NAP 
hours, fuddenly ceafed juft before it had reached the cul¬ 
tivated parts of the mountain, near four miles from the 
fpot whence it iffued. The heat, all this day, was into¬ 
lerable at the towns of Somma and Ottaiano ; and was 
l'enlibly felt at Palma and Lauri, which are much farther 
off. Reddilh allies fell fo thick on the two former, that 
the air was darkened, and obiefts could not be diftin- 
guilhed at the diftance of ten feet. Long filaments of a 
vitrified matter, like fpun glafs, were mixed and fell with 
tliefe allies 5 feveral birds in cages were fuffocated, and 
the leaves of the trees in the neighbourhood of Somma 
were covered with white and very corrofive fait. 
About twelve at night, 011 the 7th, the fermentation of 
the mountain feemed greatly to increafe. Our author 
was watching the motions of the volcano from the mole 
at Naples, which lias a full view of it. Several glorious 
pifturefque effefts had been obferved from the reflection 
of the deep red fire within the crater of Vefuvius, and 
which mounted high amonglt thofe huge clouds on the 
top of it: when a fummer-ftorm, called in that country 
a tropea, came on fuddenly, and blended its heavy watery 
clouds with the fulphureous and mineral ones, which 
were already like fo many other mountains piled up on 
the top of the volcano. At this moment a fountain of 
fire was (hot up to an incredible height, calling fo bright 
a light, that the fmalleft objects were clearly diftinguilh- 
able at any place within lix miles or more of Vefuvius. 
The black ftormy clouds, palling fwiftly over, and at times 
covering the whole, or a part, of the bright column of 
fire, at other times clearing away and giving a full view 
of it, with the various tints produced by its reverberated 
light on the white clouds above, in contrail with the pale 
flalhes of forked lightning that attended the tropea, formed 
fuch a fcene as no power of art can exprefs. One of his 
Sicilian majelty’s gamekeepers, who was out in the fields 
near Ottaiano whilft this ftorm was at its height, was fur- 
prifed to find the drops of rain fcald his face and hands ; 
a phenomenon probably occafioned by the clouds having 
acquired a great degree of heat in paffing through the 
above-mentioned column of fire. 
On the 8th, the mountain was quiet till towards fix 
o’clock in the evening, when a great fmoke began to ga¬ 
ther over its crater; and about an hour after a rumbling 
fubterraneous noife was heard in the neighbourhood of 
the volcano; the ufual throws of red-hot llones and fco- 
rise began and increafed every inllant. The crater, viewed 
through a telefcope, feemed much enlarged by the vio¬ 
lence of laft night’s explofions, and the little mountain 
on the top was entirely gone. About nine o’clock, a moll 
violent report was beard at Portici and its neighbour¬ 
hood, which Ihook the houfes to fuch a degree as made 
the inhabitants run out into the llreets. Many windows 
were broken and walls cracked by the conculfion of the 
air on this occafion, though the noife was but faintly 
heard at Naples. In an inllant a fountain of liquid tranf- 
parent fire began to rife, and, gradually increafing, arrived 
at laft at the amazing height of ten thoufand feet and up¬ 
wards. Puffs of fmoke, as black as can poliibly be ima¬ 
gined, fucceeded one another hallily, and accompanied 
the red-hot tranfparent and liquid lava, interrupting its 
fplendid brightnefs here and there by patches of the darkeft 
hue. Within thefe puffs of fmoke, at the very moment 
of emiffion, a bright but pale eleftrical fire was obferved 
playing brilkly about in zig-zag lines. The wind was 
fouth-weft, and, though gentle, was fufficient to carry 
thefe pulls of fmoke out of the column of fire; and a 
collection of them by degrees formed a black and exten- 
five curtain behind it; in other parts of the Iky it was 
perfectly clear, and the liars bright. The fiery fountain 
of fuch immenfe magnitude, on the dark ground juft 
mentioned, made the fineft contrail imaginable; and the 
blaze of it, reflected from the furface of the lea, which was 
at that time perfectly fmooth, added greatly to this fublime 
view. The lava, mixed with Hones and Icorise, having 
rifen to the amazing height already mentioned, was partly 
L E S. 6S3 
direCled by the wind towards Ottaiano, and, partly falling. 
Hill red-hot and liquid, upon the top of Vefuvius, co¬ 
vered its whole cone, part of that of the fummit of Somma, 
and the valley between them. The falling matter, being 
nearly as inflamed and vivid as that which was continu¬ 
ally iffuing frelh from the crater, formed with it one com¬ 
plete body of fire, which could not be lefs than two miles 
and a half in breadth, and of the extraordinary height 
above mentioned, and call a heat to the diftance of at 
leaft fix miles round. The brulhwood on the mountain 
of Somma was foon in a blaze, and the flatne of it, being 
of a different colour from the deep red of the matter 
thrown out by the volcano, and from the filve.ry blue of 
the eleCtrical fire, Hill added to the contrail of this meft 
extraordinary fcene. The black cloud, increafing greatly, 
once bent towards Naples, and threatened the city with 
l'peedy deftruClion ; for it was charged with eleCtrical fire, 
which kept conllantly darting about in bright zig-zag- 
lines. This fire, however, rarely quitted the cloud, but 
ufuaily returned to the great column of fire whence it 
proceeded ; though once or twice it was feen to fail on 
the top of Somma, and let fire to fome dry grafs and 
bullies. Fortunately the wind carried back the cloud juft’ 
as it reached the city, and had begun to occafion great 
alarm. The column of fire, however, llill continued, and 
diffufed fuch a ftrong light, that the moll minute objeCls 
could be difeerned at the diftance of ten miles or more 
from the mountain. Mr. Morris informed our author, 
that at Sorrento, which is twelve miles diftant from Ve¬ 
fuvius, he read the title-page of a book by that volcanic 
light. 
Some time after the eruption had ceafed, the air conti¬ 
nued greatly impregnated with eleCtrical matter. The 
duke of Cottonano told our author, that having, about 
half an hour after the great eruption had ceafed, held a 
Leyden bottle, armed with a pointed wire, out at his 
window' at Naples, it foon became confiderably charged. 
But, whilll the eruption w’as in force, its appearance was 
too alarming to allow one to think of fuch experiments. 
He was informed alfo by the prince of Mileto, that his 
fon, the duke of Popoli, who was at Monte Mileto the 
8-th of Auguft, had been alarmed by the fhower of cin¬ 
ders that fell there ; fome of which he had fent to Naples, 
weighing two ounces ; and that llones of an ounce weight 
had fallen upon an ellate of his ten miles farther oft'. 
Monte Mileto is about thirty miles from the volcano. 
The abbe Cagliani alfo related that his filler, a nun in a 
convent of Manfredonia, had written to inquire after 
him, imagining that Naples mull have been dellroyed, 
•when they, at lo great a diftance, had been alarmed by a 
flipwer of allies which fell on the city at eleven o’clock at 
night, fo much as to open all the churches, and go to 
prayers. As the great eruption happened at nine o’clock, 
thefe allies mull have travelled 100 miles in the fpace of 
two hours. 
Nothing could be more difinal than the appearance of 
Ottaiano after this eruption. The houfes were unroofed, 
and half buried under the black fcorise and allies ; all the 
windows towards the mountain were broken, and fome of 
the houfes themfelves burnt; the llreets choked up with 
allies, in fome narrow places not lefs than four feet thick; 
alid a few of the inhabitants, who had juft returned, were 
employed in clearing them away, and piling them up in 
hillocks, to get at their ruined houfes. The palace of 
the prince of Ottaiano is fituated 011 an eminence above 
the town, and nearer the mountain. The Heps leading 
up to it were deeply covered with volcanic matter; the 
roof was totally dellroyed and the windows broken, but 
the houfe itfelf, being ftrongly built, had not differed 
much. The habitations of about 12,000 perlons were 
dellroyed ; a vail number of perfons were bruifed, but 
only two lives were loft. The damage was eltimated at 
500,000 ducats. 
An incredible number of fragments of lava were thrown 
out during the eruption, l'ome of which were of immenfe 
magnitude. 
