go Sir William Hamilton's Account of 
in consequence of which a body of soldiers was sent directly 
to their relief by sea, the road by land having been cut off by 
the lava. I remarked in my way home, that there was a much 
greater quantity of the petroleum floating on the surface of the 
sea, and diffusing a very strong and offensive smell, than was 
usual ; for at all times in calms, patches of this bituminous oil, 
called here petroleum, are to be seen floating on the surface of 
the sea between Portici and Naples, and particularly opposite 
a village called Pietra Bianca. The minute ashes continued 
falling all this day at Naples ; the mountain, totally obscured 
by them, continued to alarm us with repeated loud explosions ; 
the streets of this city were this day and the next constantly 
filled with religious and penitential processions, composed of 
all classes, and nothing was heard in the midst of darkness but 
the thunder of the mountain, and ora pro nobis. The sea 
wind increasing at times, delivered us from these ashes, which 
it scattered over different parts of the Campagna Felice. 
On Wednesday the 18th, the wind having for a very short 
space of time cleared away the thick cloud from the top of 
Vesuvius, we discovered that a great part of its crater, particu- 
larly on the west side opposite Naples, had fallen in, which it 
probably did about four o'clock in the morning of this day, as 
a violent shock of an earthquake was felt at that moment at 
Resina, and other parts situated at the foot of the volcano. 
The clouds of smoke, mixed with the ashes which, as I have 
before remarked, were as fine as Spanish snuff (so much so 
that the impression of a seal with my coat of arms would re- 
main distinctly marked upon them), were of such a density as 
to appear to have the greatest difficulty in forcing their pas- 
sage out of the now widely extended mouth of Vesuvius, which 
