NOME II. VESICULAR LAVA. 329 



tory of this celebrated mountain. Its length 

 and minuteness will only render it the more ac- 

 ceptable to the intelligent reader, especially as 

 they may serve to diversify the dry brevity of 

 some parts of this domain. It may also be con- 

 sidered as a counterpart to the description of 

 the summit of Mont Blanc, by Saussure, which 

 is given in a former division of this work. 



" Three hours before day I, with my compa- 

 nions, left the Grotta delle Capre, which had 

 afforded us a welcome asylum ; though our bed 

 was not of the softest, as it consisted only of a 

 few oak leaves scattered over the floor of lava. 

 I continued my journey towards the summit of 

 Etna; and the clearness of the sky induced me 

 to hope that it would continue the same during 

 the approaching day, that I might enjoy the 

 extensive and sublime prospect from the top of 

 this lofty mountain, which is usually involved in 

 clouds. I soon left the middle region and en- 

 tered the upper one, which is entirely destitute 

 of vegetation, except a few bushes very thinly 

 scattered. The light of several torches, which 

 were carried before us, enabled me to observe 

 the nature of the ground over which we passed, 

 and to ascertain, from such experiments as I 

 was able to make, that our road lay over lavas 

 either perfectly the same with, or analogous to, 



