THE EARTH. 77 



There they make lime by merely burying the 

 stones in the earth, and watch, with veneration, 

 the appearances of a flame that has not been ex- 

 tinguished for times immemorial. How different 

 are men in various climates ! This deluded peo- 

 ple worship the vapours as a deity, which, in 

 other parts of the world, are considered as one of 

 the greatest evils. 



CHAPTER IX. - , 



OF VOLCANOES AND EARTHQUAKES. 



MINES and caverns, as we have said, reach but a 

 very little way under the surface of the earth, 

 and we have hitherto had no opportunities of ex- 

 ploring further. Without all doubt, the wonders 

 that are still unknown surpass those that have 

 been represented, as there are depths of thou- 

 sands of miles which are hidden from our inquiry. 

 The only tidings we have from those unfathom- 

 able regions are by means of volcanoes, those 

 burning mountains that seem to discharge their 

 materials from the lowest abysses of the earth.* 

 A volcano may be considered as a cannon of im- 

 mense size, the mouth of which is often near two 

 miles in circumference. From this dreadful 

 aperture are discharged torrents of flame and 



* Buffon, Tol. i. p. 291. 



