Chap, 47.] Infiauce of temerity. 347 



the greateft force. He often heard little explofions, 

 and faw that they blew up, like little mines, fragments 

 of the fcorise and afhes into the air; thefe he fuppofes 

 to have been occafioned either by rarefied air in con* 

 fii.ed cellars, or, perhaps, by fmall portions of gun- 

 powder taking fire, as few in that country are without 

 a gun and fome little portion of gunpowder in their 

 houfes. As the church feafts there are ufually attended 

 with fireworks and crackers, a firework-maker of the 

 town had a very great quantity of fireworks ready- 

 made for an approaching feaft, and fome gunpowder, 

 all of which had been fhut up in his houfe by the lava, 

 a part of which had even entered one of the rooms , 

 yet he actually laved all his fireworks and gunpowder 

 fome days after, by carrying them fafely over the fco- 

 rias of the lava, while it was redhot underneath. The 

 heat in the ftreets of the town, at this time, was fo 

 great as to ftiife the thermometer to very near one 

 hundred degrees, and dole to the hot lava it rofe much 

 higher. Sir William remarked in his way home, that 

 there was a much greater quantity of the petroleum 

 floating on the furface of the fea, and diffufing a very 

 ftrong and offenfive fmcll, than was ufual ; for at all 

 times in calms, patches of this bituminous oil are to 

 be feen Moating on the furface of the fea between Por- 

 tici and Naples, and particularly oppofite a village 

 called Pietra Bianca. The minute afhes continued 

 falling at Naples j and the mountain, totally obfcured 

 by them, continued to alarm the inhabitants with re- 

 peated loud explofions. 



On Wednefday June 18, the wind having for a mort 

 fpace of time cleared away the thick cloud from the 

 top of Vefuvius, it was now difcovered that a great 

 part of its crater, particularly on the weft fide oppofite 

 Naples, had fallen in, which it probably did about four 



o'clock 



