1805.] Account of the Eruption of Mount Vefuvius. 



3'23 



a grand and fplendid fight ; and as it ran 

 (Voin north to fouth, and I was on tlie 

 weft, it reprcTtnied ihe back fcenery c-f 

 hell at an opera. Figure to yourlclf an 

 irnnienre fheet of flannes rifing at lealt halt' 

 a mile from the ground, and crowned 

 by a black cloud which vanithed by 

 degrees. 



" Many very valuable vineyards and 

 farn^.-houfes have been deftroycd ; and as 

 the lava rulhcd out with very little noiie 

 and great ra|)idiiy, I am afraid lome ha- 

 bitations on the hrow of the hill will have 

 been furroundcd before the people were 

 2 A are of the danger or hn<l time io efcape : 

 but a great part of the lava ran on that of 

 the laft trviption in 1779, which renders 

 the niifchief lefs. It fiirpriles many 

 ftiangers that people fhoiild llil) perfill in 

 Jiving on and cultivaiing fnch a fpot, as 

 the lava conftanily takes that direflion, 

 fouth fiuth-e.ift ; btit the land is fo vrry 

 prodi)£>ive that t!ie temptation is not eafily 

 comb-ited." 



Fiom another Ccrrefpondent we extrafl 

 the following sfco\jiit. 



•' At ten o'clock laft night the erup- 

 tion of Vefuvius, of wnich the earthquake 

 feemed to be the foieunner, trok place. 

 We were going to vifit the crater, when 

 the cries of the people and a voitmie of 

 flame informed us that (he volcano hal 

 opened. The lava precipitated iifeif in 

 thiee fecnds fiom the la(t peak of the 

 mountain, and took a diredlion towaids 

 the valley fituafed between T^rre del 

 Greco and Torre del Annunziaio, two 

 towns on the (isa-coatt 'eyund Portici, and 

 fcven or eight milei from Niides. We 

 <ct cff immeciiately to fte this wmdeiful 

 phenomet^n niraier. From the place of 

 our departure we law the whole ccurfe of 

 the lava, which extended already two 

 miles from the crater to tlic houfcs that 

 jjin the two towns. Tlie fieht was the 

 met magnificently Irigiit'iil that could be 

 feen. I contenijilattd the cafcides cf 

 flimes pouring fiom the top of the moun- 

 ta n, and (hudrierid at feeing an imnienfe 

 torrent of fire ravbge the findt fields, 

 overthrow houfes, and dellroy in a few 

 niinuies th- hopes and rcfjurces of an 

 hundred families. A Ime of fire marked 

 tlie profile cf the mountain j a cloud of 

 Invjke, which (iecined to lend forth from 

 time to time fljflies oi lightning, hung 

 over the fccne, and the Mji n appeared to 

 be pale. Nothing can adequately delicribe 

 its grandeur or ^ive an accurate idea of 



its horror. As we approached the fpot 

 ravaged by Mils river of fire, ruintd inha- 

 bitants had quilted their houfes ; defolaled 

 families were iryin^ to fave their furniture 

 or provifions, the laft feeble lefource ; an 

 immenle crowd ot curious perfons retreat- 

 ing (Jep by flep from adva' cing lava, and 

 tcltifying by extraordinary cies their 

 wonder, fear, and pity. The frightful 

 bellowing of the nioiintain, tne 'rei|uent 

 explcfions which burli from the bo!om of 

 the torrent, the cracking of the tieesde* 

 vouied by the flanaes, the noifeof the WiiHs 

 falling, and the lu ubrious found of a 

 bell which the religious Camaldnles, ifo- 

 lated on a litde hill, and furrounded by 

 two torrer.ti of fire, rang in their diitrels 

 — such are the details of the fiightful 

 fcene to which I was wiinefs. The mo- 

 ment we arrived tlie lava was crolTuig thft 

 gie'.t road below Tnrie i.i\ Greco. To 

 lee it better we got into a beautiful houle 

 on the road-fide \ from the terrace we faw 

 the fire at nomnrethan fifteen paces from 

 us. Ir) a minute we defcended, and 

 twenty minutes afferivirds there lemaincd 

 of the huufe but three large wall'. I ap- 

 proached as near as 'he heat and flow of 

 the cuirent would permit me. I attempt- 

 ed ar diffeient times :o bum the end of 

 my handkerchief in it ; I could only do 

 it by tying it to the end of my cane. The 

 i v \ does not run in I. quid wave.. ; it ic- 

 lembles an immenie quantify ot cjals of 

 fiie whi.h an invincihle ft ength had hsap- 

 ed ui)and puflied in with violence. When 

 it met vi-iih a wall it colleded to the height 

 of (even or ten feet, buint it, and over- 

 threw it at once. I law fom» walls get 

 red hot, like iron, and melt, it I may uie 

 the txprtfii'm, in o lava. On the horizon- 

 tal rad I rcckcned that the torrent travel- 

 led at the rate of eightf-en incnes in a mi- 

 nute, lis fmell rel'enibled that of iron 

 red-hot," 



" One cannot but regret (lays Mr. Fal- 

 connet) that fuch a beantiiul country is 

 thi.«, blelTtd with an adm rai>le toil, fine 

 fttuaiion, healthy cliiiiate, ar.d pure Iky, 

 fli ulii be liable to Inch drawbacks and 

 convulfions of nature. But in this world 

 we cannot expeil cnjcymcnts wi hotit fome 

 alloy ; and we mult iiibmit to Providence, 

 who has peihips decreed in its wildoni 

 tiiat a people too much inclined to yicc 

 and immorality (hoiild be ibmetimei re- 

 called to a fenfe of their duties by fucli 

 uncommon events, which happen when 

 Icalt thought upon/' 



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Particulert 



