THE STORY-BOOK OF SCIENCE 



assure his companions Pliny told them that these 

 flames came from some abandoned villages caught 

 by the fire." 



"He told them that to give them courage,' 7 Jules 

 conjectured, "but he himself well knew the truth of 

 the matter. " 



"He knew it well, he knew the danger was great; 

 nevertheless, overcome by fatigue, he fell into a 

 deep sleep. Now, while he slept, the cloud reached 

 Stabiae. Little by little the court leading to his 

 apartment was filled with cinders, so that in a short 

 time he would not have been able to get out. They 

 woke him to prevent his being buried alive and to 

 deliberate on what was to be done. The houses, 

 shaken by continual shocks, seemed to be torn from 

 their foundations; they swayed from side to side. 

 Many fell. It was decided to put to sea again. A 

 shower of stones was falling small ones, it is true, 

 and calcined by the fire. As a protection from them, 

 the men covered their heads with pillows, and going 

 through the most horrible darkness, hardly relieved 

 by the light of the torches they carried, they made 

 their way toward the shore. There Pliny sat on the 

 ground a moment to rest, when violent flames, ac- 

 companied by a strong smell of sulphur, put every- 

 body to flight. He rose and then instantly fell back 

 dead. The emanations, cinders, and smoke from 

 the volcano had suffocated him." 



"Poor Pliny! To be stifled to death like that by 

 the horrible mountain, and he so courageous!" 

 lamented Jules. 



"Whilst the uncle was dying at Stabiae, the 



