immediately, accompanied by one peasant only. I passed the hermitage (3. in Plate I.), and proceeded as far as the spot marked (X), in the valley between the mountain of Somma and that of Vesuvius, which is called Atrio di Cavallo. I was making my observations upon the lava, which had already, from the spot (E) where it first broke out, reached the valley; when, on a sudden, about noon, I heard a violent noise within the mountain, and at the spot (C), about a quarter of a mile off the place where I stood, the mountain split; and, with much noise, from this new mouth, a fountain of liquid fire shot up many feet high, and then, like a torrent, rolled on directly towards us. The earth shook, at the same time that a volley of pumice stones fell thick upon us; in an instant, clouds of black smoak and ashes caused almost a total darkness; the explosions from the top of the mountain were much louder than any thunder I ever heard, and the smell of the sulphur was very offensive. My guide, alarmed, took to his heels; and I must confess, that I was not at my ease. I followed close, and we ran near three miles without stopping; as the earth continued to shake under our feet, I was apprehensive of the opening of a fresh mouth, which might have cut off our retreat. I also feared that the violent explosions would detach some of the rocks off the mountain Somma, under which we were obliged to pass; besides, the pumice-stones, falling upon us like hail, were of such a size as to cause a disagreeable sensation upon the part where they fell. After having taken breath, as the earth still trembled greatly, I thought it most prudent to leave the mountain, and return to my villa; where I found my family in a great alarm, at the continual and violent explosions of the Volcano, which shook our house to its very foundation, the doors and windows swinging upon their hinges. About two of the clock in the afternoon another lava forced its way out of the same place from whence came the lava last year, at the spot marked B (in Plate II.); so that the conflagration was soon as great on this side of the mountain, as on the other which I had just left.

The noise and smell of sulphur increasing, we removed from our villa to Naples; and I thought proper, as I passed by Portici, to inform the Court of what I had seen; and humbly offered it as my opinion, that his Sicilian Majesty should leave the neighbourhood of the threatening mountain. However, the Court did not leave Portici till about twelve of the clock, when the lava had reached as far as (4. in Plate I.)—I observed, in my way to Naples, which was in less than two hours after I had left the mountain, that the lava had actually covered three miles of the very road through which we had retreated. It is astonishing that it should have run so fast; as I have since seen, that the river of lava, in the Atrio di Cavallo, was sixty and seventy feet deep, and in some places near two miles broad. When his Sicilian Majesty quitted Portici, the noise was greatly increased; and the concussion of the air from the explosions was so violent, that, in the King's palace, doors and windows were forced open; and even one door there, which was locked, was nevertheless burst open. At Naples, the same night, many windows and doors flew open; in my house, which is not on the side of the town next Vesuvius, I tried the experiment of unbolting my windows[9], when they flew wide open upon every explosion of the mountain. Besides these explosions, which were very frequent, there was a continued subterraneous and violent rumbling noise, which lasted this night about five hours. I have imagined, that this extraordinary noise might be owing to the lava in the bowels of the mountain having met with a deposition of rain water; and that the conflict between the fire and the water may, in some measure, account for so extraordinary a crackling and hissing noise. Padre Torre, who has wrote so much and so well upon the subject of Mount Vesuvius, is also of my opinion. And indeed it is natural to imagine, that there may be rain-water lodged in many of the caverns of the mountain; as, in the great eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 1631, it is well attested, that several towns, among which Portici and Torre del Greco, were destroyed, by a torrent of boiling water having burst out of the mountain with the lava, by which thousands of lives were lost. About four years ago, Mount Etna in Sicily threw up hot water also, during an eruption.

The confusion at Naples this night cannot be described; his Sicilian Majesty's hasty retreat from Portici added to the alarm; all the churches were opened and filled; the streets were thronged with processions of saints: but I shall avoid entering upon a description of the various ceremonies that were performed in this capital, to quell the fury of the turbulent mountain.

Tuesday the 20th, it was impossible to judge of the situation of Vesuvius, on account of the smoak and ashes, which covered it entirely, and spread over Naples also, the sun appearing as through a thick London fog, or a smoaked glass; small ashes fell all this day at Naples. The lavas on both sides of the mountain ran violently; but there was little or no noise till about nine o'clock at night, when the same uncommon rumbling began again, accompanied with explosions as before, which lasted about four hours: it seemed as if the mountain would split in pieces; and, indeed, it opened this night almost from the spot E to C (in Plate I.). The annexed plans were taken upon the spot at this time, when the lavas were at their height; and I do not think them exaggerated. The Parisian barometer was, as yesterday, at 279, and Fahrenheit's thermometer at 70 degrees; whereas, for some days preceding the eruption, it had been at 65 and 66. During the confusion of this night, the prisoners in the public jail attempted to escape, having wounded the jailer; but were prevented by the troops. The mob also set fire to the Cardinal Archbishop's gate, because he refused to bring out the relicks of Saint Januarius.

Wednesday 21st, was more quiet than the preceding days, though the lavas ran briskly. Portici was once in some danger, had not the lava taken a different course when it was only a mile and a half from it; towards night, the lava slackened.

Thursday 22d, about ten of the clock in the morning, the same thundering noise began again, but with more violence than the preceding days; the oldest men declared, they had never heard the like; and, indeed, it was very alarming: we were in expectation every moment of some dire calamity. The ashes, or rather small cinders, showered down so fast, that the people in the streets were obliged to use umbrellas, or flap their hats; these ashes being very offensive to the eyes. The tops of the houses, and the balconies, were covered above an inch thick with these cinders