80 KAMBLES OF A NATURALIST. 



And, indeed, in the majority of cases, the moun- 

 tain has at these times ejected only cinders and 

 stones. 



After having explored Catania and its immediate 

 vicinity, and after having collected numerous facts 

 to which we shall have further occasion to revert, 

 we resolved on an expedition to the volcano itself. 

 The Signor Abate, our host, who is a treasure to 

 those travellers who are anxious to make the ascent, 

 undertook to provide all things necessary for our 

 excursion. Accordingly the three mules which were 

 destined to carry us, were laden with a large assort- 

 ment of travelling cloaks and ample provisions pre- 

 cautions which, although they seemed to us extremely 

 unnecessary before we began our excursion, were 

 found to be far from useless. It may be said that 

 the ascent of Vesuvius is a mere walk, that of 

 Stromboli a fatiguing excursion, and that of Etna 

 a short, but an invariably arduous journey, which 

 is not unfrequently beset with dangers. On these 

 elevated slopes, where the ice is scarcely ever en- 

 tirely melted, violent tempests and sudden gusts of 

 hail and snow frequently beset the traveller who 

 has begun the ascent under a serene and cloudless 

 sky. Moreover, in quitting Catania to reach the 

 summit of Mount Etna, the variations in the tem- 

 perature and in the atmospheric pressure are very 

 considerable. The thermometer, which during the 

 day and in the plain has stood at 104 F. in the 

 shade, or at about 140 F. in the sun, often falls 

 below the freezing point during the night which the 

 traveller is obliged to spend at the foot of the cone. 



