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exploring the fummit of the mountain, and of gratifying 
themfelves with a view of the riling fun from this emi¬ 
nence. Mod of the travellers who have vifited Etna, 
have been anxious to reach its fummit at the dawn of the 
morning, before the vapours that are raifed by the fun 
obfeure furrounding objects ; and they all agree in de- 
feribing the extent and beauty of the profpeft. When 
Mr. Brydone and his companions afeended this eminence, 
elevated above the common region of vapour, in the 
pight, they obferved that the number of the liars feemed 
to be much increafed, and that their light appeared 
brighter than ufual. The 1 ufire of the milky way was 
like a pure flame, that fhot acrofs the heavens ; and with 
the naked eye they could obferve clufters of liars which 
were totally invifible in the lower regions. 
At the rifing of the fun, fays M. Houel, the horizon 
was ferene, without a Angle cloud. The coall of Cala¬ 
bria could not be diftinguilhed from the adjoining fea ; 
but a fiery radiance foon began to appear behind the Ita¬ 
lian hills, which bounded the profpefl to the eaft. The 
fleecy clouds, which ufually appear in the morning, were 
tinged with purple; the atmolphere became ftrongly il¬ 
luminated ; and, reflecting the rays of the rifing fun, 
glowed with a bright effulgence of flame. The immenfe 
elevation of the fummit of Etna caught the firft rays of 
light, and yielded a dazzling but animating fplendour. 
The fea Hill retained its dark hue, nor did the fields and 
forefis yet refleft the folar rays. As the fun gradually 
advanced above the horizon, his light was diffufed over 
the hills which lie below the peak of Etna. This huge 
mountain Hood like an ifland in the midft of the ocean, 
prefenting to view a multitude of luminous points, the 
number and luftre of which rapidly increafed. The 
icene, fays this author, was as if the univerfe had been 
obferved fuddenly fpringing from the night of non-ex ill - 
ence. The tall forefts, the lofty hills, and extenfive 
plains of Etna, now prefented themfelves to view. The 
b ile, the vail tradls of adjacent level ground, the cities of 
Sicily, its parched Ihores, with the dalhing waves and wide 
expanfe of the ocean, gradually appeared, whilft fome 
fleeting vapours, driven by the wind, occafionally inter¬ 
rupted part of this grand and magnificent profpeft. In a 
little while the difplay was fo diftinCl, that places before 
known were eafily recognized. On the l'outh w'ere feen 
the hills of Camerata and Traponi; on the north, the 
mounts Pelegrino and Thermini, with the celebrated 
Enna, once crowned with the temples of Ceres and Pro- 
ferpine. Among thefe mountains appeared many livers, 
like lines of glittering filver, winding their courfe through 
rich and fertile fields, and walking the walls of twenty 
cities, while their banks were crowded with villages, ham¬ 
lets, &c. that rofe among the ruins of the molt illuftrious 
republics of antiquity. On the fouth and north were ob¬ 
ferved the rivers whofe courfe bounds the immenfe bafe 
of Etna ; and at a much greater dillance were feen the ifles 
of Lipari, Alicudi, Felicocide, Parinacia, and Stromboli. 
The fame feene is deferibed in fimilar language by Spal¬ 
lanzani. No elevated region in the whole globe, fays this 
author, offers at one view fo ample an extent of land and 
fea, as the fummit of Etna. The firft of the fublime 
objeCls which it prefents is the immenfe mafs of its own 
cololfal body. The firft part, and that which is neareft 
the obferver, is the upper region, commonly covered with 
fnow and ice, and occafionally exhibiting rough and crag¬ 
gy cliffs, either piled on each other or feparate, and rifing 
perpendicularly, towards the middle of this zone ; an af- 
femblage of fugitive clouds, irradiated by the fun, and all 
in motion, increafe the wild variety of the feene. Lower 
downappeared the middle region, with itsnumerous woods 
and multitude of mountains, originating from fiery erup¬ 
tions ; and beyond this the eye difeerns, with admiration, 
the lower region, the moll fpacious of the three, adorned 
with elegant villas and caftles, verdant hills and flowery 
fields, and terminated by the extenfive coaft, where, to the 
fouth, Hands the beautiful city of Catania, to which the 
N A; 
neighbouring fea ferves as a mirror. The obferver, at 
this elevation, difeovers not only the entire maffy body 
of Etna itfelf, but the whole of the ifland of Sicily, with 
all its noble cities, lofty hills, extenfive plains, and mean¬ 
dering rivers. Malta is alfo perceived at an indiftindt 
dillance ; the eye commands the environs of Medina, and 
the greater part of Calabria ; while Lipari and the ^Eolian 
ifles appear fo near as to be under the feet of the obferver, 
and as if by Hooping down he might touch them, with 
his finger. The far ftretching furface of the adjacent and 
furrounding fea prefented an objedt no lefs majeftic, and 
led the eye to an immenfe dillance, bounded only by the 
heavens. “ Seated,” fays Spallanzani, “ in the midft of 
this theatre of the wonders of nature, I felt an indeferiba- 
ble pleafure from the multiplicity and beauty of the ob- 
jedls I furveyed ; and a kind of internal fatisfadlion and 
exultation of heart. The fun was advancing to the me¬ 
ridian, unobfcured by the fmalleft cloud, and Reaumur’s 
thermometer flood at the tenth degree above the freezing 
point; I was therefore in that temperature which is moll 
friendly to man, and the refined air [ breathed, as if it had 
been entirely vital, communicated a vigour and agility to 
my limbs, and an activity and life to my ideas, which ap¬ 
peared to be of a celeffial nature.” 
The accefs to the principal crater of Etna is rendered 
extremely perilous, by a variety of circiimftances which 
different travellers have deferibed. When Spallanzani 
approached the crater, his difficulties increafed as he paf- 
fed the cone of Etna, which, in a right line, is about a 
mile in length. Having arrived, after much labour and 
fatigue, within 150 paces from the vertex of the cone, he 
found himfelf enveloped by the vapours of the feveral 
dreams of fmoke that ilfued from the top and fides of the 
mountain ; and his progrefs was rendered extremely ha¬ 
zardous by the effect which thefe noxious vapours pro¬ 
duced on his refpiration. He foon, however, recovered 
his llrength and refolution, and arrived at the utmoft fum¬ 
mit of the mountain, where be began to difeover the 
edges of the crater. Here be viewed with affoniffiment 
the configuration of the borders, the internal fides, the 
form of the immenfe cavern, its bottom, and an aperture 
which appeared in it, the melted matter boiling within, 
and the fmoke which afeended from it ; and be has mi¬ 
nutely deferibed the feveral appearances from bis own 
attentive and accurate obfervation. The upper edges of 
the crater, which are broken and indented in feveral 
places, are, as be judged by the eye, about a mile and a 
half in circuit, and form an oval, the longed diameter of 
which extends from eaft to well. Its internal fides, which 
are inclined at different angles in its feveral parts, form a 
kind of funnel of a conical figure, and abound with con¬ 
cretions, which he found to be the muriate of ammoniac. 
The bottom was nearly an horizontal plane, about two- 
thirds of a mile in circumference ; in which plane was vi- 
fible a circular aperture, about five poles in diameter, 
from'which proceeded the largeft of the two columns of 
fmoke, obferved before he arrived at the fummit of 
Etna. This column appeared at its origin to be about 
20 feet in diameter, and whilft it remained within the 
crater, afeended in a perpendicular direftion ; but when 
it arofe above the edges, it was made to incline towards 
the weft by a light wind ; and afterwards it dilated into 
an extended and rare volume. The fmoke was of a white 
colour. Within the crater Spallanzani obferved a liquid 
and ignited matter, which continually undulated and boil¬ 
ed, alternately riling and falling, without fpreading over 
the bottom. This, he fays, was the melted lava, Which 
had arifen to that aperture from the bottom of the Etnean 
gulf. Several large Hones were thrown into the crater, 
fome of which ftruck the liquid lava and produced a 
found fimilar to that which would have been occafioned 
by their falling into a thick tenacious pafte : but the Hones 
which fell on the bottom rebounded, and their found was 
different from that of the others. Hence our author in¬ 
fers, that the bottom muft be thick and folid, which, if 
