Eruption of 'Mount Vesuvius. 187 



slowly, following a progression produced solely bv the 

 falling of the different bodies, between which there was no 

 adhesion, and which, in obedience to the impulsion they 

 had received on issuing from the crater, rolled from the 

 most elevated point, and covered the surface of another 

 stratum. In this manner the stones rolled oyer, one upon 

 another, till the front rank having attained the same height 

 as that which produced it, began in its turn to pour down 

 the ignited bodies that came tumbling upon it. 



All this intestine motion was accompanied with a noise 

 resembling the decrepitation of salts, but much more loud 

 and brisk. The fire was fed by various combustible matters, 

 as sulphur, bitumen, and metals, which might be known 

 by their flames ; but there was no appearance either of 

 complete fusion or of the commencement of it. The stones 

 resisted the pressure of a stick, which I several times en- 

 deavoured, but in vain, to thrust into them. 



Meanwhile the devastation occasioned by the progress of 

 this torrent presented a horrid spectacle. The trees which 

 supported the vines, and the vines themselves, were burned 

 by the extreme heat of this mass of matter, even before it 

 reached them ; and the bright and clear light produced by 

 their combustion, indicated the exact contour of the pro- 

 gress of the lava. The walls of inclosurts, -tnd of houses, 

 calcined by the heat, crumbled to pieces before this mov- 

 ing mountain, or were thrown down by the force of the im- 

 pulsion. Sometimes, however, instead of overturning an 

 obstacle, the lava turned aside, and left it standing: for this 

 variety of action it is impossible to assign any reason. 



Alter we had contemplated this dismal and astonishing 

 sight, we went up to the convent of the Camaldulerises, 

 situated on a kind of peak, of considerable height, that 

 overlooks the whole plain, which extends from the south to 

 the west, from the loot of Mount Vesuvius to the sea. This 

 building has hitherto been spared, as well as the thick wood 

 in which it is embosomed. It is one of the neatest points 

 to Vesuvius, and that from which you are best able to dis- 

 cover and trace the progress of the lava. It is the asylum to 

 which the wretched inhabitants of the desolated plain have 



often 



