iE T N 



iE TN 



bonate of lime, and two kinds of lava, which exhaled an ar- 

 gillaceous odour in their fraftu'-es, and whol.- bafc was the 

 horn-ftone. Thefe materials were collected upon the ipot, 

 and rendered compatt and united by a cement of lime. 



The prolpect from the iumniit of /Etna has been defcribed 

 in very animated and glowing colours, by many writers. 

 The gradati<mj of the morning dawn appear willi friijular 

 advantage from this elevated ftation. At the rifmg of the 

 fun, fays M. Houel, the horizon was ferene, without a 

 fmgle cloud. The coall of Calabria could not be diRin- 

 guifned from the adjoining fea ; but a fiery radiance foon 

 began to appear beliiad the Italian hills, which bounded 

 the pvofpeft to the eaft. The fleecy clouds, which uTually 

 appear in the morning, were tinged with purple ; the at- 

 mofphere became ftrongly illuminated ; and, reflefting the 

 rays of the rifing fun, glowed with a bright effulgence of 

 flame. The immenfe elevation of tlie fumniit of ^tna 

 caught the firft rays of light, and yielded a dazzling, but 

 animating fplendour. The lea ftill retained its dark hue, 

 nor did the fields and foreils yet refleft the folar rays. As 

 the fun gradually advanced above the horizon, his light was 

 diii'ufed over the hills which lie below the peak of ^Etna. 

 Tiiis huge mtnmtain ilood like an illand in the midll of the 

 ocean, prefenting to view a multitude of luminous points, 

 the number and Kiilre of which rapidly increafed. The 

 fcene, fays this author, was as if the univerfe had been ob- 

 lerved fuddenly fpringing from the night of non-exillence. 

 The tall foreils, the lofty hills, and extenfive plains of ii'tna, 

 now prcfented themfelvcs to view. Tlie bafe, th; vaft: trafts 

 of adjacent level ground, the cities of Sicily, its parched 

 fliores, with the dafliing waves and wide expanfe of the 

 ocean gradually appeared, whilll fome fleeting vapours, 

 driven by the wind, occafionally inteiTupted part of tliis 

 grand and magnificent profpecl. In a little while the dif- 

 play was fo dillind:, that places before known were eafily 

 recognized. On the fouth vvtre feen the hills of Camerata 

 and Traponi ; on the north, the mounts Pclegrino and 

 Thermini, with the celebrated Enna, once crowned with 

 the temples of Ceres and Proferpine. Among thefe moim- 

 tains appeared many rivers, like lines of glittering filver, 

 winding their courfe through rich and fertile fields, and 

 wafhing the walls of twenty cities, while their banks were 

 crowded with villages, hamlets, &c. that refe among the 

 ruins of the moll illuftriolis republics of antiquity. On the 

 fouth and north were obferved the rivers whofe coiu-fe 

 "bounds the immenfe biife of iEtna ; and at a much greater 

 dillance were feen the ides of Lipari, Alieudi, Felicocide, 

 Parinacia and Stromboli. 



Oh the fun's firft rifing, fays Mr. Brydone, the fliadow of 

 the mountain extends aerofs the whole idand, and makes a 

 large traft vifible even in the fea and in the air. This 

 fhadow is gradually fiiortencd, and, in a little time, is con- 

 fined only to the neigVibourhood of jEtna. Between the 

 'body of the fun, as it is feen rifing from the ocean, and the 

 fpeftator, immenfe tracts of fea and laud intei-vene ; the 

 iflands of Lipari, Paraci, Alieudi, Stromboli, and Volcano, 

 with their fmoky fummits appear under your feet ; and 

 you look down on the whole of Sicily as on a map, and can 

 trace every river through all its windings from its fource to 

 its mouth. The extent of the horizon is no lefs than 8co 

 miles in diameter ; and Mafia, a Sicilian author, obfervcs, 

 that the African coall, as well as that of Naples, with 

 niany of its ifiands, have often Iieen difcovered from the top 

 of iEtna. But the mod beautiful parts of the fcene, in the 

 judgTrent of Mr. Brydone, are tlie mountain itfelf, the 

 ifland of Sicily, and the numerous iilands lying aro\ind it ; 

 all which feem as if they v/ere brought clofe round the llcirts 



of jTStn.i, the dlflances appearing reduced to nothing. Tlie 

 fame fcene is defcribed in finiilar language by Spallanzani. 

 No elevated region in the whole globe, iays this author, 

 ofl'ers at one view fo ample an extent of land and fea, as llie 

 fummit of jlitna. The firfl of the lublime objects which it 

 prefents is the immenfe niafs of its own coloffal body. The 

 firft part, and that which is ncarell the obferver, is the 

 upl>er repnn, commonly covered with fnow and ice, and oc- 

 callonally exhibiting rough and craggy cliffs, either piled on 

 each other or feparate, and rifing perpendicularly, towards 

 the middle of this zone ; an affemblage of fugitive clouds, 

 iiTadiated by the fun, and all in motion, increaled the wild 

 variety of the fcene. Lower down appeared the m'tddle 

 rc^'wn, with its numerous woods and multitude of moun- 

 tains, originating from iiery eruptions ; and beyond this the 

 eye difeerns, with admiration, ihe /ocuir region, the moft fpa- 

 cious of the three, adorned with elegant villas and caftles, 

 verdant hills and flowei-y fields, and terminated by the ex- 

 tenfive coaft, where, to the fouth, Hands the beautiful city 

 of Catania, to which the neighbouring fea ferves as a 

 mirror. The obferver, at tliis elevation, difeovers iu)t only 

 the entire raafiy body of ^tna itfelf, but the whole of the 

 ifland of Sicily, with all its noble cities, lofty hills, exten- 

 five plains, nid meandering rivers. Malta is alfo perceived at 

 an indillinSt dillance ; the eye commands the environs of 

 Mefiina, and the greater part of Calabria ; while Lij)ari 

 and the jEolian ifies appear U> near as to be under the feet 

 of the obferver, and as if by Hooping down he might touch 

 tliem with his finger. The far llrctching furface of the 

 adjacent aid fuiTounding fea prefented an objeft no lefs 

 majeftic, and led the eye to an immenfe dillance, bounded 

 only by the heavens. " Seated," fays Spallanzani, " in t!ie 

 midft of this theatre of the wonders of nature, I felt an 

 indefcribable pleafure from the multiplicity and beauty of 

 the objefts I furveyed ; and a kind of internal fatisfadtiou 

 and exultation of heart. The fun was advancing to the 

 meridian, iinobfcured by the fmallell cloud, aad Reaumur's 

 thermometer flood at the loth degree above the freezing 

 point ; I was therefore in that temperature which is moll 

 friendly to man, and the refined air I breathed, as if it had 

 been entirely vital, communicated a vigour and agility to 

 my limbs, and an aftivity and life to my ideas, which ap- 

 peared to be of a celcllial nature." 



The accefs to the principal crater of jEtna is rendered 

 both inconvenient and perilous, for a dillance of near four 

 miles, by a variety of circumllances which different travel- 

 lers have defcribed. The famniit of the mountain is a plain 

 covered with fcoria:, afhes, and fand, which have been 

 thrown out of the volcano at Its fucceffive eruptions, and 

 which are fo loofe as to endanger the traveller's being fwal- 

 lowed up at every ftep of his progrefs. It is alfo covered 

 with fnow and ice, and obfcured with clouds, excepting at 

 times when thcfe clouds are low and range along the fides of 

 the mountain, fo as to prefent an object of terror. The 

 winds, likewife, blow with fueh violence that perfons can 

 fcarce ftand fecurely, nor enddre the cold which benumbs 

 their Ihnbs. The fouth wind is, on the top of jEtna, the 

 moft prevalent, and the cold is fo intenfe, that travellers 

 have often foimd their clothes infufficient to proteft them. 

 But the moft formidable impediments to the progrefs of the 

 adventurers in this perilous journey are the ftreams of m.e- 

 phitic vapour which rife on the fides, and the thick clouds • 

 of fulphureous fmoke which btirft from the mouth of the vol- 

 cano, even when it is not in a ftate of agitation. The 

 founds that ifiiie from the crater are alfo lingularly teni- • 

 fying, and have difcouraged fome perfons from approaching 

 the ipot whence they proceed. M. Houel compares them 

 C. to 



