AN OLD SMOKER. 253 



crop is to Canadians the olive crop is to the inhabi- 

 tants of Southern Italy. 



It was near 11 p.m. when we reached the Hotel du 

 Vesue : " Napoli " (ee). For two or three miles back 

 we kept a sharp look-out for old Vesuvius, but the 

 night was unfavorable to our doing more than seeing 

 the dim outlines of that venerable smoker. 



When we looked out of our hotel window the next 

 morning, however, we saw the mountain in all its 

 glory, with great volumes of smoke and steam, like a 

 majestic cloud, slowly rolling from the crater over the 

 sides and off into space. The mountain is so lofty and 

 its lines so sharp that you imagine it, at the farthest, 

 less than two miles from you, while it is in reality 

 nine. 



Vesuvius never lays down his pipe for one moment 

 he is such an inveterate smoker. It is only once in a 

 long while, however, that he cleans out his pipe. 

 Friends in Naples told us that some twenty-five years 

 ago, or thereabouts, the fall of soot and ashes in 

 Naples was so great the people had to use umbrellas 

 to protect themselves. Remembering the fate of 

 Pompeii, all those dwelling near feel a degree nervous 

 when these indications show that the mountain is 

 rather more disturbed than usual. 



We visited the ruins of Pompeii, of which so much 



