41 
E T 
add, (< there is rjot now fo much ns any ugn where thefe 
towns flood, except die church and fteepleof one of them, 
which was fituated on an eminence.” The earl of Win- 
.'Chelfea, who at this time happened to be there on ids way 
home from an embaffy to Conftantinople, in h;s account 
of this tremendous cataflrophe, informs its, that the inun¬ 
dation of f.re, cinders, and burning hones, advanced into 
the fea fix hundred yards, and a mile in breadth : that it 
deflroyed in forty days the habitations of 27,000 perfons; 
and of 20,000 perfons, who inhabited Catania, 3000 only 
remained. He adds, that the fiery deluge, in its progrefs, 
met with a lake four mile's in cotripafs, and not only filled 
it up, though it was four fathoms deep, but railed it 
into a mountain. He oliferves, according to an extraCi, 
cited by hr William Hamilton, that he could fee at ten 
miles diflance the fire begin to run from the mountain in 
a direct line, and the flame to af'cend in bulk and height 
equal tothofe of the loftieft flee pies in this kingdom, and 
to throw up large (tones into the air- He difeerned alfo 
the river of fire defeending the mountain, exhibiting a 
terrible flame colour, and bearing (tones, which fwath 
'■upon it, as big as an ordinary table. This fire was ob¬ 
served to move in feveral other places, emitting flames 
•and fmoke refembling thofe of a furnace of melted iron, 
and occafioning a loud noife, efpecially by means of the 
great pieces that fell into the fea. He adds, upon the infor¬ 
mation of a cavalier of Malta, that the river was as liquid, 
■when it iffued from the mountain, as water, and came out 
like a torrent with great violence ; and that it was five or 
fix fathoms both in depth and breadth, and that no (tones 
could fink in it. Borelii obferves, that when they threw 
ftones into the chafm of the mountain, they could not 
hear them ftrike the bottom. Burning rocks, he fays, 
fixty palms in length, were thrown to the diflance of a 
mile, and (tones of a leffer (ize were carried upwards of 
three miles, and the thunder and lightning from the 
fmoke were not lefs terrible than the noife of the moun¬ 
tain. After the moft violent druggies, and (baking of 
the whole illand, when the lava got vent it fprang up into 
the air to the height of fixty palms ; the fun, for many 
weekSj did not appear, and the day feemed to be changed 
into night ; and it was not till four months from the time 
when it began to difeharge its contents, that thefe dread¬ 
ful fymptoms abated. This deluge of fire, after deftroy- 
ing the fined country in Sicily, and fweepirtgaway churches, 
villages, and convents, before it, burft over the lofty walls 
of Catania, and covered five of itsbaftions, with the inter¬ 
vening curtains; and from thence pouring down on the 
city, it laid vafte every objeCt it met with, overwhelm¬ 
ing and burying all in one promifeuous ruin. Borelii 
has calculated, that the matter difeharged at this erup¬ 
tion was fufficient to fill a fpaceof 93,838,750 cubic paces. 
The next eruption was that of 1682, which produced a 
burning gulf on the top of the mountain, and its lava was 
diffufed over the hill of Mazarra. In 1686 a quantity of 
this ignited matter was thrown off from the fummit of 
the mountain, and after confumingWoods, vineyards, 
and crops of grain through the extent of four leagues, its 
courfe was flopped in a valley near the caflle of Mafcali. 
Several people, whofe curiolity led them to watch the 
progrefs of the lava on a hill between the wood of Cata¬ 
nia andjthe confines of Cirrita, were buried underthe hill, 
which iuddenly funk inwards. 
After a long interval of refi, the eruptions of Etna 
were again renewed in 1755, when a prodigious torrent 
of boiling water iffued from the great crater. The dif¬ 
eharge was preceded by fmoke and flames, fubterraneous 
noife and concuflions of the earth, the ufual figns of an 
approaching eruption ; at length the torrent burft forth, 
and formed tremendous cataraCts in defeending from one 
chain of rocks to another, till it readied the cultivated 
plains, which it overfpread for many miles; and after 
feparating into feveral deep and rapid rivers, it difeharged 
itf'elf into the fea. The ravages of this inundation, on 
account of both the quantity and the heat of the water, 
Vol. VII. No. 406. 
N A. 
were very extenfively injurious ; and though the moun¬ 
tain continued to throw up water only for half an hour, 
it produced not only alarm but very corfiderable 
damage wherever it flowed. When the difeharge of 
water" ceaffed, the noife, fmoke, and commotions, were 
continued ; and there appeared two new' chafms, from 
which two torrents of lava ift'ued, and purfued their 
courfe through the fnow, 'which covered the fummit of 
the mountain, TJie difeharge of water was followed in 
five days by an explofion of fmall ftones and fand, fome 
of which were carried as far as the hills of Mafcali ; and 
the black fand was driven to Medina, and even over the 
(trait to Reggio in Calabria. Some of the fand was con¬ 
veyed by the'(Lifting of the wind, to the plains of Agofta. 
Iti two days the mountain opened again, and difeharged 
a torrent of lava, which moved towards the plainj at the 
rate of mile a-day, and continued for fix days. Recu- 
pero) examined the courfe of this torrent of Water. He 
found that it proceeded from the bowels of the mountain, 
and purfuing a channel which it formed from the fum¬ 
mit to the lea, it gained acceffibn from"the melted fnow ; 
and in its progrefs deflroyed a large foreft of trees, which 
were tprn up by the violence of the current. The main 
torrent divided into four principal dreams, and ihefe 
again feparated into fmaller currents; hut afterwards re¬ 
uniting, they formed islands and larger rivers, about 900 
feet wide, and of a depth which could not be cafily af- 
certained. The channel of the waters in their farther 
defeent, was alternately contracted and dilated ; and in 
fome places it was'not lefs than 1500 feet. Fragments of 
lava and huge rocks were removed by the current, and 
valleys were filled up by the fand which the water depo- 
fited. When Recupero vifited the mountain, after an in¬ 
terval of ten years from the eruption, the whole fide of 
the hill bore the mark's of the deluge. 
In 1763 there was an eruption of Etna, which conti¬ 
nued with intermiffipns for three months. From the cra¬ 
ter, opened on this occafion, a pyramid of fire iffued ; 
which afeended to a great height in the air, and exhi¬ 
bited an artificial fire-work, attended with the explofion 
of a formidable battery, which (hook the earth under 
thofe who were fpeftators of the feene. The lava that 
flowed from the crater yielded a very brilliant light, re¬ 
tained its heat, and exhaled its fmoke, for two years ; nor 
did any fnow appear on the fummit of Etna for "five years. 
In 1764 a new’ crater was opened at a conliderable diflance, 
and in 1766 another was opened at the grotto of Paterno, 
which formed a mountain that after an interval of four 
years difeharged great quantities of fmoke, with loud ex- 
plofions. In this interval the lava was not cooled, nor 
was the fire extinguifhed. Its fury was fpent on a beau¬ 
tiful foreft, which it laid wafte, to the extent of many 
miles. In 1780, the convulfions of the mountain were 
often renewed, and feveral new craters were formed : and 
from thefe flowed flreams of lava, which ikoved with 
different velocities, and in various directions. The moft 
eonfiderable of thefe flowed from a crater on Mount Fru- 
mento on the fummit of Etna ; and, flowing in a ftrearrt 
about 200 paces in breadth, at the rate of qbout a -mile 
in a day, fpread through the valley of Landunza. From 
another crater red-hot ftones vrere projected, and a cur¬ 
rent of lava was difeharged, which flowed over a traCt 
of country two miles in extent. 
The next eruption of Etna happened in July, 1787, 
and has been accurately deferibed by Gioeni, in an ac„. 
count of it printed at Catania in the fame year ; of which 
we have a French tranilation, by M. Dolomieu. It was 
preceded by the ufual figns of an approaching eruption 
for feveral days, i. e. from the 1 ft to the 17th of July, 
when the lava flowed from the hinder part of one of the 
two mountains that form the double head of Etna. On 
the next day, after renewed (hocks and the appearance 
of a thick fmoke, a (bower of fine black brilliant fand 
defeended : on the eaft fide there' was a fall of ftones; 
and at the foot of the mountain a deluge of ii allies of 
M ‘ fire,. 
