the thing framed say of him that framed it, he had no understanding?" And again, Jeremiah, "Oh, house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? Behold! as the clay in the potter's hand, so are ye in mine hand, O, house of Israel." And Job, speaking of the power of God over the earth, says, "It is turned as clay to the seal."

CHAPTER VI.

VESUVIUS.

5th March.

WE had been waiting from the 20th of January for a suitable day to ascend, what the people here call, by way of pre-eminence, "La montagna." It had always been too cold or too hot, too cloudy or too windy.

But, having seen the mountain's top quite clear for two days, we ordered our caratelli to be with us at seven o'clock, and left the chiaja exactly at that hour. We proceeded to Resina, about five miles from Naples, on the bay; its houses stand on the lava that covers Herculaneum. We turned to the left, and drove into the yard of the house, where Salvadore, the best guide to the mountain, lives.

His floor, and boxes, and stands, are covered with volcanic products, and his daughter is far more pretty and interesting than any of them. She has a lovely, soft, Italian countenance, and is bedecked with ear-rings and necklaces, and such like finery, and possesses a polished gracefulness exceedingly insinuating. In a few minutes four donkies were saddled, and Salvatore arranged our guides. Passing by the church of Santa Maria Polignano, we began our ascent upon a stony path; perhaps, here, it might be called a road; and, for two miles, it continued through the vines which afford the wine called Lacryma Christi, and which are said to be all now in possession of Freeborn, the banker, at Rome, who sends the product to England. We passed likewise a few figs, but

scarcely any olives; the hardest lava not being favourable to them. Turning round, we had a good view of Naples, the Bay, and the islands. Gradually we quitted the path and were getting on volcanic ridges; the one on which we were was of light tufo, and regions entirely desolate began to open to our view: we were here able to distinguish the different courses of lava of the various eruptions. The awful stream that descended upon Herculaneum in 1779 from Monte Somma, and that in 1810.

On the left, the stream that had descended upon Resina, and that of 1822, which stopped short of the inhabited part of the base.

Scoria stretching for miles like vast black rugged waves of iron, standing in confused heaps above the solid lava, in all the original confusion of its boiling minerals.

The scoria of the flood of fire of 1810 began to be speckled with lichen. In about eight years more (making eighteen) that stream will be sufficiently decomposed by the action of the air, to become in some measure fertile.

Salvadore had ascended with Playfair, Sir Humphrey Davy, Buckland, and many other eminent geologists, and had picked up a considerable degree of mineralogical knowledge, and calls himself "il capo Cicerone Salvadore Madonna."

In about one hour we reached the ridge called Monte d' Ascensione: to the right, on a small plain, are twelve stones with crosses on each, and a small oratoire: passing them, we arrived at the Hermitage, called here Romitorio. The head of my dear compagne de voyage, and that of one of the hermits, at a little grated window, combined with surrounding objects, made quite a novel scene; the capuchins inhabit the desolate dwelling crawling up the nar

row steep stairs, a monk received us with that tranquillity which gives such grace to age. Wine and salt were put before us; the hermit himself placed them, and then, gently bowing, he retired.

Antonio spread out our repast, and complaining of our wine, the hermit replaced it by a bottle of sweet Lacryma, which we found very refreshing.

Curiously peeping into a dormitory, the furniture we saw was a chair, a settle, and a mattress; these appeared all its bodily comforts-its mental consolations were on its walls-a crucifix, a print of La Santa Maria, another of an old man's head. In the centre "Il Eterno Padre, a dove," and at the bottom our Lord. In another on a cross "Il Salvatore del monde," and on a very small table a book entitled "L'Amico fidele."

We saw but little of the hermits, but what little we did see, impressed us with the idea of their possessing amiable characters. Our cattle and men being refreshed, we again mounted; the lad that walked at my donkey's head was the most unsubdued human being I ever saw. Whenever Salvadore, the guide, was out of hearing, he leaned upon the ass, and looking up with the most imploring countenance, said, "Signora, Signora, muojo di fame, muojo di fame, Buono mano, Buono mano, capisce?" and kept yelling and crying out to his companions, and then he laughed, and then he sang. Excepting the power of speech, he demonstrated very little beyond animal nature— a sad specimen of brutal ignorance-but, perhaps, after all, thought I, the same class in our own country are as uninstructed, though less vociferous and cheerful.

We now ascended the ridge leading to the cone of cinders-a few trees and little shrubs, called barba, and re

sembling southernwood, were still to be seen. I observed our guide gather a large branch and give to a lad to carry. The broken lofty summit, of Monte Somma, now rose close on our left, and the high ridge of lava which buried Herculaneum, stretched its desolate iron-looking torrent to the plain. Between the ridge on which we were, of light tufo and scoria, lay deep and black beneath us, the stream of 1810, in frightful confusion, like refuse of ten thousand furnaces, with this difference, that the hue was uniformly of dark iron colour approaching to black. On our right, but far beneath us, was the torrent of 1822, different in colour from that of more ancient eruptions. Arriving now upon huge masses of scoria and lava, it became too perilous to continue on our asses: we got off. The guide laid a stone on their bridles, curled them round a piece of lava, and left them patiently to wait our return.

We had nearly reached at this moment the base of the cone of cinders; every vestige of vegetation ceased; a few clouds passed before us, and we feared their influence; but, in a moment, they were gone; and there burst on every side little columns of vapour. As soon as the cloud touched the ravines of the mountain, its nature appeared changed instantly, producing little smoky pillars. The lava here assumed the appearance of smoothed wet rock: we put our hands into the crevices, but we did not keep them there long-the effect was scalding-the vapour continually bursting forth. The guide said, that whenever any little breath of wind entered these openings, its watery part was sent forth in vapour; the lava did not, however, feel hot on the surface. On every side were prodigious masses of rock and stone, which from time to time had been vomited from the crater, previous to the flowings of lava.