Chap. 470 Late Eruption of Vejuvius. 33 * 



years paft had ifiued from near the fuinmir, and rar*- 

 in fmall channels in different directions down the 

 flanks cf the mountain, and from running in covered 

 channels, had often an appearance as if they came im- 

 mediately out cf the fides of Vefuvius, but fuch lavas 

 had not furncient force to reach the cultivated parts 

 at the foot of the mountain. In the year 1779, the 

 whole quantity of the lava in fufion having been at 

 once thrown up with violence out of the crater of 

 Vefuvius, and a great part of it failing, and cooling 

 on its cone, added much to the folidity of the walls of 

 this huge natural chimney, and had not of late years 

 allowed of a fufrkient discharge of lava to calm that 

 fermentation, which by the fubterraneous noifes heard 

 at times, and by the explofions of fcorioe and aflies, 

 was known to exiil within the bowels of the volcano ; 

 fo that the eruptions of late years, before this Jail, were 

 fimply from the lava having boiled over the crater, 

 the fides being fufficiently ftrong to confine it, and 

 oblige it to rife and overflow. The mountain had 

 been remarkably quiet for feven months before the 

 late eruption, rfor did the ufual fmoke ilTue from its 

 crater, but at times it emitted fmall clouds of fmoke 

 that floated in the air in the fhape of little trees. It 

 was remarked by the Father Antonio di Pctrizzi, a 

 capuchin friar (who printed an account of the late 

 eruption) from his- convent -clofe to the unfortunate 

 town of 'Torre del Greco, that for fome clays preceding 

 this eruption, a thick vapour was feen to furround die 

 mountain, about a quarter of a mile beneath its crater, 

 and it was obferved by him and others at the fame 

 time, that both the fun and the moon had often an 

 unufual reddifh call, 



The water of the great fountain at Torre del Greco 



began to decreafe fome days before the eruption, fo 



8 that 



