3 i6 HERMANN VON HELMHOLTZ 



beautful. The hotel recommended by Bonghi is high up, some 

 200 feet above the sea, on the slope of the hill, in the new street 

 Corso Vittorio Emmanuele, which is the limit of the inner town. 

 In my room, we have a vertical wall of rock behind us, and 

 a deep precipice in front, so that we can see down to the plain 

 over the roofs of the nearest houses. In the afternoon, when 

 the sun is off my balcony, I need only sit down there in order 

 to have the finest view in the world before my eyes, viz. the 

 most lively part of the strand, above the clusters of the high- 

 roofed houses of Santa Lucia, in the centre of the city, to 

 Posilippo at the end, then the Gulf with the blue-greens and 

 purples of the Mediterranean, and Vesuvius on the other side, 

 with the tongue of land that holds Castellamare and Sorrento, 

 and the island of Capri and open horizon of sea beyond. 

 Vesuvius has lately formed a new cone in its crater. Yesterday 

 evening and early to-day the summit was hidden by clouds ; but 

 this evening we saw the column of smoke, which is full of 

 ashes, but looks white by day red hot from the rift in the 

 mountain below. A fresh outbreak of lava is anticipated. The 

 old streams of lava can easily be recognized from here, making 

 a greyish black trail against the green of the vineyards. I am 

 fortunate in finding the mountain active. The weather is very 

 fine and sunny, with a partly clouded deep blue sky ; to-day for 

 the first time it is really warm, but not oppressive, no dust, and 

 the vegetation greener than I have ever seen it in Italy. The 

 elms with thick festoons of vines are touched with brown, but 

 the ground beneath is covered with the freshest green crops. 

 Even at Genoa and Pisa it was much greener than we had seen 

 it elsewhere, but still not so green as this. . . . 



'To-day I have made my last mountain expedition for this 

 year, up Vesuvius to the crater of which I climbed, wandering 

 about on its burning lava, and fortunately returning unconsumed. 

 The crater is covered with this lava at the bottom now, through 

 which the steam has lately forced a new outlet, and is forming 

 a fresh cone of ashes round the hole, where one can see it 

 working all the time. Every now and then the mountain 

 mass, fused by the hot steam, blocks the way, and is then blown 

 out with a noise like cannon, when the glowing remains of the 

 viscous slag are thrown down again in clouds of smoke, fall 

 back upon the cone of ashes, and thus enlarge it. Every five 



