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THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



have referred to the vailey or ravine between the two mountains, the 

 first descent to which on the side of Vesuvius is a sheer precipice. A 

 great stream of lava, about 200 feet in width, issuing from the crater, 

 took the direction of this ravine, and on arriving at the edge of the 

 precipice fell heavily over it, forming a magnificent fiery cascade about 

 1,000 feet in height. On reaching the valley beneath, it wended its 

 way through the woods, consuming the trees in its course, and de- 

 stroying several villages through which it flowed. A grander sight 

 than this cascade of fire must have presented, it would be difficult for 

 the human mind to imagine. 



Monnier says that, "since 1850, springs of lava have opened near 

 the base of the cone in the ravine which separates the two mountains ; 

 they are seen springing from the lava much as the water of rivers 

 flows from a glacier. In 1855 and 1858 it rolled slowly through the 

 ravine like the Thames in flames. To be really startling, the lava 

 must be seen, not from above, but coming directly toward the specta- 

 tor, as I saw it in 1855. Then it was no longer a river, but a burning, 

 moving rampart. This wall was at least a mile wide and 20 feet 

 high. It came slowly, irresistibly, covering the ground, burning the 

 trees and houses ; you could walk backward before it as a captain 

 does before his company. 



" The lava, as it issues from the crater of Vesuvius, is perfectly 

 liquid, and glows with an intense white brilliancy, like that of molten 

 silver; but, as it descends, it begins to cool at the top, and a quantity 

 of broken slag is formed on the surface of the stream, becoming ere 

 long a continuous coating. The speed of the current, very rapid at 

 first, gradually slackens, until, on the level at some distance from the 

 mountain, its progress is scarcely perceptible." 



Vesuvius is much more active in modern times than in ancient ; 

 several grand eruptions having taken place within the present genera- 

 tion. The recent convulsion has been marked by the usual impressive 

 features, but comparisons with former eruptions must be accepted 

 with hesitation, for, where the imagination is so powerfully affected, 

 and the data are so uncertain, the judgment may be much at fault. 

 The following description of the present display was telegraphed from 

 Naples, April 29th : 



"The view of Mount Vesuvius from this city is now the grandest 

 that has been witnessed since the year 1631. Many persons have 

 taken advantage of the panic among the people of the towns which 

 were threatened with destruction, to take whatever goods they could 

 find, and the government has been compelled to order troops to those 

 places to prevent the stealing of abandoned property. In this city the 

 Bourse has closed, and business is almost entirely suspended. The 

 people use umbrellas to protect themselves from the falling ashes. 



" A sound as of thunder accompanies the discharges. The wind 

 was blowing in this direction this morning, carrying dense clouds of 



