3 3 8 Awful Dif charge of Volcanic Matter, [ Book V I . 



the lava had taken its courfe directly up the deep 

 cone of the volcano. Frefh fountains fucceeded one 

 another haftily, and all in a direct line tending, for 

 about a mile and a half down, towards the towns of 

 Refma and Torre del Greco. Sir William Hamilton 

 could count fifteen of them, but believes there were 

 others obfcured by the fmoke. It feems probable, 

 that all thefe fountains of fire, from their being in 

 fuch an exact line, proceeded from one and the fame 

 Jong nfiiire dov/n the flanks of the mountain, and 

 that the lava and other volcanic matter forced its way 

 out of the wideft parts of the crack, and formed 

 .there the little mountains and craters that will be de- 

 fcribed in their proper place. It is impoilible that 

 any defcription can give an idea of the blazing fcene, 

 or of the horrid noifes that attended this great opera- 

 tion of nature. It was a mixture of the loudefl 

 thunder, with inceflant reports, like thofe from a nu- 

 merous heavy artillery, accompanied by a continued 

 .hollow murmur, like that of the roaring of the ocean 

 during a violent ftorm ; and, added to thefe was 

 another blowing noife, like that of the afcending of a 

 large flight of fky-rcckets, or that which is produced 

 by the action of the enormous bellows on the furnace 

 of the Carron iron foundery in Scotland. The frequent 

 falling of the huge ilones and fcorise, which were 

 thrown up to an incredible height from fome of 

 the new mouths, one of which having been fmce 

 meafured by the Abbe Tata was ten feet high, and 

 thirty-five in circumference, contributed undoubtedly 

 to the concuffion of the earth and air, which kept all 

 the houfes at Naples for feveral hours in a conftant 

 tremor, every door and window fhaking and rattling 

 inceiTantly, and the bells ringing. This was an awful 

 moment ! The iky, from a bright full moon and ftar- 

 6 light, 



