OIT* 



72 Ten Fears of my Life. 



Vulcan's workshop. My further progress was, however, brought 

 to a sudden stop, by Jimmy arriving in a pitiful state. Miss 

 Runkel, tired of holding the heavy dog on her arms, put him 

 down when we were out of sight ; but Jimmy followed me, 

 and getting on some hot lava he burned his feet. I took the 

 poor fellow up and we returned the same way we had come — 

 an undertaking that became unexpectedly difficult by my hav- 

 ing to carry a heavy load in my arms. We returned, however, 

 without accident to the place where the rest of the company 

 had remained, and refreshed ourselves with a bottle of lacrymse 

 Christi, regretting much that the vineyard where it had been 

 grown was covered several feet deep with ashes, from which 

 the tops of the vines scarcely peeped out. At a place where 

 two roads branched off stood a statute of St. Antonio. The 

 burning lava, which had overflown everything, stopped right 

 before it, leaving it uninjured, which was looked upon as a 

 miracle. The fact I have seen myself 



We paid also a visit to Pompeii, where we saw very strange 

 things, bearing evidence that the people two thousand years 

 ago were as wicked as they are now. As Murray and Baedecker 

 are in everybody's hand, I refer to them, and save the trouble 

 of describing imperfectly what they have described with far 

 more art and knowledge than is at my disposal ; and as to my 

 impressions on seeing all the Pompeiian wonders, I suppose 

 they were the same as are experienced by most visitors who 

 come there as ignorant as myseiU 



