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“ this fulphureous mud, gave themfelves up a prey 
to man. Now this eruption lafted two nights and 
** two days without intermiffion, though, it is true, 
not always with the fame force, but more or lefs ; 
“ when it was at its greateft height, even at Naples 
“ you heard a noife or thundering like heavy artillery 
“ when two armies are engaged. The third day 
** the eruption ceafed, fo that the mountain made its 
“ appearance uncovered, to the no fmall ahonifli- 
** ment of every one who faw it. On this day, 
** when I went up with many people to the top of 
“ this mountain ; I faw down into its mouth, which 
“ was a round concavity of about a quarter of a mile 
“ in circumference, in the middle of which the 
“ ffones that had fallen were boiling up, juft as in 
a great cauldron of water that boils on the fire. 
The fourth day it began to throw up again, and 
“ the feventh much more, but ftill with lefs violence 
“ than the firft night j it was at this time that many 
“ people, who were unfortunately on the mountain, 
were either fuddenly covered with allies, fmothered 
“ with fmoke, or knocked down by ftones, burnt by 
“ the flame, and left dead on the fpot. The fmoke 
continues to this day, and you often fee in the night 
ti/ne fire in the midft of it. Finally, to complete 
“ the hiftory of this new and unforefeen event, in 
“ many parts of the new-made mountain, fulphur 
“ begins to be generated.” Giacomo di Toledo, 
towards the end of his diftertation upon the phasno- 
mena attending this eruption, fays, that the lake of 
Avernus had a communication with the fea, before 
the time of the eruption ; and that he apprehended 
that the air of Puzzole might come to be affedled in 
fummer 
