Eruption of Vesuvius. 841 



red smoke pouring forth in volumes. Early next 

 morning we saw a great stream of lava pouring 

 down to the north of the Observatory, and a column 

 of black smoke issuing from the new craters, be- 

 cause there were two, and assuming the well-known 

 appearance of a pine-tree. The trees on the northern 

 edge of the lava were already on fire. The stream 

 of lava very soon reached the plain, where it 

 overwhelmed fields, vineyards, and houses. It wa& 

 more than a mile in width and thirty feet deep. 

 My daughters went up the mountain the evening 

 after the new craters were formed; as for me, I 

 could not risk the fatigue of such an excursion, but 

 I saw it admirably from our own windows. During 

 this year the volcanic forces in the interior of the 

 earth were in unusual activity, for a series of earth- 

 quakes shook the west coast of South America for 

 more than 2,500 miles, by which many thousands of 

 the inhabitants perished, and many more were 

 rendered homeless. Slight shocks were felt in many 

 parts of Europe, and even in England. Vesuvius 

 was our safety-valve. The pressure must have been 

 very great which opened two new craters in the Atrio 

 del Cavallo and forced out such a mass of matter. 

 There is no evidence that water had been concerned 

 in the late eruption of Vesuvius ; but during the 

 whole of the preceding autumn, the fall of rain had 



