272 Notice of Active and Extinct Yolcanos. 



one instant is sufficient to destroy long illusions. It is like awa- 

 kening from a dream; but a painful awakening. We feel, that 

 we have been deceived by the apparent calm of nature ; we be- 

 come attentive to the least noise, we mistrust for the first time 

 a soil, on which we had so long placed our feet with confidence. 

 If the shocks be repeated, if they become frequent during suc- 

 cessive days, the uncertainty quicklv disappears. In 1784 the 

 inhabitants of Mexico were accustomed to hear the thunder roll 

 beneath their feet, as we are to witness it in the region of the 

 clouds." 



The Island of Yulcano is separated from Lipari by a nar- 

 row channel. It affords one peculiar product that is " borac- 

 ic acid, which lines the sides of the cavities with beautiful 

 white silky crystals. 1 ' 



"The operations of this volcano appear to be going on with 

 much greater vigor than those of the Solfatara, and exhibit per- 

 haps the nearest approximation to a state of activity, during which 

 a descent into the crater would have been practicable. 



" JYor can I imagine a spectacle of more solemn grandeur than 

 that presented in its interior, or conceive a spot better calculated 

 to excite in a superstitious age that religious awe which caused 

 the island to be considered sacred to Vulcan, and the various cav- 

 erns below as the peculiar residence of the God. 



" Quam subter, specus, et Cyclopum exesa caminis 

 Antra Etnea tonant, validique incudibus ictus 

 Auditi referunt genii turn, strid'jntque cavernis 

 Stricturae Chalybum, et fomacibus ignis anhelat, 

 Vulcani domus et Vulcania nomine tellus." 



" To me, I confess, the united effect of the silence and solitude 

 of the spot, the depth of the internal cavity, its precipitous and 

 overhanging sides, and the dense sulphureous smoke, which, issu- 

 ing from all the crevices, throws a gloom over every object, 

 proved mora impressive than the view of the reiterated explo- 

 sions of Stromboli, contemplated from a distance, and in open 

 day." 



Sicily. 



The account of the geology of Sicily contained in Dr. Dau- 

 beny's memoir on that country, already alluded to, (see Vol. 

 10, p. 230 of this journal,) will induce us to confine our rela- 

 tions principally but not exclusively to the facts connected 

 with iEtna. 



