i*3iie from the body of the lava, and taking 
fire in the air, fall like those meteors vulgarly 
called tailing stars. 
The archbishop of Taranto, in a letter to 
Naples, and dated from that city the 18th 
of June, observes: (( We are involved in a 
thick cloud of minute volcanic ashes, and we 
imagine that there must be a great eruption 
either at mount Etna or of Stromboli. The 
bishop did not suspect their having proceed- 
ed from Vesuvius, which is about two hun- 
dred and titty miles from Taranto. Ashes 
also fell, during the late eruption, at the very 
extremity off the province of Lecce, which 
is still farther off; and at Martino, near Ta- 
ranto, a house was struck and much damaged 
by the lightning from one of the clouds. In 
the accounts of tire great eruption of Vesu- 
vius in 1631, mention is made of the exten- 
sive progress of the ashes from Vesuvius; and 
of the damage done by the ferilli, or volcanic 
lightning, which attended them in their 
course.” 
Our author in this place mentions a very 
extraordinary circumstance, which happened 
near Sienna, on the Tuscan state, about eigh- 
teen hours after the commencement of the 
late eruption of Vesuvius on the 13th of June, 
although he adds, that phenomenon must 
have no relation to the eruption ; it was 
communicated to him in the following words 
by the earl of Bristol, bishop of Derry, in a 
letter dated from Sienna, July 12 , 1794: “In 
the midst of a most violent thunder-storm, 
about a dozen stones of various weights and 
dimensions tell at thefpet of different people, 
men, womeu, and children ; tiie stones are 
of a quality not found in any part of the 
Siennese territory; they fell about eighteen 
pours after the enormous eruption of Vesu- 
vius, which circumstance leaves a choice of 
difficulties in the solution of this extraordi- 
nary phenomenon : either these stones have 
been generated in this igneous mass of clouds, 
\vhich produced such unusual thunder; or, 
which is equally incredible, they were thrown 
from Vesuvius at a distance of at least two 
hundred and fifty miles; judge then of its 
parabola.” One of the largest stones, when 
entire, weighed upwards of five pounds. 
The outside of every stone that was found, 
and ascertained to have fallen from the cloud 
near Sienna, was evidently fresh-vitrified, anti 
black, with indubitable signs of having pass- 
ed through an extreme heat ; when broken, 
the inside was found of a light-grey colour 
mixed with black spots, and some shining 
particles, supposed to be pyrites. Stones of 
the same nature, at least as far as the eye can 
judge of them, are frequently found on 
mount Vesuvius; and should similar stones 
be found there, with the same vitrified coat 
on them, the question would be decided in 
favour of Vesuvius ; unless it could be proved 
that there had been, about the time of the 
fall of these stones in the Siennese territory, 
some nearer opening of the earth, attended 
with an emission of volcanic matter ; which 
might very possibly happen, as the moun- 
tain of Radicofani, within fifty miles of 
Sienna, is certainly volcanic. The celebrat- 
ed father Ambrogio Soldani, professor of 
mathematics in the university of Sienna, has 
printed there a dissertation upon this extra- 
ordinary phenomenon : and, it is said, has 
lidded that those stones were generated in 
VOLCANO. 
the air independantly of volcanic assistance. 
See Meteoric Stones. 
Until after the 7th of July, when the last 
cloud broke over Vesuvius, and formed a 
tremendous torrent of mud, which took its 
course across the great road between Torre 
ctol (jrieco and the Toit® delP Annunziata, 
and destroyed many vineyards, the eruption 
could not be said to have finished, although 
the force of it was over the 22d of June. The 
power of attraction in mountains is well 
known ; but whether the attractive power of 
a volcanic mountain is greater than that of 
any other mountain, is a question. During 
this eruption, however, it appeared that 
every watery cloud was evidently attracted 
by Vesuvius, and the sudden dissolution of 
those clouds left marks of their destructive 
power on the face of the country all round 
the basis of the volcano. After the mouth 
of Vesuvius was enlarged, our author says he 
has seen a great clout! passing over it, which 
not only was attracted, but even sucked in, 
and disappeared in a moment. 
After every violent eruption of mount 
V esuvius, we read of damage done by a me- 
phitic vapour ; which proceeding from under 
the ancient lavas, insinuates itself into low 
places, such as the cellars and wells of the 
houses situated at the foot of the volcano. 
After the eruption of 1767, there were se- 
veral instances, as in this, of people, going 
into their cellars at Portici, and other parts 
of that neighbourhood, having been struck 
down by this vapour, and who would have 
expired if they had not been hastily re- 
moved. These occasional vapours, or mo- 
jete, are of the same quality as that perma- 
nent one in the Grotto del Cane, near the 
lake of Agnano, and which has been proved 
to consist chiefly of fixed air. The vapours 
which, in the volcanic language of Naples, 
are called fumaroli, are of another nature’ 
and issue from spots all over the fresh and 
hot lavas while they are cooling; they are 
sulphureous, and so suffocating, that often 
the birds which are flying over them are over- 
powered, and fall down dead. 
1 he interior of a volcano, that immense 
treasury of devastation, must undoubtedly 
be an object of philosophical curiosity : yet 
when we consider the nature of the attempt ; 
that the incompact state of the materials, by 
affording no proper support, may hurry the 
incautious adventurer into the burning abyss; 
that the mephitic vapours may produce in- 
stantaneous suffocation ; or that a sudden 
explosion may overwhelm him with destruc- 
tion ; we cannot wonder that so few have en- 
gaged in an exploit so replete with danger. 
We should have remained ignorant of this 
state of this immense natural furnace, had not 
the spirit oi- temerity of eight Frenchmen, in 
the year 1801, enabled them successfully to 
explore this cavern of destruction. The 
mouth, or upper base, of the centre of Ve- 
suvius, which is a little inclined to its axis, 
is represented by these travellers as 3722 
feet in circumference. After walking round 
the aperture of the volcano, in order to chuse 
the most commodious part for descending-, 
M.Dampiene, a jutant commandant, and M. 
Wickar, a painter, hist descended without 
any accident at the determined point ; when, 
however, they found themselves stopped by 
an excavation of 50 feet, which it was neces- 
5- R 2 
867 
sary to pass. Finding it impossible to obtain 
a fixed support on ashes so moveable, and 
being convinced that the friction of ropes 
wouid have destroyed both the point of sup- 
port and the neighbouring masse's, thev re- 
solved to return, borne stones at the same 
moment roiled from the summit, and occa- 
sioned a general agitation as they passed; 
the ground shook under their feet, and they 
had scarcely quitted it when it disappeared 
and fell in. 
After walking once more round the mouth 
of the crater, they discovered at length a long 
declivity, smooth though steep, which ap- 
pealed to conduct to the focus. When they 
had proceeded halt-way, amidst a torrent of 
ashes which rolled down along with them, 
they found means to fix themselves on the 
edge of the precipice, twelve feet in height, 
which it was necessary to pass. With one 
or the lazaroni, however, they plunged 
down this ^precipice ; and found themselves 
on the brink of another, which, however, not 
being quite so high, they passed with more 
ease. At length, amidst showers of falling 
lava, ashes, and stones, they reached the 
bottom of the crater. 
i hey found the immense furnace still 
smoking in several places. The bottom of 
tire crater, which from above appeared per- 
fectly smooth, was found on the contrary, 
when they reached it, exceedingly rough and 
uneven. They passed over lava very por- 
ous, in general hard, but in some places, and 
particularly where they entered, still softy, 
so as even to yield under their feet. The' 
spectacle, however, which most attracted 
them was the spiracles ; which either at the 
bottom or interior sides, suffer the vapours 
to escape. I hese vapours, however, did 
not appear of a noxious quality. In tra- 
versing the crater they perceived- a focus 
half- covered by a large mass of pumice 
stone, and which from its whole circumfer- 
ence emitted a strong heat. Reaumur’s 
thermometer, on the summit of Vesuvius, 
stood at twelve degrees ; in the crater it rose 
to sixteen ; placed at one of the spiracles it 
indicated fifty-four, at another only l went v- 
two ; and at the entrance of the focus it ne- 
ver rose higher than twenty-two degrees. 
The volcanic productions in tlie crater 
were lava, exceedingly porous, and reduced 
by the lire in some places to scoria-. It was 
of a dark-brown colour in general ; and in 
some places reddish, with a very iittle white. 
I he substances nearest the spincles were 
covered or impregnated with sulphur, which 
sometimes was in a state ot oxygenation. 
Some basaltic lava was also found, but hi- 
a small quantity. The burning focus pro- 
duced the same results. 
On the north side of the crater there were- 
two large fissures, one of which was twenty- 
feet in depth, the other fifteen. T hey were 
shaped like an inverted cone, and the mattes 
with which they were covered was similar to 
the rest of the surface, but they emitted nei- 
ther smoke nor heat. 
jllie ascent of our adventurers was accom- 
plished with more d fficulty, though perhaps 
with less danger, than the descent. It also 
occupied a greater space of time; for they 
could only ascend one at a time after con- 
siderable intervals, for fe r of burying, under 
torrents of du t and vo canic matters, tho>£ 
who immediately succeeded. 
