Egypt. 223 
horror ; but on the arrival of night a pillar was perceived, formed 
of masses of fire and inflamed matter, shooting majestically to a 
prodigious height, and falling with a crash which inspired terror, 
The brightness which it diffused was such, that over all the ex- 
tent of this quarter a letter could be read by the light of this pro- 
digy. Towards the middle of the night three rivers of fire were 
discovered opening a passage near the summit of the mountain, 
a little below the crater, and taking a direction perpendicular to 
the high road. On the 9th of March one of them had passed it, 
leaving a line of lava 6 feet high by 20 broad, and rolled to the 
sea over an extent of 39 poles, throwing up the water to such a 
height, that it fell down in the shape of rain. 
At the moment of the eruption, a shower, composed of black- 
ish ashes, of gold coloured glass, and sulphurous particles, fell in 
the vicinity of the voleano. It rained thus for two hours. On 
the 9th of March we experienced an earthquake, which was of 
so short a duration, that we could not determine its direction. 
From the first moment of the eruption to the day on which I 
write, the volcano has not ceased to burn. On the Ist of this 
mouth, it threw out such a quantity of smoke, that the higher 
parts of the island were covered by it. On the 2d the rain was so 
abundant, that the arm of the lava reaching to the sea was extin- 
guished, and on the 4th it could be passed without much danger. 
An observer, whom I placed in such a manner as to seize the 
most minute circumstances which the voleano in activity might 
present, tells me that at this moment the second arm of the lava 
has reached the high road on a base double the breadth of the 
former, or 60 poles,and that the third is 200. 
Having long resided in Naples and Sicily, I have ascertained 
that the lava produced by the volcano of Bourbon does not at all 
resemble that produced by Vesuvius and Ema: the lava of the 
two latter volcanos is compact, hard, and not porous: trinkets 
and snuff boxes are made of it, which take a polish finer than 
marble, The pavement of Naples is made of square blocks from 
Mount Vesuvius, and it is so slippery that in time of rain we might 
skate upon it as on ice. The lava of Bourbon is a species of 
scoria, of a black colour, and presents the aspect of iron dross. 
(Signed) The Mayor of St. Roze, Preyne pf BaLLercux, 
St. Roze, April 9. 
EGYPT. 
Extract of a letter from Rome, dated August, 1821:—* A 
young Englishman, of the name of Waddington, who has lately 
arrived in this city, has penetrated upwards of 600 leagues above 
the second cataract, in following the army of the Pacha of Egypt. 
tn the whole of the way he fell in with only a few stall Egvp- 
tian 
