MOUNT /ETNA. 15 



terrible and confused noises; which, in eruptions, are increased to such 

 a degree, as to be heard at a prodigious distance. 



Sir William Hamilton experienced a great difficulty of respiration, 

 from the too great subtilty of the air, independent of that which arose 

 from the sulphureous smoke of the mountain ; but other visitors take no 

 notice of this. Sir William Hamilton's barometer stood at 18 inches 

 and 10 lines ; Mr. Brydone's, at 19 inches 6| lines. In these high 

 regions, there is generally a very violent wind ; which, as other travellers 

 found blowing constantly from the south, is, perhaps, most frequently 

 directed from that point. Here Mr. Brydone's thermometer fell to 27 

 degrees. The top of ^Etna being above the common region of vapours, 

 the heavens appear with exceeding great splendour. It was noticed by 

 one who ascended at night, that the number of stars seemed to be 

 infinitely increased, and the light of each of them appeared brighter than 

 usual ; the whiteness of the milky way was like a pure flame, which shot 

 across the heavens, and with the naked eye they could observe clusters 

 of stars, which were invisible from below. Those meteors called falling 

 stars, appeared as much elevated as when seen from the plains below. 

 To have a full and clear view from the summit of vEtna, it is necessary 

 to be there before sunrise, as the vapours raised by the sun in the day 

 time will obscure every object. 



Here Sir William Hamilton had a view of Calabria, in Italy, with the 

 sea beyond it, the Lipari Islands and Stromboli, (another volcano about 

 70 miles distant,) appeared just beneath their feet; the whole island of 

 Sicily, with its rivers, towns, as seen on a map. Massa, a Sicilian author, 

 affirms that the African coast, as well as that of Naples, can be seen from 

 the summit of ^Etna ; this has been denied by modern writers. The 

 visible horizon, however, can be no less than nine hundred miles in 

 diameter. The pyramidal shadow of the mountain reaches across the 

 whole island, and far into the sea on the other side, forming a visible 

 track in the air; which, as the sun rises above the horizon, is shortened, 

 and at last confined to the neighbourhood of xEtna. 



This mountain is divided into three zones, called Regione culta, or 

 fertile region; the f>ylvosa, or woody region, and the Regione deserta. 

 or desert zone. The form of ^Etna is that of a cone, very broad at the 

 base ; which is more than forty miles in circumference. From the bottom, 

 you ascend ten leagues, before reaching its summit ; on the south side, 

 and on any of the other sides, the way not being so straight, is con- 

 siderable longer. ^Etna is entirely composed of substances that have 

 been discharged by the volcano, in its various explosions. 



