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Terrific Eruption of Vesuvius

the peaks which it touches with glorious flame. But the picture quays-a row of glow-worms under a border of houses-and behind, the mountain on fire, with its indescribable glories of leaping flames and strange electric coruscations. which lingers longest in the memory is a moonlight effect, such as was seen from the Hermitage, on the occasion of the last eruption. Then half the mountain slept At such a time all eyes are attracted to in shadow, while the rest was luminous, the crater, as it vomits flames, ashes, masses of rock, and even a kind of red by cinders and fine ashes, splash into the and burning snow, which, falling back in roaring torrent, which tears up rocks in flakes of fire on the slopes of the cone, its course and devastates the surrounding accumulates there to roll down headlong country for miles. An eruption of Kotin formidable avalanches, and cover the lugja, in 1860, was accompanied by these lands, and swallow up houses, and bury dreadful floods. It began with a number cities, and defy the strength and skill of of earthquakes, which shook the surman to arrest its progress, in its onward rounding country. Then a dark columnar sweep of destruction. cloud of vapor was seen to rise by day The eruptions of volcanoes in Iceland from the mountain, and by night balls of have been among the most terrible of fire (volcanic bombs) and red-hot cinders those carefully recorded. The cold cli- to the height of nearly five miles, which mate of the island and the height of the were seen at a distance of one hundred mountains produce vast quantities of and eighty miles. snow and ice, which cover the volcanoes Deluges of water rushed from the and fill up the cracks and valleys in their heights, bearing along whole fields of ice sides. When, therefore, the eruption and rocky fragments of every size, some commences, the intense heat of the boil- vomited from the volcano, but in great ing lava, and of the steam which rushes part torn from the flanks of the mountain forth from the crater, makes the whole itself and carried to the sea, there to add mountain hot, and vast masses of ice, considerably to the coast-line after degreat fields of snow, and deluges of water vastating the intervening country. The roll down the hill-side into the plains. fountain of volcanic bombs consisted of The lava pours from the top and from masses of lava, containing gases which cracks in the side of the mountain, or is exploded, producing a loud sound, which ejected hundreds of feet, to fall amongst was said to have been heard at a distance the ice and snow; and the great masses of a hundred miles. The size of the of red-hot stone cast forth, accompanied bombs must have been very great.