108 
LETTERS FROM HIGH LATITUDES. 
Of course it was rather tantalizing to pass so near 
this famous burning mountain without having an oppor¬ 
tunity of ascending it; but the expedition would have 
taken up too much time. In appearance Hecla differs 
very little from the innumerable other volcanic hills 
with which the island is studded. Its cone consists 
of a pyramid of stone and scoriae, rising to the height 
of about five thousand feet, and welded together by 
bands of molten matter which have issued from its 
sides. From A. D. 1004 to 1766 there have been 
twenty-three eruptions, occurring at intervals which 
have varied in duration from six to seventy-six 
years. The one of 1766 was remarkably violent. 
It commenced on the 5th of April by the appear¬ 
ance of a huge pillar of black sand, mounting 
slowly into the heavens, accompanied by subterranean 
thunders, and all the other symptoms which precede 
volcanic disturbances. Then a coronet of flame encircled 
the crater, masses of red rock, pumice, and magnetic 
stones were flung out with tremendous violence to an 
incredible distance, and in such continuous multitudes 
as to resemble a swarm of bees clustering over the 
mountain. One boulder of pumice six feet in circum- 
