MISCELLANY. 



379 



cera, and this number will fluctuate as the 

 temperature fluctuates between 55 and 65. 

 Hence we are informed that the mortality 

 from all causes is least when the tempera- 

 ture is about 50, which is very little above 

 our mean annual temperature." 



The Late Eruption. A correspondent 

 of the London Athenceum, writing, May 2d, 

 from Naples, graphically describes the late 

 eruption. He says : A tempest of fine ashes 

 poured down upon us, covering the streets 

 and houses, filling our lungs, and almost 

 blinding us. We all, from necessity, car- 

 ried umbrellas, a slight protection, however, 

 except to break the brunt of the driving 

 shower as we met it. I have seen cabmen 

 with handkerchiefs hanging in front of their 

 caps, and some men with fine handkerchiefs 

 tied over their faces. Last Friday and Sat- 

 urday it was, as it were, one continuous roll 

 of artillery, so loud that it could be heard 

 full 20 miles distant ; but after the sand- 

 storm set in, if not so sharp and violent, it 

 was, I think, more appalling. Vesuvius 

 roared night and day ; it rendered sleep im- 

 possible ; its reverberations shook our win- 

 dows and our houses, and great has been 

 the exodus from Naples of the foreigners 

 who came to admire, and now have fled in 

 fright. 



It is impossible adequately to describe 

 the beauty and grandeur of the spectacle. 

 In its totality it met the eye one could 

 watch the swelling growth of the eruption, 

 its every movement, and mark all the ex- 

 quisite proportions of that wonderful crea- 

 tion, whereas close under the mountain 

 there was a terrific confusion of forms. On 

 the afternoon of Wednesday week there 

 was a grand display, which would have been 

 sufficient for one season, and foreigners 

 might have dispersed to their homes, de- 

 lighted that they had at last witnessed a 

 brilliant eruption of Vesuvius. On the 

 Thursday it was less active, but in the night 

 there was a cannonade, a loud continuous 

 roar, which never ceased a moment for 48 

 hours. At the distance of 20 miles it shook 

 the windows and murdered sleep ; and one 

 thought only of the havoc which was then 

 being committed on fair lands and populous 

 villages. Like a gigantic cauliflower rose 

 up that vast mass of fire and smoke. Do 



not smile at the homeliness of the compari- 

 son, for it is the only one which really rep- 

 resents its form. Its thousand involutions, 

 round and swelling, are well imaged by the 

 sections of the plant, and as they emerged 

 from the volcano they grew in height and 

 magnitude, and intermingled and rolled one 

 over the other until they ascended to the 

 zenith, and then toppled over, section after 

 section, and fell by their own weight. I 

 could see the showers of dust on either side, 

 and in the midst, burning stones like stars ; 

 yet the height of this marvellous form was 

 never lessened, for underneath curled up 

 continually fresh supplies, while the thun- 

 der, which rolled fearfully, gave a never- 

 failing impulse to their ascent. A slight 

 wind from the northwest detached portions 

 of the column on one side, and sent them 

 down the coast for miles, in one long cloud ; 

 as the wind varied, it was swept iuland, or 

 across the sea. And then the colors, how 

 exquisite they were! There were artists 

 with me who positively raved. We had the 

 pure white of the homely plant on the sum- 

 mit, while each section was divided from 

 the other by a shade of black. As the set- 

 tiug sun cast its light upon it, we had all 

 the prismatic colors of the rainbow, and 

 then night fell, and the entire mountain, 

 the heavens above and the sea beneath, 

 were on fire. 



Eastern Thibet. According to Dr. Camp- 

 bell, from whose papers on Eastern Thib- 

 et Nature gives an interesting abstract, the 

 doitg or wild-yak of that country is the 

 fiercest of all known ruminants, rarely al- 

 lowing a man to escape if it can come lip 

 with him. Like the American buffalo, this 

 animal is generally hunted on horseback. 

 The domesticated yak and the sheep 

 are used for the transportation of salt, 

 which is brought from all but inaccessible 

 districts, having an elevation of some 22,000 

 feet, and where it is so cold that salt can 

 only be obtained from April to November. 

 The sheep carries a load varying in weight 

 from eight to twenty-four pounds, accord- 

 ing to the character of the route ; the salt 

 is thus conveyed to places accessible by 

 yaks, which are capable of bearing a load of 

 160 pounds. 



There are no leeches or mosquitoes in 



