Ascent of Mt. Etna, February, 1832. 7 



calling to him however he proved to be very near. The wind was 

 from the N. E. and by moving a little in that direction we were 

 partially relieved from the fumes ; we were infinitely more relieved 

 soon after by seeing the desired point, but a short distance above us ; 

 another struggle and we were on the summit of Mt. Etna, at half 

 past 1 o'clock, on the 23d* of February. My fatigue vanished, I 

 felt a glow of satisfaction from the simple attainment of my object, 

 before I had time to look around for any other reward. 



The crater first attracted my attention ; we stood on a point 

 to the north and east of it in the best situation to view it, as the wind 

 was northerly and carried away from us the clouds of vapor. Its 

 form is very much altered within a few years by the ejection of 

 scoriae and other matter and the highest point of the mountain, where 

 we then stood occupies the center of the old crater. Volumes of 

 steam, smoke and ashes, were constantly pouring forth from the 

 chasm, the eye sought in vain to fathom its depth, and the last 

 sound of the fragments of lava thrown down indicated that they 

 were still in motion towards their former bed of fire. There was 

 no flame visible, but the vapor and the ground on which we stood 

 were very hot, although the air was so cold that the thermometer 

 held in it breast high, sunk to a little below 22° Fah. It was a 



V 



pocket instrument and the capacity of the tube only 120°. We 

 directed the guide to hold it in a cavity in the ashes and scoriae 

 made by our feet in standing there and barely sufficient to screen it 

 from the air. The heat made him drop it, and on withdrawing it 

 very soon, the tube was full and the ball burst. The vapor was 

 strongly impregnated with sulphur, and fine crystals of the same 

 coated the fragments of lava and other volcanic substances where we 

 stood. The whole surface of the cone consisted of these loose and 

 crumbling materials, and gases seemed to issue from every part as if 

 the whole were porous. We picked up several specimens for our 

 guide to bring down. 



But our eyes were wandering from these more immediate ob- 

 servations to the magnificent panorama which the isolated situation 

 of the peak renders peculiarly grand and entire. On every side, 

 except in the direction of Italy, the view was bounded by sea 

 and sky, and the former seemed to rise to meet the latter, so as to 

 make the concave of waters correspond in some degree to the vault 

 of ether above. The base of Etna floated in the lower hemisphere, 

 but its apex soared far into the regions of the upper, and on it one 



