3B2 Notice of Sketches of Naval Lfe. 



diameter, and then suddenly narrowing into the diameter of an 

 inch, and a half pass thus to the height of seven or eight inches . 

 their shape is, consequently, much like that of a candlestick. 

 But I have several of other forms, running through a considera- 

 ble variety; and among them, a set of patera; found together, 

 consisting of three dishes, very much like those brought on our 

 tables with sweetmeats. The glass is, sometimes, like the com- 

 mon glass of our country; and in this case, the vessels are very 

 thin. Others are thick, and composed of a curious matter ; it 

 has a pearly lustre, and in every position, presents beautiful 

 green and purple hues, on the surface. This last has suffered 

 from the damps, and the exterior scales off; the lustre I spoke 

 of, however, is in the glass, with which some metal appears to 

 have been fused ; it is very brittle.* 



"Some of the Commodore's men have been digging here; but 

 have found only an earthen jar, containing the bones of a child." 

 — Fol. I. p. 60. 



Milo contains interesting minerals. 



" Tournefort calls it a natural laboratory : and it is so. In 

 many places chemical operations are still going on ; in all others 

 their results are deposited in the greatest abundance; the com- 

 mon rock of the island is a tufa : the way up to Castro leads 

 over hills of baked and whitened earth, tilled with round masses 

 of obsidian : but the most interesting parts of the island, are on 

 the South and South Western sides. In the latter is a place 

 called Calamo, which we visited yesterday. They tirst took us 

 to a hill of considerable elevation : its summit was covered with 

 burnt rocks, of ragged surface, tossed confusedly on one another: 

 among them are crevices, through which hot sulphurous vapors 

 ascend, and deposile round, large quantities of crystallized or 

 sublimated sulphur. Proceeding South from this, three fourths 

 of a mile, you come to the locality of the plumous or feathered 

 alum : it is in a cave, on the sea shore : above it is a steep hill, 

 blue, yellow, white, red, and smelling strongly of sulphur. The 

 cave is about twelve feet deep, and five in height : its vault 

 is formed of this mineral, of which you may get some idea from 

 its name. Suppose tibres of nearly pure alum, an inch or more 

 in length, white and fine as silk, put together so as to form a 

 compact, but not firm mass: sprinkle this with handsome green 

 and yellow colors, and you have an idea of the cave as it ap- 



* By permission of the publisher, we insert, on the opposite page the wood 

 cut of these lachrymatories. 



