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THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



Photograph from BE. N. Hampton 



A UNIQUE PHOTOGRAPH OF MOUNT VESUVIUS 



This picture was made from a plane flying 500 feet over the crater of the famous volcano. 

 Clouds of smoke are seen issuing from the abyss. The difficulties of obtaining a photograph 

 of this kind are great, owing to the very bumpy condition of the atmosphere to which the 

 volcano gives rise. 



the air route to Egypt, so decided to 

 spend the night there and go on to Rome 

 early next day. It was well down the 

 afternoon when we picked out the aero- 

 drome, and the ground looked very wet 

 and desolate as we circled above it. But 

 we landed successfully through a whirl 

 of mud and water, whisked up by the 

 propellers. 



A CORDIAL WELCOME AT PISA 



As we taxied across the slippery 

 'drome toward the hangars, several Ital- 

 ian flying officers came out to greet us. 

 They were profusely polite, and while 

 our scholarship boasted "little French 

 and less Italian," there was no doubt 

 about their cordial welcome and their 

 curiosity. By means of that universal 

 language of gesture, in which these Latins 

 are so accomplished, they made us at 



home and indicated that an English of- 

 ficer was stationed in Pisa and that we 

 might reach him by telephone. 



After considerable trouble I managed 

 to have him called up and asked him to 

 come down to the aerodrome. I was de- 

 lighted to find that the officer was Cap- 

 tain Home, of the Royal Air Force, who 

 had been appointed to the air-route sta- 

 tion. Accommodation for our party was 

 promptly arranged, and after attending 

 to the machine we motored into Pisa and 

 stayed the night at an hotel. 



Heavy rain set in, and when we were 

 awakened in the morning it was still 

 pouring, with a strong slant from the 

 south. In spite of the unsuitable condi- 

 tions, we decided to go down to the aero- 

 drome and, if possible, get up and on to 

 Rome that day. 



On our arrival at the hangars we 



