Thirty-eight eruptions of Vesuvius are recorded in history up to the year 1806. That of 1779 has been described by Sir William Hamilton as among the most remarkable from its extraordinary and terrific appearance. During the whole of July the mountain was in a state of considerable fermentation, subterraneous explosions and rumbling noises being heard, and quantities of smoke thrown up with great violence, sometimes with red-hot stones, scoriæ, and ashes. On the 5th of August the volcano was greatly agitated, a white sulphurous smoke, apparently four times the height and size of the volcano itself, issuing from the crater, at the same time that vast quantities of stones, &c. were thrown up to the supposed height of 2000 feet. The liquid lava, having cleared the rim of the crater, flowed down the sides of the mountain to the distance of four miles. The air was darkened by showers of reddish ashes, blended with long filaments of a vitrified matter resembling glass. On the 7th, at midnight, a fountain of fire shot up from the crater to an incredible height, casting so bright a light that the smallest objects were clearly distinguishable at any place within six miles of the volcano. On the following evening, after a tremenduous explosion, which broke the windows of the houses at Portici, another fountain of liquid fire rose to the surprising height of 10,000 feet, (nearly two miles,) while puffs of the blackest smoke accompanied the red-hot lava, interrupting its splendid brightness here and there by patches of the darkest hue. The lava was partly directed by the wind towards Ottainano, on which so thick a shower of ashes, blended with vast pieces of scoriæ, fell, that, had it been of longer continuance, that town would have shared the fate of Pompeii. It took fire in several places; and had there been much wind, the inhabitants would have been burned in their houses, it being impossible for them to stir out. To add to the horror of the scene, incessant volcanic lightning darted through the black cloud that surrounded them, while the sulphureous smell and heat would scarcely allow them to draw their breath. In this dreadful state they remained nearly half an hour. The remaining part of the lava, still red-hot and liquid, fell on the top of Vesuvius, and covered its whole cone, together with that of La Somma, and the valley between them, thus forming one complete body of fire, which could not be less than two miles and a half in breadth, and casting a heat to the distance of at least six miles around. The eruption of 1794 is accurately described by the above writer; but has not an equal degree of interest with the one cited above. We subjoin a few particulars, among which is a circumstance well deserving notice, as it leads to an estimate of the degree of heat in volcanoes. Sir William says that although the town of Torre del Greco was instantly surrounded with red-hot lava, the inhabitants saved themselves by coming out of the tops of their houses on the following day. It is evident, observes Mr. Kirwan, that if this lava had been hot enough to melt even the most fusible stones, these persons must have been suffocated. This This eruption happened on the 15th of June, at ten o'clock at night, and was announced by a shock of an earthquake, which was distinctly felt at Naples. At the same moment a fountain of bright fire, attended with a very black smoke and a loud report, was seen to issue, and rise to a considerable height, from about the middle of the cope of Vesuvius. It was hastily succeeded by other fountains, fifteen of which were counted, all in a direct line, tending for the space of about a mile and a half downward, towards the towns of Resina and Torre del Greco. fiery scene-this great operation of nature—was accompa"nied by the loudest thunder, the incessant reports of which, like those of a numerous heavy artillery, were attended by a continued hollow murmur, similar to that of the roaring of the ocean during a violent storm. Another blowing noise resembled that of the ascent of a large flight of rockets. The houses at Naples were for several hours in a constant tremour, the doors and windows shaking and rattling incessantly, and the bells ringing. At this awful moment the sky, from a bright full-moon, and star-light, became obscured; the moon seemed eclipsed, and was soon lost in obscurity. The murmur of the prayers and lamentations of a numerous population, forming various processions, and parading the streets, added to the horrors of the scene. On the following day a new mouth was opened on the opposite side of the mountain, facing the town of Ottaiano: from this aperture a considerable stream of lava issued, and ran with great velocity through a wood, which it burnt; but stopped, after having run about three miles in a few hours, before it reached the vineyards and cultivated lands. The lava which had flowed from several new months on the south-side of the mountain, reached the sea into which it ran, after having overwhelmed, burnt, and destroyed the greater part of Torre del Greco, through the centre of which it took its course. This town contained about 18,000 inhabitants, all of whom escaped, with the exception of about fifteen, who through age or infirmity, were overwhelmed in their houses by the lava. Its rapid progress was such, that the goods and effects were entirely abandoned. It was ascertained sometime after, that a considerable part of the crater had fallen in, so as to have given a great extension to the mouth of Vesuvius, which was conjectured to be nearly two miles in circumference. This sinking of the crater was chiefly on the west side, opposite Naples, and, in all probability, occurred early in the morning of the 18th, when a violent shock of an earthquake was felt at Resina, and other places situated at the foot of the volcano. The clouds of smoke which issued from the now widely extended mouth of Vesuvius, were of such a density as to appear to force their passage with the utmost difficulty. One cloud heaped itself on another, and, succeeding each other incessantly, they formed in a few hours such a gigantic and elevated column, of the darkest hue, over the mountain, as seemed to threaten Naples with immediate destruction, it having at one time been bent over the city, and appearing to be much too massive and ponderous to remain long suspended in the air. From the above time till 1804 Vesuvius remained in a state of almost constant tranquility. Symptoms of a fresh eruption had manifested themselves for several months, when at length on the night of the 11th of August, a deep roaring was heard at the Hermitage of Salvador, and the places adjacent to the mountain, accompanied by shocks of an earthquake, which were sensibly felt at Resina. On the following morning, at noon, a thick black Smoke rose from the mouth of the crater, which, dilating |