184 
VARIETIES. 
balance  and  pitching  or  sliding  in  the  dust.  On  reaching  the  valley 
a  busy  scene  ensued  in  regaining  our  saddles,  when  several  found  them- 
selves differently  mounted,  some  for  the  better,  and  commenced  our 
downward  trip.  We  stopped  a  little  while  to  rest  at  the  Hermitage, 
where  water  was  obtainable  for  the  first  time  since  our  leaving  the  coast, 
and  we  soon  converted  our  lemons  and  sugar  into  lemonade  that  tasted 
like  nectar,  so  needed  was  the  cooling  beverage  after  the  ordeal  we  had 
gone  through.  Half  a  day  might  readily  be  spent  here  by  the  leisure 
traveller,  but  our  party  soon  resumed  their  saddles  and  returned  to  the 
carriages  at  Resina  without  further  incident,  thoroughly  fatigued  but  highly 
gratified  with  the  visit  to  Yesuvius. 
[Many  of  our  readers  are  aware  that,  since  about  the  middle  of  Decem- 
ber, Mount  Yesuvius  has  been  in  active  eruption,  and  the  prognostics  of 
lasU  May  have  proved  correct.  The  opportunities  for  witnessing  the 
phenomena  are  said  to  have  been  unusually  favorable.  The  first  flow  of 
lava  was  eastward  towards  Ottajano,  but  the  more  recent  currents  have 
been  in  the  Atrio  del  Cavallo,  and  down  over  the  lava  of  1859,  described 
above.  One  portion  of  the  stream  passed  near  the  observatory  and 
thence  toward  Resina,  and  the  other  made  in  the  direction  of  Torre  del 
Greco,  but  the  volume  was  not  great  enough  to  continue  the  current  so 
as  to  endanger  that  town.  One  observer  describes  a  shower  of  red  hot 
stones,  and  rocky  masses  of  tons  in  weight,  ejected  to  great  heights, 
falling  in  all  manner  of  curves,  some  within  and  some  without  the  crater, 
whilst  other  fiery  masses,  falling  on  the  flanks  of  the  cone,  would  rebound 
down  its  sides  in  great  leaps  until  shivered  to  pieces  or  lodged  by  some 
impediment.  The  ascending  and  descending  lines  of  fire  crossed  each 
other  in  all  directions  over  the  crater,  presenting  a  display  of  natural 
pyrotechny  of  surpassing  grandeur  and  beauty,  whilst  vast  volumes  of 
smoking  vapor  issuing  from  the  srater,  extending  from  above  the  moun- 
tain towards  Capri,  formed  a  vast  arch,  reflecting  back  the  light  from  the 
crater  and  lava  streams.  Those  who  have  recently  traversed  the  scene 
of  these  phenomena,  when  all  was  quiet  and  peaceful,  can  fully  appreciate 
the  wonderful  transition. — W.  P.,  Jr.] 
I3arictic0, 
International  Weights  and  Measures. — The  Committee  of  Weights,  Mea- 
sures and  Coins,  at  the  Universal  Exhibition  of  Paris,  1867,  have  made 
their  official  report  relative  to  units  of  measure  and  weight.  The  commis- 
sion advocates  the  following  measures  :  The  prompt  substitution,  in  all  its 
integrity,  of  the  metric  system,  for  the  old  systems  of  weights  and  mea- 
sures, as  it  is  practically  adopted  in  several  other  countries  in  the  west  of 
Europe.  This  system,  introduced  and  legalized  optionally,  cannot  be  at 
once  rendered  imperative  to  the  exclusion  of  every  other  system.     A  cer- 
