples, the same night, many windows and
+doors flew open; in my house, which is not on the side of the town next
+Vesuvius, I tried the experiment of unbolting my windows<a name="FNanchor_9_9" id="FNanchor_9_9"></a><a href="#Footnote_9_9" class="fnanchor">[9]</a>, <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</a></span>when they
+flew wide open upon every explosion of the mountain. Besides these
+explosions, which were very frequent, there was a continued
+subterraneous and violent rumbling noise, which lasted this night about
+five hours. I have imagined, that this extraordinary noise might be
+owing to the lava in the bowels of the mountain having met with a
+deposition of rain water; and that the conflict between the fire and the
+water may, in some measure, account for so extraordinary a crackling and
+hissing noise. Padre Torre, who has wrote so much and so well upon the
+subject of Mount Vesuvius, is also of my opinion. And indeed it is
+natural to imagine, that there may be rain-water lodged in many of the
+caverns of the mountain; as, in the great eruption of Mount Vesuvius in
+1631, it is well attested, that several towns, among which Portici and
+Torre del Greco, were destroyed, by a torrent of boiling water having
+burst out of the mountain with the lava, by which thousands of <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</a></span>lives
+were lost. About four years ago, Mount Etna in Sicily threw up hot water
+also, during an eruption.</p>
+
+<p>The confusion at Naples this night cannot be described; his Sicilian
+Majesty's hasty retreat from Portici added to the alarm; all the
+churches were opened and filled; the streets were thronged with
+processions of saints: but I shall avoid entering upon a description of
+the various ceremonies that were performed in this capital, to quell the
+fury of the turbulent mountain.</p>
+
+<p>Tuesday the 20th, it was impossible to judge of the situation of
+Vesuvius, on account of the smoak and ashes, which covered it entirely,
+and spread over Naples also, the sun appearing as through a thick London
+fog, or a smoaked glass; small ashes fell all this day at Naples. The
+lavas on both sides of the mountain ran violently; but there was little
+or no noise till about nine o'clock at night, when the same uncommon
+rumbling began again, <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</a></span>accompanied with explosions as before, which
+lasted about four hours: it seemed as if the mountain would split in
+pieces; and, indeed, it opened this night almost from the spot E to C
+(in <a href="#PLATE_1">Plate I.</a>). The annexed plans were taken upon the spot at this time,
+when the lavas were at their height; and I do not think them
+exaggerated. The Parisian barometer was, as yesterday, at 279, and
+Fahrenheit's thermometer at 70 degrees; whereas, for some days preceding
+the eruption, it had been at 65 and 66. During the confusion of this
+night, the prisoners in the public jail attempted to escape, having
+wounded the jailer; but were prevented by the troops. The mob also set
+fire to the Cardinal Archbishop's gate, because he refused to bring out
+the relicks of Saint Januarius.</p>
+
+<p>Wednesday 21st, was more quiet than the preceding days, though the lavas
+ran briskly. Portici was once in some danger, had not the lava taken a
+different <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</a></span>course when it was only a mile and a half from it; towards
+night, the lava slackened.</p>
+
+<p>Thursday 22d, about ten of the clock in the morning, the same thundering
+noise began again, but with more violence than the preceding days; the
+oldest men declared, they had never heard the like; and, indeed, it was
+very alarming: we were in expectation every moment of some dire
+calamity. The ashes, or rather small cinders, showered down so fast,
+that the people in the streets were obliged to use umbrellas, or flap
+their hats; these ashes being very offensive to the eyes. The tops of
+the houses, and the balconies, were covered above an inch thick with
+these cinders<a name="FNanchor_10_10" id="FNanchor_10_10"></a><a href="#Footnote_10_10" class="fnanchor">[10]</a>. <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</a></span>Ships at sea, twenty leagues from Naples, were also
+covered with them, to the great <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</a></span>astonishment of the sailors. In the
+midst of these horrors, the mob, growing tumultuous and impatient,
+obliged the Cardinal to bring out the head of Saint Januarius, and go
+with it in procession to the Ponte Maddalena, at the extremity of
+Naples, towards Vesuvius; and it is well attested here, that the
+eruption ceased the moment the Saint came in sight of the mountain; it
+is true, the noise ceased about that time, after having lasted five
+hours, as it had done the preceding days.</p>
+
+<p>Friday 23d, the lavas still ran, and the mountain continued to throw up
+quantities of stones from its crater; there was no noise heard at Naples
+this day, and but little ashes fell there.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</a></span></p><p>Saturday 24th, the lava ceased running; the extent of the lava, from
+the spot C (<a href="#PLATE_1">Plate I.</a>), where I saw it break out, to its extremity F,
+where it surrounded the chapel of Saint Vito, is above six miles. In the
+Atrio di Cavallo, and in a deep valley that lies between Vesuvius (1.)
+and the hermitage (3.), the lava is in some places near two miles broad,
+and in most places from sixty to seventy feet deep; at (4.), the lava
+ran down a hollow way, called Fossa grande, made by the currents of rain
+water; it is not less than two hundred feet deep, and a hundred broad;
+yet the lava in one place has filled it up. I could not have believed
+that so great a quantity of matter could have been thrown out in so
+short a time, if I had not since examined the whole course of the lava
+myself. This great compact body will certainly retain some heat many
+months<a name="FNanchor_11_11" id="FNanchor_11_11"></a><a href="#Footnote_11_11" class="fnanchor">[11]</a>; at this time, <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</a></span>much rain having fallen for some days past,
+the lava smoaks, as if it ran afresh: and about ten days ago, when I was
+up the mountain with Lord Stormont, we thrust sticks into the crevices
+of the lava, which took fire immediately: But to proceed with my
+journal.</p>
+
+<p>The 24th, Vesuvius continued to throw up stones as on the preceding
+days: during the whole of this eruption, it had differed in this
+circumstance from the eruption of 1766, when no stones were thrown out
+of the crater from the moment the lava ran freely.</p>
+
+<p>Sunday 25th, small ashes fell all day at Naples; they issued from the
+crater of the Volcano, and formed a vast column, as black as the
+mountain itself, so that the shadow of it was marked out on the surface
+of the sea; continual flashes of forked or zig-zag lightning shot from
+this black column, the thunder of which was heard <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</a></span>in the neighbourhood
+of the mountain, but not at Naples: there were no clouds in the sky at
+this time, except those of smoak issuing from the crater of Vesuvius. I
+was much pleased with this ph�nomenon, which I had not seen before in
+that perfection<a name="FNanchor_12_12" id="FNanchor_12_12"></a><a href="#Footnote_12_12" class="fnanchor">[12]</a>.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</a></span></p><p>Monday 26th, the smoak continued, but not so thick, neither were there
+any flashes of the mountain lightning. As no lava has appeared after
+this column of black smoak, which must have been occasioned by some
+inward operation of fire; I am apt to think, that the lava, which should
+naturally have followed this symptom, has broke its way into some deeper
+cavern, where it is silently brooding future mischief; and I shall be
+much mistaken if it does not break out a few months hence.</p>
+
+<p>Tuesday 27th, no more black smoak, nor any signs of eruption.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</a></span></p><p>Thus, my Lord, I have had the honor of giving your Lordship a faithful
+narrative of my observations during this eruption, which is universally
+allowed to have been the most violent of this century; and I shall be
+happy, if it should meet with your approbation, and that of the Royal
+Society, if your Lordship should think it worthy of being communicated
+to so respectable a body.</p>
+
+<p>I have just sent a present to the British Museum of a complete
+collection of every sort of matter produced by Mount Vesuvius, which I
+have been collecting with some pains for these three years past; and it
+will be a great satisfaction to me, if, by the means of this collection,
+some of my countrymen, learned in natural history, may be enabled to
+make some useful discoveries relative to Volcanos<a name="FNanchor_13_13" id="FNanchor_13_13"></a><a href="#Footnote_13_13" class="fnanchor">[13]</a>.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</a></span></p><p>I have also accompanied that collection with a view of a current of
+lava from Mount Vesuvius; it is painted with transparent colours, and,
+when lighted up with lamps behind it, gives a much better idea of
+Vesuvius, than is possible to be given by any other sort of painting.</p>
+
+<p class="letterindent">
+I have the honor to be,<br />
+My <span class="smcap">Lord</span>,<br />
+Your Lordship's<br />
+Most obedient<br />
+and most humble servant,<br />
+<br />
+<span class="smcap">William Hamilton</span>.<br />
+</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter"><a name="PLATE_1" id="PLATE_1"></a>
+<i>Plate I.</i><br />
+<a href="images/plate1.jpg"><img src="images/plate1thumb.jpg" alt="" /></a><br />
+View of the <span class="smcap">Great Eruption</span> of <span class="smcap">Vesuvius</span> 1767 from Portici.</div>
+
+<div class="likeheading3">PLATE I.</div>
+
+
+<ul class="platelist">
+<li><span class="listnum">A. </span>Crater of Mount Vesuvius.</li>
+<li><span class="listnum">B. </span>Mouth from whence came the lava of 1766; and which opened afresh, October 19, 1767, and produced the conflagration represented in <a href="#PLATE_2">Plate II.</a></li>
+<li><span class="listnum">C. </span>The mouth which opened at 12 o'clock, October 19, 1767, whilst I was at the spot marked X; from thence came all the lava represented in Plate I.</li>
+<li><span class="listnum">D. </span>The lava.</li>
+<li><span class="listnum">E. </span>Mouth from whence the lava flowed at eight o'clock, October 19, when the eruption began first.</li>
+<li><span class="listnum">F. </span>Chapel of Saint Vito, surrounded with lava.</li>
+</ul>
+
+<ul class="platelist">
+<li><span class="listnum">1. </span>Vesuvius.</li>
+<li><span class="listnum">2. </span>Mountain of Somma.</li>
+<li><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</a></span><span class="listnum">3. </span>Hermitage, between which and Vesuvius there is a deep valley two miles broad.</li>
+<li><span class="listnum">4. </span>The Fossa Grande.</li>
+<li><span class="listnum">5. </span>His Sicilian Majesty's Palace at Portici.</li>
+<li><span class="listnum">6. </span>Church of Pugliano.</li>
+<li><span class="listnum">7. </span>Calmaldolese Convent, near which is my Villa.</li>
+<li><span class="listnum">8. </span>Saint Jorio.</li>
+<li><span class="listnum">9. </span>Barra.</li>
+<li><span class="listnum">10. </span>Spot, under which lies Herculaneum.</li>
+</ul>
+
+<div class="figcenter"><a name="PLATE_2" id="PLATE_2"></a>
+<i>Plate II.</i><br />
+<a href="images/plate2.jpg"><img src="images/plate2thumb.jpg" alt="" /></a><br />
+View of the <span class="smcap">Great Eruption</span> of <span class="smcap">Vesuvius</span> 1767, from Torre dell'
+Annunziata.</div>
+
+<div class="likeheading3">PLATE II.</div>
+
+<ul class="platelist">
+<li><span class="listnum">A. </span>Crater of Vesuvius.</li>
+<li><span class="listnum">B. </span>Mouth, from whence came the lava of 1766, and which opened afresh
+at two o'clock, October 19, 1767, and caused the conflagration
+on this side of the mountain.</li>
+<li><span class="listnum">C. </span>Mouth which opened at 12 o'clock, October 19, 1767, whilst I was
+at <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</a></span>the spot X, and which produced all the lava represented in
+<a href="#PLATE_1">Plate I.</a></li>
+<li><span class="listnum">D. </span>Rivulets of lava, which flowed from the crater, and united with
+the great river E.</li>
+<li><span class="listnum">F. </span>Extremities of the lava, about five miles from B.</li>
+</ul>
+
+<ul class="platelist">
+<li><span class="listnum">1. </span>Mountain of Somma.</li>
+<li><span class="listnum">2. </span>Mount Vesuvius.</li>
+<li><span class="listnum">3. </span>Montagna di Trecase.</li>
+<li><span class="listnum">4. </span>Trecase.</li>
+<li><span class="listnum">5. </span>Oratorio di Bosco.</li>
+<li><span class="listnum">6. </span>Ottaiano.</li>
+</ul>
+
+
+<div class="figcenter"><a name="PLATE_3" id="PLATE_3"></a>
+<i>Plate III.</i><br />
+<a href="images/plate3.jpg"><img src="images/plate3thumb.jpg" alt="" /></a><br />
+<i>The ancient Crater of Mount Vesuvius.</i><br />
+<br />
+<i>With the gradual increase of the little Mountain within the Crater.</i><br />
+<br />
+<i>The exteriour black line marks each increase &amp; the interiour dotted
+line shews the state of the little Mountain before that increase, so
+that the dotted line in the Drawing of Oct 18.<sup>th</sup> shews the Size of
+the little Mountain July 8.<sup>th</sup> the little spot A. marks where the lava
+came out some days before the great Eruption. B. C. D. mark the ancient
+Crater &amp; E. the little Mountain the day before the Eruption. F. G. is
+the present Crater, &amp; the exteriour black line H. F. G. the present
+shape of the top of Mount Vesuvius. Since May last the Mountain is
+increased from B. to F. which is near 200 feet.</i></div>
+
+<div class="likeheading3">PLATE III.</div>
+
+<ul class="platelist">
+<li>Views of the gradual increase of the little mountain within the
+ancient crater; and of the present shape of Mount Vesuvius.</li>
+</ul>
+
+<hr class="chap" /><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="LETTER_III" id="LETTER_III"></a>LETTER III.</h2>
+
+<p>To <span class="smcap">Mathew Maty</span>, M. D. Secretary to the Royal <span class="smcap">Society</span>.</p>
+
+
+<p class="letterindent">
+Villa Angelica, near Mount Vesuvius,<br />
+October 4, 1768.<br />
+</p>
+
+<p>SIR,</p>
+
+<p>I have but very lately received your last obliging letter, of the 5th of
+July, with the volume of Philosophical Transactions.</p>
+
+<p>I must beg of you to express my satisfaction at the notice which the
+Royal Society hath been pleased to take of my accounts of the two last
+eruptions of Mount Vesuvius. Since I have been at my villa here, I have
+enquired of the inhabitants of the mountain, after what they had seen
+during the last eruption. In my letter to Lord Morton, I mentioned
+nothing but what came immediately under my own <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</a></span>observation: but as all
+the peasants here agree in their account of the terrible thunder and
+lightning, which lasted almost the whole time of the eruption, upon the
+mountain only; I think it a circumstance worth attending to. Besides the
+lightning, which perfectly resembled the common forked lightning, there
+were many meteors, like what are vulgarly called <i>falling stars</i>. A
+peasant, in my neighbourhood, lost eight hogs, by the ashes falling into
+the trough with their food: they grew giddy, and died in a few hours.
+The last day of the eruption, the ashes, which fell abundantly upon the
+mountain, were as white almost as snow<a name="FNanchor_14_14" id="FNanchor_14_14"></a><a href="#Footnote_14_14" class="fnanchor">[14]</a>; and the old people here
+assure <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</a></span>me, that is a sure symptom of the eruption being at an end.
+These circumstances, being well attested, I thought worth relating.</p>
+
+<p>It would require many years close application, to give a proper and
+truly philosophical account of the Volcanos in the neighbourhood of
+Naples; but I am sure such a history might be given, supported by
+demonstration, as would destroy every system hitherto given upon this
+subject. We have here an opportunity of seeing Volcanos in all their
+states. I have been this summer in the island of Ischia; it is about
+eighteen miles round, and its whole basis is lava. The great mountain in
+it, near as high as Vesuvius, formerly called Epomeus, and now San
+Nicolo, I am convinced, <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</a></span>was thrown up by degrees; and I have no doubt
+in my own mind, but that the island itself rose out of the sea in the
+same manner as some of the Azores. I am of the same opinion with respect
+to Mount Vesuvius, and all the high grounds near Naples; as having not
+yet seen, in any one place, what can be called virgin earth. I had the
+pleasure of seeing a well sunk, a few days ago, near my villa, which is,
+as you know, at the foot of Vesuvius, and close by the sea-side. At
+twenty-five feet below the level of the sea, they came to a stratum of
+lava, and God knows how much deeper they might have still found other
+lavas. The soil all round the mountain, which is so fertile, consists of
+stratas of lavas, ashes, pumice, and now-and-then a thin stratum of good
+earth, which good earth is produced by the surface mouldering, and the
+rotting of the roots of plants, vines, &amp;c. This is plainly to be seen at
+Pompeii, where they are now digging into the ruins of that ancient city;
+the houses <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</a></span>are covered about ten or fifteen feet, with pumice and
+fragments of lava, some of which weigh three pounds (which last
+circumstance I mention, to shew, that, in a great eruption, Vesuvius has
+thrown stones of this weight six miles<a name="FNanchor_15_15" id="FNanchor_15_15"></a><a href="#Footnote_15_15" class="fnanchor">[15]</a>, which is its distance from
+Pompeii, in a direct line); upon this stratum of pumice, or <i>rapilli</i>,
+as they call them here, is a stratum of <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</a></span>excellent mould, about two feet
+thick, on which grow large trees, and excellent grapes. We have then the
+Solfaterra, which was certainly a Volcano, and has ceased erupting, for
+want of metallic particles, and over-abounding with sulphur. You may
+trace its lavas into the sea. We have the Lago d'Averno and the Lago
+d'Agnano, both of which were formerly Volcanos; and Astroni, which still
+retains its form more than any of these. Its crater is walled round, and
+his Sicilian Majesty takes the diversion of boar-hunting in this
+Volcano; and neither his Majesty nor any one of his Court ever dreamt of
+its former state. We have then that curious mountain, called Montagno
+Nuovo, near Puzzole, which rose, in one night, out of the Lucrine Lake;
+it is about a hundred and fifty feet high, and three miles round. I do
+not think it more extraordinary, that Mount Vesuvius, in many ages,
+should rise above two thousand feet; when this mountain, as is well
+attested, rose in one night, no longer ago than the <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</a></span>year 1538. I have a
+project, next spring, of passing some days at Puzzole, and of dissecting
+this mountain, taking its measures, and making drawings of its stratas;
+for, I perceive, it is composed of stratas, like Mount Vesuvius, but
+without lavas. As this mountain is so undoubtedly formed intirely from a
+plain, I should think my project may give light into the formation of
+many other mountains, that are at present thought to have been original,
+and are certainly not so, if their strata correspond with those of the
+Montagno Nuovo. I should be glad to know whether you think this project
+of mine will be useful; and, if you do, the result of my observations
+may be the subject of another letter<a name="FNanchor_16_16" id="FNanchor_16_16"></a><a href="#Footnote_16_16" class="fnanchor">[16]</a>.</p>
+
+<p>I cannot have a greater pleasure than to employ my leisure hours in what
+may be of some little use to mankind; and my lot has carried me into a
+country, which <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</a></span>affords an ample field for observation. Upon the whole,
+if I was to establish a system, it would be, that <i>Mountains are
+produced by Volcanos, and not Volcanos by Mountains</i>.</p>
+
+<p>I fear I have tired you; but the subject of Volcanos is so favourite a
+one with me, that it has led me on I know not how: I shall only add,
+that Vesuvius is quiet at present, though very hot at top, where there
+is a deposition of boiling sulphur. The lava that ran in the Fossa
+Grande during the last eruption, and is at least two hundred feet thick,
+is not yet cool; a stick, put into its crevices, takes fire immediately.
+On the sides of the crevices are fine crystalline salts: as they are the
+pure salts, which exhale from the lava that has no communication with
+the interiour of the mountain, they may perhaps indicate the composition
+of the lava.</p>
+
+<p>I have done. Let me only thank you for the kind offers and expressions
+in your letter, and for the care you have had in <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</a></span>setting off my present
+to the Museum to the best advantage; of which I have been told from many
+quarters.</p>
+
+<p class="letterindent">
+I am,<br />
+<span class="smcap">Sir</span>,<br />
+Your most obedient<br />
+humble servant,<br />
+<br />
+<span class="smcap">W. Hamilton</span>.<br />
+</p>
+
+
+
+<hr class="chap" /><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="LETTER_IV" id="LETTER_IV"></a>LETTER IV.</h2>
+
+<p>To <span class="smcap">Mathew Maty</span>, M. D. Secretary to the Royal <span class="smcap">Society</span>.</p>
+
+<p>An Account of a Journey to <span class="smcap">Mount Etna</span>.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Artificis natur� ingens opus aspice, nulla<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">"Tu tanta humanis rebus spectacula cernes."<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p class="letterindent">
+<span class="smcap">P. Cornelii Severi</span> <i>�tna</i>.<br />
+</p>
+
+
+<p class="letterindent" style="margin-top:2em;">
+Naples, Oct. 17, 1769.<br />
+</p>
+
+<p>SIR,</p>
+
+<p>Encouraged by the assurances you give me, in your last obliging letter
+of the 15th of June, that any new communication upon the subject of
+Volcano's would be received with satisfaction by the Royal Society; I
+venture to send you the following account of my late observations upon
+Mount Etna, which you are at liberty to lay before our respectable
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</a></span>Society, should you think it worth its notice. [See <a href="#PLATE_4">Plate IV.</a>]</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter"><a name="PLATE_4" id="PLATE_4"></a>
+<i>Plate IV.</i><br />
+<a href="images/plate4.jpg"><img src="images/plate4thumb.jpg" alt="" /></a><br />
+A View of <span class="smcap">Mount �tna</span> from Taormina.</div>
+
+<p>After having examined with much attention the operations of Mount
+Vesuvius, during the five years that I have had the honour of residing
+as his Majesty's Minister at this Court, and after having carefully
+remarked the nature of the soil for fifteen miles round this capital; I
+am, in my own mind, well convinced that the whole of it has been formed
+by explosion. Many of the craters, from whence this matter has issued,
+are still visible; such as the Solfaterra near Puzzole, the lake of
+Agnano, and near this lake a mountain composed of burnt matter, that has
+a very large crater surrounded with a wall, to inclose the wild boars
+and deer, that are kept there for the diversion of his Sicilian Majesty;
+it is called Astruni: the Monte Nuovo, thrown up from the bottom of the
+Lucrine lake<a name="FNanchor_17_17" id="FNanchor_17_17"></a><a href="#Footnote_17_17" class="fnanchor">[17]</a> in the year 1538, <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</a></span>which has likewise its crater; and
+the lake of Averno. The islands of Nisida and Procida are entirely
+composed of burnt matter; the island of Ischia is likewise composed of
+lava, pumice, and burnt matter; and there are in that island several
+visible craters, from one of which, no longer ago than the year 1303,
+there issued a lava, which ran into the sea, and is still in the same
+barren state as the modern lavas of Vesuvius. After having, I say, been
+accustomed to these observations, I was well prepared to visit the most
+ancient, and perhaps the most considerable, Volcano that exists; and I
+had the satisfaction of being thoroughly convinced there, of the
+formation of very considerable mountains by meer explosion, having seen
+many such on the sides of Etna, as will be related hereafter.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</a></span></p><p>On the 24th of June last, in the afternoon, I left Catania, a town
+situated at the foot of Mount Etna, or, as it is now called,
+Mon-Gibello, in company with Lord Fortrose and the Canonico Recupero, an
+ingenious priest of Catania, who is the only person there that is
+acquainted with the mountain: he is actually employed in writing its
+natural history; but, I fear, will not be able to compass so great and
+useful an undertaking, for want of proper encouragement.</p>
+
+<p>We passed through the inferior district of the mountain, called by its
+inhabitants La Regione Piemontese. It is well watered, exceedingly
+fertile, and abounding with vines and other fruit trees, where the lava,
+or, as it is called there, the <i>sciara</i>, has had time to soften, and
+gather soil sufficient for vegetation, which, I am convinced from many
+observations, unless assisted by art, does not come to pass for many
+ages<a name="FNanchor_18_18" id="FNanchor_18_18"></a><a href="#Footnote_18_18" class="fnanchor">[18]</a>, perhaps a thousand years <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</a></span>or more; the circuit of this lower
+region, forming the basis of the great Volcano, is upwards of one
+hundred Italian miles. The vines of Etna are kept low, quite the reverse
+of those on the borders of Vesuvius; and they produce a stronger wine,
+but not in so great abundance. The Piemontese district is covered with
+towns, villages, monasteries, &amp;c. and is well peopled, notwithstanding
+the danger of such a situation. Catania, so often destroyed by eruptions
+of Etna, and totally overthrown by an earthquake towards the end <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</a></span>of the
+last century<a name="FNanchor_19_19" id="FNanchor_19_19"></a><a href="#Footnote_19_19" class="fnanchor">[19]</a>, has been re-built within these fifty years, and is now
+a considerable town, with at least thirty-five thousand inhabitants. I
+do not wonder at the seeming security with which these parts are
+inhabited, having been so long witness to the same near Mount Vesuvius.
+The operations of Nature are slow: great eruptions do not frequently
+happen; each flatters himself it will not happen in his time, or, if it
+should, that his tutelar saint will turn away the destructive lava from
+his grounds; and indeed the great fertility in the neighbourhoods of
+Volcanos tempts people to inhabit them.</p>
+
+<p>In about four hours of gradual ascent, we arrived at a little convent of
+Benedictine monks, called St. Nicolo dell' Arena, about thirteen miles
+from Catania, <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</a></span>and within a mile of the Volcano from whence issued the
+last very great eruption in the year 1669; a circumstantial account of
+which was sent to our court by a Lord Winchelsea, who happened to be
+then at Catania in his way home, from his embassy at Constantinople. His
+Lordship's account is curious, and was printed in London soon after; I
+saw a copy of it at Palermo, in the library of the Prince
+Torremuzzo<a name="FNanchor_20_20" id="FNanchor_20_20"></a><a href="#Footnote_20_20" class="fnanchor">[20]</a>. We slept <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</a></span>in the Benedictines convent the night of the
+24th, and passed the next morning in <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</a></span>observing the ravage made by the
+abovementioned terrible eruption, over the rich <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</a></span>country of the
+Piemontese. The lava burst out of a vineyard within a mile of <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</a></span>St.
+Nicolo, and, by frequent explosions of stones and ashes, raised there a
+mountain, which, as near as I can judge, having ascended it, is not less
+than half a mile <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</a></span>perpendicular in height, and is certainly at least
+three miles in circumference at its basis. The lava that ran from it,
+and on which there are as yet no signs of vegetation, is fourteen miles
+in length, and in many parts six in breadth; it reached Catania, and
+destroyed part of its walls, buried an amphitheatre, an aqueduct, and
+many other monuments of its ancient grandeur, which till then had
+resisted the hand of Time, and ran a considerable length into the sea,
+so as to have once formed a beautiful and safe harbour; but it was soon
+after filled up by a fresh torrent of the same inflamed matter: a
+circumstance the Catanians lament to this day, as they are without a
+port. There has been no such eruption since, though there are signs of
+many, more terrible, that have preceded it.</p>
+
+<p>For two or three miles round the mountain raised by this eruption, all
+is barren, and covered with ashes; this ground, as well as the mountain
+itself, will in time <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</a></span>certainly be as fertile as many other mountains in
+its neighbourhood, that have been likewise formed by explosion. If the
+dates of these explosions could be ascertained, it would be very
+curious, and mark the progress of time with respect to the return of
+vegetation, as the mountains raised by them are in different states;
+those which I imagine to be the most modern are covered with ashes only;
+others of an older date, with small plants and herbs; and the most
+ancient, with the largest timber-trees I ever saw: but I believe the
+latter are so very ancient, as to be far out of the reach of history. At
+the foot of the mountain, raised by the eruption of the year 1669, there
+is a hole, through which, by means of a rope, we descended into several
+subterraneous caverns, branching out and extending much farther and
+deeper than we chose to venture; the cold there being excessive, and a
+violent wind frequently extinguishing some of our torches. These caverns
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</a></span>undoubtedly contained the lava that issued forth, and extended, as I
+said before, quite to Catania. There are many of these subterraneous
+cavities known, on other parts of Etna; such as that called by the
+peasants La Baracca Vecchia, another La Spelonca della Palomba (from the
+wild pigeons building their nests therein), and the cavern Thalia,
+mentioned by Boccaccio. Some of them are made use of as magazines for
+snow; the whole island of Sicily and Malta being supplied with this
+essential article (in a hot climate) from Mount Etna. Many more would be
+found, I dare say, if searched for, particularly near and under the
+craters from whence great lavas have issued, as the immense quantities
+of such matter we see above ground, must necessarily suppose very great
+hollows underneath.</p>
+
+<p>After having passed the morning of the 25th in these observations, we
+proceeded through the second or middle region of <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</a></span>Etna, called La
+Selvosa, <i>the woody</i>, than which nothing can be more beautiful. On every
+side are mountains, or fragments of mountains, that have been thrown up
+by various ancient explosions; there are some near as high as Mount
+Vesuvius; one in particular (as the Canon our guide assured me, having
+measured it) is little less than one mile in perpendicular height, and
+five in circumference at its basis. They are all more or less covered,
+even within their craters, as well as the rich vallies between them,
+with the largest oak, chesnut, and firr trees, I ever saw any where; and
+indeed it is from hence chiefly, that his Sicilian Majesty's dockyards
+are supplied with timber. As this part of Etna was famous for its timber
+in the time of the Tyrants of Syracusa, and as it requires the great
+length of time I have already mentioned before the matter is fit for
+vegetation, we may conceive the great age of this respectable Volcano.
+The chesnut-trees predominated in the <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</a></span>parts through which we passed,
+and, though of a very great size, are not to be compared to some on
+another part of the Regione Selvosa, called Carpinetto. I have been told
+by many, and particularly by our guide, who had measured the largest
+there, called La Castagna Cento Cavalli, that it is upwards of
+twenty-eight Neapolitan canes in circumference. Now as a Neapolitan cane
+is two yards and half a quarter, English measure, you may judge, Sir, of
+the immense size of this famous tree<a name="FNanchor_21_21" id="FNanchor_21_21"></a><a href="#Footnote_21_21" class="fnanchor">[21]</a>. It is hollow from age, but
+there is another near it almost as large and sound. As it would have
+required a journey of two days to have visited this extraordinary tree,
+and the weather being already very hot, I did not see it. It is <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</a></span>amazing
+to me, that trees should flourish in so shallow a soil; for they cannot
+penetrate deep without meeting with a rock of lava; and indeed great
+part of the roots of the large trees we passed by are above ground, and
+have acquired, by the impression of the air, a bark like that of their
+branches. In this part of the mountain, are the finest horned cattle in
+Sicily; we remarked in general, that the horns of the Sicilian cattle
+are near twice the size of any we had ever seen; the cattle themselves
+are of the common size. We passed by the lava of the last eruption in
+the year 1766, which has destroyed above four miles square of the
+beautiful wood abovementioned. The mountain raised by this eruption
+abounds with sulphur and salts, exactly resembling those of Vesuvius;
+specimens of which I sent some time ago to the late Lord Morton.</p>
+
+<p>In about five hours from the time we had left the convent of St. Nicolo
+dell' <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</a></span>Arena, we arrived at the borders of the third region, called La
+Netta, or Scoperta, <i>clean</i> or <i>uncovered</i>, where we found a very sharp
+air indeed; so that, in the same day, the four seasons of the year were
+sensibly felt by us, on this mountain; excessive summer heats in the
+Piemontese, spring and autumn temperature in the middle, and extreme
+cold of winter in the upper region. I could perceive, as we approached
+the latter, a gradual decrease of vegetation; and from large timber
+trees we came to the small shrubs and plants of the northern climates: I
+observed quantities of juniper and tanzey; our guide told us that later
+in the season there are numberless curious plants here, and that in some
+parts there are rhubarb and saffron in plenty. In Carrera's History of
+Catania, there is a list of all the plants and herbs of Etna in
+alphabetical order.</p>
+
+<p>Night coming on, we here pitched a tent, and made a good fire, which was
+very necessary; for without it, and very warm <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</a></span>cloathing, we should
+surely have perished with cold; and at one of the clock in the morning
+of the 26th, we pursued our journey towards the great crater. We passed
+over vallies of snow, that never melts, except there is an eruption of
+lava from the upper crater, which scarcely ever happens; the great
+eruptions are usually from the middle region, the inflamed matter
+finding (as I suppose) its passage through some weak part, long before
+it can rise to the excessive height of the upper region, the great mouth
+on the summit only serving as a common chimney to the Volcano. In many
+places the snow is covered with a bed of ashes, thrown out of the
+crater, and the sun melting it in some parts makes this ground
+treacherous; but as we had with us, besides our guide, a peasant well
+accustomed to these vallies, we arrived safe at the foot of the little
+mountain of ashes that crowns Etna, about an hour before the rising of
+the sun. This mountain is situated in a gently inclining <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</a></span>plain of about
+nine miles in circumference; it is about a quarter of a mile
+perpendicular in height, very steep, but not quite so steep as Vesuvius;
+it has been thrown up within these twenty-five or thirty years, as many
+people at Catania have told me they remembered when there was only a
+large chasm or crater, in the midst of the abovementioned plain. Till
+now, the ascent had been so gradual (for the top of Etna is not less
+than thirty miles from Catania, from whence the ascent begins) as not to
+have been the least fatiguing; and if it had not been for the snow, we
+might have rode upon our mules to the very foot of the little mountain,
+higher than which the Canon our guide had never been: but as I saw that
+this little mountain was composed in the same manner as the top of
+Vesuvius, which, notwithstanding the smoak issuing from every pore, is
+solid and firm, I made no scruple of going up to the edge of the crater;
+and my companions followed. The <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</a></span>steep ascent, the keenness of the air,
+the vapours of the sulphur, and the violence of the wind, which obliged
+us several times to throw ourselves flat upon our faces to avoid being
+overturned by it, made this latter part of our expedition rather
+inconvenient and disagreeable. Our guide, by way of comfort, assured us,
+that there was generally much more wind in the upper region at this
+time.</p>
+
+<p>Soon after we had seated ourselves on the highest point of Etna, the sun
+arose, and displayed a scene that indeed passes all description. The
+horizon lighting up by degrees, we discovered the greatest part of
+Calabria, and the sea on the other side of it; the Phare of Messina, the
+Lipari Islands; Stromboli, with its smoaking top, though at above
+seventy miles distance, seemed to be just under our feet; we saw the
+whole island of Sicily, its rivers, towns, harbours, &amp;c. as if we had
+been looking on a map. The island of Malta is low ground, and there was
+a haziness <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</a></span>in that part of the horizon, so that we could not discern
+it; our guide assured us, he had seen it distinctly at other times,
+which I can believe, as in other parts of the horizon, that were not
+hazy, we saw to a much greater distance; besides, we had a clear view of
+Etna's top from our ship, as we were going into the mouth of the harbour
+of Malta some weeks before; in short, as I have since measured on a good
+chart, we took in at one view a circle of above nine hundred English
+miles. The pyramidal shadow of the mountain reached across the whole
+island, and far into the sea on the other side. I counted from hence
+forty-four little mountains (little I call them in comparison of their
+mother Etna, though they would appear great any where else) in the
+middle region on the Catania side, and many others on the other side of
+the mountain, all of a conical form, and each having its crater; many
+with timber trees flourishing both within and without their craters.
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</a></span>The points of those mountains that I imagine to be the most ancient are
+blunted, and the craters of course more extensive and less deep than
+those of the mountains formed by explosions of a later date, and which
+preserve their pyramidal form entire. Some have been so far mouldered
+down by time, as to have no other appearance of a crater than a sort of
+dimple or hollow on their rounded tops, others with only half or a third
+part of their cone standing; the parts that are wanting having mouldered
+down, or perhaps been detached from them by earthquakes, which are here
+very frequent. All however have been evidently raised by explosion; and
+I believe, upon examination, many of the whimsical shapes of mountains
+in other parts of the world would prove to have been occasioned by the
+same natural operations. I observed that these mountains were generally
+in lines or ridges; they have mostly a fracture on one side, the same as
+in the little <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</a></span>mountains raised by explosion on the sides of Vesuvius,
+of which there are eight or nine. This fracture is occasioned by the
+lava's forcing its way out, which operation I have described in my
+account of the last eruption of Vesuvius. Whenever I shall meet with a
+mountain, in any part of the world, whose form is regularly conical,
+with a hollow crater on its top, and one side broken, I shall be apt to
+decide such a mountain's having been formed by an eruption; as both on
+Etna and Vesuvius the mountains formed by explosion are without
+exception according to this description. But to return to my narrative.</p>
+
+<p>After having feasted our eyes with the glorious prospect above-mentioned
+(for which, as Spartian tells us, the Emperor Adrian was at the trouble
+of ascending Etna), we looked into the great crater, which, as near as
+we could judge, is about two miles and a half in circumference; we did
+not think it safe to go round and <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</a></span>measure it, as some parts seemed to
+be very tender ground. The inside of the crater, which is incrusted with
+salts and sulphurs like that of Vesuvius, is in the form of an inverted
+hollow cone, and its depth nearly answers to the height of the little
+mountain that crowns the great Volcano. The smoak, issuing abundantly
+from the sides and bottom, prevented our seeing quite down; but the wind
+clearing away the smoak from time to time, I saw this inverted cone
+contracted almost to a point; and, from repeated observations, I dare
+say, that in all Volcanos, the depth of the craters will be found to
+correspond nearly to the height of the conical mountains of cinders
+which usually crown them; in short, I look upon the craters as a sort of
+suspended funnels, under which are vast caverns and abysses. The
+formation of such conical mountains with their craters are easily
+accounted for, by the fall of the stones, cinders, and ashes, emitted at
+the time of an eruption.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</a></span></p><p>The smoak of Etna, though very sulphureous, did not appear to me so
+fetid and disagreeable as that of Vesuvius; but our guide told me, that
+its quality varies, as I know that of Vesuvius does, according to the
+quality of the matter then in motion within. The air was so very pure
+and keen in the whole upper region of Etna, and particularly in the most
+elevated parts of it, that we had a difficulty in respiration, and that,
+independent of the sulphureous vapour. I brought two barometers and a
+thermometer with me from Naples, intending to have left one with a
+person at the foot of the mountain, whilst we made our observation with
+the other, at sun-rising, on the summit; but one barometer was unluckily
+spoilt at sea, and I could find no one expert enough at Catania to
+repair it: what is extraordinary, I do not recollect having seen a
+barometer in any part of Sicily. At the foot of Etna, the 24th, when we
+made our first observation, the quicksilver <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</a></span>stood at 27 degrees 4
+lines; and the 26th, at the most elevated point of the Volcano, it was
+at 18 degrees 10 lines. The thermometer, on the first observation at the
+foot of the mountain was at 84 degrees, and on the second at the crater
+at 56<a name="FNanchor_22_22" id="FNanchor_22_22"></a><a href="#Footnote_22_22" class="fnanchor">[22]</a>. The weather had not changed <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</a></span>in any respect, and was equally
+fine and clear, the 24th and 26th. We found it difficult to manage our
+barometer in the extreme cold and high wind on the top of Etna; but,
+from the most exact observations we could make in our circumstances, the
+result was as abovementioned. The Canon assured me, that the
+perpendicular height of Mount Etna is something more than three Italian
+miles, and I verily believe it is so.</p>
+
+<p>After having passed at least three hours on the crater, we descended,
+and went to a rising ground, about a mile distant from the upper
+mountain we had just left, and saw there some remains of the foundation
+of an ancient building; it is of brick, and seems to have been
+ornamented with white marble, many fragments of which are scattered
+about. It is called the Philosopher's Tower, and is said to have been
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</a></span>inhabited by Empedocles. As the ancients used to sacrifice to the
+celestial gods on the top of Etna<a name="FNanchor_23_23" id="FNanchor_23_23"></a><a href="#Footnote_23_23" class="fnanchor">[23]</a>, it may very well be the ruin of a
+temple that served for that purpose. From hence we went a little further
+over the inclined plain abovementioned, and saw the evident marks of a
+dreadful torrent of hot water, that came out of the great crater at the
+time of an eruption of lava in the year 1755, and upon which ph�nomenon
+the Canonico Recupero, our guide, has published a dissertation. Luckily
+this torrent did not take its course over the inhabited parts of the
+mountain; as a like accident on Mount Vesuvius in 1631 swept away some
+towns and villages in its neighbourhood, with thousands of their
+inhabitants. The common received opinion is, that these <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</a></span>eruptions of
+water proceed from the Volcanos having a communication with the sea; but
+I rather believe them to proceed merely from depositions of rain water
+in some of the inward cavities of them. We likewise saw from hence the
+whole course of ancient lava, the most considerable as to its extent of
+any known here; it ran into the sea near Taormina, which is not less
+than thirty miles from the crater whence it issued, and is in many parts
+fifteen miles in breadth. As the lavas of Etna are very commonly fifteen
+and twenty miles in length, six or seven in breadth, and fifty feet or
+more in depth; you may judge, Sir, of the prodigious quantities of
+matter emitted in a great eruption of this mountain, and of the vast
+cavities there must necessarily be within its bowels. The most extensive
+lavas of Vesuvius do not exceed seven miles in length. The operations of
+nature on the one mountain and the other are certainly the same; but on
+Mount Etna, all are upon a great <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</a></span>scale. As to the nature and quality of
+their lavas, they are much the same; but I think those of Etna rather
+blacker, and in general more porous, than those of Vesuvius. In the
+parts of Etna that we went over, I saw no stratas of pumice stones,
+which are frequent near Vesuvius, and cover the ancient city of Pompeii;
+but our guide told us, that there are such in other parts of the
+mountain. I saw some stratas of what is called here <i>tufa</i>; it is the
+same that covers Herculaneum, and that composes most of the high grounds
+about Naples; it is, upon examination, a mixture of small pumice stones,
+ashes, and fragments of lava, which is by time hardened into a sort of
+stone<a name="FNanchor_24_24" id="FNanchor_24_24"></a><a href="#Footnote_24_24" class="fnanchor">[24]</a>. In short, I found, with respect to the matter erupted,
+nothing on Mount Etna that Vesuvius does not produce; and there
+certainly is a much greater variety in the erupted matter and lavas of
+the latter, <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</a></span>than of the former; both abound with pyrites and
+crystallizations, or rather vitrifications. The sea shore at the foot of
+Etna, indeed, abounds with amber, of which there is none found at the
+foot of Vesuvius. At present there is a much greater quantity of sulphur
+and salts on the top of Vesuvius than on that of Etna; but this
+circumstance varies according to the degree of fermentation within; and
+our guide assured me, he had seen greater quantities on Etna at other
+times. In our way back to Catania, the Canon shewed me a little hill,
+covered with vines, which belonged to the Jesuits, and, as is well
+attested, was undermined by the lava in the year 1669, and transported
+half a mile from the place where it stood, without having damaged the
+vines.</p>
+
+<p>In great eruptions of Etna, the same sort of lightning, as described in
+my account of the last eruption of Vesuvius, has been frequently seen to
+issue from <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</a></span>the smoak of its great crater. The antients took notice of
+the same ph�nomenon; for Seneca (lib. ii. Nat. Qu�st.) says,&mdash;"�tna
+aliquando multo igne abundavit, ingentem vim aren� urentis effudit,
+involutus est dies pulvere, populosque subita nox terruit, <i>illo tempore
+aiunt plurima fuisse tonitrua et fulmina</i>."</p>
+
+<p>Till the year 252 of Christ, the chronological accounts of the eruptions
+of Etna are very imperfect: but as the veil of St. Agatha was in that
+year first opposed to check the violence of the torrents of lava, and
+has ever since been produced at the time of great eruptions; the
+miracles attributed to its influence, having been carefully recorded by
+the priests, have at least preserved the dates of such eruptions. The
+relicks of St. Januarius have rendered the same service to the lovers of
+natural history, by recording the great eruptions of Vesuvius. I find,
+by the dates of the eruptions of Etna, that it is as irregular <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</a></span>and
+uncertain in its operations as Vesuvius<a name="FNanchor_25_25" id="FNanchor_25_25"></a><a href="#Footnote_25_25" class="fnanchor">[25]</a>. The last eruption was in
+1766.</p>
+
+<p>On our return from Messina to Naples, we were becalmed three days in the
+midst of the Lipari islands, by which we had an opportunity of seeing
+that they have all been evidently formed by explosion<a name="FNanchor_26_26" id="FNanchor_26_26"></a><a href="#Footnote_26_26" class="fnanchor">[26]</a>; <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</a></span>one of them,
+called Vulcano, is in the same state as the Solfaterra. Stromboli is a
+Volcano, existing in all its force, and, in its form of course, is the
+most pyramidal of all the Lipari Islands; we saw it throw up red hot
+stones from its crater frequently, and some small streams of lava issued
+from its side, and ran into the sea<a name="FNanchor_27_27" id="FNanchor_27_27"></a><a href="#Footnote_27_27" class="fnanchor">[27]</a>. This Volcano differs from Etna
+and Vesuvius, by its continually emitting fire, and seldom any lava;
+notwithstanding its continual explosions, this island is inhabited, on
+one side, by about an hundred families.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter"><a name="PLATE_5" id="PLATE_5"></a>
+<i>Plate V.</i><br />
+<a href="images/plate5.jpg"><img src="images/plate5thumb.jpg" alt="" /></a><br />
+<span class="smcap">Stromboli</span>, one of the <span class="smcap">Lipari Islands</span>.</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</a></span></p><p>These, as well as I can recollect, are all the observations that I made
+with respect to Volcanos, in may late curious tour of Sicily; and I
+shall be very happy should the communication of them afford you, or any
+of our countrymen (lovers of natural history) satisfaction or
+entertainment.</p>
+
+<p class="letterindent">
+I am,<br />
+<span class="smcap">Sir</span>,<br />
+With great regard and esteem,<br />
+Your most obedient<br />
+humble servant,<br />
+<br />
+<span class="smcap">W. Hamilton</span>.<br />
+</p>
+
+
+
+<hr class="chap" /><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="LETTER_V" id="LETTER_V"></a>LETTER V.</h2>
+
+<p>To <span class="smcap">Mathew Maty</span>, M. D. Secretary to the Royal <span class="smcap">Society</span>.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Remarks</span> upon the <span class="smcap">Nature</span> of the <span class="smcap">Soil</span> of <span class="smcap">Naples</span>, and its Neighbourhood.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>"Mille miracula movet saciemque mutat locis, et defert montes,
+subrigit plana, valles extuberat novas, in profundo insulas
+eregit." </p></blockquote>
+
+<p class="letterindent">
+<span class="smcap">Seneca</span>, De Terra-motu.<br />
+</p>
+
+
+<p class="letterindent">
+Naples, Oct. 16, 1770.<br />
+</p>
+
+<p>SIR,</p>
+
+<p>According to your desire, I lose no time in sending you such further
+remarks as I have been making with some diligence, for six years past,
+in the compass of twenty miles, or more, round this capital. By
+accompanying these remarks with a map of the country I describe [<a href="#PLATE_6"><span class="smcap">Plate
+VI.</span></a>], and with the specimens of different matters <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</a></span>that compose the most
+remarkable spots of it, I do not doubt but that I shall convince you, as
+I am myself convinced, that the whole circuit (so far as I have
+examined) within the boundaries marked in the map is wholly and totally
+the production of subterraneous fires; and that most probably the sea
+formerly reached the mountains that lie behind Capua and Caserta, and
+are a continuation of the Appenines. If I may be allowed to compare
+small things with great, I imagine the subterraneous fires to have
+worked in this country, under the bottom of the sea, as moles in a
+field, throwing up here and there a hillock; and that the matter thrown
+out of some of these hillocks, formed into settled Volcanos, filling up
+the space between one and the other, has composed this part of the
+continent, and many of the islands adjoining.</p>
+
+<p>From the observations I have made upon Mount Etna, Vesuvius, and its
+neighbourhood, <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</a></span>I dare say, that, after a careful examination, most
+mountains, that are or have been Volcanos, would be found to owe their
+existence to subterraneous fire; the direct reverse of what I find the
+commonly received opinion.</p>
+
+<p>Nature, though varied, is certainly in general uniform in her
+operations; and I cannot conceive that two such considerable Volcanos as
+Etna and Vesuvius should have been formed otherwise than every other
+considerable Volcano of the known world. I do not wonder that so little
+progress has been made in the improvement of natural history, and
+particularly in that branch of it which regards the theory of earth;
+Nature acts slowly, it is difficult to catch her in the fact. Those who
+have made this subject their study have, without scruple, undertaken at
+once to write the natural history of a whole province, or of an entire
+continent; not reflecting, that the longest life of man <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</a></span>scarcely
+affords him time to give a perfect one of the smallest insect.</p>
+
+<p>I am sensible of what I undertake in giving you, Sir, even a very
+imperfect account of the nature of the soil of a little more than twenty
+miles round Naples: yet I flatter myself that my remarks, such as they
+are, may be of some use to any one hereafter, who may have leisure and
+inclination to follow them up. The kingdom of the Two Sicilies offers
+certainly the fairest field for observations of this kind, of any in the
+whole world; here are Volcanos existing in their full force, some on
+their decline, and others totally extinct.</p>
+
+<p>To begin with some degree of order, which is really difficult in the
+variety of matter that occurs to my mind, I will first mention the basis
+on which I found all my conjectures. It is the nature of the soil that
+covers the antient towns of Herculaneum and Pompeii, and the interior
+and exterior form of the new mountain, <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</a></span>near Puzzole, with the sort of
+materials of which it is composed. It cannot be denied, that Herculaneum
+and Pompeii stood once above ground; though now, the former is in no
+part less than seventy feet, and in some parts one hundred and twelve
+feet, below the present surface of the earth; and the latter is buried
+ten or twelve feet deep, more or less. As we know from the very accurate
+account given by Pliny the younger to Tacitus, and from the accounts of
+other contemporary authors, that these towns were buried by an eruption
+of Mount Vesuvius in the time of Titus; it must be allowed, that
+whatever matter lies between these cities and the present surface of the
+earth over them, must have been produced since the year 79 of the
+Christian �ra, the date of that formidable eruption.</p>
+
+<p>Pompeii, which is situated at a much greater distance from the Volcano
+than Herculaneum, has felt the effects of a single eruption only; it is
+covered with <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</a></span>white pumice stones, mixed with fragments of lava and
+burnt matter, large and small: the pumice is very light; but I have
+found some of the fragments of lava and cinders there, weighing eight
+pounds. I have often wondered, that such weighty bodies could have been
+carried to such a distance (for Pompeii cannot be less than five miles,
+in a strait line, from the mouth of Vesuvius). Every observation
+confirms the fall of this horrid shower over the unfortunate city of
+Pompeii, and that few of its inhabitants had dared to venture out of
+their houses; for in many of those which have been already cleared,
+skeletons have been found, some with gold rings, ear rings, and
+bracelets. I have been present at the discovery of several human
+skeletons myself; and under a vaulted arch, about two years ago, at
+Pompeii, I saw the bones of a man and a horse taken up, with the
+fragments of the horse's furniture, which had been ornamented with false
+gems set in bronze. The skulls of some <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</a></span>of the skeletons found in the
+streets had been evidently fractured by the fall of the stones. His
+Sicilian Majesty's excavations are confined to this spot at present; and
+the curious in antiquity may expect hereafter, from so rich a mine,
+ample matter for their dissertations: but I will confine myself to such
+observations only as relate to my present subject.</p>
+
+<p>Over the stratum of pumice and burnt matter that covers Pompeii, there
+is a stratum of good mould, of the thickness of about two feet and more
+in some parts, in which vines flourish, except in some particular spots
+of this vineyard, where they are subject to be blasted by a foul vapour,
+or <i>mofete</i>, as it is called here, that rises from beneath the burnt
+matter. The abovementioned shower of pumice stones, according to my
+observations, extended beyond Castel-a-mare (near which spot the ancient
+town of Stabia also lies buried under them) and covered a tract of
+country not less than thirty miles in circumference. <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</a></span>It was at Stabia
+that Pliny the elder lost his life, and this shower of pumice stones is
+well described in the younger Pliny's letter. Little of the matter that
+has issued from Vesuvius since that time, has reached these parts: but I
+must observe, that the pavement of the streets of Pompeii is of lava;
+nay, under the foundation of the town, there is a deep stratum of lava
+and burnt matter. These circumstances, with many others that will be
+related hereafter, prove, beyond a doubt, that there have been eruptions
+of Vesuvius previous to that of the year 79, which is the first recorded
+by history.</p>
+
+<p>The growth of soil by time is easily accounted for; and who, that has
+visited ruins of ancient edifices, has not often seen a flourishing
+shrub, in a good soil, upon the top of an old wall? I have remarked many
+such on the most considerable ruins at Rome and elsewhere. But from the
+soil which has grown over the barren pumice that covers Pompeii, I was
+enabled to make <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</a></span>a curious observation. Upon examining the cuts and
+hollow ways made by currents of water in the neighbourhood of Vesuvius
+and of other Volcanos, I had remarked that there lay frequently a
+stratum of rich soil, of more or less depth, between the matter produced
+by the explosion of succeeding eruptions<a name="FNanchor_28_28" id="FNanchor_28_28"></a><a href="#Footnote_28_28" class="fnanchor">[28]</a>; and I was naturally led to
+think, that such a stratum had grown in the same manner as the one
+abovementioned over the pumice of Pompeii. Where the stratum of good
+soil was thick, it was evident to me that many years had elapsed between
+one eruption and that which succeeded it. I do not pretend to say, that
+a just estimate can be formed of the great age of Volcanos from <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</a></span>this
+observation; but some sort of calculation might be made: for instance,
+should an explosion of pumice cover again the spot under which Pompeii
+is buried, the stratum of rich soil abovementioned would certainly lie
+between two beds of pumice; and if a like accident had happened a
+thousand years ago, the stratum of rich soil would as certainly have
+wanted much of its present thickness, as the rotting of vegetables,
+manure, &amp;c. is ever increasing a cultivated soil. Whenever I find then a
+succession of different strata of pumice and burnt matter, like that
+which covers Pompeii, intermixed with strata of rich soil, of greater or
+less depth, I hope I may be allowed reasonably to conclude, that the
+whole has been the production of a long series of eruptions, occasioned
+by subterraneous fire. By the size and weight of the pumice, and
+fragments of burnt erupted matter in these strata, it is easy to trace
+them up to their source, which I have done more than once in the
+neighbourhood <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</a></span>of Puzzole, where explosions have been frequent. The
+gradual decrease in the size and quantity of the erupted matter in the
+stratum abovementioned, from Pompeii to Castle-a-Mare, is very visible:
+at Pompeii, as I said before, I have found them of eight pounds weight,
+when at Castle-a-Mare the largest do not weigh an ounce.</p>
+
+<p>The matter which covers the ancient town of Herculaneum is not the
+produce of one eruption only; for there are evident marks that the
+matter of six eruptions has taken its course over that which lies
+immediately above the town, and was the cause of its destruction. These
+strata are either of lava or burnt matter, with veins of good soil
+between them. The stratum of erupted matter that immediately covers the
+town, and with which the theatre and most of the houses were filled, is
+not of that foul vitrified matter, called lava, but of a sort of soft
+stone, composed of pumice, ashes, and burnt matter. It is exactly of
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</a></span>the same nature with what is called here the Naples stone; the Italians
+distinguish it by the name of <i>tufa</i>, and it is in general use for
+building. Its colour is usually that of our free stone, but sometimes
+tinged with grey, green, and yellow; and the pumice stones, with which
+it ever abounds, are sometimes large, and sometimes small: it varies
+likewise in its degree of solidity.</p>
+
+<p>The chief article in the composition of <i>tufa</i> seems to me to be, that
+fine burnt material, which is called <i>puzzolane</i>, whose binding quality
+and utility by way of cement are mentioned by Vitruvius<a name="FNanchor_29_29" id="FNanchor_29_29"></a><a href="#Footnote_29_29" class="fnanchor">[29]</a>, and <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</a></span>which
+is to be met with only in countries that have been subject to
+subterraneous <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</a></span>fires. It is, I believe, a sort of lime prepared by
+nature. This, mixed with water, great or small pumice stones, fragments
+of lava, and burnt matter, may naturally be supposed to harden into a
+stone of this kind<a name="FNanchor_30_30" id="FNanchor_30_30"></a><a href="#Footnote_30_30" class="fnanchor">[30]</a>; and, as water frequently attends eruptions of
+fire, as will be seen in the accounts I shall give of the formation of
+the new mountain near Puzzole, I am convinced <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</a></span>the first matter that
+issued from Vesuvius, and covered Herculaneum, was in the state of
+liquid mud. A circumstance strongly favouring my opinion is, that, about
+two years ago, I saw the head of an antique statue dug out of this
+matter within the theatre of Herculaneum; the impression of its face
+remains to this day in the <i>tufa</i>, and might serve as a mould for a cast
+in plaister of Paris, being as perfect as any mould I ever saw. As much
+may be inferred from the exact resemblance of this matter, or <i>tufa</i>,
+which immediately covers Herculaneum, to all the <i>tufas</i> of which the
+high grounds of Naples and its neighbourhood are composed. I detached a
+piece of it sticking to, and incorporated with, the painted stucco of
+the inside of the theatre of Herculaneum, and shall send it for your
+inspection<a name="FNanchor_31_31" id="FNanchor_31_31"></a><a href="#Footnote_31_31" class="fnanchor">[31]</a>. It is very different, as you will see, from the
+vitrified <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</a></span>matter called lava, by which it has been generally thought
+that Herculaneum was destroyed. The village of Resina and some villas
+stand at present above this unfortunate town.</p>
+
+<p>To account for the very great difference of the matters that cover
+Herculaneum and Pompeii, I have often thought that, in the eruption of
+79, the mountain must have been open in more than one place. A passage
+in Pliny's letter to Tacitus seems to say as much: "Interim � Vesuvio
+monte pluribus locis latissim� flamm�, atque incendia relucebant, quorum
+fulgor et claritas tenebras noctis pellebat:" so that very probably the
+matter that covers Pompeii proceeded from a mouth, or crater, much
+nearer to it than is the great mouth of the Volcano, from whence came
+the matter that covers Herculaneum. This matter might nevertheless be
+said to have proceeded from Vesuvius, just as the eruption in the year
+1760, which was quite independent of the great crater (being four <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</a></span>miles
+from it), is properly called an eruption of Vesuvius.</p>
+
+<p>In the beginning of eruptions, Volcanos frequently throw up water mixed
+with the ashes. Vesuvius did so in the eruption of 1631, according to
+the testimony of many contemporary writers. The same circumstance
+happened in 1669, according to the account of Ignazzio Sorrentino, who,
+by his history of Mount Vesuvius, printed at Naples in 1734, has shewn
+himself to have been a very accurate observer of the ph�nomena of the
+Volcano, for many years that he lived at Torre del Greco, situated at
+the foot of it. At the beginning of the formation of the new mountain,
+near Puzzole, water was mixed with the ashes thrown up, as will be seen
+in two very curious and particular accounts of the formation of that
+mountain, which I shall have the pleasure of communicating to you
+presently; and in 1755, Etna threw up a quantity of water in the
+beginning of an eruption, as is mentioned <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</a></span>in the letter I sent you last
+year upon the subject of that magnificent Volcano<a name="FNanchor_32_32" id="FNanchor_32_32"></a><a href="#Footnote_32_32" class="fnanchor">[32]</a>. Ulloa likewise
+mentions this circumstance of water attending the eruptions of Volcanos
+in America. Whenever therefore I find a <i>tufa</i> composed exactly like
+that which immediately covers Herculaneum, and undoubtedly proceeded
+from Vesuvius, I conclude such a <i>tufa</i> to have been produced by water
+mixing with the erupted matter at the time of an explosion occasioned by
+subterraneous fire; and this observation, I believe, will be of more use
+than any other, in pointing out those parts of the present <i>terra
+firma</i>, that have been formed by explosion. I am convinced, it has often
+happened that subterraneous fires and exhalations, after having been
+pent up and confined for some time, and been the cause of earthquakes,
+have forced their passage, and in venting themselves formed mountains of
+the matter that confined them, as you will see was the case <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</a></span>near
+Puzzole in the year 1538, and by evident signs has been so before, in
+many parts of the neighbourhood of Puzzole; without creating a regular
+Volcano. The materials of such mountains will have but little appearance
+of having been produced by fire, to any one unaccustomed to make
+observations upon the different nature of Volcanos.</p>
+
+<p>If it were allowed to make a comparison between the earth and a human
+body, one might consider a country replete with combustibles occasioning
+explosions (which is surely the case here) to be like a body full of
+humours. When these humours concentre in one part, and form a great
+tumour out of which they are discharged freely, the body is less
+agitated; but when, by any accident, the humours are checked, and do not
+find free passage through their usual channel, the body is agitated, and
+tumours appear in other parts of that body, but soon after the humours
+return again to their former channel. In a similar manner <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</a></span>one may
+conceive Vesuvius to be the present great channel, through which nature
+discharges some of the foul humours of the earth: when these humours are
+checked by any accident or stoppage in this channel for any considerable
+time, earthquakes will be frequent in its neighbourhood, and explosions
+may be apprehended even at some distance from it. This was the case in
+the year 1538, Vesuvius having been quiet for near 400 years. There was
+no eruption from its great crater, from the year 1139 to the great
+eruption of 1631, and the top of the mountain began to lose all signs of
+fire. As it is not foreign to my purpose, and will serve to shew how
+greatly they are mistaken, who place the seat of the fire in the centre,
+or towards the top, of a Volcano; I will give you a curious description
+of the state of the crater of Vesuvius, after having been free from
+eruption 492 years, as related by Bracini, who descended into it not
+long before the eruption of <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</a></span>1631: "The crater was five miles in
+circumference, and about a thousand paces deep; its sides were covered
+with brush wood, and at the bottom there was a plain on which cattle
+grazed. In the woody parts, boars frequently harboured; in the midst of
+the plain, within the crater, was a narrow passage, through which, by a
+winding path, you could descend about a mile amongst rocks and stones,
+till you came to another more spacious plain covered with ashes: in this
+plain were three little pools, placed in a triangular form, one towards
+the East, of hot water, corrosive and bitter beyond measure; another
+towards the West, of water salter than that of the sea; the third of hot
+water, that had no particular taste."</p>
+
+<p>The great increase of the cone of Vesuvius, from that time to this,
+naturally induces one to conclude, that the whole of the cone was raised
+in the like manner; and that the part of Vesuvius, called <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</a></span>Somma, which
+is now considered as a distinct mountain from it, was composed in the
+same manner. This may plainly be perceived, by examining its interior
+and exterior form, and the strata of lava and burnt matter of which it
+is composed. The ancients, in describing Vesuvius, never mention two
+mountains. Strabo, Dio, Vitruvius, all agree, that Vesuvius, in their
+time, shewed signs of having formerly erupted<a name="FNanchor_33_33" id="FNanchor_33_33"></a><a href="#Footnote_33_33" class="fnanchor">[33]</a>, and the first
+compares the <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</a></span>crater on its top to an amphitheatre. The mountain now
+called Somma was, I believe, that which the ancients called Vesuvius:
+its outside form is conical; its inside, instead of an amphitheatre, is
+now like a great theatre. I suppose the eruption in Pliny's time to have
+thrown down that part of the cone next the sea, which would naturally
+have left it in its present state; and that the conical mountain, or
+existing Vesuvius, has been raised by the succeeding eruptions: all my
+observations confirm this opinion. I have seen antient lavas in the
+plain on the other side of Somma, which could never have proceeded from
+the present Vesuvius. Serao, a celebrated physician now living at
+Naples, <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</a></span>in the introduction of his account of the eruption of Vesuvius
+in 1737 (in which account many of the ph�nomena of the Volcano are
+recorded and very well accounted for), says, that at the convent of
+Dominican Fryars, called the Madona del Arco, some years ago, in sinking
+a well, at a hundred feet depth, a lava was discovered, and soon after
+another; so that, in less than three hundred feet depth, the lavas of
+four eruptions were found. From the situation of this convent, it is
+clear beyond a doubt, that these lavas proceeded from the mountain
+called Somma, as they are quite out of the reach of the existing
+Volcano.</p>
+
+<p>From these circumstances, and from repeated observations I have made in
+the neighbourhood of Vesuvius, I am sure that no virgin soil is to be
+found there, and that all is composed of different strata of erupted
+matter, even to a great depth below the level of the sea. In short, I
+have not any doubt in my own mind, but that this Volcano <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</a></span>took its rise
+from the bottom of the sea; and as the whole plain between Vesuvius and
+the mountains behind Caserta, which is the best part of the Campagna
+Felice, is (under its good soil) composed of burnt matter, I imagine the
+sea to have washed the feet of those mountains, until the subterraneous
+fires began to operate, at a period certainly of a most remote
+antiquity.</p>
+
+<p>The soil of the Campagna Felice is very fertile; I saw the earth opened
+in many places last year in the midst of that plain, when they were
+seeking for materials to mend the road from Naples to Caserta. The
+stratum of good soil was in general four or five feet thick; under which
+was a deep stratum of cinders, pumice, fragments of lava, and such burnt
+matter as abounds near Vesuvius and all Volcanos. The mountains at the
+back of Caserta are mostly of a sort of lime-stone, and very different
+from those formed by fire; though Signior Van Vitelli, the celebrated
+architect, <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</a></span>has assured me, that, in the cutting of the famous aqueduct
+of Caserta through these mountains, he met with some soils, that had
+been evidently formed by subterraneous fire. The high grounds, which
+extend from Castel-a-Mare, to the point of Minerva towards the island of
+Caprea, and from the promontory that divides the bay of Naples from that
+of Salerno, are of lime-stone. The plain of Sorrento, that is bounded by
+these high grounds, beginning at the village of Vico, and ending at that
+of Massa, is wholly composed of the same sort of <i>tufa</i> as that about
+Naples, except that the cinders or pumice stones intermixed in it are
+larger than in the Naples <i>tufa</i>. I conceive then that there has been an
+explosion in this spot from the bottom of the sea. This plain, as I have
+remarked to be the case with all soils produced by subterraneous fire,
+is extremely fertile; whilst the ground about it, being of another
+nature, is not so. The island of Caprea does not shew any signs of
+having <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</a></span>been formed by subterraneous fire; but is of the same nature as
+the high grounds last mentioned, from which it has been probably
+detached by earthquakes, or the violence of the waves. Rovigliano, an
+island, or rather a rock, in the bay of Castel-a-Mare, is likewise of
+lime-stone, and seems to have belonged to the original mountains in its
+neighbourhood: in some of these mountains there are also petrified fish
+and fossil shells, which I never have found in the mountains which I
+suppose to have been formed by explosion<a name="FNanchor_34_34" id="FNanchor_34_34"></a><a href="#Footnote_34_34" class="fnanchor">[34]</a>.</p>
+
+<p>You have now, Sir, before you the nature of the soil, from Caprea to
+Naples. The soil on which this great metropolis stands has been
+evidently produced by explosions, <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</a></span>some of which seem to have been upon
+the very spot on which this city is built; all the high grounds round
+Naples, Pausilipo, Puzzole, Ba�a, Misenum, the islands of Procita and
+Ischia, appear to have been raised by explosion. You can trace still in
+many of these heights the conical shape that was naturally given them at
+first, and even the craters out of which the matter issued, though to be
+sure others of these heights have suffered such changes by the hand of
+time, that you can only conjecture that they were raised in the like
+manner, by their composition being exactly the same as that of those
+mountains which still retain their conical form and craters entire. A
+<i>tufa</i>, exactly resembling the specimen I took from the inside of the
+theatre of Herculaneum, layers of pumice intermixed with layers of good
+soil, just like those over Pompeii, and lavas like those of Vesuvius,
+compose the whole soil of the country that remains to be described.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</a></span></p><p>The famous grotto anciently cut through the mountain of Pausilipo, to
+make a road from Naples to Puzzole, gives you an opportunity of seeing
+that the whole of that mountain is <i>tufa</i>. The first evident crater you
+meet with, after you have passed the grotto of Pausilipo, is now the
+lake of Agnano; a small remain of the subterraneous fire (which must
+probably have made the bason for the lake, and raised the high grounds
+which form a sort of amphitheatre round it) serves to heat rooms, which
+the Neapolitans make great use of in summer, for carrying off diverse
+disorders, by a strong perspiration. This place is called the Sudatorio
+di San Germano; near the present bagnios, which are but poor little
+hovels, there are the ruins of a magnificent ancient bath. About an
+hundred paces from hence is the Grotto del Cane; I shall only mention,
+as a further proof of the probability that the lake of Agnano was a
+Volcano, that vapours of a pernicious quality, as that in the Grotto
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</a></span>del Cane, are frequently met with in the neighbourhood of Etna and
+Vesuvius, particularly at the time of, before, and after, great
+eruptions. The noxious vapour having continued in the same force
+constantly so many ages, as it has done in the Grotto del Cane (for
+Pliny mentions this Grotto<a name="FNanchor_35_35" id="FNanchor_35_35"></a><a href="#Footnote_35_35" class="fnanchor">[35]</a>), is indeed a circumstance in which it
+differs from the vapours near Vesuvius and Etna, which are not constant.
+The cone forming the outside of this supposed Volcano is still perfect
+in many parts.</p>
+
+<p>Opposite to the Grotto del Cane, and immediately joining to the lake,
+rises the <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</a></span>mountain called Astruni, which, having, as I imagine, been
+thrown up by an explosion of a much later date, retains the conical
+shape and every symptom of a Volcano in much greater perfection than
+that I have been describing. The crater of Astruni is surrounded with a
+wall, to confine boars and deers (this Volcano having been for many
+years converted to a royal chace). It may be about six miles or more in
+circumference: in the plain at the bottom of the crater are two lakes;
+and in some books there is mention made of a hot spring, which I never
+have been able to find. There are many huge rocks of lava within the
+crater of Astruni, and some I have met with also in that of Agnano; the
+cones of both these supposed Volcanos are composed of <i>tufa</i> and strata
+of loose pumice, fragments of lava and other burnt matter, exactly
+resembling the strata of Vesuvius. Bartholomeus Fatius, who wrote of the
+actions of King Alphonso the First (before the new mountain had been
+formed <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</a></span>near Puzzole), conjectured that Astruni had been a Volcano.
+These are his words: "Locus Neapoli quatuor millia passuum proximus,
+quem vulgo Listrones vocant, nos unum � Phlegr�is Campis ab ardore
+nuncupandum putamus." There is no entrance into the crater of either
+Astruni or Agnano, except one, evidently made by art, and they both
+exactly correspond with Strabo's description of Avernus; the same may be
+said of the Solfaterra and the Monte Gauro, or Barbaro as it is
+sometimes called, which I shall describe presently.</p>
+
+<p>Near Astruni and towards the sea rises the Solfaterra, which not only
+retains its cone and crater, but much of its former heat. In the plain
+within the crater, smoak issues from many parts, as also from its sides;
+here, by means of stones and tiles heaped over the crevices through
+which the smoak passes, they collect in an aukward manner what they call
+<i>sale armoniaco</i>; and from the sand of the plain they <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</a></span>extract sulphur
+and alum. This spot, well attended to, might certainly produce a good
+revenue, whereas I doubt if they have hitherto ever cleared 200<i>l.</i> a
+year by it. The hollow sound produced by throwing a heavy stone on the
+plain of the crater of the Solfaterra seems to indicate, that it is
+supported by a sort of arched natural vault; and one is induced to think
+that there is a pool of water beneath this vault (which boils by the
+heat of a subterraneous fire still deeper), by the very moist steam that
+issues from the cracks in the plain of the Solfaterra, which, like that
+of boiling water, runs off a sword or knife, presented to it, in great
+drops. On the outside, and at the foot of the cone of the Solfaterra,
+towards the lake of Agnano, water rushes out of the rocks, so hot, as to
+raise the quicksilver in Fahrenheit's thermometer to the degree of
+boiling water<a name="FNanchor_36_36" id="FNanchor_36_36"></a><a href="#Footnote_36_36" class="fnanchor">[36]</a>, <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</a></span>a fact of which I was myself an eye-witness. This
+place, well worthy the observation of the curious, has been taken little
+notice of; it is called the <i>Pisciarelli</i>. The common people of Naples
+have great faith in the efficacy of this water; and make much use of it
+in all cutaneous disorders, as well as for another disorder that
+prevails here. It seems to be impregnated chiefly with sulphur and alum.
+When you approach your ear to the rocks of the Pisciarelli, from whence
+this water ouzes, you hear a horrid boiling noise, which seems to
+proceed from the huge cauldron, that may be supposed to be under the
+plain of the Solfaterra. On the other side of the Solfaterra, next the
+sea, there is a rock, which has communicated with the sea, till part of
+it was cut away to make the road to Puzzole; this was undoubtedly a
+considerable <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</a></span>lava, that ran from the Solfaterra when it was an active
+Volcano. Under this rock of lava, which is more than seventy feet high,
+there is a stratum of pumice and ashes. This ancient lava is about a
+quarter of a mile broad; you meet with it abruptly before you come in
+sight of Puzzole, and it finishes as abruptly within about an hundred
+paces of the town. I have often thought that many quarries of stone,
+upon examination, would be found to owe their origin to the same cause,
+though time may have effaced all signs of the Volcano from whence they
+proceeded. Except this rock, which is evidently lava and full of
+vitrifications like that of Vesuvius, all the rocks upon the coast of
+Ba�a are of <i>tufa</i>.</p>
+
+<p>I have observed in the lava of Vesuvius and Etna, as in this, that the
+bottom, as well as the surface of it, was rough and porous, like the
+cinders or scori� from an iron foundery; and that for about a foot from
+the surface and from the bottom, <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</a></span>they were not near so solid and
+compact as towards the centre; which must undoubtedly proceed from the
+impression of the air upon the vitrified matter whilst in fusion. I
+mention this circumstance, as it may serve to point out true lavas with
+more certainty. The ancient name of the Solfaterra was, <i>Forum Vulcani</i>;
+a strong proof of its origin from subterraneous fire. The degree of
+heat, that the Solfaterra has preserved for so many ages, seems to have
+calcined the stones upon its cone, and in its crater, as they are very
+white, and crumble easily in the hottest parts.</p>
+
+<p>We come next to the new mountain near Puzzole, which, being of so very
+late a formation, preserves its conical shape entire, and produces as
+yet but a very slender vegetation. It has a crater almost as deep as the
+cone is high, which may be near a quarter of a mile perpendicular, and
+is in shape a regular inverted cone. At the basis of this new mountain
+(which is more than three miles in circumference), the <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</a></span>sand upon the
+sea shore, and even that which is washed by the sea itself, is burning
+hot for above the space of an hundred yards; if you take up a handful of
+the sand below water, you are obliged to get rid of it directly, on
+account of its intense heat.</p>
+
+<p>I had been long very desirous of meeting with a good account of the
+formation of this new mountain, because, proving this mountain to have
+been raised by mere explosion in a plain, would prove at the same time,
+that all the neighbouring mountains, which are composed of the same
+materials, and have exactly or in part the same form, were raised in the
+like manner; and that the seat of fire, the cause of these explosions,
+lies deep; which I have every reason to think.</p>
+
+<p>Fortunately, I lately found two very good accounts of the ph�nomena that
+attended the explosion, which formed the new mountain, published a few
+months after the event. As I think them very curious, <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</a></span>and greatly to my
+purpose, and as they are rare, I will give you a literal translation of
+such extracts as relate to the formation of the Monte Nuovo. They are
+bound in one volume<a name="FNanchor_37_37" id="FNanchor_37_37"></a><a href="#Footnote_37_37" class="fnanchor">[37]</a>.</p>
+
+<p>The title of the first is, <i>Dell Incendio di Pozzuolo, Marco Antonio
+delli Falconi all Illustrissima Signiora Marchesa della Padula nel
+MDXXXVIII</i>.</p>
+
+<p>At the head of the second is, <i>Ragionamento del Terremoto, del Nuovo
+Monte, del Aprimento di Terra in Pozzuolo nell' Anno 1538, � della
+significatione d'essi. Per Piero Giacomo da Toledo</i>; and at the end of
+the book, <i>Stampata in Nap. per Giovanni Sulztbach Alemano, a 22di
+Genaro 1539, con gratia, � privilegio</i>.</p>
+
+<p>"First then (says Marco Antonio delli Falconi), will I relate simply and
+exactly the operations of nature, of which I was either myself an
+eye-witness, or as they were related to me by those who had <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</a></span>been
+witnesses of them. It is now two years that there have been frequent
+earthquakes at Pozzuolo, at Naples, and the neighbouring parts; on the
+day and in the night before the appearance of this eruption, above
+twenty shocks great and small were felt at the abovementioned places.
+The eruption made its appearance the 29th of September 1538, the feast
+of St. Michael the angel; it was on a Sunday, about an hour in the
+night; and, as I have been informed, they began to see on that spot,
+between the hot baths or sweating rooms, and Trepergule, flames of fire,
+which first made their appearance at the baths, then extended towards
+Trepergule, and fixing in the little valley that lies between the Monte
+Barbaro and the hillock called del Pericolo (which was the road to the
+lake of Avernus and the baths), in a short time the fire increased to
+such a degree, that it burst open the earth in this place, and threw <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[Pg 129]</a></span>up
+so great a quantity of ashes and pumice stones mixed with water, as
+covered the whole country; and in Naples a shower of these ashes and
+water fell a great part of the night. The next morning, which was
+Monday, and the last of the month, the poor inhabitants of Pozzuolo,
+struck with so horrible a sight, quitted their habitations, covered with
+that muddy and black shower, which continued in that country the whole
+day, flying death, but with faces painted with its colours; some with
+their children in their arms, some with sacks full of their goods;
+others leading an ass, loaded with their frightened family, towards
+Naples; others carrying quantities of birds of various sorts, that had
+fallen dead at the time the eruption began; others again with fish which
+they had found, and were to be met with in plenty upon the shore, the
+sea having been at that time considerably dried up. Don Pedro di Toledo,
+Viceroy <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[Pg 130]</a></span>of the kingdom, with many gentlemen, went to see so wonderful
+an appearance; I also, having met with the most honourable and
+incomparable gentleman, Signior Fabritio Moramaldo, on the road, went
+and saw the eruption and the many wonderful effects of it. The sea
+towards Ba�a had retired a considerable way; though, from the quantity
+of ashes and broken pumice stones thrown up by the eruption, it appeared
+almost totally dry. I saw likewise two springs in those
+lately-discovered ruins, one before the house that was the Queen's, of
+hot and salt water; the other of fresh and cold water, on the shore,
+about 250 paces nearer to the eruption: some say, that, still nearer to
+the spot where the eruption happened, a stream of fresh water issued
+forth like a little river. Turning towards the place of the eruption,
+you saw mountains of smoak, part of which was very black and part very
+white, <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[Pg 131]</a></span>rise up to a great height; and in the midst of the smoak, at
+times, deep-coloured flames burst forth with huge stones and ashes, and
+you heard a noise like the discharge of a number of great artillery. It
+appeared to me as if Typheus and Enceladus from Ischia and Etna with
+innumerable giants, or those from the Campi Phlegrei (which, according
+to the opinions of some, were situated in this neighbourhood), were come
+to wage war again with Jupiter. The natural historians may perhaps
+reasonably say, that the wise poets meant no more by giants, than
+exhalations, shut up in the bowels of the earth, which, not finding a
+free passage, open one by their own force and impulse, and form
+mountains, as those which occasioned this eruption have been seen to do;
+and methought I saw those torrents of burning smoak that Pindar
+describes in an eruption of Etna, now called Mon Gibello, in Sicily; in
+imitation of <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[Pg 132]</a></span>which, as some say, Virgil wrote these lines:</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>
+"Ipse sed horrificis juxta tonat �tna ruinis, &amp;c.
+</p></blockquote>
+
+<p>"After the stones and ashes with clouds of thick smoak had been sent up,
+by the impulse of the fire and windy exhalation (as you see in a great
+cauldron that boils), into the middle region of the air, overcome by
+their own natural weight, when from distance the strength they had
+received from impulse was spent, rejected likewise by the cold and
+unfriendly region, you saw them fall thick, and, by degrees, the
+condensed smoak clear away, raining ashes with water and stones of
+different sizes, according to the distance from the place: then, by
+degrees, with the same noise and smoak, it threw out stones and ashes
+again, and so on by fits. This continued two days and nights, when the
+smoak and force of the fire began to abate. The fourth day, which was
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[Pg 133]</a></span>Thursday, at 22 o'clock, there was so great an eruption, that, as I was
+in the gulph of Puzzole, coming from Ischia, and not far from Misenum, I
+saw, in a short time, many columns of smoak shoot up, with the most
+terrible noise I ever heard, and, bending over the sea, came near our
+boat, which was four miles or more from the place of their birth; and
+the quantity of ashes, stones, and smoak, seemed as if they would cover
+the whole earth and sea. Stones, great and small, and ashes more or
+less, according to the impulse of the fire and exhalations, began to
+fall, so that a great part of this country was covered with ashes; and
+many, that have seen it, say, they reached the vale of Diana, and some
+parts of Calabria, which are more than 150 miles from Pozzuolo. The
+Friday and Saturday nothing but a little smoak appeared; so that many,
+taking courage, went upon the spot, and say, that with the stones and
+ashes <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[Pg 134]</a></span>thrown up, a mountain has been formed in that valley, not less
+than three miles in circumference, and almost as high as the Monte
+Barbaro, which is near it, covering the Canettaria, the castle of
+Trepergule, all those buildings and the greatest part of the baths that
+were about them; extending South towards the sea, North as far as the
+lake of Avernus, West to the Sudatory, and joining East to the foot of
+the Monte Barbaro; so that this place has changed its form and face in
+such a manner as not to be known again: a thing almost incredible, to
+those who have not seen it, that in so short a time so considerable a
+mountain could have been formed. On its summit there is a mouth in the
+form of a cup, which may be a quarter of a mile in circumference, though
+some say it is as large as our market-place at Naples, from which there
+issues a constant smoak; and though I have seen it only at a distance,
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[Pg 135]</a></span>it appears very great. The Sunday following, which was the 6th of
+October, many people going to see this ph�nomenon, and some having
+ascended half the mountain, others more, about 22 o'clock there happened
+so sudden and horrid an eruption, with so great a smoak, that many of
+these people were stifled, some of which could never be found. I have
+been told, that the number of the dead or lost amounted to twenty-four.
+From that time to this, nothing remarkable happened; it seems as if the
+eruption returned periodically, like the ague or gout. I believe
+henceforward it will not have such force, though the eruption of the
+Sunday was accompanied with showers of ashes and water, which fell at
+Naples, and were seen to extend as far as the mountain of Somma, called
+Vesuvius by the ancients; and, as I have often remarked, the clouds of
+smoak proceeding from the eruption moved in a direct line <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[Pg 136]</a></span>towards that
+mountain, as if these places had a correspondence and connection one
+with the other. In the night, many beams and columns of fire were seen
+to proceed from this eruption, and some like flashes of lightning<a name="FNanchor_38_38" id="FNanchor_38_38"></a><a href="#Footnote_38_38" class="fnanchor">[38]</a>.
+We have then, many circumstances for our observation, the earthquakes,
+the eruption, the drying up of the sea, the quantity of dead fish and
+birds, the birth of springs, the shower of ashes with water and without
+water, the innumerable trees in that whole country, as far as the Grotto
+of Lucullus, torn from their roots, thrown down, and covered with ashes,
+that it gave one pain to see them: and as all these effects were
+produced by the same cause that produces earthquakes; let us first
+enquire how earthquakes are produced, and from thence we may easily
+comprehend the cause of the abovementioned events." Then <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[Pg 137]</a></span>follows a
+dissertation on earthquakes, and some curious conjectures relative to
+the ph�nomena which attended this eruption, clearly and well expressed,
+considering, as the author himself apologizes, that at that time the
+Italian language had been little employed on such subjects.</p>
+
+<p>The account of the formation of the Monte Nuovo, by Pietro Giacomo di
+Toledo, is given in a dialogue between the feigned personages of
+Peregrino and Svessano; the former of which says, "It is now two years
+that this province of Campagna has been afflicted with earthquakes, the
+country about Pozzuolo much more so than any other parts; but the 27th
+and the 28th of the month of September last, the earthquakes did not
+cease day or night, in the abovementioned city of Pozzuolo; that plain,
+which lies between the lake of Averno, the Monte Barbaro, and the sea,
+was raised a little, and many cracks were made in it, from some of which
+issued water; and at the <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[Pg 138]</a></span>same time the sea, which was very near the
+plain, dried up about two hundred paces, so that the fish were left on
+the sand, a prey to the inhabitants of Pozzuolo. At last, on the 29th of
+the said month, about two hours in the night, the earth opened near the
+lake, and discovered a horrid mouth, from which were vomited furiously,
+smoak, fire, stones, and mud composed of ashes; making, at the time of
+its opening, a noise like very loud thunder: the fire, that issued from
+this mouth, went towards the walls of the unfortunate city; the smoak
+was partly black and partly white; the black was darker than darkness
+itself, and the white was like the whitest cotton: these smoaks, rising
+in the air, seemed as if they would touch the vault of heaven; the
+stones that followed were, by the devouring flames, converted to pumice,
+the size of which (of some I say) were much larger than an ox. The
+stones went about as high as a cross-bow can <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[Pg 139]</a></span>carry, and then fell down,
+sometimes on the edge, and sometimes into the mouth itself. It is very
+true that many of them in going up could not be seen, on account of the
+dark smoak; but, when they returned from the smoaky heat, they shewed
+plainly where they had been, by their strong smell of fetid sulphur,
+just like stones that have been thrown out of a mortar, and have passed
+through the smoak of inflamed gunpowder. The mud was of the colour of
+ashes, and at first very liquid, then by degrees less so; and in such
+quantities, that in less than twelve hours, with the help of the
+abovementioned stones, a mountain was raised of a thousand paces in
+height. Not only Pozzuolo and the neighbouring country was full of this
+mud, but the city of Naples also, the beauty of whose palaces were, in a
+great measure, spoiled by it. The ashes were carried as far as Calabria
+by the force of the winds, <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[Pg 140]</a></span>burning up in their passage the grass and
+high trees, many of which were borne down by the weight of them. An
+infinity of birds also, and numberless animals of various kinds, covered
+with this sulphureous mud, gave themselves up a prey to man. Now this
+eruption lasted two nights and two days without intermission, though, it
+is true, not always with the same force, but more or less: when it was
+at its greatest height, even at Naples you heard a noise or thundering
+like heavy artillery when two armies are engaged. The third day the
+eruption ceased, so that the mountain made its appearance uncovered, to
+the no small astonishment of every one who saw it. On this day, when I
+went up with many people to the top of this mountain; I saw down into
+its mouth, which was a round concavity of about a quarter of a mile in
+circumference, in the middle of which the stones that had fallen were
+boiling <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[Pg 141]</a></span>up, just as in a great cauldron of water that boils on the
+fire. The fourth day it began to throw up again, and the seventh much
+more, but still with less violence than the first night; it was at this
+time that many people, who were unfortunately on the mountain, were
+either suddenly covered with ashes, smothered with smoak, or, knocked
+down by stones, burnt by the flame, and left dead on the spot. The smoak
+continues to this day<a name="FNanchor_39_39" id="FNanchor_39_39"></a><a href="#Footnote_39_39" class="fnanchor">[39]</a>, and you often see in the night-time fire in
+the midst of it. Finally, to complete the history of this new and
+unforeseen event, in many parts of the new-made mountain, sulphur begins
+to be generated." Giacomo di Toledo, towards the end of his dissertation
+upon <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[Pg 142]</a></span>the ph�nomena attending this eruption, says, that the lake of
+Avernus had a communication with the sea, before the time of the
+eruption; and that he apprehended that the air of Puzzole might come to
+be affected in summer time, by the vapours from the stagnated waters of
+the lake; which is actually the case.</p>
+
+<p>You have, Sir, from these accounts, an instance of a mountain, of a
+considerable height and dimensions, formed in a plain, by mere
+explosion, in the space of forty-eight hours. The earthquakes having
+been sensibly felt at a great distance from the spot where the opening
+was made, proves clearly, that the subterraneous fire was at a great
+depth below the surface of the plain; it is as clear that those
+earthquakes, and the explosion, proceeded from the same cause, the
+former having ceased upon the appearance of the latter. Does not this
+circumstance evidently contradict the system of M. Buffon, and of all
+the natural historians, who have placed the seat of the fire <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[Pg 143]</a></span>of
+Volcanos towards the center, or near the summit of the mountains, which
+they suppose to furnish the matter emitted? Did the matter which
+proceeds from a Volcano in an eruption come from so inconsiderable a
+depth as they imagine, that part of the mountain situated above their
+supposed seat of the fire must necessarily be destroyed, or dissipated
+in a very short time: on the contrary, an eruption usually adds to the
+height and bulk of a Volcano; and who, that has had an opportunity of
+making observations on Volcanos, does not know, that the matter they
+have emitted for many ages, in lavas, ashes, smoak, &amp;c. could it be
+collected together, would more than suffice to form three such mountains
+as the simple cone or mountain of the existing Volcano? With respect to
+Vesuvius, this could be plainly proved; and I refer to my <a href="#LETTER_IV">letter</a> upon
+the subject of Etna, to shew the quantity of matter thrown up in one
+single eruption, by that terrible Volcano. Another proof, that the real
+seat of the fire of Volcanos <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[Pg 144]</a></span>lies even greatly below the general level
+of the country whence the mountain springs, is, that was it only at an
+inconsiderable depth below the basis of the mountain, the quantity of
+matter thrown up would soon leave so great a void immediately under it,
+that the mountain itself must undoubtedly sink and disappear after a few
+eruptions.</p>
+
+<p>In the above accounts of the formation of the new mountain, we are told
+that the matter first thrown up, was mud composed of water and ashes,
+mixed with pumice stones and other burnt matter: on the road leading
+from Puzzole to Cuma, part of the cone of this mountain has been cut
+away, to widen the road. I have there seen that its composition is a
+<i>tufa</i> intermixed with pumice, some of which are really of the size of
+an ox, as mentioned in Toledo's account, and exactly of the same nature
+as the <i>tufa</i> of which every other high ground in its neighbourhood is
+composed; similar also to that which covers <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[Pg 145]</a></span>Herculaneum. According to
+the above accounts, after the muddy shower ceased, it rained dry ashes:
+this circumstance will account for the strata of loose pumice and ashes,
+that are generally upon the surface of all the <i>tufas</i> in this country,
+and which were most probably thrown up in the same manner. At the first
+opening of the earth, in the plain near Puzzole, both accounts say, that
+springs of water burst forth; this water, mixing with the ashes,
+certainly occasioned the muddy shower; when the springs were exhausted,
+there must naturally have ensued a shower of dry ashes and pumice, of
+which we have been likewise assured. I own, I was greatly pleased at
+being in this manner enabled to account so well for the formation of
+these <i>tufa</i> stones and the veins of dry and loose burnt matter above
+them, of which the soil of almost the whole country I am describing is
+composed; and I do not know that any one has ever attended to this
+circumstance, though I find that many authors, who have <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[Pg 146]</a></span>described this
+country, have suspected that parts of it were formed by explosion.
+Wherever then this sort of <i>tufa</i> is found, there is certainly good
+authority to suspect its having been formed in the same manner as the
+<i>tufa</i> of this new mountain, for, as I said before, Nature is generally
+uniform in all her operations.</p>
+
+<p>It is commonly imagined that the new mountain rose out of the Lucrine
+lake, which was destroyed by it; but in the above account, no mention is
+made of the Lucrine lake; it may be supposed then, that the famous dam,
+which Strabo and many other ancient authors mention to have separated
+that lake from the sea, had been ruined by time or accident, and that
+the lake became a part of the sea before the explosion of 1538.</p>
+
+<p>If the above-described eruption was terrible, that which formed the
+Monte Barbaro (or Gauro, as it was formerly called), must have been
+dreadful indeed. It joins immediately to the new mountain, which <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[Pg 147]</a></span>in
+shape and composition it exactly resembles; but it is at least three
+times as considerable. Its crater cannot be less than six miles in
+circumference; the plain within the crater, one of the most fertile
+spots I ever saw, is about four miles in circumference: there is no
+entrance to this plain, but one on the East side of the mountain, made
+evidently by art; in this section you have an opportunity of seeing that
+the matter of which the mountain is composed is exactly similar to that
+of the Monte Nuovo. It was this mountain that produced (as some authors
+have supposed) the celebrated Falernian wine of the ancients.</p>
+
+<p>Cuma, allowed to have been the most ancient city of Italy, was built on
+an eminence, which is likewise composed of <i>tufa</i>, and may be naturally
+supposed a section of the cone formed by a very ancient explosion.</p>
+
+<p>The lake of Avernus fills the bottom of the crater of a mountain,
+undoubtedly produced <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[Pg 148]</a></span>by explosion, and whose interior and exterior
+form, as well as the matter of which it is composed, exactly resemble
+the Monte Barbaro and Monte Nuovo. At that part of the basis of this
+mountain which is washed by the sea of the bay of Puzzole, the sand is
+still very hot, though constantly washed by the waves; and into the cone
+of the mountain, near this hot sand, a narrow passage of about 100 paces
+in length is cut, and leads to a fountain of boiling water, which,
+though brackish, boils fish and flesh without giving them any bad taste
+or quality, as I have experienced more than once. This place is called
+Nero's bath, and is still made use of for a sudatory, as it was by the
+ancients; the steam that rises from the hot fountain abovementioned,
+confined in the narrow subterraneous passage, soon produces a violent
+perspiration upon the patient who sits therein. This bath is reckoned a
+great specifick in that distemper which is supposed to have made its
+appearance <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[Pg 149]</a></span>at Naples before it spread its contagion over the other
+parts of Europe.</p>
+
+<p>Virgil and other ancient authors say, that birds could not fly with
+safety over the lake of Avernus, but that they fell therein; a
+circumstance favouring my opinion, that this was once the mouth of a
+Volcano. The vapour of the sulphur and other minerals must undoubtedly
+have been more powerful, the nearer we go back to the time of the
+explosion of the Volcano; and I am convinced that there are still some
+remains of those vapours upon this lake, as I have observed there are
+very seldom any water-fowl upon it; and that when they do go there, it
+is but for a short time; whilst all the other lakes in the neighbourhood
+are constantly covered with them, in the winter season. Upon Mount
+Vesuvius, in the year 1766, during an eruption, when the air was
+impregnated with noxious vapours, I have myself picked up dead birds
+frequently.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[Pg 150]</a></span></p><p>The castle of Ba�a stands upon a considerable eminence, composed of the
+usual <i>tufa</i> and strata of pumice and ashes; from which I concluded I
+should find some remains of the craters from whence the matter issued:
+accordingly, having ascended the hill, I soon discovered two very
+visible craters, just behind the castle.</p>
+
+<p>The lake called the Mare-morto was also, most probably, the crater, from
+whence issued the materials which formed the Promontory of Misenum, and
+the high grounds around this lake. Under the ruins of an ancient
+building, near the point of Misenum, in a vault, there is a vapour, or
+<i>mofete</i>, exactly similar in its effects to that of the Grotto del Cane,
+as I have often experienced.</p>
+
+<p>The form of the little island of Nisida shews plainly its origin<a name="FNanchor_40_40" id="FNanchor_40_40"></a><a href="#Footnote_40_40" class="fnanchor">[40]</a>. It
+is half a <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[Pg 151]</a></span>hollow cone of a Volcano cut perpendicularly; the half crater
+forms a little harbour called the Porto Pavone; I suppose the other half
+of the cone to have been detached into the sea by earthquakes, or
+perhaps by the violence of the waves, as the part that is wanting is the
+side next to the open sea.</p>
+
+<p>The fertile and pleasant island of Procita shews also most evident signs
+of its production by explosion, the nature of its soil being directly
+similar to that of Ba�a and Puzzole; this island seems really, as was
+imagined by the ancients, to have been detached from the neighbouring
+island of Ischia.</p>
+
+<p>There is no spot, I believe, that could afford a more ample field for
+curious observations, than the island of Ischia, called Enaria, Inarime,
+and Pithecusa, by the ancients. I have visited it three times; and this
+summer passed three weeks there, during which time I examined, with
+attention, every part of it. Ischia is eighteen <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[Pg 152]</a></span>miles in circumference:
+the whole of its soil is the same as that near Vesuvius, Naples, and
+Puzzole. There are numberless springs, hot, warm, and cold<a name="FNanchor_41_41" id="FNanchor_41_41"></a><a href="#Footnote_41_41" class="fnanchor">[41]</a>,
+dispersed over the whole island, the waters of which are impregnated
+with minerals of various sorts; so that, if you give credit to the
+inhabitants of the country, there is no disorder but what finds its
+remedy here. In the hot months (the season for making use of these
+baths), those who have occasion for them flock hither from Naples. A
+charitable institution sends and maintains three hundred poor patients
+at the baths of Gurgitelli every season. By what I could learn of these
+poor patients, those baths have really done wonders, in cases attended
+with obstinate tumours, and in contractions of the tendons and muscles.
+The patient begins by bathing, and then is buried in the hot sand near
+the sea. In <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[Pg 153]</a></span>many parts of the island, the sand is burning hot, even
+under water. The sand on some parts of the shore is almost entirely
+composed of particles of iron ore; at least they are attracted by the
+load-stone, as I have experienced. Near that part of the island called
+Lacco, there is a rock of an ancient lava, forming a small cavern, which
+is shut up with a door; this cavern is made use of to cool liquors and
+fruit, which it does in a short time as effectually as ice. Before the
+door was opened, I felt the cold to my legs very sensibly; but when it
+was opened, the cold rushed out so as to give me pain; and within the
+grotto it was intolerable. I was not sensible of wind attending this
+cold; though upon Mount Etna and Mount Vesuvius, where there are caverns
+of this kind, the cold is evidently occasioned by a subterraneous wind:
+the natives call such places <i>ventaroli</i>. May not the quantity of nitre,
+with which all these places abound, account in some measure for such
+extreme <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[Pg 154]</a></span>cold? My thermometer was unluckily broken, or I would have
+informed you of the exact degree of the cold in this <i>ventaroli</i> of
+Ischia, which is by much the strongest in its effects I ever felt. The
+ancient lavas of Ischia shew, that the eruptions there have been very
+formidable; and history informs us, that its first inhabitants were
+driven out of the island by the frequency and the violence of them.
+There are some of these ancient lavas not less than two hundred feet in
+depth. The mountain of St. Nicola, on which there is at present a
+convent of hermits, was called by the ancients Epomeus; it is as high,
+if not higher, than Vesuvius, and appears to me to be a section of the
+cone of the ancient and principal Volcano of the island, its composition
+being all <i>tufa</i> or lava. The cells of the convent abovementioned are
+cut out of the mountain itself; and there you see plainly that its
+composition no way differs from the matter that covers Herculaneum, and
+forms the Monte Nuovo. <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[Pg 155]</a></span>There is no sign of a crater on the top of this
+mountain, which rises almost to a sharp point: time, and other
+accidents, may be reasonably supposed to have worn away this distinctive
+mark of its having been formed by explosion, as I have seen to be the
+case in other mountains, formed evidently by explosion, on the flanks of
+Etna and Vesuvius. Strabo, in his 5th book, upon the subject of this
+island, quotes Tim�us, as having said, that, a little before his time, a
+mountain in the middle of Pithecusa, called Epomeus, was shook by an
+earthquake, and vomited flames.</p>
+
+<p>There are many other rising grounds in this island, that, from the
+nature of their composition, must lead one to think the same as to their
+origin. Near the village of Castiglione, there is a mountain formed
+surely by an explosion of a much later date, having preserved its
+conical form and crater entire, and producing as yet but a slender
+vegetation: there is no account, however, of the date of this eruption.
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[Pg 156]</a></span>Nearer the town of Ischia, which is on the sea shore, at a place called
+<i>Le Cremate</i>, there is a crater, from which, in the year 1301 or 1302, a
+lava ran quite into the sea; there is not the least vegetation on this
+lava, but it is nearly in the same state as the modern lavas of
+Vesuvius. Pontano, Maranti, and D. Francesco Lombardi, have recorded
+this eruption; the latter of whom says, that it lasted two months; that
+many men and beasts were killed by the explosion; and that a number of
+the inhabitants were obliged to seek for refuge at Naples and in the
+neighbouring islands. In short, according to my idea, the island of
+Ischia must have taken its rise from the bottom of the sea, and been
+increased to its present size by divers later explosions. This is not
+extraordinary, when history tells us (and from my own observation I have
+reason to believe) that the Lipari islands were formed in the like
+manner. There has been no eruption in Ischia since that just mentioned,
+but earthquakes <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[Pg 157]</a></span>are very frequent there; two years ago, as I was told,
+they had a very considerable shock of an earthquake in this island.</p>
+
+<p>Father Goree's account of the formation of the new island in the
+Archipelago (situated between the two islands called Kammeni, and near
+that of Santorini) of which he was an eye-witness, strongly confirms the
+probability of the conjectures I venture to send you, relative to the
+formation of those islands and that part of the continent above
+described: it seems likewise to confirm the accounts given by Strabo,
+Pliny, Justin, and other ancient authors, of many islands in the
+Archipelago, formerly called the Ciclades, having sprung up from the
+bottom of the sea<a name="FNanchor_42_42" id="FNanchor_42_42"></a><a href="#Footnote_42_42" class="fnanchor">[42]</a> in the <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[Pg 158]</a></span>like manner. According to Pliny, in the
+4th year of the <span class="smcap">cxxxv</span>th Olympiad, 237 years before the Christian �ra,
+the island of Thera (now Santorini) and Theresia were formed by
+explosion; and, 130 years later, the island Hiera (now called the great
+Kammeni) rose up. Strabo describes the birth of this island in these
+words: "In the middle space between Thera and Theresia flames burst out
+of the sea for four days, which, by degrees, throwing up great masses,
+as if they had been raised by machines, they formed an island of twelve
+stadia in circuit." And Justin says of the same island, "Eodem anno
+inter insulas Theramenem et Theresiam, medio utriusque rip� et maris
+spatio, terr� motus fuit: in quo, cum admiratione navigantium, repente
+ex profundo cum calidis aquis Insula emersit."</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[Pg 159]</a></span></p><p>Pliny mentions also the formation of Aspronisi, or the White Island, by
+explosion, in the time of Vespasian. It is known, likewise, that in the
+year 1628, one of the islands of the Azores, near the island of St.
+Michael, rose up from the bottom of the sea, which was in that place 160
+fathoms deep; and that this island, which was raised in fifteen days, is
+three leagues long, a league and a half broad, and rises three hundred
+and sixty feet above water.</p>
+
+<p>Father Goree, in his account of the formation of the new island in the
+Archipelago, mentions two distinct matters that entered into the
+composition of this island, the one black, the other white. Aspronisi,
+probably from its very name, is composed of the white matter, which if,
+upon examination, it proves to be a <i>tufa</i>, as I strongly suspect, I
+should think myself still more grounded in my conjectures; though I must
+confess, as it is, I have scarcely a doubt left with respect to the
+country I have been describing having been thrown <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[Pg 160]</a></span>up in a long series
+of ages by various explosions from subterraneous fire. Surely there are
+at present many existing Volcanos in the known world; and the memory of
+many others have been handed down to us by history. May there not
+therefore have been many others, of such ancient dates as to be out of
+the reach of history<a name="FNanchor_43_43" id="FNanchor_43_43"></a><a href="#Footnote_43_43" class="fnanchor">[43]</a>?</p>
+
+<p>Such wonderful operations of Nature are certainly intended by all-wise
+Providence for some great purpose. They are not confined to any one part
+of the globe, for there are Volcanos existing in the four quarters of
+it. We see the great fertility of the soil thrown up by explosion, in
+part of the country I have described, which on that account was called
+by the ancients <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[Pg 161]</a></span><i>Campania Felix</i>. The same circumstance is evident in
+Sicily, justly esteemed one of the most fertile spots in the world, and
+the granary of Italy. May not subterraneous fire be considered as the
+great plough (if I may be allowed the expression), which Nature makes
+use of to turn up the bowels of the earth, and afford us fresh fields to
+work upon, whilst we are exhausting those we are actually in possession
+of, by the frequent crops we draw from them? Would it not be found, upon
+enquiry, that many precious minerals must have remained far out of our
+reach, had it not been for such operations of Nature? It is evidently so
+in this country. But such great enquiries would lead me far indeed. I
+will only add a reflection, which my little experience in this branch of
+natural history furnishes me with. It is, that we are apt to judge of
+the great operations of Nature on too confined a plan. When first I came
+to Naples, my whole attention, with respect to natural history, was
+confined to Mount <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[Pg 162]</a></span>Vesuvius, and the wonderful ph�nomena attending a
+burning mountain: but, in proportion as I began to perceive the evident
+marks of the same operation having been carried on in the different
+parts above described, and likewise in Sicily in a greater degree, I
+looked upon Mount Vesuvius only as a spot on which Nature was at present
+active; and thought myself fortunate in having an opportunity of seeing
+the manner in which one of her great operations (an operation, I
+believe, much less out of her common course than is generally imagined)
+was effected.</p>
+
+<p>Such remarks as I have made on the eruptions of Mount Vesuvius, during
+my residence at Naples, have been transmitted to the Royal Society, who
+have done them more honour than they deserved. Many more might be made
+upon this active Volcano, by a person who had leisure, a previous
+knowledge of the natural history of the earth, a knowledge of chemistry,
+and was practised in physical experiments, particularly <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[Pg 163]</a></span>those of
+electricity<a name="FNanchor_44_44" id="FNanchor_44_44"></a><a href="#Footnote_44_44" class="fnanchor">[44]</a>. I am convinced, that the smoak of Volcanos contains
+always a portion of electrical matter; which is manifest at the time of
+great eruptions, as is mentioned in my account of the great eruption of
+Vesuvius in 1767. The peasants in the neighbourhood of my villa,
+situated at the foot of Vesuvius, have <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[Pg 164]</a></span>assured me, that, during the
+eruption last mentioned, they were more alarmed by the lightning and
+balls of fire that fell about them with a crackling noise, than by the
+lava and the usual attendants of an eruption. I find in all the accounts
+of great eruptions mention made of this sort of lightning, which is
+distinguished here by the name of <i>Ferilli</i>. Bracini, in his account of
+the great one of Vesuvius in 1631, says, that the column of smoak, which
+issued from its crater, went over near an hundred miles of country, and
+that several men and beasts were struck dead by lightning, issuing from
+this smoak in its course.</p>
+
+<p>The nature of the noxious vapours, called here <i>mofete</i>, that are
+usually set in motion by an eruption of the Volcano, and are then
+manifest in the wells and subterraneous parts of its neighbourhood, seem
+likewise to be little understood. From some experiments very lately
+made, by the ingenious Dr. Nooth, on the <i>mofete</i> of the Grotto del
+Cane, it appears that all its <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[Pg 165]</a></span>known qualities and effects correspond
+with those attributed to fixed air. Just before the eruption of 1767, a
+vapour of this kind broke into the King's chapel at Portici, by which a
+servant, opening the door of it, was struck down. About the same time,
+as his Sicilian Majesty was shooting in a paddock near the palace, a dog
+dropped down, as was supposed, in a fit; a boy going to take him up
+dropped likewise; a person present, suspecting the accident to have
+proceeded from a <i>mofete</i>, immediately dragged them both from the spot
+where they lay, in doing which, he was himself sensible of the vapour;
+the boy and the dog soon recovered. His Sicilian Majesty did me the
+honour of informing me himself of this accident soon after it had
+happened. I have met with these <i>mofetes</i> often, when I have been making
+my observations on the borders of Mount Vesuvius, particularly in
+caverns, and once on the Solfaterra. The vapour affects the nostrils,
+throat, and stomach, just as the <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[Pg 166]</a></span>spirit of hartshorn, or any strong
+volatile salts; and would soon prove fatal, if you did not immediately
+remove from it. Under the ancient city of Pompeii, the <i>mofetes</i> are
+very frequent and powerful, so that the excavations that are carrying on
+there are often interrupted by them; at all times <i>mofetes</i> are to be
+met with under ancient lavas of Vesuvius, particularly those of the
+great eruption of 1631. In Serao's account of the eruption of 1737, and
+in the chapter upon <i>mofetes</i>, he has recorded several curious
+experiments relative to this ph�nomenon. The Canonico Recupero, who, as
+I mentioned to you in a former <a href="#LETTER_IV">letter</a>, is watching the operations of
+Mount Etna, has just informed me, that a very powerful <i>mofete</i> has
+lately manifested itself in the neighbourhood of Etna; and that he
+found, near the spot from whence it rises, animals, birds, and insects,
+dead, and the stronger sort of shrubs blasted, whilst the grass and the
+tenderer plants did not seem to be affected. The circumstance <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[Pg 167]</a></span>of this
+<i>mofete</i>, added to that of the frequent earthquakes felt lately at
+Rhegio and Messina, makes it probable that an eruption of Mount Etna is
+at hand.</p>
+
+<p>I am alarmed at the length of this letter. By endeavouring to make
+myself clearly understood, I have been led to make, what I thought,
+necessary digressions. I must therefore beg of your goodness, that,
+should you find this memoir, in its present state, too tedious (which I
+greatly apprehend) to be presented to our respectable Society, you will
+make only such extracts from it as you shall think will be most
+agreeable and interesting. I am,</p>
+
+<p class="letterindent">
+<span class="smcap">Sir</span>,<br />
+With great truth and regard,<br />
+Your most obedient<br />
+humble servant,<br />
+<br />
+<span class="smcap">W. Hamilton</span>.<br />
+</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[Pg 168]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter"><a name="PLATE_6" id="PLATE_6"></a>
+<i>Plate VI.</i><br />
+<a href="images/plate6.jpg"><img src="images/plate6thumb.jpg" alt="" /></a><br />
+</div>
+
+<div class="likeheading3"><span class="smcap">References</span> to the <span class="smcap">Map</span>,<br />
+
+[<span class="smcap">Plate VI.</span>]</div>
+
+<ul class="platelist">
+<li><span class="listnum">1. </span>Naples.</li>
+
+<li><span class="listnum">2. </span>Portici.</li>
+
+<li><span class="listnum">3. </span>Resina, under which Herculaneum is buried.</li>
+
+<li><span class="listnum">4. </span>Torre del Greco.</li>
+
+<li><span class="listnum">5. </span>Hermitage, at which travellers usually rest, in their way up
+Mount Vesuvius.</li>
+
+<li><span class="listnum">6. </span>St. Angelo, a convent of Calmaldolese, situated upon a cone of a
+mountain formed by an ancient explosion.</li>
+
+<li><span class="listnum">7. </span>Cones formed by the eruption of 1760, and lava that ran from them
+almost into the sea.</li>
+
+<li><span class="listnum">8. </span>Mount Vesuvius and Somma.</li>
+
+<li><span class="listnum">9. </span>Village of Somma.</li>
+
+<li><span class="listnum">10. </span>The convent of the Madona del Arco, under which lavas have been
+found at 300 feet depth, and which must <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[Pg 169]</a></span>have proceeded from
+the mountain of Somma, when an active Volcano.</li>
+
+<li><span class="listnum">11. </span>Ottaiano.</li>
+
+<li><span class="listnum">12. </span>Torre del Annunziata.</li>
+
+<li><span class="listnum">13. </span>Castel a Mare, near which the ancient town of Stabia is buried,
+and where Pliny the elder lost his life.</li>
+
+<li><span class="listnum">14. </span>Vico.</li>
+
+<li><span class="listnum">15. </span>Sorrento, and the plain formed evidently by subterraneous fire.</li>
+
+<li><span class="listnum">16. </span>Massa.</li>
+
+<li><span class="listnum">17. </span>Island of Caprea.</li>
+
+<li><span class="listnum">18. </span>The Grotto of Pausilipo, cut through the mountain anciently, to
+make a road from Naples to Puzzole.</li>
+
+<li><span class="listnum">19. </span>Point of Pausilipo.</li>
+
+<li><span class="listnum">20. </span>The Gaiola, where there are ruins of ancient buildings, supposed
+to have belonged to Lucullus.</li>
+
+<li><span class="listnum">21. </span>The island of Nisida, evidently formed by explosion.</li>
+
+<li><span class="listnum">22. </span>The Lazaret.</li>
+
+<li><span class="listnum">23. </span>The Bagnoli.</li>
+
+<li><span class="listnum">24. </span>Puzzole, or Pozzuolo.</li>
+
+<li><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[Pg 170]</a></span><span class="listnum">25. </span>The Solfaterra, anciently called Forum Vulcani: between the
+Solfaterra and the lake of Agnano, are the boiling waters of the
+Pisciarelli.</li>
+
+<li><span class="listnum">26. </span>The New Mountain, formed by explosion in the year 1538; the sand
+of the sea shore at its basis burning hot.</li>
+
+<li><span class="listnum">27. </span>The lake of Agnano, supposed the crater of an ancient Volcano:
+here are the baths called St. Germano, and the famous Grotto del
+Cane.</li>
+
+<li><span class="listnum">28. </span>Astruni, which has been evidently a Volcano, and is now a Royal
+Chace, the crater being surrounded with a wall.</li>
+
+<li><span class="listnum">29. </span>The Monte Gauro or Barbaro, anciently a Volcano.</li>
+
+<li><span class="listnum">30. </span>The lake of Avernus, evidently the crater of an ancient Volcano.</li>
+
+<li><span class="listnum">31. </span>Lake of Fusaro.</li>
+
+<li><span class="listnum">32. </span>Point of Misenum, from whence Pliny the elder discovered the
+eruption of Vesuvius that proved fatal to him; <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[Pg 171]</a></span>near this place,
+in a vault of an ancient building, is a constant vapour, or
+<i>mofete</i>, of the same quality with that of the Grotto del Cane.</li>
+
+<li><span class="listnum">33. </span>The Mare Morto, the ancient Roman Harbour.</li>
+
+<li><span class="listnum">34. </span>Ba�a; behind the castle are two evident craters of ancient
+Volcanos.</li>
+
+<li><span class="listnum">35. </span>Island of Procita.</li>
+
+<li><span class="listnum">36. </span>A perfect cone and crater of a Volcano near Castiglione in the
+island of Ischia.</li>
+
+<li><span class="listnum">37. </span>Lava that ran into the sea in the last eruption on this island,
+in the year 1301, or 1302: the place now called Le Cremate.</li>
+
+<li><span class="listnum">38. </span>Town of Ischia and castle.</li>
+
+<li><span class="listnum">39. </span>Lake of Licola.</li>
+
+<li><span class="listnum">40. </span>Lake of Patria.</li>
+
+<li><span class="listnum">41. </span>The river Volturnus.</li>
+
+<li><span class="listnum">42. </span>Capua.</li>
+
+<li><span class="listnum">43. </span>Caserta.</li>
+
+<li><span class="listnum">44. </span>Aversa.</li>
+
+<li><span class="listnum">45. </span>Mataloni.</li>
+
+<li><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[Pg 172]</a></span><span class="listnum">46. </span>Acerra.</li>
+
+<li><span class="listnum">47. </span>Island of Ischia, anciently called �naria, Inarime, and
+Pithecusa.</li>
+
+<li><span class="listnum">48. </span>The mountain of St. Nicola, anciently called Mons Epomeus,
+supposed the remains of the principal Volcano of the island.</li>
+
+<li><span class="listnum">49. </span>Castiglione, near which are the baths of Gurgitelli.</li>
+
+<li><span class="listnum">50. </span>Lacco, near which is that very cold vapour called by the natives
+<i>ventarole</i>.</li>
+
+<li><span class="listnum">51. </span>Ancient city of Pompeii, where his Sicilian Majesty's
+excavations are carrying on at present.</li>
+
+<li><span class="listnum">52. </span>Rovigliano.</li>
+
+<li><span class="listnum">53. </span>River of Sarno.</li>
+
+<li><span class="listnum">54. </span>Cuma.</li>
+
+<li><span class="listnum">55. </span>Hot sands and sudatory, called Nero's baths.</li>
+
+<li><span class="listnum">56. </span>The Lucrine lake, supposed to have been here, and of which there
+is still some little remain.</li>
+
+<li><span class="listnum">57. </span>Villa Angelica, Sir William Hamilton's villa, from whence he has
+made <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[Pg 173]</a></span>many of his observations upon Mount Vesuvius.</li>
+
+<li><span class="listnum">58. </span>Cones formed by an ancient eruption called <i>viuli</i>; here are
+likewise cold vapours called <i>ventaroli</i>.</li>
+
+<li><span class="listnum">59. </span>High grounds, probably sections of cones of ancient Volcanos,
+being all composed of <i>tufa</i> and strata of loose pumice and
+burnt matter.</li>
+
+<li><span class="listnum">60. </span>Plain of the Campagna Felice, four or five feet of excellent
+soil, under which are strata of burnt and erupted matter.</li>
+
+<li><span class="listnum">...... </span>Marks the boundary of Sir William Hamilton's observations.</li>
+</ul>
+
+
+
+<hr class="chap" /><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[Pg 174]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="LETTER_VI" id="LETTER_VI"></a>LETTER VI.<a name="FNanchor_45_45" id="FNanchor_45_45"></a><a href="#Footnote_45_45" class="fnanchor">[45]</a></h2>
+
+<p>To <span class="smcap">Mathew Maty</span>, M. D. Secretary to the Royal <span class="smcap">Society</span>.</p>
+
+
+<p class="letterindent">
+Naples, March 5, 1771.
+</p>
+
+<p>Since I had the pleasure of sending you my <a href="#LETTER_V">letter</a>, in which the nature
+of the soil of more than twenty miles round this capital is described;
+examining a deep hollow way cut by the rain waters into the outside cone
+of the Solfaterra, I discovered, that a great part of the cone of that
+ancient <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[Pg 175]</a></span>Volcano has been calcined by the hot vapours above described.
+Pumice calcined seems to be the chief ingredient, of which several
+specimens of (as I suppose) variegated unformed marble are composed, and
+the beautiful variegations in them may have probably been occasioned by
+the mineral vapours. As these specimens are now sent to the Royal
+Society, you will see that these variegations are exactly of the same
+pattern and colours as are met in many marbles and flowered alabasters;
+and I cannot help thinking that they are marble or alabaster in its
+infant state. What a proof we have here of the great changes the earth
+we inhabit is subject to! What is now the Solfaterra, we have every
+reason to suppose to have been originally thrown up by a subterraneous
+explosion from the bottom of the sea. That it was long an existing
+Volcano, is plain, from the ancient currents of lava, that are still to
+be traced from its crater to the sea, from the strata of pumice and
+erupted <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[Pg 176]</a></span>matter, of which its cone, in common with those of other
+Volcanos, is composed, and from the testimony of many ancient authors.
+Its cone in many parts has been calcined, and is still calcining, by the
+hot vapours that are continually issuing forth through its pores; and
+its nature is totally changed by this chemical process of Nature. In the
+hollow way, where I made these remarks, you see the different strata of
+erupted matter, that compose the cone, in some places perfectly
+calcined, in others not, according as the vapours have found means to
+insinuate themselves more or less.</p>
+
+<p>A hollow way, cut by the rains on the back of the mountain on which part
+of Naples is situated, towards Capo di China, shews that the mountain is
+composed of strata of erupted matter, among which are large masses of
+bitumen, in which its former state of fluidity is very visible. Here it
+was I discovered that pumice stone is produced from bitumen, which I
+believe <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[Pg 177]</a></span>has not yet been remarked. Some specimens shew evidently the
+gradual process from bitumen to pumice: and you will observe that the
+crystalline vitrifications, which are visible in the bitumen, suffer no
+alteration, but remain in the same state in the perfect pumice as in the
+bitumen.</p>
+
+<p>In a piece of stratum, calcined from the outside of the Solfaterra, the
+form and texture of the pumice stones is very discernible. In several
+parts of the outside cone, this calcining operation is still carried on,
+by the exhalation of constant very hot and damp vapours, impregnated
+with salts, sulphur, alum, &amp;c. Where the abovementioned vapours have not
+operated, the strata of pumice and erupted matter, that compose the cone
+of the Solfaterra, are like those of all the high grounds in its
+neighbourhood, which I suppose to have been thrown up likewise by
+explosion. I have seen here, half of a large piece of lava perfectly
+calcined, whilst the <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[Pg 178]</a></span>other half out of the reach of the vapours has
+been untouched; and in some pieces the centre seems to be already
+converted into true marble.</p>
+
+<p>The variegated specimens then, above described, are nothing more than
+pumice and erupted matter, after having been acted upon in this manner
+by the hot vapours; and if you consider the process, as I have traced
+it, from bitumen to pumice, and from pumice to marble, you will think
+with me, that it is difficult to determine the primitive state of the
+many wonderful productions we see in Nature.</p>
+
+<p>I found, in the <i>tufa</i> of the mountain of Pausilipo, a fragment of lava:
+one side I polished, to shew it to be true lava; the other shews the
+signs of the <i>tufa</i>, with which it is incorporated. It has evidently
+been rounded by friction, and most probably by rolling in the sea. Is it
+not natural then to imagine that there must have been Volcanos near this
+spot, long before the formation of the mountain of Pausilipo? This
+little <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[Pg 179]</a></span>stone may perhaps raise in your mind such reflections as it did
+in mine, relative to the great changes our globe suffers, and the
+probability of its great antiquity.</p>
+
+<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> Having reflected since upon this circumstance, I rather
+believe that the weight of the atmosphere in bad weather, preventing the
+free dissipation of the smoke, and collecting it over the crater, gives
+it the appearance of being more considerable; whereas in fine weather
+the smoke is dispersed soon after its emission. It is, however, the
+common-received opinion at Naples (and from my own observation is, I
+believe, well founded), that when Vesuvius grumbles, bad weather is at
+hand. The sea of the Bay of Naples, being particularly agitated, and
+swelling some hours before the arrival of a storm, may very probably
+force itself into crevices, leading to the bowels of the Volcano, and,
+by causing a new fermentation, produce those explosions and grumblings.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_2_2" id="Footnote_2_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_2"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> These ashes destroy the leaves and fruit, and are greatly
+detrimental to vegetation for a year or two; but are certainly of great
+service to the land in general, and are among the principal causes of
+that very great fertility which is remarkable in the neighbourhood of
+Volcano's.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_3_3" id="Footnote_3_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3_3"><span class="label">[3]</span></a> In the subsequent eruptions of Vesuvius, I have constantly
+remarked something of the same nature, as appears in my account of the
+great eruption of 1767. I have found the same remark in many accounts of
+former eruptions of Vesuvius: in the very curious one of the formation
+of a new mountain near Puzzole, in 1538, (as may be seen in my letter to
+Dr. Maty, Oct. 16, 1770<a name="FNanchor_46_46" id="FNanchor_46_46"></a><a href="#Footnote_46_46" class="fnanchor">[46]</a>,) the same observation is made. This
+ph�nomenon, is well worthy of a curious inquiry, which might give some
+light into the theory of the earth, of which, I believe, we are very
+ignorant.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_4_4" id="Footnote_4_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_4_4"><span class="label">[4]</span></a> I am convinced, that it might be very practicable to divert
+the course of a lava when in this state, by preparing a new bed for it,
+as is practised with rivers. I was mentioning this idea at Catania in
+Sicily, when I was assured, that it had been done with success during
+the great eruption of Etna, in 1669; that the lava was directing its
+course towards the walls of Catania, and advancing slowly like the
+abovementioned, when they prepared a channel for it round the walls of
+the town, and turned it into the sea; that a succession of men, covered
+with sheep-skins wetted, were employed to cut through the tough flanks
+of the lava, till they made a passage for that in the centre (which was
+in perfect fusion) to disgorge itself into the channel prepared for it.
+A book I have since met with gives the same account of this curious
+operation; it is intituled, <i>Relatione del nuovo incendio fatto da
+Mongibello 1669. Messina, Giuseppe Bisagni, 1670</i>. His Sicilian
+Majesty's palace at Portici, and the valuable collection of antiquities
+that have been recovered from beneath the destructive lava's of
+Vesuvius, are in imminent danger of being overwhelmed again by the next
+that shall take its course that way; whereas, by taking a level, cutting
+away and raising ground, as occasion might require, the palace and
+museum would, in all probability, be insured, at least against one
+eruption; and, indeed, I once took the liberty of communicating this
+idea to the King of Naples, who seemed to approve of it.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_5_5" id="Footnote_5_5"></a><a href="#FNanchor_5_5"><span class="label">[5]</span></a> The late Lord Morton was pleased to give these specimens to
+Dr. Morris, who has made several chemical experiments on them, the
+result of which will be communicated to the Royal Society.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_6_6" id="Footnote_6_6"></a><a href="#FNanchor_6_6"><span class="label">[6]</span></a> From what I have seen and read of eruptions of Vesuvius and
+Etna, I am convinced that Volcano's lie dormant for several years, nay
+even for centuries, as probably was the case of Vesuvius before its
+eruption in the reign of Titus, and certainly was so before that of the
+year 1631. When I arrived at Naples in 1764, Vesuvius was quiet, very
+seldom smoak was visible on its top; in the year 1766, it seemed to take
+fire, and has never since been three months without either throwing up
+red hot stones, or disgorging streams of lava, nor has its crater been
+ever free from smoak. At Naples, when a lava appears, and not till then,
+it is styled an eruption; whereas I look upon the five nominal eruptions
+I have been witness to, from March 1766 to May 1771, as, in effect, but
+one continued eruption.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_7_7" id="Footnote_7_7"></a><a href="#FNanchor_7_7"><span class="label">[7]</span></a> It is certain, that, by constant attention to the smoak
+that issues from the crater, a very good guess may be given as to the
+degree of fermentation within the Volcano. By this alone I foretold<a name="FNanchor_47_47" id="FNanchor_47_47"></a><a href="#Footnote_47_47" class="fnanchor">[47]</a>
+the two last eruptions, and, by another very simple observation, I
+pointed out, some time before, the very spot from whence the lava has
+issued. When the cone of Vesuvius was covered with snow, I had remarked
+a spot on which it would not lie: concluding very naturally that this
+was the weakest part of the cone, and that the heat from within
+prevented the snow from lying; it was as natural to imagine that the
+lava, seeking a vent, would force this passage sooner than another; and
+so indeed it came to pass.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_8_8" id="Footnote_8_8"></a><a href="#FNanchor_8_8"><span class="label">[8]</span></a> These are his words: "Nubes (incertum procul intuentibus ex
+quo monte Vesuvium fuisse postea cognitum est) oriebatur, cujus
+similitudinem &amp; formam, non alia magis arbor, quam pinus expresserit.
+Nam longissimo veluti trunco elata in altum, quibusdam ramis
+diffundebatur, credo quia recenti spiritu evecta, dein senescente eo
+destituta, aut etiam pondere suo victa, in latitudinem evanescebat:
+candida interdum, interdum sordida &amp; maculosa, prout terram cineremve
+sustulerat." Plin. lib. vi. ep. 16.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_9_9" id="Footnote_9_9"></a><a href="#FNanchor_9_9"><span class="label">[9]</span></a> The windows at Naples open like folding-doors.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_10_10" id="Footnote_10_10"></a><a href="#FNanchor_10_10"><span class="label">[10]</span></a> In several accounts of former eruptions of Vesuvius, I
+have found mention of the ashes falling at a much greater distance;
+that, in the year 472 and 473, they had reached Constantinople: Dio
+says, that during the eruption of Vesuvius in the time of Titus&mdash;"tantus
+fuit pulvis ut ab eo loco in Africam et Syriam et �gyptum penetraverit."
+A book printed at Lecce, in the kingdom of Naples, in <span class="smcap">mdcxxxii</span>, and
+intituled, <i>Discorso sopra l'origine de fuochi gettati dal Monte Vesuvio
+di Gio Francesco Sorrata Spinola Galateo</i>, says, that the 16th of
+December, 1631, the very day of the great eruption of Vesuvius (though
+perfectly calm), it rained ashes at Lecce, which is nine days journey
+from the mountain: that the day was darkened by them, and that they
+covered the ground three inches deep; that ashes of a different quality
+fell at Bari the same day; and that at both these places the inhabitants
+were very greatly alarmed, not being able to conceive the occasion of
+such a ph�nomenon. Antonio Bulifon, in his account of the same eruption,
+says, that the ashes fell, and lay several inches deep at Ariano in
+Puglia; and I have been assured, by many persons of credit at Naples,
+that they have been sensible of the fall of ashes, during an eruption,
+at above two hundred miles distance from Vesuvius. The Abbate Giulio
+Cesare Bracini, in his account of the eruption of Vesuvius, in 1631,
+says, that the height of the column of smoak and ashes, taken from
+Naples by a quadrant, was upwards of thirty miles. Though such uncertain
+calculations demand but little attention; yet, by what I have seen, I am
+convinced, that in great eruptions the ashes are sent up to so great a
+height as to meet with extraordinary currents of air, which is the most
+probable way of accounting for their having been carried to so great a
+distance in a few hours. In a book, intituled, <i>Salvatoris Varonis
+Vesuviani incendii Libri tres: Neapoli</i>, <span class="smcap">mdcxxxiv</span>, I found a very
+poetical description of the ashes that lay in the neighbourhood of
+Vesuvius, after the eruption of 1631, in depth, from twenty to a hundred
+palms: "Quare," says this author, "multi patrio in solo requirunt
+patriam, et vix ibi se credunt vivere ubi certo sciant sese natos, adeo
+totam loci speciem tempestas vertit."</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_11_11" id="Footnote_11_11"></a><a href="#FNanchor_11_11"><span class="label">[11]</span></a> This conjecture has proved true; for, even in the month of
+April 1771, I again thrust sticks into some crevices of this lava, and
+they immediately took fire. On Mount Etna, in 1769, I observed the lava,
+that had been disgorged in 1766, smoak in many parts.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_12_12" id="Footnote_12_12"></a><a href="#FNanchor_12_12"><span class="label">[12]</span></a> In all accounts of great eruptions of Mount Etna and Mount
+Vesuvius, I have found mention of this sort of lightning. Pliny the
+younger, in his second letter to Tacitus upon the eruption of Vesuvius
+in the time of Titus, says, that a black and horrible cloud covered them
+at Misenum (which is above fifteen miles from the Volcano), and that
+flashes of zig-zag fire, like lightning, but stronger, burst from it;
+these are his words: "ab altero latere nubes atra et horrenda ignei
+spiritus tortis vibratisque discursibus rupta, in longas flammarum
+figuras dehiscebat; fulgoribus ill� et similes et majores erant." This
+was evidently the same electrical fire, and with which I am convinced
+that the smoak of all Volcanos is pregnant. In several accounts of the
+great eruption of Vesuvius in 1631, mention is made of damage done by
+the lightning that issued from the column of smoak. Bulifon, in
+particular, says, that, in the neighbourhood of the Volcano, people were
+struck dead in the same manner as if by lightning, without having their
+cloaths singed. Pliny mentions a like instance, which shews that the
+ancients had observed this ph�nomenon; for he says, that at Pompeii, the
+day being fair, Marcus Herennius was struck dead by lightning. These are
+his words; "In Catilianis prodigiis, Pompeiano ex municipio M. Herennius
+Decurio <i>serena die</i>, fulmine ictus est." Plin. Hist. Nat. lib. II. cap.
+<span class="smcap">li.</span> The learned and ingenious Father Beccaria, at Turin, assured me,
+that he had been greatly pleased with my observations on this species of
+lightning, as coinciding perfectly with several of his electrical
+experiments.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_13_13" id="Footnote_13_13"></a><a href="#FNanchor_13_13"><span class="label">[13]</span></a> "I am well convinced, by this collection, that many
+variegated marbles, and many precious stones, are the produce of
+Volcanos; and that there have been Volcanos in many parts of the world,
+where at present there are no traces of them visible." This is taken
+from a prior letter to Lord Morton, dated April 7, 1767.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_14_14" id="Footnote_14_14"></a><a href="#FNanchor_14_14"><span class="label">[14]</span></a> In some accounts of an eruption of Vesuvius in 1660, I
+find mention made of ashes which fell in the shape of crosses, and were
+looked upon as highly miraculous; but in one book upon this subject,
+intituled, <i>Athanasii Kircheri Soc. Jes. De prodigiosis crucibus, &amp;c.
+Rom�</i>, <span class="smcap">mdclxi</span>, a very philosophical account is given of this ph�nomenon;
+he says, that, in 1660, from the 16th of August to the 15th of October,
+Vesuvius cast up ashes, impregnated with nitrous, saline, and bituminous
+sulphur, which upon linen garments took the form of crosses, probably
+directed by the cross-threads in the linen, and therefore that the salts
+did not shoot into such a shape when they fell upon garments of woollen;
+a very particular description of these crosses may be found in page 38,
+of the abovementioned book.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_15_15" id="Footnote_15_15"></a><a href="#FNanchor_15_15"><span class="label">[15]</span></a> I have since found in this stratum of erupted matter at
+Pompeii, stones weighing eight pounds: but many accounts of the great
+eruption of Vesuvius, particularly that of Antonio Bulifon, mention that
+a stone like a bomb was thrown from the crater of Vesuvius in 1631; and
+fell upon the Marquis of Lauro's house at Nola, which it set on fire. As
+Nola is twelve miles from Vesuvius, this circumstance seems rather
+extraordinary: however, I have seen stones of an enormous size shot up
+to a very great height by Mount Vesuvius. In May 1771, having a stop
+watch in my hand, I observed that one of these stones was eleven seconds
+falling from its greatest height, into the crater from whence it had
+been ejected. In 1767, a solid stone, measuring twelve feet in height,
+and forty-five in circumference, was thrown a quarter of a mile from the
+crater; the eruption of 1767, though by much the most violent of this
+century, was, comparatively to those of the year 79 and 1631, very
+mild.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_16_16" id="Footnote_16_16"></a><a href="#FNanchor_16_16"><span class="label">[16]</span></a> See <a href="#LETTER_V">Letter V.</a> in this collection.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_17_17" id="Footnote_17_17"></a><a href="#FNanchor_17_17"><span class="label">[17]</span></a> It is the common received opinion, that this mountain rose
+from the bottom of the Lucrine lake. I had not seen the very curious and
+particular account of its formation (which account is in my next <a href="#LETTER_V">letter</a>)
+when I wrote this, and was therefore in the same error.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_18_18" id="Footnote_18_18"></a><a href="#FNanchor_18_18"><span class="label">[18]</span></a> This must depend greatly upon the quality of the lava's;
+some have been in a more perfect state of vitrification than others, and
+are consequently less liable to the impressions of time. I have often
+observed on Mount Vesuvius, when I have been close to the mouth from
+whence a lava was disgorging itself, that the quality of it varied
+greatly from time to time: I have seen it as fluid and coherent as glass
+when in fusion: and I have seen it farinacious, the particles separating
+as they forced their way out, just like meal coming from under the
+grindstones. A stream of lava of this sort, being less compact, and
+continuing more earthy particles, would certainly be much sooner fit for
+vegetation, than one composed of the more perfect vitrified matter.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_19_19" id="Footnote_19_19"></a><a href="#FNanchor_19_19"><span class="label">[19]</span></a> This earthquake happened in the year 1693, and destroyed
+forty-nine towns and villages, nine hundred and twenty-two churches,
+colleges, and convents; and near one hundred thousand persons were
+buried in their ruin.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_20_20" id="Footnote_20_20"></a><a href="#FNanchor_20_20"><span class="label">[20]</span></a> It is intituled, "A true and exact relation of the late
+prodigious earthquake and eruption of Mount �tna, or Monte Gibello; as
+it came in a letter written to his Majesty from Naples, by the Right
+Honourable the Earl of Winchelsea, his Majesty's late Embassador at
+Constantinople, who, in his return from thence, visiting Catania in the
+island of Sicily, was an eye-witness of that dreadful spectacle;
+together with a more particular narrative of the same, as it is
+collected out of the several relations sent from Catania; published by
+authority. Printed by T. Newcomb, in the Savoy, 1669."
+</p><p>
+"I accepted, says the author, p. 38, the invitation of the Bishop of
+Catania, to stay a day with him, that so I might be the better able to
+inform your Majesty of that extraordinary fire, which comes from Mount
+Gibel, fifteen miles distant from that city, which, for its horridness
+in the aspect, for the vast quantity thereof (for it is fifteen miles in
+length, and seven in breadth), for its monstrous devastation and quick
+progress, may be termed an inundation of fire, a flood of fire, cinders,
+and burning stones, burning with that rage as to advance into the sea
+six hundred yards, and that to a mile in breadth, which I saw; and that
+which did augment my admiration was, to see in the sea this matter like
+ragged rocks, burning in four fathom water, two fathom higher than the
+sea itself, some parts liquid, and throwing off, not with great
+violence, the stones about it, which, like a crust of a vast bigness,
+and red hot, fell into the sea every moment, in some place or other,
+causing a great and horrible noise, smoak, and hissing in the sea; and
+that more and more coming after it, making a firm foundation in the sea
+itself. I stayed there from nine a clock on Saturday morning, to seven
+next morning;" (this must have been towards the middle or latter end of
+April;) "and this mountain of fire and stones with cinders had advanced
+into the sea twenty yards at least, in several places; in the middle of
+this fire, which burnt in the sea, it hath formed like to a river, with
+its banks on each side very steep and craggy; and in this channel moves
+the greatest quantity of this fire, which is the most liquid, with
+stones of the same composition, and cinders all red hot, swimming upon
+the fire of a great magnitude; from this a river of fire doth proceed
+under the great mass of the stones, which are generally three fathoms
+high all over the country, where it burns, and in other places much
+more. There are secret conduits or rivulets of the liquid matter, which
+communicates fire and heat into all parts more or less, and melts the
+stones and cinders by fits in those places where it toucheth them, over
+and over again; where it meets with rocks or houses of the same matter
+(as many are), they melt and go away with the fire; where they find
+other compositions, they turn them to lime or ashes (as I am informed).
+The composition of this fire, stones, and cinders, are sulphur, nitre,
+quicksilver, sal ammoniac, lead, iron, brass, and all other metals. It
+moves not regularly, nor constantly down hill<a name="FNanchor_48_48" id="FNanchor_48_48"></a><a href="#Footnote_48_48" class="fnanchor">[48]</a>; in some places it
+hath made the vallies hills, and the hills that are not high are now
+vallies. When it was night, I went upon two towers, in divers places;
+and could plainly see at ten miles distance, as we judged, the fire to
+begin to run from the mountain in a direct line, the flame to ascend as
+high and as big as one of the greatest steeples in your Majesty's
+kingdoms, and to throw up great stones into the air; I could discern the
+river of fire to descend the mountain of a terrible fiery or red colour,
+and stones of a paler red to swim thereon, and to be some as big as an
+ordinary table. We could see this fire to move in several other places,
+and all the country covered with fire, ascending with great flames<a name="FNanchor_49_49" id="FNanchor_49_49"></a><a href="#Footnote_49_49" class="fnanchor">[49]</a>,
+in many places, smoaking like to a violent furnace of iron melted,
+making a noise with the great pieces that fell, especially those which
+fell into the sea. A Cavalier of Malta, who lives there, and attended
+me, told me, that the river was as liquid where it issues out of the
+mountain, as water, and came out like a torrent with great violence, and
+is five or six fathom deep, and as broad, and that no stones sink
+therein. I assure your Majesty, no pen can express how terrible it is,
+nor can all the art and industry of the world quench or divert that
+which is burning in the country. In forty days time, it hath destroyed
+the habitations of 27,000 persons; made two hills of one, 1000 paces
+high apiece, and one is four miles in compass; of 20,000 persons, which
+inhabit Catania, 3000 did only remain; all their goods are carried away,
+the cannons of brass are removed out of the castle, some great bells
+taken down, the city-gates walled up next the fire, and preparations
+made to abandon the city.
+</p><p>
+"That night which I lay there, it rained ashes all over the city, and
+ten miles at sea it troubled my eyes. This fire in its progress met with
+a lake of four miles in compass; and it was not only satisfied to fill
+it up, though it was four fathom deep, but hath made of it a mountain."</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_21_21" id="Footnote_21_21"></a><a href="#FNanchor_21_21"><span class="label">[21]</span></a> I have heard since, from some of our countrymen who have
+measured this tree, that its dimensions are actually as abovementioned,
+but that they could perceive some signs of four stems having grown
+together, and formed one tree.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_22_22" id="Footnote_22_22"></a><a href="#FNanchor_22_22"><span class="label">[22]</span></a> No great stress should be laid upon these observations, as
+the many inconveniences we laboured under, and the little practice we
+had in such nice operations, must necessarily have rendered them very
+inaccurate. The Canon Recupero, who was our guide, attended Mess.
+Glover, Fullerton, and Brydone, up Mount Etna in June 1770. The latter
+is a very ingenious and accurate observer, and has taken the height of
+many of the highest mountains in the Alps. His observations, as the
+Canon informed me, were as follows: At the top of the mountain the
+quicksilver in the thermometer was 9 degrees below freezing point, when
+at the foot of the mountain it rose to 76. At the foot of the little
+mountain that crowns the Volcano the barometer stood at 20� 4<span class="frac"><sup>2</sup>/<sub>3</sub></span>', half
+way up this little mountain it was at 19� 6'; but the wind was too
+violent for them to attempt any more observations. The barometer and
+thermometer were of Fahrenheit's. Mr. Brydone remarked, as he went up in
+the night, that he could distinguish the stars in the milky way with
+wonderful clearness, and that the cold was much more intense than he had
+ever felt upon the highest mountains of the Alps.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_23_23" id="Footnote_23_23"></a><a href="#FNanchor_23_23"><span class="label">[23]</span></a> This passage, in Cornelius Severus's poem upon Etna, seems
+to confirm my opinion:
+</p>
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Placantesque etiam c�lestia numina thure<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">"Summo cerne jugo, vel qu� liberrimus �tna<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">"Improspectus hiat; tantarum semina rerum<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">"Si nihil irritet flammas, stupeatque profundum."<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+</div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_24_24" id="Footnote_24_24"></a><a href="#FNanchor_24_24"><span class="label">[24]</span></a> A better account of the formation of <i>tufa</i> will be seen
+in my next <a href="#LETTER_V">letter</a>.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_25_25" id="Footnote_25_25"></a><a href="#FNanchor_25_25"><span class="label">[25]</span></a> The dates of the eruptions of Mount Etna, recorded by
+history, are as follows: Before the Christian �ra four, in the years
+3525. 3538. 3554. 3843. After Christ, twenty-seven have been recorded,
+1175. 1285. 1321. 1323. 1329. 1408. 1530. 1536. 1537. 1540. 1545. 1554.
+1556. 1566. 1579. 1614. 1634. 1636. 1643. 1669. 1682. 1689. 1692. 1702.
+1747. 1755. 1766.
+</p><p>
+The dates of the eruptions of Vesuvius are as follows: After Christ&mdash;79.
+203. 472. 512. 685. 993. 1036. 1043. 1048. 1136. 1506. [1538, the
+eruption at Puzzole.] 1631. 1660. 1682. 1694. 1701. 1704. 1712. 1717.
+1730. 1737. 1751. 1754. 1760. 1766. 1767. 1770. 1771.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_26_26" id="Footnote_26_26"></a><a href="#FNanchor_26_26"><span class="label">[26]</span></a> Pliny, in his account of these islands, in the <span class="smcap">ix</span> chapter
+of the third book of his Natural History, seems to confirm this opinion.
+</p><p>
+"Lipara cum civium Romanorum oppido, dicta � Liparo rege, qui successit
+�olo, antea Melogonis vel Meliganis vocitata, abest <span class="smcap">xii</span> millia pass. ab
+Italia, ipsa circuitu paulo minori. Inter hanc et Siciliam altera, antea
+Therasia appellata, nunc Hiera; qui sacra Vulcano est, colle in ea
+nocturnas evomente flammas. Tertia Strongyle, a Lipara millia passuum ad
+exortum solis vergens, in qua regnavit �olus, qu� � Lipara liquidiore
+flamma tantum differt: e cujus fumo equinam flaturi sint venti, in
+triduum pr�dicere incol� traduntur; unde ventos �olo paruisse
+existimatum. Quarta Didyme, minor quam Lipara. Quinta Ericusa; sexta
+Ph&oelig;nicusa; pabulo proximarum relicta. <span class="smcap">Novissima</span>, eademque Minima,
+Evonymos."</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_27_27" id="Footnote_27_27"></a><a href="#FNanchor_27_27"><span class="label">[27]</span></a> See <a href="#PLATE_5">Plate V.</a></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_28_28" id="Footnote_28_28"></a><a href="#FNanchor_28_28"><span class="label">[28]</span></a> The Abate Giulio Cesare Bruccini describes very elegantly,
+in his account of the eruption of Vesuvius in 1631, his having made an
+observation of the like nature&mdash;his words are (after having
+particularized the different strata of erupted matter lying one over
+another)&mdash;"parendo appunto che la natura ci abbia voluto lasciare
+scritto in questa terra tutti gli incendii memorabili raccontati delli
+autori."</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_29_29" id="Footnote_29_29"></a><a href="#FNanchor_29_29"><span class="label">[29]</span></a> These are his words, book II. chap. vi.
+</p><p>
+"De Pulvere Puteolano.
+</p><p>
+"Est etiam genus pulveris, quod efficit naturaliter res admirandas.
+Nascitur in regionibus Ba�anis, et in agris municipiorum, qu� sunt circa
+Vesuvium montem, quod commixtum cum calce et c�mento non modo c�teris
+�dificiis pr�stat firmitates, sed etiam moles, qu� construuntur in mari,
+sub aqua solidescunt. Hoc autem fieri hac ratione videtur, quod sub his
+montibus et terra ferventes sunt fontes crebri, qui non essent, si non
+in imo haberent, aut de sulfure, aut alumine, aut bitumine ardentes
+maximos ignes: igitur penitus ignis, et flamm� vapor per intervenia
+permanans et ardens, efficet levem eam terram, et ibi, qui nascitur
+tophus, exugens est, et sine liquore. Ergo cum tres res consimili
+ratione, ignis vehementia format� in unam pervenerint mixtionem, repente
+recepto liquore una coh�rescunt, et celeriter humore durat� solidantur,
+neque eas fluctus, neque vis aqu� potest dissolvere."
+</p><p>
+About Ba�a, Puzzole, and Naples, we have an opportunity of remarking the
+truth of these last words. Several of the piers of the ancient harbour
+of Puzzole, vulgarly called Caligula's bridge, and which are composed of
+bricks joined with this sort of cement, are still standing in the sea,
+though much exposed to the waves; and upon every part of the shore you
+find large masses of brick-walls rounded and polished by friction in the
+sea, the brick and mortar making one body, and appearing like a
+variegated stone. Large pieces of old walls are likewise often cut out
+into square pieces, and made use of in modern buildings instead of
+stone.
+</p><p>
+Soon after the first quotation, Pliny says, "Si ergo in his locis
+aquarum ferventes inveniuntur fontes, et in montibus excavatis calidi
+vapores, ipsaque loca ab antiquis memorantur pervagantes in agris
+habuisse ardores, videtur esse certum ab ignis vehementia ex topho
+terraque, quemadmodum in fornacibus et a calce, ita ex his ereptum esse
+liquorem. Igitur dissimilibus, et disparibus rebus correptis, et in unam
+potestatem collatis, callida humoris jejunitas aqua repente satiata,
+communibus corporibus latenti calore confervescit et vehementer effecit
+ea coire, celeriterque una soliditatis percipere virtutem."</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_30_30" id="Footnote_30_30"></a><a href="#FNanchor_30_30"><span class="label">[30]</span></a> Scipione Falcone, a very good observer, in his <i>Discorso
+naturale delli cause et effetti del Vesuvio</i>, says, that he saw, after
+the eruption of Vesuvius in 1631 (which was attended with hot water),
+the mud harden almost to a stone in a few days; his words are
+these&mdash;"fatta dura a modo di calcina e di pietra non altrimenti di
+cenere, perch� dop� alcuni giorni vi ci e caminato per sopra e si e
+conosciuta durissima che ci vogliono li picconi per romperla." This
+account, with other circumstances mentioned in this letter, make it
+highly probable, that all the <i>tufas</i> in the neighbourhood of Vesuvius
+have been formed by a like operation.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_31_31" id="Footnote_31_31"></a><a href="#FNanchor_31_31"><span class="label">[31]</span></a> This piece is now in the Museum of the Royal Society,
+together with other specimens, mentioned in this and in the <a href="#LETTER_VI">following
+letter</a>. M. M.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_32_32" id="Footnote_32_32"></a><a href="#FNanchor_32_32"><span class="label">[32]</span></a> <a href="#LETTER_IV">Letter IV.</a></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_33_33" id="Footnote_33_33"></a><a href="#FNanchor_33_33"><span class="label">[33]</span></a> Strabo, in his fifth book of Geography, says, "Supra h�c
+loca situs est Vesuvius mons agris cinctus optimis: dempto vertice, qui
+magna sui parte planus, totus sterilis est, adspectu cin�reus,
+cavernasque ostendens fistularum plenas et lapidum colore fuliginoso,
+utpote ab igni exesorum, ut conjecturam facere possit ista loca quondam
+arsisse, et crateras ignis habuisse, deinde materia deficiente restincta
+fuisse."
+</p><p>
+Diodorus Siculus, in his fourth book, describing the voyage of Hercules
+into Italy, says, "Phlegr�us quoque campus is locus appellatur a colle
+nimirum, qui �tn� instar Sicul� magnam vim ignis eructabat; nunc
+Vesuvius nominatur, multa inflammationis pristin� vestigia reservans."
+And Vitruvius, in the sixth chapter of the second book, says, "Non minus
+etiam memoratur antiquitus crevisse ardores et abundasse sub Vesuvio
+monte et inde evomuisse circa agros flammas." Tacitus, mentioning the
+eruption of Vesuvius in the reign of Titus, seems to hint likewise at
+former eruptions, in these words: "Jam ver� novis cladibus, vel post
+longam s�culorum repetitis afflict�, haust� aut abrut� fecundissima
+Campani� ora et urbs incendiis vastata."</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_34_34" id="Footnote_34_34"></a><a href="#FNanchor_34_34"><span class="label">[34]</span></a> Bracini, in his account of the eruption of 1613, says,
+that he found many sorts of sea shells on Vesuvius after that eruption;
+and P. Ignatio, in his account of the same eruption, says, that he and
+his companions picked up many shells likewise at that time upon the
+mountain: this circumstance would induce one to believe, that the water
+thrown out of Vesuvius, during that formidable eruption, came from the
+sea.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_35_35" id="Footnote_35_35"></a><a href="#FNanchor_35_35"><span class="label">[35]</span></a> In book xi. c. 93. he observes, that about Sinuessa and
+Puteoli, "Spiracula vocant&mdash;alii Caroneas scrobes, mortiferum spiritum
+exhalantes." And Seneca, Nat. Qu�st. lib. vi. cap. 28. "Pluribus Itali�
+locis per qu�dam foramina pestilens exhalatur vapor, quem non homini
+ducere, non fer� tutum est. Aves quoque si in illum inciderint, antequam
+c&oelig;lo meliore leniatur, in ipso volatu cadunt, liventque corpora, et
+non aliter quam per vim elis� fauces tument."</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_36_36" id="Footnote_36_36"></a><a href="#FNanchor_36_36"><span class="label">[36]</span></a> I have remarked, that, after a great fall of rain, the
+degree of heat in this water is much less, which will account for what
+the Padre Torre says (in his book, entituled, <i>Histoire et Phenomenes du
+Vesuve</i>), that, when he tried it in company with Monsieur de la
+Condamine, the degree of heat, upon Reaumur's thermometer, was 68�.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_37_37" id="Footnote_37_37"></a><a href="#FNanchor_37_37"><span class="label">[37]</span></a> This very scarce volume has been presented by Sir William
+Hamilton to the British Museum. M. M.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_38_38" id="Footnote_38_38"></a><a href="#FNanchor_38_38"><span class="label">[38]</span></a> Here again we have an example of the electrical fire
+attending a great eruption.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_39_39" id="Footnote_39_39"></a><a href="#FNanchor_39_39"><span class="label">[39]</span></a> The cup, or crater, on the top of the new mountain is now
+covered with shrubs; but I discovered at the bottom of it, in the year
+1770, amidst the bushes, a small hole, which exhales a constant hot and
+damp vapour, just such as proceeds from boiling water, and with as
+little smell; the drops of this steam hang upon the neighbouring
+bushes.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_40_40" id="Footnote_40_40"></a><a href="#FNanchor_40_40"><span class="label">[40]</span></a> The noxious vapours which Lucan mentions to have prevailed
+at Nisida, favour my opinion as to its origin:
+</p>
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i8">"&mdash;Tali spiramine Nesis<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">"Emittit stygium nebulosis a�ra saxis."<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+<span class="letterindent">Lucan. lib. vi.</span><br />
+</div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_41_41" id="Footnote_41_41"></a><a href="#FNanchor_41_41"><span class="label">[41]</span></a> Giulio Cesare Capaccio, in his account of this island,
+says, that there are eleven springs of cold water, and thirty-five of
+hot and mineral waters.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_42_42" id="Footnote_42_42"></a><a href="#FNanchor_42_42"><span class="label">[42]</span></a> By having remarked, that all the implements of stone
+brought by Mess. Banks and Solander from the new-discovered islands in
+the South-Seas, are evidently of such a nature as are only produced by
+Volcanos; and as these gentlemen have assured me, that no other kind of
+stone is to be met with in the islands; I am induced to think, that
+these islands (at so great a distance from any continent) may have
+likewise been pushed up from the bottom of the sea by like explosions.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_43_43" id="Footnote_43_43"></a><a href="#FNanchor_43_43"><span class="label">[43]</span></a> Any one, the least conversant in Volcanos, must be struck
+with the numberless evident marks of them the whole road from the lake
+of Albano to Radicofani, between Naples and Florence; and yet, though
+this soil bears such fresh and undoubted marks of its origin, no history
+reaches the date of any one eruption in these parts.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_44_44" id="Footnote_44_44"></a><a href="#FNanchor_44_44"><span class="label">[44]</span></a> May not the air in countries replete with sulphur be more
+impregnated with electrical matter than the air of other soils? and may
+not the sort of lightning, which is mentioned by several ancient authors
+to have fallen in a serene day, and was considered as an omen, have
+proceeded from such a cause?
+</p><p>
+Horace says, Ode xxxiv.
+</p>
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i8">"&mdash;Namque Diespeter<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">"Igni corusco nubila dividens<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">"Plerumque per purum tonantes<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">"Egit equos volucremque currum."<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i2">"Non alias c&oelig;lo ceciderunt plura sereno<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">"Fulgura&mdash;&mdash;"<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+<p><span class="letterindent">Virgil. Georgic. i.</span></p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Aut cum terribili perculsus fulmine civis<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">"Luce serenanti vitalia lumina liquit."<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+<p><span class="letterindent">Cic. i. de Divin. n. 18.</span>
+</p>
+<blockquote><p>"&mdash;Sabinos petit aliquanto tristior, quod sacrificanti hostia
+aufugerat: quodque tempestate serena tonuerat." </p></blockquote>
+<p><span class="letterindent">Sueton. <i>Tit.</i> cap. 10.</span>
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_45_45" id="Footnote_45_45"></a><a href="#FNanchor_45_45"><span class="label">[45]</span></a> This letter was not received by Dr. Maty in its present
+form: and is rather the substance of an explanatory catalogue, which was
+sent to that gentleman with sundry specimens of the different materials
+that compose the soil described in the preceding <a href="#LETTER_V">letter</a>; which catalogue
+remains, with the specimens, in the Museum of the Royal Society, for the
+inspection, and, I flatter myself, the satisfaction, of the curious in
+natural history.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_46_46" id="Footnote_46_46"></a><a href="#FNanchor_46_46"><span class="label">[46]</span></a> See <a href="#Page_103">p. 103</a> of this collection.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_47_47" id="Footnote_47_47"></a><a href="#FNanchor_47_47"><span class="label">[47]</span></a> See <a href="#LETTER_I">Letter I.</a> <a href="#Page_18">p. 18.</a></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_48_48" id="Footnote_48_48"></a><a href="#FNanchor_48_48"><span class="label">[48]</span></a> Having heard the same remark with respect to the lava's of
+Vesuvius, I determined, during an eruption of that Volcano, to watch the
+progress of a current of lava, and I was soon enabled to comprehend this
+seeming ph�nomenon; though it is, I fear, very difficult to explain.
+Certain it is, that the lava's, whilst in their most fluid state, follow
+always the law of other fluids; but when at a great distance from their
+source, and consequently incumbered with scori� and cinders, the air
+likewise having rendered their outward coat tough, they will sometimes
+(as I have seen) be forced up a short ascent, the fresh matter pushing
+forward that which went before it, and the exterior parts of the lava
+acting always as conductors (or pipes, if I may be allowed the
+expression), for the interior parts, that have retained their fluidity
+by not having been exposed to the air.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_49_49" id="Footnote_49_49"></a><a href="#FNanchor_49_49"><span class="label">[49]</span></a> The flames Lord Winchelsea mentions, were certainly
+produced by the lava having met with trees in the way; or perhaps his
+Lordship may have mistaken the white smoak which constantly rises from a
+lava (and in the night is tinged by the reflection of the red hot
+matter), for flame, of which indeed it has greatly the appearance at a
+distance. I have observed upon Mount Vesuvius, that, soon after a lava
+has borne down and burned a tree, a bright flame issues from its
+surface; otherwise I have never seen any flame attending an eruption.</p></div>
+
+
+</div>
+<p class="center">THE END.</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+<h2><a name="IMPORTED_from_NAPLES" id="IMPORTED_from_NAPLES"></a>IMPORTED from NAPLES,</h2>
+
+<p class="center">By <span class="smcap">T. Cadell</span>, in the Strand.</p>
+
+
+<p>A Collection of Etruscan, Greek, and Roman Antiquities, from the Cabinet
+of the Hon. Sir <span class="smcap">William Hamilton</span>, K.B. F.R.S. His Majesty's Envoy
+Extraordinary at the Court of Naples. The Whole to be comprised in four
+Volumes Folio. The Plates finely coloured. The Price to Subscribers 9l.
+9s. in Sheets; Six Guineas of which is to be paid on the Delivery of the
+first and second Volumes, and the remaining Three Guineas upon the
+Delivery of the third and fourth. After the Subscription is closed, the
+Price will be considerably raised.</p>
+
+<p>Specimens of all the Plates of the third Volume are arrived, and the
+fourth and last Volume is now doing; so that the Public may be assured
+the Whole of this elegant Work will be finished with all possible
+Expedition.</p>
+
+<p>** Those Noblemen and Gentlemen who subscribed for the first
+Volume may have the second upon paying 2l. 2s.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+<h2><a name="Transcribers_Notes" id="Transcribers_Notes"></a>Transcriber's Notes</h2>
+
+
+<p>This document was taken from hand-written letters in the eighteenth
+century, and also contains quotes from other authors. As such, it's no
+surprise that there are many spelling and punctuation irregularities.
+Except where explicitly noted below, these were kept as is. Spelling
+variants that were preserved include: "Abbate" and "Abate;"
+"abovementioned" and "above-mentioned;" "�naria" and "Enaria;" "ancient"
+and "antient" (and derivatives); "Astruni" and "Astroni;" "Averno" and
+"Avernus;" "Giulio Cesare Bracini" and "Giulio Cesare Bruccini;"
+"Castel-a-Mare," "Castel-a-mare," "Castel a Mare" and "Castle-a-Mare;"
+"centre" and "center;" "colour" and "color" (and derivatives); "deer"
+and "deers" (for the plural of "deer"); "enquiry" and "inquiry;"
+"entirely" and "intirely;" "entituled" and "intituled;" "exteriour" and
+"exterior;" "honour" and "honor;" "interiour" and "interior;" "lavas"
+and "lava's" (for the plural of "lava"); "Mare-morto" and "Mare Morto;"
+"mere" and "meer;" "Mon-Gibello," "Mongibello," "Mon Gibello," "Monte
+Gibello" and "Mount Gibel;" "o'clock" and "a clock;" "Procida" and
+"Procita;" "rain water" and "rain-water;" "smoke" and "smoak" (and
+derivatives); "Solfaterra" and "Solfa terra;" "strata" and "stratas"
+(for the plural of "stratum"); "Torre dell' Annunciata," "Torre dell'
+Annunziata" and "Torre del Annunziata;" "Volcanos" and "Volcano's" (for
+the plural of "Volcano"); "Volcano's" and "Volcanos" (for the possessive
+of "Volcano").</p>
+
+<p>Changed "that" to "than" on page 85: "on the top of Vesuvius than on
+that of Etna."</p>
+
+<p>Changed "thermomether" to "thermometer" on page 122: "Fahrenheit's
+thermometer."</p>
+
+<p>Inserted missing word "a" on page 129: "fell a great part of the night."</p>
+
+<p>A small right-pointing hand appeared at the beginning of the last
+line of the advertisement.  It was replaced by two asterisks.</p>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Observations on Mount Vesuvius, Mount
+Etna, and Other Volcanos, by William Hamilton
+
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+</body>
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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Observations on Mount Vesuvius, Mount Etna,
+and Other Volcanos, by William Hamilton
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Observations on Mount Vesuvius, Mount Etna, and Other Volcanos
+
+Author: William Hamilton
+
+Editor: Thomas Cadell
+
+Release Date: March 1, 2011 [EBook #35433]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK OBSERVATIONS ON MOUNT VESUVIUS ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Bryan Ness, Stephen H. Sentoff, Alicia Williams
+and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at
+https://www.pgdp.net (This book was produced from scanned
+images of public domain material from the Google Print
+project.)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+OBSERVATIONS
+ON
+MOUNT VESUVIUS,
+MOUNT ETNA,
+AND OTHER VOLCANOS:
+
+IN
+A SERIES OF LETTERS,
+
+Addressed to THE ROYAL SOCIETY,
+
+From the Honourable Sir W. HAMILTON,
+K.B. F.R.S.
+
+His Majesty's Envoy Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
+at the Court of NAPLES.
+
+To which are added,
+
+Explanatory NOTES by the AUTHOR,
+hitherto unpublished.
+
+A NEW EDITION.
+
+LONDON,
+Printed for T. CADELL, in the Strand.
+M DCC LXXIV.
+
+
+
+
+THE EDITOR
+TO
+THE PUBLIC.
+
+
+Having mentioned to Sir WILLIAM HAMILTON the general Desire of all
+Lovers of Natural History, that his Letters upon the Subject of VOLCANOS
+should be collected together in one Volume, particularly for the
+Convenience of such as may have an Opportunity of visiting the curious
+Spots described in them: He was not only pleased to approve of my
+having undertaken this Publication, but has likewise favoured with the
+additional explanatory Notes and Drawings,
+
+                              The PUBLIC's most obliged,
+                              and devoted
+                              humble Servant,
+
+                              T. CADELL.
+
+May 30, 1772.
+
+
+
+
+OBSERVATIONS
+ON
+MOUNT VESUVIUS, &c.
+
+
+
+
+LETTER I.
+
+To the Right Honourable the Earl of MORTON, President of the Royal
+Society.
+
+
+                              Naples, June 10, 1766.
+
+My LORD,
+
+As I have attended particularly to the various changes of Mount
+Vesuvius, from the 17th of November 1764, the day of my arrival at this
+capital; I flatter myself, that my observations will not be unacceptable
+to your Lordship, especially as this Volcano has lately made a very
+considerable eruption. I shall confine myself merely to the many
+extraordinary appearances that have come under my own inspection, and
+leave their explanation to the more learned in Natural Philosophy.
+
+During the first twelvemonth of my being here, I did not perceive any
+remarkable alteration in the mountain; but I observed, the smoke from
+the Volcano was much more considerable in bad weather than when it was
+fair[1]; and I often heard (even at Naples, six miles from Vesuvius) in
+bad weather, the inward explosions of the mountain. When I have been at
+the top of Mount Vesuvius in fair weather, I have sometimes found so
+little smoke, that I have been able to see far down the mouth of the
+Volcano; the sides of which were incrusted with salts and mineral of
+various colors, white, green, deep and pale yellow. The smoke that
+issued from the mouth of the Volcano in bad weather was white, very
+moist, and not near so offensive as the sulphureous steams from various
+cracks on the sides of the mountain.
+
+Towards the month of September last, I perceived the smoke to be more
+considerable, and to continue even in fair weather; and in October I
+perceived sometimes a puff of black smoke shoot up a considerable height
+in the midst of the white, which symptom of an approaching eruption grew
+more frequent daily; and soon after, these puffs of smoke appeared in
+the night tinged like clouds with the setting sun.
+
+About the beginning of November, I went up the mountain: it was then
+covered with snow; and I perceived a little hillock of sulphur had been
+thrown up, since my last visit there, within about forty yards of the
+mouth of the Volcano; it was near six feet high, and a light blue flame
+issued constantly from its top. As I was examining this phaenomenon, I
+heard a violent report; and saw a column of black smoke, followed by a
+reddish flame, shoot up with violence from the mouth of the Volcano; and
+presently fell a shower of stones, one of which, falling near me, made
+me retire with some precipitation, and also rendered me more cautious of
+approaching too near, in my subsequent journies to Vesuvius.
+
+From November to the 28th of March, the date of the beginning of this
+eruption, the smoke increased, and was mixed with ashes, which fell, and
+did great damage to the vineyards in the neighbourhood of the
+mountain[2]. A few days before the eruption I saw (what Pliny the
+younger mentions having seen, before that eruption of Vesuvius which
+proved fatal to his uncle) the black smoke take the form of a pine-tree.
+The smoke, that appeared black in the day-time, for near two months
+before the eruption, had the appearance of flame in the night.
+
+On Good Friday, the 28th of March, at 7 o'clock at night, the lava began
+to boil over the mouth of the Volcano, at first in one stream; and soon
+after, dividing itself into two, it took its course towards Portici. It
+was preceded by a violent explosion, which caused a partial earthquake
+in the neighbourhood of the mountain; and a shower of red hot stones and
+cinders were thrown up to a considerable height. Immediately upon sight
+of the lava, I left Naples, with a party of my countrymen, whom I found
+as impatient as myself to satisfy their curiosity in examining so
+curious an operation of nature. I passed the whole night upon the
+mountain; and observed that, though the red hot stones were thrown up in
+much greater number and to a more considerable height than before the
+appearance of the lava, yet the report was much less considerable than
+some days before the eruption. The lava ran near a mile in an hour's
+time, when the two branches joined in a hollow on the side of the
+mountain, without proceeding farther. I approached the mouth of the
+Volcano, as near as I could with prudence; the lava had the appearance
+of a river of red hot and liquid metal, such as we see in the
+glass-houses, on which were large floating cinders, half lighted, and
+rolling one over another with great precipitation down the side of the
+mountain, forming a most beautiful and uncommon cascade; the color of
+the fire was much paler and more bright the first night than the
+subsequent nights, when it became of a deep red, probably owing to its
+having been more impregnated with sulphur at first than afterwards. In
+the day-time, unless you are quite close, the lava has no appearance of
+fire; but a thick white smoke marks its course.
+
+The 29th, the mountain was very quiet, and the lava did not continue.
+The 30th, it began to flow again in the same direction, whilst the mouth
+of the Volcano threw up every minute a girandole of red hot stones, to
+an immense height. The 31st, I passed the night upon the mountain: the
+lava was not so considerable as the first night; but the red hot stones
+were perfectly transparent, some of which, I dare say of a ton weight,
+mounted at least two hundred feet perpendicular, and fell in, or near,
+the mouth of a little mountain, that was now formed by the quantity of
+ashes and stones, within the great mouth of the Volcano, and which made
+the approach much safer than it had been some days before, when the
+mouth was near half a mile in circumference, and the stones took every
+direction. Mr. Hervey, brother to the Earl of Bristol, was very much
+wounded in the arm some days before the eruption, having approached too
+near; and two English gentlemen with him were also hurt. It is
+impossible to describe the beautiful appearance of these girandoles of
+red hot stones, far surpassing the most astonishing artificial
+fire-work.
+
+From the 31st of March to the 9th of April, the lava continued on the
+same side of the mountain, in two, three, and sometimes four branches,
+without descending much lower than the first night. I remarked a kind of
+intermission in the fever of the mountain[3], which seemed to return
+with violence every other night. On the 10th of April, at night, the
+lava disappeared on the side of the mountain towards Naples, and broke
+out with much more violence on the side next the _Torre dell'
+Annunciata_.
+
+I passed the whole day and the night of the twelfth upon the mountain,
+and followed the course of the lava to its very source: it burst out of
+the side of the mountain, within about half a mile of the mouth of the
+Volcano, like a torrent, attended with violent explosions, which threw
+up inflamed matter to a considerable height, the adjacent ground
+quivering like the timbers of a water-mill; the heat of the lava was so
+great, as not to suffer me to approach nearer than within ten feet of
+the stream, and of such a consistency (though it appeared liquid as
+water) as almost to resist the impression of a long stick, with which I
+made the experiment; large stones thrown on it with all my force did not
+sink, but, making a slight impression, floated on the surface, and were
+carried out of sight in a short time; for, notwithstanding the
+consistency of the lava, it ran with amazing velocity; I am sure, the
+first mile with a rapidity equal to that of the river Severn, at the
+passage near Bristol. The stream at its source was about ten feet wide,
+but soon extended itself, and divided into three branches; so that these
+rivers of fire, communicating their heat to the cinders of former lavas,
+between one branch and the other, had the appearance at night of a
+continued sheet of fire, four miles in length, and in some parts near
+two in breadth. Your Lordship may imagine the glorious appearance of
+this uncommon scene, such as passes all description.
+
+The lava, after having run pure for about a hundred yards, began to
+collect cinders, stones, &c.; and a scum was formed on its surface,
+which in the day-time had the appearance of the river Thames, as I have
+seen it after a hard frost and great fall of snow, when beginning to
+thaw, carrying down vast masses of snow and ice. In two places the
+liquid lava totally disappeared, and ran in a subterraneous passage for
+some paces; then came out again pure, having left the scum behind. In
+this manner it advanced to the cultivated parts of the mountain; and I
+saw it, the same night of the 12th, unmercifully destroy a poor man's
+vineyard, and surround his cottage, notwithstanding the opposition of
+many images of St. Januarius, that were placed upon the cottage, and
+tied to almost every vine. The lava, at the farthest extremity from its
+source, did not appear liquid, but like a heap of red hot coals,
+forming a wall in some places ten or twelve feet high, which rolling
+from the top soon formed another wall, and so on, advancing slowly, not
+more than about thirty feet in an hour[4].
+
+The mouth of the Volcano has not thrown up any large stones since the
+second eruption of lava on the 10th of April; but has thrown up
+quantities of small ashes and pumice stones, that have greatly damaged
+the neighbouring vineyards. I have been several times at the mountain
+since the 12th; but, as the eruption was in its greatest vigour at that
+time, I have ventured to dwell on, and I fear tire your Lordship with,
+the observations of that day.
+
+In my last visit to Mount Vesuvius, the 3d of June, I still found that
+the lava continued; but the rivers were become rivulets, and had lost
+much of their rapidity. The quantity of matter thrown out by this
+eruption is greater than that of the last in the year 1760; but the
+damage to the cultivated lands is not so considerable, owing to its
+having spread itself much more, and its source being at least three
+miles higher up. This eruption seems now to have exhausted itself; and I
+expect in a few days to see Vesuvius restored to its former
+tranquillity.
+
+Mount Etna in Sicily broke out on the 27th of April; and made a lava, in
+two branches, at least six miles in length, and a mile in breadth; and,
+according to the description given me by Mr. Wilbraham, (who was there,
+after having seen with me part of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius)
+resembles it in every respect, except that Mount Etna, at the place from
+whence the lava flowed (which was twelve miles from the mouth of the
+Volcano), threw up a fountain of liquid inflamed matter to a
+considerable height; which, I am told, Mount Vesuvius has done in former
+eruptions.
+
+I beg pardon for having taken up so much of your time; and yet I flatter
+myself, that my description, which I assure your Lordship is not
+exaggerated, will have afforded you some amusement. I have the honour to
+be,
+
+                              My LORD,
+                              Your Lordship's
+                              Most obedient
+                              and most humble servant,
+
+                              WILLIAM HAMILTON.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+                              Naples, February 3, 1767.
+
+Since the account of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, which I had the
+honour of giving to your Lordship, in my letter of the 10th of June
+last; I have only to add, that the lava continued till about the end of
+November, without doing any great damage, having taken its course over
+antient lavas. Since the cessation of this eruption, I have examined
+the crater, and the crack on the side of the mountain towards _Torre
+dell' Annunciata_, about a hundred yards from the crater from whence
+this lava issued: and I found therein some very curious salts and
+sulphurs; a specimen of each sort I have put into bottles myself, even
+upon the mountain, that they might not lose any of their force, and have
+sent them in a box directed to your Lordship, as you will see, by the
+bill of lading: I am sure, you will have a pleasure in seeing them
+analyzed[5]. I have also packed in the same box some lava, and cinders,
+of the last eruption; there is one piece in particular very curious,
+having the exact appearance of a cable petrified. I shall be very happy
+if these trifles should afford your Lordship a moment's amusement.
+
+It is very extraordinary, that I cannot find, that any chemist here has
+ever been at the trouble of analyzing the productions of Vesuvius.
+
+The deep yellow, or orange-color salts, of which there are two bottles,
+I fetched out of the very crater of the mountain, in a crevice that was
+indeed very hot. It seems to me to be powerful, as it turns silver black
+in an instant, but has no effect upon gold. If your Lordship pleases, I
+will send you by another opportunity specimens of the sulphurs and salts
+of the Solfa terra, which seem to be very different from these.
+
+Within these three days, the fire has appeared again on the top of
+Vesuvius, and earthquakes have been felt in the neighbourhood of the
+mountain. I was there on Saturday with my nephew Lord Greville; we heard
+most dreadful inward grumblings, rattling of stones, and hissing; and
+were obliged to leave the crater very soon, on account of the emission
+of stones. The black smoak arose, as before the last eruption; and I saw
+every symptom of a new eruption, of which I shall not fail to give your
+Lordship an exact account.
+
+
+
+
+LETTER II.
+
+To the Right Honourable the Earl of MORTON, President of the Royal
+Society.
+
+
+                              Naples, December 29, 1767.
+
+My LORD,
+
+The favourable reception, which my account of last year's eruption of
+Mount Vesuvius met with from your Lordship; the approbation which the
+Royal Society was pleased to shew, by having ordered the same to be
+printed in their Philosophical Transactions; and your Lordship's
+commands, in your letter of the 3d instant; encourage me to trouble you
+with a plain narrative of what came immediately under my observation,
+during the late violent eruption, which began October 19, 1767, and is
+reckoned to be the twenty-seventh since that, which, in the time of
+Titus, destroyed Herculaneum and Pompeii.
+
+The eruption of 1766 continued in some degree till the 10th of December,
+about nine months in all[6]; yet in that space of time the mountain did
+not cast up a third of the quantity of lava, which it disgorged in only
+seven days, the term of this last eruption. On the 15th of December,
+last year, within the ancient crater of Mount Vesuvius, and about twenty
+feet deep, there was a crust, which formed a plain, not unlike the
+Solfa terra in miniature; in the midst of this plain was a little
+mountain, whose top did not rise so high as the rim of the ancient
+crater. I went into this plain, and up the little mountain, which was
+perforated, and served as the principal chimney to the Volcano: when I
+threw down large stones, I could hear that they met with many
+obstructions in their way, and could count a hundred moderately before
+they reached the bottom.
+
+Vesuvius was quiet till March 1767, when it began to throw up stones
+from time to time; in April, the throws were more frequent, and at night
+fire was visible on top of the mountain, or, more properly speaking, the
+smoak, which hung over the crater, was tinged by the reflection of the
+fire within the Volcano. These repeated throws of cinders, ashes, and
+pumice stones, increased the little mountain so much, that in May the
+top was visible above the rim of the ancient crater. The 7th of August,
+there issued a small stream of lava, from a breach in the side of this
+little mountain, which gradually filled the valley between it and the
+ancient crater; so that, the 12th of September, the lava overflowed the
+ancient crater, and took its course down the sides of the great
+mountain; by this time, the throws were much more frequent, and the red
+hot stones went so high as to take up ten seconds in their fall. Padre
+Torre, a great observer of Mount Vesuvius, says they went up above a
+thousand feet.
+
+The 15th of October, the height of the little mountain (formed in about
+eight months) was measured by Don Andrea Pigonati, a very ingenious
+young man, in his Sicilian Majesty's service, who assured me that its
+height was 185 French feet.
+
+From my villa, situated between Herculaneum and Pompeii, near the
+convent of the Calmaldolese (marked 7 in Plate I.) I had watched the
+growing of this little mountain; and, by taking drawings of it from
+time to time, I could perceive its increase most minutely. I make no
+doubt but that the whole of Mount Vesuvius has been formed in the same
+manner; and as these observations seem to me to account for the various
+irregular strata, which are met with in the neighbourhood of Volcanos, I
+have ventured to inclose, for your Lordship's inspection, a copy of the
+abovementioned drawings. (Plate III.)
+
+The lava continued to run over the ancient crater in small streams,
+sometimes on one side, and sometimes on another, till the 18th of
+October, when I took particular notice that there was not the least lava
+to be seen; owing, I imagine, to its being employed in forcing its way
+towards the place where it burst out the following day. As I had,
+contrary to the opinion of most people here, foretold the approaching
+eruption[7], and had observed a great fermentation in the mountain
+after the heavy rains which fell the 13th and 14th of October; I was not
+surprized, on the 19th following, at seven of the clock in the morning,
+to perceive from my villa every symptom of the eruption being just at
+hand. From the top of the little mountain issued a thick black smoak, so
+thick that it seemed to have difficulty in forcing its way out; cloud
+after cloud mounted with a hasty spiral motion, and every minute a
+volley of great stones were shot up to an immense height in the midst of
+these clouds; by degrees, the smoak took the exact shape of a huge
+pine-tree, such as Pliny the younger described in his letter to Tacitus,
+where he gives an account of the fatal eruption in which his uncle
+perished[8]. This column of black smoak, after having mounted an
+extraordinary height, bent with the wind towards Caprea, and actually
+reached over that island, which is not less than twenty-eight miles from
+Vesuvius.
+
+I warned my family, not to be alarmed, as I expected there would be an
+earthquake at the moment of the lava's bursting out; but before eight of
+the clock in the morning I perceived that the mountain had opened a
+mouth, without noise, about a hundred yards lower than the ancient
+crater, on the side towards the Monte di Somma; and I plainly perceived,
+by a white smoak, which always accompanies the lava, that it had forced
+its way out: as soon as it had vent, the smoak no longer came out with
+that violence from the top. As I imagined that there would be no danger
+in approaching the mountain when the lava had vent, I went up
+immediately, accompanied by one peasant only. I passed the hermitage (3.
+in Plate I.), and proceeded as far as the spot marked (X), in the valley
+between the mountain of Somma and that of Vesuvius, which is called
+Atrio di Cavallo. I was making my observations upon the lava, which had
+already, from the spot (E) where it first broke out, reached the valley;
+when, on a sudden, about noon, I heard a violent noise within the
+mountain, and at the spot (C), about a quarter of a mile off the place
+where I stood, the mountain split; and, with much noise, from this new
+mouth, a fountain of liquid fire shot up many feet high, and then, like
+a torrent, rolled on directly towards us. The earth shook, at the same
+time that a volley of pumice stones fell thick upon us; in an instant,
+clouds of black smoak and ashes caused almost a total darkness; the
+explosions from the top of the mountain were much louder than any
+thunder I ever heard, and the smell of the sulphur was very offensive.
+My guide, alarmed, took to his heels; and I must confess, that I was not
+at my ease. I followed close, and we ran near three miles without
+stopping; as the earth continued to shake under our feet, I was
+apprehensive of the opening of a fresh mouth, which might have cut off
+our retreat. I also feared that the violent explosions would detach some
+of the rocks off the mountain Somma, under which we were obliged to
+pass; besides, the pumice-stones, falling upon us like hail, were of
+such a size as to cause a disagreeable sensation upon the part where
+they fell. After having taken breath, as the earth still trembled
+greatly, I thought it most prudent to leave the mountain, and return to
+my villa; where I found my family in a great alarm, at the continual and
+violent explosions of the Volcano, which shook our house to its very
+foundation, the doors and windows swinging upon their hinges. About two
+of the clock in the afternoon another lava forced its way out of the
+same place from whence came the lava last year, at the spot marked B (in
+Plate II.); so that the conflagration was soon as great on this side of
+the mountain, as on the other which I had just left.
+
+The noise and smell of sulphur increasing, we removed from our villa to
+Naples; and I thought proper, as I passed by Portici, to inform the
+Court of what I had seen; and humbly offered it as my opinion, that his
+Sicilian Majesty should leave the neighbourhood of the threatening
+mountain. However, the Court did not leave Portici till about twelve of
+the clock, when the lava had reached as far as (4. in Plate I.)--I
+observed, in my way to Naples, which was in less than two hours after I
+had left the mountain, that the lava had actually covered three miles of
+the very road through which we had retreated. It is astonishing that it
+should have run so fast; as I have since seen, that the river of lava,
+in the Atrio di Cavallo, was sixty and seventy feet deep, and in some
+places near two miles broad. When his Sicilian Majesty quitted Portici,
+the noise was greatly increased; and the concussion of the air from the
+explosions was so violent, that, in the King's palace, doors and windows
+were forced open; and even one door there, which was locked, was
+nevertheless burst open. At Naples, the same night, many windows and
+doors flew open; in my house, which is not on the side of the town next
+Vesuvius, I tried the experiment of unbolting my windows[9], when they
+flew wide open upon every explosion of the mountain. Besides these
+explosions, which were very frequent, there was a continued
+subterraneous and violent rumbling noise, which lasted this night about
+five hours. I have imagined, that this extraordinary noise might be
+owing to the lava in the bowels of the mountain having met with a
+deposition of rain water; and that the conflict between the fire and the
+water may, in some measure, account for so extraordinary a crackling and
+hissing noise. Padre Torre, who has wrote so much and so well upon the
+subject of Mount Vesuvius, is also of my opinion. And indeed it is
+natural to imagine, that there may be rain-water lodged in many of the
+caverns of the mountain; as, in the great eruption of Mount Vesuvius in
+1631, it is well attested, that several towns, among which Portici and
+Torre del Greco, were destroyed, by a torrent of boiling water having
+burst out of the mountain with the lava, by which thousands of lives
+were lost. About four years ago, Mount Etna in Sicily threw up hot water
+also, during an eruption.
+
+The confusion at Naples this night cannot be described; his Sicilian
+Majesty's hasty retreat from Portici added to the alarm; all the
+churches were opened and filled; the streets were thronged with
+processions of saints: but I shall avoid entering upon a description of
+the various ceremonies that were performed in this capital, to quell the
+fury of the turbulent mountain.
+
+Tuesday the 20th, it was impossible to judge of the situation of
+Vesuvius, on account of the smoak and ashes, which covered it entirely,
+and spread over Naples also, the sun appearing as through a thick London
+fog, or a smoaked glass; small ashes fell all this day at Naples. The
+lavas on both sides of the mountain ran violently; but there was little
+or no noise till about nine o'clock at night, when the same uncommon
+rumbling began again, accompanied with explosions as before, which
+lasted about four hours: it seemed as if the mountain would split in
+pieces; and, indeed, it opened this night almost from the spot E to C
+(in Plate I.). The annexed plans were taken upon the spot at this time,
+when the lavas were at their height; and I do not think them
+exaggerated. The Parisian barometer was, as yesterday, at 279, and
+Fahrenheit's thermometer at 70 degrees; whereas, for some days preceding
+the eruption, it had been at 65 and 66. During the confusion of this
+night, the prisoners in the public jail attempted to escape, having
+wounded the jailer; but were prevented by the troops. The mob also set
+fire to the Cardinal Archbishop's gate, because he refused to bring out
+the relicks of Saint Januarius.
+
+Wednesday 21st, was more quiet than the preceding days, though the lavas
+ran briskly. Portici was once in some danger, had not the lava taken a
+different course when it was only a mile and a half from it; towards
+night, the lava slackened.
+
+Thursday 22d, about ten of the clock in the morning, the same thundering
+noise began again, but with more violence than the preceding days; the
+oldest men declared, they had never heard the like; and, indeed, it was
+very alarming: we were in expectation every moment of some dire
+calamity. The ashes, or rather small cinders, showered down so fast,
+that the people in the streets were obliged to use umbrellas, or flap
+their hats; these ashes being very offensive to the eyes. The tops of
+the houses, and the balconies, were covered above an inch thick with
+these cinders[10]. Ships at sea, twenty leagues from Naples, were also
+covered with them, to the great astonishment of the sailors. In the
+midst of these horrors, the mob, growing tumultuous and impatient,
+obliged the Cardinal to bring out the head of Saint Januarius, and go
+with it in procession to the Ponte Maddalena, at the extremity of
+Naples, towards Vesuvius; and it is well attested here, that the
+eruption ceased the moment the Saint came in sight of the mountain; it
+is true, the noise ceased about that time, after having lasted five
+hours, as it had done the preceding days.
+
+Friday 23d, the lavas still ran, and the mountain continued to throw up
+quantities of stones from its crater; there was no noise heard at Naples
+this day, and but little ashes fell there.
+
+Saturday 24th, the lava ceased running; the extent of the lava, from
+the spot C (Plate I.), where I saw it break out, to its extremity F,
+where it surrounded the chapel of Saint Vito, is above six miles. In the
+Atrio di Cavallo, and in a deep valley that lies between Vesuvius (1.)
+and the hermitage (3.), the lava is in some places near two miles broad,
+and in most places from sixty to seventy feet deep; at (4.), the lava
+ran down a hollow way, called Fossa grande, made by the currents of rain
+water; it is not less than two hundred feet deep, and a hundred broad;
+yet the lava in one place has filled it up. I could not have believed
+that so great a quantity of matter could have been thrown out in so
+short a time, if I had not since examined the whole course of the lava
+myself. This great compact body will certainly retain some heat many
+months[11]; at this time, much rain having fallen for some days past,
+the lava smoaks, as if it ran afresh: and about ten days ago, when I was
+up the mountain with Lord Stormont, we thrust sticks into the crevices
+of the lava, which took fire immediately: But to proceed with my
+journal.
+
+The 24th, Vesuvius continued to throw up stones as on the preceding
+days: during the whole of this eruption, it had differed in this
+circumstance from the eruption of 1766, when no stones were thrown out
+of the crater from the moment the lava ran freely.
+
+Sunday 25th, small ashes fell all day at Naples; they issued from the
+crater of the Volcano, and formed a vast column, as black as the
+mountain itself, so that the shadow of it was marked out on the surface
+of the sea; continual flashes of forked or zig-zag lightning shot from
+this black column, the thunder of which was heard in the neighbourhood
+of the mountain, but not at Naples: there were no clouds in the sky at
+this time, except those of smoak issuing from the crater of Vesuvius. I
+was much pleased with this phaenomenon, which I had not seen before in
+that perfection[12].
+
+Monday 26th, the smoak continued, but not so thick, neither were there
+any flashes of the mountain lightning. As no lava has appeared after
+this column of black smoak, which must have been occasioned by some
+inward operation of fire; I am apt to think, that the lava, which should
+naturally have followed this symptom, has broke its way into some deeper
+cavern, where it is silently brooding future mischief; and I shall be
+much mistaken if it does not break out a few months hence.
+
+Tuesday 27th, no more black smoak, nor any signs of eruption.
+
+Thus, my Lord, I have had the honor of giving your Lordship a faithful
+narrative of my observations during this eruption, which is universally
+allowed to have been the most violent of this century; and I shall be
+happy, if it should meet with your approbation, and that of the Royal
+Society, if your Lordship should think it worthy of being communicated
+to so respectable a body.
+
+I have just sent a present to the British Museum of a complete
+collection of every sort of matter produced by Mount Vesuvius, which I
+have been collecting with some pains for these three years past; and it
+will be a great satisfaction to me, if, by the means of this collection,
+some of my countrymen, learned in natural history, may be enabled to
+make some useful discoveries relative to Volcanos[13].
+
+I have also accompanied that collection with a view of a current of
+lava from Mount Vesuvius; it is painted with transparent colours, and,
+when lighted up with lamps behind it, gives a much better idea of
+Vesuvius, than is possible to be given by any other sort of painting.
+
+                              I have the honor to be,
+                              My LORD,
+                              Your Lordship's
+                              Most obedient
+                              and most humble servant,
+
+                              WILLIAM HAMILTON.
+
+
+[Illustration: _Plate I._
+View of the GREAT ERUPTION of VESUVIUS 1767 from Portici.]
+
+PLATE I.
+
+   A. Crater of Mount Vesuvius.
+
+   B. Mouth from whence came the lava of 1766; and which opened
+      afresh, October 19, 1767, and produced the conflagration
+      represented in Plate II.
+
+   C. The mouth which opened at 12 o'clock, October 19, 1767, whilst
+      I was at the spot marked X; from thence came all the lava
+      represented in Plate I.
+
+   D. The lava.
+
+   E. Mouth from whence the lava flowed at eight o'clock, October 19,
+      when the eruption began first.
+
+   F. Chapel of Saint Vito, surrounded with lava.
+
+   1. Vesuvius.
+
+   2. Mountain of Somma.
+
+   3. Hermitage, between which and Vesuvius there is a deep valley
+      two miles broad.
+
+   4. The Fossa Grande.
+
+   5. His Sicilian Majesty's Palace at Portici.
+
+   6. Church of Pugliano.
+
+   7. Calmaldolese Convent, near which is my Villa.
+
+   8. Saint Jorio.
+
+   9. Barra.
+
+  10. Spot, under which lies Herculaneum.
+
+
+[Illustration: _Plate II._
+View of the GREAT ERUPTION of VESUVIUS 1767, from Torre dell'
+Annunziata.]
+
+PLATE II.
+
+   A. Crater of Vesuvius.
+
+   B. Mouth, from whence came the lava of 1766, and which opened
+      afresh at two o'clock, October 19, 1767, and caused the
+      conflagration on this side of the mountain.
+
+   C. Mouth which opened at 12 o'clock, October 19, 1767, whilst I
+      was at the spot X, and which produced all the lava
+      represented in Plate I.
+
+   D. Rivulets of lava, which flowed from the crater, and united with
+      the great river E.
+
+   F. Extremities of the lava, about five miles from B.
+
+   1. Mountain of Somma.
+
+   2. Mount Vesuvius.
+
+   3. Montagna di Trecase.
+
+   4. Trecase.
+
+   5. Oratorio di Bosco.
+
+   6. Ottaiano.
+
+
+[Illustration: _Plate III._
+_The ancient Crater of Mount Vesuvius._
+
+_With the gradual increase of the little Mountain within the Crater._
+
+_The exteriour black line marks each increase & the interiour dotted
+line shews the state of the little Mountain before that increase, so
+that the dotted line in the Drawing of Oct 18.^{th} shews the Size of
+the little Mountain July 8.^{th} the little spot A. marks where the lava
+came out some days before the great Eruption. B. C. D. mark the ancient
+Crater & E. the little Mountain the day before the Eruption. F. G. is
+the present Crater, & the exteriour black line H. F. G. the present
+shape of the top of Mount Vesuvius. Since May last the Mountain is
+increased from B. to F. which is near 200 feet._]
+
+PLATE III.
+
+  Views of the gradual increase of the little mountain within the
+      ancient crater; and of the present shape of Mount Vesuvius.
+
+
+
+
+LETTER III.
+
+To MATHEW MATY, M. D. Secretary to the Royal SOCIETY.
+
+
+                              Villa Angelica, near Mount Vesuvius,
+                              October 4, 1768.
+
+SIR,
+
+I have but very lately received your last obliging letter, of the 5th of
+July, with the volume of Philosophical Transactions.
+
+I must beg of you to express my satisfaction at the notice which the
+Royal Society hath been pleased to take of my accounts of the two last
+eruptions of Mount Vesuvius. Since I have been at my villa here, I have
+enquired of the inhabitants of the mountain, after what they had seen
+during the last eruption. In my letter to Lord Morton, I mentioned
+nothing but what came immediately under my own observation: but as all
+the peasants here agree in their account of the terrible thunder and
+lightning, which lasted almost the whole time of the eruption, upon the
+mountain only; I think it a circumstance worth attending to. Besides the
+lightning, which perfectly resembled the common forked lightning, there
+were many meteors, like what are vulgarly called _falling stars_. A
+peasant, in my neighbourhood, lost eight hogs, by the ashes falling into
+the trough with their food: they grew giddy, and died in a few hours.
+The last day of the eruption, the ashes, which fell abundantly upon the
+mountain, were as white almost as snow[14]; and the old people here
+assure me, that is a sure symptom of the eruption being at an end.
+These circumstances, being well attested, I thought worth relating.
+
+It would require many years close application, to give a proper and
+truly philosophical account of the Volcanos in the neighbourhood of
+Naples; but I am sure such a history might be given, supported by
+demonstration, as would destroy every system hitherto given upon this
+subject. We have here an opportunity of seeing Volcanos in all their
+states. I have been this summer in the island of Ischia; it is about
+eighteen miles round, and its whole basis is lava. The great mountain in
+it, near as high as Vesuvius, formerly called Epomeus, and now San
+Nicolo, I am convinced, was thrown up by degrees; and I have no doubt
+in my own mind, but that the island itself rose out of the sea in the
+same manner as some of the Azores. I am of the same opinion with respect
+to Mount Vesuvius, and all the high grounds near Naples; as having not
+yet seen, in any one place, what can be called virgin earth. I had the
+pleasure of seeing a well sunk, a few days ago, near my villa, which is,
+as you know, at the foot of Vesuvius, and close by the sea-side. At
+twenty-five feet below the level of the sea, they came to a stratum of
+lava, and God knows how much deeper they might have still found other
+lavas. The soil all round the mountain, which is so fertile, consists of
+stratas of lavas, ashes, pumice, and now-and-then a thin stratum of good
+earth, which good earth is produced by the surface mouldering, and the
+rotting of the roots of plants, vines, &c. This is plainly to be seen at
+Pompeii, where they are now digging into the ruins of that ancient city;
+the houses are covered about ten or fifteen feet, with pumice and
+fragments of lava, some of which weigh three pounds (which last
+circumstance I mention, to shew, that, in a great eruption, Vesuvius has
+thrown stones of this weight six miles[15], which is its distance from
+Pompeii, in a direct line); upon this stratum of pumice, or _rapilli_,
+as they call them here, is a stratum of excellent mould, about two feet
+thick, on which grow large trees, and excellent grapes. We have then the
+Solfaterra, which was certainly a Volcano, and has ceased erupting, for
+want of metallic particles, and over-abounding with sulphur. You may
+trace its lavas into the sea. We have the Lago d'Averno and the Lago
+d'Agnano, both of which were formerly Volcanos; and Astroni, which still
+retains its form more than any of these. Its crater is walled round, and
+his Sicilian Majesty takes the diversion of boar-hunting in this
+Volcano; and neither his Majesty nor any one of his Court ever dreamt of
+its former state. We have then that curious mountain, called Montagno
+Nuovo, near Puzzole, which rose, in one night, out of the Lucrine Lake;
+it is about a hundred and fifty feet high, and three miles round. I do
+not think it more extraordinary, that Mount Vesuvius, in many ages,
+should rise above two thousand feet; when this mountain, as is well
+attested, rose in one night, no longer ago than the year 1538. I have a
+project, next spring, of passing some days at Puzzole, and of dissecting
+this mountain, taking its measures, and making drawings of its stratas;
+for, I perceive, it is composed of stratas, like Mount Vesuvius, but
+without lavas. As this mountain is so undoubtedly formed intirely from a
+plain, I should think my project may give light into the formation of
+many other mountains, that are at present thought to have been original,
+and are certainly not so, if their strata correspond with those of the
+Montagno Nuovo. I should be glad to know whether you think this project
+of mine will be useful; and, if you do, the result of my observations
+may be the subject of another letter[16].
+
+I cannot have a greater pleasure than to employ my leisure hours in what
+may be of some little use to mankind; and my lot has carried me into a
+country, which affords an ample field for observation. Upon the whole,
+if I was to establish a system, it would be, that _Mountains are
+produced by Volcanos, and not Volcanos by Mountains_.
+
+I fear I have tired you; but the subject of Volcanos is so favourite a
+one with me, that it has led me on I know not how: I shall only add,
+that Vesuvius is quiet at present, though very hot at top, where there
+is a deposition of boiling sulphur. The lava that ran in the Fossa
+Grande during the last eruption, and is at least two hundred feet thick,
+is not yet cool; a stick, put into its crevices, takes fire immediately.
+On the sides of the crevices are fine crystalline salts: as they are the
+pure salts, which exhale from the lava that has no communication with
+the interiour of the mountain, they may perhaps indicate the composition
+of the lava.
+
+I have done. Let me only thank you for the kind offers and expressions
+in your letter, and for the care you have had in setting off my present
+to the Museum to the best advantage; of which I have been told from many
+quarters.
+
+                              I am,
+                              SIR,
+                              Your most obedient
+                              humble servant,
+
+                              W. HAMILTON.
+
+
+
+
+LETTER IV.
+
+To MATHEW MATY, M. D. Secretary to the Royal SOCIETY.
+
+An Account of a Journey to MOUNT ETNA.
+
+    "Artificis naturae ingens opus aspice, nulla
+    "Tu tanta humanis rebus spectacula cernes."
+
+                              P. CORNELII SEVERI _AEtna_.
+
+
+                              Naples, Oct. 17, 1769.
+
+SIR,
+
+Encouraged by the assurances you give me, in your last obliging letter
+of the 15th of June, that any new communication upon the subject of
+Volcano's would be received with satisfaction by the Royal Society; I
+venture to send you the following account of my late observations upon
+Mount Etna, which you are at liberty to lay before our respectable
+Society, should you think it worth its notice. [See Plate IV.]
+
+[Illustration: _Plate IV._
+A View of MOUNT AETNA from Taormina.]
+
+After having examined with much attention the operations of Mount
+Vesuvius, during the five years that I have had the honour of residing
+as his Majesty's Minister at this Court, and after having carefully
+remarked the nature of the soil for fifteen miles round this capital; I
+am, in my own mind, well convinced that the whole of it has been formed
+by explosion. Many of the craters, from whence this matter has issued,
+are still visible; such as the Solfaterra near Puzzole, the lake of
+Agnano, and near this lake a mountain composed of burnt matter, that has
+a very large crater surrounded with a wall, to inclose the wild boars
+and deer, that are kept there for the diversion of his Sicilian Majesty;
+it is called Astruni: the Monte Nuovo, thrown up from the bottom of the
+Lucrine lake[17] in the year 1538, which has likewise its crater; and
+the lake of Averno. The islands of Nisida and Procida are entirely
+composed of burnt matter; the island of Ischia is likewise composed of
+lava, pumice, and burnt matter; and there are in that island several
+visible craters, from one of which, no longer ago than the year 1303,
+there issued a lava, which ran into the sea, and is still in the same
+barren state as the modern lavas of Vesuvius. After having, I say, been
+accustomed to these observations, I was well prepared to visit the most
+ancient, and perhaps the most considerable, Volcano that exists; and I
+had the satisfaction of being thoroughly convinced there, of the
+formation of very considerable mountains by meer explosion, having seen
+many such on the sides of Etna, as will be related hereafter.
+
+On the 24th of June last, in the afternoon, I left Catania, a town
+situated at the foot of Mount Etna, or, as it is now called,
+Mon-Gibello, in company with Lord Fortrose and the Canonico Recupero, an
+ingenious priest of Catania, who is the only person there that is
+acquainted with the mountain: he is actually employed in writing its
+natural history; but, I fear, will not be able to compass so great and
+useful an undertaking, for want of proper encouragement.
+
+We passed through the inferior district of the mountain, called by its
+inhabitants La Regione Piemontese. It is well watered, exceedingly
+fertile, and abounding with vines and other fruit trees, where the lava,
+or, as it is called there, the _sciara_, has had time to soften, and
+gather soil sufficient for vegetation, which, I am convinced from many
+observations, unless assisted by art, does not come to pass for many
+ages[18], perhaps a thousand years or more; the circuit of this lower
+region, forming the basis of the great Volcano, is upwards of one
+hundred Italian miles. The vines of Etna are kept low, quite the reverse
+of those on the borders of Vesuvius; and they produce a stronger wine,
+but not in so great abundance. The Piemontese district is covered with
+towns, villages, monasteries, &c. and is well peopled, notwithstanding
+the danger of such a situation. Catania, so often destroyed by eruptions
+of Etna, and totally overthrown by an earthquake towards the end of the
+last century[19], has been re-built within these fifty years, and is now
+a considerable town, with at least thirty-five thousand inhabitants. I
+do not wonder at the seeming security with which these parts are
+inhabited, having been so long witness to the same near Mount Vesuvius.
+The operations of Nature are slow: great eruptions do not frequently
+happen; each flatters himself it will not happen in his time, or, if it
+should, that his tutelar saint will turn away the destructive lava from
+his grounds; and indeed the great fertility in the neighbourhoods of
+Volcanos tempts people to inhabit them.
+
+In about four hours of gradual ascent, we arrived at a little convent of
+Benedictine monks, called St. Nicolo dell' Arena, about thirteen miles
+from Catania, and within a mile of the Volcano from whence issued the
+last very great eruption in the year 1669; a circumstantial account of
+which was sent to our court by a Lord Winchelsea, who happened to be
+then at Catania in his way home, from his embassy at Constantinople. His
+Lordship's account is curious, and was printed in London soon after; I
+saw a copy of it at Palermo, in the library of the Prince
+Torremuzzo[20]. We slept in the Benedictines convent the night of the
+24th, and passed the next morning in observing the ravage made by the
+abovementioned terrible eruption, over the rich country of the
+Piemontese. The lava burst out of a vineyard within a mile of St.
+Nicolo, and, by frequent explosions of stones and ashes, raised there a
+mountain, which, as near as I can judge, having ascended it, is not less
+than half a mile perpendicular in height, and is certainly at least
+three miles in circumference at its basis. The lava that ran from it,
+and on which there are as yet no signs of vegetation, is fourteen miles
+in length, and in many parts six in breadth; it reached Catania, and
+destroyed part of its walls, buried an amphitheatre, an aqueduct, and
+many other monuments of its ancient grandeur, which till then had
+resisted the hand of Time, and ran a considerable length into the sea,
+so as to have once formed a beautiful and safe harbour; but it was soon
+after filled up by a fresh torrent of the same inflamed matter: a
+circumstance the Catanians lament to this day, as they are without a
+port. There has been no such eruption since, though there are signs of
+many, more terrible, that have preceded it.
+
+For two or three miles round the mountain raised by this eruption, all
+is barren, and covered with ashes; this ground, as well as the mountain
+itself, will in time certainly be as fertile as many other mountains in
+its neighbourhood, that have been likewise formed by explosion. If the
+dates of these explosions could be ascertained, it would be very
+curious, and mark the progress of time with respect to the return of
+vegetation, as the mountains raised by them are in different states;
+those which I imagine to be the most modern are covered with ashes only;
+others of an older date, with small plants and herbs; and the most
+ancient, with the largest timber-trees I ever saw: but I believe the
+latter are so very ancient, as to be far out of the reach of history. At
+the foot of the mountain, raised by the eruption of the year 1669, there
+is a hole, through which, by means of a rope, we descended into several
+subterraneous caverns, branching out and extending much farther and
+deeper than we chose to venture; the cold there being excessive, and a
+violent wind frequently extinguishing some of our torches. These caverns
+undoubtedly contained the lava that issued forth, and extended, as I
+said before, quite to Catania. There are many of these subterraneous
+cavities known, on other parts of Etna; such as that called by the
+peasants La Baracca Vecchia, another La Spelonca della Palomba (from the
+wild pigeons building their nests therein), and the cavern Thalia,
+mentioned by Boccaccio. Some of them are made use of as magazines for
+snow; the whole island of Sicily and Malta being supplied with this
+essential article (in a hot climate) from Mount Etna. Many more would be
+found, I dare say, if searched for, particularly near and under the
+craters from whence great lavas have issued, as the immense quantities
+of such matter we see above ground, must necessarily suppose very great
+hollows underneath.
+
+After having passed the morning of the 25th in these observations, we
+proceeded through the second or middle region of Etna, called La
+Selvosa, _the woody_, than which nothing can be more beautiful. On every
+side are mountains, or fragments of mountains, that have been thrown up
+by various ancient explosions; there are some near as high as Mount
+Vesuvius; one in particular (as the Canon our guide assured me, having
+measured it) is little less than one mile in perpendicular height, and
+five in circumference at its basis. They are all more or less covered,
+even within their craters, as well as the rich vallies between them,
+with the largest oak, chesnut, and firr trees, I ever saw any where; and
+indeed it is from hence chiefly, that his Sicilian Majesty's dockyards
+are supplied with timber. As this part of Etna was famous for its timber
+in the time of the Tyrants of Syracusa, and as it requires the great
+length of time I have already mentioned before the matter is fit for
+vegetation, we may conceive the great age of this respectable Volcano.
+The chesnut-trees predominated in the parts through which we passed,
+and, though of a very great size, are not to be compared to some on
+another part of the Regione Selvosa, called Carpinetto. I have been told
+by many, and particularly by our guide, who had measured the largest
+there, called La Castagna Cento Cavalli, that it is upwards of
+twenty-eight Neapolitan canes in circumference. Now as a Neapolitan cane
+is two yards and half a quarter, English measure, you may judge, Sir, of
+the immense size of this famous tree[21]. It is hollow from age, but
+there is another near it almost as large and sound. As it would have
+required a journey of two days to have visited this extraordinary tree,
+and the weather being already very hot, I did not see it. It is amazing
+to me, that trees should flourish in so shallow a soil; for they cannot
+penetrate deep without meeting with a rock of lava; and indeed great
+part of the roots of the large trees we passed by are above ground, and
+have acquired, by the impression of the air, a bark like that of their
+branches. In this part of the mountain, are the finest horned cattle in
+Sicily; we remarked in general, that the horns of the Sicilian cattle
+are near twice the size of any we had ever seen; the cattle themselves
+are of the common size. We passed by the lava of the last eruption in
+the year 1766, which has destroyed above four miles square of the
+beautiful wood abovementioned. The mountain raised by this eruption
+abounds with sulphur and salts, exactly resembling those of Vesuvius;
+specimens of which I sent some time ago to the late Lord Morton.
+
+In about five hours from the time we had left the convent of St. Nicolo
+dell' Arena, we arrived at the borders of the third region, called La
+Netta, or Scoperta, _clean_ or _uncovered_, where we found a very sharp
+air indeed; so that, in the same day, the four seasons of the year were
+sensibly felt by us, on this mountain; excessive summer heats in the
+Piemontese, spring and autumn temperature in the middle, and extreme
+cold of winter in the upper region. I could perceive, as we approached
+the latter, a gradual decrease of vegetation; and from large timber
+trees we came to the small shrubs and plants of the northern climates: I
+observed quantities of juniper and tanzey; our guide told us that later
+in the season there are numberless curious plants here, and that in some
+parts there are rhubarb and saffron in plenty. In Carrera's History of
+Catania, there is a list of all the plants and herbs of Etna in
+alphabetical order.
+
+Night coming on, we here pitched a tent, and made a good fire, which was
+very necessary; for without it, and very warm cloathing, we should
+surely have perished with cold; and at one of the clock in the morning
+of the 26th, we pursued our journey towards the great crater. We passed
+over vallies of snow, that never melts, except there is an eruption of
+lava from the upper crater, which scarcely ever happens; the great
+eruptions are usually from the middle region, the inflamed matter
+finding (as I suppose) its passage through some weak part, long before
+it can rise to the excessive height of the upper region, the great mouth
+on the summit only serving as a common chimney to the Volcano. In many
+places the snow is covered with a bed of ashes, thrown out of the
+crater, and the sun melting it in some parts makes this ground
+treacherous; but as we had with us, besides our guide, a peasant well
+accustomed to these vallies, we arrived safe at the foot of the little
+mountain of ashes that crowns Etna, about an hour before the rising of
+the sun. This mountain is situated in a gently inclining plain of about
+nine miles in circumference; it is about a quarter of a mile
+perpendicular in height, very steep, but not quite so steep as Vesuvius;
+it has been thrown up within these twenty-five or thirty years, as many
+people at Catania have told me they remembered when there was only a
+large chasm or crater, in the midst of the abovementioned plain. Till
+now, the ascent had been so gradual (for the top of Etna is not less
+than thirty miles from Catania, from whence the ascent begins) as not to
+have been the least fatiguing; and if it had not been for the snow, we
+might have rode upon our mules to the very foot of the little mountain,
+higher than which the Canon our guide had never been: but as I saw that
+this little mountain was composed in the same manner as the top of
+Vesuvius, which, notwithstanding the smoak issuing from every pore, is
+solid and firm, I made no scruple of going up to the edge of the crater;
+and my companions followed. The steep ascent, the keenness of the air,
+the vapours of the sulphur, and the violence of the wind, which obliged
+us several times to throw ourselves flat upon our faces to avoid being
+overturned by it, made this latter part of our expedition rather
+inconvenient and disagreeable. Our guide, by way of comfort, assured us,
+that there was generally much more wind in the upper region at this
+time.
+
+Soon after we had seated ourselves on the highest point of Etna, the sun
+arose, and displayed a scene that indeed passes all description. The
+horizon lighting up by degrees, we discovered the greatest part of
+Calabria, and the sea on the other side of it; the Phare of Messina, the
+Lipari Islands; Stromboli, with its smoaking top, though at above
+seventy miles distance, seemed to be just under our feet; we saw the
+whole island of Sicily, its rivers, towns, harbours, &c. as if we had
+been looking on a map. The island of Malta is low ground, and there was
+a haziness in that part of the horizon, so that we could not discern
+it; our guide assured us, he had seen it distinctly at other times,
+which I can believe, as in other parts of the horizon, that were not
+hazy, we saw to a much greater distance; besides, we had a clear view of
+Etna's top from our ship, as we were going into the mouth of the harbour
+of Malta some weeks before; in short, as I have since measured on a good
+chart, we took in at one view a circle of above nine hundred English
+miles. The pyramidal shadow of the mountain reached across the whole
+island, and far into the sea on the other side. I counted from hence
+forty-four little mountains (little I call them in comparison of their
+mother Etna, though they would appear great any where else) in the
+middle region on the Catania side, and many others on the other side of
+the mountain, all of a conical form, and each having its crater; many
+with timber trees flourishing both within and without their craters.
+The points of those mountains that I imagine to be the most ancient are
+blunted, and the craters of course more extensive and less deep than
+those of the mountains formed by explosions of a later date, and which
+preserve their pyramidal form entire. Some have been so far mouldered
+down by time, as to have no other appearance of a crater than a sort of
+dimple or hollow on their rounded tops, others with only half or a third
+part of their cone standing; the parts that are wanting having mouldered
+down, or perhaps been detached from them by earthquakes, which are here
+very frequent. All however have been evidently raised by explosion; and
+I believe, upon examination, many of the whimsical shapes of mountains
+in other parts of the world would prove to have been occasioned by the
+same natural operations. I observed that these mountains were generally
+in lines or ridges; they have mostly a fracture on one side, the same as
+in the little mountains raised by explosion on the sides of Vesuvius,
+of which there are eight or nine. This fracture is occasioned by the
+lava's forcing its way out, which operation I have described in my
+account of the last eruption of Vesuvius. Whenever I shall meet with a
+mountain, in any part of the world, whose form is regularly conical,
+with a hollow crater on its top, and one side broken, I shall be apt to
+decide such a mountain's having been formed by an eruption; as both on
+Etna and Vesuvius the mountains formed by explosion are without
+exception according to this description. But to return to my narrative.
+
+After having feasted our eyes with the glorious prospect above-mentioned
+(for which, as Spartian tells us, the Emperor Adrian was at the trouble
+of ascending Etna), we looked into the great crater, which, as near as
+we could judge, is about two miles and a half in circumference; we did
+not think it safe to go round and measure it, as some parts seemed to
+be very tender ground. The inside of the crater, which is incrusted with
+salts and sulphurs like that of Vesuvius, is in the form of an inverted
+hollow cone, and its depth nearly answers to the height of the little
+mountain that crowns the great Volcano. The smoak, issuing abundantly
+from the sides and bottom, prevented our seeing quite down; but the wind
+clearing away the smoak from time to time, I saw this inverted cone
+contracted almost to a point; and, from repeated observations, I dare
+say, that in all Volcanos, the depth of the craters will be found to
+correspond nearly to the height of the conical mountains of cinders
+which usually crown them; in short, I look upon the craters as a sort of
+suspended funnels, under which are vast caverns and abysses. The
+formation of such conical mountains with their craters are easily
+accounted for, by the fall of the stones, cinders, and ashes, emitted at
+the time of an eruption.
+
+The smoak of Etna, though very sulphureous, did not appear to me so
+fetid and disagreeable as that of Vesuvius; but our guide told me, that
+its quality varies, as I know that of Vesuvius does, according to the
+quality of the matter then in motion within. The air was so very pure
+and keen in the whole upper region of Etna, and particularly in the most
+elevated parts of it, that we had a difficulty in respiration, and that,
+independent of the sulphureous vapour. I brought two barometers and a
+thermometer with me from Naples, intending to have left one with a
+person at the foot of the mountain, whilst we made our observation with
+the other, at sun-rising, on the summit; but one barometer was unluckily
+spoilt at sea, and I could find no one expert enough at Catania to
+repair it: what is extraordinary, I do not recollect having seen a
+barometer in any part of Sicily. At the foot of Etna, the 24th, when we
+made our first observation, the quicksilver stood at 27 degrees 4
+lines; and the 26th, at the most elevated point of the Volcano, it was
+at 18 degrees 10 lines. The thermometer, on the first observation at the
+foot of the mountain was at 84 degrees, and on the second at the crater
+at 56[22]. The weather had not changed in any respect, and was equally
+fine and clear, the 24th and 26th. We found it difficult to manage our
+barometer in the extreme cold and high wind on the top of Etna; but,
+from the most exact observations we could make in our circumstances, the
+result was as abovementioned. The Canon assured me, that the
+perpendicular height of Mount Etna is something more than three Italian
+miles, and I verily believe it is so.
+
+After having passed at least three hours on the crater, we descended,
+and went to a rising ground, about a mile distant from the upper
+mountain we had just left, and saw there some remains of the foundation
+of an ancient building; it is of brick, and seems to have been
+ornamented with white marble, many fragments of which are scattered
+about. It is called the Philosopher's Tower, and is said to have been
+inhabited by Empedocles. As the ancients used to sacrifice to the
+celestial gods on the top of Etna[23], it may very well be the ruin of a
+temple that served for that purpose. From hence we went a little further
+over the inclined plain abovementioned, and saw the evident marks of a
+dreadful torrent of hot water, that came out of the great crater at the
+time of an eruption of lava in the year 1755, and upon which phaenomenon
+the Canonico Recupero, our guide, has published a dissertation. Luckily
+this torrent did not take its course over the inhabited parts of the
+mountain; as a like accident on Mount Vesuvius in 1631 swept away some
+towns and villages in its neighbourhood, with thousands of their
+inhabitants. The common received opinion is, that these eruptions of
+water proceed from the Volcanos having a communication with the sea; but
+I rather believe them to proceed merely from depositions of rain water
+in some of the inward cavities of them. We likewise saw from hence the
+whole course of ancient lava, the most considerable as to its extent of
+any known here; it ran into the sea near Taormina, which is not less
+than thirty miles from the crater whence it issued, and is in many parts
+fifteen miles in breadth. As the lavas of Etna are very commonly fifteen
+and twenty miles in length, six or seven in breadth, and fifty feet or
+more in depth; you may judge, Sir, of the prodigious quantities of
+matter emitted in a great eruption of this mountain, and of the vast
+cavities there must necessarily be within its bowels. The most extensive
+lavas of Vesuvius do not exceed seven miles in length. The operations of
+nature on the one mountain and the other are certainly the same; but on
+Mount Etna, all are upon a great scale. As to the nature and quality of
+their lavas, they are much the same; but I think those of Etna rather
+blacker, and in general more porous, than those of Vesuvius. In the
+parts of Etna that we went over, I saw no stratas of pumice stones,
+which are frequent near Vesuvius, and cover the ancient city of Pompeii;
+but our guide told us, that there are such in other parts of the
+mountain. I saw some stratas of what is called here _tufa_; it is the
+same that covers Herculaneum, and that composes most of the high grounds
+about Naples; it is, upon examination, a mixture of small pumice stones,
+ashes, and fragments of lava, which is by time hardened into a sort of
+stone[24]. In short, I found, with respect to the matter erupted,
+nothing on Mount Etna that Vesuvius does not produce; and there
+certainly is a much greater variety in the erupted matter and lavas of
+the latter, than of the former; both abound with pyrites and
+crystallizations, or rather vitrifications. The sea shore at the foot of
+Etna, indeed, abounds with amber, of which there is none found at the
+foot of Vesuvius. At present there is a much greater quantity of sulphur
+and salts on the top of Vesuvius than on that of Etna; but this
+circumstance varies according to the degree of fermentation within; and
+our guide assured me, he had seen greater quantities on Etna at other
+times. In our way back to Catania, the Canon shewed me a little hill,
+covered with vines, which belonged to the Jesuits, and, as is well
+attested, was undermined by the lava in the year 1669, and transported
+half a mile from the place where it stood, without having damaged the
+vines.
+
+In great eruptions of Etna, the same sort of lightning, as described in
+my account of the last eruption of Vesuvius, has been frequently seen to
+issue from the smoak of its great crater. The antients took notice of
+the same phaenomenon; for Seneca (lib. ii. Nat. Quaest.) says,--"AEtna
+aliquando multo igne abundavit, ingentem vim arenae urentis effudit,
+involutus est dies pulvere, populosque subita nox terruit, _illo tempore
+aiunt plurima fuisse tonitrua et fulmina_."
+
+Till the year 252 of Christ, the chronological accounts of the eruptions
+of Etna are very imperfect: but as the veil of St. Agatha was in that
+year first opposed to check the violence of the torrents of lava, and
+has ever since been produced at the time of great eruptions; the
+miracles attributed to its influence, having been carefully recorded by
+the priests, have at least preserved the dates of such eruptions. The
+relicks of St. Januarius have rendered the same service to the lovers of
+natural history, by recording the great eruptions of Vesuvius. I find,
+by the dates of the eruptions of Etna, that it is as irregular and
+uncertain in its operations as Vesuvius[25]. The last eruption was in
+1766.
+
+On our return from Messina to Naples, we were becalmed three days in the
+midst of the Lipari islands, by which we had an opportunity of seeing
+that they have all been evidently formed by explosion[26]; one of them,
+called Vulcano, is in the same state as the Solfaterra. Stromboli is a
+Volcano, existing in all its force, and, in its form of course, is the
+most pyramidal of all the Lipari Islands; we saw it throw up red hot
+stones from its crater frequently, and some small streams of lava issued
+from its side, and ran into the sea[27]. This Volcano differs from Etna
+and Vesuvius, by its continually emitting fire, and seldom any lava;
+notwithstanding its continual explosions, this island is inhabited, on
+one side, by about an hundred families.
+
+[Illustration: _Plate V._
+STROMBOLI, one of the LIPARI ISLANDS.]
+
+These, as well as I can recollect, are all the observations that I made
+with respect to Volcanos, in may late curious tour of Sicily; and I
+shall be very happy should the communication of them afford you, or any
+of our countrymen (lovers of natural history) satisfaction or
+entertainment.
+
+                              I am,
+                              SIR,
+                              With great regard and esteem,
+                              Your most obedient
+                              humble servant,
+
+                              W. HAMILTON.
+
+
+
+
+LETTER V.
+
+To MATHEW MATY, M. D. Secretary to the Royal SOCIETY.
+
+REMARKS upon the NATURE of the SOIL of NAPLES, and its Neighbourhood.
+
+  "Mille miracula movet saciemque mutat locis, et defert montes,
+  subrigit plana, valles extuberat novas, in profundo insulas
+  eregit."
+
+                              SENECA, De Terra-motu.
+
+
+                              Naples, Oct. 16, 1770.
+
+SIR,
+
+According to your desire, I lose no time in sending you such further
+remarks as I have been making with some diligence, for six years past,
+in the compass of twenty miles, or more, round this capital. By
+accompanying these remarks with a map of the country I describe [Plate
+VI.], and with the specimens of different matters that compose the most
+remarkable spots of it, I do not doubt but that I shall convince you, as
+I am myself convinced, that the whole circuit (so far as I have
+examined) within the boundaries marked in the map is wholly and totally
+the production of subterraneous fires; and that most probably the sea
+formerly reached the mountains that lie behind Capua and Caserta, and
+are a continuation of the Appenines. If I may be allowed to compare
+small things with great, I imagine the subterraneous fires to have
+worked in this country, under the bottom of the sea, as moles in a
+field, throwing up here and there a hillock; and that the matter thrown
+out of some of these hillocks, formed into settled Volcanos, filling up
+the space between one and the other, has composed this part of the
+continent, and many of the islands adjoining.
+
+From the observations I have made upon Mount Etna, Vesuvius, and its
+neighbourhood, I dare say, that, after a careful examination, most
+mountains, that are or have been Volcanos, would be found to owe their
+existence to subterraneous fire; the direct reverse of what I find the
+commonly received opinion.
+
+Nature, though varied, is certainly in general uniform in her
+operations; and I cannot conceive that two such considerable Volcanos as
+Etna and Vesuvius should have been formed otherwise than every other
+considerable Volcano of the known world. I do not wonder that so little
+progress has been made in the improvement of natural history, and
+particularly in that branch of it which regards the theory of earth;
+Nature acts slowly, it is difficult to catch her in the fact. Those who
+have made this subject their study have, without scruple, undertaken at
+once to write the natural history of a whole province, or of an entire
+continent; not reflecting, that the longest life of man scarcely
+affords him time to give a perfect one of the smallest insect.
+
+I am sensible of what I undertake in giving you, Sir, even a very
+imperfect account of the nature of the soil of a little more than twenty
+miles round Naples: yet I flatter myself that my remarks, such as they
+are, may be of some use to any one hereafter, who may have leisure and
+inclination to follow them up. The kingdom of the Two Sicilies offers
+certainly the fairest field for observations of this kind, of any in the
+whole world; here are Volcanos existing in their full force, some on
+their decline, and others totally extinct.
+
+To begin with some degree of order, which is really difficult in the
+variety of matter that occurs to my mind, I will first mention the basis
+on which I found all my conjectures. It is the nature of the soil that
+covers the antient towns of Herculaneum and Pompeii, and the interior
+and exterior form of the new mountain, near Puzzole, with the sort of
+materials of which it is composed. It cannot be denied, that Herculaneum
+and Pompeii stood once above ground; though now, the former is in no
+part less than seventy feet, and in some parts one hundred and twelve
+feet, below the present surface of the earth; and the latter is buried
+ten or twelve feet deep, more or less. As we know from the very accurate
+account given by Pliny the younger to Tacitus, and from the accounts of
+other contemporary authors, that these towns were buried by an eruption
+of Mount Vesuvius in the time of Titus; it must be allowed, that
+whatever matter lies between these cities and the present surface of the
+earth over them, must have been produced since the year 79 of the
+Christian aera, the date of that formidable eruption.
+
+Pompeii, which is situated at a much greater distance from the Volcano
+than Herculaneum, has felt the effects of a single eruption only; it is
+covered with white pumice stones, mixed with fragments of lava and
+burnt matter, large and small: the pumice is very light; but I have
+found some of the fragments of lava and cinders there, weighing eight
+pounds. I have often wondered, that such weighty bodies could have been
+carried to such a distance (for Pompeii cannot be less than five miles,
+in a strait line, from the mouth of Vesuvius). Every observation
+confirms the fall of this horrid shower over the unfortunate city of
+Pompeii, and that few of its inhabitants had dared to venture out of
+their houses; for in many of those which have been already cleared,
+skeletons have been found, some with gold rings, ear rings, and
+bracelets. I have been present at the discovery of several human
+skeletons myself; and under a vaulted arch, about two years ago, at
+Pompeii, I saw the bones of a man and a horse taken up, with the
+fragments of the horse's furniture, which had been ornamented with false
+gems set in bronze. The skulls of some of the skeletons found in the
+streets had been evidently fractured by the fall of the stones. His
+Sicilian Majesty's excavations are confined to this spot at present; and
+the curious in antiquity may expect hereafter, from so rich a mine,
+ample matter for their dissertations: but I will confine myself to such
+observations only as relate to my present subject.
+
+Over the stratum of pumice and burnt matter that covers Pompeii, there
+is a stratum of good mould, of the thickness of about two feet and more
+in some parts, in which vines flourish, except in some particular spots
+of this vineyard, where they are subject to be blasted by a foul vapour,
+or _mofete_, as it is called here, that rises from beneath the burnt
+matter. The abovementioned shower of pumice stones, according to my
+observations, extended beyond Castel-a-mare (near which spot the ancient
+town of Stabia also lies buried under them) and covered a tract of
+country not less than thirty miles in circumference. It was at Stabia
+that Pliny the elder lost his life, and this shower of pumice stones is
+well described in the younger Pliny's letter. Little of the matter that
+has issued from Vesuvius since that time, has reached these parts: but I
+must observe, that the pavement of the streets of Pompeii is of lava;
+nay, under the foundation of the town, there is a deep stratum of lava
+and burnt matter. These circumstances, with many others that will be
+related hereafter, prove, beyond a doubt, that there have been eruptions
+of Vesuvius previous to that of the year 79, which is the first recorded
+by history.
+
+The growth of soil by time is easily accounted for; and who, that has
+visited ruins of ancient edifices, has not often seen a flourishing
+shrub, in a good soil, upon the top of an old wall? I have remarked many
+such on the most considerable ruins at Rome and elsewhere. But from the
+soil which has grown over the barren pumice that covers Pompeii, I was
+enabled to make a curious observation. Upon examining the cuts and
+hollow ways made by currents of water in the neighbourhood of Vesuvius
+and of other Volcanos, I had remarked that there lay frequently a
+stratum of rich soil, of more or less depth, between the matter produced
+by the explosion of succeeding eruptions[28]; and I was naturally led to
+think, that such a stratum had grown in the same manner as the one
+abovementioned over the pumice of Pompeii. Where the stratum of good
+soil was thick, it was evident to me that many years had elapsed between
+one eruption and that which succeeded it. I do not pretend to say, that
+a just estimate can be formed of the great age of Volcanos from this
+observation; but some sort of calculation might be made: for instance,
+should an explosion of pumice cover again the spot under which Pompeii
+is buried, the stratum of rich soil abovementioned would certainly lie
+between two beds of pumice; and if a like accident had happened a
+thousand years ago, the stratum of rich soil would as certainly have
+wanted much of its present thickness, as the rotting of vegetables,
+manure, &c. is ever increasing a cultivated soil. Whenever I find then a
+succession of different strata of pumice and burnt matter, like that
+which covers Pompeii, intermixed with strata of rich soil, of greater or
+less depth, I hope I may be allowed reasonably to conclude, that the
+whole has been the production of a long series of eruptions, occasioned
+by subterraneous fire. By the size and weight of the pumice, and
+fragments of burnt erupted matter in these strata, it is easy to trace
+them up to their source, which I have done more than once in the
+neighbourhood of Puzzole, where explosions have been frequent. The
+gradual decrease in the size and quantity of the erupted matter in the
+stratum abovementioned, from Pompeii to Castle-a-Mare, is very visible:
+at Pompeii, as I said before, I have found them of eight pounds weight,
+when at Castle-a-Mare the largest do not weigh an ounce.
+
+The matter which covers the ancient town of Herculaneum is not the
+produce of one eruption only; for there are evident marks that the
+matter of six eruptions has taken its course over that which lies
+immediately above the town, and was the cause of its destruction. These
+strata are either of lava or burnt matter, with veins of good soil
+between them. The stratum of erupted matter that immediately covers the
+town, and with which the theatre and most of the houses were filled, is
+not of that foul vitrified matter, called lava, but of a sort of soft
+stone, composed of pumice, ashes, and burnt matter. It is exactly of
+the same nature with what is called here the Naples stone; the Italians
+distinguish it by the name of _tufa_, and it is in general use for
+building. Its colour is usually that of our free stone, but sometimes
+tinged with grey, green, and yellow; and the pumice stones, with which
+it ever abounds, are sometimes large, and sometimes small: it varies
+likewise in its degree of solidity.
+
+The chief article in the composition of _tufa_ seems to me to be, that
+fine burnt material, which is called _puzzolane_, whose binding quality
+and utility by way of cement are mentioned by Vitruvius[29], and which
+is to be met with only in countries that have been subject to
+subterraneous fires. It is, I believe, a sort of lime prepared by
+nature. This, mixed with water, great or small pumice stones, fragments
+of lava, and burnt matter, may naturally be supposed to harden into a
+stone of this kind[30]; and, as water frequently attends eruptions of
+fire, as will be seen in the accounts I shall give of the formation of
+the new mountain near Puzzole, I am convinced the first matter that
+issued from Vesuvius, and covered Herculaneum, was in the state of
+liquid mud. A circumstance strongly favouring my opinion is, that, about
+two years ago, I saw the head of an antique statue dug out of this
+matter within the theatre of Herculaneum; the impression of its face
+remains to this day in the _tufa_, and might serve as a mould for a cast
+in plaister of Paris, being as perfect as any mould I ever saw. As much
+may be inferred from the exact resemblance of this matter, or _tufa_,
+which immediately covers Herculaneum, to all the _tufas_ of which the
+high grounds of Naples and its neighbourhood are composed. I detached a
+piece of it sticking to, and incorporated with, the painted stucco of
+the inside of the theatre of Herculaneum, and shall send it for your
+inspection[31]. It is very different, as you will see, from the
+vitrified matter called lava, by which it has been generally thought
+that Herculaneum was destroyed. The village of Resina and some villas
+stand at present above this unfortunate town.
+
+To account for the very great difference of the matters that cover
+Herculaneum and Pompeii, I have often thought that, in the eruption of
+79, the mountain must have been open in more than one place. A passage
+in Pliny's letter to Tacitus seems to say as much: "Interim e Vesuvio
+monte pluribus locis latissimae flammae, atque incendia relucebant, quorum
+fulgor et claritas tenebras noctis pellebat:" so that very probably the
+matter that covers Pompeii proceeded from a mouth, or crater, much
+nearer to it than is the great mouth of the Volcano, from whence came
+the matter that covers Herculaneum. This matter might nevertheless be
+said to have proceeded from Vesuvius, just as the eruption in the year
+1760, which was quite independent of the great crater (being four miles
+from it), is properly called an eruption of Vesuvius.
+
+In the beginning of eruptions, Volcanos frequently throw up water mixed
+with the ashes. Vesuvius did so in the eruption of 1631, according to
+the testimony of many contemporary writers. The same circumstance
+happened in 1669, according to the account of Ignazzio Sorrentino, who,
+by his history of Mount Vesuvius, printed at Naples in 1734, has shewn
+himself to have been a very accurate observer of the phaenomena of the
+Volcano, for many years that he lived at Torre del Greco, situated at
+the foot of it. At the beginning of the formation of the new mountain,
+near Puzzole, water was mixed with the ashes thrown up, as will be seen
+in two very curious and particular accounts of the formation of that
+mountain, which I shall have the pleasure of communicating to you
+presently; and in 1755, Etna threw up a quantity of water in the
+beginning of an eruption, as is mentioned in the letter I sent you last
+year upon the subject of that magnificent Volcano[32]. Ulloa likewise
+mentions this circumstance of water attending the eruptions of Volcanos
+in America. Whenever therefore I find a _tufa_ composed exactly like
+that which immediately covers Herculaneum, and undoubtedly proceeded
+from Vesuvius, I conclude such a _tufa_ to have been produced by water
+mixing with the erupted matter at the time of an explosion occasioned by
+subterraneous fire; and this observation, I believe, will be of more use
+than any other, in pointing out those parts of the present _terra
+firma_, that have been formed by explosion. I am convinced, it has often
+happened that subterraneous fires and exhalations, after having been
+pent up and confined for some time, and been the cause of earthquakes,
+have forced their passage, and in venting themselves formed mountains of
+the matter that confined them, as you will see was the case near
+Puzzole in the year 1538, and by evident signs has been so before, in
+many parts of the neighbourhood of Puzzole; without creating a regular
+Volcano. The materials of such mountains will have but little appearance
+of having been produced by fire, to any one unaccustomed to make
+observations upon the different nature of Volcanos.
+
+If it were allowed to make a comparison between the earth and a human
+body, one might consider a country replete with combustibles occasioning
+explosions (which is surely the case here) to be like a body full of
+humours. When these humours concentre in one part, and form a great
+tumour out of which they are discharged freely, the body is less
+agitated; but when, by any accident, the humours are checked, and do not
+find free passage through their usual channel, the body is agitated, and
+tumours appear in other parts of that body, but soon after the humours
+return again to their former channel. In a similar manner one may
+conceive Vesuvius to be the present great channel, through which nature
+discharges some of the foul humours of the earth: when these humours are
+checked by any accident or stoppage in this channel for any considerable
+time, earthquakes will be frequent in its neighbourhood, and explosions
+may be apprehended even at some distance from it. This was the case in
+the year 1538, Vesuvius having been quiet for near 400 years. There was
+no eruption from its great crater, from the year 1139 to the great
+eruption of 1631, and the top of the mountain began to lose all signs of
+fire. As it is not foreign to my purpose, and will serve to shew how
+greatly they are mistaken, who place the seat of the fire in the centre,
+or towards the top, of a Volcano; I will give you a curious description
+of the state of the crater of Vesuvius, after having been free from
+eruption 492 years, as related by Bracini, who descended into it not
+long before the eruption of 1631: "The crater was five miles in
+circumference, and about a thousand paces deep; its sides were covered
+with brush wood, and at the bottom there was a plain on which cattle
+grazed. In the woody parts, boars frequently harboured; in the midst of
+the plain, within the crater, was a narrow passage, through which, by a
+winding path, you could descend about a mile amongst rocks and stones,
+till you came to another more spacious plain covered with ashes: in this
+plain were three little pools, placed in a triangular form, one towards
+the East, of hot water, corrosive and bitter beyond measure; another
+towards the West, of water salter than that of the sea; the third of hot
+water, that had no particular taste."
+
+The great increase of the cone of Vesuvius, from that time to this,
+naturally induces one to conclude, that the whole of the cone was raised
+in the like manner; and that the part of Vesuvius, called Somma, which
+is now considered as a distinct mountain from it, was composed in the
+same manner. This may plainly be perceived, by examining its interior
+and exterior form, and the strata of lava and burnt matter of which it
+is composed. The ancients, in describing Vesuvius, never mention two
+mountains. Strabo, Dio, Vitruvius, all agree, that Vesuvius, in their
+time, shewed signs of having formerly erupted[33], and the first
+compares the crater on its top to an amphitheatre. The mountain now
+called Somma was, I believe, that which the ancients called Vesuvius:
+its outside form is conical; its inside, instead of an amphitheatre, is
+now like a great theatre. I suppose the eruption in Pliny's time to have
+thrown down that part of the cone next the sea, which would naturally
+have left it in its present state; and that the conical mountain, or
+existing Vesuvius, has been raised by the succeeding eruptions: all my
+observations confirm this opinion. I have seen antient lavas in the
+plain on the other side of Somma, which could never have proceeded from
+the present Vesuvius. Serao, a celebrated physician now living at
+Naples, in the introduction of his account of the eruption of Vesuvius
+in 1737 (in which account many of the phaenomena of the Volcano are
+recorded and very well accounted for), says, that at the convent of
+Dominican Fryars, called the Madona del Arco, some years ago, in sinking
+a well, at a hundred feet depth, a lava was discovered, and soon after
+another; so that, in less than three hundred feet depth, the lavas of
+four eruptions were found. From the situation of this convent, it is
+clear beyond a doubt, that these lavas proceeded from the mountain
+called Somma, as they are quite out of the reach of the existing
+Volcano.
+
+From these circumstances, and from repeated observations I have made in
+the neighbourhood of Vesuvius, I am sure that no virgin soil is to be
+found there, and that all is composed of different strata of erupted
+matter, even to a great depth below the level of the sea. In short, I
+have not any doubt in my own mind, but that this Volcano took its rise
+from the bottom of the sea; and as the whole plain between Vesuvius and
+the mountains behind Caserta, which is the best part of the Campagna
+Felice, is (under its good soil) composed of burnt matter, I imagine the
+sea to have washed the feet of those mountains, until the subterraneous
+fires began to operate, at a period certainly of a most remote
+antiquity.
+
+The soil of the Campagna Felice is very fertile; I saw the earth opened
+in many places last year in the midst of that plain, when they were
+seeking for materials to mend the road from Naples to Caserta. The
+stratum of good soil was in general four or five feet thick; under which
+was a deep stratum of cinders, pumice, fragments of lava, and such burnt
+matter as abounds near Vesuvius and all Volcanos. The mountains at the
+back of Caserta are mostly of a sort of lime-stone, and very different
+from those formed by fire; though Signior Van Vitelli, the celebrated
+architect, has assured me, that, in the cutting of the famous aqueduct
+of Caserta through these mountains, he met with some soils, that had
+been evidently formed by subterraneous fire. The high grounds, which
+extend from Castel-a-Mare, to the point of Minerva towards the island of
+Caprea, and from the promontory that divides the bay of Naples from that
+of Salerno, are of lime-stone. The plain of Sorrento, that is bounded by
+these high grounds, beginning at the village of Vico, and ending at that
+of Massa, is wholly composed of the same sort of _tufa_ as that about
+Naples, except that the cinders or pumice stones intermixed in it are
+larger than in the Naples _tufa_. I conceive then that there has been an
+explosion in this spot from the bottom of the sea. This plain, as I have
+remarked to be the case with all soils produced by subterraneous fire,
+is extremely fertile; whilst the ground about it, being of another
+nature, is not so. The island of Caprea does not shew any signs of
+having been formed by subterraneous fire; but is of the same nature as
+the high grounds last mentioned, from which it has been probably
+detached by earthquakes, or the violence of the waves. Rovigliano, an
+island, or rather a rock, in the bay of Castel-a-Mare, is likewise of
+lime-stone, and seems to have belonged to the original mountains in its
+neighbourhood: in some of these mountains there are also petrified fish
+and fossil shells, which I never have found in the mountains which I
+suppose to have been formed by explosion[34].
+
+You have now, Sir, before you the nature of the soil, from Caprea to
+Naples. The soil on which this great metropolis stands has been
+evidently produced by explosions, some of which seem to have been upon
+the very spot on which this city is built; all the high grounds round
+Naples, Pausilipo, Puzzole, Baia, Misenum, the islands of Procita and
+Ischia, appear to have been raised by explosion. You can trace still in
+many of these heights the conical shape that was naturally given them at
+first, and even the craters out of which the matter issued, though to be
+sure others of these heights have suffered such changes by the hand of
+time, that you can only conjecture that they were raised in the like
+manner, by their composition being exactly the same as that of those
+mountains which still retain their conical form and craters entire. A
+_tufa_, exactly resembling the specimen I took from the inside of the
+theatre of Herculaneum, layers of pumice intermixed with layers of good
+soil, just like those over Pompeii, and lavas like those of Vesuvius,
+compose the whole soil of the country that remains to be described.
+
+The famous grotto anciently cut through the mountain of Pausilipo, to
+make a road from Naples to Puzzole, gives you an opportunity of seeing
+that the whole of that mountain is _tufa_. The first evident crater you
+meet with, after you have passed the grotto of Pausilipo, is now the
+lake of Agnano; a small remain of the subterraneous fire (which must
+probably have made the bason for the lake, and raised the high grounds
+which form a sort of amphitheatre round it) serves to heat rooms, which
+the Neapolitans make great use of in summer, for carrying off diverse
+disorders, by a strong perspiration. This place is called the Sudatorio
+di San Germano; near the present bagnios, which are but poor little
+hovels, there are the ruins of a magnificent ancient bath. About an
+hundred paces from hence is the Grotto del Cane; I shall only mention,
+as a further proof of the probability that the lake of Agnano was a
+Volcano, that vapours of a pernicious quality, as that in the Grotto
+del Cane, are frequently met with in the neighbourhood of Etna and
+Vesuvius, particularly at the time of, before, and after, great
+eruptions. The noxious vapour having continued in the same force
+constantly so many ages, as it has done in the Grotto del Cane (for
+Pliny mentions this Grotto[35]), is indeed a circumstance in which it
+differs from the vapours near Vesuvius and Etna, which are not constant.
+The cone forming the outside of this supposed Volcano is still perfect
+in many parts.
+
+Opposite to the Grotto del Cane, and immediately joining to the lake,
+rises the mountain called Astruni, which, having, as I imagine, been
+thrown up by an explosion of a much later date, retains the conical
+shape and every symptom of a Volcano in much greater perfection than
+that I have been describing. The crater of Astruni is surrounded with a
+wall, to confine boars and deers (this Volcano having been for many
+years converted to a royal chace). It may be about six miles or more in
+circumference: in the plain at the bottom of the crater are two lakes;
+and in some books there is mention made of a hot spring, which I never
+have been able to find. There are many huge rocks of lava within the
+crater of Astruni, and some I have met with also in that of Agnano; the
+cones of both these supposed Volcanos are composed of _tufa_ and strata
+of loose pumice, fragments of lava and other burnt matter, exactly
+resembling the strata of Vesuvius. Bartholomeus Fatius, who wrote of the
+actions of King Alphonso the First (before the new mountain had been
+formed near Puzzole), conjectured that Astruni had been a Volcano.
+These are his words: "Locus Neapoli quatuor millia passuum proximus,
+quem vulgo Listrones vocant, nos unum e Phlegraeis Campis ab ardore
+nuncupandum putamus." There is no entrance into the crater of either
+Astruni or Agnano, except one, evidently made by art, and they both
+exactly correspond with Strabo's description of Avernus; the same may be
+said of the Solfaterra and the Monte Gauro, or Barbaro as it is
+sometimes called, which I shall describe presently.
+
+Near Astruni and towards the sea rises the Solfaterra, which not only
+retains its cone and crater, but much of its former heat. In the plain
+within the crater, smoak issues from many parts, as also from its sides;
+here, by means of stones and tiles heaped over the crevices through
+which the smoak passes, they collect in an aukward manner what they call
+_sale armoniaco_; and from the sand of the plain they extract sulphur
+and alum. This spot, well attended to, might certainly produce a good
+revenue, whereas I doubt if they have hitherto ever cleared 200_l._ a
+year by it. The hollow sound produced by throwing a heavy stone on the
+plain of the crater of the Solfaterra seems to indicate, that it is
+supported by a sort of arched natural vault; and one is induced to think
+that there is a pool of water beneath this vault (which boils by the
+heat of a subterraneous fire still deeper), by the very moist steam that
+issues from the cracks in the plain of the Solfaterra, which, like that
+of boiling water, runs off a sword or knife, presented to it, in great
+drops. On the outside, and at the foot of the cone of the Solfaterra,
+towards the lake of Agnano, water rushes out of the rocks, so hot, as to
+raise the quicksilver in Fahrenheit's thermometer to the degree of
+boiling water[36], a fact of which I was myself an eye-witness. This
+place, well worthy the observation of the curious, has been taken little
+notice of; it is called the _Pisciarelli_. The common people of Naples
+have great faith in the efficacy of this water; and make much use of it
+in all cutaneous disorders, as well as for another disorder that
+prevails here. It seems to be impregnated chiefly with sulphur and alum.
+When you approach your ear to the rocks of the Pisciarelli, from whence
+this water ouzes, you hear a horrid boiling noise, which seems to
+proceed from the huge cauldron, that may be supposed to be under the
+plain of the Solfaterra. On the other side of the Solfaterra, next the
+sea, there is a rock, which has communicated with the sea, till part of
+it was cut away to make the road to Puzzole; this was undoubtedly a
+considerable lava, that ran from the Solfaterra when it was an active
+Volcano. Under this rock of lava, which is more than seventy feet high,
+there is a stratum of pumice and ashes. This ancient lava is about a
+quarter of a mile broad; you meet with it abruptly before you come in
+sight of Puzzole, and it finishes as abruptly within about an hundred
+paces of the town. I have often thought that many quarries of stone,
+upon examination, would be found to owe their origin to the same cause,
+though time may have effaced all signs of the Volcano from whence they
+proceeded. Except this rock, which is evidently lava and full of
+vitrifications like that of Vesuvius, all the rocks upon the coast of
+Baia are of _tufa_.
+
+I have observed in the lava of Vesuvius and Etna, as in this, that the
+bottom, as well as the surface of it, was rough and porous, like the
+cinders or scoriae from an iron foundery; and that for about a foot from
+the surface and from the bottom, they were not near so solid and
+compact as towards the centre; which must undoubtedly proceed from the
+impression of the air upon the vitrified matter whilst in fusion. I
+mention this circumstance, as it may serve to point out true lavas with
+more certainty. The ancient name of the Solfaterra was, _Forum Vulcani_;
+a strong proof of its origin from subterraneous fire. The degree of
+heat, that the Solfaterra has preserved for so many ages, seems to have
+calcined the stones upon its cone, and in its crater, as they are very
+white, and crumble easily in the hottest parts.
+
+We come next to the new mountain near Puzzole, which, being of so very
+late a formation, preserves its conical shape entire, and produces as
+yet but a very slender vegetation. It has a crater almost as deep as the
+cone is high, which may be near a quarter of a mile perpendicular, and
+is in shape a regular inverted cone. At the basis of this new mountain
+(which is more than three miles in circumference), the sand upon the
+sea shore, and even that which is washed by the sea itself, is burning
+hot for above the space of an hundred yards; if you take up a handful of
+the sand below water, you are obliged to get rid of it directly, on
+account of its intense heat.
+
+I had been long very desirous of meeting with a good account of the
+formation of this new mountain, because, proving this mountain to have
+been raised by mere explosion in a plain, would prove at the same time,
+that all the neighbouring mountains, which are composed of the same
+materials, and have exactly or in part the same form, were raised in the
+like manner; and that the seat of fire, the cause of these explosions,
+lies deep; which I have every reason to think.
+
+Fortunately, I lately found two very good accounts of the phaenomena that
+attended the explosion, which formed the new mountain, published a few
+months after the event. As I think them very curious, and greatly to my
+purpose, and as they are rare, I will give you a literal translation of
+such extracts as relate to the formation of the Monte Nuovo. They are
+bound in one volume[37].
+
+The title of the first is, _Dell Incendio di Pozzuolo, Marco Antonio
+delli Falconi all Illustrissima Signiora Marchesa della Padula nel
+MDXXXVIII_.
+
+At the head of the second is, _Ragionamento del Terremoto, del Nuovo
+Monte, del Aprimento di Terra in Pozzuolo nell' Anno 1538, e della
+significatione d'essi. Per Piero Giacomo da Toledo_; and at the end of
+the book, _Stampata in Nap. per Giovanni Sulztbach Alemano, a 22di
+Genaro 1539, con gratia, e privilegio_.
+
+"First then (says Marco Antonio delli Falconi), will I relate simply and
+exactly the operations of nature, of which I was either myself an
+eye-witness, or as they were related to me by those who had been
+witnesses of them. It is now two years that there have been frequent
+earthquakes at Pozzuolo, at Naples, and the neighbouring parts; on the
+day and in the night before the appearance of this eruption, above
+twenty shocks great and small were felt at the abovementioned places.
+The eruption made its appearance the 29th of September 1538, the feast
+of St. Michael the angel; it was on a Sunday, about an hour in the
+night; and, as I have been informed, they began to see on that spot,
+between the hot baths or sweating rooms, and Trepergule, flames of fire,
+which first made their appearance at the baths, then extended towards
+Trepergule, and fixing in the little valley that lies between the Monte
+Barbaro and the hillock called del Pericolo (which was the road to the
+lake of Avernus and the baths), in a short time the fire increased to
+such a degree, that it burst open the earth in this place, and threw up
+so great a quantity of ashes and pumice stones mixed with water, as
+covered the whole country; and in Naples a shower of these ashes and
+water fell a great part of the night. The next morning, which was
+Monday, and the last of the month, the poor inhabitants of Pozzuolo,
+struck with so horrible a sight, quitted their habitations, covered with
+that muddy and black shower, which continued in that country the whole
+day, flying death, but with faces painted with its colours; some with
+their children in their arms, some with sacks full of their goods;
+others leading an ass, loaded with their frightened family, towards
+Naples; others carrying quantities of birds of various sorts, that had
+fallen dead at the time the eruption began; others again with fish which
+they had found, and were to be met with in plenty upon the shore, the
+sea having been at that time considerably dried up. Don Pedro di Toledo,
+Viceroy of the kingdom, with many gentlemen, went to see so wonderful
+an appearance; I also, having met with the most honourable and
+incomparable gentleman, Signior Fabritio Moramaldo, on the road, went
+and saw the eruption and the many wonderful effects of it. The sea
+towards Baia had retired a considerable way; though, from the quantity
+of ashes and broken pumice stones thrown up by the eruption, it appeared
+almost totally dry. I saw likewise two springs in those
+lately-discovered ruins, one before the house that was the Queen's, of
+hot and salt water; the other of fresh and cold water, on the shore,
+about 250 paces nearer to the eruption: some say, that, still nearer to
+the spot where the eruption happened, a stream of fresh water issued
+forth like a little river. Turning towards the place of the eruption,
+you saw mountains of smoak, part of which was very black and part very
+white, rise up to a great height; and in the midst of the smoak, at
+times, deep-coloured flames burst forth with huge stones and ashes, and
+you heard a noise like the discharge of a number of great artillery. It
+appeared to me as if Typheus and Enceladus from Ischia and Etna with
+innumerable giants, or those from the Campi Phlegrei (which, according
+to the opinions of some, were situated in this neighbourhood), were come
+to wage war again with Jupiter. The natural historians may perhaps
+reasonably say, that the wise poets meant no more by giants, than
+exhalations, shut up in the bowels of the earth, which, not finding a
+free passage, open one by their own force and impulse, and form
+mountains, as those which occasioned this eruption have been seen to do;
+and methought I saw those torrents of burning smoak that Pindar
+describes in an eruption of Etna, now called Mon Gibello, in Sicily; in
+imitation of which, as some say, Virgil wrote these lines:
+
+  "Ipse sed horrificis juxta tonat AEtna ruinis, &c.
+
+"After the stones and ashes with clouds of thick smoak had been sent up,
+by the impulse of the fire and windy exhalation (as you see in a great
+cauldron that boils), into the middle region of the air, overcome by
+their own natural weight, when from distance the strength they had
+received from impulse was spent, rejected likewise by the cold and
+unfriendly region, you saw them fall thick, and, by degrees, the
+condensed smoak clear away, raining ashes with water and stones of
+different sizes, according to the distance from the place: then, by
+degrees, with the same noise and smoak, it threw out stones and ashes
+again, and so on by fits. This continued two days and nights, when the
+smoak and force of the fire began to abate. The fourth day, which was
+Thursday, at 22 o'clock, there was so great an eruption, that, as I was
+in the gulph of Puzzole, coming from Ischia, and not far from Misenum, I
+saw, in a short time, many columns of smoak shoot up, with the most
+terrible noise I ever heard, and, bending over the sea, came near our
+boat, which was four miles or more from the place of their birth; and
+the quantity of ashes, stones, and smoak, seemed as if they would cover
+the whole earth and sea. Stones, great and small, and ashes more or
+less, according to the impulse of the fire and exhalations, began to
+fall, so that a great part of this country was covered with ashes; and
+many, that have seen it, say, they reached the vale of Diana, and some
+parts of Calabria, which are more than 150 miles from Pozzuolo. The
+Friday and Saturday nothing but a little smoak appeared; so that many,
+taking courage, went upon the spot, and say, that with the stones and
+ashes thrown up, a mountain has been formed in that valley, not less
+than three miles in circumference, and almost as high as the Monte
+Barbaro, which is near it, covering the Canettaria, the castle of
+Trepergule, all those buildings and the greatest part of the baths that
+were about them; extending South towards the sea, North as far as the
+lake of Avernus, West to the Sudatory, and joining East to the foot of
+the Monte Barbaro; so that this place has changed its form and face in
+such a manner as not to be known again: a thing almost incredible, to
+those who have not seen it, that in so short a time so considerable a
+mountain could have been formed. On its summit there is a mouth in the
+form of a cup, which may be a quarter of a mile in circumference, though
+some say it is as large as our market-place at Naples, from which there
+issues a constant smoak; and though I have seen it only at a distance,
+it appears very great. The Sunday following, which was the 6th of
+October, many people going to see this phaenomenon, and some having
+ascended half the mountain, others more, about 22 o'clock there happened
+so sudden and horrid an eruption, with so great a smoak, that many of
+these people were stifled, some of which could never be found. I have
+been told, that the number of the dead or lost amounted to twenty-four.
+From that time to this, nothing remarkable happened; it seems as if the
+eruption returned periodically, like the ague or gout. I believe
+henceforward it will not have such force, though the eruption of the
+Sunday was accompanied with showers of ashes and water, which fell at
+Naples, and were seen to extend as far as the mountain of Somma, called
+Vesuvius by the ancients; and, as I have often remarked, the clouds of
+smoak proceeding from the eruption moved in a direct line towards that
+mountain, as if these places had a correspondence and connection one
+with the other. In the night, many beams and columns of fire were seen
+to proceed from this eruption, and some like flashes of lightning[38].
+We have then, many circumstances for our observation, the earthquakes,
+the eruption, the drying up of the sea, the quantity of dead fish and
+birds, the birth of springs, the shower of ashes with water and without
+water, the innumerable trees in that whole country, as far as the Grotto
+of Lucullus, torn from their roots, thrown down, and covered with ashes,
+that it gave one pain to see them: and as all these effects were
+produced by the same cause that produces earthquakes; let us first
+enquire how earthquakes are produced, and from thence we may easily
+comprehend the cause of the abovementioned events." Then follows a
+dissertation on earthquakes, and some curious conjectures relative to
+the phaenomena which attended this eruption, clearly and well expressed,
+considering, as the author himself apologizes, that at that time the
+Italian language had been little employed on such subjects.
+
+The account of the formation of the Monte Nuovo, by Pietro Giacomo di
+Toledo, is given in a dialogue between the feigned personages of
+Peregrino and Svessano; the former of which says, "It is now two years
+that this province of Campagna has been afflicted with earthquakes, the
+country about Pozzuolo much more so than any other parts; but the 27th
+and the 28th of the month of September last, the earthquakes did not
+cease day or night, in the abovementioned city of Pozzuolo; that plain,
+which lies between the lake of Averno, the Monte Barbaro, and the sea,
+was raised a little, and many cracks were made in it, from some of which
+issued water; and at the same time the sea, which was very near the
+plain, dried up about two hundred paces, so that the fish were left on
+the sand, a prey to the inhabitants of Pozzuolo. At last, on the 29th of
+the said month, about two hours in the night, the earth opened near the
+lake, and discovered a horrid mouth, from which were vomited furiously,
+smoak, fire, stones, and mud composed of ashes; making, at the time of
+its opening, a noise like very loud thunder: the fire, that issued from
+this mouth, went towards the walls of the unfortunate city; the smoak
+was partly black and partly white; the black was darker than darkness
+itself, and the white was like the whitest cotton: these smoaks, rising
+in the air, seemed as if they would touch the vault of heaven; the
+stones that followed were, by the devouring flames, converted to pumice,
+the size of which (of some I say) were much larger than an ox. The
+stones went about as high as a cross-bow can carry, and then fell down,
+sometimes on the edge, and sometimes into the mouth itself. It is very
+true that many of them in going up could not be seen, on account of the
+dark smoak; but, when they returned from the smoaky heat, they shewed
+plainly where they had been, by their strong smell of fetid sulphur,
+just like stones that have been thrown out of a mortar, and have passed
+through the smoak of inflamed gunpowder. The mud was of the colour of
+ashes, and at first very liquid, then by degrees less so; and in such
+quantities, that in less than twelve hours, with the help of the
+abovementioned stones, a mountain was raised of a thousand paces in
+height. Not only Pozzuolo and the neighbouring country was full of this
+mud, but the city of Naples also, the beauty of whose palaces were, in a
+great measure, spoiled by it. The ashes were carried as far as Calabria
+by the force of the winds, burning up in their passage the grass and
+high trees, many of which were borne down by the weight of them. An
+infinity of birds also, and numberless animals of various kinds, covered
+with this sulphureous mud, gave themselves up a prey to man. Now this
+eruption lasted two nights and two days without intermission, though, it
+is true, not always with the same force, but more or less: when it was
+at its greatest height, even at Naples you heard a noise or thundering
+like heavy artillery when two armies are engaged. The third day the
+eruption ceased, so that the mountain made its appearance uncovered, to
+the no small astonishment of every one who saw it. On this day, when I
+went up with many people to the top of this mountain; I saw down into
+its mouth, which was a round concavity of about a quarter of a mile in
+circumference, in the middle of which the stones that had fallen were
+boiling up, just as in a great cauldron of water that boils on the
+fire. The fourth day it began to throw up again, and the seventh much
+more, but still with less violence than the first night; it was at this
+time that many people, who were unfortunately on the mountain, were
+either suddenly covered with ashes, smothered with smoak, or, knocked
+down by stones, burnt by the flame, and left dead on the spot. The smoak
+continues to this day[39], and you often see in the night-time fire in
+the midst of it. Finally, to complete the history of this new and
+unforeseen event, in many parts of the new-made mountain, sulphur begins
+to be generated." Giacomo di Toledo, towards the end of his dissertation
+upon the phaenomena attending this eruption, says, that the lake of
+Avernus had a communication with the sea, before the time of the
+eruption; and that he apprehended that the air of Puzzole might come to
+be affected in summer time, by the vapours from the stagnated waters of
+the lake; which is actually the case.
+
+You have, Sir, from these accounts, an instance of a mountain, of a
+considerable height and dimensions, formed in a plain, by mere
+explosion, in the space of forty-eight hours. The earthquakes having
+been sensibly felt at a great distance from the spot where the opening
+was made, proves clearly, that the subterraneous fire was at a great
+depth below the surface of the plain; it is as clear that those
+earthquakes, and the explosion, proceeded from the same cause, the
+former having ceased upon the appearance of the latter. Does not this
+circumstance evidently contradict the system of M. Buffon, and of all
+the natural historians, who have placed the seat of the fire of
+Volcanos towards the center, or near the summit of the mountains, which
+they suppose to furnish the matter emitted? Did the matter which
+proceeds from a Volcano in an eruption come from so inconsiderable a
+depth as they imagine, that part of the mountain situated above their
+supposed seat of the fire must necessarily be destroyed, or dissipated
+in a very short time: on the contrary, an eruption usually adds to the
+height and bulk of a Volcano; and who, that has had an opportunity of
+making observations on Volcanos, does not know, that the matter they
+have emitted for many ages, in lavas, ashes, smoak, &c. could it be
+collected together, would more than suffice to form three such mountains
+as the simple cone or mountain of the existing Volcano? With respect to
+Vesuvius, this could be plainly proved; and I refer to my letter upon
+the subject of Etna, to shew the quantity of matter thrown up in one
+single eruption, by that terrible Volcano. Another proof, that the real
+seat of the fire of Volcanos lies even greatly below the general level
+of the country whence the mountain springs, is, that was it only at an
+inconsiderable depth below the basis of the mountain, the quantity of
+matter thrown up would soon leave so great a void immediately under it,
+that the mountain itself must undoubtedly sink and disappear after a few
+eruptions.
+
+In the above accounts of the formation of the new mountain, we are told
+that the matter first thrown up, was mud composed of water and ashes,
+mixed with pumice stones and other burnt matter: on the road leading
+from Puzzole to Cuma, part of the cone of this mountain has been cut
+away, to widen the road. I have there seen that its composition is a
+_tufa_ intermixed with pumice, some of which are really of the size of
+an ox, as mentioned in Toledo's account, and exactly of the same nature
+as the _tufa_ of which every other high ground in its neighbourhood is
+composed; similar also to that which covers Herculaneum. According to
+the above accounts, after the muddy shower ceased, it rained dry ashes:
+this circumstance will account for the strata of loose pumice and ashes,
+that are generally upon the surface of all the _tufas_ in this country,
+and which were most probably thrown up in the same manner. At the first
+opening of the earth, in the plain near Puzzole, both accounts say, that
+springs of water burst forth; this water, mixing with the ashes,
+certainly occasioned the muddy shower; when the springs were exhausted,
+there must naturally have ensued a shower of dry ashes and pumice, of
+which we have been likewise assured. I own, I was greatly pleased at
+being in this manner enabled to account so well for the formation of
+these _tufa_ stones and the veins of dry and loose burnt matter above
+them, of which the soil of almost the whole country I am describing is
+composed; and I do not know that any one has ever attended to this
+circumstance, though I find that many authors, who have described this
+country, have suspected that parts of it were formed by explosion.
+Wherever then this sort of _tufa_ is found, there is certainly good
+authority to suspect its having been formed in the same manner as the
+_tufa_ of this new mountain, for, as I said before, Nature is generally
+uniform in all her operations.
+
+It is commonly imagined that the new mountain rose out of the Lucrine
+lake, which was destroyed by it; but in the above account, no mention is
+made of the Lucrine lake; it may be supposed then, that the famous dam,
+which Strabo and many other ancient authors mention to have separated
+that lake from the sea, had been ruined by time or accident, and that
+the lake became a part of the sea before the explosion of 1538.
+
+If the above-described eruption was terrible, that which formed the
+Monte Barbaro (or Gauro, as it was formerly called), must have been
+dreadful indeed. It joins immediately to the new mountain, which in
+shape and composition it exactly resembles; but it is at least three
+times as considerable. Its crater cannot be less than six miles in
+circumference; the plain within the crater, one of the most fertile
+spots I ever saw, is about four miles in circumference: there is no
+entrance to this plain, but one on the East side of the mountain, made
+evidently by art; in this section you have an opportunity of seeing that
+the matter of which the mountain is composed is exactly similar to that
+of the Monte Nuovo. It was this mountain that produced (as some authors
+have supposed) the celebrated Falernian wine of the ancients.
+
+Cuma, allowed to have been the most ancient city of Italy, was built on
+an eminence, which is likewise composed of _tufa_, and may be naturally
+supposed a section of the cone formed by a very ancient explosion.
+
+The lake of Avernus fills the bottom of the crater of a mountain,
+undoubtedly produced by explosion, and whose interior and exterior
+form, as well as the matter of which it is composed, exactly resemble
+the Monte Barbaro and Monte Nuovo. At that part of the basis of this
+mountain which is washed by the sea of the bay of Puzzole, the sand is
+still very hot, though constantly washed by the waves; and into the cone
+of the mountain, near this hot sand, a narrow passage of about 100 paces
+in length is cut, and leads to a fountain of boiling water, which,
+though brackish, boils fish and flesh without giving them any bad taste
+or quality, as I have experienced more than once. This place is called
+Nero's bath, and is still made use of for a sudatory, as it was by the
+ancients; the steam that rises from the hot fountain abovementioned,
+confined in the narrow subterraneous passage, soon produces a violent
+perspiration upon the patient who sits therein. This bath is reckoned a
+great specifick in that distemper which is supposed to have made its
+appearance at Naples before it spread its contagion over the other
+parts of Europe.
+
+Virgil and other ancient authors say, that birds could not fly with
+safety over the lake of Avernus, but that they fell therein; a
+circumstance favouring my opinion, that this was once the mouth of a
+Volcano. The vapour of the sulphur and other minerals must undoubtedly
+have been more powerful, the nearer we go back to the time of the
+explosion of the Volcano; and I am convinced that there are still some
+remains of those vapours upon this lake, as I have observed there are
+very seldom any water-fowl upon it; and that when they do go there, it
+is but for a short time; whilst all the other lakes in the neighbourhood
+are constantly covered with them, in the winter season. Upon Mount
+Vesuvius, in the year 1766, during an eruption, when the air was
+impregnated with noxious vapours, I have myself picked up dead birds
+frequently.
+
+The castle of Baia stands upon a considerable eminence, composed of the
+usual _tufa_ and strata of pumice and ashes; from which I concluded I
+should find some remains of the craters from whence the matter issued:
+accordingly, having ascended the hill, I soon discovered two very
+visible craters, just behind the castle.
+
+The lake called the Mare-morto was also, most probably, the crater, from
+whence issued the materials which formed the Promontory of Misenum, and
+the high grounds around this lake. Under the ruins of an ancient
+building, near the point of Misenum, in a vault, there is a vapour, or
+_mofete_, exactly similar in its effects to that of the Grotto del Cane,
+as I have often experienced.
+
+The form of the little island of Nisida shews plainly its origin[40]. It
+is half a hollow cone of a Volcano cut perpendicularly; the half crater
+forms a little harbour called the Porto Pavone; I suppose the other half
+of the cone to have been detached into the sea by earthquakes, or
+perhaps by the violence of the waves, as the part that is wanting is the
+side next to the open sea.
+
+The fertile and pleasant island of Procita shews also most evident signs
+of its production by explosion, the nature of its soil being directly
+similar to that of Baia and Puzzole; this island seems really, as was
+imagined by the ancients, to have been detached from the neighbouring
+island of Ischia.
+
+There is no spot, I believe, that could afford a more ample field for
+curious observations, than the island of Ischia, called Enaria, Inarime,
+and Pithecusa, by the ancients. I have visited it three times; and this
+summer passed three weeks there, during which time I examined, with
+attention, every part of it. Ischia is eighteen miles in circumference:
+the whole of its soil is the same as that near Vesuvius, Naples, and
+Puzzole. There are numberless springs, hot, warm, and cold[41],
+dispersed over the whole island, the waters of which are impregnated
+with minerals of various sorts; so that, if you give credit to the
+inhabitants of the country, there is no disorder but what finds its
+remedy here. In the hot months (the season for making use of these
+baths), those who have occasion for them flock hither from Naples. A
+charitable institution sends and maintains three hundred poor patients
+at the baths of Gurgitelli every season. By what I could learn of these
+poor patients, those baths have really done wonders, in cases attended
+with obstinate tumours, and in contractions of the tendons and muscles.
+The patient begins by bathing, and then is buried in the hot sand near
+the sea. In many parts of the island, the sand is burning hot, even
+under water. The sand on some parts of the shore is almost entirely
+composed of particles of iron ore; at least they are attracted by the
+load-stone, as I have experienced. Near that part of the island called
+Lacco, there is a rock of an ancient lava, forming a small cavern, which
+is shut up with a door; this cavern is made use of to cool liquors and
+fruit, which it does in a short time as effectually as ice. Before the
+door was opened, I felt the cold to my legs very sensibly; but when it
+was opened, the cold rushed out so as to give me pain; and within the
+grotto it was intolerable. I was not sensible of wind attending this
+cold; though upon Mount Etna and Mount Vesuvius, where there are caverns
+of this kind, the cold is evidently occasioned by a subterraneous wind:
+the natives call such places _ventaroli_. May not the quantity of nitre,
+with which all these places abound, account in some measure for such
+extreme cold? My thermometer was unluckily broken, or I would have
+informed you of the exact degree of the cold in this _ventaroli_ of
+Ischia, which is by much the strongest in its effects I ever felt. The
+ancient lavas of Ischia shew, that the eruptions there have been very
+formidable; and history informs us, that its first inhabitants were
+driven out of the island by the frequency and the violence of them.
+There are some of these ancient lavas not less than two hundred feet in
+depth. The mountain of St. Nicola, on which there is at present a
+convent of hermits, was called by the ancients Epomeus; it is as high,
+if not higher, than Vesuvius, and appears to me to be a section of the
+cone of the ancient and principal Volcano of the island, its composition
+being all _tufa_ or lava. The cells of the convent abovementioned are
+cut out of the mountain itself; and there you see plainly that its
+composition no way differs from the matter that covers Herculaneum, and
+forms the Monte Nuovo. There is no sign of a crater on the top of this
+mountain, which rises almost to a sharp point: time, and other
+accidents, may be reasonably supposed to have worn away this distinctive
+mark of its having been formed by explosion, as I have seen to be the
+case in other mountains, formed evidently by explosion, on the flanks of
+Etna and Vesuvius. Strabo, in his 5th book, upon the subject of this
+island, quotes Timaeus, as having said, that, a little before his time, a
+mountain in the middle of Pithecusa, called Epomeus, was shook by an
+earthquake, and vomited flames.
+
+There are many other rising grounds in this island, that, from the
+nature of their composition, must lead one to think the same as to their
+origin. Near the village of Castiglione, there is a mountain formed
+surely by an explosion of a much later date, having preserved its
+conical form and crater entire, and producing as yet but a slender
+vegetation: there is no account, however, of the date of this eruption.
+Nearer the town of Ischia, which is on the sea shore, at a place called
+_Le Cremate_, there is a crater, from which, in the year 1301 or 1302, a
+lava ran quite into the sea; there is not the least vegetation on this
+lava, but it is nearly in the same state as the modern lavas of
+Vesuvius. Pontano, Maranti, and D. Francesco Lombardi, have recorded
+this eruption; the latter of whom says, that it lasted two months; that
+many men and beasts were killed by the explosion; and that a number of
+the inhabitants were obliged to seek for refuge at Naples and in the
+neighbouring islands. In short, according to my idea, the island of
+Ischia must have taken its rise from the bottom of the sea, and been
+increased to its present size by divers later explosions. This is not
+extraordinary, when history tells us (and from my own observation I have
+reason to believe) that the Lipari islands were formed in the like
+manner. There has been no eruption in Ischia since that just mentioned,
+but earthquakes are very frequent there; two years ago, as I was told,
+they had a very considerable shock of an earthquake in this island.
+
+Father Goree's account of the formation of the new island in the
+Archipelago (situated between the two islands called Kammeni, and near
+that of Santorini) of which he was an eye-witness, strongly confirms the
+probability of the conjectures I venture to send you, relative to the
+formation of those islands and that part of the continent above
+described: it seems likewise to confirm the accounts given by Strabo,
+Pliny, Justin, and other ancient authors, of many islands in the
+Archipelago, formerly called the Ciclades, having sprung up from the
+bottom of the sea[42] in the like manner. According to Pliny, in the
+4th year of the CXXXVth Olympiad, 237 years before the Christian aera,
+the island of Thera (now Santorini) and Theresia were formed by
+explosion; and, 130 years later, the island Hiera (now called the great
+Kammeni) rose up. Strabo describes the birth of this island in these
+words: "In the middle space between Thera and Theresia flames burst out
+of the sea for four days, which, by degrees, throwing up great masses,
+as if they had been raised by machines, they formed an island of twelve
+stadia in circuit." And Justin says of the same island, "Eodem anno
+inter insulas Theramenem et Theresiam, medio utriusque ripae et maris
+spatio, terrae motus fuit: in quo, cum admiratione navigantium, repente
+ex profundo cum calidis aquis Insula emersit."
+
+Pliny mentions also the formation of Aspronisi, or the White Island, by
+explosion, in the time of Vespasian. It is known, likewise, that in the
+year 1628, one of the islands of the Azores, near the island of St.
+Michael, rose up from the bottom of the sea, which was in that place 160
+fathoms deep; and that this island, which was raised in fifteen days, is
+three leagues long, a league and a half broad, and rises three hundred
+and sixty feet above water.
+
+Father Goree, in his account of the formation of the new island in the
+Archipelago, mentions two distinct matters that entered into the
+composition of this island, the one black, the other white. Aspronisi,
+probably from its very name, is composed of the white matter, which if,
+upon examination, it proves to be a _tufa_, as I strongly suspect, I
+should think myself still more grounded in my conjectures; though I must
+confess, as it is, I have scarcely a doubt left with respect to the
+country I have been describing having been thrown up in a long series
+of ages by various explosions from subterraneous fire. Surely there are
+at present many existing Volcanos in the known world; and the memory of
+many others have been handed down to us by history. May there not
+therefore have been many others, of such ancient dates as to be out of
+the reach of history[43]?
+
+Such wonderful operations of Nature are certainly intended by all-wise
+Providence for some great purpose. They are not confined to any one part
+of the globe, for there are Volcanos existing in the four quarters of
+it. We see the great fertility of the soil thrown up by explosion, in
+part of the country I have described, which on that account was called
+by the ancients _Campania Felix_. The same circumstance is evident in
+Sicily, justly esteemed one of the most fertile spots in the world, and
+the granary of Italy. May not subterraneous fire be considered as the
+great plough (if I may be allowed the expression), which Nature makes
+use of to turn up the bowels of the earth, and afford us fresh fields to
+work upon, whilst we are exhausting those we are actually in possession
+of, by the frequent crops we draw from them? Would it not be found, upon
+enquiry, that many precious minerals must have remained far out of our
+reach, had it not been for such operations of Nature? It is evidently so
+in this country. But such great enquiries would lead me far indeed. I
+will only add a reflection, which my little experience in this branch of
+natural history furnishes me with. It is, that we are apt to judge of
+the great operations of Nature on too confined a plan. When first I came
+to Naples, my whole attention, with respect to natural history, was
+confined to Mount Vesuvius, and the wonderful phaenomena attending a
+burning mountain: but, in proportion as I began to perceive the evident
+marks of the same operation having been carried on in the different
+parts above described, and likewise in Sicily in a greater degree, I
+looked upon Mount Vesuvius only as a spot on which Nature was at present
+active; and thought myself fortunate in having an opportunity of seeing
+the manner in which one of her great operations (an operation, I
+believe, much less out of her common course than is generally imagined)
+was effected.
+
+Such remarks as I have made on the eruptions of Mount Vesuvius, during
+my residence at Naples, have been transmitted to the Royal Society, who
+have done them more honour than they deserved. Many more might be made
+upon this active Volcano, by a person who had leisure, a previous
+knowledge of the natural history of the earth, a knowledge of chemistry,
+and was practised in physical experiments, particularly those of
+electricity[44]. I am convinced, that the smoak of Volcanos contains
+always a portion of electrical matter; which is manifest at the time of
+great eruptions, as is mentioned in my account of the great eruption of
+Vesuvius in 1767. The peasants in the neighbourhood of my villa,
+situated at the foot of Vesuvius, have assured me, that, during the
+eruption last mentioned, they were more alarmed by the lightning and
+balls of fire that fell about them with a crackling noise, than by the
+lava and the usual attendants of an eruption. I find in all the accounts
+of great eruptions mention made of this sort of lightning, which is
+distinguished here by the name of _Ferilli_. Bracini, in his account of
+the great one of Vesuvius in 1631, says, that the column of smoak, which
+issued from its crater, went over near an hundred miles of country, and
+that several men and beasts were struck dead by lightning, issuing from
+this smoak in its course.
+
+The nature of the noxious vapours, called here _mofete_, that are
+usually set in motion by an eruption of the Volcano, and are then
+manifest in the wells and subterraneous parts of its neighbourhood, seem
+likewise to be little understood. From some experiments very lately
+made, by the ingenious Dr. Nooth, on the _mofete_ of the Grotto del
+Cane, it appears that all its known qualities and effects correspond
+with those attributed to fixed air. Just before the eruption of 1767, a
+vapour of this kind broke into the King's chapel at Portici, by which a
+servant, opening the door of it, was struck down. About the same time,
+as his Sicilian Majesty was shooting in a paddock near the palace, a dog
+dropped down, as was supposed, in a fit; a boy going to take him up
+dropped likewise; a person present, suspecting the accident to have
+proceeded from a _mofete_, immediately dragged them both from the spot
+where they lay, in doing which, he was himself sensible of the vapour;
+the boy and the dog soon recovered. His Sicilian Majesty did me the
+honour of informing me himself of this accident soon after it had
+happened. I have met with these _mofetes_ often, when I have been making
+my observations on the borders of Mount Vesuvius, particularly in
+caverns, and once on the Solfaterra. The vapour affects the nostrils,
+throat, and stomach, just as the spirit of hartshorn, or any strong
+volatile salts; and would soon prove fatal, if you did not immediately
+remove from it. Under the ancient city of Pompeii, the _mofetes_ are
+very frequent and powerful, so that the excavations that are carrying on
+there are often interrupted by them; at all times _mofetes_ are to be
+met with under ancient lavas of Vesuvius, particularly those of the
+great eruption of 1631. In Serao's account of the eruption of 1737, and
+in the chapter upon _mofetes_, he has recorded several curious
+experiments relative to this phaenomenon. The Canonico Recupero, who, as
+I mentioned to you in a former letter, is watching the operations of
+Mount Etna, has just informed me, that a very powerful _mofete_ has
+lately manifested itself in the neighbourhood of Etna; and that he
+found, near the spot from whence it rises, animals, birds, and insects,
+dead, and the stronger sort of shrubs blasted, whilst the grass and the
+tenderer plants did not seem to be affected. The circumstance of this
+_mofete_, added to that of the frequent earthquakes felt lately at
+Rhegio and Messina, makes it probable that an eruption of Mount Etna is
+at hand.
+
+I am alarmed at the length of this letter. By endeavouring to make
+myself clearly understood, I have been led to make, what I thought,
+necessary digressions. I must therefore beg of your goodness, that,
+should you find this memoir, in its present state, too tedious (which I
+greatly apprehend) to be presented to our respectable Society, you will
+make only such extracts from it as you shall think will be most
+agreeable and interesting. I am,
+
+                              SIR,
+                              With great truth and regard,
+                              Your most obedient
+                              humble servant,
+
+                              W. HAMILTON.
+
+
+[Illustration: _Plate VI._]
+
+REFERENCES to the MAP,
+[Plate VI.]
+
+   1. Naples.
+
+   2. Portici.
+
+   3. Resina, under which Herculaneum is buried.
+
+   4. Torre del Greco.
+
+   5. Hermitage, at which travellers usually rest, in their way up
+      Mount Vesuvius.
+
+   6. St. Angelo, a convent of Calmaldolese, situated upon a cone of
+      a mountain formed by an ancient explosion.
+
+   7. Cones formed by the eruption of 1760, and lava that ran from
+      them almost into the sea.
+
+   8. Mount Vesuvius and Somma.
+
+   9. Village of Somma.
+
+  10. The convent of the Madona del Arco, under which lavas have
+      been found at 300 feet depth, and which must have proceeded
+      from the mountain of Somma, when an active Volcano.
+
+  11. Ottaiano.
+
+  12. Torre del Annunziata.
+
+  13. Castel a Mare, near which the ancient town of Stabia is
+      buried, and where Pliny the elder lost his life.
+
+  14. Vico.
+
+  15. Sorrento, and the plain formed evidently by subterraneous
+      fire.
+
+  16. Massa.
+
+  17. Island of Caprea.
+
+  18. The Grotto of Pausilipo, cut through the mountain anciently,
+      to make a road from Naples to Puzzole.
+
+  19. Point of Pausilipo.
+
+  20. The Gaiola, where there are ruins of ancient buildings,
+      supposed to have belonged to Lucullus.
+
+  21. The island of Nisida, evidently formed by explosion.
+
+  22. The Lazaret.
+
+  23. The Bagnoli.
+
+  24. Puzzole, or Pozzuolo.
+
+  25. The Solfaterra, anciently called Forum Vulcani: between the
+      Solfaterra and the lake of Agnano, are the boiling waters of
+      the Pisciarelli.
+
+  26. The New Mountain, formed by explosion in the year 1538; the
+      sand of the sea shore at its basis burning hot.
+
+  27. The lake of Agnano, supposed the crater of an ancient Volcano:
+      here are the baths called St. Germano, and the famous Grotto
+      del Cane.
+
+  28. Astruni, which has been evidently a Volcano, and is now a
+      Royal Chace, the crater being surrounded with a wall.
+
+  29. The Monte Gauro or Barbaro, anciently a Volcano.
+
+  30. The lake of Avernus, evidently the crater of an ancient
+      Volcano.
+
+  31. Lake of Fusaro.
+
+  32. Point of Misenum, from whence Pliny the elder discovered the
+      eruption of Vesuvius that proved fatal to him; near this
+      place, in a vault of an ancient building, is a constant
+      vapour, or _mofete_, of the same quality with that of the
+      Grotto del Cane.
+
+  33. The Mare Morto, the ancient Roman Harbour.
+
+  34. Baia; behind the castle are two evident craters of ancient
+      Volcanos.
+
+  35. Island of Procita.
+
+  36. A perfect cone and crater of a Volcano near Castiglione in the
+      island of Ischia.
+
+  37. Lava that ran into the sea in the last eruption on this
+      island, in the year 1301, or 1302: the place now called Le
+      Cremate.
+
+  38. Town of Ischia and castle.
+
+  39. Lake of Licola.
+
+  40. Lake of Patria.
+
+  41. The river Volturnus.
+
+  42. Capua.
+
+  43. Caserta.
+
+  44. Aversa.
+
+  45. Mataloni.
+
+  46. Acerra.
+
+  47. Island of Ischia, anciently called AEnaria, Inarime, and
+      Pithecusa.
+
+  48. The mountain of St. Nicola, anciently called Mons Epomeus,
+      supposed the remains of the principal Volcano of the island.
+
+  49. Castiglione, near which are the baths of Gurgitelli.
+
+  50. Lacco, near which is that very cold vapour called by the
+      natives _ventarole_.
+
+  51. Ancient city of Pompeii, where his Sicilian Majesty's
+      excavations are carrying on at present.
+
+  52. Rovigliano.
+
+  53. River of Sarno.
+
+  54. Cuma.
+
+  55. Hot sands and sudatory, called Nero's baths.
+
+  56. The Lucrine lake, supposed to have been here, and of which
+      there is still some little remain.
+
+  57. Villa Angelica, Sir William Hamilton's villa, from whence he
+      has made many of his observations upon Mount Vesuvius.
+
+  58. Cones formed by an ancient eruption called _viuli_; here are
+      likewise cold vapours called _ventaroli_.
+
+  59. High grounds, probably sections of cones of ancient Volcanos,
+      being all composed of _tufa_ and strata of loose pumice and
+      burnt matter.
+
+  60. Plain of the Campagna Felice, four or five feet of excellent
+      soil, under which are strata of burnt and erupted matter.
+
+  ...... Marks the boundary of Sir William Hamilton's observations.
+
+
+
+
+LETTER VI.[45]
+
+To MATHEW MATY, M. D. Secretary to the Royal SOCIETY.
+
+
+                              Naples, March 5, 1771.
+
+Since I had the pleasure of sending you my letter, in which the nature
+of the soil of more than twenty miles round this capital is described;
+examining a deep hollow way cut by the rain waters into the outside cone
+of the Solfaterra, I discovered, that a great part of the cone of that
+ancient Volcano has been calcined by the hot vapours above described.
+Pumice calcined seems to be the chief ingredient, of which several
+specimens of (as I suppose) variegated unformed marble are composed, and
+the beautiful variegations in them may have probably been occasioned by
+the mineral vapours. As these specimens are now sent to the Royal
+Society, you will see that these variegations are exactly of the same
+pattern and colours as are met in many marbles and flowered alabasters;
+and I cannot help thinking that they are marble or alabaster in its
+infant state. What a proof we have here of the great changes the earth
+we inhabit is subject to! What is now the Solfaterra, we have every
+reason to suppose to have been originally thrown up by a subterraneous
+explosion from the bottom of the sea. That it was long an existing
+Volcano, is plain, from the ancient currents of lava, that are still to
+be traced from its crater to the sea, from the strata of pumice and
+erupted matter, of which its cone, in common with those of other
+Volcanos, is composed, and from the testimony of many ancient authors.
+Its cone in many parts has been calcined, and is still calcining, by the
+hot vapours that are continually issuing forth through its pores; and
+its nature is totally changed by this chemical process of Nature. In the
+hollow way, where I made these remarks, you see the different strata of
+erupted matter, that compose the cone, in some places perfectly
+calcined, in others not, according as the vapours have found means to
+insinuate themselves more or less.
+
+A hollow way, cut by the rains on the back of the mountain on which part
+of Naples is situated, towards Capo di China, shews that the mountain is
+composed of strata of erupted matter, among which are large masses of
+bitumen, in which its former state of fluidity is very visible. Here it
+was I discovered that pumice stone is produced from bitumen, which I
+believe has not yet been remarked. Some specimens shew evidently the
+gradual process from bitumen to pumice: and you will observe that the
+crystalline vitrifications, which are visible in the bitumen, suffer no
+alteration, but remain in the same state in the perfect pumice as in the
+bitumen.
+
+In a piece of stratum, calcined from the outside of the Solfaterra, the
+form and texture of the pumice stones is very discernible. In several
+parts of the outside cone, this calcining operation is still carried on,
+by the exhalation of constant very hot and damp vapours, impregnated
+with salts, sulphur, alum, &c. Where the abovementioned vapours have not
+operated, the strata of pumice and erupted matter, that compose the cone
+of the Solfaterra, are like those of all the high grounds in its
+neighbourhood, which I suppose to have been thrown up likewise by
+explosion. I have seen here, half of a large piece of lava perfectly
+calcined, whilst the other half out of the reach of the vapours has
+been untouched; and in some pieces the centre seems to be already
+converted into true marble.
+
+The variegated specimens then, above described, are nothing more than
+pumice and erupted matter, after having been acted upon in this manner
+by the hot vapours; and if you consider the process, as I have traced
+it, from bitumen to pumice, and from pumice to marble, you will think
+with me, that it is difficult to determine the primitive state of the
+many wonderful productions we see in Nature.
+
+I found, in the _tufa_ of the mountain of Pausilipo, a fragment of lava:
+one side I polished, to shew it to be true lava; the other shews the
+signs of the _tufa_, with which it is incorporated. It has evidently
+been rounded by friction, and most probably by rolling in the sea. Is it
+not natural then to imagine that there must have been Volcanos near this
+spot, long before the formation of the mountain of Pausilipo? This
+little stone may perhaps raise in your mind such reflections as it did
+in mine, relative to the great changes our globe suffers, and the
+probability of its great antiquity.
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[1] Having reflected since upon this circumstance, I rather believe that
+the weight of the atmosphere in bad weather, preventing the free
+dissipation of the smoke, and collecting it over the crater, gives it
+the appearance of being more considerable; whereas in fine weather the
+smoke is dispersed soon after its emission. It is, however, the
+common-received opinion at Naples (and from my own observation is, I
+believe, well founded), that when Vesuvius grumbles, bad weather is at
+hand. The sea of the Bay of Naples, being particularly agitated, and
+swelling some hours before the arrival of a storm, may very probably
+force itself into crevices, leading to the bowels of the Volcano, and,
+by causing a new fermentation, produce those explosions and grumblings.
+
+[2] These ashes destroy the leaves and fruit, and are greatly
+detrimental to vegetation for a year or two; but are certainly of great
+service to the land in general, and are among the principal causes of
+that very great fertility which is remarkable in the neighbourhood of
+Volcano's.
+
+[3] In the subsequent eruptions of Vesuvius, I have constantly remarked
+something of the same nature, as appears in my account of the great
+eruption of 1767. I have found the same remark in many accounts of
+former eruptions of Vesuvius: in the very curious one of the formation
+of a new mountain near Puzzole, in 1538, (as may be seen in my letter to
+Dr. Maty, Oct. 16, 1770[46],) the same observation is made. This
+phaenomenon, is well worthy of a curious inquiry, which might give some
+light into the theory of the earth, of which, I believe, we are very
+ignorant.
+
+[4] I am convinced, that it might be very practicable to divert the
+course of a lava when in this state, by preparing a new bed for it, as
+is practised with rivers. I was mentioning this idea at Catania in
+Sicily, when I was assured, that it had been done with success during
+the great eruption of Etna, in 1669; that the lava was directing its
+course towards the walls of Catania, and advancing slowly like the
+abovementioned, when they prepared a channel for it round the walls of
+the town, and turned it into the sea; that a succession of men, covered
+with sheep-skins wetted, were employed to cut through the tough flanks
+of the lava, till they made a passage for that in the centre (which was
+in perfect fusion) to disgorge itself into the channel prepared for it.
+A book I have since met with gives the same account of this curious
+operation; it is intituled, _Relatione del nuovo incendio fatto da
+Mongibello 1669. Messina, Giuseppe Bisagni, 1670_. His Sicilian
+Majesty's palace at Portici, and the valuable collection of antiquities
+that have been recovered from beneath the destructive lava's of
+Vesuvius, are in imminent danger of being overwhelmed again by the next
+that shall take its course that way; whereas, by taking a level, cutting
+away and raising ground, as occasion might require, the palace and
+museum would, in all probability, be insured, at least against one
+eruption; and, indeed, I once took the liberty of communicating this
+idea to the King of Naples, who seemed to approve of it.
+
+[5] The late Lord Morton was pleased to give these specimens to Dr.
+Morris, who has made several chemical experiments on them, the result of
+which will be communicated to the Royal Society.
+
+[6] From what I have seen and read of eruptions of Vesuvius and Etna, I
+am convinced that Volcano's lie dormant for several years, nay even for
+centuries, as probably was the case of Vesuvius before its eruption in
+the reign of Titus, and certainly was so before that of the year 1631.
+When I arrived at Naples in 1764, Vesuvius was quiet, very seldom smoak
+was visible on its top; in the year 1766, it seemed to take fire, and
+has never since been three months without either throwing up red hot
+stones, or disgorging streams of lava, nor has its crater been ever free
+from smoak. At Naples, when a lava appears, and not till then, it is
+styled an eruption; whereas I look upon the five nominal eruptions I
+have been witness to, from March 1766 to May 1771, as, in effect, but
+one continued eruption.
+
+[7] It is certain, that, by constant attention to the smoak that issues
+from the crater, a very good guess may be given as to the degree of
+fermentation within the Volcano. By this alone I foretold[47] the two
+last eruptions, and, by another very simple observation, I pointed out,
+some time before, the very spot from whence the lava has issued. When
+the cone of Vesuvius was covered with snow, I had remarked a spot on
+which it would not lie: concluding very naturally that this was the
+weakest part of the cone, and that the heat from within prevented the
+snow from lying; it was as natural to imagine that the lava, seeking a
+vent, would force this passage sooner than another; and so indeed it
+came to pass.
+
+[8] These are his words: "Nubes (incertum procul intuentibus ex quo
+monte Vesuvium fuisse postea cognitum est) oriebatur, cujus
+similitudinem & formam, non alia magis arbor, quam pinus expresserit.
+Nam longissimo veluti trunco elata in altum, quibusdam ramis
+diffundebatur, credo quia recenti spiritu evecta, dein senescente eo
+destituta, aut etiam pondere suo victa, in latitudinem evanescebat:
+candida interdum, interdum sordida & maculosa, prout terram cineremve
+sustulerat." Plin. lib. vi. ep. 16.
+
+[9] The windows at Naples open like folding-doors.
+
+[10] In several accounts of former eruptions of Vesuvius, I have found
+mention of the ashes falling at a much greater distance; that, in the
+year 472 and 473, they had reached Constantinople: Dio says, that during
+the eruption of Vesuvius in the time of Titus--"tantus fuit pulvis ut ab
+eo loco in Africam et Syriam et AEgyptum penetraverit." A book printed at
+Lecce, in the kingdom of Naples, in MDCXXXII, and intituled, _Discorso
+sopra l'origine de fuochi gettati dal Monte Vesuvio di Gio Francesco
+Sorrata Spinola Galateo_, says, that the 16th of December, 1631, the
+very day of the great eruption of Vesuvius (though perfectly calm), it
+rained ashes at Lecce, which is nine days journey from the mountain:
+that the day was darkened by them, and that they covered the ground
+three inches deep; that ashes of a different quality fell at Bari the
+same day; and that at both these places the inhabitants were very
+greatly alarmed, not being able to conceive the occasion of such a
+phaenomenon. Antonio Bulifon, in his account of the same eruption, says,
+that the ashes fell, and lay several inches deep at Ariano in Puglia;
+and I have been assured, by many persons of credit at Naples, that they
+have been sensible of the fall of ashes, during an eruption, at above
+two hundred miles distance from Vesuvius. The Abbate Giulio Cesare
+Bracini, in his account of the eruption of Vesuvius, in 1631, says, that
+the height of the column of smoak and ashes, taken from Naples by a
+quadrant, was upwards of thirty miles. Though such uncertain
+calculations demand but little attention; yet, by what I have seen, I am
+convinced, that in great eruptions the ashes are sent up to so great a
+height as to meet with extraordinary currents of air, which is the most
+probable way of accounting for their having been carried to so great a
+distance in a few hours. In a book, intituled, _Salvatoris Varonis
+Vesuviani incendii Libri tres: Neapoli_, MDCXXXIV, I found a very
+poetical description of the ashes that lay in the neighbourhood of
+Vesuvius, after the eruption of 1631, in depth, from twenty to a hundred
+palms: "Quare," says this author, "multi patrio in solo requirunt
+patriam, et vix ibi se credunt vivere ubi certo sciant sese natos, adeo
+totam loci speciem tempestas vertit."
+
+[11] This conjecture has proved true; for, even in the month of April
+1771, I again thrust sticks into some crevices of this lava, and they
+immediately took fire. On Mount Etna, in 1769, I observed the lava, that
+had been disgorged in 1766, smoak in many parts.
+
+[12] In all accounts of great eruptions of Mount Etna and Mount
+Vesuvius, I have found mention of this sort of lightning. Pliny the
+younger, in his second letter to Tacitus upon the eruption of Vesuvius
+in the time of Titus, says, that a black and horrible cloud covered them
+at Misenum (which is above fifteen miles from the Volcano), and that
+flashes of zig-zag fire, like lightning, but stronger, burst from it;
+these are his words: "ab altero latere nubes atra et horrenda ignei
+spiritus tortis vibratisque discursibus rupta, in longas flammarum
+figuras dehiscebat; fulgoribus illae et similes et majores erant." This
+was evidently the same electrical fire, and with which I am convinced
+that the smoak of all Volcanos is pregnant. In several accounts of the
+great eruption of Vesuvius in 1631, mention is made of damage done by
+the lightning that issued from the column of smoak. Bulifon, in
+particular, says, that, in the neighbourhood of the Volcano, people were
+struck dead in the same manner as if by lightning, without having their
+cloaths singed. Pliny mentions a like instance, which shews that the
+ancients had observed this phaenomenon; for he says, that at Pompeii, the
+day being fair, Marcus Herennius was struck dead by lightning. These are
+his words; "In Catilianis prodigiis, Pompeiano ex municipio M. Herennius
+Decurio _serena die_, fulmine ictus est." Plin. Hist. Nat. lib. II. cap.
+LI. The learned and ingenious Father Beccaria, at Turin, assured me,
+that he had been greatly pleased with my observations on this species of
+lightning, as coinciding perfectly with several of his electrical
+experiments.
+
+[13] "I am well convinced, by this collection, that many variegated
+marbles, and many precious stones, are the produce of Volcanos; and that
+there have been Volcanos in many parts of the world, where at present
+there are no traces of them visible." This is taken from a prior letter
+to Lord Morton, dated April 7, 1767.
+
+[14] In some accounts of an eruption of Vesuvius in 1660, I find mention
+made of ashes which fell in the shape of crosses, and were looked upon
+as highly miraculous; but in one book upon this subject, intituled,
+_Athanasii Kircheri Soc. Jes. De prodigiosis crucibus, &c. Romae_,
+MDCLXI, a very philosophical account is given of this phaenomenon; he
+says, that, in 1660, from the 16th of August to the 15th of October,
+Vesuvius cast up ashes, impregnated with nitrous, saline, and bituminous
+sulphur, which upon linen garments took the form of crosses, probably
+directed by the cross-threads in the linen, and therefore that the salts
+did not shoot into such a shape when they fell upon garments of woollen;
+a very particular description of these crosses may be found in page 38,
+of the abovementioned book.
+
+[15] I have since found in this stratum of erupted matter at Pompeii,
+stones weighing eight pounds: but many accounts of the great eruption of
+Vesuvius, particularly that of Antonio Bulifon, mention that a stone
+like a bomb was thrown from the crater of Vesuvius in 1631; and fell
+upon the Marquis of Lauro's house at Nola, which it set on fire. As Nola
+is twelve miles from Vesuvius, this circumstance seems rather
+extraordinary: however, I have seen stones of an enormous size shot up
+to a very great height by Mount Vesuvius. In May 1771, having a stop
+watch in my hand, I observed that one of these stones was eleven seconds
+falling from its greatest height, into the crater from whence it had
+been ejected. In 1767, a solid stone, measuring twelve feet in height,
+and forty-five in circumference, was thrown a quarter of a mile from the
+crater; the eruption of 1767, though by much the most violent of this
+century, was, comparatively to those of the year 79 and 1631, very mild.
+
+[16] See Letter V. in this collection.
+
+[17] It is the common received opinion, that this mountain rose from the
+bottom of the Lucrine lake. I had not seen the very curious and
+particular account of its formation (which account is in my next letter)
+when I wrote this, and was therefore in the same error.
+
+[18] This must depend greatly upon the quality of the lava's; some have
+been in a more perfect state of vitrification than others, and are
+consequently less liable to the impressions of time. I have often
+observed on Mount Vesuvius, when I have been close to the mouth from
+whence a lava was disgorging itself, that the quality of it varied
+greatly from time to time: I have seen it as fluid and coherent as glass
+when in fusion: and I have seen it farinacious, the particles separating
+as they forced their way out, just like meal coming from under the
+grindstones. A stream of lava of this sort, being less compact, and
+continuing more earthy particles, would certainly be much sooner fit for
+vegetation, than one composed of the more perfect vitrified matter.
+
+[19] This earthquake happened in the year 1693, and destroyed forty-nine
+towns and villages, nine hundred and twenty-two churches, colleges, and
+convents; and near one hundred thousand persons were buried in their
+ruin.
+
+[20] It is intituled, "A true and exact relation of the late prodigious
+earthquake and eruption of Mount AEtna, or Monte Gibello; as it came in a
+letter written to his Majesty from Naples, by the Right Honourable the
+Earl of Winchelsea, his Majesty's late Embassador at Constantinople,
+who, in his return from thence, visiting Catania in the island of
+Sicily, was an eye-witness of that dreadful spectacle; together with a
+more particular narrative of the same, as it is collected out of the
+several relations sent from Catania; published by authority. Printed by
+T. Newcomb, in the Savoy, 1669."
+
+"I accepted, says the author, p. 38, the invitation of the Bishop of
+Catania, to stay a day with him, that so I might be the better able to
+inform your Majesty of that extraordinary fire, which comes from Mount
+Gibel, fifteen miles distant from that city, which, for its horridness
+in the aspect, for the vast quantity thereof (for it is fifteen miles in
+length, and seven in breadth), for its monstrous devastation and quick
+progress, may be termed an inundation of fire, a flood of fire, cinders,
+and burning stones, burning with that rage as to advance into the sea
+six hundred yards, and that to a mile in breadth, which I saw; and that
+which did augment my admiration was, to see in the sea this matter like
+ragged rocks, burning in four fathom water, two fathom higher than the
+sea itself, some parts liquid, and throwing off, not with great
+violence, the stones about it, which, like a crust of a vast bigness,
+and red hot, fell into the sea every moment, in some place or other,
+causing a great and horrible noise, smoak, and hissing in the sea; and
+that more and more coming after it, making a firm foundation in the sea
+itself. I stayed there from nine a clock on Saturday morning, to seven
+next morning;" (this must have been towards the middle or latter end of
+April;) "and this mountain of fire and stones with cinders had advanced
+into the sea twenty yards at least, in several places; in the middle of
+this fire, which burnt in the sea, it hath formed like to a river, with
+its banks on each side very steep and craggy; and in this channel moves
+the greatest quantity of this fire, which is the most liquid, with
+stones of the same composition, and cinders all red hot, swimming upon
+the fire of a great magnitude; from this a river of fire doth proceed
+under the great mass of the stones, which are generally three fathoms
+high all over the country, where it burns, and in other places much
+more. There are secret conduits or rivulets of the liquid matter, which
+communicates fire and heat into all parts more or less, and melts the
+stones and cinders by fits in those places where it toucheth them, over
+and over again; where it meets with rocks or houses of the same matter
+(as many are), they melt and go away with the fire; where they find
+other compositions, they turn them to lime or ashes (as I am informed).
+The composition of this fire, stones, and cinders, are sulphur, nitre,
+quicksilver, sal ammoniac, lead, iron, brass, and all other metals. It
+moves not regularly, nor constantly down hill[48]; in some places it
+hath made the vallies hills, and the hills that are not high are now
+vallies. When it was night, I went upon two towers, in divers places;
+and could plainly see at ten miles distance, as we judged, the fire to
+begin to run from the mountain in a direct line, the flame to ascend as
+high and as big as one of the greatest steeples in your Majesty's
+kingdoms, and to throw up great stones into the air; I could discern the
+river of fire to descend the mountain of a terrible fiery or red colour,
+and stones of a paler red to swim thereon, and to be some as big as an
+ordinary table. We could see this fire to move in several other places,
+and all the country covered with fire, ascending with great flames[49],
+in many places, smoaking like to a violent furnace of iron melted,
+making a noise with the great pieces that fell, especially those which
+fell into the sea. A Cavalier of Malta, who lives there, and attended
+me, told me, that the river was as liquid where it issues out of the
+mountain, as water, and came out like a torrent with great violence, and
+is five or six fathom deep, and as broad, and that no stones sink
+therein. I assure your Majesty, no pen can express how terrible it is,
+nor can all the art and industry of the world quench or divert that
+which is burning in the country. In forty days time, it hath destroyed
+the habitations of 27,000 persons; made two hills of one, 1000 paces
+high apiece, and one is four miles in compass; of 20,000 persons, which
+inhabit Catania, 3000 did only remain; all their goods are carried away,
+the cannons of brass are removed out of the castle, some great bells
+taken down, the city-gates walled up next the fire, and preparations
+made to abandon the city.
+
+"That night which I lay there, it rained ashes all over the city, and
+ten miles at sea it troubled my eyes. This fire in its progress met with
+a lake of four miles in compass; and it was not only satisfied to fill
+it up, though it was four fathom deep, but hath made of it a mountain."
+
+[21] I have heard since, from some of our countrymen who have measured
+this tree, that its dimensions are actually as abovementioned, but that
+they could perceive some signs of four stems having grown together, and
+formed one tree.
+
+[22] No great stress should be laid upon these observations, as the many
+inconveniences we laboured under, and the little practice we had in such
+nice operations, must necessarily have rendered them very inaccurate.
+The Canon Recupero, who was our guide, attended Mess. Glover, Fullerton,
+and Brydone, up Mount Etna in June 1770. The latter is a very ingenious
+and accurate observer, and has taken the height of many of the highest
+mountains in the Alps. His observations, as the Canon informed me, were
+as follows: At the top of the mountain the quicksilver in the
+thermometer was 9 degrees below freezing point, when at the foot of the
+mountain it rose to 76. At the foot of the little mountain that crowns
+the Volcano the barometer stood at 20 deg. 4-2/3', half way up this little
+mountain it was at 19 deg. 6'; but the wind was too violent for them to
+attempt any more observations. The barometer and thermometer were of
+Fahrenheit's. Mr. Brydone remarked, as he went up in the night, that he
+could distinguish the stars in the milky way with wonderful clearness,
+and that the cold was much more intense than he had ever felt upon the
+highest mountains of the Alps.
+
+[23] This passage, in Cornelius Severus's poem upon Etna, seems to
+confirm my opinion:
+
+    "Placantesque etiam caelestia numina thure
+    "Summo cerne jugo, vel qua liberrimus AEtna
+    "Improspectus hiat; tantarum semina rerum
+    "Si nihil irritet flammas, stupeatque profundum."
+
+[24] A better account of the formation of _tufa_ will be seen in my next
+letter.
+
+[25] The dates of the eruptions of Mount Etna, recorded by history, are
+as follows: Before the Christian aera four, in the years 3525. 3538.
+3554. 3843. After Christ, twenty-seven have been recorded, 1175. 1285.
+1321. 1323. 1329. 1408. 1530. 1536. 1537. 1540. 1545. 1554. 1556. 1566.
+1579. 1614. 1634. 1636. 1643. 1669. 1682. 1689. 1692. 1702. 1747. 1755.
+1766.
+
+The dates of the eruptions of Vesuvius are as follows: After Christ--79.
+203. 472. 512. 685. 993. 1036. 1043. 1048. 1136. 1506. [1538, the
+eruption at Puzzole.] 1631. 1660. 1682. 1694. 1701. 1704. 1712. 1717.
+1730. 1737. 1751. 1754. 1760. 1766. 1767. 1770. 1771.
+
+[26] Pliny, in his account of these islands, in the IX chapter of the
+third book of his Natural History, seems to confirm this opinion.
+
+"Lipara cum civium Romanorum oppido, dicta a Liparo rege, qui successit
+AEolo, antea Melogonis vel Meliganis vocitata, abest XII millia pass. ab
+Italia, ipsa circuitu paulo minori. Inter hanc et Siciliam altera, antea
+Therasia appellata, nunc Hiera; qui sacra Vulcano est, colle in ea
+nocturnas evomente flammas. Tertia Strongyle, a Lipara millia passuum ad
+exortum solis vergens, in qua regnavit AEolus, quae a Lipara liquidiore
+flamma tantum differt: e cujus fumo equinam flaturi sint venti, in
+triduum praedicere incolae traduntur; unde ventos AEolo paruisse
+existimatum. Quarta Didyme, minor quam Lipara. Quinta Ericusa; sexta
+Phoenicusa; pabulo proximarum relicta. NOVISSIMA, eademque Minima,
+Evonymos."
+
+[27] See Plate V.
+
+[28] The Abate Giulio Cesare Bruccini describes very elegantly, in his
+account of the eruption of Vesuvius in 1631, his having made an
+observation of the like nature--his words are (after having
+particularized the different strata of erupted matter lying one over
+another)--"parendo appunto che la natura ci abbia voluto lasciare
+scritto in questa terra tutti gli incendii memorabili raccontati delli
+autori."
+
+[29] These are his words, book II. chap. vi.
+
+"De Pulvere Puteolano.
+
+"Est etiam genus pulveris, quod efficit naturaliter res admirandas.
+Nascitur in regionibus Baianis, et in agris municipiorum, quae sunt circa
+Vesuvium montem, quod commixtum cum calce et caemento non modo caeteris
+aedificiis praestat firmitates, sed etiam moles, quae construuntur in mari,
+sub aqua solidescunt. Hoc autem fieri hac ratione videtur, quod sub his
+montibus et terra ferventes sunt fontes crebri, qui non essent, si non
+in imo haberent, aut de sulfure, aut alumine, aut bitumine ardentes
+maximos ignes: igitur penitus ignis, et flammae vapor per intervenia
+permanans et ardens, efficet levem eam terram, et ibi, qui nascitur
+tophus, exugens est, et sine liquore. Ergo cum tres res consimili
+ratione, ignis vehementia formatae in unam pervenerint mixtionem, repente
+recepto liquore una cohaerescunt, et celeriter humore duratae solidantur,
+neque eas fluctus, neque vis aquae potest dissolvere."
+
+About Baia, Puzzole, and Naples, we have an opportunity of remarking the
+truth of these last words. Several of the piers of the ancient harbour
+of Puzzole, vulgarly called Caligula's bridge, and which are composed of
+bricks joined with this sort of cement, are still standing in the sea,
+though much exposed to the waves; and upon every part of the shore you
+find large masses of brick-walls rounded and polished by friction in the
+sea, the brick and mortar making one body, and appearing like a
+variegated stone. Large pieces of old walls are likewise often cut out
+into square pieces, and made use of in modern buildings instead of
+stone.
+
+Soon after the first quotation, Pliny says, "Si ergo in his locis
+aquarum ferventes inveniuntur fontes, et in montibus excavatis calidi
+vapores, ipsaque loca ab antiquis memorantur pervagantes in agris
+habuisse ardores, videtur esse certum ab ignis vehementia ex topho
+terraque, quemadmodum in fornacibus et a calce, ita ex his ereptum esse
+liquorem. Igitur dissimilibus, et disparibus rebus correptis, et in unam
+potestatem collatis, callida humoris jejunitas aqua repente satiata,
+communibus corporibus latenti calore confervescit et vehementer effecit
+ea coire, celeriterque una soliditatis percipere virtutem."
+
+[30] Scipione Falcone, a very good observer, in his _Discorso naturale
+delli cause et effetti del Vesuvio_, says, that he saw, after the
+eruption of Vesuvius in 1631 (which was attended with hot water), the
+mud harden almost to a stone in a few days; his words are these--"fatta
+dura a modo di calcina e di pietra non altrimenti di cenere, perche dopo
+alcuni giorni vi ci e caminato per sopra e si e conosciuta durissima che
+ci vogliono li picconi per romperla." This account, with other
+circumstances mentioned in this letter, make it highly probable, that
+all the _tufas_ in the neighbourhood of Vesuvius have been formed by a
+like operation.
+
+[31] This piece is now in the Museum of the Royal Society, together with
+other specimens, mentioned in this and in the following letter. M. M.
+
+[32] Letter IV.
+
+[33] Strabo, in his fifth book of Geography, says, "Supra haec loca situs
+est Vesuvius mons agris cinctus optimis: dempto vertice, qui magna sui
+parte planus, totus sterilis est, adspectu cinaereus, cavernasque
+ostendens fistularum plenas et lapidum colore fuliginoso, utpote ab igni
+exesorum, ut conjecturam facere possit ista loca quondam arsisse, et
+crateras ignis habuisse, deinde materia deficiente restincta fuisse."
+
+Diodorus Siculus, in his fourth book, describing the voyage of Hercules
+into Italy, says, "Phlegraeus quoque campus is locus appellatur a colle
+nimirum, qui AEtnae instar Siculae magnam vim ignis eructabat; nunc
+Vesuvius nominatur, multa inflammationis pristinae vestigia reservans."
+And Vitruvius, in the sixth chapter of the second book, says, "Non minus
+etiam memoratur antiquitus crevisse ardores et abundasse sub Vesuvio
+monte et inde evomuisse circa agros flammas." Tacitus, mentioning the
+eruption of Vesuvius in the reign of Titus, seems to hint likewise at
+former eruptions, in these words: "Jam vero novis cladibus, vel post
+longam saeculorum repetitis afflictae, haustae aut abrutae fecundissima
+Campaniae ora et urbs incendiis vastata."
+
+[34] Bracini, in his account of the eruption of 1613, says, that he
+found many sorts of sea shells on Vesuvius after that eruption; and P.
+Ignatio, in his account of the same eruption, says, that he and his
+companions picked up many shells likewise at that time upon the
+mountain: this circumstance would induce one to believe, that the water
+thrown out of Vesuvius, during that formidable eruption, came from the
+sea.
+
+[35] In book xi. c. 93. he observes, that about Sinuessa and Puteoli,
+"Spiracula vocant--alii Caroneas scrobes, mortiferum spiritum
+exhalantes." And Seneca, Nat. Quaest. lib. vi. cap. 28. "Pluribus Italiae
+locis per quaedam foramina pestilens exhalatur vapor, quem non homini
+ducere, non ferae tutum est. Aves quoque si in illum inciderint, antequam
+coelo meliore leniatur, in ipso volatu cadunt, liventque corpora, et non
+aliter quam per vim elisae fauces tument."
+
+[36] I have remarked, that, after a great fall of rain, the degree of
+heat in this water is much less, which will account for what the Padre
+Torre says (in his book, entituled, _Histoire et Phenomenes du Vesuve_),
+that, when he tried it in company with Monsieur de la Condamine, the
+degree of heat, upon Reaumur's thermometer, was 68 deg.
+
+[37] This very scarce volume has been presented by Sir William Hamilton
+to the British Museum. M. M.
+
+[38] Here again we have an example of the electrical fire attending a
+great eruption.
+
+[39] The cup, or crater, on the top of the new mountain is now covered
+with shrubs; but I discovered at the bottom of it, in the year 1770,
+amidst the bushes, a small hole, which exhales a constant hot and damp
+vapour, just such as proceeds from boiling water, and with as little
+smell; the drops of this steam hang upon the neighbouring bushes.
+
+[40] The noxious vapours which Lucan mentions to have prevailed at
+Nisida, favour my opinion as to its origin:
+
+            "--Tali spiramine Nesis
+    "Emittit stygium nebulosis aera saxis."
+
+                              Lucan. lib. vi.
+
+[41] Giulio Cesare Capaccio, in his account of this island, says, that
+there are eleven springs of cold water, and thirty-five of hot and
+mineral waters.
+
+[42] By having remarked, that all the implements of stone brought by
+Mess. Banks and Solander from the new-discovered islands in the
+South-Seas, are evidently of such a nature as are only produced by
+Volcanos; and as these gentlemen have assured me, that no other kind of
+stone is to be met with in the islands; I am induced to think, that
+these islands (at so great a distance from any continent) may have
+likewise been pushed up from the bottom of the sea by like explosions.
+
+[43] Any one, the least conversant in Volcanos, must be struck with the
+numberless evident marks of them the whole road from the lake of Albano
+to Radicofani, between Naples and Florence; and yet, though this soil
+bears such fresh and undoubted marks of its origin, no history reaches
+the date of any one eruption in these parts.
+
+[44] May not the air in countries replete with sulphur be more
+impregnated with electrical matter than the air of other soils? and may
+not the sort of lightning, which is mentioned by several ancient authors
+to have fallen in a serene day, and was considered as an omen, have
+proceeded from such a cause?
+
+Horace says, Ode xxxiv.
+
+            "--Namque Diespeter
+    "Igni corusco nubila dividens
+      "Plerumque per purum tonantes
+        "Egit equos volucremque currum."
+
+      "Non alias coelo ceciderunt plura sereno
+      "Fulgura----"
+
+                              Virgil. Georgic. i.
+
+    "Aut cum terribili perculsus fulmine civis
+    "Luce serenanti vitalia lumina liquit."
+
+                              Cic. i. de Divin. n. 18.
+
+  "--Sabinos petit aliquanto tristior, quod sacrificanti hostia
+  aufugerat: quodque tempestate serena tonuerat."
+
+                              Sueton. _Tit._ cap. 10.
+
+[45] This letter was not received by Dr. Maty in its present form: and
+is rather the substance of an explanatory catalogue, which was sent to
+that gentleman with sundry specimens of the different materials that
+compose the soil described in the preceding letter; which catalogue
+remains, with the specimens, in the Museum of the Royal Society, for the
+inspection, and, I flatter myself, the satisfaction, of the curious in
+natural history.
+
+[46] See p. 103 of this collection.
+
+[47] See Letter I. p. 18.
+
+[48] Having heard the same remark with respect to the lava's of
+Vesuvius, I determined, during an eruption of that Volcano, to watch the
+progress of a current of lava, and I was soon enabled to comprehend this
+seeming phaenomenon; though it is, I fear, very difficult to explain.
+Certain it is, that the lava's, whilst in their most fluid state, follow
+always the law of other fluids; but when at a great distance from their
+source, and consequently incumbered with scoriae and cinders, the air
+likewise having rendered their outward coat tough, they will sometimes
+(as I have seen) be forced up a short ascent, the fresh matter pushing
+forward that which went before it, and the exterior parts of the lava
+acting always as conductors (or pipes, if I may be allowed the
+expression), for the interior parts, that have retained their fluidity
+by not having been exposed to the air.
+
+[49] The flames Lord Winchelsea mentions, were certainly produced by the
+lava having met with trees in the way; or perhaps his Lordship may have
+mistaken the white smoak which constantly rises from a lava (and in the
+night is tinged by the reflection of the red hot matter), for flame, of
+which indeed it has greatly the appearance at a distance. I have
+observed upon Mount Vesuvius, that, soon after a lava has borne down and
+burned a tree, a bright flame issues from its surface; otherwise I have
+never seen any flame attending an eruption.
+
+
+THE END.
+
+
+
+
+IMPORTED from NAPLES,
+
+By T. CADELL, in the Strand.
+
+
+A Collection of Etruscan, Greek, and Roman Antiquities, from the Cabinet
+of the Hon. Sir WILLIAM HAMILTON, K.B. F.R.S. His Majesty's Envoy
+Extraordinary at the Court of Naples. The Whole to be comprised in four
+Volumes Folio. The Plates finely coloured. The Price to Subscribers 9l.
+9s. in Sheets; Six Guineas of which is to be paid on the Delivery of the
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+Price will be considerably raised.
+
+Specimens of all the Plates of the third Volume are arrived, and the
+fourth and last Volume is now doing; so that the Public may be assured
+the Whole of this elegant Work will be finished with all possible
+Expedition.
+
+** Those Noblemen and Gentlemen who subscribed for the first Volume may
+have the second upon paying 2l. 2s.
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber's Notes
+
+
+This document was taken from hand-written letters in the eighteenth
+century, and also contains quotes from other authors. As such, it's no
+surprise that there are many spelling and punctuation irregularities.
+Except where explicitly noted below, these were kept as is. Spelling
+variants that were preserved include: "Abbate" and "Abate;"
+"abovementioned" and "above-mentioned;" "AEnaria" and "Enaria;" "ancient"
+and "antient" (and derivatives); "Astruni" and "Astroni;" "Averno" and
+"Avernus;" "Giulio Cesare Bracini" and "Giulio Cesare Bruccini;"
+"Castel-a-Mare," "Castel-a-mare," "Castel a Mare" and "Castle-a-Mare;"
+"centre" and "center;" "colour" and "color" (and derivatives); "deer"
+and "deers" (for the plural of "deer"); "enquiry" and "inquiry;"
+"entirely" and "intirely;" "entituled" and "intituled;" "exteriour" and
+"exterior;" "honour" and "honor;" "interiour" and "interior;" "lavas"
+and "lava's" (for the plural of "lava"); "Mare-morto" and "Mare Morto;"
+"mere" and "meer;" "Mon-Gibello," "Mongibello," "Mon Gibello," "Monte
+Gibello" and "Mount Gibel;" "o'clock" and "a clock;" "Procida" and
+"Procita;" "rain water" and "rain-water;" "smoke" and "smoak" (and
+derivatives); "Solfaterra" and "Solfa terra;" "strata" and "stratas"
+(for the plural of "stratum"); "Torre dell' Annunciata," "Torre dell'
+Annunziata" and "Torre del Annunziata;" "Volcanos" and "Volcano's" (for
+the plural of "Volcano"); "Volcano's" and "Volcanos" (for the possessive
+of "Volcano").
+
+Changed "that" to "than" on page 85: "on the top of Vesuvius than on
+that of Etna."
+
+Changed "thermomether" to "thermometer" on page 122: "Fahrenheit's
+thermometer."
+
+Inserted missing word "a" on page 129: "fell a great part of the night."
+
+A small right-pointing hand appeared at the beginning of the last line
+of the advertisement. It was replaced by two asterisks.
+
+In the text version of this book, the oe-ligature character was replaced
+by the separate characters, "oe."
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Observations on Mount Vesuvius, Mount
+Etna, and Other Volcanos, by William Hamilton
+
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