Minerals. 1-5 



believe in our Saviour." Somerville asked, "How 

 could they believe in Christ when He was not 

 born till many centuries after?" I am sure she 



thought it was all the same. 



# # * * * 



There had been an eruption of Vesuvius just 

 before our arrival at Naples, and it was still 

 smoking very much ; however, we ascended it, 

 and walked round the crater, running and holding 

 a handkerchief to our nose as we passed through the 

 smoke, when the wind blew it to our side. The 

 crater was just like an empty funnel, wide at the 

 mouth, and narrowing to a throat. The lava was 

 hard enough to bear us ; but there were numerous 

 fumeroles, or red-hot chasms, in it, which we could 

 look into. Somerville bought a number of crystals 

 from the guides, and went repeatedly to Portici 

 afterwards to complete our collection of volcanic 

 minerals. 



They were excavating busily at Pompeii ; at that 

 time, and in one of our many excursions there 

 Somerville bought from one of the workmen a 

 bronze statuette of Minerva, and a very fine rosso 

 antico Terminus, which we contrived to smuggle 



CO 



into Naples ; and it now forms part of a small 

 but excellent collection of antiques which I stilJ 

 possess. The excavations at that period were con- 



