508 
NAP 
matter nearly refembles metal in a ftate of fufion ; but as 
it flows it carries a kind of fcum, which hardens as it cools, 
and then forms raafles of fcoria, which dafti againft each 
other, and roll, all on fire, with noife, to the foot of the 
mountain. Strong fumes of fulphuric-acid gas arife in 
abundance from thefe fcoriae, and by their cauftic and 
penetrating qualities render refpiration difficult. We 
fieemed to be pretty fecure in this fituation, and were far 
from thinking of retiring, when a frightful explofion, 
which launched into the air fragments of burning rocks 
to a diftance of more than an hundred toifes, reminded 
us of the danger to which we w'ere expofed. None of us 
liefitated a moment in embracing a retreat; and in five 
minutes we cleared in our defcent a fpace of ground 
which we had taken two hours to climb. We had not 
reached the hermitage before a noife more frightful than 
ever was heard ; and the volcano, in all its fury, began to 
launch a mafs equal to fome thoufand cart-loads of ftones, 
and fragments of burning rocks, with a projeftile force 
•which it would be difficult to calculate. As the projec¬ 
tion was vertical, almoft the whole of this burning mafs 
fell back again into the mouth of the volcano, which 
vomited it forth anew to receive it again, with the excep¬ 
tion of forne fragments which flew oft', to fall at a diftance, 
and alarm the inquifitive fpeftator. 
“ The 13th commenced with nearly the fame appearances 
as thofe of the preceding day. The volcano was tranquil, 
and the lava ran llowly in the channels which it had 
formed during the night; but, at four in the afternoon, 
a frightful and continued noife, accompanied with fre¬ 
quent explofions, announced a new eruption; the fhocks. 
were fo violent, that at Fort de l’CEuf, built upon a rock, 
where I then was, at the diftance of near four leagues, 
I felt ofcillations fimilar to thofe produced by an earth¬ 
quake. About five in the evening the eruption com¬ 
menced, and continued during great part of the night. 
This time the burning matter flowed down all the fides 
of the moun tain, with a force hitherto unprecedented ; all 
Vefuvius was on fire, and the lava has caufed the grea.teft 
Ioffes; houfes and whole eftates have been overwhelmed ; 
and at this day families in tears and reduced to defpair 
fearch in vain for the inheritance of their anceftors, buried 
under the deftroying lava. At ten at night, the her¬ 
mitage was no longer acceflible; a river of fire had ob- 
iftrufted the road. The diftrifts fituated on the fouth- 
eaft quarter of the mountain had ftill more to ftifter. 
Mount Vefuvius was no longer any thing but one vaft 
flame; and the feaman, at a great diftance, might contem¬ 
plate, at his leifure, this terrific illumination of nature.” 
On Chriftmas-day, 1813, an alarming eruption com¬ 
menced at five in the evening, and continued till about 
two the next afternoon. The explofion began with a 
fhower of volcanic gravel, which was followed by a vio¬ 
lent eruption of lava. This ignited matter, having di¬ 
vided itfelf into two torrents, flowed over the ancient 
lava towards the Torre del Greco. At ten in the even¬ 
ing the firft torrent flopped, but the fecond continued to 
flow towards Bofco Reale and Bofco Tre Cafe. Next 
morning the apparent calm of the volcano was followed 
by an explofion refembHng a violent difcharge of cannon, 
or the blowing-up of powder-mills. A column of vol¬ 
canic aflies rofe in the air, and obfcured the horizon. 
Redoubled fhocks made all the houfes in the city of 
Naples fliake; but no material damage was done; and 
about two in the afternoon all was quiet again. 
On the 7th of Auguft, 1816, another eruption took 
place, preceded, as ufual, by fhocks of earthquake. Two 
dreadful and diftinft torrents of lava iflued from the 
crater, and poured down the fides of the mountain; but 
we do not hear that any material damage was done. 
A gentleman, writing from Naples, under the date of 
July so, 1817, fays, “ The prefent eruptions are of a very 
furprifing nature: copper, iron, alkaline acid, fulphur, 
fulphuric acid, chalk, and frequently ammoniac, form 
falts, that are fometimes in a mafs, and fometimes divided. 
a 
L JE S. 
It is obferved that copper is Very much mixed with the 
volcanic matter; quantities of it are found among the dif¬ 
ferent kinds of lava. This volcano, which fince the year 
1813 has been more or lefs in a ftate of commotion, has 
entirely covered its former crater with a thick cruft, over 
which the new eruptions have thrown two little moun¬ 
tains, from which come lmoke, allies, and vitrified ftones. 
This cruft is fo confiderable, that, if not propped up, the 
finking of the matter compofing it may produce an.efteft 
like that of the eruption which took place in the time of 
Titus.” 
Confidering, then, the danger that attends the neigh¬ 
bourhood of this mountain, we may be furprifed that it 
fliould be fo populous. From Naples to Caftel-a-Mare, 
about fifteen miles, the country is fo thickly fpread with 
houfes, that they form one continued ftreet; and on the 
Somma fide of the volcano the towns and villages are 
fcarcely a mile from one another : fo that for thirty miles, 
which is the extent of the bafis of Mount Vefuvius and 
Somma, the population may be perhaps more numerous 
than that of any fpofc of a like extent in Europe, in fpite 
of the variety of dangers attending fuch a fituation. 
And one cannot but regret that fuch a beautiful country 
as this, blefied with an admirable foil, fine fituation, 
healthy ciimate, and pure fky, fiiould be liable to fuclt 
drawbacks and convulftons of Nature. 
NATLES, anciently Parthenope, afterwards Neapulis , 
the capital of the above kingdom, lies in the province 
called Terra di Eavora, which is the richeft and beft-in- 
habited of the whole kingdom, and comprehends a part 
of the ancient Campania Felix, or “ Happy Country.” 
According to Diodorus Siculus, Hercules was the founder, 
of Naples. This was likewife the notion of Qppian. 
Others declare that it was built by Phocseans, and others 
again byUlyfles, who named it Parthenope. To give an. 
air of the greater probability to this laft ftory, w r e are told it 
was fo called in memory of one of the Sirens, who, nofc 
being able to detain that Greek hero by the harmony of 
her voice, was fo fired with rage and defpair, that fha 
threw' herfelf from a precipice, and was buried on the very 
fpot where now.ftands the church of St. Gio Maggiore. 
Other authors aflert, that it took its name from Parthe¬ 
nope, daughter to a king of Theffaly, w'ho conduced 
thither a colony from the ifland of Eubcea, now called 
Negropont. Dionyfius Alexandrinus affirms, that it owes 
its origin to one Phalerus, tyrant of Sicily ; which is, 
confirmed by Tzetzes, the commentator on Lycophron. 
Strabo makes it much older; he laying it down as a fa ft* 
that Naples was founded by the Rhodians long before the 
inftitution of the Olympic games. Be this however as it 
may, it leenis clear that Naples exifted long before Rome 
itfelf, and that it was founded by the Greeks ; and their 
choice of its fituation is one proof, among many others, 
of the fine tafte of that ingenious people. Auguftus gave 
it the name of Neapolis. The bay is about thirty miles, 
in circumference, and twelve in diameter; it lias been, 
called “ Crater” from its fuppofed refemblance to a bowl ;- 
which bowl is ornamented with the moft beautiful foliage, 
with vines, olive, mulberry, and orange, trees, with hills, 
dales, towns, vilias, and villages. At the bottom of the 
bay the town is built in the form of an amphitheatre, 
Hoping from the hills towards the fea. Independently of, 
its fituation, Naples is a very beautiful city. Although 
the ftyle of architefture is inferior to that of Rome, and 
Naples cannot vie with this city in the number of palaces,, 
or in the grandeur and magnificence of the churches, the 
private houfes in general are better built, and are more 
uniformly convenient: the ftreets are alfo broader and 
better paved. No ftreet in Rome equals in beauty the 
Strada di Toledo at Naples ; and ftill lefs can any of them _ 
be compared with the beautiful ftreets which are open to ’ 
the bay. This, fays Dr. Moore, is the native country of 
the zephyrs ; here the exceflive heat of the fun is often 
tempered-with, fea-breezes, and with gales, wafting the, 
perfumes of the Campagna Felice. The houfes, in gene- 
