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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Etna, by G. F. Rodwell
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Etna
+       A History of the Mountain and of its Eruptions
+
+Author: G. F. Rodwell
+
+Release Date: March 30, 2010 [EBook #31827]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ETNA ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Steven Gibbs, Adam Styles and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+                    ETNA.
+
+   [Illustration: View of Etna from Catania]
+
+
+
+
+                   ETNA
+
+       _A HISTORY OF THE MOUNTAIN AND
+              OF ITS ERUPTIONS._
+
+
+                    BY
+
+               G. F. RODWELL,
+
+     SCIENCE MASTER IN MARLBOROUGH COLLEGE.
+
+         WITH MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
+
+                [Illustration]
+
+                    LONDON
+
+   C. KEGAN PAUL & CO., 1, PATERNOSTER SQUARE
+
+                     1878
+
+[_The rights of translation and of reproduction are reserved._]
+
+
+
+
+          I  DEDICATE  THIS  BOOK
+
+                     TO
+
+                 MY  MOTHER.
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE.
+
+
+While preparing an account of MOUNT ETNA for the Encyclopædia
+Britannica, I was surprised to find that there exists no single work in
+the English language devoted to the history of the most famous volcano
+in the world. I was consequently induced to considerably enlarge the
+Encyclopædia article, and the following pages are the result. The facts
+recorded have been collected from various sources--German, French,
+Italian, and English, and from my own observations made during the
+summer of 1877. I desire to express my indebtedness to Mr. Frank Rutley,
+of H.M. Geological Survey, for his careful examination of the lavas
+which were collected during my ascent of the mountain, and for the
+account which he has written of them; also to Mr. John Murray for
+permission to copy figures from Lyell's "Principles of Geology." My
+thanks are also due to Mr. George Dennis, H.M. Consul-General in Sicily;
+Mr. Robert O. Franck, Vice-Consul in Catania; and to Prof. Orazio
+Silvestri, for information with which they have severally supplied me.
+
+G. F. RODWELL.
+
+MARLBOROUGH,
+
+_September 6th, 1878._
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+HISTORY OF THE MOUNTAIN.                                         1
+
+    Position.--Name.--Mention of Etna by early writers.--Pindar.--
+    Æschylus.--Thucydides.--Virgil.--Strabo.--Lucretius.--Lucilius
+    Junior.--Etna the home of early myths.--Cardinal Bembo.--Fazzello.--
+    Filoteo.--Early Maps of the Mountain.--Hamilton.--Houel.--Brydone.--
+    Ferrara.--Recupero.--Captain Smyth.--Gemellaro; his Map of Etna.--
+    Elie de Beaumont.--Abich.--Hoffmann.--Von Waltershausen's _Atlas
+    des Aetna_.--Lyell.--Map of the Italian Stato Maggiore.--Carlo
+    Gemellaro.--Orazio Silvestri.
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+PHYSICAL FEATURES OF THE MOUNTAIN.                              26
+
+    Height.--Radius of Vision from the summit.--Boundaries.--Area.--
+    Population.--General aspect of Etna.--The Val del Bove.--Minor
+    Cones.--Caverns.--Position and extent of the three Regions.--
+    Regione Coltivata.--Regione Selvosa.--Regione Deserta.--Botanical
+    Regions.--Divisions of Rafinesque-Schmaltz, and of Presl.--Animal
+    life in the upper Regions.
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+ASCENT OF THE MOUNTAIN.                                         43
+
+    The most suitable time for ascending Etna.--The Ascent commenced.--
+    Nicolosi.--Etna mules.--Night journey through the upper Regions of
+    the mountain.--Brilliancy of the Stars.--Proposed Observatory on
+    Etna.--The Casa Inglesi.--Summit of the Great Crater.--Sunrise
+    from the summit.--The Crater.--Descent from the Mountain.--
+    Effects of Refraction.--Fatigue of the Ascent.
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+TOWNS SITUATED ON THE MOUNTAIN.                                 62
+
+    Paterno.--Ste. Maria di Licodia.--The site of the ancient town of
+    Aetna.--Biancavilla.--Aderno.--Sicilian Inns.--Adranum.--Bronte.--
+    Randazzo.--Mascali.--Giarre.--Aci Reale.--Its position.--The
+    Scogli de'Ciclopi.--Catania, its early history, and present
+    condition.
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+ERUPTIONS OF THE MOUNTAIN.                                      79
+
+    Their frequency within the historical period.--525 B.C.--477 B.C.--
+    426 B.C.--396 B.C.--140 B.C.--134 B.C.--126 B.C.--122 B.C.--
+    49 B.C.--43 B.C.--38 B.C.--32 B.C.--40 A.D.--72.--253.--420.--812.--
+    1169.--1181.--1285.--1329.--1333.--1371.--1408.--1444.--1446.--1447.--
+    Close of the Fifteenth Century.--1536.--1537.--1566.--1579.--1603.--
+    1607.--1610.--1614.--1619.--1633.--1646.--1651.--1669.--1682.--
+    1688.--1689.--1693.--1694.--1702.--1723.--1732.--1735.--1744.--1747.--
+    1755.--Flood of 1755.--1759.--1763.--1766.--1780.--1781.--1787.--
+    1792.--1797.--1798.--1799.--1800.--1802.--1805.--1808.--1809.--1811.--
+    1819.--1831.--1832.--1838.--1842.--1843.--1852.--1865.--1874.--
+    General character of the Eruptions.
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+GEOLOGY AND MINERALOGY OF THE MOUNTAIN.                        114
+
+    Elie de Beaumont's classification of the rocks of Etna.--Hoffman's
+    geological map.--Lyell's researches.--The period of earliest
+    eruption.--The Val del Bove.--Two craters of eruption.--Antiquity of
+    Etna.--The lavas of Etna.--Labradorite.--Augite.--Olivine.--
+    Analcime.--Titaniferous iron.--Mr. Rutley's examination of Etna
+    lavas under the microscope.
+
+
+
+
+LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
+
+
+    View of Etna from Catania                _To face Title._
+    Topographical Map of Etna                 _To face page_           1
+    Sections of Etna                                "                 30
+    Grotto delle Palombe                            "                 36
+    The Casa Inglesi and Cone of Etna               "                 52
+    View of the Val de Bove                         "                 58
+    View of Etna from Bronte                        "                 66
+    Island of Columnar Basalt off Trezza            "                 74
+    Geological Map of Etna                          "                114
+    Map of the Val del Bove (woodcut)                                117
+    Ideal Section of Mount Etna                                      119
+    Profile of Etna                                                  121
+    Sections of Etna Lavas seen under the Microscope, _to face p._   138
+
+[Illustration: Topographical Map of Etna]
+
+
+
+
+ETNA.
+
+A HISTORY OF THE MOUNTAIN AND OF ITS ERUPTIONS.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+HISTORY OF THE MOUNTAIN.
+
+    Position.--Name.--Mention of Etna by early writers.--Pindar.--
+    Æschylus.--Thucydides.--Virgil.--Strabo.--Lucretius.--Lucilius
+    Junior.--Etna the home of early myths.--Cardinal Bembo.--Fazzello.--
+    Filoteo.--Early Maps of the Mountain.--Hamilton.--Houel.--Brydone.--
+    Ferrara.--Recupero.--Captain Smyth.--Gemellaro; his Map of Etna.--
+    Elie de Beaumont.--Abich.--Hoffmann.--Von Waltershausen's _Atlas
+    des Aetna_.--Lyell.--Map of the Italian Stato Maggiore.--Carlo
+    Gemellaro.--Orazio Silvestri.
+
+
+The principal mountain chain of Sicily skirts the North and a portion of
+the North-eastern coast, and would appear to be a prolongation of the
+Apennines. An inferior group passes through the centre of the island,
+diverging towards the South, as it approaches the East coast. Between
+the two ranges, and completely separated from them by the valleys of
+the Alcantara and the Simeto, stands the mighty mass of Mount Etna,
+which rises in solitary grandeur from the eastern sea-board of the
+island. Volcanoes, by the very mode of their formation, are frequently
+completely isolated; and, if they are of any magnitude, they thus
+acquire an imposing contour and a majesty, which larger mountains,
+forming parts of a chain, do not possess. This specially applies to
+Etna. "Coelebs degit," says Cardinal Bembo, "et nullius montis dignata
+conjugium, caste intra suos terminos continetur." It is not alone the
+conspicuous appearance of the mountain which has made it the most famous
+volcano either of ancient or modern times:--the number and violence of
+its eruptions, the extent of its lava streams, its association with
+antiquity, and its history prolonged over more than 2400 years, have all
+tended to make it celebrated.
+
+The geographical position of Etna was first accurately determined by
+Captain Smyth in 1814. He estimated the latitude of the highest point of
+the bifid peak of the great crater at 37° 43' 31" N.; and the longitude
+at 15° East of Greenwich. Elie de Beaumont repeated the observations in
+1834 with nearly the same result; and these determinations have been
+very generally adopted. In the new Italian map recently constructed by
+the Stato Maggiore, the latitude of the centre of the crater is stated
+to be 37° 44' 55" N., and the longitude 44' 55" E. of the meridian of
+Naples, which passes through the Observatory of Capo di Monte.
+
+According to Bochart the name of Etna is derived from the Phoenician
+_athana_--a furnace; others derive it from ~aithô~--to burn.
+Professor Benfey of Gottingen, a great authority on the subject,
+considers that the word was created by one of the early Indo-Germanic
+races. He identifies the root _ait_ with the Greek ~aith~ and the
+Latin _aed_--to burn, as in _aes_-tu. The Greek name ~Aitna~ was
+known to Hesiod. The more modern name, _Mongibello_, by which the
+mountain is still commonly known to the Sicilians, is a combination of
+the Arabic _Gibel_, and the Italian _Monte_. During the Saracenic
+occupation of Sicily, Etna was called _Gibel Uttamat_--the mountain of
+fire; and the last syllables of Mongibello are a relic of the Saracenic
+name. A mountain near Palermo is still called Gibel Rosso--the red
+mountain; and names may not unfrequently be found in the immediate
+neighbourhood of Etna which are partly, or sometimes even entirely,
+composed of Arabic words; such, for example, as _Alcantara_--the river
+of _the bridge_. Etna is also often spoken of distinctively as _Il
+Monte_--the mountain _par excellence_; a name which, in its capacity of
+the largest mountain in the kingdom of Italy, and the loftiest volcano
+in Europe, it fully justifies.
+
+Etna is frequently alluded to by classical writers. By the poets it was
+sometimes feigned to be the prison of the giant Enceladus or Typhon,
+sometimes the forge of Hephaistos, and the abode of the Cyclops.
+
+It is strange that Homer, who has so minutely described certain portions
+of the contiguous Sicilian coast, does not allude to Etna. This has been
+thought by some to be a proof that the mountain was in a quiescent state
+during the period which preceded and coincided with the time of Homer.
+
+Pindar (B.C. 522-442) is the first writer of antiquity who has described
+Etna. In the first of the Pythian Odes for Hieron, of the town of Aitna,
+winner in the chariot race in B.C. 474, he exclaims:
+
+... "He (Typhon) is fast bound by a pillar of the sky, even by snowy
+Etna, nursing the whole year's length her dazzling snow. Whereout pure
+springs of unapproachable fire are vomited from the inmost depths: in
+the daytime the lava-streams pour forth a lurid rush of smoke; but in
+the darkness a red rolling flame sweepeth rocks with uproar to the wide
+deep sea.... That dragon-thing (Typhon) it is that maketh issue from
+beneath the terrible fiery flood."[1]
+
+[1] Translated by Ernest Myers, M.A., 1874.
+
+Æschylus (B.C. 525-456) speaks also of the "mighty Typhon,"
+(_Prometheus_ V.):
+
+                            . . . . . "He lies
+    A helpless, powerless carcase, near the strait
+    Of the great sea, fast pressed beneath the roots
+    Of ancient Etna, where on highest peak
+    Hephæstos sits and smites his iron red hot,
+    From whence hereafter streams of fire shall burst,
+    Devouring with fierce jaws the golden plains
+    Of fruitful, fair Sikelia."[2]
+
+[2] Translated by E. Myers.
+
+Herein he probably refers to the eruption which had occurred a few years
+previously (B.C. 476).
+
+Thucydides (B.C. 471-402) alludes in the last lines of the Third Book to
+several early eruptions of the mountain in the following terms: "In the
+first days of this spring, the stream of fire issued from Etna, as on
+former occasions, and destroyed some land of the Catanians, who live
+upon Mount Etna, which is the largest mountain in Sicily. Fifty years,
+it is said, had elapsed since the last eruption, there having been three
+in all since the Hellenes have inhabited Sicily."[3]
+
+[3] Translated by E. Crawley.
+
+Virgil's oft-quoted description of the mountain (_Eneid_, Bk. 3) we give
+in the spirited translation of Conington:
+
+    "But Etna with her voice of fear
+    In weltering chaos thunders near.
+    Now pitchy clouds she belches forth
+    Of cinders red, and vapour swarth;
+    And from her caverns lifts on high
+    Live balls of flame that lick the sky:
+    Now with more dire convulsion flings
+    Disploded rocks, her heart's rent strings,
+    And lava torrents hurls to-day
+    A burning gulf of fiery spray."
+
+Many other early writers speak of the mountain, among them Theokritos,
+Aristotle, Ovid, Livy, Seneca, Lucretius, Pliny, Lucan, Petronius,
+Cornelius Severus, Dion Cassius, Strabo, Diodorus Siculus, and Lucilius
+Junior. Seneca makes various allusions to Etna, and mentions the fact
+that lightning sometimes proceeded from its smoke.
+
+Strabo has given a very fair description of the mountain. He asserts
+that in his time the upper part of it was bare, and covered with ashes,
+and in winter with snow, while the lower slopes were clothed with
+forests. The summit was a plain about twenty stadia in circumference,
+surrounded by a ridge, within which there was a small hillock, the smoke
+from which ascended to a considerable height. He further mentions a
+second crater. Etna was commonly ascended in Strabo's time from the
+south-west.
+
+While the poets on the one hand had invested the mountain with various
+supernatural attributes, and had made it the prison-house of a chained
+giant, and the workshop of a swart god, Lucretius endeavoured to show
+that the eruptions and other phenomena could be easily explained by the
+ordinary operations of nature. "And now at last," he writes, "I will
+explain in what ways yon flame, roused to fury in a moment, blazes forth
+from the huge furnaces of Aetna. And, first, the nature of the whole
+mountain is hollow underneath, underpropped throughout with caverns of
+basalt rocks. Furthermore, in all caves are wind and air, for wind is
+produced when the air has been stirred and put in motion. When this air
+has been thoroughly heated, and, raging about, has imparted its heat to
+all the rocks around, wherever it comes in contact with them, and to the
+earth, and has struck out from them fire burning with swift flames, it
+rises up and then forces itself out on high, straight through the
+gorges; and so carries its heat far, and scatters far its ashes, and
+rolls on smoke of a thick pitchy blackness, and flings out at the same
+time stones of prodigious weight--leaving no doubt that this is the
+stormy force of air. Again, the sea, to a great extent, breaks its waves
+and sucks back its surf at the roots of that mountain. Caverns reach
+from this sea as far as the deep gorges of the mountain below. Through
+these you must admit [that air mixed up with water passes; and] the
+nature of the case compels [this air to enter in from that] open sea,
+and pass right within, and then go out in blasts, and so lift up flame,
+and throw out stones, and raise clouds of sand; for on the summit are
+craters, as they name them in their own language, what we call gorges
+and mouths."[4]
+
+[4] _De Naturâ Rerum_, Book 6, p. 580. Translated by E. Munro 1864.
+
+These ideas were developed by Lucilius Junior in a poem consisting of
+644 hexameters entitled _Aetna_. The authorship of this poem has long
+been a disputed point; it has been attributed to Virgil, Claudian,
+Quintilius Varus, Manilius, and, by Joseph Scaliger[5] and others, to
+Cornelius Severus. Wensdorff was the first to adduce reasons for
+attributing the poem to Lucilius Junior, and his views are generally
+adopted. Lucilius Junior was Procurator of Sicily under Nero, and, while
+resident in the Island, he ascended Etna; and it is said that he
+proposed writing a detailed history of the mountain. He adopted the
+scientific opinions of Epicurus, as established in Rome by Lucretius,
+and was more immediately a disciple of Seneca. The latter dedicated to
+him his _Quæstiones Naturales_, in which he alludes more than once to
+Etna. M. Chenu speaks of the poem of Lucilius Junior as "sans doute
+très-póetique, mais assez souvent dur, heurté, concis, et parcela même,
+d'une obscurité parfois désespérante."[6] At the commencement of the
+poem, Lucilius ridicules the ideas of the poets as regards the
+connection of Etna with Vulcan and the Cyclops. He has no belief in the
+practice, which apparently prevailed in his time, of ascending to the
+edge of the crater and there offering incense to the tutelary gods of
+the mountain. He adopts to a great extent the tone and style of
+Lucretius, in his explanation of the phenomena of the mountain. Water
+filters through the crevices and cracks in the rocks, until it comes
+into contact with the internal fires, when it is converted into vapour
+and expelled with violence. The internal fires are nourished by the
+winds which penetrate into the mountain. He traces some curious
+connection between the plants which grow upon the mountain, and the
+supply of sulphur and bitumen to the interior, which is, at best, but
+partly intelligible.
+
+[5] See Lucilius Junioris AETNA. Recensuit notasque Jos. Scaligeri,
+Frid. Lindenbruchii et suas addidit Fridericus Jacob. Lipsiæ, 1826.
+
+[6] L'Etna de Lucilius Junior. Traduction nouvelle par Jules Chenu.
+Paris, 1843.
+
+    "Nunc superant, quacunque regant incendia silvæ
+    Quæ flammis alimenta vacent, quid nutriat Aetnam.
+    Incendi patiens illis vernacula caulis
+    Materia, appositumque igni genus utile terræ est,
+    Uritur assidue calidus nunc sulfuris humor,
+    Nunc spissus crebro præbetur flumine succus,
+    Pingue bitumen adest, et quidquid cominus acres
+    Irritat flammas; illius corporis Ætna est.
+    Atque hanc materiam penitus discurrere fontes
+    Infectæ erumpunt et aquæ radice sub ipsa."
+
+Many of the myths developed by the earlier poets had their home in the
+immediate neighbourhood, sometimes upon the very sides, of Etna--Demeter
+seeking Persephone; Acis and Galatea; Polyphemus and the Cyclops. Mr.
+Symonds tells us that the one-eyed giant Polyphemus was Etna itself,
+with its one great crater, while the Cyclops were the many minor cones.
+"Persephone was the patroness of Sicily, because amid the billowy
+corn-fields of her mother Demeter, and the meadow-flowers she loved in
+girlhood, are ever found sulphurous ravines, and chasms breathing vapour
+from the pit of Hades."[7]
+
+[7] Sketches in Italy and Greece, p. 201.
+
+It is said that both Plato and the Emperor Hadrian ascended Etna in
+order to witness the sunrise from its summit. The story of
+
+            "He who to be deemed
+    A god, leaped fondly into Etna flames,
+    Empedokles"
+
+is too trite to need repetition. A ruined tower near the head of the Val
+del Bove, 9,570 feet above the sea, has from time immemorial been called
+the _Torre del Filosofo_, and is asserted to have been the observatory
+of Empedokles. Others regard it as the remains of a Roman tower, which
+was possibly erected on the occasion of Hadrian's ascent of the
+mountain.
+
+During the Middle Ages Etna is frequently alluded to, among others by
+Dante, Petrarch, Boccaccio, and Cardinal Bembo. The latter gives a
+description of the mountain in the form of a dialogue, which Ferrara
+characterises as "_erudito, e grecizzante, ma sensa nervi_." He
+describes its general appearance, its well-wooded sides, and sterile
+summit. When he visited the mountain it had two craters about a stone's
+throw apart; the larger of the two was said to be about three miles in
+circumference, and it stood somewhat above the other.[8]
+
+[8] Petri Bembi DE AETNA. Ad Angelum Chabrielem Liber Impressum Venetiis
+Aedibus Aldi Romani. Mense Februario anno M.V.D. (1495).
+
+In 1541 Fazzello made an ascent of the mountain, which he briefly
+describes in the fourth chapter of his bulky volume _De Rebus
+Siculis_.[9] This chapter is entitled "_De Aetna monte et ejus
+ignibus_;" it contains a short history of the mountain, and some mention
+of the principal towns which he enumerates in the following order:
+Catana, Tauromenium, Caltabianco, Linguagrossa, Castroleone,
+Francavilla, Rocella, Randatio (Randazzo), Bronte, Adrano, Paterno, and
+Motta. Fazzello speaks of only one crater.
+
+[9] Fazzellus T. DE REBUS SICULIS. Panormi, 1558; folio.
+
+In 1591 Antonio Filoteo, who was born on Etna, published a work in
+Venice in which he describes the general features of the mountain, and
+gives a special account of an eruption which he witnessed in 1536.[10]
+The mountain was then, as now, divided into three _Regions_. The first
+and uppermost of these, he asserts, is very arid, rugged, and uneven,
+and full of broken rocks; the second is covered with forests; and the
+third is cultivated in the ordinary manner. Of the height he remarks,
+"Ascensum triginta circiter millia passuum ad plus habet." In regard to
+the name, _Mongibello_, he makes a curious error, deriving it from
+_Mulciber_, one of the names of Vulcan, who, as we have seen, was
+feigned by the earlier poets to have had his forge within the mountain.
+
+[10] Antonii Philothei de Homodeis Siculi, AETNÆ TOPOGRAPHIA,
+incendiorum Aetnæorum Historia. Venetiis. 1591. Preface dated September,
+1590.
+
+In 1636 Carrera gave an account of Etna, followed by that of the Jesuit
+Kircher, in 1638. The great eruption of 1669 was described at length by
+various eye-witnesses, and furnished the subject of the first detailed
+description of the eruptive phenomena of the mountain. Public attention
+was now very generally drawn to the subject in all civilised countries.
+It was described by the naturalist, Borelli, and in our own
+_Philosophical Transactions_. Lord Winchelsea, our ambassador at
+Constantinople, was returning to England by way of the Straits of
+Messina at the time of the eruption, and he forwarded to Charles II "A
+true and exact relation of the late prodigious earthquake and eruption
+of Mount Ætna, or Monte Gibello."
+
+The first map of the mountain which we have been able to meet with,
+was published in reference to the eruption of 1669; it is entitled,
+"Plan du Mont Etna communenent dit Mount Gibel en l'Isle de Scicille
+et de t'incedie arrive par un treblement de terre le 8me Mars dernier
+1669." This plan is in the Bibliothèque Nationale, in Paris; it was
+probably drawn from a simple description, or perhaps altogether from
+the imagination, as it is utterly unlike the mountain, the sides of
+which possess an impossible steepness. Another very inaccurate map was
+published in Nuremberg about 1680, annexed to a map of Sicily, which
+is entitled, "_Regnorum Siciliæ et Sardiniæ, Nova Tabula_." Again, in
+1714 H. Moll, "geographer in Devereux Street, Strand," published a new
+map of Italy, in which there is a representation of Etna during the
+eruption of 1669. This also was probably drawn from the imagination;
+no one who has ever seen the mountain would recognise it, for it has
+a small base, and sides which rival the Matterhorn in abruptness.
+Over against the coast of Sicily, and near the mountain, is
+written:--"Mount Etna, or Mount Gibello. This mountain sometimes
+issues out pure flame, and at other times a thick smoak with ashes;
+streams of fire run down with great quantities of burning stones, and
+has made many eruptions."
+
+During the eighteenth century Etna was frequently ascended, and as
+frequently described. We have the accounts of Massa (1703), Count
+D'Orville (1727), Riedesel (1767), Sir William Hamilton (1769), Brydone
+(1776), Houel (1786), Dolomieu (1788), Spallanzani (1790), and many
+minor writers, such as Borch, Brocchi, Swinburne, Denon, and Faujas de
+Saint Fond. There is great sameness in all of these narratives, and much
+repetition of the same facts; some of them, however, merit a passing
+notice.
+
+Sir William Hamilton's _Campi Phlegræi_ relates mainly to Vesuvius and
+the surrounding neighbourhood; but one of the letters "addressed to the
+Secretary of the Royal Society on October 17th, 1769," describes an
+ascent of Etna. Hamilton ascended on June 24th with the Canon Recupero
+and other companions; the few observations of any value which he made
+have been alluded to elsewhere under the head of the special subjects to
+which they refer. The illustrations of the _Campi Phlegræi_, specially
+the original water-colours which are contained in one of the British
+Museum copies, are magnificent, and convey a better idea of volcanic
+phenomena than any amount of simple reading. From them we can well
+realise the opening of a long rift extending down the sides of a
+mountain during its eruption, and the formation of subsidiary craters
+along the line of fire thus opened. Various volcanic products are also
+admirably painted. In the picture of Etna, however, which was drawn by
+Antonio Fabris, the artist has scarcely been more successful than his
+predecessors, and the slope of the sides of the mountain has been
+greatly exaggerated.
+
+M. Houel, in his _Voyage pittoresque dans les Deux Siciles_, 1781-1786,
+has given a fairly good account of Etna, accompanied by some really
+excellent engravings.
+
+In 1776 Patrick Brydone, a clever Irishman with a good deal of native
+shrewdness and humour, published two volumes of a _Tour in Sicily and
+Malta_, in which he devoted several chapters to Mount Etna. He made the
+ascent of the mountain, and collected from the Canon Recupero, and from
+others, many facts concerning its then present, and its past history. He
+also made observations as to the height, temperature of the air at
+various elevations, brightness of the stars, and so on. Sir William
+Hamilton calls Brydone "a very ingenious and accurate observer," and
+adds that he was well acquainted with Alpine measurements. M. Elie de
+Beaumont, writing in 1836, speaks of him as _le celebre Brydone_; while,
+on the other hand, the Abbé Spallanzani, displeased at certain remarks
+which he made concerning Roman Catholicism in Sicily, never fails to
+deprecate his work, and deplores "his trivial and insipid pleasantries."
+Albeit Brydone's chapters on Etna furnished a more complete account of
+the volcano than any which had appeared in English up to that time; his
+remarks are frequently very sound and just, and we shall have occasion
+more than once to quote him.
+
+It was reserved, however, for the Abate Francesco Ferrara, Professor of
+Physical Science in the University of Catania, to furnish the first
+history of Etna and of its eruptions, which had any just claim to
+completeness. It is entitled, _Descrizione dell' Etna, con la Storia
+delle Eruzioni e il Catalogo del prodotti_. The first edition appeared
+in 1793, and a second was printed in Palermo in 1818. The author had an
+enthusiastic love for his subject:--"Nato sopra l'Etna," he writes, "che
+io conobbi ben presto palmo a palmo la mia passione per lo studio fissò
+la mia attenzione sul bello, e terribile fenomeno che avea avanti agli
+occhi." The work commences with a general description of the
+mountain--its height, the temperature of the different regions, the view
+from the summit, the mass, the water-springs, the vegetable and animal
+life, and the internal fires. This extends over sixty-nine octavo pages.
+The second part of the book--eighty pages--gives a history of the
+eruptions from the earliest times to the year 1811; the third
+part--sixty-seven pages--treats of the nature of the volcanic products;
+and the fourth part--thirty-four pages--discusses certain geological and
+physical considerations concerning the mountain. At the end there are a
+few badly drawn and engraved woodcuts, and a map which, although the
+trend of the coast-line is quite wrong, is otherwise fairly good. The
+engravings represent the mountain as seen from Catania; the Isole dei
+Ciclopi, and the neighbouring coast; the Montagna della Motta; and a
+view from Catania of the eruption of 1787. This work has evidently to a
+great extent been a labour of love; it is full of personal observations,
+and also embodies the results of many other observers. It has furnished
+the foundation of much that has since been written concerning Etna.
+
+The Canon Recupero has been alluded to above; he accompanied Hamilton,
+Brydone, and others to the summit of the mountain, and he was employed
+by the Government to report on the flood which, in 1755, descended with
+extraordinary violence through the Val del Bove. Beyond this, Recupero
+does not appear to have published anything concerning Etna, although it
+was well known that he had plenty of materials. He died in 1778, and it
+was not till the year 1815 that his results were published under the
+title of _Storia Naturale et Generale dell' Etna, del Canonico Giuseppe
+Recupero.--Opera Postuma_. This work consists of two bulky quarto
+volumes, the first of which is devoted to a general description of the
+mountain, the second to a history of the eruptions, and an account of
+the products of eruptions. Some idea may be formed of the extreme
+prolixity of the author if we mention that two chapters, together
+containing twelve quarto pages, are devoted to the discussion of the
+height of Etna, while the first volume is terminated by sixty-three
+closely printed pages of annotations. A few rough woodcuts accompany the
+volumes; a view of the mountain which, as usual, is out of all reason
+as regards abruptness of ascent, and a _carta oryctographia di
+Mongibello_ in which the trend of the coast-line between Catania and
+Taormina is altogether inexact, complete the illustrations of this most
+detailed of histories.
+
+During the years 1814-1816 Captain Smyth, acting under orders from the
+Admiralty, made a survey of the coast of Sicily, and of the adjacent
+islands. At this time the Mediterranean charts were very defective; some
+places on the coast of Sicily were mapped as much as twenty miles out of
+their true position, and even the exact positions of the observatories
+at Naples, Palermo, and Malta were not known. Among other results, Smyth
+carefully determined the latitude and longitude of Etna, accurately
+measured its height, and examined the surroundings of the mountain. His
+results were published in 1824, and are often regarded as the most
+accurate that we possess.
+
+In 1824 Dr. Joseph Gemellaro, who lived all his life on the mountain,
+and made it his constant study, published an "Historical and
+Topographical Map of the Eruptions of Etna from the era of the Sicani to
+the year 1824." In it he delineates the extent of the three Regions,
+_Coltivata_, _Selvosa_, and _Deserta_; he places the minor cones, to the
+number of seventy-four, in their proper places, and he traces the course
+of the various lava-streams which have flowed from them and from the
+great crater. This map is the result of much patient labour and study,
+and it is a great improvement upon those of Ferrara and Recupero, but of
+course it is impossible for one man to survey with much accuracy an area
+of nearly 500 square miles, and to trace the tortuous course of a large
+number of lava-streams. Hence we must be prepared for inaccuracies, and
+they are not uncommon--the coast line is altogether wrong as to its
+bearings, some of the small towns on the sides of the mountain are
+misplaced, and but little attention has been paid to scale. Still the
+map is very useful, as it is the only one which shows the course of the
+lava-streams.
+
+Mario Gemellaro, brother of the preceding, made almost daily
+observations of the condition of Etna, between the years 1803 and 1832.
+These results were tabulated, and they are given in the _Vulcanologia
+dell' Etna_ of his brother, Professor Carlo Gemellaro, under the title of
+_Registro di Osservazioni del Sigr. Mario Gemellaro_.
+
+Carlo Gemellaro contributed many memoirs on subjects connected with the
+mountain. They are chiefly to be found in the _Atti dell' Accademia
+Gioenia_ of Catania, and they extend over a number of years. Perhaps the
+most important is the treatise entitled "_La Vulcanologia dell' Etna che
+comprende la Topographia, la Geologia, la Storia, delle sue Eruzioni_."
+It was published in Catania in 1858, and is dedicated to Sir Charles
+Lyell, who ascended the mountain under the guidance of the author. The
+latter also published a _Breve Raggualio della Eruzione dell' Etna, del
+21 Agosto 1852_, which contains the most authentic account of this
+important eruption, accompanied by some graphic sketches made on the
+spot. The last contribution of Carlo Gemellaro to the history of Etna,
+is fitly entitled _Un Addio al Maggior Vulcano di Europa_. It was
+published in 1866, and with pardonable vanity the author reviews his
+work in connection with the mountain, extending over a period of more
+than forty years. He commences his somewhat florid farewell with the
+following apostrophe:--"O Etna! splendida e perenne manifestazione della
+esistenza dei Fuochi sotteranei massimo fra quanti altri monti, dalle
+coste meridionali di Europa, dalle orientali dell' Asia e delle
+settentrionali dell' Africa si specchiano nel Mediterraneo: tremendo pei
+tuoi incendii: benigno per la fertilità del vulcanico tuo terreno
+ridotto a prospera coltivazione ... io, nato appiè del vasto tuo cono,
+in quella Città che hai minacciato più d'una volta di sepellire sotto le
+tue infocate correnti: allogato, nella mia prima età, in una stanza
+della casa paterna, che signoreggiava in allora più basse abizioni
+vicine, ed intiera godeva la veduta della estesa parte meridionalè della
+tua mole, io non potera non averti di continuo sotto gli occhi, e non
+essere spettatore dei tuoi visibili fenomeni!"
+
+In 1834, M. Elie de Beaumont commenced a minute geological examination
+of the mountain. His results were published in 1838, under the title of
+_Recherches sur la structure et sur l'origine du Mont Etna_, and they
+extend over 225 pages.[11] He re-determined the latitude and longitude
+of the mountain, measured the slope of the cone, and the diameter of the
+great crater, and minutely examined the structure of the rocks at the
+base of the mountain. He also gives a good sectional view, elevations
+taken from each quarter of the compass, and a geological map, which
+although accurate in its general details, can scarcely be considered
+very satisfactory. A relief map of Etna, a copy of which is in the Royal
+School of Mines, was afterwards constructed from the flat map, and this
+was, we believe, at the same time, the first geological map, and the
+first map in relief, which had been made of the mountain. Elie de
+Beaumont considers granite as the basis of the mountain, because it is
+sometimes ejected from the crater; old basaltic rocks appear in the
+Isole dei Ciclopi, and near Paterno, Licodia, and Aderno; _cailloux
+roulés_ near Motta; ancient lavas on each side of the Val del Bove;
+modern lavas in every part of the mountain, and calcareous and
+arenaceous rocks in the surrounding mountains.
+
+[11] Printed in vol. IV. of _Mémoires pour servir a une description
+Geologique de la France_. Par M.M. Dufrénoy et Elie de Beaumont.
+
+In 1836, Abich published some excellent sections of Etna, and an
+accurate view of the interior of the crater, in a work entitled _Vues
+illustratives de quelques Phénomènes Géologiques prises sur le Vésuve et
+l'Etna pendant les années 1833 and 1834_.
+
+The whole of the thirteenth volume (1839) of the Berlin _Archiv für
+Mineralogie, Geognosie, Berghau und Hüttenkunde_, is occupied by an
+elaborate memoir on the geology of Sicily[12] by Friedrich Hoffmann,
+accompanied by an excellent geological map. A long account of the
+geology of Etna is given, and an enlarged map of the mountain was
+afterwards constructed and published in the _Vulkanen Atlas_ of Dr.
+Leonhard in 1850.[13]
+
+[12] Entitled _Geognostiche Beobachtungen Gesammelt auf einer Reise
+durch Italian und Sicilien, in den jahren 1830 bis 1832, von Friedrich
+Hoffmann_.
+
+[13] _Vulkanen Atlas zur naturgeschichte der Erde von K. G. Von
+Leonhard._ Stuttgardt. 1850.
+
+In 1836 Baron Sartorius Von Waltershausen commenced a minute survey of
+Etna, preparatory to a complete description of the mountain, both
+geological and otherwise. He was assisted by Professor Cavallari of
+Palermo, Professor Peters of Hensbourg, and Professor Roos of Mayence.
+The survey occupied six years, (1836-1842), and the results of direct
+observation in the form of maps and drawings, occupied a hundred sheets
+160 millimetres (6-1/4 inches) long, by 133 m.m. (5-1/4 inches) broad.
+Twenty-nine separate points were made use of in the triangulation; and
+the scale chosen was 1 in 50,000. The results were published in a large
+folio atlas, which appeared in eight parts; the first in 1845 and the
+last in 1861, when the death of Von Waltershausen put an end to the
+further publication. There are 26 fine coloured maps, and 31 engravings.
+The cost of the atlas is £12. The maps are both geological and
+topographical, and they are accompanied by outline engravings of various
+details of special interest. The _Atlas des Aetna_ furnishes the most
+exhaustive history of any one mountain on the face of the earth, and
+Sartorius Von Waltershausen will always be the principal authority on
+the subject of Etna.
+
+Sir Charles Lyell visited Etna in 1824, 1857, and again in 1858. He
+embodied his researches in a paper presented to the Royal Society in
+1859, and in a lengthy chapter in the _Principles of Geology_. His
+investigations have added much to our knowledge of the formation and
+geological characteristics of the mountain, especially of that part of
+it called the Val del Bove.
+
+Later writers usually quote Von Waltershausen and Lyell, and do not add
+much original matter. The facts of all subsequent writers are taken more
+or less directly from these authors. The latest addition to the
+literature of the mountain, is the _Wanderungen am Aetna_ of Dr.
+Baltzer, in the journal of the Swiss Alpine Club for 1874.[14]
+
+[14] Jahrbuch des Schweizer Alpen Club. Neunter Jahrgang, 1873-1874.
+Bern 1874.
+
+A fine map of Sicily, on the unusually large scale of 1 in 50,000, or
+1·266 inch to a mile, was constructed by the Stato Maggiore of the
+Italian government, between 1864 and 1868. The portion relating to Etna,
+and its immediate surroundings occupies four sheets. All the small roads
+and rivulets are introduced; the minor cones and monticules are placed
+in their proper positions, and the elevation of the ground is given at
+short intervals of space over the entire map. An examination of this map
+shows us that distances, areas, and heights, have been repeatedly
+misstated, the minor cones misplaced, and the trend of the coast line
+misrepresented. For example, if we draw a line due north and south
+through Catania, and a second line from the Capo di Taormina, (the
+north-eastern limit of the base of Etna), until it meets the first line
+at Catania, the lines, will be found to enclose an angle of 26°. If we
+adopt the same plan with Gemellaro's map, the included angle is found to
+be 53°, and in the case of the maps of Ferrara and Recupero more than
+60°. Again, it has been stated on good authority, that the lava of 396
+B.C. which enters the sea at Capo di Schiso flowed for a distance of
+nearly 30 miles; the map shows us that its true course was less than 16
+miles. Lyell in 1858 gives a section of the mountain from West 20° N.,
+to East 20° S., but a comparison with the new map proves that the
+section is really taken from West 35° N. to East 35° S., an error which
+at a radius of ten miles from the crater would amount to a difference of
+nearly three miles.
+
+The mantle of Carlo Gemellaro appears to have fallen upon Cav. Orazio
+Silvestri, Professor of Chemistry in the University of Catania. He has
+devoted himself with unwearying vigour to the study of the mountain, and
+his memoirs have done much to elucidate its past and present history.
+His most recent work of importance on the subject is entitled _I
+Fenomeni Vulcanici presentati dall'Etna nel 1863-64-65-66_. It was
+published in Catania in 1867, and contains an account of some very
+elaborate chemico-geological researches.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+PHYSICAL FEATURES OF THE MOUNTAIN.
+
+    Height.--Radius of Vision from the summit.--Boundaries.--Area.--
+    Population.--General aspect of Etna.--The Val del Bove.--Minor
+    Cones.--Caverns.--Position and extent of the three Regions.--Regione
+    Coltivata.--Regione Selvosa.--Regione Deserta.--Botanical Regions.--
+    Divisions of Rafinesque-Schmaltz, and of Presl.--Animal life in the
+    upper Regions.
+
+
+In the preceding chapter we have discussed the history of Mount Etna;
+the references to its phenomena afforded by writers of various periods;
+and the present state of the literature of the subject. We have now to
+consider the general aspect and physical features of the mountain,
+together with the divisions of its surface into distinct regions.
+
+The height of Etna has been often determined. The earlier writers had
+very extravagant notions on the subject, and three miles has sometimes
+been assigned to it. Brydone, Saussure, Shuckburgh, Irvine, and others,
+obtained approximations to the real height; it must be borne in mind,
+however, that the cone of a volcano is liable to variations in height at
+different periods, and a diminution of as much as 300 feet occurred
+during one of the eruptions of Etna, owing to the falling in of the
+upper portion of the crater. During the last sixty years, however, the
+height of the mountain has been practically constant. In 1815 Captain
+Smyth determined it to be 10,874 feet. In 1824 Sir John Herschel, who
+was unacquainted with Smyth's results, estimated it at 10,872-1/2 feet.
+The new map of the Stato Maggiore gives 3312·61 metres = 10867·94 feet.
+
+When the Canon Recupero devoted two chapters of his quarto volume to a
+discussion of the height of Etna, no such exact observations had been
+made, consequently he compared, and critically examined, the various
+determinations which then existed. The almost perfect concordance of the
+results given by Smyth, Herschel, and the Stato Maggiore, render it
+unnecessary for us to further discuss a subject about which there can
+now be no difference of opinion.
+
+Professor Jukes says, "If we were to put Snowdon, the highest mountain
+in Wales, on the top of Ben Nevis, the highest in Scotland, and
+Carrantuohill, the highest in Ireland, on the summit of both, we should
+make a mountain but a very little higher than Etna, and we should
+require to heap up a great number of other mountains round the flanks of
+our new one in order to build a gentle sloping pile which should equal
+Etna in bulk."
+
+The extent of radius of vision from the summit of Etna is very variously
+stated. The exaggerated notions of the earlier writers, that the coast
+of Africa and of Greece are sometimes visible, may be at once set aside.
+Lord Ormonde's statement that he saw the Gulf of Taranta, and the
+mountains of Terra di Lecce beyond it--a distance of 245 miles--must be
+received with caution. It is, however, a fact that Malta, 130 miles
+distant, is often visible; and Captain Smyth asserts that a considerable
+portion of the upper part of the mountain may sometimes be seen, and
+that he once saw more than half of it, from Malta, although that island
+is usually surrounded by a sea-horizon. It is stated on good authority
+that Monte S. Giuliano above Trapani, and the OEgadean Isles, 160 miles
+distant, are sometimes seen. Other writers give 128 miles as the limit.
+The fact is, that atmospheric refraction varies so much with different
+conditions of the atmosphere that it is almost impossible to give any
+exact statement. The more so when we remember that there may be many
+layers of atmosphere of different density between the observer and the
+horizon. Distant objects seem to be just under one's feet when seen from
+the summit of the mountain. Smyth gives the radius of vision as 150·7
+miles: and this we are inclined to adopt as the nearest approach to the
+truth, because Smyth was an accurate observer, and he made careful
+corrections both for error of instruments and for refraction. This
+radius gives an horizon of 946·4 miles of circumference, and an
+included area of 39,900 square miles--larger than the area of Ireland.
+If a circle be traced with the crater of Etna as a centre, and a radius
+of 150·7 miles, it will be found to take in the whole of Sicily and
+Malta, to cut the western coast of Italy at Scalca in Calabria, leaving
+the south-east coast near Cape Rizzuto. Such a circle will include the
+whole of Ireland, or if we take Derby as the centre, its circumference
+will touch the sea beyond Yarmouth on the East, the Isle of Wight on the
+South, the Irish Channel on the West, and it will pass beyond Carlisle
+and Newcastle-on-Tyne on the North.
+
+The road which surrounds the mountain is carried along its lower slopes,
+and is 87 miles in length. It passes through the towns of Paterno,
+Aderno, Bronte, Randazzo, Linguaglossa, Giarre, and Aci Reale. It is
+considered by some writers to define the base of the mountain, which is
+hence most erroneously said to have a circumference of 87 miles; but the
+road frequently passes over high beds of lava, and winds considerably.
+It is about 10 miles from the crater on the North, East, and West sides,
+increasing to 15-1/2 miles at Paterno, (S.W.). The elevation on the North
+and West flanks of the mountain is nearly 2,500 feet, while on the South
+it falls to 1,500 feet, and on the East to within 50 feet of the level
+of the sea. It is quite clear that it cannot be asserted with any
+degree of accuracy to define the base of the mountain.
+
+[Illustration: Sections of Etna]
+
+The "natural boundaries" of Etna are the rivers Alcantara and Simeto on
+the North, West, and South, and the sea on the East to the extent of 23
+miles of coast, along which lava streams have been traced, sometimes
+forming headlands several hundred feet in height. The base of the
+mountain, as defined by these natural boundaries, is said to have a
+circumference of "at least 120 miles," an examination of the new map,
+however, proves that this is over-estimated.
+
+If we take the sea as the eastern boundary, the river Alcantara,
+(immediately beyond which Monte di Mojo, the most northerly minor cone
+of Etna is situated), as the northern boundary, and the river Simeto as
+the boundary on the west and south, we obtain a circumference of 91
+miles for the base of Etna. In this estimate the small sinuosities of
+the river have been neglected, and the southern circuit has been
+completed by drawing a line from near Paterno to Catania, because the
+Simeto runs for the last few miles of its course through the plain of
+Catania, quite beyond the most southerly stream of lava. The Simeto
+(anciently _Simæthus_) is called the Giaretta along the last three miles
+of its course, after its junction with the Gurna Longa.
+
+The area of the region enclosed by these boundaries is approximately 480
+square miles. Reclus gives the area of the mountain as 1,200 square
+kilometres--461 square miles. (_Nouvelle Geographie Universelle_, 1875.)
+The last edition of a standard Gazetteer states it as "849 square
+miles;" but this estimate is altogether absurd. This would require a
+circle having a radius of between sixteen and seventeen miles. If a
+circle be drawn with a radius of sixteen miles from the crater, it will
+pass out to sea to a distance of 4-1/2 miles on the East, while on the
+West and North it will pass through limestone and sandstone formations
+far beyond the Alcantara and the Simeto, and beyond the limit of the
+lava streams.
+
+There are two cities, Catania and Aci Reale, and sixty-two towns or
+villages on Mount Etna. It is far more thickly populated than any other
+part of Sicily or Italy, for while the population of the former is 228
+per square mile, and of the latter 233, the population of the habitable
+zone of Etna amounts to 1,424 per square mile. More than 300,000 persons
+live on the slopes of the mountain. Thus with an area rather larger than
+that of Bedfordshire (462 square miles) the mountain has more than
+double the population; and with an area equal to about one-third that of
+Wiltshire, the population of the mountain is greater by nearly 50,000
+inhabitants. We have stated above that the area of Etna is 480 square
+miles, but it must be borne in mind that the habitable zone only
+commences at a distance of about 9-1/4 miles from the crater. A circle,
+having a radius of 9-1/4 miles, encloses an area of 269 square miles;
+and 480 minus 269 leaves 211 square miles as the approximate area of the
+habitable zone. Only a few insignificant villages on the East side are
+nearer to the crater than 9-1/4 miles. Taking the inhabitants as
+300,000, we find, by dividing this number by 211, (the area of the
+habitable zone), that the population amounts to 1,424 per square mile.
+Even Lancashire, the most populous county in Great Britain, (of course
+excepting Middlesex), and the possessor of two cities, which alone
+furnish more than a million inhabitants, has a population of only 1,479
+to the square mile.
+
+Some idea of the closeness of the towns and villages may be found by
+examining the south-east corner of the map. If we draw a line from Aci
+Reale to Nicolosi, and from Nicolosi to Catania, we enclose a nearly
+equilateral triangle, having the coast line between Aci Reale and
+Catania as its third side.
+
+Starting from Aci Reale with 24,151 inhabitants, and moving westwards to
+Nicolosi, we come in succession to Aci S. Lucia, Aci Catena, Aci S.
+Antonio, Via Grande, Tre Castagni, Pedara, Nicolosi, completing the
+first side of the triangle; then turning to the south-east and following
+the Catania road, we pass Torre di Grifo, Mascalucia, Gravina, and reach
+Catania with 85,055 inhabitants; while on the line of coast between
+Catania and Aci Reale we have Ognina, Aci Castello, and Trezza. Within
+the triangle we find Aci Patane, Aci S. Filippo, Valverde, Bonacorsi, S.
+Gregorio, Tremestieri, Piano, S. Agata, Trappeto, and S. Giovanni la
+Punta: in all twenty-five, two of which are cities, several of the
+others towns of about 3,000 inhabitants, and the rest villages. These
+are all included within an area of less than thirty square miles, which
+constitutes the most populous portion of the habitable zone of Etna.
+
+That the population is rapidly increasing is well shown by a comparison
+of the number of inhabitants of some of the more important towns in 1824
+and in 1876.[15]
+
+                     _1824_  _1876_
+
+    Catania          45,081  85,055
+    Aci Reale        14,094  24,151
+    Giarre           13,705  17,965
+    Paternò           9,808  16,512
+    Aderno            6,623  15,657
+    Bronte            9,153  15,081
+    Biancavilla       5,870  13,261
+    Linguaglossa      2,415   9,120
+    Randazzo          4,700   8,378
+    Piedimonte Etnea  1,404   4,924
+    Zaffarana Etnea     700   3,884
+    Pedara            2,068   3,181
+    Trecastagni       2,406   3,061
+
+[15] I am indebted for these figures to Mr. George Dennis, H.M. Consul
+General for Sicily.
+
+The general aspect of Etna is that of a pretty regular cone, covered
+with vegetation, except near the summit. The regularity is broken on the
+East side by a slightly oval valley, four or five miles in diameter,
+called the _Val del Bove_, or in the language of the district Val del
+_Bue_. This commences about two miles from the summit, and is bounded on
+three sides by nearly vertical precipices from 3,000 to 4,000 feet in
+height. The bottom of the valley is covered with lavas of various date,
+and several minor craters have from time to time been upraised from it.
+Many eruptions have commenced in the immediate neighbourhood of the Val
+del Bove, and Lyell believes that there formerly existed a centre of
+permanent eruption in the valley. The Val del Bove is altogether
+sterile; but the mountain at the same level is, on other sides, clothed
+with trees. The vast mass of the mountain is realised by the fact that,
+after twelve miles of the ascent from Catania, the summit looks as far
+off as it did at starting. Moreover, Mount Vesuvius might be almost
+hidden away in the Val del Bove.
+
+A remarkable feature of Etna is the large number of minor craters which
+are scattered over its sides. They look small in comparison with the
+great mass of the mountain, but in reality some of them are of large
+dimensions. Monte Minardo, near Bronte, the largest of these minor
+cones, is still 750 feet high, although its base has been raised by
+modern lava-streams which have flowed around it. There are 80 of the
+more conspicuous of these minor cones, but Von Waltershausen has mapped
+no less than 200 within a ten mile radius from the great crater, while
+neglecting many monticules of ashes. As to the statement made by Reclus
+to the effect that there are 700 minor cones, and by Jukes, that the
+number is 600, it is to be supposed that they include not only the most
+insignificant monticules and heaps of cinders, but also the _bocche_ and
+_boccarelle_ from which at any time lava or fire has issued. If these be
+included, no doubt these numbers are not exaggerations.
+
+[Illustration: Grotto delle Palombe]
+
+The only important minor cone which has been produced during the
+historical period, is the double mountain known as Monti Rossi, from the
+red colour of the cinders which compose it. This was raised from the
+plain of Nicolosi during the eruption of 1669; it is 450 feet in height,
+and two miles in circumference at the base. In a line between the Monti
+Rossi and the great crater, thirty-three minor cones may be counted.
+Hamilton counted forty-four, looking down from the summit towards
+Catania, and Captain Smyth was able to discern fifty at once from an
+elevated position on the mountain. Many of these parasitic cones are
+covered with vegetation, as the names Monte Faggi, Monte Ilice, Monte
+Zappini, indicate. The names have not been happily chosen; thus there
+are several cones in different parts of the mountain called by the same
+name--Monte Arso, Monte Nero, Monte Rosso, Monte Frumento, are the most
+common of the duplicates. Moreover, the names have from time to time
+been altered, and it thus sometimes becomes difficult to trace a cone
+which has been alluded to under a former name, or by an author who wrote
+before the name was changed. In addition to the minor cones from which
+lava once proceeded, there are numerous smaller vents for the
+subterranean fires called _Bocche_, or if very small, _Boccarelle_, _del
+Fuoco_. In the eruption of 1669, thirteen mouths opened in the course of
+a few days; and in the eruption of 1809, twenty new mouths opened one
+after the other in a line about six miles long. Two new craters were
+formed in the Val del Bove in 1852, and seven craters in 1865. The
+outbursts of lava from lateral cones are no doubt due to the fact that
+the pressure of lava in the great crater, which is nearly 1000 feet in
+depth, becomes so great that the lava is forced out at some lower point
+of less resistance. The most northerly of the minor cones is Monte di
+Mojo, from whence issued the lava of 396 B.C., it is 11-1/2 miles from
+the crater; the most southerly cone is Monte Ste Sofia, 16 miles from
+the crater. Nearly all the minor cones are within 10 miles of the
+crater, and the majority are collected between south-east, and west,
+that is, in an angular space of 135°, starting midway between east and
+south, (45° south of due east) to due west, (90° west of due south).
+Lyell speaks of the minor cones "as the most grand and original feature
+in the physiognomy of Etna."
+
+A number of caverns are met with in various parts of Etna; Boccacio
+speaks of the Cavern of Thalia, and several early writers allude to the
+Grotto delle Palombe near Nicolosi. The latter is situated in front of
+Monte Fusara, and the entrance to it is evidently the crater of an
+extinct monticule. It descends for 78 feet, and at the bottom a cavern
+is entered by a long shaft; this leads to a second cavern, which
+abruptly descends, and appears to be continued into the heart of the
+neighbouring Monti Rossi. Brydone says that people have lost their
+senses in these caverns, "imagining that they saw devils, and the
+spirits of the damned; for it is still very generally believed that Etna
+is the mouth of Hell." Many of the caverns near the upper part of the
+mountain are used for storing snow, and sometimes as places of shelter
+for shepherds. We have already seen to what extent Lucretius attributed
+the eruptions to air pent up within the interior caverns of the
+mountains.
+
+The surface of the mountain has been divided into three zones or
+regions--the _Piedimontana_ or _Coltivata_; the _Selvosa_ or _Nemorosa_;
+and the _Deserta_ or _Discoperta_. Sometimes the name of _Regione del
+Fuoco_ is given to the central cone and crater. As regards temperature,
+the zones correspond more or less to the Torrid, Temperate, and Frigid.
+The lowest of these, the _Cultivated Region_, yields in abundance all
+the ordinary Sicilian products. The soil, which consists of decomposed
+lava, is extremely fertile, although of course large tracts of land are
+covered by recent lavas, or by those which decompose slowly. In this
+region the vine flourishes, and abundance of corn, olives, pistachio
+nuts, oranges, lemons, figs, and other fruit trees.
+
+The breadth of this region varies; it terminates at an approximate
+height of 2000 feet. A circle drawn with a radius of 10 miles from the
+crater, roughly defines the limit. The elevation of this on the north is
+2,310 feet near Randazzo; on the south, 2,145 feet near Nicolosi; on the
+east, 600 feet near Mascali; and on the west, 1,145 feet near Bronte.
+The breadth of this cultivated zone is about 2 miles on the north, east,
+and west, and 9 or 10 on the south, if we take for the base of the
+mountain the limits proposed above.
+
+The _Woody Region_ commences where the cultivated region ends, and
+extends as a belt of varying width to an approximate height of 6,300
+feet. It is terminated above by a circle having a radius of nearly 1-1/2
+miles from the crater. There are fourteen separate forests in this
+region: some abounding with the oak, beech, pine, and poplar, others
+with the chestnut, ilex, and cork tree.
+
+The celebrated _Castagno di Cento Cavalli_, one of the largest and
+oldest trees in the world, is in the Forest of Carpinetto, on the East
+side of the mountain, five miles above Giarre. This tree has the
+appearance of five separate trunks united into one, but Ferrara declares
+that by digging a very short distance below the surface he found one
+single stem. The public road now passes through the much-decayed trunk.
+Captain Smyth measured the circumference a few feet from the ground, and
+found it to be 163 feet, which would give it a diameter of more than 50
+feet. The tree derives its name from the story that one of the Queens of
+Arragon took shelter in its trunk with a suite of 100 horsemen. Near
+this patriarch are several large chestnuts, which, without a shadow of
+doubt, are single trees; one of these is 18 feet in diameter, and a
+second 15 feet, while the _Castagno della Galea_, higher up on the
+mountain, is 25 feet in diameter, and probably more than 1000 years old.
+The breadth of the Regione Selvosa varies considerably, as may be seen
+by reference to the accompanying map; in the direction of the Val del
+Bove it is very narrow, while elsewhere it frequently has a breadth of
+from 6 to 8 miles.
+
+The Desert Region is embraced between the limit of 6,300 feet and the
+summit. It occupies about 10 square miles, and consists of a dreary
+waste of black sand, scoriæ, ashes, and masses of ejected lava. In
+winter it remains permanently covered with snow, and even in the height
+of summer snow may be found in certain rifts.
+
+Botanists have divided the surface of Etna into seven regions. The first
+extends from the level of the sea to 100 feet above it, and in it
+flourishes the palm, banana, Indian fig or prickly pear, sugar-cane,
+mimosa, and acacia. It must be remembered, however, that it is only on
+the east side of the mountain that the level within the base sinks to
+100 feet above the sea; and, moreover, that the palm, banana, and
+sugar-cane, are comparative rarities in this part of Sicily. Prickly
+pears and vines are the most abundant products of the lower slopes of
+the eastern side of Etna. The second, or hilly region, reaches from 100
+to 2000 feet above the sea, and therefore constitutes, with the
+preceding, the _Regione Coltivata_ of our former division. In it are
+found cotton, maize, orange, lemon, shaddock, and the ordinary Sicilian
+produce. The culture of the vine ceases near its upward limit. The
+third, or woody region, reaches from 2000 to 4000 feet, and the
+principal trees within it are the cork, oak, maple, and chestnut. The
+fourth region extends from 4000 to 6000 feet, and contains the beech,
+Scotch fir, birch, dock, plaintain, and sandworth. The fifth, or
+sub-Alpine region, extending from 6000 to 7000 feet, contains the
+barberry, soapwort, toad-flax, and juniper. In the sixth region, 7,500
+to 9000 feet, are found soapwort, sorrel, and groundsel; while the last
+narrow zone, 9000 to 9,200 feet, contains a few lichens, the commonest
+of which is the _Stereocaulon Paschale_. The flora of Etna comprises 477
+species, only 40 of which are found between 7000 feet and the summit,
+while in the last 2000 feet only five phanerogamous species are found,
+viz., Anthemis Etnensis, Senecio Etnensis, Robertsia taraxacoides,
+(which are peculiar to Etna), Tanacetum vulgare, and Astragulus Siculus.
+Common ferns, such as the _pteris aquilina_, are found in abundance
+beneath the trees in the Regione Selvosa.
+
+This division has been advocated by Presl in his _Flora Sicula_.[16] He
+names the different regions beginning from below: _Regio Subtropica_,
+_Regio Collina_, _Regio Sylvatica inferior_, _Regio fagi Sylvestris_.
+These four are common to all Sicily. The three remaining regions, _Regio
+Subalpina_, _Regio Alpina_, and _Regio Lichenum_, together extending
+from 6000 to 9,200 feet, belong to Etna alone.
+
+[16] "Flora sicula: exhibens Plantas vasculosas in Sicilia aut sponte
+crescentes aut frequentissime cultas, secundum systema naturale
+digestas." Auctore G. B. Presl. Pragæ, 1824.
+
+At the conclusion of the first volume of Recupero's _Storia Naturale et
+Generale dell' Etna_ we find a somewhat different botanical division
+proposed by Signor Rafinesque-Schmaltz.[17] He makes his divisions in
+the following manner:--
+
+    1. Florula Piedemontana.
+    2. Florula Nemorosa.
+    3. Florula excelsa o della Regione Discoperta.
+    4. Florula Arenosa o della Regione delle Scorie.
+
+[17] Chloris Aetnensis: o le quattro Florule dell' Etna, opusculo del
+Sig. C. S. Rafinesque-Schmaltz, Palermo. Dicembre, 1813.
+
+In the latter region, (to which he assigns no limit as to height), he
+found Potentilla Argentea, Rumex Scutatus, Tanacetum Vulgare, Anthemis
+Montana, Jacobæa Chrysanthemifolia, Seriola Uniflora, and Phalaris
+Alpina.
+
+As regards the animal life on Etna, of course it is the same as that of
+the eastern sea-board of Sicily, except in the higher regions, where it
+becomes more sparse. The only living creatures in the upper regions are
+ants, a little lower down Spallanzani found a few partridges, jays,
+thrushes, ravens, and kites.
+
+Brydone says of the three regions: "Besides the corn, the wine, the oil,
+the silk, the spice, and delicious fruits of its lower region; the
+beautiful forests, the flocks, the game, the tar, the cork, the honey of
+its second; the snow and ice of its third; it affords from its caverns a
+variety of minerals and other productions--cinnabar, mercury, sulphur,
+alum, nitre, and vitriol; so that this wonderful mountain at the same
+time produces every necessary, and every luxury of life."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+ASCENT OF THE MOUNTAIN.
+
+    The most suitable time for ascending Etna.--The ascent commenced.--
+    Nicolosi.--Etna mules.--Night journey through the upper Regions of
+    the mountain.--Brilliancy of the Stars.--Proposed Observatory on
+    Etna.--The Casa Inglesi.--Summit of the Great Crater.--Sunrise from
+    the summit.--The Crater.--Descent from the Mountain.--Effects of
+    Refraction.--Fatigue of the Ascent.
+
+
+The ascent of Mount Etna has been described many times during the last
+eighteen centuries, from Strabo in the second century to Dr. Baltzer in
+1875. One of the most interesting accounts is certainly that of Brydone,
+and in this century perhaps that of Mr. Gladstone. Of course the
+interest of the expedition is greatly increased if it can be combined
+with that spice of danger which is afforded by the fact of the mountain
+being in a state of eruption at the time.
+
+The best period for making the ascent is between May and September,
+after the melting of the winter snows, and before the autumnal rains. In
+winter snow frequently extends from the summit downwards for nine or
+ten miles; the paths are obliterated, and the guides refuse to accompany
+travellers. Even so late in the spring as May 29th Brydone had to
+traverse seven miles of snow before reaching the summit. Moreover,
+violent storms often rage in the upper regions of the mountain, and the
+wind acquires a force which it is difficult to withstand, and is at the
+same time piercingly cold. Sir William Hamilton, in relating his ascent
+on the night of June 26th, 1769, remarks that, if they had not kindled a
+fire at the halting place, and put on much warm clothing, they would
+"surely have perished with the cold." At the same time the wind was so
+violent that they had several times to throw themselves on their faces
+to avoid being overthrown. Yet the guides said that the wind was not
+unusually violent. Some writers, well used to Alpine climbing, have
+asserted that the cold on Etna was more severe than anything they have
+ever experienced in the Alps.
+
+The writer of this memoir made the ascent of the mountain in August
+1877, accompanied by a courier and a guide. We took with us two mules;
+some thick rugs; provisions consisting of bread, meat, wine, coffee, and
+brandy; wooden staves for making the ascent of the cone; a geological
+hammer; a bag for specimens; and a few other requisites. It has to be
+remembered that absolutely nothing is to be met with at the Casa
+Inglesi, where the halt is made for the night; even firewood has to be
+taken, a fire being most necessary in those elevated regions even during
+a midsummer's night. For some time previous to our ascent the weather
+had been uniformly bright and fine, and there had been no rain for more
+than three months. The mean temperature in the shade at Catania, and
+generally along the eastern sea-base of the mountain, was 82° F.
+
+As we desired to see the sunrise from the summit of the mountain, we
+determined to ascend during the cool of the evening, resting for an hour
+or two before sunrise at the Casa Inglesi at the foot of the cone.
+Accordingly we left Catania soon after midday, and drove to Nicolosi,
+twelve miles distant, and 2,288 feet above the sea. The road for some
+distance passed through a very fertile district; on either side there
+were corn fields and vineyards, and gardens of orange and lemon trees,
+figs and almonds, growing luxuriantly in the decomposed lava. About half
+way between Catania and Nicolosi stands the village of Gravina, and a
+mile beyond it Mascalucia, a small town containing nearly 4000
+inhabitants. Near this is the ruined church of St. Antonio, founded in
+1300. Nine miles from Catania the village of Torre di Grifo is passed,
+and the road then enters a nearly barren district covered with the lava
+and scoriæ of 1527. The only prominent form of vegetation is a peculiar
+tall broom--_Genista Etnensis_--which here flourishes. We are now
+entering the region of minor cones; the vineclad cone of Monpilieri is
+visible on the left, and just above it Monti Rossi, 3,110 feet above the
+sea; to the right of the latter we see Monte San Nicola, Serrapizzuta,
+and Monte Arso. We reach Nicolosi at half-past four; for although the
+distance is short, the road is very rugged and steep.
+
+Nicolosi has a population of less than 3,000; it consists of a long
+street, bordered by one-storied cottages of lava. In the church the
+priests were preparing for a _festa_ in honour of S. Anthony of Padua.
+They politely took us into the sacristy, and exhibited with much pride
+some graven images of rather coarse workmanship, which were covered with
+gilding and bright coloured paint. Near Nicolosi stands the convent of
+S. Nicola dell' Arena, once inhabited by Benedictine monks, who however
+were compelled to abandon it in consequence of the destruction produced
+by successive shocks of earthquake. Nicolosi itself has been more than
+once shaken to the ground. We dined pretty comfortably, thanks to the
+courier who acted as cook, in the one public room of the one primitive
+inn of the town; starting for the Casa Inglesi at 6 o'clock. The good
+people of the inn surrounded us at our departure and with much warmth
+wished us a safe and successful journey.
+
+For a short distance above Nicolosi, stunted vines are seen growing in
+black cinders, but these soon give place to a large tract covered with
+lava and ashes, with here and there patches of broom. There was no
+visible path, but the mules seemed to know the way perfectly, and they
+continued to ascend with the same easy even pace without any guidance,
+even after the sun had disappeared behind the western flank of the
+mountain. In fact, you trust yourself absolutely to your mule, which
+picks his way over the roughest ground, and rarely stumbles or changes
+his even step. I found it quite easy to write notes while ascending, and
+even to use a pocket spectroscope at the time of the setting sun.
+Subsequently we saw a man extended at full length, and fast asleep upon
+a mule, which was leisurely plodding along the highway. The same
+confidence must not however be extended to the donkeys of Etna, as I
+found to my cost a few days later at Taormina. Here the only animal to
+be procured to carry me down to the sea-shore, 800 feet below, was a
+donkey. It was during the hottest part of the day, and it was necessary
+to carry an umbrella in one hand, and comfortable to wear a kind of
+turban of many folds of thin muslin round one's cap. The donkey after
+carefully selecting the roughest and most precipitous part of the road,
+promptly fell down, leaving me extended at full length on the road, with
+the open umbrella a few yards off. At the same time the turban came
+unfolded, and stretched itself for many a foot upon the ground.
+Altogether it was a most comical sight, and it reminded me forcibly, and
+at the instant, of a picture which I once saw over the altar of a
+church in Pisa, and which represented S. Thomas Aquinas discomfiting
+Plato, Aristotle, and Averröes. The latter was completely overthrown,
+and in the most literal sense, for he was grovelling in the dust at the
+feet of S. Thomas, while his disarranged turban had fallen from him.
+
+The district of lava and ashes above Nicolosi is succeeded by forests of
+small trees, and we are now fairly within the _Regione Selvosa_. At
+half-past 8 o'clock the temperature was 66°, at Nicolosi at 4 o'clock it
+was 80°. About 9 o'clock we arrived at the Casa del Bosco, (4,216 feet),
+a small house in which several men in charge of the forest live. Here we
+rested till 10 o'clock, and then after I had put on a great-coat and a
+second waistcoat, we started for the higher regions. At this time the
+air was extraordinarily still, the flame of a candle placed near the
+open door of the house did not flicker. The ascent from this point
+carried us through forests of pollard oaks, in which it was quite
+impossible to see either a path or any obstacles which might lie in
+one's way. The guide carried a lantern, and the mules seemed well
+accustomed to the route. At about 6,300 feet we entered the _Regione
+Deserta_, a lifeless waste of black sand, ashes, and lava; the ascent
+became more steep, and the air was bitterly cold. There was no moon, but
+the stars shone with an extraordinary brilliancy, and sparkled like
+particles of white-hot steel. I had never before seen the heavens
+studded with such myriads of stars. The milky-way shone like a path of
+fire, and meteors flashed across the sky in such numbers that I soon
+gave up any attempt to count them. The vault of heaven seemed to be much
+nearer than when seen from the earth, and more flat, as if only a short
+distance above our heads, and some of the brighter stars appeared to be
+hanging down from the sky. Brydone, in speaking of his impressions under
+similar circumstances says:
+
+"The sky was clear, and the immense vault of heaven appeared in awful
+majesty and splendour. We found ourselves more struck with veneration
+than below, and at first were at a loss to know the cause, till we
+observed with astonishment that the number of the stars seemed to be
+infinitely increased, and the light of each of them appeared brighter
+than usual. The whiteness of the milky-way was like a pure flame that
+shot across the heavens, and with the naked eye we could observe
+clusters of stars that were invisible in the regions below. We did not
+at first attend to the cause, nor recollect that we had now passed
+through ten or twelve thousand feet of gross vapour, that blunts and
+confuses every ray before it reaches the surface of the earth. We were
+amazed at the distinctness of vision, and exclaimed together, 'What a
+glorious situation for an observatory! had Empedocles had the eyes of
+Galileo, what discoveries must he not have made!' We regretted that
+Jupiter was not visible, as I am persuaded we might have discovered some
+of his satellites with the naked eye, or at least with a small glass
+which I had in my pocket."
+
+Brydone wrote a hundred years ago, but his idea of erecting an
+observatory on Mount Etna was only revived last year, when Prof.
+Tacchini the Astronomer Royal at Palermo, communicated a paper to the
+Accademia Gioenia, entitled "_Della Convenienza ed utilita di erigere
+sull' Etna una Stazione Astronomico-Meteorologico_." Tacchini mentions
+the extraordinary blueness of the sky as seen from Etna, and the
+appearance of the sun, which is "whiter and more tranquil" than when
+seen from below. Moreover, the spectroscopic lines are defined with
+wonderful distinctness. In the evening at 10 o'clock, Sirius appeared to
+rival Venus, the peculiarities of the ring of Saturn were seen far
+better than at Palermo; and Venus emitted a light sufficiently powerful
+to cast shadows; it also scintillated. When the chromosphere of the sun
+was examined the next morning by the spectroscope, the inversion of the
+magnesium line, and of the line 1474 was immediately apparent, although
+it was impossible to obtain this effect at Palermo. Tacchini proposes
+that an observatory should be established at the Casa Inglesi, in
+connection with the University of Catania, and that it be provided with
+a good six-inch refracting telescope, and with meteorological
+instruments. In this observatory, constant observations should be made
+from the beginning of June to the end of September, and the telescope
+should then be transported to Catania, where a duplicate mounting might
+be provided for it, and observations continued for the rest of the year.
+There seems to be every probability that this scheme will be carried out
+in the course of next year.
+
+During this digression we have been toiling along the slopes of the
+_Regione Deserta_ and looking at the sky; at length we reach the _Piano
+del Lago_ or Plain of the Lake, so called because a lake produced by the
+melting of the snows existed here till 1607, when it was filled up by
+lava. The air is now excessively cold, and a sharp wind is blowing.
+Progress is very slow, the soil consists of loose ashes, and the mules
+frequently stop; the guide assures us that the Casa Inglesi is quite
+near, but the stoppages become so frequent that it seems a long way off;
+at length we dismount, and drag the mules after us, and after a toilsome
+walk the small lava-built house, called the Casa Inglesi, is reached
+(1.30 a.m., temperature 40° F.) It stands at a height of 9,652 feet
+above the sea, near the base of the cone of the great crater, and it
+takes its name from the fact that it was erected by the English officers
+stationed in Sicily in 1811. It has suffered severely from time to time
+from the pressure of snow and from earthquakes, but it was thoroughly
+repaired in 1862, on the occasion of the visit of Prince Humbert, and is
+now in tolerable preservation. It consists of three rooms, containing a
+few deal chairs, a table, and several shelves like the berths of ships
+furnished with plain straw mattresses; there is also a rough fireplace.
+We had no sooner reached this house, very weary and so cold that we
+could scarcely move, than it was discovered that the courier had omitted
+to get the key from Nicolosi, and there seemed a prospect of spending
+the hours till dawn in the open air. Fortunately we had with us a chisel
+and a geological hammer, and by the aid of these we forced open the
+shutter serving as a window, and crept into the house; ten minutes later
+a large wood fire was blazing up the chimney, our eatables were
+unpacked, some hot coffee was made, and we were supremely comfortable.
+
+[Illustration: The Casa Inglesi and Cone of Etna]
+
+At 3 a.m. we left the Casa Inglesi for the summit of the great crater,
+1,200 feet above us, in order to be in time to witness the sunrise. Our
+road lay for a short distance over the upper portion of the Piano del
+Lago, and the walking was difficult. The brighter stars had disappeared,
+and it was much darker than it had been some hours before. The guide led
+the way with a lantern. The ascent of the cone was a very stiff piece of
+work; it consists of loose ashes and blocks of lava, and slopes at an
+angle of "45° or more" according to one writer, and of 33° according to
+another; probably the slope varies on different sides of the cone: we do
+not think that the slope much exceeds 33° anywhere on the side of the
+cone which we ascended. Fortunately there was no strong wind, and we did
+not suffer from the sickness of which travellers constantly complain in
+the rarefied air of the summit. We reached the highest point at 4.30
+a.m., and found a temperature of 47° F.
+
+When Sir William Hamilton ascended towards the end of June the
+temperature at the base of the mountain was 84° F., and at the summit
+56° F. When Brydone left Catania on May 26th, 1770, the temperature was
+76° F., Bar. 29 in. 8-1/2 lines; at Nicolosi at midday on the 27th it
+was 73° F., Bar. 27 in. 1-1/2 lines; at the Spelonca del Capriole (6,200
+feet), 61° F., Bar. 26 in. 5-1/2 lines; at the foot of the crater, temp.
+33° F., Bar. 20 in. 4-1/2 lines, and at the summit of the crater just
+before sunrise, temp. 27° F., Bar. 19 in. 4 lines.
+
+On reaching the summit we noticed that a quantity of steam and
+sulphurous acid gas issued from the ground under our feet, and in some
+places the cinders were so hot that it was necessary to choose a cool
+place to sit down upon. A thermometer inserted just beneath the soil
+from which steam issued registered 182° F. For a short time we anxiously
+awaited the rising of the sun. Nearly all the stars had faded away; the
+vault of heaven was a pale blue, becoming a darker and darker grey
+towards the west, where it appeared to be nearly black. Just before
+sunrise the sky had the appearance of an enormous arched spectrum,
+extremely extended at the blue end. Above the place where the sun would
+presently appear there was a brilliant red, shading off in the direction
+of the zenith to orange and yellow; this was succeeded by pale green,
+then a long stretch of pale blue, darker blue, dark grey, ending
+opposite the rising sun with black. This effect was quite distinct, it
+lasted some minutes, and was very remarkable. This was succeeded by the
+usual rayed appearance of the rising sun, and at ten minutes to 5
+o'clock the upper limb of the sun was seen above the mountains of
+Calabria. Examined by the spectroscope the Fraunhofer lines were
+extremely distinct, particularly two lines near the red end of the
+spectrum.
+
+The top of the mountain was now illuminated, while all below was in
+comparative darkness, and a light mist floated over the lower regions.
+We were so fortunate as to witness a phenomenon which is not always
+visible, viz., the projection of the triangular shadow of the mountain
+across the island, a hundred miles away. The shadow appeared vertically
+suspended in space at or beyond Palermo, and resting on a slightly misty
+atmosphere; it gradually sank until it reached the surface of the
+island, and as the sun rose it approached nearer and nearer to the base
+of the mountain. In a short time the flood of light destroyed the first
+effects of light and shadow. The mountains of Calabria and the west
+coast of Italy appeared very close, and Stromboli and the Lipari Islands
+almost under our feet; the east coast of Sicily could be traced until it
+ended at Cape Passaro and turned to the west, forming the southern
+boundary of the island, while to the west distant mountains appeared. No
+one would have the hardihood to attempt to describe the various
+impressions which rapidly float through the mind during the
+contemplation of sunrise from the summit of Etna. Brydone, who is by no
+means inclined to be rapturous or ecstatic in regard to the many
+wonderful sights he saw in the course of his tour, calls this "the most
+wonderful and most sublime sight in nature." "Here," he adds,
+"description must ever fall short, for no imagination has dared to form
+an idea of so glorious and so magnificent a scene. Neither is there on
+the surface of this globe any one point that unites so many awful and
+sublime objects. The immense elevation from the surface of the earth,
+drawn as it were to a single point, without any neighbouring mountains
+for the senses and imagination to rest upon, and recover from their
+astonishment in their way down to the world. This point or pinnacle,
+raised on the brink of a bottomless gulph, as old as the world, often
+discharging rivers of fire and throwing out burning rocks with a noise
+that shakes the whole island. Add to this, the unbounded extent of the
+prospect, comprehending the greatest diversity and the most beautiful
+scenery in nature, with the rising sun advancing in the east to
+illuminate the scene."
+
+When the sun had risen we had time to examine the crater, a vast abyss
+nearly 1000 feet in depth, and with very precipitous sides. Its
+dimensions vary, but it is now between two and three miles in
+circumference. Sometimes it is nearly full of lava, at other times it
+appears to be bottomless. At the present time it is like an inverted
+cone; its sides are covered with incrustations of sulphur and ammonia
+salts, and jets of steam perpetually issue from crevices. Near the
+summit we found a deposit, several inches in thickness, of a white
+substance, apparently lava decomposed by the hot issuing gases.
+Hydrochloric acid is said to frequently issue from the crater; the gases
+that were most abundant appeared to be sulphurous acid and steam. The
+interior of the crater appeared to be very similar to that of the
+Solfatara near Puzzuoli. During the descent from the cone we collected
+various specimens of ash and cinder, some red, others black and very
+vesicular, others crystalline, some pale pink. The steep slope of the
+cone was well shown by the fact that, although the surface is either
+extremely rugged owing to the accumulation of masses of lava, or soft
+and yielding on account of the depth of cinders, a large mass of lava
+set rolling at the top rushes down with increasing velocity until it
+bounds off to the level plain below.
+
+[Illustration: View of the Val de Bove]
+
+The great cone is formed by the accumulation of sand, scoriæ, and masses
+of rock ejected from the crater; it is oval in form, and has varied both
+in shape and size in the course of centuries. When we saw it, it was not
+full of smoke or steam; but it was possible to see to the bottom of it,
+in spite of small jets of steam which issued from the sides. It
+presented the appearance of a profound funnel-shaped abyss; the sides of
+which were covered with an efflorescence of a red or yellow, and
+sometimes nearly white, colour. The crater presented the same appearance
+when it was seen by Captain Smyth in 1814, but he was so fortunate as to
+witness it in a less quiescent state. "While making these observations,"
+he writes, "on a sudden the ground trembled under our feet, a harsh
+rumbling with sonorous thunder was heard, and volumes of heavy smoke
+rolled over the side of the crater, while a lighter one ascended
+vertically, with the electric fluid escaping from it in frequent flashes
+in every direction.... During some time the ground shook so violently
+that we apprehended the whole cone would tumble into the burning gulf
+(as it actually had done several times before) and destroy us in the
+horrible consequences; however, in less than a couple of hours all was
+again clear above and quiet within." When Mr. Gladstone ascended in
+1838, the volcano was in a slight state of eruption: "The great
+features of this action," he writes, "are the sharp and loud claps,
+which perceptibly shook from time to time the ground of the mountain
+under our feet; the sheet of flame which leapt up with a sudden
+momentary blast, and soon disappeared in smoke; then the shower of
+red-hot stones and lava. At this time, as we found on our way down, lava
+masses of 150 or 200 pound weight were being thrown a distance of
+probably a mile and a half; smaller ones we found even more remote.
+These showers were most copious, and often came in the most rapid
+succession. Even while we were ascending the exterior of the cone, we
+saw them alighting on its slope, and sometimes bounding down with
+immense rapidity within, perhaps, some thirty or forty yards of our
+rickety footing on the mountain side. They dispersed like the sparks of
+a rocket; they lay beneath the moon, over the mountain, thicker than
+ever the stars in heaven; the larger ones ascended as it were with
+deliberation, and descended, first with speed and then with fury. Now
+they passed even over our heads, and we could pick up some newly fallen,
+and almost intolerably hot. Lastly, there was the black grey column,
+which seemed smoke, and was really ash, and which was shot from time to
+time out of the very bowels of the crater, far above its edge, in
+regular unbroken form."
+
+At the Casa Inglesi we remounted the mules, and made a slight detour to
+the east in order to look down into the Val del Bove, which is here seen
+as a gigantic valley, bounded on the north by the precipitous cliffs of
+the Serra delle Concazze, and on the South by the Serra del Solfizio. It
+is believed by Lyell and others that in the Balzo di Trifoglietto, at
+which point the precipices are most profound and abrupt, there was a
+second permanent crater of eruption. The Torre del Filosofo, a ruined
+tower, traditionally the observatory of Empedocles, stands near the Casa
+Inglesi. Not far from this a great deposit of ice was found in 1828. It
+was preserved from melting by a layer of ashes and sand, which had
+covered it, soon after its first existence, as a glacier: a stream of
+lava subsequently flowed over the ashes, and completely protected the
+ice; the non-conducting power of the ashes prevented the lava from
+melting the ice. The snow which falls on the mountain is stowed away in
+caves, and used by the Sicilians during summer. A ship load is also sent
+to Malta, and the Archbishop of Catania derives a good deal of his
+income from the sale of Etna snow.
+
+During our descent from the mountain we were much struck by the apparent
+nearness of the minor cones beneath us, and of the villages at the base
+of the mountain. They seemed to be painted on a vertical wall in front
+of us, and although from ten to fifteen miles distant they appeared to
+be almost within a stone's throw. This curious effect, which has often
+been observed before, is due to refraction. At the summit of Etna we
+have left one-third of the atmosphere beneath us, and the air is now
+pressing upon the surface of the earth with a weight of ten pounds on
+the square inch, instead of the usual fifteen pounds experienced at the
+level of the sea. In looking towards the base of the mountain we are
+consequently looking from a rarer to a denser medium; and it is a law of
+optics, that when light passes from a denser to a rarer medium it is
+refracted away from the perpendicular, and thus the object, from which
+it emanates, appears raised, and nearer to us than it really is. The
+objects around Etna appear near to us and raised vertically from the
+horizon for the same reason that a stick plunged in water appears bent.
+
+We reached Nicolosi again about noon, having left it eighteen hours
+before. The ascent of the mountain, although it does not involve much
+hard walking, is somewhat trying on account of the extremes of
+temperature which have to be endured. In the course of the morning of
+our descent we had experienced a difference equal to more than 40° F. As
+to the ascent, you are moving upwards nearly all night; you have six
+hours of riding on a mule, some of it in a bitterly cold atmosphere; you
+get very much heated by the final steep climb of 1100 feet, and you find
+at the summit a piercing wind; of course there is no shelter, and you
+sit down to wait for sunrise on cinders which are gently giving off
+steam and sulphurous acid; the former condenses to water as soon as it
+meets the cold air, and you find your great coat, or the rug on which
+you have sat down, speedily saturated with moisture.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+TOWNS SITUATED ON THE MOUNTAIN.
+
+    Paterno.--Ste. Maria di Licodia.--The site of the ancient town of
+    Aetna.--Biancavilla.--Aderno.--Sicilian Inns.--Adranum.--Bronte.--
+    Randazzo.--Mascali.--Giarre.--Aci Reale.--Its position.--The Scogli
+    de'Ciclopi.--Catania, its early history, and present condition.
+
+
+We have before alluded to the fact that Etna is far more thickly
+populated than any other part of Sicily or Italy; in fact, more so than
+almost any equal area in the world, of course excepting large cities and
+their neighbourhood. This is due to the wonderful fertility of the soil,
+the salubrity of the climate, and, on the eastern base, to the proximity
+of a sea-coast indented with excellent harbours. The habitable zone of
+Etna is restricted to the _Regione Coltivata_, nevertheless some of the
+towns on the north and west have a considerable elevation; thus Bronte
+is 2,782 feet above the sea, and Randazzo 2,718. All the principal towns
+are situated on the base road of the mountain, which was indeed
+constructed in order to connect them. Out of the sixty-four towns and
+villages on the mountain, the following are the most important:
+Catania, Aci Reale, Paterno, Aderno, Bronte, Randazzo, Aci S. Antonio,
+Biancavilla, Calatabiano, Giarre, Francavilla, Linguagrossa, Licodia,
+Mascali, Misterbianco, Nicolosi, Pedara, Piedemonte, Trecastagne, and
+Tremestieri.
+
+On our return from the summit, we rested for awhile at Nicolosi, and in
+the cool of the evening started to make a _giro_ of the mountain by way
+of the base road. Descending by the Nicolosi road as far as Mascalucia,
+we branched off to the west, and made for Paterno, passing near the town
+of Belpasso, which was destroyed by the earthquake of 1669, and
+subsequently erected on a new site. It still contains more than 7,000
+inhabitants, although the district is extremely unhealthy.
+
+Paterno, the second largest town on the flanks of Etna after Catania and
+Aci Reale, stands in the very heart of the Regione Coltivata, and
+possesses more than 16,000 inhabitants. According to Cluverius, it is
+the site of the city of Hybla Major (~Hybla Megalê~), a Sikelian
+city which was unsuccessfully attacked by the Athenians soon after they
+first landed in Sicily. During the second Punic War, the inhabitants
+went over to the Carthagenians, but the city was speedily recovered by
+the Romans. Pliny, Cicero, and Pausanias allude to it, but its later
+history has not come down to us. An altar was lately found in Paterno
+dedicated to _Veneri Victrici Hyblensi_. Several towns in Sicily were
+called Hybla, probably--according to Pausanias--in honour of a local
+deity. Paterno was founded by Roger I. in 1073: it was once a feudal
+city of some importance, and possessed a cathedral and castle, and
+several large monasteries. Although much fallen to decay, it still
+possesses a good deal of vitality, and the population is on the
+increase.
+
+On leaving Paterno the road turns to the North-west, and passes through
+the village of Ste. Maria di Licodia. Here originally stood the Sikelian
+City of Inessa (~Inêssa~), which, after the death of Hiero I.,
+was peopled by colonists from Katana (then called ~Aitnê~). The
+new occupants of the city changed its name from Inessa to Aetna, which
+it retained. The town later fell into the hands of the Syracusans, and
+in 462 B.C. the Athenians in vain attempted to take it. During the
+Athenian expedition both Aetna and Hybla were allies of Syracuse. In 403
+B.C. Aetna was taken by Dionysius, who placed in it a body of Campanian
+mercenaries. Sixty-four years later (B.C. 339) the town was taken by
+Timoleon. For many succeeding years we find no further mention of it.
+Cicero speaks of it in his time as an important place, and the centre of
+a very fertile district; it is also mentioned by Pliny and Ptolemy, and
+Strabo says that it was usually the starting point for those who
+ascended the mountain. Of its later history we know absolutely nothing.
+
+
+Six miles to the north-west of St. Mariah di Licodia, the road passes
+through Biancavilla--a town of 13,000 inhabitants, and the centre of a
+cotton district.
+
+The road continues in the same direction until the town of Aderno is
+reached; and here we arrived late in the evening, and gained our first
+experience of a Sicilian inn in an out-of-the-way town. After many
+enquiries we were directed to the only inn which the place could boast,
+kept by a doctor. No one appeared at or near the entrance, of course
+there was no bell or knocker, and we made our way up a dark stone
+staircase till we arrived at a dimly-lighted passage. A horrible old
+Sicilian woman now appeared, and showed us with great incivility the
+only room in the house, which its inmates were willing to place at our
+disposal. It was a fairly large room, with a stone floor which
+apparently had not been swept for weeks, and walls that had once been
+whitewashed; the furniture consisted of three beds placed on tressels, a
+plain deal table, and some primitive chairs. As to food they had neither
+bread, meat, wine, eggs, macaroni, fruit, or butter in the house;
+neither did they offer to procure anything. Even when some eggs had been
+obtained, and (after an hour's delay) cooked, there was not a single
+teaspoon to eat them with. The people of the town appear to subsist
+chiefly on beans and a kind of dried fish. If our courier had not been a
+very handy fellow and a tolerable cook, we should have been obliged
+more than once to go to bed supperless. As it was, the best he could do
+on this occasion was to get some bread, eggs, and wine, and--best of
+all--some snow, for the heat was intolerable. In a town of the same
+size--15,657 inhabitants--in England, we should have at least two really
+comfortable inns ready at any moment to receive and entertain the weary
+traveller.
+
+[Illustration: View of Etna from Bronte]
+
+Aderno stands on the site, and has preserved the name, of the ancient
+Sikelian city of Adranum (~Adranon~). According to Diodorus there
+existed here, from very early times, the temple of a local deity named
+Adranus. The city was founded by the elder Dionysius in 400 B.C.; it
+owed its importance to the renown of its temple, which was guarded by a
+thousand dogs. In 345 B.C. the city fell into the hands of Timoleon, and
+it was taken by the Romans at the commencement of the first Punic War.
+After this we cease to hear of it. The modern town was founded by Roger
+I. in the 12th century. The fine Norman tower--now used as a prison--and
+the monastery, were both built by King Roger.
+
+After leaving Aderno the base-road ascends, turns nearly due north, and
+leads us past a number of lava streams, notably those of 1610, 1603, and
+1651. A good view of Monte Minardo, and the minor cones in its more
+immediate neighbourhood, is obtained on the left, while on the right we
+see the Valley of the Simeto, and Centorbi high upon the hills.
+
+Nearly due west of the great crater is the town of Bronte, which is
+2,782 feet above the sea, and has a population of more than 15,000. It
+is a very primitive place, and several centuries behind the age; it
+reminded us forcibly, in one or two particulars, of Pompeii: the streets
+are narrow and tortuous, and the roadway very uneven. Awnings are
+sometimes hung across the street from side to side to provide shade. The
+shops are exactly like those at Pompeii; and in the main street we
+noticed an open-air kitchen, to which the would-be diner repairs,
+purchases a plateful of food, and eats it standing in the public way.
+The inn was even worse than that of Aderno, and apparently had never
+before received guests. We were offered one miserable room, without a
+lock to the door, and unprovided with either table or chair. Of course
+the bare idea of offering to procure, or furnish, or cook, any kind of
+food was too monstrous to be entertained for a moment. With difficulty
+the courier obtained some eggs, macaroni, and fruit, on which we dined
+in a small barn attached to a wine-shop.
+
+At Bronte we are only nine miles from the crater, on the steepest side
+of the mountain, and near the Tertiary sandstone which underlies this
+portion of the mountain. A short distance outside the town we saw great
+beds of the lava of 1832, piled up fantastically in all sorts of forms,
+and excessively rugged and uneven. It is quite bare of vegetation, and
+does not appear to have even commenced to be decomposed.
+
+Bronte gave its name to Lord Nelson, who was created Duke of Bronte by
+Ferdinand IV.:--an appropriate name for a great warrior ([Greek:
+brontê], thunder). The Nelson estates are scattered around the town.
+
+On leaving Bronte the road conducted us past several high hills of
+sandstone and quartzite near Monte Rivoglia; then we passed near
+Maletto, and, leaving the malarious lake Gurrita on our left, we soon
+after arrived at Randazzo. Near Maletto the road reaches it highest
+point--3,852 feet.
+
+The town of Randazzo was founded by the Lombards in the 10th century;
+during the Middle Ages it appears to have been a prosperous, populous,
+place; at present it possesses more than 8,000 inhabitants. The Emperor
+Frederick II. created his son Duke of Randazzo, and added to the name of
+the town, _Etnea_. It contains several very interesting architectural
+remains; a church of the 13th century, a mediæval palace--the Palazzo
+Finochiaro,--and a ducal palace now used as a prison. The houses are for
+the most part built of lava, and some of the shops have massive lava
+counters extending half across their open front, while the door occupies
+the remainder, as at Pompeii. The view from Randazzo is very fine in
+every direction; the crater of Etna appears near, and Monte
+Spagnuolo--many hours distant--just outside the town. The town is 2,718
+feet above the sea, just above the Valley of the Alcantara--of which it
+commands a fine view, and also of the limestone hills on the other side.
+
+We were obliged to pass the night in the town, in an inn scarcely
+superior to that of Aderno, but distinctly better than the miserable
+Albergo Collegio at Bronte. At least the people were civil, and did
+their best. The one room of the inn had a bed in each corner, and a deal
+table in the middle. Three of the beds were occupied by engineers who
+were surveying in connection with a new line of railway; the fourth was
+made over to the courier. I slept in a small kind of ante-room on a bed
+chiefly composed of deal boards placed on tressels. Here again the
+courier was invaluable, in fact it would be simply impossible to make
+the circuit of Etna without a courier. He procured some eggs, macaroni,
+fruit, snow, tomatoes, and even meat, and cooked everything well,
+without a trace of garlic. He also took care that the linen was clean,
+and the general arrangements as comfortable as they could be under the
+circumstances. Let us also admit that neither at Aderno, Bronte, nor
+Randazzo were we troubled with musquitoes or any worse species of
+insect. These, we were assured, would appear in full force in the
+following month (September). Our only inconvenience of this nature
+arose from swarms of flies. The inns of these out-of-the-way towns
+probably receive scarcely a dozen travellers in the year, and these are
+Sicilians, who are not used to better accommodation. Evidently a
+_forestiare_ is quite a novelty: the people of these small towns used to
+look at us with great curiosity, and crowded round the carriage when we
+started. At Bronte we had a good example of this curiosity: owing to the
+hardness of the lava of 1832 the head had come off the handle of our
+hammer, and we went into a carpenter's shop to have it put on again.
+Presently we noticed that eleven people, including a priest, were
+looking on, apparently with intense and absorbing interest.
+
+From Randazzo the base-road descends, until at Giarre it is near the
+sea-level. This road is one of the most beautiful in Sicily; it is part
+of the old military route from Messina to Palermo, and it was traversed
+by Himilco in 396 B.C.; by Timoleon in 344 B.C.; and by Charles V. in
+1534. After leaving Randazzo the valley of the Alcantara becomes
+visible, while beyond it rise the lofty mountains of the Nebrodes. The
+road passes near Monte Dolce, and soon reaches Linguaglossa, a small
+town from whence the craters of 1865 may be reached in about four hours.
+The rapidly descending road passes through Piedemonte and Mascali, in
+the heart of an extraordinarily fertile region. Mascali, a village of
+3050 inhabitants, was considered by Cluverius to be the site of the
+Greek town of Callipolis, founded by a colony from Naxos as early as the
+fifth century, B.C. A full view of the coast line is obtained from the
+Capo di Taormina on the north, to a point below Riposto on the south. We
+descended through plantations of nuts, and groves of oranges and lemons,
+to gentle slopes covered with vineyards.
+
+From the town of Giarre, (17,965 inhabitants), we get a view of the Val
+del Bove, which, however, is almost always obscured by thin white
+clouds, while the summit of the mountain is clear. We noticed, indeed,
+every day that the summit, which had been absolutely clear all the day
+and night, became covered with clouds shortly before sunset, while about
+an hour later the clouds cleared off, and the mountain was sharply
+defined against the sky during the starlit night. Some of the effects of
+sunset behind clouds resting on the summit, while all the rest of the
+sky was bright blue, were exceedingly beautiful, and were quite
+untranslatable into any known language, save that of painting, and of
+music. Perhaps Turner could have done justice to them.
+
+After leaving Giarre we passed through a good deal of highly cultivated
+land belonging to Baron Pennisi, the largest landholder and richest man
+in Sicily. He makes good use of his wealth, and seems to be very
+popular among all classes. He possesses three palaces in Aci Reale, and
+has done a great deal to beautify the town. Archæologists will remember
+him as the possessor of the finest collection of Sicilian coins in the
+world. Many of these have been found on his own estates, but he never
+scruples to give large sums of money for any coin which he covets.
+
+Aci Reale, one of the prettiest towns in Europe, is situated in the
+midst of a very fertile region 550 feet above the sea. To the east it
+faces the Ionian sea, while on the west towers Etna. The town is full of
+wealthy inhabitants, and the houses are large, lofty, and well built. It
+contains 24,151 inhabitants, and possesses celebrated sulphur baths, and
+one of the best hotels in Sicily. The wealth of this small town is well
+shown by the following fact: Since its foundation in the tenth century,
+till within a year or two of the present time, the town had been under
+the jurisdiction of the Archbishop of Catania. It happened, however, a
+few years ago, on the occasion of a religious procession in Catania,
+that the people of Aci considered that their patron Saint, S. Venera,
+was slighted. In fact the image of S. Agata, the patron Saint of the
+Catanese--whose veil has so often averted the lava-streams from the
+city--was put in all the prominent parts of the procession, while the
+image of S. Venera was comparatively neglected. The people of Aci at
+once returned home, and sent a petition to the Pope, praying that they
+might have a Bishop of their own directly subject to the Holy See, in
+order that they might no longer be subjected to such slights. The
+Vatican having duly considered the question consented to raise Aci to
+the dignity of a Bishopric, and to pay the Bishop a yearly stipend of
+10,000 lire, (about £400, but equal to £600 in Sicily), on condition
+that 200,000 lire were paid at once into the coffers of the Vatican.
+This was promptly done, and now Monsignore Gerlando Genuardi, Bishop of
+Aci Reale, may snap his fingers in the face of Monsignore Giuseppe
+Benedetto Dusmet, a Benedictine of the Congregation of Monte Cassino,
+and Archbishop of Catania.
+
+[Illustration: Island of Columnar Basalt off Trezza]
+
+Six villages in the neighbourhood of Aci Reale bear the name of Aci: Aci
+Castello, Aci Sant' Antonio, and so on, but Aci Reale claims to stand
+upon the very site rendered memorable by the story of Acis and Galatea.
+The river Acis (now called _Acque Grande_) rises from a bed of lava, and
+falls into the sea a mile from its source. Aci Reale stands on seven
+different beds of superposed lava, having layers of earth resulting from
+decomposed lava between. The Canon Recupero calculated from observation,
+that a lava requires at least 2000 years to form even a scanty layer of
+earth, consequently he inferred that the lowest of the lava streams upon
+which Aci rests must have been formed 14,000 years ago. These views he
+stated to Brydone a hundred years ago; the latter says, "Recupero tells
+me he is exceedingly embarrassed by these discoveries in writing the
+history of the mountain. That Moses hangs like a dead weight upon him,
+and blunts all his zeal for enquiry; for that really he has not the
+conscience to make his mountain so young as that prophet makes the
+world. What do you think of these sentiments from a Roman Catholic
+Divine? The Bishop, who is strenuously orthodox--for it is an excellent
+See--has already warned him to be upon his guard, and not to pretend to
+be a better natural historian than Moses; not to presume to urge
+anything that may, in the smallest degree, be deemed contradictory to
+his sacred authority." The Canon Recupero lost his church preferment on
+the publication of Brydone's book, and the whole body of clergy of
+Girgenti received a reprimand on account of a capital story which
+Brydone told of a dinner at which the Bishop presided, during which
+several of the reverend Canons suffered severely from the effects of
+English punch, which Brydone had brewed for them. We quite agree with
+Admiral Smyth when he says, "It is a pity that Mr. Brydone laboured
+under such a cacoethes, as to sacrifice a friend for the sake of a good
+story." Of course we now know that Recupero's estimate of the age of
+Etna was far within the true limits, but we derive this information
+from other sources. No true estimate can be obtained from the
+observation of the decomposition of lavas, for it has been often
+observed that two lavas will decompose at very different rates.
+
+A little to the north of the village of La Scaletta, at the base of the
+rocks upon which Aci Reale stands, there are two small caverns in the
+abrupt face of the basalt, which can only be approached in a boat. They
+consist of columnar basalt bent very curiously, and capped by amorphous
+basalt.
+
+A drive of a few miles to the South of Aci Reale brings us to Trezza, a
+small village built of lava. A short distance from the shore are the
+celebrated _Scogli di Ciclopi_, or rocks of the Cyclops, said to be
+those which Polyphemus hurled at Ulysses after his escape from the cave.
+The rocks, seven in number, form small islets, the largest of which, the
+Isola d'Aci, is about 3000 feet in circumference, and 150 feet high. It
+consists of crudely columnar basalt capped by a kind of marl. Near the
+top of the island there is a cave called the "Grotto of Polyphemus,"
+also a cistern of water. To the south of this island a very picturesque
+rock rises from the sea. It is 2000 feet in circumference and about 200
+feet in height, and consists of columnar basalt in four and eight-sided
+prisms, but not very regular; a hard calcareous substance is found in
+their interstices. Fine crystals of analcime are sometimes met with in
+the basalts of the Cyclops Islands. Lyell considers these basalts "the
+most ancient monuments of volcanic action within the region of Etna."
+
+A few miles south of the Isole di Ciclopi are the bay and city of
+Catania. We started from the latter when we commenced our ascent of
+Etna, and now on returning to it, we completed the circuit of the
+mountain by its base-road of 87 miles.
+
+Katana (~Katanê~) is believed to have been founded about 730 B.C.
+by a Greek colony of Naxos, which had originally come from Chalcis. The
+city maintained its independence till the time of Hieron, who expelled
+the original inhabitants in 476 B.C., and peopled the city with
+Syracusans and inhabitants of the Peloponnesus to the number of 10,000.
+At the same time the name of the city was changed to Aetna ([Greek:
+Aitnê]). In 461 B.C., however, the old inhabitants retook their city,
+and drove out the newly-settled strangers, who betook themselves to
+Inessa, occupied it, and changed its name to _Aetna_. At a later period
+the Katanians sided with the Athenians against the Syracusans. But in
+403 B.C. Dionysius of Syracuse took and plundered the city, sold the
+inhabitants as slaves, and established in it a body of Campanian
+mercenaries. The latter quitted it and retired to Aetna in 396 B.C.,
+when the city was taken by the Carthaginians after a battle off the
+rocks of the Cyclops. Katana submitted to the Romans in 263 B.C.,
+during the first Punic War, and it soon became a very populous city.
+Cicero mentions it as a wealthy city and important seaport. During the
+Middle Ages it underwent many changes both at the hands of nature and of
+man; it belonged in succession to the Goths, Saracens, and Normans; and
+in 1169 was destroyed by an earthquake, during which 15,000 of its
+inhabitants perished. Again in 1669, and 1693, it was almost destroyed
+by earthquakes. The present town is comparatively new, many of its more
+ancient remains are covered with lava, among them the remains of a fine
+Greco-Roman theatre, in which it is probable that Alcibiades addressed
+the Catanians in 415 B.C. There are also remains of a Roman
+amphitheatre, bath, and tombs. Of more modern structures, the cathedral
+is the first to claim our notice. It was commenced by Roger I. in 1091,
+but in less than a century was almost entirely destroyed by an
+earthquake. At one corner of the building you descend through a narrow
+passage cut in the lava, to a crypt in which some ancient Roman arches
+are shown, partly filled up with lava. Here also is seen a small stream
+of very clear water flowing through the lava. The cathedral contains
+several interesting tombs, and in the chapel of S. Agata, her body is
+preserved in a silver sarcophagus, which during certain fetes is carried
+through the town in procession, attended by all the authorities. S.
+Agata was martyred by the Prætor Quintianus in the reign of Decius, and
+is the patron saint of the city. Whenever Catania has been in trouble
+from the approach of lava streams, or from earthquakes, the veil of S.
+Agata has been used as a charm to avert the evil.
+
+The University of Catania is the most celebrated in Sicily. It was
+founded in 1445 by Alfonso of Arragon, and has produced several men of
+eminence. The city also possesses one of the finest monasteries in the
+world, now converted into schools and barracks. Formerly the monastery
+of S. Nicola was occupied by 40 monks, all members of noble families; it
+is sufficiently large to hold 400.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+ERUPTIONS OF THE MOUNTAIN.
+
+    Their frequency within the historical period.--525 B.C.--477 B.C.--
+    426 B.C.--396 B.C.--140 B.C.--134 B.C.--126 B.C.--122 B.C.--49 B.C.
+    --43 B.C.--38 B.C.--32 B.C.--40 A.D.--72.--253.--420.--812.--1169.
+    --1181.--1285.--1329.--1333.--1371.--1408.--1444.--1446.--1447.--
+    Close of the Fifteenth Century.--1536.--1537--1566.--1579.--1603.--
+    1607.--1610.--1614.--1619.--1633.--1646.--1651.--1669.--1682.--1688.
+    --1689.--1693.--1694.--1702.--1723.--1732.--1735.--1744.--1747.--
+    1755.--Flood of 1755.--1759.--1763.--1766.--1780.--1781.--1787.--
+    1792.--1797.--1798.--1799.--1800.--1802.--1805.--1808.--1809.--1811.
+    --1819.--1831.--1832.--1838.--1842.--1843.--1852.--1865.--1874.--
+    General character of the Eruptions.
+
+
+A list of all the eruptions of Etna from the earliest times has been
+given by several writers, notably by Ferrara in his _Descrizione
+dell' Etna_, and by Gemellaro. The latter places the first eruption in
+1226 B.C. in the time of the Sicani; the second in 1170 B.C.; and of the
+third he says, "In 1149 B.C. there was an eruption, and Hercules in
+consequence fled from the island." Of course these dates are worthless,
+and the statements are no doubt based upon the assertion of Diodorus,
+that before the Trojan war the Sicani were driven from the east side of
+Sicily by the eruptions of the volcano.
+
+1. The first eruption appears to have occurred in the time of
+Pythagoras; we have no details as to its nature.
+
+2. The second eruption occurred in 477 B.C. It is mentioned by
+Thucydides, and it must be the eruption to which Pindar and Æschylus
+allude. The former visited the tomb of Hiero I. of Syracuse in 473 B.C.,
+and the latter was in Sicily in 471 B.C. On the occasion of this
+eruption, two heroic youths named Anapias and Amphinomus,
+performed a deed to which Seneca and other writers allude with
+enthusiasm. While the lava was rapidly overwhelming the city of Katana,
+they placed their aged parents on their shoulders, and, at the risk of
+their lives, bore them through the flaming streets, and succeeded in
+placing them in safety. It was said that the fiery stream of lava parted
+to make way for them. Statues were raised to the honour of the _Pii
+Fratres_, and their burial place was long known as the _Campus Piorum_.
+Even a temple was erected to commemorate the deed.
+
+Lucilius Junior devotes the concluding lines of his poem on Etna to the
+glory of the brothers: "The flames blushed to touch the filial youths,
+and wherever they plant their footsteps, they retire. That day is a day
+of fortune; harmless that land. On their right hand fierce dangers
+prevail; on their left are burning fires. Athwart the flames they pass
+in triumph, his brother and he, each safe beneath his filial burden.
+There the devouring fire flees backward, and checks itself round the
+twin pair. At length they issue forth unharmed, and bear with them their
+deities in safety. Songs of poets honour and admire them; them has Pluto
+placed apart beneath a glorious name, nor can the mean Fates reach the
+holy youths, but have truly granted them the homes and dominion of the
+blessed."[18]
+
+[18] Translated by L. E. Upcott, M.A.
+
+3. The third eruption occurred in the year 426 B.C. It is mentioned by
+Thucydides as having commenced in the sixth year of the Peloponnesian
+War. It destroyed a portion of the territory of the inhabitants of
+Katana.
+
+4. An important eruption occurred in the year 396 B.C. It broke out from
+Monte di Mojo, the most northerly of the minor cones of Etna, and
+following the course of the river Acesines, (now the Alcantara) entered
+the sea at the site of the ancient Greek colony of Naxos. Himilco the
+Carthaginian general, was at this time on his way from Messana to
+Syracuse, and he was compelled to march his troops round the west side
+of the mountain in order to avoid the stream of lava.
+
+5. We hear of no further eruption for 256 years, when in the year 140
+B.C., in the consulship of C. Lælius Sapiens and Q. Servilius Cæpio,
+there was an outburst from the volcano which destroyed 40 people.
+
+6. Six years later an eruption occurred according to Orosius and Julius
+Obsequens, in the consulship of Sergius Fulvius Flaccus, and Quintus
+Calpurnius Piso. We have no details concerning its nature or extent.
+
+7. The same authorities state that in the year 126 B.C. in the
+consulship of L. OEmilius Lepidus, and L. Aurelius Orestes, Sicily
+suffered from a very severe earthquake, and a deluge of fiery matter
+poured from Etna, overwhelming large tracts of country, and rendering
+the waters of the adjacent Ionian sea positively hot. It is said that
+the sea near the island of Lipari boiled, and that the inhabitants ate
+so large a number of the fishes which were cast, already cooked, upon
+their shores, that a distemper appeared which destroyed a large number
+of people.
+
+8. Four years later Katana was nearly destroyed by a new eruption. The
+roofs of many of the houses were broken in by the weight of hot ashes
+which fell upon them; but the lava stream turned aside near the city and
+flowed into the sea. The lava is believed to have issued from a small
+crater near Gravina, about 2-1/2 miles from Katana. The city was so much
+injured by this eruption that the Romans granted the inhabitants an
+immunity from all taxes for a space of ten years.
+
+9. An eruption, of which we have no details, occurred during the civil
+war between Cæsar and Pompey.
+
+10. Livy speaks of an eruption and earthquake which took place shortly
+before the death of Cæsar, which it was believed to portend.
+
+11. In 38 B.C., during the civil war between Octavianus and Sextus
+Pompeius, a violent eruption occurred on the east side of the mountain,
+accompanied by fearful noises and outbursts of flame.
+
+12. Six years afterwards an eruption of a less violent character took
+place.
+
+13. The next eruption of which we hear is that mentioned by Suetonius in
+his Life of Caligula. The Emperor happened to be at Messina at the time,
+and he fled from the town through fear of the eruption. This was in 40
+A.D.
+
+14. An eruption is said to have occurred in 72, in the second year after
+the capture of Jerusalem by Titus.
+
+15. Etna was now quiescent for nearly two centuries, but in the year
+253, in the reign of the Emperor Decius, a violent eruption lasting nine
+days occurred. The lava flowed in the direction of Catania, and the
+inhabitants for the first time tested the efficacy of the veil of S.
+Agatha, which afterwards stood them in such good stead on more than one
+occasion. The Saint had been martyred the year before, and when the
+frightened inhabitants saw the stream of lava approaching the city,
+they rushed to the tomb, and removed the veil which covered her body.
+This was carried to the edge of the descending torrent of lava, and is
+asserted to have at once arrested its progress.
+
+16. According to Carrera and Photius an eruption occurred in the year
+420.
+
+17. We now find no record of any volcanic action for nearly four hundred
+years. Geoffrey of Viterbo states that an eruption occurred in 812, when
+Charlemagne was in Messina.
+
+18. After another long interval of more than three centuries and a half,
+the mountain again entered into eruption. In February, 1169, occurred
+one of the most disastrous eruptions on record. A violent earthquake,
+which was felt as far as Reggio, occurred about dawn, and in a few
+minutes Catania was a heap of ruins. It is estimated that 15,000 persons
+were buried beneath the ruins. It was the vigil of the feast of S.
+Agatha, and the Cathedral of Catania was crowded with people, who were
+all buried beneath the ruins, together with the Bishop and forty-four
+Benedictine monks. The side of the cone of the great crater towards
+Taormina fell into the crater. At Messina the sea retired to some
+distance from the shore, and then suddenly returned, overwhelming a
+portion of the city, and sweeping away a number of persons who had fled
+to the shore for safety. The clear and pure fountain of Arethusa at
+Syracuse became muddy and brackish; while the fountain of Ajo, near the
+village of Saraceni, ceased to flow for two hours, and then emitted
+water of the colour of blood. Ludovico Aurelio states that the vines,
+corn, and trees were burnt up over large districts.
+
+19. According to Nicolo Speziale, there was a great eruption from the
+eastern side of the mountain in 1181.
+
+20. A stream of lava is said to have burst from the eastern side of the
+mountain in 1285, when Charles of Anjou was on his death-bed, and to
+have flowed fifteen miles.
+
+21. In the year 1329 Niccolo Speziale was in Catania, and witnessed the
+eruption of which he has left us an account. On the evening of June
+28th, about the hour of vespers, Etna was strongly convulsed, terrible
+noises were emitted, and flames issued from the south side of the
+mountain. A new crater--Monte Lepre--opened in the Val del Bove above
+the rock of Musarra, and emitted large quantities of dense black smoke.
+Soon afterwards a torrent of lava poured from the crater, and red-hot
+masses of rock were projected into the air. These effects continued till
+the 15th of July, when a second crater opened ten miles to the S.E. of
+Montelepre, and near the Church of S. Giovanni Paparometto. Soon after
+four other craters opened around it, and emitted smoke and lava. The
+sun was obscured from morning till evening by the smoke and ashes, and
+the adjacent fields were burnt up by the hot sand and ashes. Multitudes
+of birds and animals perished, and many persons are said to have died
+from terror. The lava streams were divided into three portions, two of
+which flowed towards Aci, and the third towards Catania. The ashes were
+carried as far as Malta, a distance of 130 miles.
+
+22. Four years afterwards an eruption is recorded by Silvaggio.
+
+23. A manuscript preserved in the archives of the Cathedral of Catania
+mentions an eruption which occurred on the 6th of August, 1371, which
+caused the destruction of numerous olive groves near the city.
+
+24. An eruption which lasted for twelve days commenced on the 9th of
+November, 1408; it originated in the great crater, but several mouths
+subsequently opened near the base of the mountain. Large quantities of
+red-hot ashes were emitted, some of which fell in Calabria. The villages
+of Pedara and Tre Castagne suffered severely from this eruption.
+
+25. A violent earthquake in 1444 caused the upper cone of the mountain
+to fall into the crater. A torrent of lava also issued from the
+mountain, and moved for a space of twenty days towards Catania, but it
+did not reach the city.
+
+26. Two years later lava issued from the Val del Bove near the Rock of
+Musarra; the crater then formed was perhaps the present Monte Finocchio.
+
+27. A short eruption, of which we have no details, occurred in 1447:
+after which Etna was quiescent for 89 years.
+
+28. Bembo and Fazzello mention an eruption which occurred towards the
+close of the 15th century, during which a current of lava flowed from
+the great crater, and destroyed a portion of Catania. In 1533 Filoteo,
+of whom we have before spoken as one of the earliest historians of Etna,
+descended into the crater, which possessed its present funnel-like form.
+He found at the bottom a hole, not larger than a man's head, from which
+issued a thin moist sulphurous vapour.
+
+29. In March, 1536, a quantity of lava issued from the great crater, and
+several new apertures opened near the summit of the mountain and emitted
+lava. It divided into several streams, flowing in different directions,
+one towards Randazzo, a second towards Aderno, and a third towards
+Bronte. The lava swept everything before it; at the same time quantities
+of smoke and ashes were ejected, the mountain was convulsed, and fearful
+noises were heard. Three new craters were formed on the south and west
+sides of the mountain, and on the 26th of March twelve new craters, or
+_bocche_, opened between Monte Manfre and Monte Vituri. A physician of
+Lentini, named Negro di Piazza, having approached too near to the scene
+of the eruption, was destroyed by a volley of red-hot stones. Several
+rifts were formed in the sides of the mountain from which issued flames
+and hot cinders.
+
+30. A year later, in May, 1537, a fresh outburst occurred; a number of
+new mouths were opened on the south slope of the mountain near La
+Fontanelle, and a quantity of lava was emitted, which flowed in the
+direction of Catania, destroying a part of Nicolosi, and S. Antonio. In
+four days the lava had run fifteen miles. At the same time violent
+shocks of earthquake occurred all over Sicily, the inhabitants thought
+that the last day had come, and many prepared for their end by receiving
+Extreme Unction. According to Filoteo the noises were so violent that
+many persons were struck deaf. The sun was obscured by smoke and dust,
+ashes fell in sufficient quantities to destroy the olive plantations of
+Messina, and were even carried 300 miles out to sea. The great crater
+suddenly fell in, so as to become level with the Piano del Lago. The
+height of the mountain was thus diminished by 320 feet.
+
+31. Three new craters opened in November, 1566, on the north-east slope
+of the mountain. Quantities of lava were emitted, which flowed towards
+Linguaglossa and Randazzo.
+
+32. A slight eruption, of which we have no details, occurred in 1579.
+
+33. According to Carrera, an eruption occurred in June, 1603. The
+mountain was shaken with earthquakes, and great volumes of smoke and
+flame were emitted.
+
+34. A stream of lava issued from the great crater four years later, and
+filled up the lake which had previously existed in the Piano del Lago.
+
+35. In February, 1610, lava was emitted from the great crater. It flowed
+towards Aderno, and filled up the bed of the Simeto, a little above the
+Ponte di Carcaci. A few months later a second stream destroyed a large
+portion of the forest Del Pino.
+
+36. In 1614 several new craters were opened between Randazzo and the
+great crater on the north side of the mountain. A quantity of lava
+issued from them, which united into one stream, and ran for ten miles,
+destroying a great deal of wooded country.
+
+37. A slight eruption occurred in 1619.
+
+38. In February, 1633, Nicolosi was partially destroyed by a violent
+earthquake; and in the following December earthquakes became frequent on
+the mountain. A new crater opened above the cone called Serrapizzuta,
+five miles from the great crater, and emitted a good deal of lava. A
+second crater afterwards opened about two miles to the east of the
+former. The eruption lasted off and on for four years: the ejected lava
+then covered a tract eighteen miles in length by two miles in width,
+the thickness sometimes attaining 42 feet. In 1643 a severe earthquake
+occurred, which was mainly felt on the west side of the mountain.
+
+39. In 1646 a new mouth opened on the north-north-east side of the
+mountain, five miles from the great crater. The lava flowed towards
+Castiglione.
+
+40. In February, 1651, several new mouths opened on the west side of the
+mountain, and poured out vast volumes of lava which threatened to
+overwhelm Bronte. In twenty-four hours the lava ran sixteen miles with a
+breadth of four miles.
+
+41. We have a more detailed account of the eruption of 1669 than of any
+previous outburst. It was observed by many men of different nations; and
+we find accounts of it in our own _Philosophical Transactions_, in
+French, and of course in Italian. Perhaps the most accurate and complete
+description is that given by Alfonso Borelli, Professor of Mathematics
+in Catania. The eruption was, in every respect, one of the most terrible
+on record. On the 8th of March the sun was obscured, and a whirlwind
+blew over the face of the mountain; at the same time earthquakes
+commenced, and continued to increase in violence for three days, when
+Nicolosi was converted into a heap of ruins. On the morning of the 11th
+a fissure nearly twelve miles in length opened in the side of the
+mountain, and extended from the Piano di S. Leo to Monte Frumento, a
+mile from the summit. The fissure was only six feet wide, but it seemed
+to be of unknown depth, and a bright light proceeded from it. Six mouths
+opened in a line with the principal fissure; they emitted vast columns
+of smoke, accompanied by loud bellowings which could be heard 40 miles
+off. Towards the close of the day, a crater opened about a mile below
+the others, and it ejected red hot stones to a considerable distance,
+and afterwards sand and ashes which covered the country for a distance
+of 60 miles. The new crater soon vomited forth a torrent of lava which
+presented a front of two miles, it encircled Monpilieri, and afterwards
+flowed towards Belpasso, a town of 8000 inhabitants, which was speedily
+destroyed. Seven mouths of fire opened around the new crater, and in
+three days united with it, forming one large crater 800 feet in
+diameter. The torrent of lava all this time continued to descend, and it
+destroyed the town of Mascalucia on the 23rd of March. On the same day
+the crater cast up great quantities of sand, ashes, and scoriæ, and
+formed above itself the great double-coned hill now called Monti Rossi
+from the red colour of the ashes of which it is mainly composed. On the
+25th very violent earthquakes occurred, and the cone of the great
+central crater was shaken down into the crater for the fifth time since
+the first century A.D. The original current of lava had divided into
+three streams, one of which destroyed S. Pietro, the second
+Camporotondo, and the third the lands about Mascalucia, and afterwards
+the village of Misterbianco. Fourteen villages were altogether
+destroyed, and the lava was on its way to Catania. At Albanelli, two
+miles from the city, it undermined a hill covered with cornfields, and
+carried it forward a considerable distance; a vineyard was also seen to
+be floating on its fiery surface. When the lava reached the walls of
+Catania it accumulated without progression until it rose to the top of
+the wall, 60 feet in height, and it then fell over in a fiery cascade,
+and overwhelmed a part of the city. Another portion of the same stream
+threw down 120 feet of the wall, and flowed into the city. On the 23rd
+of April the lava reached the sea, which it entered as a stream 600
+yards broad and 40 feet deep. The stream had moved at the rate of
+thirteen miles in twenty days, but as it cooled it moved less quickly,
+and during the last twenty-three days of its course it only moved two
+miles. On reaching the sea the water of course began to boil violently,
+and clouds of steam arose, carrying with them particles of scoriæ.
+Towards the end of April the stream on the west side of Catania, which
+had appeared to be consolidated, again burst forth, and flowed into the
+garden of the Benedictine Monastery of S. Niccola, and then branched
+off into the city. Attempts were made to build walls to arrest its
+progress. An attempt of another kind was made by a gentleman of Catania,
+named Pappalardo, who took fifty men with him, having previously
+provided them with skins for protection from the intense heat, and with
+crowbars to effect an opening in the lava. They pierced the solid outer
+crust of solidified lava, and a rivulet of the molten interior
+immediately gushed out, and flowed in the direction of Paterno;
+whereupon 500 men of that town, alarmed for its safety, took up arms,
+and caused Pappalardo and his men to desist. The lava did not altogether
+stop for four months; and two years after it had ceased to flow it was
+found to be red hot beneath the surface. Even eight years after the
+eruption quantities of steam escaped from the lava after a shower of
+rain. The stones which were ejected from the crater during this eruption
+were often of considerable magnitude, and Borelli calculated that the
+diameter of one which he saw was 50 feet; it was thrown to a distance of
+a mile, and as it fell it penetrated the earth to a depth of 23 feet.
+The volume of lava emitted during this eruption amounted to many
+millions of cubic feet: Ferrara considers that the length of the stream
+was at least fifteen miles, while its average width was between two and
+three miles, so that it covered at least forty square miles of surface.
+
+In a somewhat rare tract,[19] Lord Winchelsea, who was returning to
+England from Constantinople, and who landed at Catania, gives an account
+of what he saw of the eruption. He appears to have been frightened at
+the sight, and took good care to keep in a safe place; hence his letter,
+which is a short one, is mainly founded on hearsay. However, he says, "I
+could discern the river of fire to descend the mountain, of a terrible
+fiery or red colour, and stones of a paler red to swim thereon, and to
+be as big as an ordinary table.... Of 20,000 persons which inhabited
+Catania, 3000 did only remain; all their goods are carried away, the
+cannon of brass are removed out of the castle, some great bells taken
+down, the city gates walled up next the fire, and preparations made by
+all to abandon the city." The noble earl is less happy in his scientific
+ideas than in his general statement of the facts of which he was an
+eye-witness; we can only hope that he joined the recently-formed Royal
+Society on his return to England, and listened to Robert Hooke's
+discourse on fire. In describing the lava, Lord Winchelsea says, "The
+composition of this fire, stones, and cinders, are sulphur, nitre,
+quicksilver, sal-ammoniac, lead, iron, brass, and all other mettals!"
+Two other accounts are appended to the above letter; in one of these we
+are told that as the lava approached Catania, the various religious
+bodies carried their relics in procession, "followed by great multitudes
+of people, some of them mortifying themselves with whips, and other
+signs of penance, with great complaints and cries, expressing their
+dreadful expectation of the events of those prodigious fiery
+inundations." In the midst of all this, news was brought that a large
+band of robbers had taken advantage of the general distress, and were
+robbing right and left, and murdering the people: whereupon a troop of
+Spanish horse was sent out to protect the city and country, three pair
+of gallows were set up, and such as were found robbing were executed
+without trial by martial law.
+
+[19] "A true and exact relation of the late prodigious earthquake and
+eruption of Mount Ætna or Monte Gibello; as it came in a letter written
+to his Majesty from Naples by the Rt. Honble. the Earl of Winchelsea
+late Ambassadour at Constantinople, who in his return from thence
+visiting Catania in the Island of Sicily, was an eye-witness of that
+dreadful spectacle." Published by Authority. Printed by T. Newcomb in
+the Savoy. 1669.
+
+As the lava streams approached the city, the Senate, accompanied by the
+Bishop and all the clergy, secular and regular, went in procession out
+of the city to Monte di S. Sofia with all their relics, etc. There they
+erected an altar in view of the burning mountain, and celebrated mass,
+"and used the exorcismes accustomed upon such extraordinary occasions,
+all which time the mountain ceased not as before with excessive roaring
+to throw up its smoak and flames with extraordinary violence, and
+abundance of great stones, which were carried through the air."
+
+42. For a few years after this terrible eruption Etna was quiescent, but
+in 1682 a new mouth opened on the east side of the mountain, a little
+below the summit, and above the Val del Bove. Lava issued from it, and
+rushed down the precipices of the Val del Bove as far as the rock of
+Musarra.
+
+43. Six years later a torrent of lava burst from an opening in the great
+cone, and flowed into the Val del Bove for a distance of three miles.
+
+44. In the following year lava was emitted from a mouth in the Val del
+Bove, and it descended for about ten miles, destroying everything in its
+course, until it reached a little valley near Macchia.
+
+45. Early in January 1693, clouds of black smoke were poured from the
+great crater, and loud noises resembling the discharge of artillery were
+heard. A violent earthquake succeeded, and Catania was shaken to the
+ground, burying 18,000 of its inhabitants in the ruins. It is said that
+in all fifty towns were destroyed in Sicily, together with from 60,000
+to 100,000 inhabitants. Lava was emitted from the crater, which was
+lowered by the eruption.
+
+46. In the following year Etna again entered into eruption, ejecting
+large quantities of ashes, some of which were carried as far as Malta.
+
+47. In March 1702, three mouths opened in the Contrada del Trifoglietto,
+near the head of the Val del Bove. Lava was emitted from them, which
+flowed into the Valley of Calanna.
+
+48. Towards the end of 1723 loud bellowings issued from the mountain;
+earthquakes occurred, and a torrent of lava issued from the crater,
+which flowed towards Bronte, through the Bosco di Bronte.
+
+49. A small lava stream issued from the crater in 1732, and descended
+the western slope of the mountain, but without producing any damage.
+
+50. In October 1735, the usual noises which presage an eruption were
+heard, earthquakes followed, and a little later the crater emitted
+flames and red-hot stones. Lava also issued from it, and the stream
+divided into three branches, one of which flowed towards Bronte, a
+second towards Linguaglossa, and a third towards Mascali; but they did
+not get beyond the upper regions of the mountain.
+
+51. In 1744 the mountain threw out great quantities of ashes, but no
+lava.
+
+52. In 1747 a quantity of lava flowed from the great crater into the Val
+del Bove, and the height of the cone was considerably increased during
+the eruption.
+
+53. Early in the year 1755, Etna began to show signs of disturbance; a
+great column of black smoke issued from the crater, from which forked
+lightning was frequently emitted. Loud detonations were heard, and two
+streams of lava issued from the crater. A new mouth opened near the
+Rocca di Musarra in the Val del Bove, four miles from the summit, and a
+quantity of lava was ejected from it. An extraordinary flood of water
+descended from the Val del Bove, carrying all before it, and strewing
+its path, with huge blocks. Recupero estimated the volume of water as
+16,000,000 cubic feet, probably a greater amount than could be furnished
+by the melting of all the winter's snow on the mountain. It formed a
+channel two miles broad, and, in some places, thirty-four feet deep, and
+it flowed at the rate of a mile in a minute and a half during the first
+twelve miles of its course. Lyell considers the flood was probably
+produced by the melting, not only of the winter's snow, but also of
+older layers of ice, which were suddenly melted by the permeation of hot
+steam and lava, and which had been previously preserved from melting by
+a deposit of sand and ashes, as in the case of the ancient glacier found
+near the summit of the mountain in 1828. In November 1758, a smart shock
+of earthquake caused the cone of the great crater to fall in, but no
+eruption occurred at the time.
+
+54. Great quantities of ashes, and some small streams of lava, were
+emitted from the crater in 1759, a little later the cone, which had been
+again raised by the eruption, gave way, and the greater part of it fell
+into the crater. Two parts of it however were left standing.
+
+55. Severe shocks of earthquakes were felt on the east side of the
+mountain in 1763, and a new mouth opened in the Bosco di Bronte, ten
+miles from the town, between Monte Rosso and Monte Lepre. Four other
+mouths were afterwards opened in a line; they threw up quantities of
+scoriæ and ashes, and afterwards lava. In the middle of June several
+mouths opened on the south side of the mountain, and a fissure 2000 feet
+long opened downwards in a southerly direction. The lava divided into
+two branches, the larger of which was ten miles long and 250 feet wide,
+with a depth of 25 feet.
+
+56. Several new mouths opened in the spring of 1766, and ejected large
+volumes of ashes, also streams of lava, which flowed in the direction of
+Nicolosi and Pedara. The Canon Recupero, one of the historians of Etna,
+witnessed this eruption, and narrowly escaped being destroyed. He had
+ascended a small hill 50 feet high, of ancient volcanic matter, in order
+to witness the approach of the lava stream which was slowly advancing
+with a front of two miles and a half. Suddenly two small streams
+detached themselves from the main stream, and ran rapidly towards the
+hill. Recupero and his guide at once hastened to descend, and had
+barely escaped when they saw the hill surrounded by lava, and in a few
+minutes it was melted down and sank into the molten mass.
+
+57. In the early part of 1780, earthquakes were felt all over Sicily,
+and on the 18th of May a fissure opened on the south-west side of the
+mountain, and extended from the base of the great crater for seven
+miles, terminating in a new mouth from which a stream of lava emanated.
+This encountered the cone of Palmintelli in its course, and separated
+into two branches, each of which was 400 feet wide. Other mouths opened
+later in the year, and emitted large quantities of lava, which
+devastated the country of Montemazzo.
+
+58. In 1781 the volcano emitted a quantity of lava which flowed into the
+Val del Bove. Clouds of grey ashes were also ejected. At the
+commencement of the great Calabrian earthquake of 1783, Etna ejected
+large quantities of smoke, but it was otherwise quiescent.
+
+59. In the middle of 1787 lava burst from the great crater, which also
+discharged quantities of sand, scoriæ, and red-hot ashes. Large heated
+masses of rock were ejected to a great height, and subterranean
+bellowings were heard by the dwellers on the mountain.
+
+60. Five years afterwards a fresh outburst occurred, earthquakes were
+prevalent, and vast volumes of smoke bore to seaward, and seemed to
+bridge the sea between Sicily and Africa. A torrent of lava flowed
+towards Aderno, and a second flowed into the Val del Bove as far as
+Zoccolaro. A pit called _La Cisterna_, 40 feet in diameter, opened in
+the Piano del Lago, near the great cone, and ejected smoke and masses of
+old lava saturated with water. Several mouths opened below the crater,
+and the country round about Zaffarana was desolated. The Abate Ferrara,
+the author of the _Descrizione dell' Etna_, witnessed this eruption: "I
+shall never forget," he writes, "that this last mouth opened precisely
+on the spot where, the day before, I had made my meal with a shepherd.
+On my return next day he related how, after a stunning explosion, the
+rocks on which we had sat together were blown into the air, and a mouth
+opened, discharging a flood of fire, which, rushing down with the
+rapidity of water, hardly gave him time to make his escape."
+
+61. In 1797 a slight eruption occurred, and the great crater threw out
+ashes and sand, but no lava. Earthquakes were frequent.
+
+62. In the following year lava was emitted, and severe earthquakes
+occurred.
+
+63. The eruptions continued during 1799.
+
+64. In February 1800 loud explosions were heard by the dwellers on the
+mountain, and columns of fire issued from the crater, accompanied by
+forked lightning. This was succeeded by a discharge of hot ashes and
+scoriæ, which, falling on the snows accumulated near the summit of the
+mountain, produced devastating floods of water.
+
+65. In November 1802 a new mouth opened near the Rocca di Musarra in the
+Val del Bove, which emitted a copious stream of lava. In a day and a
+half the lava had run twelve miles.
+
+66. In 1805 the great crater was in a state of eruption, and a cone was
+thrown up within it to a height of 1,050 feet.
+
+67. In 1808 the mountain again became active, and fire and smoke were
+emitted from the crater.
+
+68. In March 1809, no less than twenty-one mouths of fire opened in the
+direction of Castiglione. They ejected volumes of smoke, large
+quantities of scoriæ and ashes, and afterwards lava, which, uniting into
+one torrent, flowed with a front of 450 feet for 8 miles. Fissures were
+formed in the earth, and loud explosions constantly occurred within the
+great crater; a small cone was thrown up.
+
+69. Two years afterwards more than thirty mouths opened in a line
+running eastwards for five miles. They ejected jets of fire accompanied
+by much smoke. The eruptions soon diminished in the higher mouths, and
+became more and more violent in the lower mouths, until the eruption
+centred in the lowest one called S. Simone, near the head of the Val del
+Bove. From this, great black clouds, having a lustre like that of black
+wool, issued, and afterwards quantities of lava, which formed a stream
+a mile wide, and eight miles long. It flowed nearly as far as the
+village of Milo. Frequent earthquakes accompanied this outburst, and
+they continued in various parts of the island for the following five
+years.
+
+70. In 1819 five new mouths of fire opened near the scene of the
+eruption of 1811; three of these united into one large crater, and
+poured forth a quantity of lava into the Val del Bove. The lava flowed
+until it reached a nearly perpendicular precipice at the bend of the
+valley of Calanna, over which it fell in a cascade, and, being hardened
+by its descent, it was forced against the sides of the tufaceous rock at
+the bottom, so as to produce an extraordinary amount of abrasion,
+accompanied by clouds of dust, worn off by the friction. Mr. Scrope
+observed that the lava flowed at the rate of about a yard an hour, nine
+months after its emission.
+
+71. A slight eruption occurred in 1831 from the great crater, which
+threw out lava on its northern side.
+
+72. In October of the following year a violent eruption occurred. A new
+crater was formed in the Val del Serbo, above Bronte and three miles
+from the summit. Seven mouths afterwards opened, three miles below the
+first. From one of these lava was emitted, which flowed to within a mile
+and a half of Bronte. The stream was a mile and a half broad, and 40
+feet deep.
+
+73. A slight eruption occurred in 1838, when a small quantity of lava
+was poured from the great crater into the Val del Bove.
+
+74. Four years later the crater discharged ashes and scoriæ, and lava
+burst from the cone 300 feet from the summit. It flowed into the Val del
+Bove, in a stream 600 feet wide, and it came to a standstill ten miles
+from the summit.
+
+75. Near the end of the following year, fifteen mouths of fire opened
+near the crater of 1832, at a height of 7000 feet above the sea. They
+began by discharging scoriæ and sand, and afterwards lava, which divided
+into three streams, the two outer ones soon came to a standstill, while
+the central stream continued to flow at the rapid rate of 180 feet a
+minute, the descent being an angle of 25°. The heat at a distance of 120
+feet from the current was 90° F. A new crater opened just above Bronte,
+and discharged lava which threatened the town, but it fortunately
+encountered Monte Vittoria and was diverted into another course. While a
+number of the inhabitants of Bronte were watching the progress of the
+lava, the front of the stream was suddenly blown out as by an explosion
+of gunpowder; in an instant red-hot masses were hurled in every
+direction; and a cloud of vapour enveloped everything. Thirty-six
+persons were killed on the spot, and twenty survived but a few hours.
+The great crater showed signs of disturbance, by emitting dense volumes
+of smoke, and loud bellowings, also quantities of volcanic dust
+saturated with hydrochloric acid, which destroyed the vegetation
+wherever it fell.
+
+76. A very violent eruption which lasted more than nine months,
+commenced on the 21st of August, 1852. It was first witnessed by a party
+of six English tourists, who were ascending the mountain from Nicolosi
+in order to see the sunrise from the summit. As they approached the Casa
+Inglesi the crater commenced to give forth ashes and flames of fire. In
+a narrow defile they were met by a violent hurricane, which overthrew
+both the mules and their riders, and urged them towards the precipices
+of the Val del Bove. They sheltered themselves beneath some masses of
+lava, when suddenly an earthquake shook the mountain, and their mules in
+terror fled away. They returned on foot towards daylight to Nicolosi,
+fortunately without having sustained injury. In the course of the night
+many _bocche del fuoco_ opened in that part of the Val del Bove called
+the Balzo di Trifoglietto, and a great fissure opened at the base of the
+Giannicola Grande, and a crater was thrown up from which for seventeen
+days showers of sand and scoriæ were ejected. During the next day a
+quantity of lava flowed down the Val del Bove, branching off so that one
+stream advanced to the foot of Monte Finocchio, and the other to Monte
+Calanna. Afterwards it flowed towards Zaffarana, and devastated a large
+tract of woody region. Four days later a second crater was formed near
+the first, from which lava was emitted together with sand and scoriæ,
+which caused cones to rise around the craters. The lava moved but
+slowly, and towards the end of August it came to a stand, only a quarter
+of a mile from Zaffarana: on the second of September, Gemellaro ascended
+Monte Finocchio in the Val del Bove in order to witness the outburst. He
+states that the hill was violently agitated, like a ship at sea. The
+surface of the Val del Bove appeared like a molten lake; scoriæ were
+thrown up from the craters to a great height, and loud explosions were
+heard at frequent intervals. The eruption continued to increase in
+violence. On October 6th two new mouths opened in the Val del Bove,
+emitting lava which flowed towards the Valley of Calanna, and fell over
+the Salto della Giumenta, a precipice nearly 200 feet deep. The noise
+which it produced was like that of the clash of metallic masses. The
+eruption continued with abated violence during the early months of 1853,
+and it did not finally cease till May 27. The entire mass of lava
+ejected is estimated to be equal to an area six miles long by two miles
+broad, with an average depth of about twelve feet.
+
+I am indebted to M. Antonin Moris of Palermo for the following account
+of the eruption of 1852:
+
+The eruption of 1852 commenced on the 21st of August. The earthquakes,
+the jets of flame from the great crater, and the subterranean rumblings
+which usually precede an eruption, did not herald the approach of this
+one. An English family, who were then making the ascent of the mountain,
+together with a poor shepherd of Riposto, were the only witnesses of the
+first outburst. The latter was asleep in the midst of his flocks, and
+was awakened by violent shakings of the ground; he fled in haste, and
+some seconds afterwards the earth opened with a loud noise, vomiting a
+terrible column of fire, at the very spot which he had just abandoned.
+An enormous crevasse opened on the north side of Trifoglietto in the
+direction of the great crater. On its summit near the opening called the
+Piccolo Teatro, several openings were produced at the very first, but
+they only emitted feeble currents of lava. All the force of the eruption
+was concentrated at the foot of the escarpment of the Serra di
+Giannicola, 4 kilometres, (2-1/2 miles) from the summit of Etna. To the
+west of, and somewhat above the principal crater, a second one was
+formed, but its activity was of short duration. The liquid lava issued
+with such violence that in 24 hours it had reached the base of Monte
+Calanna, a distance of 3 kilometres, (nearly 2 miles). After surrounding
+this hill, it divided into two currents, one of which ran towards
+Zaffarana, and the other towards Milo. At a distance they seemed to
+present a united front of 2 kilometres, (1-1/4 mile), which threatened
+to destroy all the villages below. The Val del Bove was already
+entirely overrun; Isoletta dei Zappinelli in the midst of the lavas of
+1811 and 1819 was overwhelmed; the valley of Calanna was buried under
+the fire with lava, when on the 28th of August the lava hurled itself
+into the narrow passage of the Portella di Calanna. A frightful cascade
+of lava was then seen to precipitate itself from a height of 60 metres,
+with a harsh metallic noise, accompanied by loud cracking. Zaffarana was
+on the eve of total ruin; the fire had taken the direction of the ravine
+which terminates there, when suddenly, in the beginning of September,
+the devastating stream stayed its march against the ill-fated district.
+
+On the contrary that which had taken the direction of Milo, reinforced
+by a new current on the 10th of September, destroyed the hamlet of
+Caselle del Milo; and afterwards divided itself into two branches, which
+left the village of Caselle in safety between them.
+
+The inhabitants of La Macchia and Giarre gave themselves up for lost;
+for it seemed that the lava would be obliged to follow the valley of
+Santa Maria della Strada; happily, however, from the 20th of September
+onward, it ceased to advance perceptibly. The eruption did not totally
+subside till March 1853; but the lava-flows did no more than travel by
+the side, or on the top of the older, without extending beyond them.
+
+The crater of 1852 was called the Centenario, from its having been
+formed at the time of the centenary of the fête of S. Agatha. Santiago,
+in the island of Cuba, was destroyed by an earthquake on the very day of
+the eruption.
+
+During the whole period of the eruption, only one explosion proceeded
+from the great crater of Etna. By it an enormous column of ashes and
+scoriæ was cast into the air.
+
+On the 9th of September white ashes were seen on the summit, which at a
+distance appeared like snow. When pressed together by the hand they took
+the consistence of clay, but they hardened in the fire, and could then
+be reduced to powder. They have been considered to be the _debris_ of
+felspathic rocks, disintegrated by the heat of the lava, and blown out
+by the expansive power of disengaged gas.
+
+The eruption of 1852 was one of the grandest of the recorded eruptions
+of Etna. More than 2,000,000,000 cubic feet of red hot lava was spread
+over three square miles. This eruption was minutely described by Carlo
+Gemellaro, in a memoir entitled, "_Breve ragguaglio della eruzione
+dell' Etna del 21 Agosto, 1852_."
+
+77. In October 1864, frequent shocks of earthquakes were felt by the
+dwellers on Etna. In January clouds of smoke were emitted by the great
+crater, and roaring sounds were heard. On the night of the 30th a
+violent shock was felt on the north-east side of the mountain, and a
+mouth opened below Monte Frumento, from which lava was ejected. It
+flowed at a rate of about a mile a day, and ultimately divided into two
+streams. By March 10th the new mouths of fire had increased to seven in
+number, and they were all situated along a line stretching down from the
+summit. The three upper craters gave forth loud detonations three or
+four times a minute. Professor Orazio Silvestri has devoted a quarto of
+267 pages to an account of _I Fenomeni Vulcanici presentati dall'Etna
+nel 1863-64-65-66_.
+
+78. In August 1874 the inhabitants of the towns situated on the north,
+west, and east sides of the mountain, were awakened by loud subterranean
+rumblings. Soon afterwards a formidable column of black smoke issued
+from the crater, accompanied by sand, scoriæ, and ignited matter
+(_infuocata materia_). Severe shocks of earthquake were felt, the centre
+of impulsion being apparently situated on the northern flank of the
+mountain, at a height of 2450 metres above the level of the sea. Some
+small _bocche eruttive_ opened near the great crater, and ejected lava,
+but the quantity was comparatively small, and but little damage was
+done. An account of this eruption was given by Silvestri in 1874, in a
+small pamphlet entitled, _Notizie sulla eruzione dell' Etna del 29
+Agosto, 1874_. Since 1874 the mountain has been in a quiescent state.
+The centre of disturbance was at an elevation of 2450 metres (7600 feet)
+above the sea, on the north side of the crater, and between the minor
+cones known as the _Fratelli Pii_ and _Monte Grigio_. A new crater,
+having an elliptical contour, and a diameter of about 100 metres, was
+formed at this point. It is composed of a prehistoric grey labradorite,
+and of doleritic lava. Downwards from the main crater, in the direction
+of Monte di Mojo, a long fissure extended for 400 metres, and along the
+line of this fissure no less than _thirty-five_ minor cones opened, with
+craters of from thirty to three metres in diameter. The stream of lava
+ejected from the various _boccarelle_ was 400 metres long, 80 wide, and
+2 metres in thickness, and the bulk of volcanic material brought to the
+surface, including the principal cone and its thirty-five subordinates
+and their ejectamenta, was calculated to amount to 1,351,000 cubic
+metres. The lava is of an augitic character, and magnetic; it possesses
+a specific gravity of 2·3636 at 25° C.
+
+It will be seen from the account of the foregoing eruptions that there
+is a great similarity in the character of the eruptions of Etna.
+Earthquakes presage the outburst; loud explosions follow, rifts and
+_bocche del fuoco_ open in the sides of the mountain; smoke, sand,
+ashes, and scoriæ are discharged, the action localises itself in one or
+more craters, cinders are thrown up, and accumulate around the crater
+and cone, ultimately lava rises, and frequently breaks down one side of
+the cone, where the resistance is least. Then the eruption is at an
+end.
+
+Smyth says, "The symptoms which precede an eruption are generally
+irregular clouds of smoke, ferilli, or volcanic lightnings, hollow
+intonations, and local earthquakes that often alarm the surrounding
+country as far as Messina, and have given the whole province the name of
+Val Demone, as being the abode of infernal spirits. These agitations
+increase until the vast cauldron becomes surcharged with the fused
+minerals, when, if the convulsion is not sufficiently powerful to force
+them from the great crater (which, from its great altitude and the
+weight of the candent matter, requires an uncommon effort), they explode
+through that part of the side which offers the least resistance with a
+grand and terrific effect, throwing red-hot stones and flakes of fire to
+an incredible height, and spreading ignited cinders and ashes in every
+direction." After the eruption of ashes, lava frequently follows,
+sometimes rising to the top of the cone of cinders, at others breaching
+it on the least resisting side. When the lava has reached the base of
+the cone, it begins to flow down the mountain, and being then in a very
+fluid state, it moves with great velocity. As it cools the sides and
+surface begin to harden, its velocity decreases, and in the course of a
+few days it only moves a few yards in an hour. The internal portions,
+however, part slowly with their heat, and months after the eruption,
+clouds of steam arise from the black and externally cold lava beds after
+rain, which, having penetrated through the cracks, has found its way to
+the heated mass within.
+
+Of the seventy-eight eruptions described above, it will be noticed that
+not more than nineteen have been of extreme violence, while the majority
+have been of a slight and comparatively harmless character.
+
+[Illustration: Geological Map of Etna]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+GEOLOGY AND MINERALOGY OF THE MOUNTAIN.
+
+    Elie de Beaumont's classification of rocks of Etna.--Hoffman's
+    geological map.--Lyell's researches.--The period of earliest
+    eruption.--The Val del Bove.--Two craters of eruption.--Antiquity of
+    Etna.--The lavas of Etna.--Labradorite.--Augite.--Olivine.--
+    Analcime.--Titaniferous iron.--Mr. Rutley's examination of Etna
+    lavas under the microscope.
+
+
+The opinion of geologists is divided as to the manner in which a volcano
+is first formed. Some hold that the volcanic forces have upraised the
+rocks from beneath, and at last finding vent have scattered the lighter
+portions of such rocks into the air, and have poured out lava through
+the rent masses, thus forming a _crater of elevation_. Others maintain
+that the volcanic products are ejected from an aperture or fissure
+already existing in rocks previously formed, and that the accumulation
+of these products around the vent forms the mass of the volcano and the
+_crater of eruption_. Lyell favours the latter view; Von Buch, Dufrénoy,
+and Elie de Beaumont the former.
+
+According to M. Elie de Beaumont, Etna is an irregular crater of
+elevation. The original deposits were nearly horizontal, and lavas were
+poured through fissures in these, and accumulated at first in layers;
+afterwards the whole mass was upheaved and a crater formed.[20] The
+upheaving force does not appear to have acted at one point, but along a
+line traversing the Val del Bove. The latter he refers to a subsidence
+of a portion of the mountain. He divides the rocks of Etna into six
+orders: 1. The lowest basis of the mountain would appear to consist of
+granite, because masses of that rock have from time to time been
+ejected. 2. Calcareous and arenaceous rocks, of which the mountains
+surrounding Etna are composed, and which appear capped with lava near
+Bronte and elsewhere. 3. Basaltic rocks, which are met with near Motta
+S. Anastasia, Paterno, Licodia, and Aderno, and in the Isole de'Ciclopi.
+4. Rolled pebbles, which form a range of slightly rising ground between
+the first slopes of Etna on the southern side and the plain of Catania.
+(Lyell speaks of this rising ground as consisting of "argillaceous and
+sandy beds with marine shells, nearly all of living Mediterranean
+species, and with associated and contemporaneous volcanic rocks.") 5.
+Ancient lavas forming the escarpments around the Val del Bove; and 6th,
+Modern lavas. He considers that the fissures which abound on Etna are
+shifts or faults produced by dislocation, and that the minor cones are
+points along such fissures from which ashes and lava have been ejected.
+He admits the existence of two cones. The geological map of Etna
+prepared by M. Elie de Beaumont to accompany his memoir can scarcely be
+regarded as a great addition to our knowledge of the mountain. For
+although in the main points it is correct, so many details have been
+omitted that the map must be considered to have now been quite
+superseded by those of Von Waltershausen and Friedrich Hoffmann.
+
+[20] "Récherches sur la structure et sur l'origine du Mont Etna." 1836.
+
+The most convenient geological map of the mountain is without doubt that
+of Hoffmann, given in the _Vulkanen Atlas_ of Dr. Von Leonhard; and here
+reproduced. Von Waltershausen's geological map has been the foundation
+of all others which have subsequently appeared. It is a marvel of
+accurate work, and patient industry. The form however is inconvenient,
+as it nowhere appears as a whole, but in separate portions, which are
+scattered through the folio sheets of the very expensive _Atlas des
+Aetna_. It is accurate, and at the same time very clear and
+intelligible. By reference to the map it will be seen that from Capo di
+Schiso westward, to near Paterno, Etna is surrounded by sandstone hills;
+at the south we have recent clays, and, at intervals, chalk. A large
+triangular space having the two angles at its base, respectively near
+Maletto and Aderno, and its apex at the great crater, is covered with
+new lava; while around Nicolosi there is volcanic sand. At the Isole
+de'Ciclopi, Motta S. Anastasia, and a few other places, basalt is seen;
+on each side of the Val del Bove, dolerite; and near Misterbianco and
+Piedemonte, small deposits of clay slate. The great mass of the surface
+of the mountain, not specially mentioned above, is volcanic tuff.
+
+[Illustration: Map of the Val del Bove, to illustrate the theory of a
+double axis of eruption. (_Lyell_).]
+
+Among the more important and recent additions to our knowledge of the
+geology of Etna may be mentioned Lyell's paper on the subject,
+communicated to the Royal Society in 1858, the matter of which is
+incorporated in a lengthy chapter on Etna in the "Principles of
+Geology." Lyell visited the mountain in 1828, 1857, and 1858, and he
+then collected together a great number of personal observations; he also
+made use of the maps and plans of Von Waltershausen, and he has analysed
+the views of Elie de Beaumont and other writers. He alludes at the
+outset to the numerous minor cones of Etna produced by lateral eruption,
+and points out the fact that they are gradually obliterated by the lava
+descending from the upper part of the mountain, which flows around them
+and heightens the ground on which they stand. In this way the crater of
+Monte Nocilla is now level with the plain, and the crater of Monte
+Capreolo was nearly filled by a lava stream in 1669. Thus without
+doubt beneath the sloping sides of Etna a multitude of obliterated
+monticules exist.
+
+[Illustration: Ideal section of Mount Etna]
+
+The strata which surround Mount Etna on the south are of Newer Pliocene
+date, and contain shells which are nearly all of species still living in
+the Mediterranean. Out of sixty-five species collected by Lyell in 1828,
+sixty-one were found to belong to species still common in the
+Mediterranean. These strata are about the age of the Norwich crag; and
+the oldest eruptions of Etna must have taken place during the glacial
+period, but before the period of greatest cold in Northern Europe.
+
+Before visiting Etna, Lyell had been told by Dr. Buckland that in his
+opinion the Val del Bove was the most interesting part of Etna,
+accordingly he specially and minutely examined that part of the
+mountain. This vast valley is situated on the eastern flanks of the
+mountain, and it commences near the base of the cone, stretching for
+nearly five miles downwards. It is a large oval basin formed in the side
+of the mountain, and surrounded by vast precipices, some of which at the
+head of the valley are between three and four thousand feet in height.
+The surface is covered with lava of various dates, and several minor
+cones, notably those of 1852, are within its boundaries. The abrupt
+precipices reveal the presence of a large number of vertical dikes,
+radiating from a point within the valley, some of them, according to Von
+Waltershausen, being of ancient greenstone. Other dikes of more modern
+doleritic lava radiate from the present crater. From the slope of the
+beds in the Val del Bove, Lyell and Von Waltershausen have independently
+inferred that there was once a second great centre of eruption in the
+Val del Bove between the Sierra Giannicola, and Zoccolaro (_vide_ the
+Figure on p. 117). The axis of eruption passing through this point Lyell
+calls the _Axis of Trifoglietto_; while he distinguishes the present
+centre of eruption as the _Axis of Mongibello_. These centres probably
+existed simultaneously, but were unequal as regards eruptive violence;
+the crater of Mongibello was the more active of the two, and eventually
+overwhelmed the crater of Trifoglietto with its products, by which means
+the whole mountain became a fairly symmetrical cone, having the crater
+of Mongibello at its apex (_vide_ the Figures on pp. 119 and 121).
+Subsequently the Val del Bove was formed, probably by some paroxysmal
+explosion, caused by pent-up gases escaping from fissures. Possibly also
+subsidence may have occurred.
+
+[Illustration: Profile of Etna]
+
+We must then in the first place think of Etna as a submarine volcano
+of the Newer Pliocene age; when it reached the surface it increased
+rapidly in bulk by pouring out scoriæ and lava from its two centres
+of eruption--the centre of Mongibello, and the centre of
+Trifoglietto,--general upheaval of the surrounding district followed,
+and ultimately the crater of Trifoglietto was obliterated by the
+discharges from the crater of Mongibello. Afterwards the Val del Bove
+was blown out by sudden eruptive force from beneath, and the mountain
+assumed its present aspect. Then the historical eruptions commenced,
+and of these we have given an account in the preceding chapter.
+
+The most obvious method of obtaining some idea as to the age of Etna, is
+to ascertain the thickness of matter added during the historical period
+to the sides of the mountain, and to compare this with the thickness of
+the beds of ancient lava and scoriæ exposed at the abrupt precipices of
+the Val del Bove. There is reason for believing, however, that none of
+the ancient lavas equalled in volume the lava streams of 1809 and 1852,
+and the question is much complicated by other considerations. Lyell
+compares the growth of a volcano to that of an exogenous tree, which
+increases both in bulk and height by the external application of
+ligneous matter. Branches which shoot out from the trunk, first pierce
+the bark and proceed outwards, but if they die or are broken off they
+become inclosed in the body of the tree, forming knots in the wood.
+Similarly the volcano consists of a series of conical masses placed one
+above the other, while the minor cones, corresponding to the branches of
+the tree, first project, and then become buried again, as successive
+layers of lava flow around them. But volcanic action is very
+intermittent, the layers of lava and scoriæ do not accumulate evenly and
+regularly like the layers of a tree. A violent paroxysmal outbreak may
+be succeeded by centuries of quiescence, or by a number of ordinary
+eruptions; or, again, several paroxysmal outbreaks may occur in
+succession. Moreover, each conical envelope of the mountain is made up
+of a number of distinct currents of lava, and showers of scoriæ. "Yet we
+cannot fail to form the most exalted conception of the antiquity of this
+mountain, when we consider that its base is about 90 miles in
+circumference; so that it would require ninety flows of lava, each a
+mile in breadth at their termination, to raise the present foot of the
+volcano as much as the average height of one lava current." If all the
+minor cones now visible on Etna could be removed, with all the lava and
+scoriæ which have ever proceeded from them, the mountain would appear
+scarcely perceptibly smaller. Other cones would reveal themselves
+beneath those now existing. Since the time when, in the Newer Pliocene
+period, the foundations of Etna were laid in the sea, it is quite
+impossible even to hint at the number of hundreds of thousands of years
+which have elapsed.
+
+We collected specimens of lava from various points around and upon the
+mountain. They presented a wonderful similarity of structure, and a
+mineralogist to whom they were shown remarked that they might almost
+all have come from the same crater, at the same time. A specimen of the
+lava of 1535 found near Borello, was ground by a lapidary until it was
+sufficiently transparent to be examined under the microscope by
+polarised light. It was found to contain good crystals of augite and
+olivine, well striated labradorite, and titaniferous iron ore.
+
+Elie de Beaumont affirms that the lavas of Etna consist of labradorite,
+pyroxene (augite), peridot (olivine), and titaniferous iron. Rose was
+the first to prove that the lavas of Etna do not contain ordinary
+felspar (or potash felspar), but labradorite (or lime felspar.)
+(_Annales des Mines_, 3 serie, t. viii., p. 3.) Elie de Beaumont
+detached a quantity of white crystals from the interior of a lava found
+between Giarre and Aci Reale; these were analysed by M. Auguste Laurent
+with the following results in 100 parts:--
+
+    Silica            47·9
+    Alumina           34·0
+    Oxide of Iron      2·4
+    Soda (Na{2}O)      5·1
+    Potash (K{2}O)      ·9
+    Lime               9·5
+    Magnesia            ·2
+                     -----
+                     100·0
+
+Von Waltershausen gives the following as the composition of two
+specimens of Labradorite from Etna:--
+
+                            I.               II.
+
+    Silica                53·56             55·83
+    Alumina               25·82             25·31
+    Sesquioxide of Iron    3·41              3·64
+    Magnesia                ·52               ·74
+    Lime                  11·69             10·49
+    Soda                   4·09              3·52
+    Potash                  ·54               ·83
+    Water                   ·95                --
+                         ------            ------
+                         100·58            100·36
+
+Specimens of Augite from Etna have been examined by Von Waltershausen
+and Rammelsberg, with the following results:--
+
+                                   _Greenish_   _From_       _From_
+                         _Black._   _Black._   _Mascali._ _Monti Rossi._
+
+  Silica                  47·63      51·70       49·69       47·38
+  Alumina                  6·74       4·38        5·22        5·52
+  Protoxide of Iron       11·39       4·24       10·75        7·89
+      "        Manganese    ·21         --          --         ·10
+  Magnesia                12·90      21·11       14·74       15·29
+  Lime                    20·87      18·02       18·44       19·10
+  Sesquioxide of Iron        --         --          --        3·85
+  Water                     ·28        ·49         ·51         ·43
+                         ------      -----       -----       -----
+                         100·02      99·94       99·35       99·56
+
+Olivine is generally met with in the lavas of Etna. It has an olive, or
+bottle-glass green colour, and is disseminated through the lavas in the
+form of small crystalline grains, sometimes of some magnitude. Specific
+gravity 3·334. A specimen from Etna gave the following results on
+analysis:--
+
+    Silica              41·01
+    Protoxide of Iron   10·06
+    Magnesia            47·27
+    Alumina               ·64
+    Oxide of Nickel       ·20
+    Water                1·04
+                       ------
+                       100·22
+
+The titaniferous iron of Etna is found disseminated through the mass of
+the lavas, and is plainly distinguished when a thin section is examined
+under the microscope. It is sometimes met with in masses. A specimen
+from Etna, analysed by Von Waltershausen, was found to contain:--
+
+    Titanic Acid          11·14
+    Sesquioxide of Iron   58·86
+    Protoxide of Iron     30·00
+                         ------
+                         100·00
+
+The basalts of the Isole de'Ciclopi enclose beautiful transparent
+crystals of Analcime, the _zeolite dure_ of Dolomieu. The word is
+derived from ~analkis~ weak, in allusion to the weak electric
+power which the mineral acquires when heated or rubbed. Dana prefers the
+term _analcite_. Specimens from the Cyclops Islands have been analysed
+by Von Waltershausen and Rammelsberg, with the following results:--
+
+                             I.        II.       III.
+
+    Silica                 53·72      55·22      54·34
+    Alumina                24·03      23·14      23·61
+    Lime                    1·23        ·25        ·21
+    Soda (Na{2}O)           7·92      12·19      12·95
+    Potash (K{2}O)          4·46       1·52        ·66
+    Water                   8·50       7·68       8·11
+    Magnesia                 ·05         --         --
+    Sesquioxide of Iron       --         --        ·12
+                           -----     ------     ------
+                           99·91     100·00     100·00
+
+The minerals of Etna are not nearly as numerous as those of Vesuvius. It
+has been remarked that no area of equal size on the face of the globe
+furnishes so many different species of minerals as Vesuvius and its
+immediate neighbourhood. Out of the 380 species of simple minerals
+enumerated by Hauy, no less than 82 had been found on and around
+Vesuvius, as long ago as 1828, and many have been since found.
+
+Of other common products of Etna, there are sulphur in various forms,
+sulphurous acid gas, ammonia salts, hydrochloric acid gas, and steam. A
+curious white mass, which we found near the summit, proved to be the
+result of the decomposition of lava by hot acid vapours. In the
+different lavas, the crystals of labradorite, and of olivine, vary in
+size considerably. Magnetic oxide of iron is very visible in thin
+slices of the lavas when placed under the microscope; and iron appears
+to be a constant constituent in nearly all the products of the mountain.
+
+Within the last few months Prof. Silvestri has detected a mineral oil in
+the cavities of a prehistoric doleritic lava found near Paterno.[21] The
+lava is in close contiguity to the clay deposits of a mud volcano, and
+when examined under the microscope is seen to consist mainly of augite,
+together with olivine and transparent crystals of labradorite. It
+contains numerous cavities coated with arragonite, and filled with a
+mineral oil which constitutes about one per cent of the whole weight of
+the lava. It was taken from the lava at a temperature of 24° C., (75·2°
+F.), and solidified at 17° C. (62·6° F.) to a yellowish green mass,
+which on analysis gave the following percentage composition:--
+
+    Liquid hydrocarbons boiling at 79° C.            = 17·97
+    Hydrocarbons solidifying below 0° C., boiling }
+      between 280° and 400° C.                    }  = 31·95
+    Paraffine melting between 52° and 57° C.         = 42·79
+    Asphalt containing 12 per cent of ash            =  2·90
+    Sulphur                                          =  4·32
+                                                      ------
+                                                       99·93
+
+[21] "Atti Accademia Gioenia," serie iii., vol. xii.
+
+Prof. Silvestri has recently made some interesting determinations of the
+specific gravity and chemical composition of the different products of
+Etna. They are given in full in his work entitled, "_I Fenomeni
+Vulcanici presentati dall'Etna, nel 1863, 1864, 1865, 1866_," which was
+published in Catania in 1867. The following table gives the specific
+gravity of various ancient and modern forms of lava, ashes, etc. of
+Etna:--
+
+                                               _Sp. Gr._
+
+    Ashes ejected in 1865                        2·644
+    Sand     "     "   "                         2·715
+    Scoriæ   "     "   "                         2·633
+    Compact lava   "   "                         2·771
+    Scoriæ ejected in 1669                       2·622
+    Compact lava   "   "                         2·697
+    Lapilli ejected in 1444                      2·420
+    Compact lava ejected in prehistoric times    2·854
+
+A very decided change in the specific gravity was found to take place
+after fusion. This can only be accounted for on the supposition that a
+chemical change is effected during the fusion:--
+
+                                _Sp. Gr._               _Sp. Gr._
+                             _before fusion._        _after fusion._
+
+    Pyroxene of Etna              3·453                  2·148
+    Felspar   "   "               2·925                  1·361
+    Olivine   "   "               3·410                  2·290
+    Lava of 1865                  2·771                  1·972
+    Ancient basaltic lava from }  2·854                  2·000
+      the Scogli de'Ciclopi    }
+    Ancient basaltic lava from }  2·795                  1·947
+      Aci Reale                }
+
+It will be seen from the following analyses that the sand, ashes,
+scoriæ, and compact lava have virtually the same composition--indeed
+they consist of the same substance in different states of aggregation.
+
+                           _Ashes._  _Sand._  _Scoriæ._  _Compact lava._
+
+    Silica                  50·00     49·80     50·00        49·95
+    Alumina                 19·08     18·20     19·00        18·75
+    Protoxide of iron       12·16     12·42     11·70        11·21
+    Protoxide of Manganese    ·40       ·45       ·50          ·49
+    Lime                     9·98     11·00     10·28        11·10
+    Magnesia                 4·12      4·00      4·20         4·05
+    Potash                    ·60       ·49       ·69          ·70
+    Soda                     3·72      3·60      3·40         3·71
+    Water                     ·36       ·29       ·33          ·23
+    Phosphoric acid      }
+    Titanic acid         } traces    traces    traces       traces
+    Vanadic acid         }
+    Sesquioxide of iron  }
+                           ------    ------    ------       ------
+                           100·42    100·25    100·10       100·19
+
+With these we may compare the composition of the lava which issued from
+Monti Rossi in 1669, and was analysed by Lowe, and of an ancient lava of
+Etna ejected during an unknown eruption, and analysed by Hesser.
+
+                            _Ancient lava._     _Lava of 1669._
+
+    Silica                      49·63                48·83
+    Alumina                     22·47                16·15
+    Protoxide of Iron           10·80                16·32
+    Protoxide of Manganese        ·63                  ·54
+    Lime                         9·05                 9·31
+    Magnesia                     2·68                 4·58
+    Soda                         3·07                 3·45
+    Potash                        ·98                  ·77
+                                -----                -----
+                                99·31                99·95
+
+The sublimations from the fumaroles are chiefly chloride of ammonium,
+perchloride of iron, and sulphur. An analysis of the gases of the
+fumaroles of 1865 gave the following results:--
+
+    Carbonic acid                 50·5
+    Hydrosulphuric acid           11·9
+    Oxygen                         7·1
+    Nitrogen                      30·5
+                                 -----
+                                 100·0
+
+An account of microscopic analysis of some of the lavas of Etna, for
+which I am indebted to Mr. Frank Rutley, will be found appended to this
+chapter. He considers that they are Plagioclase-basalts, and
+occasionally Olivine-basalts; and that they consist of Plagioclase,
+Augite, Olivine, Magnetite, Titaniferous iron, and a residuum of glass.
+
+Near the summit of the great crater I found a mass of perfectly white,
+vesicular, and very friable substance, somewhat pumiceous in appearance.
+It proved to be a decomposed lava, and was found elsewhere on the sides
+of the crater. Mr. Rutley examined a section of it, and reports: "Under
+the microscope a tolerably thin section shows the outlines of felspar
+crystals, lying in a hazy milk-white semi-opaque granular matrix. The
+felspar crystals are lighter and more translucent than the matrix, but
+are of much the same character, having a granulated or flocculent
+appearance, somewhat like that of the decomposed felspars in diabase.
+There are numerous roundish cavities in the section which may once have
+contained olivine, or some other mineral, or they may be merely
+vesicles."
+
+A qualitative analysis of this substance, made by Mr. H. M. Elder, has
+proved that it contains a large quantity of Silica (about 70 per cent.),
+and smaller proportions of Alumina, Iron, Magnesium, Calcium, and
+Potash; together with very small amounts of Sulphuric Acid and a trace
+of Ammonia. Lithium is absent, and Sodium is only present in very minute
+quantity. Water is present to the extent of nearly 20 per cent.
+
+During the eruption of Etna in 1869 Von Waltershausen noticed on some of
+the lava blocks which were still hot and smoking, silver-coloured
+particles, which rapidly underwent change. An insufficient quantity for
+analysis was collected, but during the eruption of 1874, Silvestri found
+a quantity of the substance and analysed it. (_Poggendorff's Annalen_,
+CLVII. 165, 1876.) It possesses a specific gravity of 3·147, and shows a
+metallic lustre similar to that of steel. On analysis it was found to
+consist of:--
+
+    Iron        90·86
+    Nitrogen     9·14
+               ------
+               100·00
+
+which corresponds with the formula Fe{5}N{2},--a formula assigned by
+Fremy to Nitride of iron. It has been named _Siderazote_. This new
+mineral species appears to be formed by the action of hydrochloric acid,
+and of ammonia on red-hot lava containing a large percentage of iron. It
+was formed artificially by exposing fragments of lava alternately to the
+action of hydrochloric acid and ammonia in a red-hot tube. At a high
+temperature Siderazote undergoes decomposition, nitrogen being evolved.
+In contact with steam at a red heat it forms magnetite and ammonia.
+
+
+
+
+_The Mineral Constitution and Microscopic Characters of some of the
+Lavas of Etna._
+
+By Frank Rutley, F.R.G.S., of H.M. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY.
+
+
+A cursory examination of the series of specimens collected by Mr.
+Rodwell, seemed to show that all the lavas of Etna, irrespective of
+their differences in age, exhibit a remarkable similarity in
+mineralogical constitution. Occasionally, however, there appears to have
+been a little difference in their respective viscidity at the time of
+the eruption, the crystals in some of them lying in all directions,
+while in others there appears to be a more or less definite arrangement
+of the felspar crystals, as seen in the lava of A.D. 1689.
+
+Although the specimens which I have examined microscopically do not
+appear to differ in the nature of their constituents, yet in some of
+them certain minerals fluctuate in quantity, some containing a
+comparatively large amount of olivine and well-developed crystals of
+augite, while, in others, these minerals, although one or other is
+always present, are but poorly represented by minute and
+sparsely-disseminated grains. It seems probable that all the Etna lavas
+contain traces of a vitreous residuum, since, when sections are
+examined under the microscope, a more or less general darkness pervades
+their ground mass as soon as the Nicols are crossed, and this general
+darkness does not appear to be dissipated during the horizontal
+revolution of the sections themselves. The translucent minerals in these
+sections are all doubly refracting, and as I have not been able to
+detect the presence of hauyne, noseau, sodalite, analcime, or any other
+cubic mineral in them, the natural inference is that the obscurity
+between crossed Nicols is due to amorphous matter. I have only been able
+to ascertain the presence of glass distinctly in a microscopic section
+of the lava of Salto di Pulichello. In the other sections which I have
+examined there appears to be a small quantity of interstitial glass, but
+it is so finely disseminated between the microliths of felspar and
+granules of olivine, augite and magnetite, which constitute the
+ground-mass of these rocks, that it is most difficult to determine the
+single refraction of such minute specks during revolution between
+crossed Nicols, and I therefore merely express a belief, which, in some
+instances, I cannot demonstrate with any certainty.
+
+[Illustration: Sections of Etna Lavas seen under the Microscope]
+
+Plagioclastic felspars are unquestionably the dominant constituents of
+these lavas. Lyell, in his "Principles of Geology," (9th Edition, p.
+411), states that the felspar is Labradorite. He does not, however, give
+the grounds for this conclusion, and, as microscopic examination alone
+merely indicates the crystalline system and not the species of felspar,
+it is unsafe to speculate upon this point in the absence of chemical
+investigation. In some of these lavas Sanidine is also present, but it
+is always subordinate to the plagioclase, and does not, as a rule,
+appear to play a part sufficiently prominent to entitle the rock to the
+appellation Trachy-dolerite.
+
+Augite and olivine are generally present in the Etna lavas, especially
+the latter mineral.
+
+Magnetite appears to occur in all of them. Titaniferous iron may also be
+represented, but I have failed to detect any well-defined crystals, or
+any traces of the characteristic white decomposition product which would
+justify me in citing the presence of this mineral, although it is stated
+by Lyell to occur in these rocks.
+
+The constituent minerals of the Etna lavas now to be described, namely,
+those of B.C. 396 and A.D. 1535, 1603 and 1689, are:--
+
+Plagioclase, augite, olivine, magnetite, and, in some cases,
+sanidine--possibly titaniferous iron--and in some, if not in all, a
+slight residuum of glass. These lavas must therefore be regarded as
+plagioclase-basalts, or occasionally as olivine-basalts. The plagioclase
+crystals vary greatly in size, some being mere microliths while others
+are over the eighth of an inch in length. They show the characteristic
+twin lamellation by polarized light, but the lamellæ are often very
+irregular as regards their boundaries. The sections of the crystals
+themselves are also frequently bounded by irregular outlines, but they
+often show internally delicate zonal markings, as indicated in Fig.
+1,[22] which correspond with the outlines of perfectly developed
+crystals. The inclosures in the larger plagioclastic felspars consist
+for the most part either of brownish glass, containing fine dark
+granular matter--probably magnetite, which often renders them
+opaque,--or of matter similar to that which constitutes the groundmass
+of the surrounding rock. These stone and glass cavities are very
+numerous and most irregular in outline, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. They
+appear, however, to be elongated generally in the direction of the
+planes of composition of the twin lamellæ. Zirkel has noted the
+plentiful occurrence of these glass inclosures in the felspar crystals
+and fragments of crystals which partly constitute the volcanic sands of
+Etna, in which he has also detected the presence of numerous isolated
+particles of brownish glass.[23] The felspar microliths, which
+constitute so large a proportion of the ground-mass in the Etna lavas,
+are in most instances probably triclinic. Monoclinic felspar does,
+however, occur in some of these rocks; but the difficulty of
+ascertaining the precise character of microliths renders it unsafe to
+speculate on the amount of sanidine which may be present. Some crystals,
+such as that shown in the centre of Fig. 2, appear at first sight to be
+sanidine, twinned on the Carlsbad type, but closer inspection often
+demonstrates the presence of other and very delicate twin lamellæ.
+
+[22] _The figures in this plate are magnified 35 diameters._ Fig. 1.
+Lava of B.C. 396. The upper half of the drawing is occupied by a crystal
+of plagioclastic felspar showing twin lamellation and faint zonal
+markings, and with numerous irregular dark-brown inclosures of glass,
+probably containing magnetite dust and matter similar to that of the
+groundmass of the rock which consists of felspar microliths, granules of
+olivine, and augite crystals, grains of magnetite, and apparently a
+little interstitial glass. A crystal of augite is shown near the bottom
+of the drawing.
+
+Fig. 2. Lava of A.D. 1689. On the right hand side part of a plagioclase
+crystal with inclosures similar to that in the preceding figure. In the
+centre a small crystal of plagioclase. Groundmass similar to that of
+Fig. 1, but showing a somewhat definite arrangement of the small felspar
+crystals, indicative of fluxion.
+
+[23] "Mikroskopische Beschaffenheit der Mineralien und Gesteine."
+Leipzig, 1873; p. 480.
+
+The augite in these lavas sometimes occurs in well-formed crystals of a
+green or brown colour, and often shows the characteristic cleavage very
+well, especially in the augite crystals of the lava of the Boccarelle
+del Fuoco, erupted in 1535. A small crystal of green augite is
+represented at the bottom of Fig. 1. Augite, however, appears to be more
+plentiful in the rocks in the form of small roundish grains.
+
+Olivine is of very common occurrence in the Etna lavas, mostly in round
+or irregularly shaped grains, but also in crystals which usually exhibit
+rounded angles.
+
+A specimen of lava from Salto di Pulichello, erupted in 1603, gave
+well-developed examples of the presence of olivine, and also of
+plagioclase. The ground mass was found to consist of felspar microliths,
+and grains of olivine, augite, and magnetite, with some interstitial
+glass.
+
+Magnetite is present in all of the lavas here described. It occurs both
+in octahedral crystals and in the form of irregular grains and fine
+dust. To the presence of this substance much of the opacity of thin
+sections of the Etna lavas is due.
+
+Titaniferous iron may also be present. One small crystal in the lava of
+1535 appeared to show a somewhat characteristic form, but although much
+of the black opaque matter has undergone decomposition, I have failed to
+detect any of the white or greyish alteration product which
+characterises titaniferous iron, and in the absence of this, of definite
+crystalline form, and of chemical analysis, it seems better to speak of
+this mineral with reserve, although titanium is very probably present,
+since much magnetite is known to be titaniferous.
+
+The vitreous matter which occurs in these lavas is principally present
+in the form of inclosures in the felspar, and, sometimes, the augite and
+olivine crystals previously described. Its occurrence in the groundmass
+of these rocks has also been alluded to. In this interstitial condition
+its amount is usually very small--a fact already pointed out by Zirkel.
+
+I have unfortunately had no opportunity of examining the volcanic sands
+and ashes of Etna, but Zirkel's description of them seems to indicate
+their close mineralogical relation to lavas erupted in this district,
+with one exception, as pointed out by Rosenbusch,[24] namely, that he
+makes no mention of the occurrence of olivine in these ejectamenta.
+
+[24] "Mikroskopische Physiographie der Massigen Gesteine. Stuttgart,
+1877; p. 547.
+
+Reference to the Figures 1 and 2 will suffice to show how close a
+relationship in mineral constitution exists between these two lavas,
+separated in the dates of their eruption by an interval of over two
+thousand years.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+_New Maps of Etna._--After these pages had received their final revision
+in type, I met with two new maps of Etna in the Paris Exhibition. The
+literature of our subject will obviously be incomplete without some
+notice of them, although this belongs properly to the first chapter
+rather than to the last. The one is a map in relief constructed by
+Captain Francesco Pistoja for the _Istituto Topografico Militare_ of
+Florence. The vertical scale is 1/25,000 and the horizontal is 1/50,000.
+The surface is coloured geologically: the lavas erupted during each
+century being differently coloured, while the course of each stream is
+traced. This map, although by no means free from errors, is a vast
+improvement on the relief map of M. Elie de Beaumont. One defect, which
+might be easily remedied, is due to the fact that the lavas of three
+consecutive centuries are coloured so much alike, that it is almost
+impossible to distinguish them. The minor cones are well shown, the Val
+del Bove fairly well, and the map is altogether a valuable addition to
+our knowledge of the mountain.
+
+The other map is a _Carta Agronomica dell' Etna_, showing the surface
+cultivation. Different colours denote different plants, pistachio nuts,
+vines, olives, chestnuts, etc. It is beautifully drawn and coloured by
+hand, and is the work of Signor L. Ardini, of Catania.
+
+
+
+
+INDEX.
+
+
+    Abich, 22
+    Acesines, River, 81
+    Aci Reale, 72, 73
+    Acis, River, 73
+    Acque Grande, 73
+    Aderno, 65
+    Adranum, City of, 66
+    Æschylus, 4
+    Aetna, Town of, 64
+    Ajo, Fountain of, 85
+    Alcantara, Valley of, 69
+    Amphinomus, 80
+    Analcime, Analysis of, 128
+    Analcite, 127
+    Analysis of Augite, 126
+        "    "  Labradorite, 125, 126
+        "    "  Olivine, 127
+        "    "  Titaniferous Iron, 127
+        "    "  Analcime, 128
+        "    "  Mineral Oil, 129
+        "    "  Volcanic Ashes, 131
+        "    "  Lava, 131, 132
+        "    "  Sand, 131
+        "    "  Scoriæ, 131
+        "       Microscopic, of Lavas, 135-141
+        "    "  Siderazote, 133, 134
+        "    "  Sublimations, 132
+        "    "  white friable substance, 133
+    Anapias, 80
+    Arethusa, Fountain of, 85
+    Ascent, Fatigue of, 60
+    Ashes, Volcanic, Analysis of, 131
+      "        "   Specific Gravity of, 130
+    Atlas des Aetna, 23
+    Augite, Analysis of, 126
+    Axis of Mongibello, 119, 122
+      "   " Trifoglietto, 119, 122
+
+    Baltzer, 24
+    Basalt, Columnar, 75
+    Base, Circumference of, 30
+    Belpasso, 63
+    Bembo, Cardinal, 10
+    Biancavilla, 65
+    Boccarelle del Fuoco, 36
+    Bocche eruttive, 110
+       "   del Fuoco, 36
+    Borelli, 90
+    Bosco di Bronte, 99
+    Botanical Regions, 40-42
+    Boundaries of Etna, 29
+    Brilliancy of Stars, 48, 49
+    Bronte, 67, 68
+    Brydone, 15
+
+    Campi Phlegræi, 14
+    Campus Piorum, 80
+    Cardinal Bembo, 10
+    Carpinetto, Forest of, 39
+    Carrera, 12
+    Casa del Bosco, 48
+      "  Inglesi, 51, 52
+    Castagno di Cento Cavalli, 39
+        "    della Galea, 39
+    Catania, 76-78
+       "  Destruction of, 94-96
+    Caverns of Etna, 37
+    Cavern of Thalia, 37
+    Centenario, 108
+    Chestnuts, 39
+    Circumference of base, 30
+    Cisterna, 101
+    Coltivata, Regione, 37, 38
+    Cones, Minor, 34-36
+    Crater of Elevation, 114
+       "   of Eruption, 114
+       "   The Great, 56-58
+    Craters, Minor, 34-36
+    Cultivated Region, 38
+    Cyclops, Rocks of, 75
+
+    Decomposed Lava, Analysis of, 133
+    Desert Region, 39, 40
+
+    Effects of Refraction, 59, 60
+    Elevation, Crater of, 114
+    Elie de Beaumont, 21
+    Elie de Beaumont's Classification, 115, 116
+    Empedokles, 10
+    Errors in Maps, 24
+    Eruption, Crater of, 114
+    Eruptions, General Character of, 112
+        "      Number of, 113
+    Etna, the Home of Early Myths, 9
+      "   a Submarine Volcano, 122
+    Enceladus, 4
+
+    Fatigue of Ascent, 60
+    Fazzello, 11
+    Ferrara, 15, 16
+    Filoteo, 11
+    Flood of 1755, 98
+    Forest of Carpinetto, 39
+    Fratelli Pii, Cone of, 111
+    Fumaroles, Sublimations of, 132
+    Fuoco, Regione del, 37
+
+    Gemellaro, Giuseppe, 18
+        "      Mario, 19
+        "      Carlo, 19, 20
+    General aspect of Etna, 34
+    _Genista Etnensis_, 45
+    Geological Maps of Etna, 117-18
+    Gibel Uttamat, 3
+    Gladstone's Account of Eruption, 58
+    Gravity, Specific, of Ejectamenta, 130
+    Great Crater, 57, 58
+    Grotto of Polyphemus, 75
+       "  delle Palombe, 37
+    Growth of a Volcano, 123
+    Gurrita, Lake, 68
+
+    Hamilton, 14
+    Height of Etna, 26, 27
+    Hephaistos, Forge of, 4
+    Himilco, 81
+    Hoffmann, 22
+    Homer, 4
+    Houel, 14
+    Hybla Major, 63
+
+    Increase of Population, 33
+    Inessa, City of, 64
+    Inglesi, Casa, 51, 52
+    Inns, Sicilian, 65, 67, 69
+    Iron, Nitride of, 134
+      "   Perchloride of, 132
+    Iron, Titaniferous, 127
+    Isola d'Aci, 75
+
+    Katana, 76, 77
+    Kircher, 12
+
+    Labradorite, Analysis of, 125, 126
+    La Cisterna, 101
+    Latitude of Crater, 2
+    La Scaletta, 75
+    Lava, Analysis of, 131, 132
+      "   Specific Gravity of, 130
+      "   Decomposed, Analysis of, 133
+    Lavas, Microscopic Analysis of, 135-141
+    Lavas of Etna, 125-141
+    Linguaglossa, 70
+    Longitude of Crater, 2
+    Lucilius Junior, 7-9
+    Lucretius, 6
+    Lyell, 23
+    Lyell's Researches, 118-122
+
+    Magnetite, 139
+    Maletto, 68
+    Maps, Geological, of Etna, 117, 118
+      "   of Etna, 13, 16, 21-24
+    Mascali, 71
+    Microscopic Analysis of Lavas, 135-141
+    Milo, 108
+    Mineral Oil in Lava, 129
+    Minor Cones, 34-36
+    Mongibello, 3
+        "      Axis of, 122
+    Monte Calanna, 107
+       "  Capreolo, 118
+       "  di Mojo, 36,81
+       "  Minardo, 34
+       "  Ste. Sofia, 36
+       "  Fusara, 37
+       "  Grigio, 111
+       "  Lepre, 85
+       "  Nocilla, 118
+       "  Rosso, 99
+       "  Spagnuolo, 69
+       "  Ste. Sofia, 95
+    Monti Rossi, 35, 91
+    Mules, 47
+
+    Name of Etna, 3
+    Natural Boundaries of Etna, 30
+    Naxos, 81
+    Newer Pliocene Strata, 120
+    Nicolosi, 46
+    Nitride of Iron, 134
+
+    Observatory on Etna, 50
+    Oil, Mineral, in Lava, 129
+    Olivine, 139
+        "   Analysis of, 127
+
+    Palombe, Grotto delle, 37
+    Paterno, 63
+    Pennisi, Baron, 71, 72
+    Piano del Lago, 51
+       "  di S. Leo, 90
+    Piedimontana, Regione, 37, 38
+    Pii Fratres, 80, 81
+    Pindar, 4
+    Polarized Light, applied to Analysis of Lavas, 136-139
+    Polyphemus, Grotto of, 75
+    Population, 31-33
+    Position of Etna, 2
+    Presl's _Flora Sicula_, 41, 42
+
+    Radius of Vision, 28
+    Randazzo, 68, 69
+    Recupero, 17
+    Recupero's Account of Eruption, 99
+    Refraction, Effects of, 59, 60
+    Regions of Etna, 37-42
+    Regione del Fuoco, 37
+    River, Acis, 73
+    Road around Etna, 29
+    Rocca di Musarra, 98
+    Rocks of Cyclops, 75
+    Rutley's, Mr. Frank, Analysis of Lavas, 135-141
+
+    St. Agatha, Veil of, 83
+     "  Maria di Licodia, 64
+    S. Niccola, Monastery of, 92
+    S. Simone, 102
+    Salto della Guimenta, 106
+    Sand, Volcanic, Analysis of, 131
+      "   Specific Gravity of, 130
+    Scogli di Ciclopi, 75
+    Scoriæ, Volcanic, Analysis of, 131
+       "    Specific Gravity of, 130
+    Serra delle Concazze, 59
+      "   del Solfizio, 59
+      "   di Giannicola, 107
+    Serrapizzuta, 89
+    Sicilian Inns, 65, 67, 69
+    Siderazote, 133, 134
+    Silvestri, Researches of, 25
+    Simeto, Valley of, 67
+    Smyth, 18
+    Smyth's Observations, 2
+    Snow of Etna, 59
+    Specific Gravity, Alteration of, 130
+        "       "     of  Ejectamenta, 130
+    Strabo, 6
+    Stars, Brilliancy of, 48, 49
+    Stato Maggiore, Map of, 24
+    Sulphur in Sublimations, 132
+    Sublimations from Fumaroles, 132
+    Summit of Cone, 53, 54
+    Sunrise seen from Summit, 54, 55
+
+    Tacchini, 50
+    Taormina, 71
+    Tertiary Sandstone of Bronte, 67
+    Thucydides, 5
+    Titaniferous Iron, 127
+    Torre del Filosofo, 10, 59
+    Towns on Etna, 31
+    Trezza, 75
+    Trifoglietto, Axis of, 121
+    Trunks of Large Chestnuts, 39
+
+    Val del Bove, 34, 71, 98, 100, 119-121
+     "  Serbo, 103
+    Valley of Alcantara, 69
+    Virgil, 5
+    Vision, Radius of, 28
+    Volcano, Growth of, 123
+    Von Waltershausen, 23, 120
+    Vulkanen Atlas, 116
+
+    Winchelsea, Lord, 12, 94, 95
+    Woody Region, 38
+
+    _Zeolite dure_, 127
+    Zones of Temperature, 38
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Transcribers Notes:
+
+OE ligatures have been written as two letters. The chemical formulae
+in this text have subscripts written in curly brackets. For example,
+water appears as H{2}O.
+
+Passages in italics indicated by _underscores_. Passages in Greek
+indicated by ~tildes~.
+
+Printer's errors corrected and other transcription points as follows:
+
+ Page    Correction
+ ---------------------------------------------------------------------
+   -     Some arcane spellings retained where verified as correct for
+         the time of publication or quote, such as 'musquitoes',
+         'plaintain', 'mettals', 'felspar', etc.
+   -     Italian quotations sometimes include phrases such as "sull'
+         Etna" or "dell' Asia". There should be no space after the
+         apostrophes but spaces are often present. This may have been
+         done to better space the text during justification. Such errors
+         have not been corrected.
+   -     The document is inconsistent in the use of commas where quoting
+         numbers of over 1,000; sometimes they are used and sometimes
+         they are not used. These inconsistencies remain.
+  ix     Added '.' at end of 'Silvestri' in text block to maintain
+         style of other entries.
+   x     Added '.' at end of 'Eruptions' in text block to maintain
+         style of other entries.
+   x     Added '.' after '1408' in text block to maintain style of
+         other entries.
+  xi     Added '.' after 'microscope' in text block to maintain style
+         of other entries.
+   4     Corrected 'ength' to 'length'.
+  12     Corrected 't'jncedie' to 't'incedie'. 't'jncedie' and
+         'treblement' both printed with tildes over the first
+         occurrence of e in each word. Tildes omitted in this version.
+  17     Corrected 'Guiseppe' to 'Giuseppe'.
+  27     Added end quotes after final word on page.
+  29     Inserted full-stop after '(S.W.)', to end sentence.
+  33     Corrected 'f' to 'of'.
+  42     'of-course' corrected to 'of course'.
+  44     Corrected 'unusally' to 'unusually'.
+  59     Corrected 'subsequenly' to 'subsequently'.
+  64     Corrected 'athough' to 'although'.
+  79     Added '.' after '812' in text block to maintain style of
+         other entries.
+  80     Anapias and Amphinomus printed with diacritic marks omitted
+         in this text (breves over first 'a' in 'anapias' and 'i' in
+         'Amphinomus').
+  82     Numbered list runs 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 5, 7, 8... Second occurrence
+         of 5 amended to 6.
+  85     'In the 1329' corrected to 'In the year 1329'.
+ 127     'the time analcite' corrected to 'the term analcite'.
+ 144     Corrected 'Guiseppe' to 'Giuseppe'.
+ 145     Corrected 'Miscroscope' to 'Microscope'.
+ 152     Corrected 'magnitite' to 'magnetite'.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Etna, by G. F. Rodwell
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+      The Project Gutenberg eBook of Etna - A History of the Mountain and of its Eruptions, by G. F. Rodwell.
+    </title>
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+<pre>
+
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Etna, by G. F. Rodwell
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Etna
+       A History of the Mountain and of its Eruptions
+
+Author: G. F. Rodwell
+
+Release Date: March 30, 2010 [EBook #31827]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ETNA ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Steven Gibbs, Adam Styles and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_i" id="Page_i">[Pg i]</a></span></p>
+
+<h1>E&nbsp;T&nbsp;N&nbsp;A&nbsp;.</h1>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_ii" id="Page_ii">[Pg ii]</a></span><br /></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 644px;">
+<a name="View_of_Etna_from_Catania" id="View_of_Etna_from_Catania"></a><img src="images/face_title.jpg" width="644" height="224" alt="" title="" />
+<p class='caption'>
+View of Etna from Catania</p>
+</div><p><br /></p>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_iii" id="Page_iii">[Pg iii]</a></span></p>
+<h1>E&nbsp;T&nbsp;N&nbsp;A<br /></h1>
+<h2><i><small>A HISTORY OF THE MOUNTAIN AND<br />
+OF ITS ERUPTIONS.</small></i></h2>
+<h4><small>BY</small></h4>
+<h2>G. F. RODWELL,<br />
+<small><small>SCIENCE MASTER IN MARLBOROUGH COLLEGE.</small></small></h2>
+<h4><br />WITH MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.</h4>
+<p><br /></p>
+<div class="figcenter">
+<img src="images/pivplate.png" width="150" height="166" alt="ARBOR SCIENTIAE ARBOR VITAE" title="ARBOR SCIENTIAE ARBOR VITAE" />
+</div>
+
+<h3><br /><span class="smcap">London</span><br />
+<span class="smcap">C. Kegan Paul &amp; Co., 1, Paternoster Square</span><br />
+1878</h3>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_iv" id="Page_iv">[Pg iv]</a></span></p>
+<p class='center'>[<i>The rights of translation and of reproduction are reserved.</i>]</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_v" id="Page_v">[Pg v]</a></span></p>
+<h3>I DEDICATE  THIS  BOOK<br /><br />
+<small>TO</small><br /></h3>
+<h2>MY  MOTHER.</h2><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_vi" id="Page_vi">[Pg vi]</a></span><br /></p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_vii" id="Page_vii">[Pg vii]</a></span></p>
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="PREFACE" id="PREFACE"></a>PREFACE.</h2>
+
+
+<p><span class="smcap">While</span> preparing an account of <span class="smcap">Mount Etna</span> for the
+Encyclop&aelig;dia Britannica, I was surprised to find that
+there exists no single work in the English language
+devoted to the history of the most famous volcano in
+the world. I was consequently induced to considerably
+enlarge the Encyclop&aelig;dia article, and the following
+pages are the result. The facts recorded have been
+collected from various sources&mdash;German, French, Italian,
+and English, and from my own observations made
+during the summer of 1877. I desire to express my
+indebtedness to Mr. Frank Rutley, of H.M. Geological
+Survey, for his careful examination of the lavas which
+were collected during my ascent of the mountain, and
+for the account which he has written of them; also to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_viii" id="Page_viii">[Pg viii]</a></span>
+Mr. John Murray for permission to copy figures from
+Lyell's "Principles of Geology." My thanks are also
+due to Mr. George Dennis, H.M. Consul-General in
+Sicily; Mr. Robert O. Franck, Vice-Consul in Catania;
+and to Prof. Orazio Silvestri, for information with which
+they have severally supplied me.</p>
+
+<p class='right'>G. F. RODWELL.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Marlborough</span>,<br />
+<i>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;September 6th, 1878.</i></p>
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_ix" id="Page_ix">[Pg ix]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="CONTENTS" id="CONTENTS"></a>CONTENTS.</h2>
+<h3>CHAPTER I.<br />
+<small><small>HISTORY OF THE MOUNTAIN.</small></small><span class='toc_num'><a href="#Page_1">1</a></span></h3>
+
+<p><small> Position.&mdash;Name.&mdash;Mention of Etna by early writers.&mdash;
+Pindar.&mdash;&AElig;schylus.&mdash;Thucydides.&mdash;Virgil.&mdash;Strabo.&mdash;
+Lucretius.&mdash;Lucilius Junior.&mdash;Etna the home of early
+myths.&mdash;Cardinal Bembo.&mdash;Fazzello.&mdash;Filoteo.&mdash;Early
+Maps of the Mountain.&mdash;Hamilton.&mdash;Houel.&mdash;Brydone.
+&mdash;Ferrara.&mdash;Recupero.&mdash;Captain Smyth.&mdash;Gemellaro;
+his Map of Etna.&mdash;Elie de Beaumont.&mdash;Abich.&mdash;
+Hoffmann.&mdash;Von Waltershausen's <i>Atlas des Aetna</i>.&mdash;
+Lyell.&mdash;Map of the Italian Stato Maggiore.&mdash;Carlo
+Gemellaro.&mdash;Orazio Silvestri.</small></p>
+
+
+<h3>CHAPTER II.<br />
+<small><small>PHYSICAL FEATURES OF THE MOUNTAIN.</small></small><span class='toc_num'><a href="#Page_26">26</a></span></h3>
+
+<p><small>Height.&mdash;Radius of Vision from the summit.&mdash;Boundaries.
+&mdash;Area.&mdash;Population.&mdash;General aspect of Etna.&mdash;The
+Val del Bove.&mdash;Minor Cones.&mdash;Caverns.&mdash;Position and
+extent of the three Regions.&mdash;Regione Coltivata.&mdash;
+Regione Selvosa.&mdash;Regione Deserta.&mdash;Botanical
+Regions.&mdash;Divisions of Rafinesque-Schmaltz, and of
+Presl.&mdash;Animal life in the upper Regions.</small></p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_x" id="Page_x">[Pg x]</a></span></p>
+<h3>CHAPTER III.<br />
+<small><small>ASCENT OF THE MOUNTAIN.</small></small><span class='toc_num'><a href="#Page_43">43</a></span></h3>
+
+<p><small> The most suitable time for ascending Etna.&mdash;The Ascent
+commenced.&mdash;Nicolosi.&mdash;Etna mules.&mdash;Night journey
+through the upper Regions of the mountain.&mdash;Brilliancy
+of the Stars.&mdash;Proposed Observatory on Etna.&mdash;The
+Casa Inglesi.&mdash;Summit of the Great Crater.&mdash;Sunrise
+from the summit.&mdash;The Crater.&mdash;Descent from the
+Mountain.&mdash;Effects of Refraction.&mdash;Fatigue of the
+Ascent.</small></p>
+
+
+<h3>CHAPTER IV.<br />
+<small><small>TOWNS SITUATED ON THE MOUNTAIN.</small></small><span class='toc_num'><a href="#Page_62">62</a></span></h3>
+
+<p><small> Paterno.&mdash;Ste. Maria di Licodia.&mdash;The site of the ancient
+town of Aetna.&mdash;Biancavilla.&mdash;Aderno.&mdash;Sicilian Inns.
+&mdash;Adranum.&mdash;Bronte.&mdash;Randazzo.&mdash;Mascali.&mdash;Giarre.
+&mdash;Aci Reale.&mdash;Its position.&mdash;The Scogli de' Ciclopi.&mdash;
+Catania, its early history, and present condition.</small></p>
+
+<h3>CHAPTER V.<br />
+<small><small>ERUPTIONS OF THE MOUNTAIN.</small></small><span class='toc_num'><a href="#Page_79">79</a></span></h3>
+
+<p><small> Their frequency within the historical period.&mdash;525 <span class="smcap">b.c.</span>&mdash;477
+<span class="smcap">b.c.</span>&mdash;426 <span class="smcap">b.c.</span>&mdash;396 <span class="smcap">b.c.</span>&mdash;140 <span class="smcap">b.c.</span>&mdash;134 <span class="smcap">b.c.</span>&mdash;126 <span class="smcap">b.c.</span>
+&mdash;122 <span class="smcap">b.c.</span>&mdash;49 <span class="smcap">b.c.</span>&mdash;43 <span class="smcap">b.c.</span>&mdash;38 <span class="smcap">b.c.</span>&mdash;32 <span class="smcap">b.c.</span>&mdash;40 <span class="smcap">a.d.</span>&mdash;
+72.&mdash;253.&mdash;420.&mdash;812.&mdash;1169.&mdash;1181.&mdash;1285.&mdash;1329.&mdash;
+1333.&mdash;1371.&mdash;1408.&mdash;1444.&mdash;1446.&mdash;1447.&mdash;Close of the
+Fifteenth Century.&mdash;1536.&mdash;1537.&mdash;1566.&mdash;1579.&mdash;1603.
+&mdash;1607.&mdash;1610.&mdash;1614.&mdash;1619.&mdash;1633.&mdash;1646.&mdash;1651.&mdash;
+1669.&mdash;1682.&mdash;1688.&mdash;1689.&mdash;1693.&mdash;1694.&mdash;1702.&mdash;
+1723.&mdash;1732.&mdash;1735.&mdash;1744.&mdash;1747.&mdash;1755.&mdash;Flood of
+1755.&mdash;1759.&mdash;1763.&mdash;1766.&mdash;1780.&mdash;1781.&mdash;1787.&mdash;
+1792.&mdash;1797.&mdash;1798.&mdash;1799.&mdash;1800.&mdash;1802.&mdash;1805.&mdash;
+1808.&mdash;1809.&mdash;1811.&mdash;1819.&mdash;1831.&mdash;1832.&mdash;1838.&mdash;
+1842.&mdash;1843.&mdash;1852.&mdash;1865.&mdash;1874.&mdash;General character
+of the Eruptions.</small></p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xi" id="Page_xi">[Pg xi]</a></span></p>
+<h3>CHAPTER VI.<br />
+<small><small>GEOLOGY AND MINERALOGY OF THE MOUNTAIN.</small></small><span class='toc_num'><a href="#Page_114">114</a></span></h3>
+
+<p><small> Elie de Beaumont's classification of the rocks of Etna.&mdash;Hoffman's
+geological map.&mdash;Lyell's researches.&mdash;The period
+of earliest eruption.&mdash;The Val del Bove.&mdash;Two craters
+of eruption.&mdash;Antiquity of Etna.&mdash;The lavas of Etna.&mdash;
+Labradorite.&mdash;Augite.&mdash;Olivine.&mdash;Analcime.&mdash;Titaniferous
+iron.&mdash;Mr. Rutley's examination of Etna lavas
+under the microscope.</small></p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="LIST_OF_ILLUSTRATIONS" id="LIST_OF_ILLUSTRATIONS"></a>LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.</h2>
+
+<table border="0" width="100%" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="List of Illustrations">
+<tr>
+<td class="td70">
+View of Etna from Catania<br />
+Topographical Map of Etna<br />
+Sections of Etna<br />
+Grotto delle Palombe<br />
+The Casa Inglesi and Cone of Etna<br />
+View of the Val de Bove<br />
+View of Etna from Bronte<br />
+Island of Columnar Basalt off Trezza<br />
+Geological Map of Etna<br />
+Map of the Val del Bove (woodcut)<br />
+Ideal Section of Mount Etna<br />
+Profile of Etna<br />
+Sections of Etna Lavas seen under the Microscope,
+</td>
+<td class="td20c">
+<i><a href="#View_of_Etna_from_Catania">To face Title.</a></i><br />
+<i>To face page</i><br />
+"<br />
+"<br />
+"<br />
+"<br />
+"<br />
+"<br />
+"<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<i>to face p.</i>
+</td>
+<td class="td10r">
+<br />
+<a href="#Topographical_Map_of_Etna">1</a><br />
+<a href="#Sections_of_Etna">30</a><br />
+<a href="#Grotto_delle_Palombe">36</a><br />
+<a href="#The_Casa_Inglesi">52</a><br />
+<a href="#View_of_the_Val_de_Bove">58</a><br />
+<a href="#View_of_Etna_from_Bronte">66</a><br />
+<a href="#Island_of_Columnar_Basalt">74</a><br />
+<a href="#Geological_Map">114</a><br />
+<a href="#Page_117">117</a><br />
+<a href="#Page_119">119</a><br />
+<a href="#Page_121">121</a><br />
+<a href="#under_the_Microscope">138</a>
+</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xii" id="Page_xii">[Pg xii]</a></span><br /></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 522px;">
+<a name="Topographical_Map_of_Etna" id="Topographical_Map_of_Etna"></a><img src="images/fp001.jpg" width="519" height="700" alt="Topographical Map of Etna" title="Topographical Map of Etna" />
+</div>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[Pg 1]</a></span></p>
+
+<h1><a name="ETNA" id="ETNA"></a>E&nbsp;T&nbsp;N&nbsp;A&nbsp;.<br />
+<small><small>A HISTORY OF THE MOUNTAIN AND OF ITS ERUPTIONS.</small></small></h1>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_I" id="CHAPTER_I"></a>CHAPTER I.<br />
+<small><small>HISTORY OF THE MOUNTAIN.</small></small></h2>
+
+<p><small>Position.&mdash;Name.&mdash;Mention of Etna by early writers.&mdash;Pindar.&mdash;&AElig;schylus.&mdash;Thucydides.&mdash;Virgil.&mdash;Strabo.&mdash;-Lucretius.&mdash;Lucilius
+Junior.&mdash;Etna the home of early myths.&mdash;Cardinal
+Bembo.&mdash;Fazzello.&mdash;Filoteo.&mdash;Early Maps of the Mountain.&mdash;Hamilton.&mdash;Houel.&mdash;Brydone.&mdash;Ferrara.&mdash;Recupero.&mdash;Captain
+Smyth.&mdash;Gemellaro; his Map of Etna.&mdash;Elie de Beaumont.&mdash;Abich.&mdash;Hoffmann.&mdash;Von
+Waltershausen's <i>Atlas des Aetna</i>.&mdash;Lyell.&mdash;Map
+of the Italian Stato Maggiore.&mdash;Carlo Gemellaro.&mdash;Orazio Silvestri.</small></p>
+
+<p><br /><span class="smcap">The</span> principal mountain chain of Sicily skirts the
+North and a portion of the North-eastern coast, and
+would appear to be a prolongation of the Apennines.
+An inferior group passes through the centre of the
+island, diverging towards the South, as it approaches
+the East coast. Between the two ranges, and completely
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[Pg 2]</a></span>separated from them by the valleys of the Alcantara
+and the Simeto, stands the mighty mass of Mount Etna,
+which rises in solitary grandeur from the eastern sea-board
+of the island. Volcanoes, by the very mode of
+their formation, are frequently completely isolated; and,
+if they are of any magnitude, they thus acquire an
+imposing contour and a majesty, which larger mountains,
+forming parts of a chain, do not possess. This specially
+applies to Etna. "C&oelig;lebs degit," says Cardinal Bembo,
+"et nullius montis dignata conjugium, caste intra suos
+terminos continetur." It is not alone the conspicuous
+appearance of the mountain which has made it the
+most famous volcano either of ancient or modern times:&mdash;the
+number and violence of its eruptions, the extent
+of its lava streams, its association with antiquity, and
+its history prolonged over more than 2400 years, have
+all tended to make it celebrated.</p>
+
+<p>The geographical position of Etna was first accurately
+determined by Captain Smyth in 1814. He estimated
+the latitude of the highest point of the bifid peak of
+the great crater at 37&deg; 43' 31" N.; and the longitude
+at 15&deg; East of Greenwich. Elie de Beaumont repeated
+the observations in 1834 with nearly the same result;
+and these determinations have been very generally
+adopted. In the new Italian map recently constructed
+by the Stato Maggiore, the latitude of the centre of the
+crater is stated to be 37&deg; 44' 55" N., and the longitude
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[Pg 3]</a></span>44' 55" E. of the meridian of Naples, which passes
+through the Observatory of Capo di Monte.</p>
+
+<p>According to Bochart the name of Etna is derived from
+the Ph&oelig;nician <i>athana</i>&mdash;a furnace; others derive it from
+<span title="aith&ocirc;">&alpha;&iota;&prime;&theta;&omega;</span>&mdash;to burn. Professor Benfey of Gottingen, a great
+authority on the subject, considers that the word was
+created by one of the early Indo-Germanic races. He
+identifies the root <i>ait</i> with the Greek <span title="aith">&alpha;&iota;&prime;&theta;</span> and the Latin
+<i>aed</i>&mdash;to burn, as in <i>aes</i>-tu. The Greek name <span title="Aitna">&Alpha;&iota;&tau;&nu;&alpha;</span> was
+known to Hesiod. The more modern name, <i>Mongibello</i>,
+by which the mountain is still commonly known to the
+Sicilians, is a combination of the Arabic <i>Gibel</i>, and the
+Italian <i>Monte</i>. During the Saracenic occupation of Sicily,
+Etna was called <i>Gibel Uttamat</i>&mdash;the mountain of fire;
+and the last syllables of Mongibello are a relic of the
+Saracenic name. A mountain near Palermo is still
+called Gibel Rosso&mdash;the red mountain; and names may
+not unfrequently be found in the immediate neighbourhood
+of Etna which are partly, or sometimes even
+entirely, composed of Arabic words; such, for example,
+as <i>Alcantara</i>&mdash;the river of <i>the bridge</i>. Etna is also often
+spoken of distinctively as <i>Il Monte</i>&mdash;the mountain <i>par
+excellence</i>; a name which, in its capacity of the largest
+mountain in the kingdom of Italy, and the loftiest
+volcano in Europe, it fully justifies.</p>
+
+<p>Etna is frequently alluded to by classical writers. By
+the poets it was sometimes feigned to be the prison of
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[Pg 4]</a></span>the giant Enceladus or Typhon, sometimes the forge of
+Hephaistos, and the abode of the Cyclops.</p>
+
+<p>It is strange that Homer, who has so minutely described
+certain portions of the contiguous Sicilian coast,
+does not allude to Etna. This has been thought by
+some to be a proof that the mountain was in a quiescent
+state during the period which preceded and coincided
+with the time of Homer.</p>
+
+<p>Pindar (<span class="smcap">b.c.</span> 522-442) is the first writer of antiquity
+who has described Etna. In the first of the Pythian
+Odes for Hieron, of the town of Aitna, winner in the
+chariot race in <span class="smcap">b.c.</span> 474, he exclaims:</p>
+
+<p>.&nbsp;.&nbsp;. "He (Typhon) is fast bound by a pillar of the
+sky, even by snowy Etna, nursing the whole year's
+length her dazzling snow. Whereout pure springs of
+unapproachable fire are vomited from the inmost depths:
+in the daytime the lava-streams pour forth a lurid rush
+of smoke; but in the darkness a red rolling flame
+sweepeth rocks with uproar to the wide deep sea&nbsp;.&nbsp;.&nbsp;.
+That dragon-thing (Typhon) it is that maketh issue
+from beneath the terrible fiery flood."<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a></p>
+
+<p>&AElig;schylus (<span class="smcap">b.c.</span> 525-456) speaks also of the "mighty
+Typhon," (<i>Prometheus</i> V.):</p>
+
+<p class="poem">
+. . . . . "He lies<br />
+A helpless, powerless carcase, near the strait<br />
+Of the great sea, fast pressed beneath the roots<br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[Pg 5]</a></span>
+Of ancient Etna, where on highest peak<br />
+Heph&aelig;stos sits and smites his iron red hot,<br />
+From whence hereafter streams of fire shall burst,<br />
+Devouring with fierce jaws the golden plains<br />
+Of fruitful, fair Sikelia."<a name="FNanchor_2_2" id="FNanchor_2_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a>
+</p>
+
+<p>Herein he probably refers to the eruption which had
+occurred a few years previously (<span class="smcap">b.c.</span> 476).</p>
+
+<p>Thucydides (<span class="smcap">b.c.</span> 471-402) alludes in the last lines
+of the Third Book to several early eruptions of the
+mountain in the following terms: "In the first days of
+this spring, the stream of fire issued from Etna, as on
+former occasions, and destroyed some land of the
+Catanians, who live upon Mount Etna, which is the
+largest mountain in Sicily. Fifty years, it is said, had
+elapsed since the last eruption, there having been three
+in all since the Hellenes have inhabited Sicily."<a name="FNanchor_3_3" id="FNanchor_3_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a></p>
+
+<p>Virgil's oft-quoted description of the mountain (<i>Eneid</i>,
+Bk. 3) we give in the spirited translation of Conington:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i4">"But Etna with her voice of fear<br /></span>
+<span>In weltering chaos thunders near.<br /></span>
+<span>Now pitchy clouds she belches forth<br /></span>
+<span>Of cinders red, and vapour swarth;<br /></span>
+<span>And from her caverns lifts on high<br /></span>
+<span>Live balls of flame that lick the sky:<br /></span>
+<span>Now with more dire convulsion flings<br /></span>
+<span>Disploded rocks, her heart's rent strings,<br /></span>
+<span>And lava torrents hurls to-day<br /></span>
+<span>A burning gulf of fiery spray."</span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[Pg 6]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Many other early writers speak of the mountain, among
+them Theokritos, Aristotle, Ovid, Livy, Seneca, Lucretius,
+Pliny, Lucan, Petronius, Cornelius Severus, Dion
+Cassius, Strabo, Diodorus Siculus, and Lucilius Junior.
+Seneca makes various allusions to Etna, and mentions
+the fact that lightning sometimes proceeded from its
+smoke.</p>
+
+<p>Strabo has given a very fair description of the mountain.
+He asserts that in his time the upper part of
+it was bare, and covered with ashes, and in winter with
+snow, while the lower slopes were clothed with forests.
+The summit was a plain about twenty stadia in circumference,
+surrounded by a ridge, within which there
+was a small hillock, the smoke from which ascended to
+a considerable height. He further mentions a second
+crater. Etna was commonly ascended in Strabo's time
+from the south-west.</p>
+
+<p>While the poets on the one hand had invested the
+mountain with various supernatural attributes, and had
+made it the prison-house of a chained giant, and
+the workshop of a swart god, Lucretius endeavoured
+to show that the eruptions and other phenomena could
+be easily explained by the ordinary operations of
+nature. "And now at last," he writes, "I will explain
+in what ways yon flame, roused to fury in a moment,
+blazes forth from the huge furnaces of Aetna. And,
+first, the nature of the whole mountain is hollow underneath,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</a></span>
+underpropped throughout with caverns of basalt
+rocks. Furthermore, in all caves are wind and air, for
+wind is produced when the air has been stirred and put
+in motion. When this air has been thoroughly heated,
+and, raging about, has imparted its heat to all the rocks
+around, wherever it comes in contact with them, and to
+the earth, and has struck out from them fire burning
+with swift flames, it rises up and then forces itself out
+on high, straight through the gorges; and so carries its
+heat far, and scatters far its ashes, and rolls on smoke
+of a thick pitchy blackness, and flings out at the same
+time stones of prodigious weight&mdash;leaving no doubt that
+this is the stormy force of air. Again, the sea, to a
+great extent, breaks its waves and sucks back its surf
+at the roots of that mountain. Caverns reach from this
+sea as far as the deep gorges of the mountain below.
+Through these you must admit [that air mixed up with
+water passes; and] the nature of the case compels [this
+air to enter in from that] open sea, and pass right
+within, and then go out in blasts, and so lift up flame,
+and throw out stones, and raise clouds of sand; for on
+the summit are craters, as they name them in their
+own language, what we call gorges and mouths."<a name="FNanchor_4_4" id="FNanchor_4_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_4_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a></p>
+
+<p>These ideas were developed by Lucilius Junior in a
+poem consisting of 644 hexameters entitled <i>Aetna</i>. The
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</a></span>authorship of this poem has long been a disputed point;
+it has been attributed to Virgil, Claudian, Quintilius
+Varus, Manilius, and, by Joseph Scaliger<a name="FNanchor_5_5" id="FNanchor_5_5"></a><a href="#Footnote_5_5" class="fnanchor">[5]</a> and others,
+to Cornelius Severus. Wensdorff was the first to adduce
+reasons for attributing the poem to Lucilius Junior, and
+his views are generally adopted. Lucilius Junior was
+Procurator of Sicily under Nero, and, while resident in
+the Island, he ascended Etna; and it is said that he
+proposed writing a detailed history of the mountain.
+He adopted the scientific opinions of Epicurus, as established
+in Rome by Lucretius, and was more immediately
+a disciple of Seneca. The latter dedicated to
+him his <i>Qu&aelig;stiones Naturales</i>, in which he alludes more
+than once to Etna. M. Chenu speaks of the poem of
+Lucilius Junior as "sans doute tr&egrave;s-p&oacute;etique, mais
+assez souvent dur, heurt&eacute;, concis, et parcela m&ecirc;me, d'une
+obscurit&eacute; parfois d&eacute;sesp&eacute;rante."<a name="FNanchor_6_6" id="FNanchor_6_6"></a><a href="#Footnote_6_6" class="fnanchor">[6]</a> At the commencement
+of the poem, Lucilius ridicules the ideas of the poets as
+regards the connection of Etna with Vulcan and the
+Cyclops. He has no belief in the practice, which
+apparently prevailed in his time, of ascending to the
+edge of the crater and there offering incense to the
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</a></span>tutelary gods of the mountain. He adopts to a great
+extent the tone and style of Lucretius, in his explanation
+of the phenomena of the mountain. Water filters through
+the crevices and cracks in the rocks, until it comes into
+contact with the internal fires, when it is converted into
+vapour and expelled with violence. The internal fires
+are nourished by the winds which penetrate into the
+mountain. He traces some curious connection between
+the plants which grow upon the mountain, and the
+supply of sulphur and bitumen to the interior, which
+is, at best, but partly intelligible.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i4">"Nunc superant, quacunque regant incendia silv&aelig;<br /></span>
+<span>Qu&aelig; flammis alimenta vacent, quid nutriat Aetnam.<br /></span>
+<span>Incendi patiens illis vernacula caulis<br /></span>
+<span>Materia, appositumque igni genus utile terr&aelig; est,<br /></span>
+<span>Uritur assidue calidus nunc sulfuris humor,<br /></span>
+<span>Nunc spissus crebro pr&aelig;betur flumine succus,<br /></span>
+<span>Pingue bitumen adest, et quidquid cominus acres<br /></span>
+<span>Irritat flammas; illius corporis &AElig;tna est.<br /></span>
+<span>Atque hanc materiam penitus discurrere fontes<br /></span>
+<span>Infect&aelig; erumpunt et aqu&aelig; radice sub ipsa."<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>Many of the myths developed by the earlier poets
+had their home in the immediate neighbourhood, sometimes
+upon the very sides, of Etna&mdash;Demeter seeking
+Persephone; Acis and Galatea; Polyphemus and the
+Cyclops. Mr. Symonds tells us that the one-eyed giant
+Polyphemus was Etna itself, with its one great crater,
+while the Cyclops were the many minor cones. "Persephone<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</a></span>
+was the patroness of Sicily, because amid the
+billowy corn-fields of her mother Demeter, and the
+meadow-flowers she loved in girlhood, are ever found
+sulphurous ravines, and chasms breathing vapour from
+the pit of Hades."<a name="FNanchor_7_7" id="FNanchor_7_7"></a><a href="#Footnote_7_7" class="fnanchor">[7]</a></p>
+
+<p>It is said that both Plato and the Emperor Hadrian
+ascended Etna in order to witness the sunrise from its
+summit. The story of</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i4">"He who to be deemed<br /></span>
+<span>A god, leaped fondly into Etna flames,<br /></span>
+<span>Empedokles"<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>is too trite to need repetition. A ruined tower near the
+head of the Val del Bove, 9,570 feet above the sea, has
+from time immemorial been called the <i>Torre del Filosofo</i>,
+and is asserted to have been the observatory of Empedokles.
+Others regard it as the remains of a Roman
+tower, which was possibly erected on the occasion of
+Hadrian's ascent of the mountain.</p>
+
+<p>During the Middle Ages Etna is frequently alluded
+to, among others by Dante, Petrarch, Boccaccio, and
+Cardinal Bembo. The latter gives a description of the
+mountain in the form of a dialogue, which Ferrara
+characterises as "<i>erudito, e grecizzante, ma sensa nervi</i>."
+He describes its general appearance, its well-wooded
+sides, and sterile summit. When he visited the
+mountain it had two craters about a stone's throw
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</a></span>apart; the larger of the two was said to be about three
+miles in circumference, and it stood somewhat above
+the other.<a name="FNanchor_8_8" id="FNanchor_8_8"></a><a href="#Footnote_8_8" class="fnanchor">[8]</a></p>
+
+<p>In 1541 Fazzello made an ascent of the mountain,
+which he briefly describes in the fourth chapter of his
+bulky volume <i>De Rebus Siculis</i>.<a name="FNanchor_9_9" id="FNanchor_9_9"></a><a href="#Footnote_9_9" class="fnanchor">[9]</a> This chapter is entitled
+"<i>De Aetna monte et ejus ignibus</i>;" it contains a short
+history of the mountain, and some mention of the principal
+towns which he enumerates in the following
+order: Catana, Tauromenium, Caltabianco, Linguagrossa,
+Castroleone, Francavilla, Rocella, Randatio (Randazzo),
+Bronte, Adrano, Paterno, and Motta. Fazzello speaks
+of only one crater.</p>
+
+<p>In 1591 Antonio Filoteo, who was born on Etna,
+published a work in Venice in which he describes the
+general features of the mountain, and gives a special
+account of an eruption which he witnessed in 1536.<a name="FNanchor_10_10" id="FNanchor_10_10"></a><a href="#Footnote_10_10" class="fnanchor">[10]</a>
+The mountain was then, as now, divided into three
+<i>Regions</i>. The first and uppermost of these, he asserts,
+is very arid, rugged, and uneven, and full of broken
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</a></span>rocks; the second is covered with forests; and the third
+is cultivated in the ordinary manner. Of the height he
+remarks, "Ascensum triginta circiter millia passuum ad
+plus habet." In regard to the name, <i>Mongibello</i>, he
+makes a curious error, deriving it from <i>Mulciber</i>, one of
+the names of Vulcan, who, as we have seen, was feigned
+by the earlier poets to have had his forge within the
+mountain.</p>
+
+<p>In 1636 Carrera gave an account of Etna, followed by
+that of the Jesuit Kircher, in 1638. The great eruption of
+1669 was described at length by various eye-witnesses,
+and furnished the subject of the first detailed description
+of the eruptive phenomena of the mountain. Public
+attention was now very generally drawn to the subject
+in all civilised countries. It was described by the
+naturalist, Borelli, and in our own <i>Philosophical Transactions</i>.
+Lord Winchelsea, our ambassador at Constantinople,
+was returning to England by way of the Straits
+of Messina at the time of the eruption, and he forwarded
+to Charles II "A true and exact relation of the late
+prodigious earthquake and eruption of Mount &AElig;tna, or
+Monte Gibello."</p>
+
+<p>The first map of the mountain which we have been
+able to meet with, was published in reference to the
+eruption of 1669; it is entitled, "Plan du Mont Etna
+communenent dit Mount Gibel en l'Isle de Scicille et
+de t'incedie arrive par un treblement de terre le 8me
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</a></span>Mars dernier 1669." This plan is in the Biblioth&egrave;que
+Nationale, in Paris; it was probably drawn from a
+simple description, or perhaps altogether from the
+imagination, as it is utterly unlike the mountain, the
+sides of which possess an impossible steepness. Another
+very inaccurate map was published in Nuremberg
+about 1680, annexed to a map of Sicily, which is
+entitled, "<i>Regnorum Sicili&aelig; et Sardini&aelig;, Nova Tabula</i>."
+Again, in 1714 H. Moll, "geographer in Devereux
+Street, Strand," published a new map of Italy, in which
+there is a representation of Etna during the eruption of
+1669. This also was probably drawn from the imagination;
+no one who has ever seen the mountain would
+recognise it, for it has a small base, and sides which
+rival the Matterhorn in abruptness. Over against the
+coast of Sicily, and near the mountain, is written:&mdash;"Mount
+Etna, or Mount Gibello. This mountain sometimes
+issues out pure flame, and at other times a thick
+smoak with ashes; streams of fire run down with great
+quantities of burning stones, and has made many eruptions."</p>
+
+<p>During the eighteenth century Etna was frequently
+ascended, and as frequently described. We have the
+accounts of Massa (1703), Count D'Orville (1727),
+Riedesel (1767), Sir William Hamilton (1769), Brydone
+(1776), Houel (1786), Dolomieu (1788), Spallanzani
+(1790), and many minor writers, such as Borch, Brocchi,
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</a></span>Swinburne, Denon, and Faujas de Saint Fond. There
+is great sameness in all of these narratives, and much
+repetition of the same facts; some of them, however,
+merit a passing notice.</p>
+
+<p>Sir William Hamilton's <i>Campi Phlegr&aelig;i</i> relates mainly
+to Vesuvius and the surrounding neighbourhood; but
+one of the letters "addressed to the Secretary of the
+Royal Society on October 17th, 1769," describes an
+ascent of Etna. Hamilton ascended on June 24th with
+the Canon Recupero and other companions; the few
+observations of any value which he made have been
+alluded to elsewhere under the head of the special
+subjects to which they refer. The illustrations of the
+<i>Campi Phlegr&aelig;i</i>, specially the original water-colours
+which are contained in one of the British Museum
+copies, are magnificent, and convey a better idea of
+volcanic phenomena than any amount of simple
+reading. From them we can well realise the opening
+of a long rift extending down the sides of a mountain
+during its eruption, and the formation of subsidiary
+craters along the line of fire thus opened. Various
+volcanic products are also admirably painted. In the
+picture of Etna, however, which was drawn by Antonio
+Fabris, the artist has scarcely been more successful
+than his predecessors, and the slope of the sides of the
+mountain has been greatly exaggerated.</p>
+
+<p>M. Houel, in his <i>Voyage pittoresque dans les Deux</i>
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</a></span><i>Siciles</i>, 1781-1786, has given a fairly good account
+of Etna, accompanied by some really excellent engravings.</p>
+
+<p>In 1776 Patrick Brydone, a clever Irishman with a
+good deal of native shrewdness and humour, published
+two volumes of a <i>Tour in Sicily and Malta</i>, in which he
+devoted several chapters to Mount Etna. He made the
+ascent of the mountain, and collected from the Canon
+Recupero, and from others, many facts concerning its
+then present, and its past history. He also made observations
+as to the height, temperature of the air at
+various elevations, brightness of the stars, and so on.
+Sir William Hamilton calls Brydone "a very ingenious and
+accurate observer," and adds that he was well acquainted
+with Alpine measurements. M. Elie de Beaumont,
+writing in 1836, speaks of him as <i>le celebre Brydone</i>;
+while, on the other hand, the Abb&eacute; Spallanzani, displeased
+at certain remarks which he made concerning
+Roman Catholicism in Sicily, never fails to deprecate his
+work, and deplores "his trivial and insipid pleasantries."
+Albeit Brydone's chapters on Etna furnished a more
+complete account of the volcano than any which had
+appeared in English up to that time; his remarks are
+frequently very sound and just, and we shall have
+occasion more than once to quote him.</p>
+
+<p>It was reserved, however, for the Abate Francesco
+Ferrara, Professor of Physical Science in the University
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</a></span>of Catania, to furnish the first history of Etna and of
+its eruptions, which had any just claim to completeness.
+It is entitled, <i>Descrizione dell' Etna, con la Storia delle
+Eruzioni e il Catalogo del prodotti</i>. The first edition appeared
+in 1793, and a second was printed in Palermo in
+1818. The author had an enthusiastic love for his subject:&mdash;"Nato
+sopra l'Etna," he writes, "che io conobbi
+ben presto palmo a palmo la mia passione per lo studio
+fiss&ograve; la mia attenzione sul bello, e terribile fenomeno che
+avea avanti agli occhi." The work commences with a
+general description of the mountain&mdash;its height, the
+temperature of the different regions, the view from the
+summit, the mass, the water-springs, the vegetable and
+animal life, and the internal fires. This extends over
+sixty-nine octavo pages. The second part of the book&mdash;eighty
+pages&mdash;gives a history of the eruptions from the
+earliest times to the year 1811; the third part&mdash;sixty-seven
+pages&mdash;treats of the nature of the volcanic
+products; and the fourth part&mdash;thirty-four pages&mdash;discusses
+certain geological and physical considerations
+concerning the mountain. At the end there are a few
+badly drawn and engraved woodcuts, and a map which,
+although the trend of the coast-line is quite wrong, is
+otherwise fairly good. The engravings represent the
+mountain as seen from Catania; the Isole dei Ciclopi,
+and the neighbouring coast; the Montagna della Motta;
+and a view from Catania of the eruption of 1787. This
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</a></span>work has evidently to a great extent been a labour of
+love; it is full of personal observations, and also
+embodies the results of many other observers. It has
+furnished the foundation of much that has since been
+written concerning Etna.</p>
+
+<p>The Canon Recupero has been alluded to above; he
+accompanied Hamilton, Brydone, and others to the
+summit of the mountain, and he was employed by the
+Government to report on the flood which, in 1755,
+descended with extraordinary violence through the Val
+del Bove. Beyond this, Recupero does not appear to
+have published anything concerning Etna, although it
+was well known that he had plenty of materials. He
+died in 1778, and it was not till the year 1815 that his
+results were published under the title of <i>Storia Naturale
+et Generale dell' Etna, del Canonico Giuseppe Recupero.&mdash;Opera
+Postuma</i>. This work consists of two bulky quarto
+volumes, the first of which is devoted to a general description
+of the mountain, the second to a history of the
+eruptions, and an account of the products of eruptions.
+Some idea may be formed of the extreme prolixity of
+the author if we mention that two chapters, together
+containing twelve quarto pages, are devoted to the
+discussion of the height of Etna, while the first volume
+is terminated by sixty-three closely printed pages of
+annotations. A few rough woodcuts accompany the
+volumes; a view of the mountain which, as usual, is
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</a></span>out of all reason as regards abruptness of ascent, and a
+<i>carta oryctographia di Mongibello</i> in which the trend
+of the coast-line between Catania and Taormina is
+altogether inexact, complete the illustrations of this most
+detailed of histories.</p>
+
+<p>During the years 1814-1816 Captain Smyth, acting
+under orders from the Admiralty, made a survey of the
+coast of Sicily, and of the adjacent islands. At this
+time the Mediterranean charts were very defective;
+some places on the coast of Sicily were mapped as much
+as twenty miles out of their true position, and even the
+exact positions of the observatories at Naples, Palermo,
+and Malta were not known. Among other results,
+Smyth carefully determined the latitude and longitude
+of Etna, accurately measured its height, and examined
+the surroundings of the mountain. His results were
+published in 1824, and are often regarded as the most
+accurate that we possess.</p>
+
+<p>In 1824 Dr. Joseph Gemellaro, who lived all his
+life on the mountain, and made it his constant study,
+published an "Historical and Topographical Map of the
+Eruptions of Etna from the era of the Sicani to the year
+1824." In it he delineates the extent of the three
+Regions, <i>Coltivata</i>, <i>Selvosa</i>, and <i>Deserta</i>; he places the
+minor cones, to the number of seventy-four, in their proper
+places, and he traces the course of the various lava-streams
+which have flowed from them and from the
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</a></span>great crater. This map is the result of much patient
+labour and study, and it is a great improvement upon
+those of Ferrara and Recupero, but of course it is
+impossible for one man to survey with much accuracy
+an area of nearly 500 square miles, and to trace the
+tortuous course of a large number of lava-streams.
+Hence we must be prepared for inaccuracies, and they
+are not uncommon&mdash;the coast line is altogether wrong
+as to its bearings, some of the small towns on the sides
+of the mountain are misplaced, and but little attention
+has been paid to scale. Still the map is very useful,
+as it is the only one which shows the course of the lava-streams.</p>
+
+<p>Mario Gemellaro, brother of the preceding, made
+almost daily observations of the condition of Etna,
+between the years 1803 and 1832. These results were
+tabulated, and they are given in the <i>Vulcanologia dell' Etna</i>
+of his brother, Professor Carlo Gemellaro, under
+the title of <i>Registro di Osservazioni del Sigr. Mario
+Gemellaro</i>.</p>
+
+<p>Carlo Gemellaro contributed many memoirs on subjects
+connected with the mountain. They are chiefly to
+be found in the <i>Atti dell' Accademia Gioenia</i> of Catania,
+and they extend over a number of years. Perhaps the
+most important is the treatise entitled "<i>La Vulcanologia
+dell' Etna che comprende la Topographia, la Geologia, la
+Storia, delle sue Eruzioni</i>." It was published in Catania
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</a></span>in 1858, and is dedicated to Sir Charles Lyell, who
+ascended the mountain under the guidance of the author.
+The latter also published a <i>Breve Raggualio della Eruzione
+dell' Etna, del 21 Agosto 1852</i>, which contains the most
+authentic account of this important eruption, accompanied
+by some graphic sketches made on the spot.
+The last contribution of Carlo Gemellaro to the history
+of Etna, is fitly entitled <i>Un Addio al Maggior Vulcano di
+Europa</i>. It was published in 1866, and with pardonable
+vanity the author reviews his work in connection with
+the mountain, extending over a period of more than
+forty years. He commences his somewhat florid farewell
+with the following apostrophe:&mdash;"O Etna! splendida
+e perenne manifestazione della esistenza dei Fuochi
+sotteranei massimo fra quanti altri monti, dalle coste
+meridionali di Europa, dalle orientali dell' Asia e delle
+settentrionali dell' Africa si specchiano nel Mediterraneo:
+tremendo pei tuoi incendii: benigno per la fertilit&agrave; del
+vulcanico tuo terreno ridotto a prospera coltivazione . . .
+io, nato appi&egrave; del vasto tuo cono, in quella Citt&agrave; che
+hai minacciato pi&ugrave; d'una volta di sepellire sotto le tue
+infocate correnti: allogato, nella mia prima et&agrave;, in una
+stanza della casa paterna, che signoreggiava in allora pi&ugrave;
+basse abizioni vicine, ed intiera godeva la veduta della
+estesa parte meridional&egrave; della tua mole, io non potera
+non averti di continuo sotto gli occhi, e non essere
+spettatore dei tuoi visibili fenomeni!"</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</a></span>In 1834, M. Elie de Beaumont commenced a minute
+geological examination of the mountain. His results
+were published in 1838, under the title of <i>Recherches sur
+la structure et sur l'origine du Mont Etna</i>, and they
+extend over 225 pages.<a name="FNanchor_11_11" id="FNanchor_11_11"></a><a href="#Footnote_11_11" class="fnanchor">[11]</a> He re-determined the latitude
+and longitude of the mountain, measured the slope of
+the cone, and the diameter of the great crater, and
+minutely examined the structure of the rocks at the
+base of the mountain. He also gives a good sectional
+view, elevations taken from each quarter of the compass,
+and a geological map, which although accurate in its
+general details, can scarcely be considered very satisfactory.
+A relief map of Etna, a copy of which is in
+the Royal School of Mines, was afterwards constructed
+from the flat map, and this was, we believe, at the same
+time, the first geological map, and the first map in relief,
+which had been made of the mountain. Elie de Beaumont
+considers granite as the basis of the mountain,
+because it is sometimes ejected from the crater; old
+basaltic rocks appear in the Isole dei Ciclopi, and near
+Paterno, Licodia, and Aderno; <i>cailloux roul&eacute;s</i> near
+Motta; ancient lavas on each side of the Val del Bove;
+modern lavas in every part of the mountain, and
+calcareous and arenaceous rocks in the surrounding
+mountains.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</a></span>In 1836, Abich published some excellent sections
+of Etna, and an accurate view of the interior of the
+crater, in a work entitled <i>Vues illustratives de quelques
+Ph&eacute;nom&egrave;nes G&eacute;ologiques prises sur le V&eacute;suve et l'Etna
+pendant les ann&eacute;es 1833 and 1834</i>.</p>
+
+<p>The whole of the thirteenth volume (1839) of the
+Berlin <i>Archiv f&uuml;r Mineralogie, Geognosie, Berghau und
+H&uuml;ttenkunde</i>, is occupied by an elaborate memoir on the
+geology of Sicily<a name="FNanchor_12_12" id="FNanchor_12_12"></a><a href="#Footnote_12_12" class="fnanchor">[12]</a> by Friedrich Hoffmann, accompanied
+by an excellent geological map. A long account of the
+geology of Etna is given, and an enlarged map of the
+mountain was afterwards constructed and published in
+the <i>Vulkanen Atlas</i> of Dr. Leonhard in 1850.<a name="FNanchor_13_13" id="FNanchor_13_13"></a><a href="#Footnote_13_13" class="fnanchor">[13]</a></p>
+
+<p>In 1836 Baron Sartorius Von Waltershausen commenced
+a minute survey of Etna, preparatory to a
+complete description of the mountain, both geological
+and otherwise. He was assisted by Professor Cavallari
+of Palermo, Professor Peters of Hensbourg, and Professor
+Roos of Mayence. The survey occupied six years,
+(1836-1842), and the results of direct observation in
+the form of maps and drawings, occupied a hundred
+sheets 160 millimetres (6&frac14; inches) long, by 133 m.m.
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</a></span>(5&frac14; inches) broad. Twenty-nine separate points were
+made use of in the triangulation; and the scale chosen
+was 1 in 50,000. The results were published in a large
+folio atlas, which appeared in eight parts; the first in
+1845 and the last in 1861, when the death of Von
+Waltershausen put an end to the further publication.
+There are 26 fine coloured maps, and 31 engravings.
+The cost of the atlas is &pound;12. The maps are both geological
+and topographical, and they are accompanied by
+outline engravings of various details of special interest.
+The <i>Atlas des Aetna</i> furnishes the most exhaustive history
+of any one mountain on the face of the earth, and Sartorius
+Von Waltershausen will always be the principal authority
+on the subject of Etna.</p>
+
+<p>Sir Charles Lyell visited Etna in 1824, 1857, and
+again in 1858. He embodied his researches in a paper
+presented to the Royal Society in 1859, and in a lengthy
+chapter in the <i>Principles of Geology</i>. His investigations
+have added much to our knowledge of the formation and
+geological characteristics of the mountain, especially of
+that part of it called the Val del Bove.</p>
+
+<p>Later writers usually quote Von Waltershausen and
+Lyell, and do not add much original matter. The facts
+of all subsequent writers are taken more or less directly
+from these authors. The latest addition to the literature
+of the mountain, is the <i>Wanderungen am Aetna</i> of
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</a></span>Dr. Baltzer, in the journal of the Swiss Alpine Club for
+1874.<a name="FNanchor_14_14" id="FNanchor_14_14"></a><a href="#Footnote_14_14" class="fnanchor">[14]</a></p>
+
+<p>A fine map of Sicily, on the unusually large scale of 1
+in 50,000, or 1&middot;266 inch to a mile, was constructed by
+the Stato Maggiore of the Italian government, between
+1864 and 1868. The portion relating to Etna, and its
+immediate surroundings occupies four sheets. All the
+small roads and rivulets are introduced; the minor cones
+and monticules are placed in their proper positions, and
+the elevation of the ground is given at short intervals of
+space over the entire map. An examination of this map
+shows us that distances, areas, and heights, have been
+repeatedly misstated, the minor cones misplaced, and the
+trend of the coast line misrepresented. For example, if
+we draw a line due north and south through Catania,
+and a second line from the Capo di Taormina, (the north-eastern
+limit of the base of Etna), until it meets the first
+line at Catania, the lines, will be found to enclose an
+angle of 26&deg;. If we adopt the same plan with Gemellaro's
+map, the included angle is found to be 53&deg;, and
+in the case of the maps of Ferrara and Recupero more
+than 60&deg;. Again, it has been stated on good authority,
+that the lava of 396 <span class="smcap">b.c.</span> which enters the sea at Capo di
+Schiso flowed for a distance of nearly 30 miles; the map
+shows us that its true course was less than 16 miles.
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</a></span>Lyell in 1858 gives a section of the mountain from
+West 20&deg; N., to East 20&deg; S., but a comparison with the
+new map proves that the section is really taken from
+West 35&deg; N. to East 35&deg; S., an error which at a radius
+of ten miles from the crater would amount to a difference
+of nearly three miles.</p>
+
+<p>The mantle of Carlo Gemellaro appears to have fallen
+upon Cav. Orazio Silvestri, Professor of Chemistry in
+the University of Catania. He has devoted himself with
+unwearying vigour to the study of the mountain, and
+his memoirs have done much to elucidate its past and
+present history. His most recent work of importance on
+the subject is entitled <i>I Fenomeni Vulcanici presentati
+dall' Etna nel 1863-64-65-66</i>. It was published in
+Catania in 1867, and contains an account of some
+very elaborate chemico-geological researches.</p>
+
+<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> Translated by Ernest Myers, <span class="smcap">m.a.</span>, 1874.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_2_2" id="Footnote_2_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_2"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> Translated by E. Myers.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_3_3" id="Footnote_3_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3_3"><span class="label">[3]</span></a> Translated by E. Crawley.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_4_4" id="Footnote_4_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_4_4"><span class="label">[4]</span></a> <i>De Natur&acirc; Rerum</i>, Book 6, p. 580. Translated by E. Munro
+1864.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_5_5" id="Footnote_5_5"></a><a href="#FNanchor_5_5"><span class="label">[5]</span></a>  See Lucilius Junioris <span class="smcap">Aetna</span>. Recensuit notasque Jos.
+Scaligeri, Frid. Lindenbruchii et suas addidit Fridericus Jacob.
+Lipsi&aelig;, 1826.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_6_6" id="Footnote_6_6"></a><a href="#FNanchor_6_6"><span class="label">[6]</span></a>  L'Etna de Lucilius Junior. Traduction nouvelle par Jules
+Chenu. Paris, 1843.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_7_7" id="Footnote_7_7"></a><a href="#FNanchor_7_7"><span class="label">[7]</span></a> Sketches in Italy and Greece, p. 201.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_8_8" id="Footnote_8_8"></a><a href="#FNanchor_8_8"><span class="label">[8]</span></a> Petri Bembi <span class="smcap">De Aetna</span>. Ad Angelum Chabrielem Liber
+Impressum Venetiis Aedibus Aldi Romani. Mense Februario
+anno M.V.D. (1495).</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_9_9" id="Footnote_9_9"></a><a href="#FNanchor_9_9"><span class="label">[9]</span></a> Fazzellus T. <span class="smcap">De Rebus Siculis</span>. Panormi, 1558; folio.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_10_10" id="Footnote_10_10"></a><a href="#FNanchor_10_10"><span class="label">[10]</span></a> Antonii Philothei de Homodeis Siculi, <span class="smcap">Aetn&aelig; Topographia</span>,
+incendiorum Aetn&aelig;orum Historia. Venetiis. 1591. Preface
+dated September, 1590.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_11_11" id="Footnote_11_11"></a><a href="#FNanchor_11_11"><span class="label">[11]</span></a> Printed in vol. IV. of <i>M&eacute;moires pour servir a une description
+Geologique de la France</i>. Par M.M. Dufr&eacute;noy et Elie de
+Beaumont.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_12_12" id="Footnote_12_12"></a><a href="#FNanchor_12_12"><span class="label">[12]</span></a> Entitled <i>Geognostiche Beobachtungen Gesammelt auf einer
+Reise durch Italian und Sicilien, in den jahren 1830 bis 1832, von
+Friedrich Hoffmann</i>.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_13_13" id="Footnote_13_13"></a><a href="#FNanchor_13_13"><span class="label">[13]</span></a> <i>Vulkanen Atlas zur naturgeschichte der Erde von K. G. Von
+Leonhard.</i> Stuttgardt. 1850.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_14_14" id="Footnote_14_14"></a><a href="#FNanchor_14_14"><span class="label">[14]</span></a> Jahrbuch des Schweizer Alpen Club. Neunter Jahrgang,
+1873-1874. Bern 1874.</p></div>
+</div>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_II" id="CHAPTER_II"></a>CHAPTER II.<br />
+<small><small>PHYSICAL FEATURES OF THE MOUNTAIN.</small></small></h2>
+
+<p><small>Height.&mdash;Radius of Vision from the summit.&mdash;Boundaries.&mdash;Area.&mdash;Population.&mdash;General
+aspect of Etna.&mdash;The Val del Bove.&mdash;Minor
+Cones.&mdash;Caverns.&mdash;Position and extent of the three
+Regions.&mdash;Regione Coltivata.&mdash;Regione Selvosa.&mdash;Regione
+Deserta.&mdash;Botanical Regions.&mdash;Divisions of Rafinesque-Schmaltz,
+and of Presl.&mdash;Animal life in the upper Regions.</small></p>
+
+<p><br /><span class="smcap">In</span> the preceding chapter we have discussed the
+history of Mount Etna; the references to its phenomena
+afforded by writers of various periods; and the present
+state of the literature of the subject. We have now to
+consider the general aspect and physical features of the
+mountain, together with the divisions of its surface into
+distinct regions.</p>
+
+<p>The height of Etna has been often determined. The
+earlier writers had very extravagant notions on the
+subject, and three miles has sometimes been assigned
+to it. Brydone, Saussure, Shuckburgh, Irvine, and
+others, obtained approximations to the real height;
+it must be borne in mind, however, that the cone of a
+volcano is liable to variations in height at different
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</a></span>periods, and a diminution of as much as 300 feet occurred
+during one of the eruptions of Etna, owing to the falling
+in of the upper portion of the crater. During the last
+sixty years, however, the height of the mountain has been
+practically constant. In 1815 Captain Smyth determined
+it to be 10,874 feet. In 1824 Sir John Herschel,
+who was unacquainted with Smyth's results, estimated
+it at 10,872&frac12; feet. The new map of the Stato Maggiore
+gives 3312&middot;61 metres = 10867&middot;94 feet.</p>
+
+<p>When the Canon Recupero devoted two chapters of his
+quarto volume to a discussion of the height of Etna, no
+such exact observations had been made, consequently he
+compared, and critically examined, the various determinations
+which then existed. The almost perfect concordance
+of the results given by Smyth, Herschel, and
+the Stato Maggiore, render it unnecessary for us to
+further discuss a subject about which there can now be
+no difference of opinion.</p>
+
+<p>Professor Jukes says, "If we were to put Snowdon,
+the highest mountain in Wales, on the top of Ben Nevis,
+the highest in Scotland, and Carrantuohill, the highest
+in Ireland, on the summit of both, we should make a
+mountain but a very little higher than Etna, and we
+should require to heap up a great number of other
+mountains round the flanks of our new one in order to
+build a gentle sloping pile which should equal Etna in
+bulk."</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</a></span>The extent of radius of vision from the summit of Etna
+is very variously stated. The exaggerated notions of the
+earlier writers, that the coast of Africa and of Greece are
+sometimes visible, may be at once set aside. Lord
+Ormonde's statement that he saw the Gulf of Taranta,
+and the mountains of Terra di Lecce beyond it&mdash;a distance
+of 245 miles&mdash;must be received with caution. It is,
+however, a fact that Malta, 130 miles distant, is often
+visible; and Captain Smyth asserts that a considerable
+portion of the upper part of the mountain may sometimes
+be seen, and that he once saw more than half of it, from
+Malta, although that island is usually surrounded by a
+sea-horizon. It is stated on good authority that Monte
+S. Giuliano above Trapani, and the &OElig;gadean Isles, 160
+miles distant, are sometimes seen. Other writers give
+128 miles as the limit. The fact is, that atmospheric
+refraction varies so much with different conditions of the
+atmosphere that it is almost impossible to give any exact
+statement. The more so when we remember that there
+may be many layers of atmosphere of different density
+between the observer and the horizon. Distant objects
+seem to be just under one's feet when seen from the summit
+of the mountain. Smyth gives the radius of vision
+as 150&middot;7 miles: and this we are inclined to adopt as the
+nearest approach to the truth, because Smyth was an
+accurate observer, and he made careful corrections both
+for error of instruments and for refraction. This radius
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</a></span>gives an horizon of 946&middot;4 miles of circumference, and an
+included area of 39,900 square miles&mdash;larger than the
+area of Ireland. If a circle be traced with the crater
+of Etna as a centre, and a radius of 150&middot;7 miles, it
+will be found to take in the whole of Sicily and Malta,
+to cut the western coast of Italy at Scalca in Calabria,
+leaving the south-east coast near Cape Rizzuto. Such
+a circle will include the whole of Ireland, or if we take
+Derby as the centre, its circumference will touch the sea
+beyond Yarmouth on the East, the Isle of Wight on the
+South, the Irish Channel on the West, and it will pass
+beyond Carlisle and Newcastle-on-Tyne on the North.</p>
+
+<p>The road which surrounds the mountain is carried
+along its lower slopes, and is 87 miles in length. It
+passes through the towns of Paterno, Aderno, Bronte,
+Randazzo, Linguaglossa, Giarre, and Aci Reale. It is
+considered by some writers to define the base of the
+mountain, which is hence most erroneously said to have
+a circumference of 87 miles; but the road frequently
+passes over high beds of lava, and winds considerably.
+It is about 10 miles from the crater on the North, East,
+and West sides, increasing to 15&frac12; miles at Paterno,
+(S.W.). The elevation on the North and West flanks of
+the mountain is nearly 2,500 feet, while on the South
+it falls to 1,500 feet, and on the East to within 50 feet
+of the level of the sea. It is quite clear that it cannot
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</a></span>be asserted with any degree of accuracy to define the
+base of the mountain.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 693px;">
+<a name="Sections_of_Etna" id="Sections_of_Etna"></a><img src="images/fp030.jpg" width="693" height="249" alt="" title="Section of Mount Etna in a direction nearly East and West. (Von Abich)  Section in a direction N.N.W. and S.S.E." />
+<p class='caption'>Sections of Etna</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>The "natural boundaries" of Etna are the rivers
+Alcantara and Simeto on the North, West, and South,
+and the sea on the East to the extent of 23 miles of
+coast, along which lava streams have been traced, sometimes
+forming headlands several hundred feet in height.
+The base of the mountain, as defined by these natural
+boundaries, is said to have a circumference of "at least
+120 miles," an examination of the new map, however,
+proves that this is over-estimated.</p>
+
+<p>If we take the sea as the eastern boundary, the river
+Alcantara, (immediately beyond which Monte di Mojo,
+the most northerly minor cone of Etna is situated), as
+the northern boundary, and the river Simeto as the
+boundary on the west and south, we obtain a circumference
+of 91 miles for the base of Etna. In this estimate
+the small sinuosities of the river have been neglected, and
+the southern circuit has been completed by drawing a
+line from near Paterno to Catania, because the Simeto
+runs for the last few miles of its course through the plain
+of Catania, quite beyond the most southerly stream of
+lava. The Simeto (anciently <i>Sim&aelig;thus</i>) is called the
+Giaretta along the last three miles of its course, after its
+junction with the Gurna Longa.</p>
+
+<p>The area of the region enclosed by these boundaries is
+approximately 480 square miles. Reclus gives the area
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</a></span>of the mountain as 1,200 square kilometres&mdash;461 square
+miles. (<i>Nouvelle Geographie Universelle</i>, 1875.) The
+last edition of a standard Gazetteer states it as "849
+square miles;" but this estimate is altogether absurd.
+This would require a circle having a radius of between
+sixteen and seventeen miles. If a circle be drawn
+with a radius of sixteen miles from the crater, it
+will pass out to sea to a distance of 4&frac12; miles on the
+East, while on the West and North it will pass through
+limestone and sandstone formations far beyond the Alcantara
+and the Simeto, and beyond the limit of the lava
+streams.</p>
+
+<p>There are two cities, Catania and Aci Reale, and sixty-two
+towns or villages on Mount Etna. It is far more
+thickly populated than any other part of Sicily or Italy,
+for while the population of the former is 228 per square
+mile, and of the latter 233, the population of the habitable
+zone of Etna amounts to 1,424 per square mile. More
+than 300,000 persons live on the slopes of the mountain.
+Thus with an area rather larger than that of Bedfordshire
+(462 square miles) the mountain has more than double
+the population; and with an area equal to about one-third
+that of Wiltshire, the population of the mountain
+is greater by nearly 50,000 inhabitants. We have stated
+above that the area of Etna is 480 square miles, but it
+must be borne in mind that the habitable zone only
+commences at a distance of about 9&frac14; miles from the
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</a></span>crater. A circle, having a radius of 9&frac14; miles, encloses
+an area of 269 square miles; and 480 minus 269 leaves
+211 square miles as the approximate area of the habitable
+zone. Only a few insignificant villages on the East
+side are nearer to the crater than 9&frac14; miles. Taking
+the inhabitants as 300,000, we find, by dividing this
+number by 211, (the area of the habitable zone), that
+the population amounts to 1,424 per square mile. Even
+Lancashire, the most populous county in Great Britain,
+(of course excepting Middlesex), and the possessor of
+two cities, which alone furnish more than a million inhabitants,
+has a population of only 1,479 to the square
+mile.</p>
+
+<p>Some idea of the closeness of the towns and villages
+may be found by examining the south-east corner of the
+map. If we draw a line from Aci Reale to Nicolosi, and
+from Nicolosi to Catania, we enclose a nearly equilateral
+triangle, having the coast line between Aci Reale and
+Catania as its third side.</p>
+
+<p>Starting from Aci Reale with 24,151 inhabitants, and
+moving westwards to Nicolosi, we come in succession to
+Aci S. Lucia, Aci Catena, Aci S. Antonio, Via Grande,
+Tre Castagni, Pedara, Nicolosi, completing the first side
+of the triangle; then turning to the south-east and
+following the Catania road, we pass Torre di Grifo,
+Mascalucia, Gravina, and reach Catania with 85,055 inhabitants;
+while on the line of coast between Catania
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</a></span>and Aci Reale we have Ognina, Aci Castello, and Trezza.
+Within the triangle we find Aci Patane, Aci S. Filippo,
+Valverde, Bonacorsi, S. Gregorio, Tremestieri, Piano,
+S. Agata, Trappeto, and S. Giovanni la Punta: in all
+twenty-five, two of which are cities, several of the others
+towns of about 3,000 inhabitants, and the rest villages.
+These are all included within an area of less than thirty
+square miles, which constitutes the most populous portion
+of the habitable zone of Etna.</p>
+
+<p>That the population is rapidly increasing is well shown
+by a comparison of the number of inhabitants of some of
+the more important towns in 1824 and in 1876.<a name="FNanchor_15_15" id="FNanchor_15_15"></a><a href="#Footnote_15_15" class="fnanchor">[15]</a></p>
+
+<table width="80%" summary="Population of towns close to Etna in 1824 and 1876"><tr>
+<td><br />
+Catania<br />
+Aci Reale<br />
+Giarre<br />
+Patern&ograve;<br />
+Aderno<br />
+Bronte<br />
+Biancavilla<br />
+Linguaglossa<br />
+Randazzo<br />
+Piedimonte Etnea<br />
+Zaffarana Etnea<br />
+Pedara<br />
+Trecastagni</td>
+<td><i>1824</i><br />
+45,081<br />
+14,094<br />
+13,705<br />
+9,808<br />
+6,623<br />
+9,153<br />
+5,870<br />
+2,415<br />
+4,700<br />
+1,404<br />
+700<br />
+2,068<br />
+2,406</td>
+<td><i>1876</i><br />
+85,055<br />
+24,151<br />
+17,965<br />
+16,512<br />
+15,657<br />
+15,081<br />
+13,261<br />
+9,120<br />
+8,378<br />
+4,924<br />
+3,884<br />
+3,181<br />
+3,061</td>
+</tr></table>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</a></span>The general aspect of Etna is that of a pretty regular
+cone, covered with vegetation, except near the summit.
+The regularity is broken on the East side by a slightly
+oval valley, four or five miles in diameter, called the
+<i>Val del Bove</i>, or in the language of the district Val
+del <i>Bue</i>. This commences about two miles from the
+summit, and is bounded on three sides by nearly vertical
+precipices from 3,000 to 4,000 feet in height. The
+bottom of the valley is covered with lavas of various date,
+and several minor craters have from time to time been
+upraised from it. Many eruptions have commenced in
+the immediate neighbourhood of the Val del Bove, and
+Lyell believes that there formerly existed a centre of
+permanent eruption in the valley. The Val del Bove
+is altogether sterile; but the mountain at the same
+level is, on other sides, clothed with trees. The vast
+mass of the mountain is realised by the fact that, after
+twelve miles of the ascent from Catania, the summit
+looks as far off as it did at starting. Moreover, Mount
+Vesuvius might be almost hidden away in the Val del
+Bove.</p>
+
+<p>A remarkable feature of Etna is the large number of
+minor craters which are scattered over its sides. They
+look small in comparison with the great mass of the
+mountain, but in reality some of them are of large
+dimensions. Monte Minardo, near Bronte, the largest
+of these minor cones, is still 750 feet high, although
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</a></span>its base has been raised by modern lava-streams which
+have flowed around it. There are 80 of the more
+conspicuous of these minor cones, but Von Waltershausen
+has mapped no less than 200 within a ten mile
+radius from the great crater, while neglecting many
+monticules of ashes. As to the statement made by
+Reclus to the effect that there are 700 minor cones,
+and by Jukes, that the number is 600, it is to be
+supposed that they include not only the most insignificant
+monticules and heaps of cinders, but also the
+<i>bocche</i> and <i>boccarelle</i> from which at any time lava or
+fire has issued. If these be included, no doubt these
+numbers are not exaggerations.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 485px;">
+<a name="Grotto_delle_Palombe" id="Grotto_delle_Palombe"></a><img src="images/fp036.jpg" width="485" height="329" alt="" title="" />
+<p class='caption'>Grotto delle Palombe near Nicolosi</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>The only important minor cone which has been produced
+during the historical period, is the double mountain
+known as Monti Rossi, from the red colour of the cinders
+which compose it. This was raised from the plain of
+Nicolosi during the eruption of 1669; it is 450 feet in
+height, and two miles in circumference at the base. In a
+line between the Monti Rossi and the great crater, thirty-three
+minor cones may be counted. Hamilton counted
+forty-four, looking down from the summit towards Catania,
+and Captain Smyth was able to discern fifty at once from
+an elevated position on the mountain. Many of these
+parasitic cones are covered with vegetation, as the names
+Monte Faggi, Monte Ilice, Monte Zappini, indicate. The
+names have not been happily chosen; thus there are
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</a></span>several cones in different parts of the mountain called
+by the same name&mdash;Monte Arso, Monte Nero, Monte
+Rosso, Monte Frumento, are the most common of the
+duplicates. Moreover, the names have from time to time
+been altered, and it thus sometimes becomes difficult
+to trace a cone which has been alluded to under a
+former name, or by an author who wrote before the
+name was changed. In addition to the minor cones
+from which lava once proceeded, there are numerous
+smaller vents for the subterranean fires called <i>Bocche</i>,
+or if very small, <i>Boccarelle</i>, <i>del Fuoco</i>. In the eruption of
+1669, thirteen mouths opened in the course of a few
+days; and in the eruption of 1809, twenty new mouths
+opened one after the other in a line about six miles
+long. Two new craters were formed in the Val del
+Bove in 1852, and seven craters in 1865. The outbursts
+of lava from lateral cones are no doubt due to the fact
+that the pressure of lava in the great crater, which is
+nearly 1000 feet in depth, becomes so great that the
+lava is forced out at some lower point of less resistance.
+The most northerly of the minor cones is Monte di
+Mojo, from whence issued the lava of 396 <span class="smcap">b.c.</span>, it is
+11&frac12; miles from the crater; the most southerly cone is
+Monte Ste Sofia, 16 miles from the crater. Nearly all
+the minor cones are within 10 miles of the crater, and
+the majority are collected between south-east, and
+west, that is, in an angular space of 135&deg;, starting
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</a></span>midway between east and south, (45&deg; south of due
+east) to due west, (90&deg; west of due south). Lyell
+speaks of the minor cones "as the most grand and
+original feature in the physiognomy of Etna."</p>
+
+<p>A number of caverns are met with in various parts
+of Etna; Boccacio speaks of the Cavern of Thalia, and
+several early writers allude to the Grotto delle Palombe
+near Nicolosi. The latter is situated in front of Monte
+Fusara, and the entrance to it is evidently the crater
+of an extinct monticule. It descends for 78 feet, and
+at the bottom a cavern is entered by a long shaft;
+this leads to a second cavern, which abruptly descends,
+and appears to be continued into the heart of the
+neighbouring Monti Rossi. Brydone says that people
+have lost their senses in these caverns, "imagining
+that they saw devils, and the spirits of the damned;
+for it is still very generally believed that Etna is the
+mouth of Hell." Many of the caverns near the upper
+part of the mountain are used for storing snow, and
+sometimes as places of shelter for shepherds. We have
+already seen to what extent Lucretius attributed the
+eruptions to air pent up within the interior caverns of
+the mountains.</p>
+
+<p>The surface of the mountain has been divided into
+three zones or regions&mdash;the <i>Piedimontana</i> or <i>Coltivata</i>;
+the <i>Selvosa</i> or <i>Nemorosa</i>; and the <i>Deserta</i> or <i>Discoperta</i>.
+Sometimes the name of <i>Regione del Fuoco</i> is given to
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</a></span>the central cone and crater. As regards temperature,
+the zones correspond more or less to the Torrid,
+Temperate, and Frigid. The lowest of these, the <i>Cultivated
+Region</i>, yields in abundance all the ordinary
+Sicilian products. The soil, which consists of decomposed
+lava, is extremely fertile, although of course large
+tracts of land are covered by recent lavas, or by those
+which decompose slowly. In this region the vine
+flourishes, and abundance of corn, olives, pistachio nuts,
+oranges, lemons, figs, and other fruit trees.</p>
+
+<p>The breadth of this region varies; it terminates at
+an approximate height of 2000 feet. A circle drawn
+with a radius of 10 miles from the crater, roughly
+defines the limit. The elevation of this on the north
+is 2,310 feet near Randazzo; on the south, 2,145
+feet near Nicolosi; on the east, 600 feet near Mascali;
+and on the west, 1,145 feet near Bronte. The breadth
+of this cultivated zone is about 2 miles on the north,
+east, and west, and 9 or 10 on the south, if we
+take for the base of the mountain the limits proposed
+above.</p>
+
+<p>The <i>Woody Region</i> commences where the cultivated
+region ends, and extends as a belt of varying width to
+an approximate height of 6,300 feet. It is terminated
+above by a circle having a radius of nearly 1&frac12; miles
+from the crater. There are fourteen separate forests
+in this region: some abounding with the oak, beech,
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</a></span>pine, and poplar, others with the chestnut, ilex, and
+cork tree.</p>
+
+<p>The celebrated <i>Castagno di Cento Cavalli</i>, one of the
+largest and oldest trees in the world, is in the Forest
+of Carpinetto, on the East side of the mountain, five
+miles above Giarre. This tree has the appearance of
+five separate trunks united into one, but Ferrara declares
+that by digging a very short distance below the surface
+he found one single stem. The public road now passes
+through the much-decayed trunk. Captain Smyth
+measured the circumference a few feet from the ground,
+and found it to be 163 feet, which would give it a
+diameter of more than 50 feet. The tree derives its
+name from the story that one of the Queens of Arragon
+took shelter in its trunk with a suite of 100 horsemen.
+Near this patriarch are several large chestnuts, which,
+without a shadow of doubt, are single trees; one of these
+is 18 feet in diameter, and a second 15 feet, while the
+<i>Castagno della Galea</i>, higher up on the mountain, is 25
+feet in diameter, and probably more than 1000 years old.
+The breadth of the Regione Selvosa varies considerably,
+as may be seen by reference to the accompanying map; in
+the direction of the Val del Bove it is very narrow, while
+elsewhere it frequently has a breadth of from 6 to 8 miles.</p>
+
+<p>The Desert Region is embraced between the limit of
+6,300 feet and the summit. It occupies about 10 square
+miles, and consists of a dreary waste of black sand,
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</a></span>scori&aelig;, ashes, and masses of ejected lava. In winter
+it remains permanently covered with snow, and even in
+the height of summer snow may be found in certain
+rifts.</p>
+
+<p>Botanists have divided the surface of Etna into seven
+regions. The first extends from the level of the sea
+to 100 feet above it, and in it flourishes the palm,
+banana, Indian fig or prickly pear, sugar-cane, mimosa,
+and acacia. It must be remembered, however, that it is
+only on the east side of the mountain that the level within
+the base sinks to 100 feet above the sea; and, moreover,
+that the palm, banana, and sugar-cane, are comparative
+rarities in this part of Sicily. Prickly pears and vines
+are the most abundant products of the lower slopes of
+the eastern side of Etna. The second, or hilly region,
+reaches from 100 to 2000 feet above the sea, and
+therefore constitutes, with the preceding, the <i>Regione
+Coltivata</i> of our former division. In it are found cotton,
+maize, orange, lemon, shaddock, and the ordinary
+Sicilian produce. The culture of the vine ceases near
+its upward limit. The third, or woody region, reaches
+from 2000 to 4000 feet, and the principal trees within
+it are the cork, oak, maple, and chestnut. The fourth
+region extends from 4000 to 6000 feet, and contains
+the beech, Scotch fir, birch, dock, plaintain, and sandworth.
+The fifth, or sub-Alpine region, extending from
+6000 to 7000 feet, contains the barberry, soapwort,
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</a></span>toad-flax, and juniper. In the sixth region, 7,500 to
+9000 feet, are found soapwort, sorrel, and groundsel;
+while the last narrow zone, 9000 to 9,200 feet, contains
+a few lichens, the commonest of which is the <i>Stereocaulon
+Paschale</i>. The flora of Etna comprises 477 species,
+only 40 of which are found between 7000 feet and the
+summit, while in the last 2000 feet only five phanerogamous
+species are found, viz., Anthemis Etnensis,
+Senecio Etnensis, Robertsia taraxacoides, (which are
+peculiar to Etna), Tanacetum vulgare, and Astragulus
+Siculus. Common ferns, such as the <i>pteris aquilina</i>, are
+found in abundance beneath the trees in the Regione
+Selvosa.</p>
+
+<p>This division has been advocated by Presl in his <i>Flora
+Sicula</i>.<a name="FNanchor_16_16" id="FNanchor_16_16"></a><a href="#Footnote_16_16" class="fnanchor">[16]</a> He names the different regions beginning from
+below: <i>Regio Subtropica</i>, <i>Regio Collina</i>, <i>Regio Sylvatica
+inferior</i>, <i>Regio fagi Sylvestris</i>. These four are
+common to all Sicily. The three remaining regions,
+<i>Regio Subalpina</i>, <i>Regio Alpina</i>, and <i>Regio Lichenum</i>,
+together extending from 6000 to 9,200 feet, belong
+to Etna alone.</p>
+
+<p>At the conclusion of the first volume of Recupero's
+<i>Storia Naturale et Generale dell' Etna</i> we find a somewhat
+different botanical division proposed by Signor
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</a></span>Rafinesque-Schmaltz.<a name="FNanchor_17_17" id="FNanchor_17_17"></a><a href="#Footnote_17_17" class="fnanchor">[17]</a> He makes his divisions in the
+following manner:&mdash;</p>
+
+<ol><li>Florula Piedemontana.</li>
+
+<li>Florula Nemorosa.</li>
+
+<li>Florula excelsa o della Regione Discoperta.</li>
+
+<li>Florula Arenosa o della Regione delle Scorie.</li></ol>
+
+<p>In the latter region, (to which he assigns no limit as to
+height), he found Potentilla Argentea, Rumex Scutatus,
+Tanacetum Vulgare, Anthemis Montana, Jacob&aelig;a Chrysanthemifolia,
+Seriola Uniflora, and Phalaris Alpina.</p>
+
+<p>As regards the animal life on Etna, of course it is the
+same as that of the eastern sea-board of Sicily, except in
+the higher regions, where it becomes more sparse. The
+only living creatures in the upper regions are ants, a
+little lower down Spallanzani found a few partridges,
+jays, thrushes, ravens, and kites.</p>
+
+<p>Brydone says of the three regions: "Besides the
+corn, the wine, the oil, the silk, the spice, and delicious
+fruits of its lower region; the beautiful forests, the flocks,
+the game, the tar, the cork, the honey of its second; the
+snow and ice of its third; it affords from its caverns a
+variety of minerals and other productions&mdash;cinnabar,
+mercury, sulphur, alum, nitre, and vitriol; so that this
+wonderful mountain at the same time produces every
+necessary, and every luxury of life."</p>
+
+<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_15_15" id="Footnote_15_15"></a><a href="#FNanchor_15_15"><span class="label">[15]</span></a> I am indebted for these figures to Mr. George Dennis, H.M.
+Consul General for Sicily.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_16_16" id="Footnote_16_16"></a><a href="#FNanchor_16_16"><span class="label">[16]</span></a> "Flora sicula: exhibens Plantas vasculosas in Sicilia aut
+sponte crescentes aut frequentissime cultas, secundum systema
+naturale digestas." Auctore G. B. Presl. Prag&aelig;, 1824.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_17_17" id="Footnote_17_17"></a><a href="#FNanchor_17_17"><span class="label">[17]</span></a> Chloris Aetnensis: o le quattro Florule dell' Etna, opusculo
+del Sig. C. S. Rafinesque-Schmaltz, Palermo. Dicembre, 1813.</p></div>
+</div>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_III" id="CHAPTER_III"></a>CHAPTER III.<br />
+<small><small>ASCENT OF THE MOUNTAIN.</small></small></h2>
+
+<p><small>The most suitable time for ascending Etna.&mdash;The ascent
+commenced.&mdash;Nicolosi.&mdash;Etna mules.&mdash;Night journey through
+the upper Regions of the mountain.&mdash;Brilliancy of the Stars.&mdash;Proposed
+Observatory on Etna.&mdash;The Casa Inglesi.&mdash;Summit of
+the Great Crater.&mdash;Sunrise from the summit.&mdash;The Crater.&mdash;Descent
+from the Mountain.&mdash;Effects of Refraction.&mdash;Fatigue of
+the Ascent.</small></p>
+
+<p><br /><span class="smcap">The</span> ascent of Mount Etna has been described many times
+during the last eighteen centuries, from Strabo in the
+second century to Dr. Baltzer in 1875. One of the most
+interesting accounts is certainly that of Brydone, and in
+this century perhaps that of Mr. Gladstone. Of course
+the interest of the expedition is greatly increased if it can
+be combined with that spice of danger which is afforded
+by the fact of the mountain being in a state of eruption
+at the time.</p>
+
+<p>The best period for making the ascent is between May
+and September, after the melting of the winter snows,
+and before the autumnal rains. In winter snow frequently
+extends from the summit downwards for nine or
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</a></span>ten miles; the paths are obliterated, and the guides refuse
+to accompany travellers. Even so late in the spring as
+May 29th Brydone had to traverse seven miles of snow
+before reaching the summit. Moreover, violent storms
+often rage in the upper regions of the mountain, and the
+wind acquires a force which it is difficult to withstand,
+and is at the same time piercingly cold. Sir William
+Hamilton, in relating his ascent on the night of June
+26th, 1769, remarks that, if they had not kindled a fire
+at the halting place, and put on much warm clothing,
+they would "surely have perished with the cold." At
+the same time the wind was so violent that they had
+several times to throw themselves on their faces to
+avoid being overthrown. Yet the guides said that the
+wind was not unusually violent. Some writers, well used
+to Alpine climbing, have asserted that the cold on Etna
+was more severe than anything they have ever experienced
+in the Alps.</p>
+
+<p>The writer of this memoir made the ascent of the
+mountain in August 1877, accompanied by a courier and
+a guide. We took with us two mules; some thick rugs;
+provisions consisting of bread, meat, wine, coffee, and
+brandy; wooden staves for making the ascent of the
+cone; a geological hammer; a bag for specimens; and a
+few other requisites. It has to be remembered that
+absolutely nothing is to be met with at the Casa Inglesi,
+where the halt is made for the night; even firewood has
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</a></span>to be taken, a fire being most necessary in those elevated
+regions even during a midsummer's night. For some
+time previous to our ascent the weather had been
+uniformly bright and fine, and there had been no rain
+for more than three months. The mean temperature
+in the shade at Catania, and generally along the eastern
+sea-base of the mountain, was 82&deg; F.</p>
+
+<p>As we desired to see the sunrise from the summit of
+the mountain, we determined to ascend during the cool
+of the evening, resting for an hour or two before sunrise
+at the Casa Inglesi at the foot of the cone. Accordingly
+we left Catania soon after midday, and drove to Nicolosi,
+twelve miles distant, and 2,288 feet above the sea. The
+road for some distance passed through a very fertile
+district; on either side there were corn fields and vineyards,
+and gardens of orange and lemon trees, figs and
+almonds, growing luxuriantly in the decomposed lava.
+About half way between Catania and Nicolosi stands the
+village of Gravina, and a mile beyond it Mascalucia, a
+small town containing nearly 4000 inhabitants. Near
+this is the ruined church of St. Antonio, founded in
+1300. Nine miles from Catania the village of Torre di
+Grifo is passed, and the road then enters a nearly barren
+district covered with the lava and scori&aelig; of 1527. The
+only prominent form of vegetation is a peculiar tall
+broom&mdash;<i>Genista Etnensis</i>&mdash;which here flourishes. We
+are now entering the region of minor cones; the vineclad
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</a></span>cone of Monpilieri is visible on the left, and just
+above it Monti Rossi, 3,110 feet above the sea; to the
+right of the latter we see Monte San Nicola, Serrapizzuta,
+and Monte Arso. We reach Nicolosi at half-past four;
+for although the distance is short, the road is very rugged
+and steep.</p>
+
+<p>Nicolosi has a population of less than 3,000; it consists
+of a long street, bordered by one-storied cottages
+of lava. In the church the priests were preparing for a
+<i>festa</i> in honour of S. Anthony of Padua. They politely
+took us into the sacristy, and exhibited with much pride
+some graven images of rather coarse workmanship,
+which were covered with gilding and bright coloured
+paint. Near Nicolosi stands the convent of S. Nicola
+dell' Arena, once inhabited by Benedictine monks, who
+however were compelled to abandon it in consequence of
+the destruction produced by successive shocks of earthquake.
+Nicolosi itself has been more than once shaken
+to the ground. We dined pretty comfortably, thanks to
+the courier who acted as cook, in the one public room of
+the one primitive inn of the town; starting for the Casa
+Inglesi at 6 o'clock. The good people of the inn surrounded
+us at our departure and with much warmth
+wished us a safe and successful journey.</p>
+
+<p>For a short distance above Nicolosi, stunted vines are
+seen growing in black cinders, but these soon give place
+to a large tract covered with lava and ashes, with here
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</a></span>and there patches of broom. There was no visible path,
+but the mules seemed to know the way perfectly, and
+they continued to ascend with the same easy even pace
+without any guidance, even after the sun had disappeared
+behind the western flank of the mountain. In fact, you
+trust yourself absolutely to your mule, which picks his
+way over the roughest ground, and rarely stumbles or
+changes his even step. I found it quite easy to write
+notes while ascending, and even to use a pocket spectroscope
+at the time of the setting sun. Subsequently we
+saw a man extended at full length, and fast asleep upon
+a mule, which was leisurely plodding along the highway.
+The same confidence must not however be extended to the
+donkeys of Etna, as I found to my cost a few days later at
+Taormina.  Here the only animal to be procured to
+carry me down to the sea-shore, 800 feet below, was a
+donkey. It was during the hottest part of the day, and
+it was necessary to carry an umbrella in one hand, and
+comfortable to wear a kind of turban of many folds of
+thin muslin round one's cap. The donkey after carefully
+selecting the roughest and most precipitous part of the
+road, promptly fell down, leaving me extended at full
+length on the road, with the open umbrella a few yards
+off. At the same time the turban came unfolded, and
+stretched itself for many a foot upon the ground. Altogether
+it was a most comical sight, and it reminded me
+forcibly, and at the instant, of a picture which I once
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</a></span>saw over the altar of a church in Pisa, and which represented
+S. Thomas Aquinas discomfiting Plato, Aristotle,
+and Averr&ouml;es. The latter was completely overthrown,
+and in the most literal sense, for he was grovelling in
+the dust at the feet of S. Thomas, while his disarranged
+turban had fallen from him.</p>
+
+<p>The district of lava and ashes above Nicolosi is succeeded
+by forests of small trees, and we are now fairly
+within the <i>Regione Selvosa</i>. At half-past 8 o'clock the
+temperature was 66&deg;, at Nicolosi at 4 o'clock it was 80&deg;.
+About 9 o'clock we arrived at the Casa del Bosco, (4,216
+feet), a small house in which several men in charge of the
+forest live. Here we rested till 10 o'clock, and then after
+I had put on a great-coat and a second waistcoat, we
+started for the higher regions. At this time the air was
+extraordinarily still, the flame of a candle placed near the
+open door of the house did not flicker. The ascent from
+this point carried us through forests of pollard oaks, in
+which it was quite impossible to see either a path or any
+obstacles which might lie in one's way. The guide
+carried a lantern, and the mules seemed well accustomed
+to the route. At about 6,300 feet we entered the
+<i>Regione Deserta</i>, a lifeless waste of black sand, ashes,
+and lava; the ascent became more steep, and the air
+was bitterly cold. There was no moon, but the stars
+shone with an extraordinary brilliancy, and sparkled like
+particles of white-hot steel. I had never before seen
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</a></span>the heavens studded with such myriads of stars. The
+milky-way shone like a path of fire, and meteors flashed
+across the sky in such numbers that I soon gave up
+any attempt to count them. The vault of heaven
+seemed to be much nearer than when seen from
+the earth, and more flat, as if only a short distance
+above our heads, and some of the brighter stars
+appeared to be hanging down from the sky. Brydone, in
+speaking of his impressions under similar circumstances
+says:</p>
+
+<p>"The sky was clear, and the immense vault of heaven
+appeared in awful majesty and splendour. We found
+ourselves more struck with veneration than below, and
+at first were at a loss to know the cause, till we observed
+with astonishment that the number of the stars seemed to
+be infinitely increased, and the light of each of them appeared
+brighter than usual. The whiteness of the milky-way
+was like a pure flame that shot across the heavens,
+and with the naked eye we could observe clusters of stars
+that were invisible in the regions below. We did not at
+first attend to the cause, nor recollect that we had now
+passed through ten or twelve thousand feet of gross
+vapour, that blunts and confuses every ray before it
+reaches the surface of the earth. We were amazed at
+the distinctness of vision, and exclaimed together, 'What
+a glorious situation for an observatory! had Empedocles
+had the eyes of Galileo, what discoveries must he not
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</a></span>have made!' We regretted that Jupiter was not
+visible, as I am persuaded we might have discovered
+some of his satellites with the naked eye, or at least
+with a small glass which I had in my pocket."</p>
+
+<p>Brydone wrote a hundred years ago, but his idea
+of erecting an observatory on Mount Etna was only
+revived last year, when Prof. Tacchini the Astronomer
+Royal at Palermo, communicated a paper to the
+Accademia Gioenia, entitled "<i>Della Convenienza ed
+utilita di erigere sull' Etna una Stazione Astronomico-Meteorologico</i>."
+Tacchini mentions the extraordinary
+blueness of the sky as seen from Etna, and the appearance
+of the sun, which is "whiter and more tranquil"
+than when seen from below. Moreover, the spectroscopic
+lines are defined with wonderful distinctness. In the
+evening at 10 o'clock, Sirius appeared to rival Venus,
+the peculiarities of the ring of Saturn were seen far
+better than at Palermo; and Venus emitted a light
+sufficiently powerful to cast shadows; it also scintillated.
+When the chromosphere of the sun was examined the
+next morning by the spectroscope, the inversion of the
+magnesium line, and of the line 1474 was immediately
+apparent, although it was impossible to obtain this effect
+at Palermo. Tacchini proposes that an observatory
+should be established at the Casa Inglesi, in connection
+with the University of Catania, and that it be provided
+with a good six-inch refracting telescope, and with
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</a></span>meteorological instruments. In this observatory, constant
+observations should be made from the beginning of
+June to the end of September, and the telescope should
+then be transported to Catania, where a duplicate
+mounting might be provided for it, and observations
+continued for the rest of the year. There seems to be
+every probability that this scheme will be carried out in
+the course of next year.</p>
+
+<p>During this digression we have been toiling along the
+slopes of the <i>Regione Deserta</i> and looking at the sky; at
+length we reach the <i>Piano del Lago</i> or Plain of the Lake,
+so called because a lake produced by the melting of the
+snows existed here till 1607, when it was filled up by lava.
+The air is now excessively cold, and a sharp wind is
+blowing. Progress is very slow, the soil consists of loose
+ashes, and the mules frequently stop; the guide assures
+us that the Casa Inglesi is quite near, but the stoppages
+become so frequent that it seems a long way off; at
+length we dismount, and drag the mules after us, and
+after a toilsome walk the small lava-built house, called
+the Casa Inglesi, is reached (1.30 a.m., temperature
+40&deg; F.) It stands at a height of 9,652 feet above the
+sea, near the base of the cone of the great crater, and
+it takes its name from the fact that it was erected by
+the English officers stationed in Sicily in 1811. It has
+suffered severely from time to time from the pressure
+of snow and from earthquakes, but it was thoroughly
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</a></span>repaired in 1862, on the occasion of the visit of Prince
+Humbert, and is now in tolerable preservation. It
+consists of three rooms, containing a few deal chairs,
+a table, and several shelves like the berths of ships
+furnished with plain straw mattresses; there is also
+a rough fireplace. We had no sooner reached this
+house, very weary and so cold that we could scarcely
+move, than it was discovered that the courier had
+omitted to get the key from Nicolosi, and there seemed
+a prospect of spending the hours till dawn in the open
+air. Fortunately we had with us a chisel and a
+geological hammer, and by the aid of these we forced
+open the shutter serving as a window, and crept into
+the house; ten minutes later a large wood fire was
+blazing up the chimney, our eatables were unpacked,
+some hot coffee was made, and we were supremely
+comfortable.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 535px;">
+<a name="The_Casa_Inglesi" id="The_Casa_Inglesi"></a><img src="images/fp052.jpg" width="535" height="249" alt="" title="" />
+<p class='caption'>The Casa Inglesi and Cone of Etna</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>At 3 a.m. we left the Casa Inglesi for the summit
+of the great crater, 1,200 feet above us, in order to be
+in time to witness the sunrise. Our road lay for a
+short distance over the upper portion of the Piano del
+Lago, and the walking was difficult. The brighter stars
+had disappeared, and it was much darker than it had
+been some hours before. The guide led the way with
+a lantern. The ascent of the cone was a very stiff
+piece of work; it consists of loose ashes and blocks of
+lava, and slopes at an angle of "45&deg; or more" according
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</a></span>to one writer, and of 33&deg; according to another; probably
+the slope varies on different sides of the cone: we do not
+think that the slope much exceeds 33&deg; anywhere on the
+side of the cone which we ascended. Fortunately there
+was no strong wind, and we did not suffer from the
+sickness of which travellers constantly complain in the
+rarefied air of the summit. We reached the highest
+point at 4.30 a.m., and found a temperature of 47&deg; F.</p>
+
+<p>When Sir William Hamilton ascended towards the
+end of June the temperature at the base of the mountain
+was 84&deg; F., and at the summit 56&deg; F. When Brydone
+left Catania on May 26th, 1770, the temperature was
+76&deg; F., Bar. 29 in. 8&frac12; lines; at Nicolosi at midday on
+the 27th it was 73&deg; F., Bar. 27 in. 1&frac12; lines; at the
+Spelonca del Capriole (6,200 feet), 61&deg; F., Bar. 26 in.
+5&frac12; lines; at the foot of the crater, temp. 33&deg; F., Bar.
+20 in. 4&frac12; lines, and at the summit of the crater just
+before sunrise, temp. 27&deg; F., Bar. 19 in. 4 lines.</p>
+
+<p>On reaching the summit we noticed that a quantity
+of steam and sulphurous acid gas issued from the ground
+under our feet, and in some places the cinders were so
+hot that it was necessary to choose a cool place to sit
+down upon. A thermometer inserted just beneath the
+soil from which steam issued registered 182&deg; F. For a
+short time we anxiously awaited the rising of the sun.
+Nearly all the stars had faded away; the vault of
+heaven was a pale blue, becoming a darker and darker
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</a></span>grey towards the west, where it appeared to be nearly
+black. Just before sunrise the sky had the appearance
+of an enormous arched spectrum, extremely extended at
+the blue end. Above the place where the sun would
+presently appear there was a brilliant red, shading off
+in the direction of the zenith to orange and yellow; this
+was succeeded by pale green, then a long stretch of pale
+blue, darker blue, dark grey, ending opposite the
+rising sun with black. This effect was quite distinct, it
+lasted some minutes, and was very remarkable. This
+was succeeded by the usual rayed appearance of the
+rising sun, and at ten minutes to 5 o'clock the upper
+limb of the sun was seen above the mountains of Calabria.
+Examined by the spectroscope the Fraunhofer lines
+were extremely distinct, particularly two lines near the
+red end of the spectrum.</p>
+
+<p>The top of the mountain was now illuminated, while
+all below was in comparative darkness, and a light mist
+floated over the lower regions. We were so fortunate
+as to witness a phenomenon which is not always visible,
+viz., the projection of the triangular shadow of the
+mountain across the island, a hundred miles away.
+The shadow appeared vertically suspended in space at or
+beyond Palermo, and resting on a slightly misty atmosphere;
+it gradually sank until it reached the surface of
+the island, and as the sun rose it approached nearer and
+nearer to the base of the mountain. In a short time
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</a></span>the flood of light destroyed the first effects of light and
+shadow. The mountains of Calabria and the west
+coast of Italy appeared very close, and Stromboli and
+the Lipari Islands almost under our feet; the east
+coast of Sicily could be traced until it ended at Cape
+Passaro and turned to the west, forming the southern
+boundary of the island, while to the west distant
+mountains appeared. No one would have the hardihood
+to attempt to describe the various impressions which
+rapidly float through the mind during the contemplation
+of sunrise from the summit of Etna. Brydone, who is
+by no means inclined to be rapturous or ecstatic in regard
+to the many wonderful sights he saw in the course
+of his tour, calls this "the most wonderful and most
+sublime sight in nature." "Here," he adds, "description
+must ever fall short, for no imagination has dared
+to form an idea of so glorious and so magnificent a
+scene. Neither is there on the surface of this globe
+any one point that unites so many awful and sublime
+objects. The immense elevation from the surface of
+the earth, drawn as it were to a single point, without
+any neighbouring mountains for the senses and imagination
+to rest upon, and recover from their astonishment
+in their way down to the world. This point or pinnacle,
+raised on the brink of a bottomless gulph, as old as the
+world, often discharging rivers of fire and throwing out
+burning rocks with a noise that shakes the whole island.
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</a></span>Add to this, the unbounded extent of the prospect, comprehending
+the greatest diversity and the most beautiful
+scenery in nature, with the rising sun advancing in the
+east to illuminate the scene."</p>
+
+<p>When the sun had risen we had time to examine the
+crater, a vast abyss nearly 1000 feet in depth, and with
+very precipitous sides. Its dimensions vary, but it is
+now between two and three miles in circumference.
+Sometimes it is nearly full of lava, at other times it
+appears to be bottomless. At the present time it is like
+an inverted cone; its sides are covered with incrustations
+of sulphur and ammonia salts, and jets of steam perpetually
+issue from crevices. Near the summit we found
+a deposit, several inches in thickness, of a white substance,
+apparently lava decomposed by the hot issuing
+gases. Hydrochloric acid is said to frequently issue from
+the crater; the gases that were most abundant appeared
+to be sulphurous acid and steam. The interior of the
+crater appeared to be very similar to that of the Solfatara
+near Puzzuoli. During the descent from the cone we
+collected various specimens of ash and cinder, some red,
+others black and very vesicular, others crystalline, some
+pale pink. The steep slope of the cone was well shown
+by the fact that, although the surface is either extremely
+rugged owing to the accumulation of masses of lava, or
+soft and yielding on account of the depth of cinders, a
+large mass of lava set rolling at the top rushes down
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</a></span>with increasing velocity until it bounds off to the level
+plain below.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 636px;">
+<a name="View_of_the_Val_de_Bove" id="View_of_the_Val_de_Bove"></a><img src="images/fp058.jpg" width="636" height="281" alt="" title="" />
+<p class='caption'>View of the Val del Bove</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>The great cone is formed by the accumulation of sand,
+scori&aelig;, and masses of rock ejected from the crater; it is
+oval in form, and has varied both in shape and size in the
+course of centuries. When we saw it, it was not full of
+smoke or steam; but it was possible to see to the bottom
+of it, in spite of small jets of steam which issued from
+the sides. It presented the appearance of a profound
+funnel-shaped abyss; the sides of which were covered
+with an efflorescence of a red or yellow, and sometimes
+nearly white, colour. The crater presented the same
+appearance when it was seen by Captain Smyth in 1814,
+but he was so fortunate as to witness it in a less quiescent
+state. "While making these observations," he
+writes, "on a sudden the ground trembled under our
+feet, a harsh rumbling with sonorous thunder was heard,
+and volumes of heavy smoke rolled over the side of the
+crater, while a lighter one ascended vertically, with the
+electric fluid escaping from it in frequent flashes in every
+direction. . . . During some time the ground shook so
+violently that we apprehended the whole cone would
+tumble into the burning gulf (as it actually had done
+several times before) and destroy us in the horrible
+consequences; however, in less than a couple of hours
+all was again clear above and quiet within." When Mr.
+Gladstone ascended in 1838, the volcano was in a
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</a></span>slight state of eruption: "The great features of this
+action," he writes, "are the sharp and loud claps,
+which perceptibly shook from time to time the ground of
+the mountain under our feet; the sheet of flame which
+leapt up with a sudden momentary blast, and soon disappeared
+in smoke; then the shower of red-hot stones
+and lava. At this time, as we found on our way down,
+lava masses of 150 or 200 pound weight were being
+thrown a distance of probably a mile and a half; smaller
+ones we found even more remote. These showers were
+most copious, and often came in the most rapid succession.
+Even while we were ascending the exterior of the cone,
+we saw them alighting on its slope, and sometimes
+bounding down with immense rapidity within, perhaps,
+some thirty or forty yards of our rickety footing on
+the mountain side. They dispersed like the sparks
+of a rocket; they lay beneath the moon, over the
+mountain, thicker than ever the stars in heaven; the
+larger ones ascended as it were with deliberation, and
+descended, first with speed and then with fury. Now
+they passed even over our heads, and we could pick up
+some newly fallen, and almost intolerably hot. Lastly,
+there was the black grey column, which seemed smoke,
+and was really ash, and which was shot from time to
+time out of the very bowels of the crater, far above its
+edge, in regular unbroken form."</p>
+
+<p>At the Casa Inglesi we remounted the mules, and
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</a></span>made a slight detour to the east in order to look down
+into the Val del Bove, which is here seen as a gigantic
+valley, bounded on the north by the precipitous cliffs of
+the Serra delle Concazze, and on the South by the Serra
+del Solfizio. It is believed by Lyell and others that in
+the Balzo di Trifoglietto, at which point the precipices
+are most profound and abrupt, there was a second permanent
+crater of eruption. The Torre del Filosofo, a
+ruined tower, traditionally the observatory of Empedocles,
+stands near the Casa Inglesi. Not far from this a great
+deposit of ice was found in 1828. It was preserved from
+melting by a layer of ashes and sand, which had covered
+it, soon after its first existence, as a glacier: a stream of
+lava subsequently flowed over the ashes, and completely
+protected the ice; the non-conducting power of the ashes
+prevented the lava from melting the ice. The snow
+which falls on the mountain is stowed away in caves,
+and used by the Sicilians during summer. A ship load
+is also sent to Malta, and the Archbishop of Catania
+derives a good deal of his income from the sale of Etna
+snow.</p>
+
+<p>During our descent from the mountain we were much
+struck by the apparent nearness of the minor cones beneath
+us, and of the villages at the base of the mountain.
+They seemed to be painted on a vertical wall in front of
+us, and although from ten to fifteen miles distant they
+appeared to be almost within a stone's throw. This
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</a></span>curious effect, which has often been observed before, is
+due to refraction. At the summit of Etna we have left
+one-third of the atmosphere beneath us, and the air is
+now pressing upon the surface of the earth with a weight
+of ten pounds on the square inch, instead of the usual
+fifteen pounds experienced at the level of the sea. In
+looking towards the base of the mountain we are consequently
+looking from a rarer to a denser medium; and
+it is a law of optics, that when light passes from a
+denser to a rarer medium it is refracted away from the
+perpendicular, and thus the object, from which it
+emanates, appears raised, and nearer to us than it really
+is. The objects around Etna appear near to us and
+raised vertically from the horizon for the same reason
+that a stick plunged in water appears bent.</p>
+
+<p>We reached Nicolosi again about noon, having left it
+eighteen hours before. The ascent of the mountain,
+although it does not involve much hard walking, is
+somewhat trying on account of the extremes of temperature
+which have to be endured. In the course of the
+morning of our descent we had experienced a difference
+equal to more than 40&deg; F. As to the ascent, you are
+moving upwards nearly all night; you have six hours
+of riding on a mule, some of it in a bitterly cold atmosphere;
+you get very much heated by the final steep climb
+of 1100 feet, and you find at the summit a piercing
+wind; of course there is no shelter, and you sit down to
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</a></span>wait for sunrise on cinders which are gently giving off
+steam and sulphurous acid; the former condenses to
+water as soon as it meets the cold air, and you find your
+great coat, or the rug on which you have sat down,
+speedily saturated with moisture.</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IV" id="CHAPTER_IV"></a>CHAPTER IV.<br />
+<small><small>TOWNS SITUATED ON THE MOUNTAIN.</small></small></h2>
+
+<p><small>Paterno.&mdash;Ste. Maria di Licodia.&mdash;The site of the ancient
+town of Aetna.&mdash;Biancavilla.&mdash;Aderno.&mdash;Sicilian Inns.&mdash;Adranum.&mdash;Bronte.&mdash;Randazzo.&mdash;Mascali.&mdash;Giarre.&mdash;Aci
+Reale.&mdash;Its
+position.&mdash;The Scogli de'Ciclopi.&mdash;Catania, its early history, and
+present condition.</small></p>
+
+<p><br />We have before alluded to the fact that Etna is far
+more thickly populated than any other part of Sicily or
+Italy; in fact, more so than almost any equal area in
+the world, of course excepting large cities and their
+neighbourhood. This is due to the wonderful fertility
+of the soil, the salubrity of the climate, and, on the
+eastern base, to the proximity of a sea-coast indented
+with excellent harbours. The habitable zone of Etna
+is restricted to the <i>Regione Coltivata</i>, nevertheless some
+of the towns on the north and west have a considerable
+elevation; thus Bronte is 2,782 feet above the sea, and
+Randazzo 2,718. All the principal towns are situated
+on the base road of the mountain, which was indeed
+constructed in order to connect them. Out of the sixty-four
+towns and villages on the mountain, the following
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</a></span>are the most important: Catania, Aci Reale, Paterno,
+Aderno, Bronte, Randazzo, Aci S. Antonio, Biancavilla,
+Calatabiano, Giarre, Francavilla, Linguagrossa,
+Licodia, Mascali, Misterbianco, Nicolosi, Pedara, Piedemonte,
+Trecastagne, and Tremestieri.</p>
+
+<p>On our return from the summit, we rested for awhile
+at Nicolosi, and in the cool of the evening started to
+make a <i>giro</i> of the mountain by way of the base road.
+Descending by the Nicolosi road as far as Mascalucia,
+we branched off to the west, and made for Paterno,
+passing near the town of Belpasso, which was destroyed
+by the earthquake of 1669, and subsequently erected
+on a new site. It still contains more than 7,000 inhabitants,
+although the district is extremely unhealthy.</p>
+
+<p>Paterno, the second largest town on the flanks of Etna
+after Catania and Aci Reale, stands in the very heart of
+the Regione Coltivata, and possesses more than 16,000
+inhabitants. According to Cluverius, it is the site of the
+city of Hybla Major (<span title="Hybla Megal&ecirc;">'&prime;&Upsilon;&beta;&lambda;&alpha; &Mu;&epsilon;&gamma;&alpha;'&lambda;&eta;</span>), a Sikelian city
+which was unsuccessfully attacked by the Athenians
+soon after they first landed in Sicily. During the second
+Punic War, the inhabitants went over to the Carthagenians,
+but the city was speedily recovered by the
+Romans. Pliny, Cicero, and Pausanias allude to it,
+but its later history has not come down to us.
+An altar was lately found in Paterno dedicated to
+<i>Veneri Victrici Hyblensi</i>. Several towns in Sicily were
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</a></span>called Hybla, probably&mdash;according to Pausanias&mdash;in
+honour of a local deity. Paterno was founded by
+Roger I. in 1073: it was once a feudal city of some
+importance, and possessed a cathedral and castle, and
+several large monasteries. Although much fallen to
+decay, it still possesses a good deal of vitality, and the
+population is on the increase.</p>
+
+<p>On leaving Paterno the road turns to the North-west,
+and passes through the village of Ste. Maria di Licodia.
+Here originally stood the Sikelian City of Inessa
+(<span title="In&ecirc;ssa">&Iota;&eta;&epsilon;&sigma;&sigma;&alpha;</span>), which, after the death of Hiero I., was
+peopled by colonists from Katana (then called <span title="Aitn&ecirc;">&Alpha;&iota;&theta;&nu;&eta;</span>).
+The new occupants of the city changed its name from
+Inessa to Aetna, which it retained. The town later fell
+into the hands of the Syracusans, and in 462 <span class="smcap">b.c.</span> the
+Athenians in vain attempted to take it. During the
+Athenian expedition both Aetna and Hybla were allies
+of Syracuse. In 403 <span class="smcap">b.c.</span> Aetna was taken by Dionysius,
+who placed in it a body of Campanian mercenaries.
+Sixty-four years later (<span class="smcap">b.c.</span> 339) the town was taken
+by Timoleon. For many succeeding years we find no
+further mention of it. Cicero speaks of it in his time
+as an important place, and the centre of a very fertile
+district; it is also mentioned by Pliny and Ptolemy,
+and Strabo says that it was usually the starting point
+for those who ascended the mountain. Of its later
+history we know absolutely nothing.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</a></span>Six miles to the north-west of St. Mariah di Licodia,
+the road passes through Biancavilla&mdash;a town of 13,000
+inhabitants, and the centre of a cotton district.</p>
+
+<p>The road continues in the same direction until the
+town of Aderno is reached; and here we arrived late
+in the evening, and gained our first experience of a
+Sicilian inn in an out-of-the-way town. After many
+enquiries we were directed to the only inn which the
+place could boast, kept by a doctor. No one appeared
+at or near the entrance, of course there was no bell or
+knocker, and we made our way up a dark stone staircase
+till we arrived at a dimly-lighted passage. A horrible
+old Sicilian woman now appeared, and showed us with
+great incivility the only room in the house, which its
+inmates were willing to place at our disposal. It was
+a fairly large room, with a stone floor which apparently
+had not been swept for weeks, and walls that had once
+been whitewashed; the furniture consisted of three beds
+placed on tressels, a plain deal table, and some primitive
+chairs. As to food they had neither bread, meat, wine,
+eggs, macaroni, fruit, or butter in the house; neither
+did they offer to procure anything. Even when some
+eggs had been obtained, and (after an hour's delay)
+cooked, there was not a single teaspoon to eat them
+with. The people of the town appear to subsist chiefly
+on beans and a kind of dried fish. If our courier had
+not been a very handy fellow and a tolerable cook, we
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</a></span>should have been obliged more than once to go to bed
+supperless. As it was, the best he could do on this
+occasion was to get some bread, eggs, and wine, and&mdash;best
+of all&mdash;some snow, for the heat was intolerable.
+In a town of the same size&mdash;15,657 inhabitants&mdash;in
+England, we should have at least two really comfortable
+inns ready at any moment to receive and entertain the
+weary traveller.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 544px;">
+<a name="View_of_Etna_from_Bronte" id="View_of_Etna_from_Bronte"></a><img src="images/fp066.jpg" width="544" height="260" alt="" title="" />
+<p class='caption'>View of Etna from Bronte</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>Aderno stands on the site, and has preserved the
+name, of the ancient Sikelian city of Adranum (<span title="Adranon">&Alpha;&delta;&rho;&alpha;&nu;&omicron;&nu;</span>).
+According to Diodorus there existed here, from very
+early times, the temple of a local deity named Adranus.
+The city was founded by the elder Dionysius in 400
+<span class="smcap">b.c.</span>; it owed its importance to the renown of its temple,
+which was guarded by a thousand dogs. In 345 <span class="smcap">b.c.</span>
+the city fell into the hands of Timoleon, and it was
+taken by the Romans at the commencement of the first
+Punic War. After this we cease to hear of it. The
+modern town was founded by Roger I. in the 12th
+century. The fine Norman tower&mdash;now used as a
+prison&mdash;and the monastery, were both built by King
+Roger.</p>
+
+<p>After leaving Aderno the base-road ascends, turns
+nearly due north, and leads us past a number of lava
+streams, notably those of 1610, 1603, and 1651. A
+good view of Monte Minardo, and the minor cones in
+its more immediate neighbourhood, is obtained on the
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</a></span>left, while on the right we see the Valley of the Simeto,
+and Centorbi high upon the hills.</p>
+
+<p>Nearly due west of the great crater is the town of
+Bronte, which is 2,782 feet above the sea, and has a
+population of more than 15,000. It is a very primitive
+place, and several centuries behind the age; it reminded
+us forcibly, in one or two particulars, of Pompeii: the
+streets are narrow and tortuous, and the roadway very
+uneven. Awnings are sometimes hung across the street
+from side to side to provide shade. The shops are
+exactly like those at Pompeii; and in the main street
+we noticed an open-air kitchen, to which the would-be
+diner repairs, purchases a plateful of food, and eats
+it standing in the public way. The inn was even
+worse than that of Aderno, and apparently had never
+before received guests. We were offered one miserable
+room, without a lock to the door, and unprovided with
+either table or chair. Of course the bare idea of offering
+to procure, or furnish, or cook, any kind of food was
+too monstrous to be entertained for a moment. With
+difficulty the courier obtained some eggs, macaroni, and
+fruit, on which we dined in a small barn attached to a
+wine-shop.</p>
+
+<p>At Bronte we are only nine miles from the crater, on
+the steepest side of the mountain, and near the Tertiary
+sandstone which underlies this portion of the mountain.
+A short distance outside the town we saw great beds
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</a></span>of the lava of 1832, piled up fantastically in all sorts
+of forms, and excessively rugged and uneven. It is
+quite bare of vegetation, and does not appear to have
+even commenced to be decomposed.</p>
+
+<p>Bronte gave its name to Lord Nelson, who was
+created Duke of Bronte by Ferdinand IV.:&mdash;an appropriate
+name for a great warrior (<span title="bront&ecirc;">&beta;&rho;&omicron;&nu;&tau;&eta;'</span>, thunder). The
+Nelson estates are scattered around the town.</p>
+
+<p>On leaving Bronte the road conducted us past several
+high hills of sandstone and quartzite near Monte
+Rivoglia; then we passed near Maletto, and, leaving
+the malarious lake Gurrita on our left, we soon after
+arrived at Randazzo. Near Maletto the road reaches
+it highest point&mdash;3,852 feet.</p>
+
+<p>The town of Randazzo was founded by the Lombards
+in the 10th century; during the Middle Ages it appears
+to have been a prosperous, populous, place; at present it
+possesses more than 8,000 inhabitants. The Emperor
+Frederick II. created his son Duke of Randazzo, and
+added to the name of the town, <i>Etnea</i>. It contains
+several very interesting architectural remains; a church
+of the 13th century, a medi&aelig;val palace&mdash;the Palazzo
+Finochiaro,&mdash;and a ducal palace now used as a prison.
+The houses are for the most part built of lava, and some
+of the shops have massive lava counters extending half
+across their open front, while the door occupies the
+remainder, as at Pompeii. The view from Randazzo is
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</a></span>very fine in every direction; the crater of Etna appears
+near, and Monte Spagnuolo&mdash;many hours distant&mdash;just
+outside the town. The town is 2,718 feet above the
+sea, just above the Valley of the Alcantara&mdash;of which
+it commands a fine view, and also of the limestone hills
+on the other side.</p>
+
+<p>We were obliged to pass the night in the town, in an
+inn scarcely superior to that of Aderno, but distinctly
+better than the miserable Albergo Collegio at Bronte.
+At least the people were civil, and did their best. The
+one room of the inn had a bed in each corner, and a
+deal table in the middle. Three of the beds were
+occupied by engineers who were surveying in connection
+with a new line of railway; the fourth was made over
+to the courier. I slept in a small kind of ante-room on
+a bed chiefly composed of deal boards placed on tressels.
+Here again the courier was invaluable, in fact it would
+be simply impossible to make the circuit of Etna without
+a courier. He procured some eggs, macaroni, fruit,
+snow, tomatoes, and even meat, and cooked everything
+well, without a trace of garlic. He also took care that
+the linen was clean, and the general arrangements as
+comfortable as they could be under the circumstances.
+Let us also admit that neither at Aderno, Bronte, nor
+Randazzo were we troubled with musquitoes or any
+worse species of insect. These, we were assured, would
+appear in full force in the following month (September).
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</a></span>Our only inconvenience of this nature arose from swarms
+of flies. The inns of these out-of-the-way towns probably
+receive scarcely a dozen travellers in the year, and these
+are Sicilians, who are not used to better accommodation.
+Evidently a <i>forestiare</i> is quite a novelty: the people of
+these small towns used to look at us with great curiosity,
+and crowded round the carriage when we started. At
+Bronte we had a good example of this curiosity: owing
+to the hardness of the lava of 1832 the head had come
+off the handle of our hammer, and we went into a
+carpenter's shop to have it put on again. Presently we
+noticed that eleven people, including a priest, were
+looking on, apparently with intense and absorbing
+interest.</p>
+
+<p>From Randazzo the base-road descends, until at
+Giarre it is near the sea-level. This road is one of the
+most beautiful in Sicily; it is part of the old military
+route from Messina to Palermo, and it was traversed
+by Himilco in 396 <span class="smcap">b.c.</span>; by Timoleon in 344 <span class="smcap">b.c.</span>; and
+by Charles V. in 1534. After leaving Randazzo the
+valley of the Alcantara becomes visible, while beyond
+it rise the lofty mountains of the Nebrodes. The road
+passes near Monte Dolce, and soon reaches Linguaglossa,
+a small town from whence the craters of 1865 may be
+reached in about four hours. The rapidly descending
+road passes through Piedemonte and Mascali, in the
+heart of an extraordinarily fertile region. Mascali, a
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</a></span>village of 3050 inhabitants, was considered by Cluverius
+to be the site of the Greek town of Callipolis, founded
+by a colony from Naxos as early as the fifth century,
+<span class="smcap">b.c.</span> A full view of the coast line is obtained from
+the Capo di Taormina on the north, to a point below
+Riposto on the south. We descended through plantations
+of nuts, and groves of oranges and lemons, to
+gentle slopes covered with vineyards.</p>
+
+<p>From the town of Giarre, (17,965 inhabitants), we
+get a view of the Val del Bove, which, however, is
+almost always obscured by thin white clouds, while
+the summit of the mountain is clear. We noticed,
+indeed, every day that the summit, which had been
+absolutely clear all the day and night, became covered
+with clouds shortly before sunset, while about an
+hour later the clouds cleared off, and the mountain
+was sharply defined against the sky during the starlit
+night. Some of the effects of sunset behind clouds
+resting on the summit, while all the rest of the sky was
+bright blue, were exceedingly beautiful, and were quite
+untranslatable into any known language, save that of
+painting, and of music. Perhaps Turner could have
+done justice to them.</p>
+
+<p>After leaving Giarre we passed through a good deal
+of highly cultivated land belonging to Baron Pennisi,
+the largest landholder and richest man in Sicily. He
+makes good use of his wealth, and seems to be very
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</a></span>popular among all classes. He possesses three palaces
+in Aci Reale, and has done a great deal to beautify
+the town. Arch&aelig;ologists will remember him as the
+possessor of the finest collection of Sicilian coins in
+the world. Many of these have been found on his own
+estates, but he never scruples to give large sums of
+money for any coin which he covets.</p>
+
+<p>Aci Reale, one of the prettiest towns in Europe,
+is situated in the midst of a very fertile region 550
+feet above the sea. To the east it faces the Ionian
+sea, while on the west towers Etna. The town is
+full of wealthy inhabitants, and the houses are large,
+lofty, and well built. It contains 24,151 inhabitants,
+and possesses celebrated sulphur baths, and one of the
+best hotels in Sicily. The wealth of this small town
+is well shown by the following fact: Since its foundation
+in the tenth century, till within a year or two
+of the present time, the town had been under the
+jurisdiction of the Archbishop of Catania. It happened,
+however, a few years ago, on the occasion of a religious
+procession in Catania, that the people of Aci considered
+that their patron Saint, S. Venera, was slighted. In
+fact the image of S. Agata, the patron Saint of the
+Catanese&mdash;whose veil has so often averted the lava-streams
+from the city&mdash;was put in all the prominent
+parts of the procession, while the image of S. Venera
+was comparatively neglected. The people of Aci at once
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</a></span>returned home, and sent a petition to the Pope,
+praying that they might have a Bishop of their own
+directly subject to the Holy See, in order that they
+might no longer be subjected to such slights. The
+Vatican having duly considered the question consented
+to raise Aci to the dignity of a Bishopric, and to pay
+the Bishop a yearly stipend of 10,000 lire, (about
+&pound;400, but equal to &pound;600 in Sicily), on condition that
+200,000 lire were paid at once into the coffers of the
+Vatican. This was promptly done, and now Monsignore
+Gerlando Genuardi, Bishop of Aci Reale, may
+snap his fingers in the face of Monsignore Giuseppe
+Benedetto Dusmet, a Benedictine of the Congregation of
+Monte Cassino, and Archbishop of Catania.</p>
+
+<p>Six villages in the neighbourhood of Aci Reale bear
+the name of Aci: Aci Castello, Aci Sant' Antonio,
+and so on, but Aci Reale claims to stand upon the
+very site rendered memorable by the story of Acis
+and Galatea. The river Acis (now called <i>Acque
+Grande</i>) rises from a bed of lava, and falls into the
+sea a mile from its source. Aci Reale stands on
+seven different beds of superposed lava, having layers
+of earth resulting from decomposed lava between. The
+Canon Recupero calculated from observation, that a
+lava requires at least 2000 years to form even a
+scanty layer of earth, consequently he inferred that
+the lowest of the lava streams upon which Aci rests
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</a></span>must have been formed 14,000 years ago. These
+views he stated to Brydone a hundred years ago;
+the latter says, "Recupero tells me he is exceedingly
+embarrassed by these discoveries in writing the history
+of the mountain. That Moses hangs like a dead
+weight upon him, and blunts all his zeal for enquiry;
+for that really he has not the conscience to make his
+mountain so young as that prophet makes the world.
+What do you think of these sentiments from a Roman
+Catholic Divine? The Bishop, who is strenuously
+orthodox&mdash;for it is an excellent See&mdash;has already
+warned him to be upon his guard, and not to pretend
+to be a better natural historian than Moses; not
+to presume to urge anything that may, in the smallest
+degree, be deemed contradictory to his sacred authority."
+The Canon Recupero lost his church preferment on
+the publication of Brydone's book, and the whole body
+of clergy of Girgenti received a reprimand on account
+of a capital story which Brydone told of a dinner at
+which the Bishop presided, during which several of
+the reverend Canons suffered severely from the effects
+of English punch, which Brydone had brewed for them.
+We quite agree with Admiral Smyth when he says,
+"It is a pity that Mr. Brydone laboured under such
+a cacoethes, as to sacrifice a friend for the sake of a
+good story." Of course we now know that Recupero's
+estimate of the age of Etna was far within the true
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</a></span>limits, but we derive this information from other
+sources. No true estimate can be obtained from the
+observation of the decomposition of lavas, for it has
+been often observed that two lavas will decompose at
+very different rates.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 700px;">
+<a name="Island_of_Columnar_Basalt" id="Island_of_Columnar_Basalt"></a><img src="images/fp074.jpg" width="700" height="339" alt="" title="" />
+<p class='caption'>Island of Columnar Basalt off Trezza</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>A little to the north of the village of La Scaletta,
+at the base of the rocks upon which Aci Reale stands,
+there are two small caverns in the abrupt face of
+the basalt, which can only be approached in a boat.
+They consist of columnar basalt bent very curiously, and
+capped by amorphous basalt.</p>
+
+<p>A drive of a few miles to the South of Aci Reale
+brings us to Trezza, a small village built of lava. A
+short distance from the shore are the celebrated <i>Scogli
+di Ciclopi</i>, or rocks of the Cyclops, said to be those
+which Polyphemus hurled at Ulysses after his escape
+from the cave. The rocks, seven in number, form
+small islets, the largest of which, the Isola d'Aci, is
+about 3000 feet in circumference, and 150 feet high.
+It consists of crudely columnar basalt capped by
+a kind of marl. Near the top of the island there is
+a cave called the "Grotto of Polyphemus," also a
+cistern of water. To the south of this island a very
+picturesque rock rises from the sea. It is 2000 feet in
+circumference and about 200 feet in height, and consists
+of columnar basalt in four and eight-sided prisms,
+but not very regular; a hard calcareous substance is
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</a></span>found in their interstices. Fine crystals of analcime
+are sometimes met with in the basalts of the Cyclops
+Islands. Lyell considers these basalts "the most ancient
+monuments of volcanic action within the region of Etna."</p>
+
+<p>A few miles south of the Isole di Ciclopi are the
+bay and city of Catania. We started from the latter
+when we commenced our ascent of Etna, and now on
+returning to it, we completed the circuit of the mountain
+by its base-road of 87 miles.</p>
+
+<p>Katana (<span title="Katan&ecirc;">&Kappa;&alpha;&tau;&alpha;'&nu;&eta;</span>) is believed to have been founded
+about 730 <span class="smcap">b.c.</span> by a Greek colony of Naxos, which had
+originally come from Chalcis. The city maintained its
+independence till the time of Hieron, who expelled the
+original inhabitants in 476 <span class="smcap">b.c.</span>, and peopled the city
+with Syracusans and inhabitants of the Peloponnesus
+to the number of 10,000. At the same time the name
+of the city was changed to Aetna (<span title="Aitn&ecirc;">&prime;'&Alpha;&iota;&theta;&nu;&eta;</span>). In 461 <span class="smcap">b.c.</span>,
+however, the old inhabitants retook their city, and drove
+out the newly-settled strangers, who betook themselves
+to Inessa, occupied it, and changed its name to <i>Aetna</i>.
+At a later period the Katanians sided with the Athenians
+against the Syracusans. But in 403 <span class="smcap">b.c.</span> Dionysius of
+Syracuse took and plundered the city, sold the inhabitants
+as slaves, and established in it a body of Campanian
+mercenaries. The latter quitted it and retired to Aetna
+in 396 <span class="smcap">b.c.</span>, when the city was taken by the Carthaginians
+after a battle off the rocks of the Cyclops.
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</a></span>Katana submitted to the Romans in 263 <span class="smcap">b.c.</span>, during the
+first Punic War, and it soon became a very populous city.
+Cicero mentions it as a wealthy city and important
+seaport. During the Middle Ages it underwent many
+changes both at the hands of nature and of man; it
+belonged in succession to the Goths, Saracens, and
+Normans; and in 1169 was destroyed by an earthquake,
+during which 15,000 of its inhabitants perished. Again
+in 1669, and 1693, it was almost destroyed by earthquakes.
+The present town is comparatively new, many
+of its more ancient remains are covered with lava,
+among them the remains of a fine Greco-Roman theatre,
+in which it is probable that Alcibiades addressed the
+Catanians in 415 <span class="smcap">b.c.</span> There are also remains of a
+Roman amphitheatre, bath, and tombs. Of more modern
+structures, the cathedral is the first to claim our notice.
+It was commenced by Roger I. in 1091, but in less than
+a century was almost entirely destroyed by an earthquake.
+At one corner of the building you descend
+through a narrow passage cut in the lava, to a crypt
+in which some ancient Roman arches are shown,
+partly filled up with lava. Here also is seen a small
+stream of very clear water flowing through the lava.
+The cathedral contains several interesting tombs, and
+in the chapel of S. Agata, her body is preserved in a
+silver sarcophagus, which during certain fetes is carried
+through the town in procession, attended by all the
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</a></span>authorities. S. Agata was martyred by the Pr&aelig;tor
+Quintianus in the reign of Decius, and is the patron
+saint of the city. Whenever Catania has been in trouble
+from the approach of lava streams, or from earthquakes,
+the veil of S. Agata has been used as a charm to avert
+the evil.</p>
+
+<p>The University of Catania is the most celebrated in
+Sicily. It was founded in 1445 by Alfonso of Arragon,
+and has produced several men of eminence. The city
+also possesses one of the finest monasteries in the world,
+now converted into schools and barracks. Formerly the
+monastery of S. Nicola was occupied by 40 monks, all
+members of noble families; it is sufficiently large to hold
+400.</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_V" id="CHAPTER_V"></a>CHAPTER V.<br />
+<small><small>ERUPTIONS OF THE MOUNTAIN.</small></small></h2>
+
+<p><small>Their frequency within the historical period.&mdash;525 <span class="smcap">b.c.</span>&mdash;477
+<span class="smcap">b.c.</span>&mdash;426 <span class="smcap">b.c.</span>&mdash;396 <span class="smcap">b.c.</span>&mdash;140 <span class="smcap">b.c.</span>&mdash;134 <span class="smcap">b.c.</span>&mdash;126 <span class="smcap">b.c.</span>&mdash;122 <span class="smcap">b.c.</span>&mdash;49
+<span class="smcap">b.c.</span>&mdash;43 <span class="smcap">b.c.</span>&mdash;38 <span class="smcap">b.c.</span>&mdash;32 <span class="smcap">b.c.</span>&mdash;40 <span class="smcap">a.d.</span>&mdash;72.&mdash;253.&mdash;420.&mdash;812.&mdash;1169.&mdash;1181.&mdash;1285.&mdash;1329.&mdash;1333.&mdash;1371.&mdash;1408.&mdash;1444.&mdash;1446.&mdash;1447.&mdash;Close
+of the Fifteenth Century.&mdash;1536.&mdash;1537&mdash;1566.&mdash;1579.&mdash;1603.&mdash;1607.&mdash;1610.&mdash;1614.&mdash;1619.&mdash;1633.&mdash;1646.&mdash;1651.&mdash;1669.&mdash;1682.&mdash;1688.&mdash;1689.&mdash;1693.&mdash;1694.&mdash;1702.&mdash;1723.&mdash;1732.&mdash;1735.&mdash;1744.&mdash;1747.&mdash;1755.&mdash;Flood
+of 1755.&mdash;1759.&mdash;1763.&mdash;1766.&mdash;1780.&mdash;1781.&mdash;1787.&mdash;1792.&mdash;1797.&mdash;1798.&mdash;1799.&mdash;1800.&mdash;1802.&mdash;1805.&mdash;1808.&mdash;1809.&mdash;1811.&mdash;1819.&mdash;1831.&mdash;1832.&mdash;1838.&mdash;1842.&mdash;1843.&mdash;1852.&mdash;1865.&mdash;1874.&mdash;General
+character of the Eruptions.</small></p>
+
+<p><br />A list of all the eruptions of Etna from the earliest
+times has been given by several writers, notably by
+Ferrara in his <i>Descrizione dell' Etna</i>, and by Gemellaro.
+The latter places the first eruption in 1226 <span class="smcap">b.c.</span> in the
+time of the Sicani; the second in 1170 <span class="smcap">b.c.</span>; and of the
+third he says, "In 1149 <span class="smcap">b.c.</span> there was an eruption, and
+Hercules in consequence fled from the island." Of
+course these dates are worthless, and the statements are
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</a></span>no doubt based upon the assertion of Diodorus, that
+before the Trojan war the Sicani were driven from the
+east side of Sicily by the eruptions of the volcano.</p>
+
+<ol><li>The first eruption appears to have occurred in the
+time of Pythagoras; we have no details as to its nature.</li>
+
+<li>The second eruption occurred in 477 <span class="smcap">b.c.</span> It is
+mentioned by Thucydides, and it must be the eruption
+to which Pindar and &AElig;schylus allude.  The former
+visited the tomb of Hiero I. of Syracuse in 473 <span class="smcap">b.c.</span>, and
+the latter was in Sicily in 471 <span class="smcap">b.c.</span> On the occasion of
+this eruption, two heroic youths named An&#259;pias and
+Amph&#301;nomus, performed a deed to which Seneca and
+other writers allude with enthusiasm. While the lava
+was rapidly overwhelming the city of Katana, they
+placed their aged parents on their shoulders, and, at the
+risk of their lives, bore them through the flaming streets,
+and succeeded in placing them in safety. It was said
+that the fiery stream of lava parted to make way for
+them.  Statues were raised to the honour of the <i>Pii
+Fratres</i>, and their burial place was long known as the
+<i>Campus Piorum</i>. Even a temple was erected to commemorate
+the deed.<br /><br />
+
+Lucilius Junior devotes the concluding lines of his
+poem on Etna to the glory of the brothers: "The
+flames blushed to touch the filial youths, and wherever
+they plant their footsteps, they retire. That day is a
+day of fortune; harmless that land. On their right hand
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</a></span>fierce dangers prevail; on their left are burning fires.
+Athwart the flames they pass in triumph, his brother
+and he, each safe beneath his filial burden. There the
+devouring fire flees backward, and checks itself round the
+twin pair. At length they issue forth unharmed, and
+bear with them their deities in safety. Songs of poets
+honour and admire them; them has Pluto placed apart
+beneath a glorious name, nor can the mean Fates reach
+the holy youths, but have truly granted them the homes
+and dominion of the blessed."<a name="FNanchor_18_18" id="FNanchor_18_18"></a><a href="#Footnote_18_18" class="fnanchor">[18]</a></li>
+
+<li>The third eruption occurred in the year 426 <span class="smcap">b.c.</span>
+It is mentioned by Thucydides as having commenced in
+the sixth year of the Peloponnesian War. It destroyed
+a portion of the territory of the inhabitants of Katana.</li>
+
+<li>An important eruption occurred in the year 396
+<span class="smcap">b.c.</span> It broke out from Monte di Mojo, the most
+northerly of the minor cones of Etna, and following
+the course of the river Acesines, (now the Alcantara)
+entered the sea at the site of the ancient Greek colony
+of Naxos. Himilco the Carthaginian general, was at
+this time on his way from Messana to Syracuse, and he
+was compelled to march his troops round the west side
+of the mountain in order to avoid the stream of lava.</li>
+
+<li>We hear of no further eruption for 256 years,
+when in the year 140 <span class="smcap">b.c.</span>, in the consulship of C. L&aelig;lius
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</a></span>Sapiens and Q. Servilius C&aelig;pio, there was an outburst
+from the volcano which destroyed 40 people.</li>
+
+<li>Six years later an eruption occurred according to
+Orosius and Julius Obsequens, in the consulship of
+Sergius Fulvius Flaccus, and Quintus Calpurnius Piso.
+We have no details concerning its nature or extent.</li>
+
+<li>The same authorities state that in the year 126 <span class="smcap">b.c.</span>
+in the consulship of L. &OElig;milius Lepidus, and L. Aurelius
+Orestes, Sicily suffered from a very severe earthquake,
+and a deluge of fiery matter poured from Etna, overwhelming
+large tracts of country, and rendering the
+waters of the adjacent Ionian sea positively hot. It is
+said that the sea near the island of Lipari boiled, and
+that the inhabitants ate so large a number of the fishes
+which were cast, already cooked, upon their shores, that
+a distemper appeared which destroyed a large number of
+people.</li>
+
+<li>Four years later Katana was nearly destroyed by
+a new eruption. The roofs of many of the houses were
+broken in by the weight of hot ashes which fell upon
+them; but the lava stream turned aside near the city
+and flowed into the sea. The lava is believed to have
+issued from a small crater near Gravina, about 2&frac12;
+miles from Katana. The city was so much injured
+by this eruption that the Romans granted the inhabitants
+an immunity from all taxes for a space of ten
+years.</li>
+
+<li><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</a></span>An eruption, of which we have no details, occurred
+during the civil war between C&aelig;sar and Pompey.</li>
+
+<li>Livy speaks of an eruption and earthquake which
+took place shortly before the death of C&aelig;sar, which it
+was believed to portend.</li>
+
+<li>In 38 <span class="smcap">b.c.</span>, during the civil war between Octavianus
+and Sextus Pompeius, a violent eruption
+occurred on the east side of the mountain, accompanied
+by fearful noises and outbursts of flame.</li>
+
+<li>Six years afterwards an eruption of a less violent
+character took place.</li>
+
+<li>The next eruption of which we hear is that
+mentioned by Suetonius in his Life of Caligula. The
+Emperor happened to be at Messina at the time, and he
+fled from the town through fear of the eruption. This
+was in 40 <span class="smcap">a.d.</span></li>
+
+<li>An eruption is said to have occurred in 72,
+in the second year after the capture of Jerusalem by
+Titus.</li>
+
+<li>Etna was now quiescent for nearly two centuries,
+but in the year 253, in the reign of the Emperor Decius,
+a violent eruption lasting nine days occurred. The lava
+flowed in the direction of Catania, and the inhabitants
+for the first time tested the efficacy of the veil of S.
+Agatha, which afterwards stood them in such good
+stead on more than one occasion. The Saint had been
+martyred the year before, and when the frightened
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</a></span>inhabitants saw the stream of lava approaching the
+city, they rushed to the tomb, and removed the veil
+which covered her body. This was carried to the edge
+of the descending torrent of lava, and is asserted to have
+at once arrested its progress.</li>
+
+<li>According to Carrera and Photius an eruption
+occurred in the year 420.</li>
+
+<li>We now find no record of any volcanic action for
+nearly four hundred years. Geoffrey of Viterbo states
+that an eruption occurred in 812, when Charlemagne
+was in Messina.</li>
+
+<li>After another long interval of more than three
+centuries and a half, the mountain again entered into
+eruption.  In February, 1169, occurred one of the
+most disastrous eruptions on record. A violent earthquake,
+which was felt as far as Reggio, occurred about
+dawn, and in a few minutes Catania was a heap of
+ruins. It is estimated that 15,000 persons were buried
+beneath the ruins. It was the vigil of the feast of S.
+Agatha, and the Cathedral of Catania was crowded with
+people, who were all buried beneath the ruins, together
+with the Bishop and forty-four Benedictine monks. The
+side of the cone of the great crater towards Taormina
+fell into the crater. At Messina the sea retired to some
+distance from the shore, and then suddenly returned,
+overwhelming a portion of the city, and sweeping away
+a number of persons who had fled to the shore for
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</a></span>safety. The clear and pure fountain of Arethusa at
+Syracuse became muddy and brackish; while the fountain
+of Ajo, near the village of Saraceni, ceased to flow
+for two hours, and then emitted water of the colour of
+blood. Ludovico Aurelio states that the vines, corn,
+and trees were burnt up over large districts.</li>
+
+<li>According to Nicolo Speziale, there was a great
+eruption from the eastern side of the mountain in
+1181.</li>
+
+<li>A stream of lava is said to have burst from the
+eastern side of the mountain in 1285, when Charles of
+Anjou was on his death-bed, and to have flowed fifteen
+miles.</li>
+
+<li>In the year 1329 Niccolo Speziale was in Catania,
+and witnessed the eruption of which he has left us an
+account. On the evening of June 28th, about the hour
+of vespers, Etna was strongly convulsed, terrible noises
+were emitted, and flames issued from the south side of
+the mountain. A new crater&mdash;Monte Lepre&mdash;opened in
+the Val del Bove above the rock of Musarra, and
+emitted large quantities of dense black smoke. Soon
+afterwards a torrent of lava poured from the crater,
+and red-hot masses of rock were projected into the air.
+These effects continued till the 15th of July, when a
+second crater opened ten miles to the S.E. of Montelepre,
+and near the Church of S. Giovanni Paparometto. Soon
+after four other craters opened around it, and emitted
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</a></span>smoke and lava. The sun was obscured from morning
+till evening by the smoke and ashes, and the adjacent
+fields were burnt up by the hot sand and ashes. Multitudes
+of birds and animals perished, and many persons
+are said to have died from terror. The lava streams
+were divided into three portions, two of which flowed
+towards Aci, and the third towards Catania. The ashes
+were carried as far as Malta, a distance of 130 miles.</li>
+
+<li>Four years afterwards an eruption is recorded by
+Silvaggio.</li>
+
+<li>A manuscript preserved in the archives of the
+Cathedral of Catania mentions an eruption which occurred
+on the 6th of August, 1371, which caused the
+destruction of numerous olive groves near the city.</li>
+
+<li>An eruption which lasted for twelve days commenced
+on the 9th of November, 1408; it originated
+in the great crater, but several mouths subsequently
+opened near the base of the mountain. Large quantities
+of red-hot ashes were emitted, some of which fell in
+Calabria. The villages of Pedara and Tre Castagne
+suffered severely from this eruption.</li>
+
+<li>A violent earthquake in 1444 caused the upper
+cone of the mountain to fall into the crater. A torrent
+of lava also issued from the mountain, and moved for
+a space of twenty days towards Catania, but it did not
+reach the city.</li>
+
+<li>Two years later lava issued from the Val del
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</a></span>Bove near the Rock of Musarra; the crater then formed
+was perhaps the present Monte Finocchio.</li>
+
+<li>A short eruption, of which we have no details,
+occurred in 1447: after which Etna was quiescent for 89
+years.</li>
+
+<li>Bembo and Fazzello mention an eruption which
+occurred towards the close of the 15th century, during
+which a current of lava flowed from the great crater,
+and destroyed a portion of Catania. In 1533 Filoteo, of
+whom we have before spoken as one of the earliest historians
+of Etna, descended into the crater, which possessed
+its present funnel-like form. He found at the bottom a
+hole, not larger than a man's head, from which issued a
+thin moist sulphurous vapour.</li>
+
+<li>In March, 1536, a quantity of lava issued from
+the great crater, and several new apertures opened near
+the summit of the mountain and emitted lava. It
+divided into several streams, flowing in different directions,
+one towards Randazzo, a second towards Aderno,
+and a third towards Bronte. The lava swept everything
+before it; at the same time quantities of smoke and
+ashes were ejected, the mountain was convulsed, and
+fearful noises were heard.  Three new craters were
+formed on the south and west sides of the mountain, and
+on the 26th of March twelve new craters, or <i>bocche</i>,
+opened between Monte Manfre and Monte Vituri. A
+physician of Lentini, named Negro di Piazza, having
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</a></span>approached too near to the scene of the eruption, was
+destroyed by a volley of red-hot stones. Several rifts
+were formed in the sides of the mountain from which
+issued flames and hot cinders.</li>
+
+<li>A year later, in May, 1537, a fresh outburst
+occurred; a number of new mouths were opened on the
+south slope of the mountain near La Fontanelle, and a
+quantity of lava was emitted, which flowed in the
+direction of Catania, destroying a part of Nicolosi, and
+S. Antonio. In four days the lava had run fifteen
+miles. At the same time violent shocks of earthquake
+occurred all over Sicily, the inhabitants thought that
+the last day had come, and many prepared for their end
+by receiving Extreme Unction. According to Filoteo
+the noises were so violent that many persons were
+struck deaf. The sun was obscured by smoke and dust,
+ashes fell in sufficient quantities to destroy the olive
+plantations of Messina, and were even carried 300 miles
+out to sea. The great crater suddenly fell in, so as to
+become level with the Piano del Lago. The height of
+the mountain was thus diminished by 320 feet.</li>
+
+<li>Three new craters opened in November, 1566,
+on the north-east slope of the mountain. Quantities
+of lava were emitted, which flowed towards Linguaglossa
+and Randazzo.</li>
+
+<li>A slight eruption, of which we have no details,
+occurred in 1579.</li>
+
+<li><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</a></span>According to Carrera, an eruption occurred in
+June, 1603. The mountain was shaken with earthquakes,
+and great volumes of smoke and flame were
+emitted.</li>
+
+<li>A stream of lava issued from the great crater
+four years later, and filled up the lake which had
+previously existed in the Piano del Lago.</li>
+
+<li>In February, 1610, lava was emitted from the
+great crater. It flowed towards Aderno, and filled up
+the bed of the Simeto, a little above the Ponte di
+Carcaci. A few months later a second stream destroyed
+a large portion of the forest Del Pino.</li>
+
+<li>In 1614 several new craters were opened between
+Randazzo and the great crater on the north side of the
+mountain. A quantity of lava issued from them, which
+united into one stream, and ran for ten miles, destroying
+a great deal of wooded country.</li>
+
+<li>A slight eruption occurred in 1619.</li>
+
+<li>In February, 1633, Nicolosi was partially destroyed
+by a violent earthquake; and in the following
+December earthquakes became frequent on the mountain.
+A new crater opened above the cone called Serrapizzuta,
+five miles from the great crater, and emitted a good
+deal of lava. A second crater afterwards opened about
+two miles to the east of the former. The eruption
+lasted off and on for four years: the ejected lava then
+covered a tract eighteen miles in length by two miles
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</a></span>in width, the thickness sometimes attaining 42 feet.
+In 1643 a severe earthquake occurred, which was mainly
+felt on the west side of the mountain.</li>
+
+<li>In 1646 a new mouth opened on the north-north-east
+side of the mountain, five miles from the great
+crater. The lava flowed towards Castiglione.</li>
+
+<li>In February, 1651, several new mouths opened
+on the west side of the mountain, and poured out vast
+volumes of lava which threatened to overwhelm Bronte.
+In twenty-four hours the lava ran sixteen miles with a
+breadth of four miles.</li>
+
+<li>We have a more detailed account of the eruption
+of 1669 than of any previous outburst. It was observed
+by many men of different nations; and we find accounts
+of it in our own <i>Philosophical Transactions</i>, in French,
+and of course in Italian. Perhaps the most accurate
+and complete description is that given by Alfonso
+Borelli, Professor of Mathematics in Catania. The
+eruption was, in every respect, one of the most terrible
+on record. On the 8th of March the sun was obscured,
+and a whirlwind blew over the face of the mountain;
+at the same time earthquakes commenced, and continued
+to increase in violence for three days, when
+Nicolosi was converted into a heap of ruins. On the
+morning of the 11th a fissure nearly twelve miles in
+length opened in the side of the mountain, and
+extended from the Piano di S. Leo to Monte Frumento,
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</a></span>a mile from the summit. The fissure was only six
+feet wide, but it seemed to be of unknown depth, and
+a bright light proceeded from it. Six mouths opened
+in a line with the principal fissure; they emitted vast
+columns of smoke, accompanied by loud bellowings
+which could be heard 40 miles off. Towards the close
+of the day, a crater opened about a mile below the
+others, and it ejected red hot stones to a considerable
+distance, and afterwards sand and ashes which covered
+the country for a distance of 60 miles. The new crater
+soon vomited forth a torrent of lava which presented
+a front of two miles, it encircled Monpilieri, and afterwards
+flowed towards Belpasso, a town of 8000 inhabitants,
+which was speedily destroyed. Seven mouths
+of fire opened around the new crater, and in three days
+united with it, forming one large crater 800 feet in
+diameter. The torrent of lava all this time continued
+to descend, and it destroyed the town of Mascalucia on
+the 23rd of March. On the same day the crater cast
+up great quantities of sand, ashes, and scori&aelig;, and
+formed above itself the great double-coned hill now
+called Monti Rossi from the red colour of the ashes of
+which it is mainly composed. On the 25th very violent
+earthquakes occurred, and the cone of the great central
+crater was shaken down into the crater for the fifth
+time since the first century <span class="smcap">a.d.</span> The original current
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</a></span>of lava had divided into three streams, one of which
+destroyed S. Pietro, the second Camporotondo, and
+the third the lands about Mascalucia, and afterwards
+the village of Misterbianco. Fourteen villages were
+altogether destroyed, and the lava was on its way to
+Catania. At Albanelli, two miles from the city, it
+undermined a hill covered with cornfields, and carried
+it forward a considerable distance; a vineyard was also
+seen to be floating on its fiery surface. When the lava
+reached the walls of Catania it accumulated without
+progression until it rose to the top of the wall, 60 feet
+in height, and it then fell over in a fiery cascade, and
+overwhelmed a part of the city. Another portion of the
+same stream threw down 120 feet of the wall, and
+flowed into the city. On the 23rd of April the lava
+reached the sea, which it entered as a stream 600 yards
+broad and 40 feet deep. The stream had moved at the
+rate of thirteen miles in twenty days, but as it cooled
+it moved less quickly, and during the last twenty-three
+days of its course it only moved two miles. On reaching
+the sea the water of course began to boil violently, and
+clouds of steam arose, carrying with them particles of
+scori&aelig;. Towards the end of April the stream on the
+west side of Catania, which had appeared to be consolidated,
+again burst forth, and flowed into the garden
+of the Benedictine Monastery of S. Niccola, and then
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</a></span>branched off into the city. Attempts were made to
+build walls to arrest its progress. An attempt of another
+kind was made by a gentleman of Catania, named
+Pappalardo, who took fifty men with him, having
+previously provided them with skins for protection from
+the intense heat, and with crowbars to effect an opening
+in the lava. They pierced the solid outer crust of
+solidified lava, and a rivulet of the molten interior
+immediately gushed out, and flowed in the direction of
+Paterno; whereupon 500 men of that town, alarmed for
+its safety, took up arms, and caused Pappalardo and his
+men to desist. The lava did not altogether stop for
+four months; and two years after it had ceased to flow
+it was found to be red hot beneath the surface.
+Even eight years after the eruption quantities of steam
+escaped from the lava after a shower of rain. The
+stones which were ejected from the crater during this
+eruption were often of considerable magnitude, and
+Borelli calculated that the diameter of one which he
+saw was 50 feet; it was thrown to a distance of a mile,
+and as it fell it penetrated the earth to a depth of
+23 feet. The volume of lava emitted during this eruption
+amounted to many millions of cubic feet: Ferrara
+considers that the length of the stream was at least
+fifteen miles, while its average width was between two
+and three miles, so that it covered at least forty square
+miles of surface.<br /><br />
+
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</a></span>In a somewhat rare tract,<a name="FNanchor_19_19" id="FNanchor_19_19"></a><a href="#Footnote_19_19" class="fnanchor">[19]</a> Lord Winchelsea, who
+was returning to England from Constantinople, and who
+landed at Catania, gives an account of what he saw of
+the eruption. He appears to have been frightened at
+the sight, and took good care to keep in a safe place;
+hence his letter, which is a short one, is mainly founded
+on hearsay. However, he says, "I could discern the
+river of fire to descend the mountain, of a terrible fiery
+or red colour, and stones of a paler red to swim thereon,
+and to be as big as an ordinary table.... Of 20,000
+persons which inhabited Catania, 3000 did only remain;
+all their goods are carried away, the cannon of brass
+are removed out of the castle, some great bells taken
+down, the city gates walled up next the fire, and
+preparations made by all to abandon the city." The
+noble earl is less happy in his scientific ideas than in
+his general statement of the facts of which he was an eye-witness;
+we can only hope that he joined the recently-formed
+Royal Society on his return to England, and
+listened to Robert Hooke's discourse on fire. In
+describing the lava, Lord Winchelsea says, "The
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</a></span>composition of this fire, stones, and cinders, are sulphur,
+nitre, quicksilver, sal-ammoniac, lead, iron, brass, and
+all other mettals!" Two other accounts are appended
+to the above letter; in one of these we are told that
+as the lava approached Catania, the various religious
+bodies carried their relics in procession, "followed by
+great multitudes of people, some of them mortifying
+themselves with whips, and other signs of penance,
+with great complaints and cries, expressing their dreadful
+expectation of the events of those prodigious fiery inundations."
+In the midst of all this, news was brought
+that a large band of robbers had taken advantage of the
+general distress, and were robbing right and left, and
+murdering the people: whereupon a troop of Spanish
+horse was sent out to protect the city and country, three
+pair of gallows were set up, and such as were found
+robbing were executed without trial by martial
+law.<br /><br />
+
+As the lava streams approached the city, the Senate,
+accompanied by the Bishop and all the clergy, secular
+and regular, went in procession out of the city to Monte
+di S. Sofia with all their relics, etc. There they
+erected an altar in view of the burning mountain, and
+celebrated mass, "and used the exorcismes accustomed
+upon such extraordinary occasions, all which time the
+mountain ceased not as before with excessive roaring
+to throw up its smoak and flames with extraordinary
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</a></span>violence, and abundance of great stones, which were
+carried through the air."</li>
+
+<li>For a few years after this terrible eruption Etna
+was quiescent, but in 1682 a new mouth opened on the
+east side of the mountain, a little below the summit,
+and above the Val del Bove. Lava issued from it, and
+rushed down the precipices of the Val del Bove as far
+as the rock of Musarra.</li>
+
+<li>Six years later a torrent of lava burst from an
+opening in the great cone, and flowed into the Val del
+Bove for a distance of three miles.</li>
+
+<li>In the following year lava was emitted from a
+mouth in the Val del Bove, and it descended for about
+ten miles, destroying everything in its course, until it
+reached a little valley near Macchia.</li>
+
+<li>Early in January 1693, clouds of black smoke
+were poured from the great crater, and loud noises
+resembling the discharge of artillery were heard. A
+violent earthquake succeeded, and Catania was shaken
+to the ground, burying 18,000 of its inhabitants in the
+ruins. It is said that in all fifty towns were destroyed
+in Sicily, together with from 60,000 to 100,000 inhabitants.
+Lava was emitted from the crater, which
+was lowered by the eruption.</li>
+
+<li>In the following year Etna again entered into
+eruption, ejecting large quantities of ashes, some of
+which were carried as far as Malta.</li>
+
+<li><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</a></span>In March 1702, three mouths opened in the
+Contrada del Trifoglietto, near the head of the Val del
+Bove.  Lava was emitted from them, which flowed
+into the Valley of Calanna.</li>
+
+<li>Towards the end of 1723 loud bellowings issued
+from the mountain; earthquakes occurred, and a torrent
+of lava issued from the crater, which flowed towards
+Bronte, through the Bosco di Bronte.</li>
+
+<li>A small lava stream issued from the crater in
+1732, and descended the western slope of the mountain,
+but without producing any damage.</li>
+
+<li>In October 1735, the usual noises which presage
+an eruption were heard, earthquakes followed, and a
+little later the crater emitted flames and red-hot stones.
+Lava also issued from it, and the stream divided into
+three branches, one of which flowed towards Bronte,
+a second towards Linguaglossa, and a third towards
+Mascali; but they did not get beyond the upper regions
+of the mountain.</li>
+
+<li>In 1744 the mountain threw out great quantities
+of ashes, but no lava.</li>
+
+<li>In 1747 a quantity of lava flowed from the great
+crater into the Val del Bove, and the height of the
+cone was considerably increased during the eruption.</li>
+
+<li>Early in the year 1755, Etna began to show
+signs of disturbance; a great column of black smoke
+issued from the crater, from which forked lightning
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</a></span>was frequently emitted. Loud detonations were heard,
+and two streams of lava issued from the crater. A
+new mouth opened near the Rocca di Musarra in the
+Val del Bove, four miles from the summit, and a
+quantity of lava was ejected from it. An extraordinary
+flood of water descended from the Val del Bove, carrying
+all before it, and strewing its path, with huge blocks.
+Recupero estimated the volume of water as 16,000,000
+cubic feet, probably a greater amount than could be
+furnished by the melting of all the winter's snow on
+the mountain. It formed a channel two miles broad,
+and, in some places, thirty-four feet deep, and it
+flowed at the rate of a mile in a minute and a half
+during the first twelve miles of its course. Lyell considers
+the flood was probably produced by the melting,
+not only of the winter's snow, but also of older layers
+of ice, which were suddenly melted by the permeation
+of hot steam and lava, and which had been previously
+preserved from melting by a deposit of sand and ashes,
+as in the case of the ancient glacier found near the
+summit of the mountain in 1828. In November 1758,
+a smart shock of earthquake caused the cone of the
+great crater to fall in, but no eruption occurred at the
+time.</li>
+
+<li>Great quantities of ashes, and some small streams
+of lava, were emitted from the crater in 1759, a
+little later the cone, which had been again raised by
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</a></span>the eruption, gave way, and the greater part of it fell
+into the crater. Two parts of it however were left
+standing.</li>
+
+<li>Severe shocks of earthquakes were felt on the
+east side of the mountain in 1763, and a new mouth
+opened in the Bosco di Bronte, ten miles from the town,
+between Monte Rosso and Monte Lepre. Four other
+mouths were afterwards opened in a line; they threw
+up quantities of scori&aelig; and ashes, and afterwards lava.
+In the middle of June several mouths opened on the
+south side of the mountain, and a fissure 2000 feet long
+opened downwards in a southerly direction. The lava
+divided into two branches, the larger of which was ten
+miles long and 250 feet wide, with a depth of 25
+feet.</li>
+
+<li>Several new mouths opened in the spring of
+1766, and ejected large volumes of ashes, also streams
+of lava, which flowed in the direction of Nicolosi and
+Pedara.  The Canon Recupero, one of the historians
+of Etna, witnessed this eruption, and narrowly escaped
+being destroyed. He had ascended a small hill 50
+feet high, of ancient volcanic matter, in order to
+witness the approach of the lava stream which was
+slowly advancing with a front of two miles and a half.
+Suddenly two small streams detached themselves from
+the main stream, and ran rapidly towards the hill.
+Recupero and his guide at once hastened to descend,
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</a></span>and had barely escaped when they saw the hill surrounded
+by lava, and in a few minutes it was melted
+down and sank into the molten mass.</li>
+
+<li>In the early part of 1780, earthquakes were felt
+all over Sicily, and on the 18th of May a fissure opened
+on the south-west side of the mountain, and extended
+from the base of the great crater for seven miles, terminating
+in a new mouth from which a stream of lava
+emanated. This encountered the cone of Palmintelli
+in its course, and separated into two branches, each of
+which was 400 feet wide. Other mouths opened later
+in the year, and emitted large quantities of lava, which
+devastated the country of Montemazzo.</li>
+
+<li>In 1781 the volcano emitted a quantity of lava
+which flowed into the Val del Bove. Clouds of grey
+ashes were also ejected. At the commencement of the
+great Calabrian earthquake of 1783, Etna ejected large
+quantities of smoke, but it was otherwise quiescent.</li>
+
+<li>In the middle of 1787 lava burst from the great
+crater, which also discharged quantities of sand, scori&aelig;,
+and red-hot ashes. Large heated masses of rock were
+ejected to a great height, and subterranean bellowings
+were heard by the dwellers on the mountain.</li>
+
+<li>Five years afterwards a fresh outburst occurred,
+earthquakes were prevalent, and vast volumes of smoke
+bore to seaward, and seemed to bridge the sea between
+Sicily and Africa. A torrent of lava flowed towards
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</a></span>Aderno, and a second flowed into the Val del Bove
+as far as Zoccolaro. A pit called <i>La Cisterna</i>, 40 feet
+in diameter, opened in the Piano del Lago, near the
+great cone, and ejected smoke and masses of old lava
+saturated with water. Several mouths opened below
+the crater, and the country round about Zaffarana was
+desolated. The Abate Ferrara, the author of the
+<i>Descrizione dell' Etna</i>, witnessed this eruption: "I
+shall never forget," he writes, "that this last mouth
+opened precisely on the spot where, the day before, I
+had made my meal with a shepherd. On my return
+next day he related how, after a stunning explosion,
+the rocks on which we had sat together were blown
+into the air, and a mouth opened, discharging a flood
+of fire, which, rushing down with the rapidity of water,
+hardly gave him time to make his escape."</li>
+
+<li>In 1797 a slight eruption occurred, and the great
+crater threw out ashes and sand, but no lava. Earthquakes
+were frequent.</li>
+
+<li>In the following year lava was emitted, and
+severe earthquakes occurred.</li>
+
+<li>The eruptions continued during 1799.</li>
+
+<li>In February 1800 loud explosions were heard
+by the dwellers on the mountain, and columns of fire
+issued from the crater, accompanied by forked lightning.
+This was succeeded by a discharge of hot ashes and
+scori&aelig;, which, falling on the snows accumulated near
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</a></span>the summit of the mountain, produced devastating
+floods of water.</li>
+
+<li>In November 1802 a new mouth opened near
+the Rocca di Musarra in the Val del Bove, which
+emitted a copious stream of lava. In a day and a half
+the lava had run twelve miles.</li>
+
+<li>In 1805 the great crater was in a state of
+eruption, and a cone was thrown up within it to a
+height of 1,050 feet.</li>
+
+<li>In 1808 the mountain again became active, and
+fire and smoke were emitted from the crater.</li>
+
+<li>In March 1809, no less than twenty-one mouths
+of fire opened in the direction of Castiglione.  They
+ejected volumes of smoke, large quantities of scori&aelig;
+and ashes, and afterwards lava, which, uniting into one
+torrent, flowed with a front of 450 feet for 8 miles.
+Fissures were formed in the earth, and loud explosions
+constantly occurred within the great crater; a small
+cone was thrown up.</li>
+
+<li>Two years afterwards more than thirty mouths
+opened in a line running eastwards for five miles.
+They ejected jets of fire accompanied by much smoke.
+The eruptions soon diminished in the higher mouths,
+and became more and more violent in the lower mouths,
+until the eruption centred in the lowest one called S.
+Simone, near the head of the Val del Bove. From this,
+great black clouds, having a lustre like that of black
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</a></span>wool, issued, and afterwards quantities of lava, which
+formed a stream a mile wide, and eight miles long. It
+flowed nearly as far as the village of Milo. Frequent
+earthquakes accompanied this outburst, and they continued
+in various parts of the island for the following
+five years.</li>
+
+<li>In 1819 five new mouths of fire opened near the
+scene of the eruption of 1811; three of these united
+into one large crater, and poured forth a quantity of
+lava into the Val del Bove. The lava flowed until it
+reached a nearly perpendicular precipice at the bend
+of the valley of Calanna, over which it fell in a cascade,
+and, being hardened by its descent, it was forced against
+the sides of the tufaceous rock at the bottom, so as to
+produce an extraordinary amount of abrasion, accompanied
+by clouds of dust, worn off by the friction. Mr.
+Scrope observed that the lava flowed at the rate of
+about a yard an hour, nine months after its emission.</li>
+
+<li>A slight eruption occurred in 1831 from the great
+crater, which threw out lava on its northern side.</li>
+
+<li>In October of the following year a violent eruption
+occurred.  A new crater was formed in the Val del
+Serbo, above Bronte and three miles from the summit.
+Seven mouths afterwards opened, three miles below the
+first.  From one of these lava was emitted, which
+flowed to within a mile and a half of Bronte. The
+stream was a mile and a half broad, and 40 feet deep.</li>
+
+<li><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</a></span>
+A slight eruption occurred in 1838, when a small
+quantity of lava was poured from the great crater into
+the Val del Bove.</li>
+
+<li>Four years later the crater discharged ashes and
+scori&aelig;, and lava burst from the cone 300 feet from the
+summit. It flowed into the Val del Bove, in a stream
+600 feet wide, and it came to a standstill ten miles from
+the summit.</li>
+
+<li>Near the end of the following year, fifteen mouths
+of fire opened near the crater of 1832, at a height of
+7000 feet above the sea. They began by discharging
+scori&aelig; and sand, and afterwards lava, which divided into
+three streams, the two outer ones soon came to a standstill,
+while the central stream continued to flow at the
+rapid rate of 180 feet a minute, the descent being an
+angle of 25&deg;. The heat at a distance of 120 feet from
+the current was 90&deg; F. A new crater opened just above
+Bronte, and discharged lava which threatened the town,
+but it fortunately encountered Monte Vittoria and was
+diverted into another course. While a number of the
+inhabitants of Bronte were watching the progress of the
+lava, the front of the stream was suddenly blown out as
+by an explosion of gunpowder; in an instant red-hot
+masses were hurled in every direction; and a cloud of
+vapour enveloped everything. Thirty-six persons were
+killed on the spot, and twenty survived but a few hours.
+The great crater showed signs of disturbance, by emitting
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</a></span>dense volumes of smoke, and loud bellowings, also
+quantities of volcanic dust saturated with hydrochloric
+acid, which destroyed the vegetation wherever it fell.</li>
+
+<li>A very violent eruption which lasted more than
+nine months, commenced on the 21st of August, 1852.
+It was first witnessed by a party of six English tourists,
+who were ascending the mountain from Nicolosi in order
+to see the sunrise from the summit. As they approached
+the Casa Inglesi the crater commenced to give
+forth ashes and flames of fire. In a narrow defile they
+were met by a violent hurricane, which overthrew both
+the mules and their riders, and urged them towards the
+precipices of the Val del Bove. They sheltered themselves
+beneath some masses of lava, when suddenly an
+earthquake shook the mountain, and their mules in
+terror fled away. They returned on foot towards daylight
+to Nicolosi, fortunately without having sustained
+injury. In the course of the night many <i>bocche del
+fuoco</i> opened in that part of the Val del Bove called the
+Balzo di Trifoglietto, and a great fissure opened at the
+base of the Giannicola Grande, and a crater was thrown
+up from which for seventeen days showers of sand and
+scori&aelig; were ejected. During the next day a quantity of
+lava flowed down the Val del Bove, branching off so
+that one stream advanced to the foot of Monte Finocchio,
+and the other to Monte Calanna. Afterwards it
+flowed towards Zaffarana, and devastated a large tract
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</a></span>of woody region. Four days later a second crater was
+formed near the first, from which lava was emitted
+together with sand and scori&aelig;, which caused cones to
+rise around the craters. The lava moved but slowly,
+and towards the end of August it came to a stand, only
+a quarter of a mile from Zaffarana: on the second of
+September, Gemellaro ascended Monte Finocchio in the
+Val del Bove in order to witness the outburst. He
+states that the hill was violently agitated, like a ship at
+sea. The surface of the Val del Bove appeared like a
+molten lake; scori&aelig; were thrown up from the craters
+to a great height, and loud explosions were heard at
+frequent intervals. The eruption continued to increase in
+violence. On October 6th two new mouths opened in the
+Val del Bove, emitting lava which flowed towards the
+Valley of Calanna, and fell over the Salto della Giumenta,
+a precipice nearly 200 feet deep. The noise which
+it produced was like that of the clash of metallic masses.
+The eruption continued with abated violence during the
+early months of 1853, and it did not finally cease till
+May 27. The entire mass of lava ejected is estimated
+to be equal to an area six miles long by two miles
+broad, with an average depth of about twelve feet.<br /><br />
+
+I am indebted to M. Antonin Moris of Palermo for
+the following account of the eruption of 1852:<br /><br />
+
+The eruption of 1852 commenced on the 21st of
+August. The earthquakes, the jets of flame from the
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</a></span>great crater, and the subterranean rumblings which
+usually precede an eruption, did not herald the approach
+of this one. An English family, who were then making
+the ascent of the mountain, together with a poor shepherd
+of Riposto, were the only witnesses of the first
+outburst. The latter was asleep in the midst of his
+flocks, and was awakened by violent shakings of the
+ground; he fled in haste, and some seconds afterwards
+the earth opened with a loud noise, vomiting a terrible
+column of fire, at the very spot which he had just
+abandoned. An enormous crevasse opened on the north
+side of Trifoglietto in the direction of the great crater.
+On its summit near the opening called the Piccolo
+Teatro, several openings were produced at the very first,
+but they only emitted feeble currents of lava. All the
+force of the eruption was concentrated at the foot of the
+escarpment of the Serra di Giannicola, 4 kilometres,
+(2&frac12; miles) from the summit of Etna. To the west of,
+and somewhat above the principal crater, a second one
+was formed, but its activity was of short duration. The
+liquid lava issued with such violence that in 24 hours it
+had reached the base of Monte Calanna, a distance of
+3 kilometres, (nearly 2 miles). After surrounding this
+hill, it divided into two currents, one of which ran
+towards Zaffarana, and the other towards Milo. At a
+distance they seemed to present a united front of 2
+kilometres, (1&frac14; mile), which threatened to destroy all
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</a></span>the villages below. The Val del Bove was already
+entirely overrun; Isoletta dei Zappinelli in the midst
+of the lavas of 1811 and 1819 was overwhelmed; the
+valley of Calanna was buried under the fire with lava,
+when on the 28th of August the lava hurled itself into
+the narrow passage of the Portella di Calanna. A
+frightful cascade of lava was then seen to precipitate
+itself from a height of 60 metres, with a harsh metallic
+noise, accompanied by loud cracking. Zaffarana was on
+the eve of total ruin; the fire had taken the direction of
+the ravine which terminates there, when suddenly, in
+the beginning of September, the devastating stream
+stayed its march against the ill-fated district.<br /><br />
+
+On the contrary that which had taken the direction of
+Milo, reinforced by a new current on the 10th of September,
+destroyed the hamlet of Caselle del Milo; and
+afterwards divided itself into two branches, which left
+the village of Caselle in safety between them.<br /><br />
+
+The inhabitants of La Macchia and Giarre gave themselves
+up for lost; for it seemed that the lava would be
+obliged to follow the valley of Santa Maria della Strada;
+happily, however, from the 20th of September onward,
+it ceased to advance perceptibly. The eruption did not
+totally subside till March 1853; but the lava-flows did
+no more than travel by the side, or on the top of the
+older, without extending beyond them.<br /><br />
+
+The crater of 1852 was called the Centenario, from its
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</a></span>having been formed at the time of the centenary of the
+f&ecirc;te of S. Agatha. Santiago, in the island of Cuba,
+was destroyed by an earthquake on the very day of the
+eruption.<br /><br />
+
+During the whole period of the eruption, only one
+explosion proceeded from the great crater of Etna. By
+it an enormous column of ashes and scori&aelig; was cast into
+the air.<br /><br />
+
+On the 9th of September white ashes were seen on
+the summit, which at a distance appeared like snow.
+When pressed together by the hand they took the consistence
+of clay, but they hardened in the fire, and could
+then be reduced to powder. They have been considered
+to be the <i>debris</i> of felspathic rocks, disintegrated by the
+heat of the lava, and blown out by the expansive power
+of disengaged gas.<br /><br />
+
+The eruption of 1852 was one of the grandest of the
+recorded eruptions of Etna. More than 2,000,000,000
+cubic feet of red hot lava was spread over three square
+miles. This eruption was minutely described by Carlo
+Gemellaro, in a memoir entitled, "<i>Breve ragguaglio
+della eruzione dell' Etna del 21 Agosto, 1852</i>."</li>
+
+<li>In October 1864, frequent shocks of earthquakes
+were felt by the dwellers on Etna. In January clouds
+of smoke were emitted by the great crater, and roaring
+sounds were heard. On the night of the 30th a violent
+shock was felt on the north-east side of the mountain,
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</a></span>and a mouth opened below Monte Frumento, from which
+lava was ejected. It flowed at a rate of about a mile
+a day, and ultimately divided into two streams. By
+March 10th the new mouths of fire had increased to
+seven in number, and they were all situated along a line
+stretching down from the summit. The three upper
+craters gave forth loud detonations three or four times a
+minute. Professor Orazio Silvestri has devoted a quarto
+of 267 pages to an account of <i>I Fenomeni Vulcanici
+presentati dall' Etna nel 1863-64-65-66</i>.</li>
+
+<li>In August 1874 the inhabitants of the towns
+situated on the north, west, and east sides of the
+mountain, were awakened by loud subterranean rumblings.
+Soon afterwards a formidable column of black
+smoke issued from the crater, accompanied by sand,
+scori&aelig;, and ignited matter (<i>infuocata materia</i>). Severe
+shocks of earthquake were felt, the centre of impulsion
+being apparently situated on the northern flank of the
+mountain, at a height of 2450 metres above the level
+of the sea. Some small <i>bocche eruttive</i> opened near the
+great crater, and ejected lava, but the quantity was
+comparatively small, and but little damage was done.
+An account of this eruption was given by Silvestri in
+1874, in a small pamphlet entitled, <i>Notizie sulla eruzione
+dell' Etna del 29 Agosto, 1874</i>. Since 1874 the mountain
+has been in a quiescent state. The centre of disturbance
+was at an elevation of 2450 metres (7600 feet)
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</a></span>above the sea, on the north side of the crater, and
+between the minor cones known as the <i>Fratelli Pii</i> and
+<i>Monte Grigio</i>. A new crater, having an elliptical contour,
+and a diameter of about 100 metres, was formed
+at this point. It is composed of a prehistoric grey
+labradorite, and of doleritic lava. Downwards from the
+main crater, in the direction of Monte di Mojo, a long
+fissure extended for 400 metres, and along the line of
+this fissure no less than <i>thirty-five</i> minor cones opened,
+with craters of from thirty to three metres in diameter.
+The stream of lava ejected from the various <i>boccarelle</i>
+was 400 metres long, 80 wide, and 2 metres in thickness,
+and the bulk of volcanic material brought to the
+surface, including the principal cone and its thirty-five
+subordinates and their ejectamenta, was calculated to
+amount to 1,351,000 cubic metres. The lava is of an
+augitic character, and magnetic; it possesses a specific
+gravity of 2&middot;3636 at 25&deg; C.</li></ol>
+
+<p>It will be seen from the account of the foregoing
+eruptions that there is a great similarity in the character
+of the eruptions of Etna. Earthquakes presage the
+outburst; loud explosions follow, rifts and <i>bocche del
+fuoco</i> open in the sides of the mountain; smoke, sand,
+ashes, and scori&aelig; are discharged, the action localises
+itself in one or more craters, cinders are thrown up, and
+accumulate around the crater and cone, ultimately lava
+rises, and frequently breaks down one side of the cone,
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</a></span>where the resistance is least. Then the eruption is at
+an end.</p>
+
+<p>Smyth says, "The symptoms which precede an eruption
+are generally irregular clouds of smoke, ferilli, or
+volcanic lightnings, hollow intonations, and local earthquakes
+that often alarm the surrounding country as far
+as Messina, and have given the whole province the name
+of Val Demone, as being the abode of infernal spirits.
+These agitations increase until the vast cauldron becomes
+surcharged with the fused minerals, when, if the convulsion
+is not sufficiently powerful to force them from
+the great crater (which, from its great altitude and the
+weight of the candent matter, requires an uncommon
+effort), they explode through that part of the side which
+offers the least resistance with a grand and terrific
+effect, throwing red-hot stones and flakes of fire to an
+incredible height, and spreading ignited cinders and
+ashes in every direction." After the eruption of ashes,
+lava frequently follows, sometimes rising to the top of
+the cone of cinders, at others breaching it on the least
+resisting side. When the lava has reached the base
+of the cone, it begins to flow down the mountain, and
+being then in a very fluid state, it moves with great
+velocity. As it cools the sides and surface begin to
+harden, its velocity decreases, and in the course of a
+few days it only moves a few yards in an hour. The
+internal portions, however, part slowly with their heat,
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</a></span>and months after the eruption, clouds of steam arise from
+the black and externally cold lava beds after rain, which,
+having penetrated through the cracks, has found its way
+to the heated mass within.</p>
+
+<p>Of the seventy-eight eruptions described above, it will
+be noticed that not more than nineteen have been of
+extreme violence, while the majority have been of a
+slight and comparatively harmless character.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 581px;">
+<a name="Geological_Map" id="Geological_Map"></a><img src="images/fp114.jpg" width="507" height="700" alt="Geological Map of Etna" title="Etna and its Environs" />
+</div>
+
+<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_18_18" id="Footnote_18_18"></a><a href="#FNanchor_18_18"><span class="label">[18]</span></a> Translated by L. E. Upcott, <span class="smcap">m.a.</span></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_19_19" id="Footnote_19_19"></a><a href="#FNanchor_19_19"><span class="label">[19]</span></a> "A true and exact relation of the late prodigious earthquake
+and eruption of Mount &AElig;tna or Monte Gibello; as it came in
+a letter written to his Majesty from Naples by the Rt. Honble.
+the Earl of Winchelsea late Ambassadour at Constantinople, who
+in his return from thence visiting Catania in the Island of
+Sicily, was an eye-witness of that dreadful spectacle." Published
+by Authority. Printed by T. Newcomb in the Savoy. 1669.</p></div>
+</div>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VI" id="CHAPTER_VI"></a>CHAPTER VI.<br />
+<small><small>GEOLOGY AND MINERALOGY OF THE MOUNTAIN.</small></small></h2>
+
+<p><small>Elie de Beaumont's classification of rocks of Etna.&mdash;Hoffman's
+geological map.&mdash;Lyell's researches.&mdash;The period of earliest
+eruption.&mdash;The Val del Bove.&mdash;Two craters of eruption.&mdash;Antiquity
+of Etna.&mdash;The lavas of Etna.&mdash;Labradorite.&mdash;Augite.&mdash;Olivine.&mdash;Analcime.&mdash;Titaniferous
+iron.&mdash;Mr. Rutley's examination
+of Etna lavas under the microscope.</small></p>
+
+<p><br />The opinion of geologists is divided as to the manner
+in which a volcano is first formed. Some hold that the
+volcanic forces have upraised the rocks from beneath, and
+at last finding vent have scattered the lighter portions
+of such rocks into the air, and have poured out lava
+through the rent masses, thus forming a <i>crater of
+elevation</i>. Others maintain that the volcanic products
+are ejected from an aperture or fissure already existing
+in rocks previously formed, and that the accumulation of
+these products around the vent forms the mass of the
+volcano and the <i>crater of eruption</i>. Lyell favours the
+latter view; Von Buch, Dufr&eacute;noy, and Elie de Beaumont
+the former.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</a></span>According to M. Elie de Beaumont, Etna is an
+irregular crater of elevation. The original deposits
+were nearly horizontal, and lavas were poured through
+fissures in these, and accumulated at first in layers;
+afterwards the whole mass was upheaved and a crater
+formed.<a name="FNanchor_20_20" id="FNanchor_20_20"></a><a href="#Footnote_20_20" class="fnanchor">[20]</a> The upheaving force does not appear to have
+acted at one point, but along a line traversing the Val
+del Bove. The latter he refers to a subsidence of a
+portion of the mountain. He divides the rocks of Etna
+into six orders: 1. The lowest basis of the mountain
+would appear to consist of granite, because masses of
+that rock have from time to time been ejected. 2.
+Calcareous and arenaceous rocks, of which the mountains
+surrounding Etna are composed, and which appear
+capped with lava near Bronte and elsewhere. 3. Basaltic
+rocks, which are met with near Motta S. Anastasia,
+Paterno, Licodia, and Aderno, and in the Isole
+de'Ciclopi. 4. Rolled pebbles, which form a range of
+slightly rising ground between the first slopes of Etna
+on the southern side and the plain of Catania. (Lyell
+speaks of this rising ground as consisting of "argillaceous
+and sandy beds with marine shells, nearly all of living
+Mediterranean species, and with associated and contemporaneous
+volcanic rocks.") 5. Ancient lavas forming
+the escarpments around the Val del Bove; and 6th,
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</a></span>Modern lavas. He considers that the fissures which
+abound on Etna are shifts or faults produced by dislocation,
+and that the minor cones are points along such
+fissures from which ashes and lava have been ejected.
+He admits the existence of two cones. The geological
+map of Etna prepared by M. Elie de Beaumont to
+accompany his memoir can scarcely be regarded as a
+great addition to our knowledge of the mountain. For
+although in the main points it is correct, so many details
+have been omitted that the map must be considered
+to have now been quite superseded by those of Von
+Waltershausen and Friedrich Hoffmann. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 700px;">
+<a name="Map_of_the_Val_del_Bove" id="Map_of_the_Val_del_Bove"></a><img src="images/p117.png" width="600" height="328" alt="" title="" />
+<p class='caption'>Map of the Val del Bove, to illustrate the theory of a double axis of eruption. (<i>Lyell</i>).</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>The most convenient geological map of the mountain
+is without doubt that of Hoffmann, given in the
+<i>Vulkanen Atlas</i> of Dr. Von Leonhard; and here reproduced.
+Von Waltershausen's geological map has been
+the foundation of all others which have subsequently
+appeared. It is a marvel of accurate work, and patient
+industry. The form however is inconvenient, as it nowhere
+appears as a whole, but in separate portions, which
+are scattered through the folio sheets of the very expensive
+<i>Atlas des Aetna</i>. It is accurate, and at the same
+time very clear and intelligible. By reference to the
+map it will be seen that from Capo di Schiso westward,
+to near Paterno, Etna is surrounded by sandstone hills;
+at the south we have recent clays, and, at intervals,
+chalk. A large triangular space having the two angles
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</a></span>at its base, respectively near Maletto and Aderno,
+and its apex at the great crater, is covered with new
+lava; while around Nicolosi there is volcanic sand. At
+the Isole de'Ciclopi, Motta S. Anastasia, and a few
+other places, basalt is seen; on each side of the Val del
+Bove, dolerite; and near Misterbianco and Piedemonte,
+small deposits of clay slate. The great mass of the
+surface of the mountain, not specially mentioned above,
+is volcanic tuff. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 700px;">
+<img src="images/p119.png" width="600" height="109" alt="" title="Ideal section of Mount Etna" />
+<p class='caption'>Ideal section of Mount Etna, from West 35&deg; N. to East 35&deg; S., to illustrate the theory of a double axis
+of eruption. See M.N. Map, p. 117 (<i>Lyell</i>).</p>
+<p><b>A. Axis of Mongibello.<br /><br />
+B. Axis of Trifoglietto.<br /><br />
+<i>a', c, b', i, d.</i> Older lavas, chiefly trachytic.
+<i>c, e,</i> and <i>d, f.</i> Lavas chiefly doleritic, poured
+out from A after the axis or focus B was
+spent, and before the origin of the Val dell Bove.<br /><br />
+<i>gg.</i> Scori&aelig; and lavas of later date than the
+Val del Bove.<br /><br />
+<i>h, i, k.</i> Val del Bove. The faint lines represent the missing rocks.<br />
+N.B. In the section between <i>i</i> and <i>k</i>, it will
+be seen that the beds at the base, or near
+<i>i</i>, dip steeply away from the Val del
+Bove: those in the middle, or below <i>k</i>,
+are horizontal, and those at top, or at <i>k</i>,
+dip gently towards the Val del Bove.<br /><br />
+L. Older tertiary and sandy rocks, chiefly
+sandstones.</b></p>
+</div>
+
+<p>Among the more important and recent additions to our
+knowledge of the geology of Etna may be mentioned
+Lyell's paper on the subject, communicated to the Royal
+Society in 1858, the matter of which is incorporated
+in a lengthy chapter on Etna in the "Principles of
+Geology." Lyell visited the mountain in 1828, 1857,
+and 1858, and he then collected together a great
+number of personal observations; he also made use
+of the maps and plans of Von Waltershausen, and
+he has analysed the views of Elie de Beaumont and
+other writers. He alludes at the outset to the numerous
+minor cones of Etna produced by lateral eruption, and
+points out the fact that they are gradually obliterated by
+the lava descending from the upper part of the mountain,
+which flows around them and heightens the ground on
+which they stand. In this way the crater of Monte
+Nocilla is now level with the plain, and the crater of
+Monte Capreolo was nearly filled by a lava stream in
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</a></span>1669. Thus without doubt beneath the sloping sides
+of Etna a multitude of obliterated monticules exist.</p>
+
+<p>The strata which surround Mount Etna on the south
+are of Newer Pliocene date, and contain shells which
+are nearly all of species still living in the Mediterranean.
+Out of sixty-five species collected by Lyell in 1828,
+sixty-one were found to belong to species still common in
+the Mediterranean. These strata are about the age of
+the Norwich crag; and the oldest eruptions of Etna
+must have taken place during the glacial period, but
+before the period of greatest cold in Northern Europe.
+
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</a></span></p><div class="figcenter" style="width: 700px;">
+<a name="Profile_of_Etna" id="Profile_of_Etna"></a><a name="Ideal_Section" id="Ideal_Section"></a><img src="images/p121.png" width="600" height="234" alt="" title="" />
+<p class='caption'>Profile of Etna. A. The ancient mountain, chiefly composed of felspathic rocks. B. The modern mountain, chiefly composed of pyroxenic rocks. (From Gemellaro's <i>Vulcanologia dell' Etna</i>).</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>Before visiting Etna, Lyell had been told by Dr.
+Buckland that in his opinion the Val del Bove was the
+most interesting part of Etna, accordingly he specially
+and minutely examined that part of the mountain.
+This vast valley is situated on the eastern flanks of
+the mountain, and it commences near the base of the
+cone, stretching for nearly five miles downwards. It
+is a large oval basin formed in the side of the
+mountain, and surrounded by vast precipices, some of
+which at the head of the valley are between three and
+four thousand feet in height. The surface is covered
+with lava of various dates, and several minor cones,
+notably those of 1852, are within its boundaries. The
+abrupt precipices reveal the presence of a large number
+of vertical dikes, radiating from a point within the
+valley, some of them, according to Von Waltershausen,
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</a></span>being of ancient greenstone. Other dikes of
+more modern doleritic lava radiate from the present
+crater. From the slope of the beds in the Val del
+Bove, Lyell and Von Waltershausen have independently
+inferred that there was once a second great centre of
+eruption in the Val del Bove between the Sierra
+Giannicola, and Zoccolaro (<i>vide</i> the Figure on p.
+<a href="#Page_117">117</a>). The axis of eruption passing through this
+point Lyell calls the <i>Axis of Trifoglietto</i>; while he
+distinguishes the present centre of eruption as the <i>Axis
+of Mongibello</i>. These centres probably existed simultaneously,
+but were unequal as regards eruptive violence;
+the crater of Mongibello was the more active of the two,
+and eventually overwhelmed the crater of Trifoglietto
+with its products, by which means the whole mountain
+became a fairly symmetrical cone, having the crater of
+Mongibello at its apex (<i>vide</i> the Figures on pp. <a href="#Page_119">119</a> and
+<a href="#Page_121">121</a>). Subsequently the Val del Bove was formed, probably
+by some paroxysmal explosion, caused by pent-up
+gases escaping from fissures. Possibly also subsidence
+may have occurred.</p>
+
+<p>We must then in the first place think of Etna as a
+submarine volcano of the Newer Pliocene age; when it
+reached the surface it increased rapidly in bulk by
+pouring out scori&aelig; and lava from its two centres of
+eruption&mdash;the centre of Mongibello, and the centre of
+Trifoglietto,&mdash;general upheaval of the surrounding district
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</a></span>followed, and ultimately the crater of Trifoglietto was
+obliterated by the discharges from the crater of Mongibello.
+Afterwards the Val del Bove was blown out by
+sudden eruptive force from beneath, and the mountain
+assumed its present aspect. Then the historical eruptions
+commenced, and of these we have given an account
+in the preceding chapter.</p>
+
+<p>The most obvious method of obtaining some idea as
+to the age of Etna, is to ascertain the thickness of
+matter added during the historical period to the sides
+of the mountain, and to compare this with the thickness
+of the beds of ancient lava and scori&aelig; exposed at the
+abrupt precipices of the Val del Bove. There is reason
+for believing, however, that none of the ancient lavas
+equalled in volume the lava streams of 1809 and 1852,
+and the question is much complicated by other considerations.
+Lyell compares the growth of a volcano
+to that of an exogenous tree, which increases both in
+bulk and height by the external application of ligneous
+matter. Branches which shoot out from the trunk,
+first pierce the bark and proceed outwards, but if they
+die or are broken off they become inclosed in the body
+of the tree, forming knots in the wood. Similarly the
+volcano consists of a series of conical masses placed one
+above the other, while the minor cones, corresponding
+to the branches of the tree, first project, and then
+become buried again, as successive layers of lava flow
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</a></span>around them. But volcanic action is very intermittent,
+the layers of lava and scori&aelig; do not accumulate evenly
+and regularly like the layers of a tree. A violent
+paroxysmal outbreak may be succeeded by centuries
+of quiescence, or by a number of ordinary eruptions;
+or, again, several paroxysmal outbreaks may occur in
+succession. Moreover, each conical envelope of the
+mountain is made up of a number of distinct currents
+of lava, and showers of scori&aelig;. "Yet we cannot fail
+to form the most exalted conception of the antiquity of
+this mountain, when we consider that its base is about
+90 miles in circumference; so that it would require ninety
+flows of lava, each a mile in breadth at their termination,
+to raise the present foot of the volcano as much as
+the average height of one lava current." If all the
+minor cones now visible on Etna could be removed, with
+all the lava and scori&aelig; which have ever proceeded from
+them, the mountain would appear scarcely perceptibly
+smaller. Other cones would reveal themselves beneath
+those now existing. Since the time when, in the Newer
+Pliocene period, the foundations of Etna were laid in
+the sea, it is quite impossible even to hint at the number
+of hundreds of thousands of years which have elapsed.</p>
+
+<p>We collected specimens of lava from various points
+around and upon the mountain. They presented a
+wonderful similarity of structure, and a mineralogist to
+whom they were shown remarked that they might almost
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</a></span>all have come from the same crater, at the same time. A
+specimen of the lava of 1535 found near Borello, was
+ground by a lapidary until it was sufficiently transparent
+to be examined under the microscope by polarised light.
+It was found to contain good crystals of augite and
+olivine, well striated labradorite, and titaniferous iron ore.</p>
+
+<p>Elie de Beaumont affirms that the lavas of Etna
+consist of labradorite, pyroxene (augite), peridot (olivine),
+and titaniferous iron. Rose was the first to prove that
+the lavas of Etna do not contain ordinary felspar
+(or potash felspar), but labradorite (or lime felspar.)
+(<i>Annales des Mines</i>, 3 serie, t. viii., p. 3.) Elie de
+Beaumont detached a quantity of white crystals from the
+interior of a lava found between Giarre and Aci Reale;
+these were analysed by M. Auguste Laurent with the
+following results in 100 parts:&mdash;</p>
+
+<table width="50%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary=""><tr><td>
+Silica<br />
+Alumina<br />
+Oxide of Iron<br />
+Soda (Na<sub>2</sub>O)<br />
+Potash (K<sub>2</sub>O)<br />
+Lime<br />
+Magnesia<br /><br />
+</td>
+<td align="center">
+47&middot;9<br />
+34&middot;0<br />
+2&middot;4<br />
+5&middot;1<br />
+&middot;9<br />
+9&middot;5<br />
+&middot;2<br />
+<span class="overline">100&middot;0</span></td></tr></table>
+
+<p>Von Waltershausen gives the following as the composition
+of two specimens of Labradorite from Etna:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</a></span></p>
+<table width="80%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="">
+<tr><td>
+Silica<br />
+Alumina<br />
+Sesquioxide of Iron<br />
+Magnesia<br />
+Lime<br />
+Soda<br />
+Potash<br />
+Water
+</td><td align="center">
+<small>I.</small><br />
+53&middot;56<br />
+25&middot;82<br />
+3&middot;41<br />
+&middot;52<br />
+11&middot;69<br />
+4&middot;09<br />
+&middot;54<br />
+&middot;95<br />
+<span class="overline">100&middot;58</span>
+</td><td align="center">
+<small>II.</small><br />
+55&middot;83<br />
+25&middot;31<br />
+3&middot;64<br />
+&middot;74<br />
+10&middot;49<br />
+3&middot;52<br />
+&middot;83<br />
+&mdash;<br />
+<span class="overline">100&middot;36</span></td></tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>Specimens of Augite from Etna have been examined
+by Von Waltershausen and Rammelsberg, with the
+following results:&mdash;</p>
+
+<table width="90%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="">
+<tr><td>
+<br />
+<br />
+Silica<br />
+Alumina<br />
+Protoxide of Iron<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;,,&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Manganese<br />
+Magnesia<br />
+Lime<br />
+Sesquioxide of Iron<br />
+Water<br /><br />
+</td><td align="center">
+<br />
+<i><small>Black.</small></i><br />
+47&middot;63<br />
+6&middot;74<br />
+11&middot;39<br />
+&middot;21<br />
+12&middot;90<br />
+20&middot;87<br />
+&mdash;<br />
+&middot;28<br />
+<span class="overline">100&middot;02</span>
+</td><td align="center">
+<i><small>Greenish<br />
+Black.</small></i><br />
+51&middot;70<br />
+4&middot;38<br />
+4&middot;24<br />
+&mdash;<br />
+21&middot;11<br />
+18&middot;02<br />
+&mdash;<br />
+&middot;49<br />
+<span class="overline">99&middot;94</span>
+</td><td align="center">
+<i><small>From<br />
+Mascali.</small></i><br />
+49&middot;69<br />
+5&middot;22<br />
+10&middot;75<br />
+&mdash;<br />
+14&middot;74<br />
+18&middot;44<br />
+&mdash;<br />
+&middot;51<br />
+<span class="overline">99&middot;35</span>
+</td><td align="center">
+<i><small>From<br />
+Monti Rossi.</small></i><br />
+47&middot;38<br />
+5&middot;52<br />
+7&middot;89<br />
+&middot;10<br />
+15&middot;29<br />
+19&middot;10<br />
+3&middot;85<br />
+&middot;43<br />
+<span class="overline">99&middot;56</span>
+</td></tr></table>
+
+<p>Olivine is generally met with in the lavas of Etna.
+It has an olive, or bottle-glass green colour, and
+is disseminated through the lavas in the form of
+small crystalline grains, sometimes of some magnitude.
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</a></span>Specific gravity 3&middot;334. A specimen from Etna gave the
+following results on analysis:&mdash;</p>
+
+<table width="50%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="">
+<tr><td>
+Silica<br />
+Protoxide of Iron<br />
+Magnesia<br />
+Alumina<br />
+Oxide of Nickel<br />
+Water<br /><br />
+</td><td>
+41&middot;01<br />
+10&middot;06<br />
+47&middot;27<br />
+&middot;64<br />
+&middot;20<br />
+1&middot;04<br />
+<span class="overline">100&middot;22</span>
+</td></tr></table>
+
+<p>The titaniferous iron of Etna is found disseminated
+through the mass of the lavas, and is plainly distinguished
+when a thin section is examined under the
+microscope. It is sometimes met with in masses. A
+specimen from Etna, analysed by Von Waltershausen,
+was found to contain:&mdash;</p>
+
+<table width="50%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="">
+<tr><td>
+Titanic Acid<br />
+Sesquioxide of Iron<br />
+Protoxide of Iron<br /><br />
+</td><td>
+11&middot;14<br />
+58&middot;86<br />
+30&middot;00<br />
+<span class="overline">100&middot;00</span>
+</td></tr></table>
+
+<p>The basalts of the Isole de' Ciclopi enclose beautiful
+transparent crystals of Analcime, the <i>zeolite dure</i> of
+Dolomieu. The word is derived from <span title="analkis">&alpha;&nu;&alpha;'&lambda;&kappa;&iota;&sigmaf;</span> weak, in
+allusion to the weak electric power which the mineral
+acquires when heated or rubbed. Dana prefers the
+term <i>analcite</i>. Specimens from the Cyclops Islands
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</a></span>have been analysed by Von Waltershausen and Rammelsberg,
+with the following results:&mdash;</p>
+
+<table width="80%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="">
+<tr><td>
+Silica<br />
+Alumina<br />
+Lime<br />
+Soda (Na<sub>2</sub>O)<br />
+Potash (K<sub>2</sub>O)<br />
+Water<br />
+Magnesia<br />
+Sesquioxide of Iron<br />
+</td><td align="center">
+<small>I.</small><br />
+53&middot;72<br />
+24&middot;03<br />
+1&middot;23<br />
+7&middot;92<br />
+4&middot;46<br />
+8&middot;50<br />
+&middot;05<br />
+&mdash;<br />
+<span class="overline">99&middot;91</span>
+</td><td align="center">
+<small>II.</small><br />
+55&middot;22<br />
+23&middot;14<br />
+&middot;25<br />
+12&middot;19<br />
+1&middot;52<br />
+7&middot;68<br />
+&mdash;<br />
+&mdash;<br />
+<span class="overline">100&middot;00</span>
+</td><td align="center">
+<small>III.</small><br />
+54&middot;34<br />
+23&middot;61<br />
+&middot;21<br />
+12&middot;95<br />
+&middot;66<br />
+8&middot;11<br />
+&mdash;<br />
+&middot;12<br />
+<span class="overline">100&middot;00</span>
+</td></tr></table>
+
+<p>The minerals of Etna are not nearly as numerous
+as those of Vesuvius. It has been remarked that no
+area of equal size on the face of the globe furnishes
+so many different species of minerals as Vesuvius and
+its immediate neighbourhood. Out of the 380 species
+of simple minerals enumerated by Hauy, no less than
+82 had been found on and around Vesuvius, as long
+ago as 1828, and many have been since found.</p>
+
+<p>Of other common products of Etna, there are sulphur
+in various forms, sulphurous acid gas, ammonia salts,
+hydrochloric acid gas, and steam. A curious white
+mass, which we found near the summit, proved to be
+the result of the decomposition of lava by hot acid vapours.
+In the different lavas, the crystals of labradorite, and of
+olivine, vary in size considerably. Magnetic oxide of iron
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[Pg 129]</a></span>is very visible in thin slices of the lavas when placed
+under the microscope; and iron appears to be a constant
+constituent in nearly all the products of the mountain.</p>
+
+<p>Within the last few months Prof. Silvestri has
+detected a mineral oil in the cavities of a prehistoric
+doleritic lava found near Paterno.<a name="FNanchor_21_21" id="FNanchor_21_21"></a><a href="#Footnote_21_21" class="fnanchor">[21]</a> The lava is in close
+contiguity to the clay deposits of a mud volcano, and
+when examined under the microscope is seen to consist
+mainly of augite, together with olivine and transparent
+crystals of labradorite. It contains numerous cavities
+coated with arragonite, and filled with a mineral oil
+which constitutes about one per cent of the whole weight
+of the lava. It was taken from the lava at a temperature
+of 24&deg; C., (75&middot;2&deg; F.), and solidified at 17&deg; C.
+(62&middot;6&deg; F.) to a yellowish green mass, which on analysis
+gave the following percentage composition:&mdash;</p>
+
+<table width="80%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="">
+<tr><td>Liquid hydrocarbons boiling at 79&deg; C.</td><td align="right">= 17&middot;97</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Hydrocarbons solidifying below 0&deg; C., boiling<br />between 280&deg; and 400&deg; C.</td><td align="right">= 31&middot;95</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Paraffine melting between 52&deg; and 57&deg; C.</td><td align="right">= 42&middot;79</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Asphalt containing 12 per cent of ash</td><td align="right">=&nbsp;&nbsp; 2&middot;90</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Sulphur</td><td align="right">=&nbsp;&nbsp; 4&middot;32</td></tr>
+<tr><td></td><td align="right"><span class="overline">99&middot;93</span></td></tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>Prof. Silvestri has recently made some interesting
+determinations of the specific gravity and chemical
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[Pg 130]</a></span>composition of the different products of Etna. They are
+given in full in his work entitled, "<i>I Fenomeni Vulcanici
+presentati dall' Etna, nel 1863, 1864, 1865, 1866</i>," which
+was published in Catania in 1867. The following table
+gives the specific gravity of various ancient and modern
+forms of lava, ashes, etc. of Etna:&mdash;</p>
+
+<table width="80%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="">
+<tr><td class="td75"></td><td class="td25"><small><i>Sp. Gr.</i></small></td></tr>
+<tr><td class="td75">
+Ashes ejected in 1865<br />
+Sand&nbsp;&nbsp;,,&nbsp;&nbsp;,,&nbsp;&nbsp;,,&nbsp;&nbsp;<br />
+Scori&aelig;&nbsp;&nbsp;,,&nbsp;&nbsp;,,&nbsp;&nbsp;,,&nbsp;&nbsp;<br />
+Compact lava&nbsp;&nbsp;,,&nbsp;&nbsp;,,&nbsp;&nbsp;<br />
+Scori&aelig; ejected in 1669<br />
+Compact lava&nbsp;&nbsp;,,&nbsp;&nbsp;,,&nbsp;&nbsp;<br />
+Lapilli ejected in 1444<br />
+Compact lava ejected in prehistoric times
+</td><td class="td25">
+2&middot;644<br />
+2&middot;715<br />
+2&middot;633<br />
+2&middot;771<br />
+2&middot;622<br />
+2&middot;697<br />
+2&middot;420<br />
+2&middot;854
+</td></tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>A very decided change in the specific gravity was
+found to take place after fusion. This can only be
+accounted for on the supposition that a chemical change
+is effected during the fusion:&mdash;</p>
+
+<table width="80%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="">
+<tr align="center"><td></td><td><small><i>Sp. Gr.<br />before fusion.</i></small></td><td><small><i>Sp. Gr.<br />after fusion.</i></small></td></tr>
+<tr><td>Pyroxene of Etna</td><td align="center">3&middot;453</td><td align="center">2&middot;148</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Felspar&nbsp;&nbsp;,,&nbsp;&nbsp;,,&nbsp;&nbsp;</td><td align="center">2&middot;925</td><td align="center">1&middot;361</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Olivine&nbsp;&nbsp;,,&nbsp;&nbsp;,,&nbsp;&nbsp;</td><td align="center">3&middot;410</td><td align="center">2&middot;290</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Lava of 1865</td><td align="center">2&middot;771</td><td align="center">1&middot;972</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Ancient basaltic lava from<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;the Scogli de'Ciclopi</td><td align="center">2&middot;854</td><td align="center">2&middot;000</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Ancient basaltic lava from<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;Aci Reale</td><td align="center">2&middot;795</td><td align="center">1&middot;947</td></tr>
+</table>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[Pg 131]</a></span>It will be seen from the following analyses that the
+sand, ashes, scori&aelig;, and compact lava have virtually the
+same composition&mdash;indeed they consist of the same
+substance in different states of aggregation.</p>
+
+<table width="80%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="">
+<tr><td></td><td align="center"><i><small>Ashes.</small></i></td><td align="center"><i><small>Sand.</small></i></td><td align="center"><i><small>Scori&aelig;.</small></i></td><td align="center"><i><small>Compact<br />lava.</small></i></td></tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Silica<br />Alumina<br />Protoxide of iron<br />Protoxide of Manganese<br />Lime<br />Magnesia<br />Potash<br />Soda<br />Water</td>
+<td align="center">50&middot;00<br />19&middot;08<br />12&middot;16<br />&middot;40<br />9&middot;98<br />4&middot;12<br />&middot;60<br />3&middot;72<br />&middot;36</td>
+<td align="center">49&middot;80<br />18&middot;20<br />12&middot;42<br />&middot;45<br />11&middot;00<br />4&middot;00<br />&middot;49<br />3&middot;60<br />&middot;29</td>
+<td align="center">50&middot;00<br />19&middot;00<br />11&middot;70<br />&middot;50<br />10&middot;28<br />4&middot;20<br />&middot;69<br />3&middot;40<br />&middot;33</td>
+<td align="center">49&middot;95<br />18&middot;75<br />11&middot;21<br />&middot;49<br />11&middot;10<br />4&middot;05<br />&middot;70<br />3&middot;71<br />&middot;23</td>
+</tr>
+<tr><td>Phosphoric acid<br />Titanic acid<br />Vanadic acid<br />Sesquioxide of iron</td><td align="center">traces</td><td align="center">traces</td><td align="center">traces</td><td align="center">traces</td></tr>
+<tr><td></td><td align="center"><span class="overline">100&middot;42</span></td><td align="center"><span class="overline">100&middot;25</span></td><td align="center"><span class="overline">100&middot;10</span></td><td align="center"><span class="overline">100&middot;19</span></td></tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>With these we may compare the composition of the
+lava which issued from Monti Rossi in 1669, and was
+analysed by Lowe, and of an ancient lava of Etna
+ejected during an unknown eruption, and analysed by
+Hesser.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[Pg 132]</a></span></p>
+<table width="80%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="">
+<tr><td></td><td align="center"><i><small>Ancient lava.</small></i></td><td align="center"><i><small>Lava of 1669.</small></i></td></tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Silica<br />Alumina<br />Protoxide of Iron<br />Protoxide of Manganese<br />Lime<br />Magnesia<br />Soda<br />Potash<br /></td>
+<td align="center">49&middot;63<br />22&middot;47<br />10&middot;80<br />&middot;63<br />9&middot;05<br />2&middot;68<br />3&middot;07<br />&middot;98<br /><span class="overline">99&middot;31</span></td>
+<td align="center">48&middot;83<br />16&middot;15<br />16&middot;32<br />&middot;54<br />9&middot;31<br />4&middot;58<br />3&middot;45<br />&middot;77<br /><span class="overline">99&middot;95</span></td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>The sublimations from the fumaroles are chiefly chloride
+of ammonium, perchloride of iron, and sulphur. An
+analysis of the gases of the fumaroles of 1865 gave the
+following results:&mdash;</p>
+
+<table width="50%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="">
+<tr>
+<td>Carbonic acid<br />Hydrosulphuric acid<br />Oxygen<br />Nitrogen<br /><br /></td>
+<td align="center">50&middot;5<br />11&middot;9<br />7&middot;1<br />30&middot;5<br /><span class="overline">100&middot;0</span></td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>An account of microscopic analysis of some of the
+lavas of Etna, for which I am indebted to Mr. Frank
+Rutley, will be found appended to this chapter. He
+considers that they are Plagioclase-basalts, and occasionally
+Olivine-basalts; and that they consist of Plagioclase,
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[Pg 133]</a></span>Augite, Olivine, Magnetite, Titaniferous iron, and
+a residuum of glass.</p>
+
+<p>Near the summit of the great crater I found a mass
+of perfectly white, vesicular, and very friable substance,
+somewhat pumiceous in appearance. It proved to be a
+decomposed lava, and was found elsewhere on the sides
+of the crater. Mr. Rutley examined a section of it,
+and reports: "Under the microscope a tolerably thin
+section shows the outlines of felspar crystals, lying
+in a hazy milk-white semi-opaque granular matrix.
+The felspar crystals are lighter and more translucent
+than the matrix, but are of much the same character,
+having a granulated or flocculent appearance, somewhat
+like that of the decomposed felspars in diabase. There
+are numerous roundish cavities in the section which may
+once have contained olivine, or some other mineral, or
+they may be merely vesicles."</p>
+
+<p>A qualitative analysis of this substance, made by Mr.
+H. M. Elder, has proved that it contains a large quantity
+of Silica (about 70 per cent.), and smaller proportions
+of Alumina, Iron, Magnesium, Calcium, and Potash;
+together with very small amounts of Sulphuric Acid and
+a trace of Ammonia. Lithium is absent, and Sodium is
+only present in very minute quantity. Water is present
+to the extent of nearly 20 per cent.</p>
+
+<p>During the eruption of Etna in 1869 Von Waltershausen
+noticed on some of the lava blocks which were
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[Pg 134]</a></span>still hot and smoking, silver-coloured particles, which
+rapidly underwent change. An insufficient quantity for
+analysis was collected, but during the eruption of 1874,
+Silvestri found a quantity of the substance and analysed
+it. (<i>Poggendorff's Annalen</i>, CLVII. 165, 1876.) It possesses
+a specific gravity of 3&middot;147, and shows a metallic
+lustre similar to that of steel. On analysis it was found
+to consist of:&mdash;</p>
+
+<table width="50%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="">
+  <tr><td>Iron</td><td align="center">90&middot;86</td></tr>
+  <tr><td>Nitrogen</td><td align="center">9&middot;14</td></tr>
+  <tr><td></td><td align="center"><span class="overline">100&middot;00</span></td></tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>which corresponds with the formula Fe<sub>5</sub>N<sub>2</sub>,&mdash;a formula
+assigned by Fremy to Nitride of iron. It has been
+named <i>Siderazote</i>. This new mineral species appears
+to be formed by the action of hydrochloric acid,
+and of ammonia on red-hot lava containing a large
+percentage of iron. It was formed artificially by
+exposing fragments of lava alternately to the action of
+hydrochloric acid and ammonia in a red-hot tube. At a
+high temperature Siderazote undergoes decomposition,
+nitrogen being evolved. In contact with steam at a red
+heat it forms magnetite and ammonia.</p>
+
+<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_20_20" id="Footnote_20_20"></a><a href="#FNanchor_20_20" class="fnanchor"><span class="label">[20]</span></a> "R&eacute;cherches sur la structure et sur l'origine du Mont Etna." 1836.</p></div>
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_21_21" id="Footnote_21_21"></a><a href="#FNanchor_21_21" class="fnanchor"><span class="label">[21]</span></a> "Atti Accademia Gioenia," serie iii., vol. xii.</p></div>
+</div>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[Pg 135]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="The_Mineral_Constitution_and_Microscopic_Characters" id="The_Mineral_Constitution_and_Microscopic_Characters"></a><small><i>The Mineral Constitution and Microscopic Characters<br />of some of the Lavas of Etna.</i></small></h2>
+
+<p class="center">By <span class="smcap">Frank Rutley, f.r.g.s.</span>, of <span class="smcap">H.M. Geological Survey.</span></p>
+
+
+<p>A cursory examination of the series of specimens
+collected by Mr. Rodwell, seemed to show that all the
+lavas of Etna, irrespective of their differences in age,
+exhibit a remarkable similarity in mineralogical constitution.
+Occasionally, however, there appears to have
+been a little difference in their respective viscidity at
+the time of the eruption, the crystals in some of them
+lying in all directions, while in others there appears to
+be a more or less definite arrangement of the felspar
+crystals, as seen in the lava of <span class="smcap">a.d.</span> 1689.</p>
+
+<p>Although the specimens which I have examined
+microscopically do not appear to differ in the nature
+of their constituents, yet in some of them certain
+minerals fluctuate in quantity, some containing a comparatively
+large amount of olivine and well-developed
+crystals of augite, while, in others, these minerals,
+although one or other is always present, are but poorly
+represented by minute and sparsely-disseminated grains.
+It seems probable that all the Etna lavas contain traces
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[Pg 136]</a></span>of a vitreous residuum, since, when sections are examined
+under the microscope, a more or less general darkness
+pervades their ground mass as soon as the Nicols are
+crossed, and this general darkness does not appear to be
+dissipated during the horizontal revolution of the sections
+themselves. The translucent minerals in these sections
+are all doubly refracting, and as I have not been able to
+detect the presence of hauyne, noseau, sodalite, analcime,
+or any other cubic mineral in them, the natural
+inference is that the obscurity between crossed Nicols is
+due to amorphous matter. I have only been able to
+ascertain the presence of glass distinctly in a microscopic
+section of the lava of Salto di Pulichello. In the other
+sections which I have examined there appears to be a
+small quantity of interstitial glass, but it is so finely disseminated
+between the microliths of felspar and granules
+of olivine, augite and magnetite, which constitute the
+ground-mass of these rocks, that it is most difficult to
+determine the single refraction of such minute specks
+during revolution between crossed Nicols, and I therefore
+merely express a belief, which, in some instances,
+I cannot demonstrate with any certainty.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 415px;">
+<a name="under_the_Microscope" id="under_the_Microscope"></a><img src="images/fp138.jpg" width="325" height="543" alt="" title="" />
+<p class='caption'>Sections of Etna Lavas seen under the Microscope</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>Plagioclastic felspars are unquestionably the dominant
+constituents of these lavas. Lyell, in his "Principles of
+Geology," (9th Edition, p. 411), states that the felspar
+is Labradorite. He does not, however, give the grounds
+for this conclusion, and, as microscopic examination
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[Pg 137]</a></span>alone merely indicates the crystalline system and not
+the species of felspar, it is unsafe to speculate upon this
+point in the absence of chemical investigation. In some
+of these lavas Sanidine is also present, but it is always
+subordinate to the plagioclase, and does not, as a rule,
+appear to play a part sufficiently prominent to entitle
+the rock to the appellation Trachy-dolerite.</p>
+
+<p>Augite and olivine are generally present in the Etna
+lavas, especially the latter mineral.</p>
+
+<p>Magnetite appears to occur in all of them. Titaniferous
+iron may also be represented, but I have failed
+to detect any well-defined crystals, or any traces of the
+characteristic white decomposition product which would
+justify me in citing the presence of this mineral, although
+it is stated by Lyell to occur in these rocks.</p>
+
+<p>The constituent minerals of the Etna lavas now to be
+described, namely, those of <span class="smcap">b.c.</span> 396 and <span class="smcap">a.d.</span> 1535, 1603
+and 1689, are:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>Plagioclase, augite, olivine, magnetite, and, in some
+cases, sanidine&mdash;possibly titaniferous iron&mdash;and in some,
+if not in all, a slight residuum of glass. These lavas
+must therefore be regarded as plagioclase-basalts, or
+occasionally as olivine-basalts. The plagioclase crystals
+vary greatly in size, some being mere microliths while
+others are over the eighth of an inch in length. They
+show the characteristic twin lamellation by polarized
+light, but the lamell&aelig; are often very irregular as regards
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[Pg 138]</a></span>their boundaries. The sections of the crystals themselves
+are also frequently bounded by irregular outlines,
+but they often show internally delicate zonal markings,
+as indicated in Fig. <a href="#under_the_Microscope">1</a>,<a name="FNanchor_22_22" id="FNanchor_22_22"></a><a href="#Footnote_22_22" class="fnanchor">[22]</a> which correspond with the
+outlines of perfectly developed crystals. The inclosures
+in the larger plagioclastic felspars consist for the most
+part either of brownish glass, containing fine dark
+granular matter&mdash;probably magnetite, which often
+renders them opaque,&mdash;or of matter similar to that
+which constitutes the groundmass of the surrounding
+rock. These stone and glass cavities are very numerous
+and most irregular in outline, as shown in Figs. <a href="#under_the_Microscope">1</a> and
+<a href="#under_the_Microscope">2</a>. They appear, however, to be elongated generally in
+the direction of the planes of composition of the twin
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[Pg 139]</a></span>lamell&aelig;. Zirkel has noted the plentiful occurrence of
+these glass inclosures in the felspar crystals and
+fragments of crystals which partly constitute the
+volcanic sands of Etna, in which he has also detected
+the presence of numerous isolated particles of brownish
+glass.<a name="FNanchor_23_23" id="FNanchor_23_23"></a><a href="#Footnote_23_23" class="fnanchor">[23]</a> The felspar microliths, which constitute so large
+a proportion of the ground-mass in the Etna lavas, are
+in most instances probably triclinic. Monoclinic felspar
+does, however, occur in some of these rocks; but the
+difficulty of ascertaining the precise character of microliths
+renders it unsafe to speculate on the amount
+of sanidine which may be present. Some crystals,
+such as that shown in the centre of Fig. <a href="#under_the_Microscope">2</a>, appear at
+first sight to be sanidine, twinned on the Carlsbad
+type, but closer inspection often demonstrates the
+presence of other and very delicate twin lamell&aelig;.</p>
+
+<p>The augite in these lavas sometimes occurs in well-formed
+crystals of a green or brown colour, and often
+shows the characteristic cleavage very well, especially
+in the augite crystals of the lava of the Boccarelle del
+Fuoco, erupted in 1535. A small crystal of green
+augite is represented at the bottom of Fig. <a href="#under_the_Microscope">1</a>. Augite,
+however, appears to be more plentiful in the rocks in
+the form of small roundish grains.</p>
+
+<p>Olivine is of very common occurrence in the Etna
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[Pg 140]</a></span>lavas, mostly in round or irregularly shaped grains, but
+also in crystals which usually exhibit rounded angles.</p>
+
+<p>A specimen of lava from Salto di Pulichello, erupted
+in 1603, gave well-developed examples of the presence
+of olivine, and also of plagioclase. The ground mass
+was found to consist of felspar microliths, and grains of
+olivine, augite, and magnetite, with some interstitial
+glass.</p>
+
+<p>Magnetite is present in all of the lavas here described.
+It occurs both in octahedral crystals and in the form
+of irregular grains and fine dust. To the presence of
+this substance much of the opacity of thin sections of
+the Etna lavas is due.</p>
+
+<p>Titaniferous iron may also be present. One small
+crystal in the lava of 1535 appeared to show a somewhat
+characteristic form, but although much of the
+black opaque matter has undergone decomposition, I
+have failed to detect any of the white or greyish alteration
+product which characterises titaniferous iron, and in
+the absence of this, of definite crystalline form, and of
+chemical analysis, it seems better to speak of this mineral
+with reserve, although titanium is very probably present,
+since much magnetite is known to be titaniferous.</p>
+
+<p>The vitreous matter which occurs in these lavas is
+principally present in the form of inclosures in the
+felspar, and, sometimes, the augite and olivine crystals
+previously described. Its occurrence in the groundmass
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[Pg 141]</a></span>of these rocks has also been alluded to. In this interstitial
+condition its amount is usually very small&mdash;a fact
+already pointed out by Zirkel.</p>
+
+<p>I have unfortunately had no opportunity of examining
+the volcanic sands and ashes of Etna, but Zirkel's
+description of them seems to indicate their close mineralogical
+relation to lavas erupted in this district, with one
+exception, as pointed out by Rosenbusch,<a name="FNanchor_24_24" id="FNanchor_24_24"></a><a href="#Footnote_24_24" class="fnanchor">[24]</a> namely,
+that he makes no mention of the occurrence of olivine in
+these ejectamenta.</p>
+
+<p>Reference to the Figures <a href="#under_the_Microscope">1</a> and <a href="#under_the_Microscope">2</a> will suffice to show
+how close a relationship in mineral constitution exists
+between these two lavas, separated in the dates of their
+eruption by an interval of over two thousand years.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p><i>New Maps of Etna.</i>&mdash;After these pages had received
+their final revision in type, I met with two new maps of
+Etna in the Paris Exhibition. The literature of our
+subject will obviously be incomplete without some notice
+of them, although this belongs properly to the first chapter
+rather than to the last. The one is a map in relief
+constructed by Captain Francesco Pistoja for the <i>Istituto</i>
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[Pg 142]</a></span><i>Topografico Militare</i> of Florence. The vertical scale is
+1/25,000 and the horizontal is 1/50,000. The surface is coloured
+geologically: the lavas erupted during each century
+being differently coloured, while the course of each stream
+is traced. This map, although by no means free from
+errors, is a vast improvement on the relief map of M.
+Elie de Beaumont. One defect, which might be easily
+remedied, is due to the fact that the lavas of three consecutive
+centuries are coloured so much alike, that it is
+almost impossible to distinguish them. The minor cones
+are well shown, the Val del Bove fairly well, and the
+map is altogether a valuable addition to our knowledge of
+the mountain.</p>
+
+<p>The other map is a <i>Carta Agronomica dell' Etna</i>,
+showing the surface cultivation. Different colours
+denote different plants, pistachio nuts, vines, olives,
+chestnuts, etc. It is beautifully drawn and coloured by
+hand, and is the work of Signor L. Ardini, of Catania.</p>
+
+<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_22_22" id="Footnote_22_22"></a><a href="#FNanchor_22_22" class="fnanchor"><span class="label">[22]</span></a> <i>The figures in this plate are magnified 35 diameters.</i> Fig. 1.
+Lava of <span class="smcap">b.c.</span> 396. The upper half of the drawing is occupied by
+a crystal of plagioclastic felspar showing twin lamellation and
+faint zonal markings, and with numerous irregular dark-brown
+inclosures of glass, probably containing magnetite dust and
+matter similar to that of the groundmass of the rock which
+consists of felspar microliths, granules of olivine, and augite
+crystals, grains of magnetite, and apparently a little interstitial
+glass. A crystal of augite is shown near the bottom of the
+drawing.</p>
+
+<p>Fig. 2. Lava of <span class="smcap">a.d.</span> 1689. On the right hand side part of
+a plagioclase crystal with inclosures similar to that in the
+preceding figure. In the centre a small crystal of plagioclase.
+Groundmass similar to that of Fig. 1, but showing a somewhat
+definite arrangement of the small felspar crystals, indicative of
+fluxion.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_23_23" id="Footnote_23_23"></a><a href="#FNanchor_23_23" class="fnanchor"><span class="label">[23]</span></a> "Mikroskopische Beschaffenheit der Mineralien und Gesteine."
+Leipzig, 1873; p. 480.</p></div>
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_24_24" id="Footnote_24_24"></a><a href="#FNanchor_24_24" class="fnanchor"><span class="label">[24]</span></a> "Mikroskopische Physiographie der Massigen Gesteine.
+Stuttgart, 1877; p. 547.</p></div>
+</div>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[Pg 143]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="INDEX" id="INDEX"></a>INDEX.</h2>
+
+<pre><small>
+Abich, <a href='#Page_22'>22</a>
+Acesines, River, <a href='#Page_81'>81</a>
+Aci Reale, <a href='#Page_72'>72</a>, <a href='#Page_73'>73</a>
+Acis, River, <a href='#Page_73'>73</a>
+Acque Grande, <a href='#Page_73'>73</a>
+Aderno, <a href='#Page_65'>65</a>
+Adranum, City of, <a href='#Page_66'>66</a>
+&AElig;schylus, <a href='#Page_4'>4</a>
+Aetna, Town of, <a href='#Page_64'>64</a>
+Ajo, Fountain of, <a href='#Page_85'>85</a>
+Alcantara, Valley of, <a href='#Page_69'>69</a>
+Amphinomus, <a href='#Page_80'>80</a>
+Analcime, Analysis of, <a href='#Page_128'>128</a>
+Analcite, <a href='#Page_127'>127</a>
+Analysis of Augite, <a href='#Page_126'>126</a>
+    "    "  Labradorite, <a href='#Page_125'>125</a>, <a href='#Page_126'>126</a>
+    "    "  Olivine, <a href='#Page_127'>127</a>
+    "    "  Titaniferous Iron, <a href='#Page_127'>127</a>
+    "    "  Analcime, <a href='#Page_128'>128</a>
+    "    "  Mineral Oil, <a href='#Page_129'>129</a>
+    "    "  Volcanic Ashes, <a href='#Page_131'>131</a>
+    "    "  Lava, <a href='#Page_131'>131</a>, <a href='#Page_132'>132</a>
+    "    "  Sand, <a href='#Page_131'>131</a>
+    "    "  Scori&aelig;, <a href='#Page_131'>131</a>
+    "       Microscopic, of Lavas, <a href='#Page_135'>135-141</a>
+    "    "  Siderazote, <a href='#Page_133'>133</a>, <a href='#Page_134'>134</a>
+    "    "  Sublimations, <a href='#Page_132'>132</a>
+    "    "  white friable substance, <a href='#Page_133'>133</a>
+Anapias, <a href='#Page_80'>80</a>
+Arethusa, Fountain of, <a href='#Page_85'>85</a>
+Ascent, Fatigue of, <a href='#Page_60'>60</a>
+Ashes, Volcanic, Analysis of, <a href='#Page_131'>131</a>
+  "        "   Specific Gravity of, <a href='#Page_130'>130</a>
+Atlas des Aetna, <a href='#Page_23'>23</a>
+Augite, Analysis of, <a href='#Page_126'>126</a>
+Axis of Mongibello, <a href='#Page_119'>119</a>, <a href='#Page_122'>122</a>
+  "   " Trifoglietto, <a href='#Page_119'>119</a>, <a href='#Page_122'>122</a>
+
+Baltzer, <a href='#Page_24'>24</a>
+Basalt, Columnar, <a href='#Page_75'>75</a>
+Base, Circumference of, <a href='#Page_30'>30</a>
+Belpasso, <a href='#Page_63'>63</a>
+Bembo, Cardinal, <a href='#Page_10'>10</a>
+Biancavilla, <a href='#Page_65'>65</a>
+Boccarelle del Fuoco, <a href='#Page_36'>36</a>
+Bocche eruttive, <a href='#Page_110'>110</a>
+    "   del Fuoco, <a href='#Page_36'>36</a>
+Borelli, <a href='#Page_90'>90</a>
+Bosco di Bronte, <a href='#Page_99'>99</a>
+Botanical Regions, <a href='#Page_40'>40-42</a>
+Boundaries of Etna, <a href='#Page_29'>29</a>
+Brilliancy of Stars, <a href='#Page_48'>48</a>, <a href='#Page_49'>49</a>
+Bronte, <a href='#Page_67'>67</a>, <a href='#Page_68'>68</a>
+Brydone, <a href='#Page_15'>15</a>
+
+Campi Phlegr&aelig;i, <a href='#Page_14'>14</a>
+Campus Piorum, <a href='#Page_80'>80</a>
+Cardinal Bembo, <a href='#Page_10'>10</a>
+Carpinetto, Forest of, <a href='#Page_39'>39</a>
+Carrera, <a href='#Page_12'>12</a>
+Casa del Bosco, <a href='#Page_48'>48</a>
+  "  Inglesi, <a href='#Page_51'>51</a>, <a href='#Page_52'>52</a>
+Castagno di Cento Cavalli, <a href='#Page_39'>39</a>
+    "    della Galea, <a href='#Page_39'>39</a>
+Catania, <a href='#Page_76'>76-78</a>
+    "  Destruction of, <a href='#Page_94'>94-96</a>
+Caverns of Etna, <a href='#Page_37'>37</a>
+Cavern of Thalia, <a href='#Page_37'>37</a>
+Centenario, <a href='#Page_108'>108</a>
+Chestnuts, <a href='#Page_39'>39</a>
+Circumference of base, <a href='#Page_30'>30</a>
+Cisterna, <a href='#Page_101'>101</a>
+Coltivata, Regione, <a href='#Page_37'>37</a>, <a href='#Page_38'>38</a>
+Cones, Minor, <a href='#Page_34'>34-36</a>
+Crater of Elevation, <a href='#Page_114'>114</a>
+    "   of Eruption, <a href='#Page_114'>114</a>
+    "   The Great, <a href='#Page_56'>56-58</a>
+Craters, Minor, <a href='#Page_34'>34-36</a>
+Cultivated Region, <a href='#Page_38'>38</a>
+Cyclops, Rocks of, <a href='#Page_75'>75</a>
+
+Decomposed Lava, Analysis of, <a href='#Page_133'>133</a>
+Desert Region, <a href='#Page_39'>39</a>, <a href='#Page_40'>40</a>
+
+Effects of Refraction, <a href='#Page_59'>59</a>, <a href='#Page_60'>60</a>
+Elevation, Crater of, <a href='#Page_114'>114</a>
+Elie de Beaumont, <a href='#Page_21'>21</a>
+Elie de Beaumont&rsquo;s Classification, <a href='#Page_115'>115</a>, <a href='#Page_116'>116</a>
+Empedokles, <a href='#Page_10'>10</a>
+Errors in Maps, <a href='#Page_24'>24</a>
+Eruption, Crater of, <a href='#Page_114'>114</a>
+Eruptions, General Character of, <a href='#Page_112'>112</a>
+    "      Number of, <a href='#Page_113'>113</a>
+Etna, the Home of Early Myths, <a href='#Page_9'>9</a>
+  "   a Submarine Volcano, <a href='#Page_122'>122</a>
+Enceladus, <a href='#Page_4'>4</a>
+
+Fatigue of Ascent, <a href='#Page_60'>60</a>
+Fazzello, <a href='#Page_11'>11</a>
+Ferrara, <a href='#Page_15'>15</a>, <a href='#Page_16'>16</a>
+Filoteo, <a href='#Page_11'>11</a>
+Flood of 1755, <a href='#Page_98'>98</a>
+Forest of Carpinetto, <a href='#Page_39'>39</a>
+Fratelli Pii, Cone of, <a href='#Page_111'>111</a>
+Fumaroles, Sublimations of, <a href='#Page_132'>132</a>
+Fuoco, Regione del, <a href='#Page_37'>37</a>
+
+Gemellaro, Giuseppe, <a href='#Page_18'>18</a>
+    "      Mario, <a href='#Page_19'>19</a>
+    "      Carlo, <a href='#Page_19'>19</a>, <a href='#Page_20'>20</a>
+General aspect of Etna, <a href='#Page_34'>34</a>
+_Genista Etnensis_, <a href='#Page_45'>45</a>
+Geological Maps of Etna, <a href='#Page_117'>117-18</a>
+Gibel Uttamat, <a href='#Page_3'>3</a>
+Gladstone&rsquo;s Account of Eruption, <a href='#Page_58'>58</a>
+Gravity, Specific, of Ejectamenta, <a href='#Page_130'>130</a>
+Great Crater, <a href='#Page_57'>57</a>, <a href='#Page_58'>58</a>
+Grotto of Polyphemus, <a href='#Page_75'>75</a>
+    "  delle Palombe, <a href='#Page_37'>37</a>
+Growth of a Volcano, <a href='#Page_123'>123</a>
+Gurrita, Lake, <a href='#Page_68'>68</a>
+
+Hamilton, <a href='#Page_14'>14</a>
+Height of Etna, <a href='#Page_26'>26</a>, <a href='#Page_27'>27</a>
+Hephaistos, Forge of, <a href='#Page_4'>4</a>
+Himilco, <a href='#Page_81'>81</a>
+Hoffmann, <a href='#Page_22'>22</a>
+Homer, <a href='#Page_4'>4</a>
+Houel, <a href='#Page_14'>14</a>
+Hybla Major, <a href='#Page_63'>63</a>
+
+Increase of Population, <a href='#Page_33'>33</a>
+Inessa, City of, <a href='#Page_64'>64</a>
+Inglesi, Casa, <a href='#Page_51'>51</a>, <a href='#Page_52'>52</a>
+Inns, Sicilian, <a href='#Page_65'>65</a>, <a href='#Page_67'>67</a>, <a href='#Page_69'>69</a>
+Iron, Nitride of, <a href='#Page_134'>134</a>
+  "   Perchloride of, <a href='#Page_132'>132</a>
+Iron, Titaniferous, <a href='#Page_127'>127</a>
+Isola d&rsquo;Aci, <a href='#Page_75'>75</a>
+
+Katana, <a href='#Page_76'>76</a>, <a href='#Page_77'>77</a>
+Kircher, <a href='#Page_12'>12</a>
+
+Labradorite, Analysis of, <a href='#Page_125'>125</a>, <a href='#Page_126'>126</a>
+La Cisterna, <a href='#Page_101'>101</a>
+Latitude of Crater, <a href='#Page_2'>2</a>
+La Scaletta, <a href='#Page_75'>75</a>
+Lava, Analysis of, <a href='#Page_131'>131</a>, <a href='#Page_132'>132</a>
+  "   Specific Gravity of, <a href='#Page_130'>130</a>
+  "   Decomposed, Analysis of, <a href='#Page_133'>133</a>
+Lavas, Microscopic Analysis of, <a href='#Page_135'>135-141</a>
+Lavas of Etna, <a href='#Page_125'>125-141</a>
+Linguaglossa, <a href='#Page_70'>70</a>
+Longitude of Crater, <a href='#Page_2'>2</a>
+Lucilius Junior, <a href='#Page_7'>7-9</a>
+Lucretius, <a href='#Page_6'>6</a>
+Lyell, <a href='#Page_23'>23</a>
+Lyell&rsquo;s Researches, <a href='#Page_118'>118-122</a>
+
+Magnetite, <a href='#Page_139'>139</a>
+Maletto, <a href='#Page_68'>68</a>
+Maps, Geological, of Etna, <a href='#Page_117'>117</a>, <a href='#Page_118'>118</a>
+  "   of Etna, <a href='#Page_13'>13</a>, <a href='#Page_16'>16</a>, <a href='#Page_21'>21-24</a>
+Mascali, <a href='#Page_71'>71</a>
+Microscopic Analysis of Lavas, <a href='#Page_135'>135-141</a>
+Milo, <a href='#Page_108'>108</a>
+Mineral Oil in Lava, <a href='#Page_129'>129</a>
+Minor Cones, <a href='#Page_34'>34-36</a>
+Mongibello, <a href='#Page_3'>3</a>
+    "      Axis of, <a href='#Page_122'>122</a>
+Monte Calanna, <a href='#Page_107'>107</a>
+    "  Capreolo, <a href='#Page_118'>118</a>
+    "  di Mojo, <a href='#Page_36'>36</a>,81
+    "  Minardo, <a href='#Page_34'>34</a>
+    "  Ste. Sofia, <a href='#Page_36'>36</a>
+    "  Fusara, <a href='#Page_37'>37</a>
+    "  Grigio, <a href='#Page_111'>111</a>
+    "  Lepre, <a href='#Page_85'>85</a>
+    "  Nocilla, <a href='#Page_118'>118</a>
+    "  Rosso, <a href='#Page_99'>99</a>
+    "  Spagnuolo, <a href='#Page_69'>69</a>
+    "  Ste. Sofia, <a href='#Page_95'>95</a>
+Monti Rossi, <a href='#Page_35'>35</a>, <a href='#Page_91'>91</a>
+Mules, <a href='#Page_47'>47</a>
+
+Name of Etna, <a href='#Page_3'>3</a>
+Natural Boundaries of Etna, <a href='#Page_30'>30</a>
+Naxos, <a href='#Page_81'>81</a>
+Newer Pliocene Strata, <a href='#Page_120'>120</a>
+Nicolosi, <a href='#Page_46'>46</a>
+Nitride of Iron, <a href='#Page_134'>134</a>
+
+Observatory on Etna, <a href='#Page_50'>50</a>
+Oil, Mineral, in Lava, <a href='#Page_129'>129</a>
+Olivine, <a href='#Page_139'>139</a>
+    "   Analysis of, <a href='#Page_127'>127</a>
+
+Palombe, Grotto delle, <a href='#Page_37'>37</a>
+Paterno, <a href='#Page_63'>63</a>
+Pennisi, Baron, <a href='#Page_71'>71</a>, <a href='#Page_72'>72</a>
+Piano del Lago, <a href='#Page_51'>51</a>
+    "  di S. Leo, <a href='#Page_90'>90</a>
+Piedimontana, Regione, <a href='#Page_37'>37</a>, <a href='#Page_38'>38</a>
+Pii Fratres, <a href='#Page_80'>80</a>, <a href='#Page_81'>81</a>
+Pindar, <a href='#Page_4'>4</a>
+Polarized Light, applied to Analysis of Lavas, <a href='#Page_136'>136-139</a>
+Polyphemus, Grotto of, <a href='#Page_75'>75</a>
+Population, <a href='#Page_31'>31-33</a>
+Position of Etna, <a href='#Page_2'>2</a>
+Presl&rsquo;s _Flora Sicula_, <a href='#Page_41'>41</a>, <a href='#Page_42'>42</a>
+
+Radius of Vision, <a href='#Page_28'>28</a>
+Randazzo, <a href='#Page_68'>68</a>, <a href='#Page_69'>69</a>
+Recupero, <a href='#Page_17'>17</a>
+Recupero&rsquo;s Account of Eruption, <a href='#Page_99'>99</a>
+Refraction, Effects of, <a href='#Page_59'>59</a>, <a href='#Page_60'>60</a>
+Regions of Etna, <a href='#Page_37'>37-42</a>
+Regione del Fuoco, <a href='#Page_37'>37</a>
+River, Acis, <a href='#Page_73'>73</a>
+Road around Etna, <a href='#Page_29'>29</a>
+Rocca di Musarra, <a href='#Page_98'>98</a>
+Rocks of Cyclops, <a href='#Page_75'>75</a>
+Rutley&rsquo;s, Mr. Frank, Analysis of Lavas, <a href='#Page_135'>135-141</a>
+
+St. Agatha, Veil of, <a href='#Page_83'>83</a>
+ "  Maria di Licodia, <a href='#Page_64'>64</a>
+S. Niccola, Monastery of, <a href='#Page_92'>92</a>
+S. Simone, <a href='#Page_102'>102</a>
+Salto della Guimenta, <a href='#Page_106'>106</a>
+Sand, Volcanic, Analysis of, <a href='#Page_131'>131</a>
+  "   Specific Gravity of, <a href='#Page_130'>130</a>
+Scogli di Ciclopi, <a href='#Page_75'>75</a>
+Scori&aelig;, Volcanic, Analysis of, <a href='#Page_131'>131</a>
+    "    Specific Gravity of, <a href='#Page_130'>130</a>
+Serra delle Concazze, <a href='#Page_59'>59</a>
+  "   del Solfizio, <a href='#Page_59'>59</a>
+  "   di Giannicola, <a href='#Page_107'>107</a>
+Serrapizzuta, <a href='#Page_89'>89</a>
+Sicilian Inns, <a href='#Page_65'>65</a>, <a href='#Page_67'>67</a>, <a href='#Page_69'>69</a>
+Siderazote, <a href='#Page_133'>133</a>, <a href='#Page_134'>134</a>
+Silvestri, Researches of, <a href='#Page_25'>25</a>
+Simeto, Valley of, <a href='#Page_67'>67</a>
+Smyth, <a href='#Page_18'>18</a>
+Smyth&rsquo;s Observations, <a href='#Page_2'>2</a>
+Snow of Etna, <a href='#Page_59'>59</a>
+Specific Gravity, Alteration of, <a href='#Page_130'>130</a>
+    "       "     of  Ejectamenta, <a href='#Page_130'>130</a>
+Strabo, <a href='#Page_6'>6</a>
+Stars, Brilliancy of, <a href='#Page_48'>48</a>, <a href='#Page_49'>49</a>
+Stato Maggiore, Map of, <a href='#Page_24'>24</a>
+Sulphur in Sublimations, <a href='#Page_132'>132</a>
+Sublimations from Fumaroles, <a href='#Page_132'>132</a>
+Summit of Cone, <a href='#Page_53'>53</a>, <a href='#Page_54'>54</a>
+Sunrise seen from Summit, <a href='#Page_54'>54</a>, <a href='#Page_55'>55</a>
+
+Tacchini, <a href='#Page_50'>50</a>
+Taormina, <a href='#Page_71'>71</a>
+Tertiary Sandstone of Bronte, <a href='#Page_67'>67</a>
+Thucydides, <a href='#Page_5'>5</a>
+Titaniferous Iron, <a href='#Page_127'>127</a>
+Torre del Filosofo, <a href='#Page_10'>10</a>, <a href='#Page_59'>59</a>
+Towns on Etna, <a href='#Page_31'>31</a>
+Trezza, <a href='#Page_75'>75</a>
+Trifoglietto, Axis of, <a href='#Page_121'>121</a>
+Trunks of Large Chestnuts, <a href='#Page_39'>39</a>
+
+Val del Bove, <a href='#Page_34'>34</a>, <a href='#Page_71'>71</a>, <a href='#Page_98'>98</a>, <a href='#Page_100'>100</a>, <a href='#Page_119'>119-121</a>
+ "  Serbo, <a href='#Page_103'>103</a>
+Valley of Alcantara, <a href='#Page_69'>69</a>
+Virgil, <a href='#Page_5'>5</a>
+Vision, Radius of, <a href='#Page_28'>28</a>
+Volcano, Growth of, <a href='#Page_123'>123</a>
+Von Waltershausen, <a href='#Page_23'>23</a>, <a href='#Page_120'>120</a>
+Vulkanen Atlas, <a href='#Page_116'>116</a>
+
+Winchelsea, Lord, <a href='#Page_12'>12</a>, <a href='#Page_94'>94</a>, <a href='#Page_95'>95</a>
+Woody Region, <a href='#Page_38'>38</a>
+
+_Zeolite dure_, <a href='#Page_127'>127</a>
+Zones of Temperature, <a href='#Page_38'>38</a>
+
+</small></pre>
+
+<div class="note"><h3>TRANSCRIBERS NOTES:</h3>
+
+<ol>
+<li>Some arcane spellings retained where verified as correct for the time of publication or quote, such
+as 'musquitoes', 'plaintain', 'mettals', 'felspar', etc.</li>
+<li>Italian quotations sometimes include phrases such as "sull' Etna" or "dell' Asia". There
+should be no space after the apostrophes but spaces are often present. This may have
+been done to better space the text during justification. Such errors have not been
+corrected.</li>
+<li>The document is inconsistent in the use of commas where quoting numbers of over 1,000;
+sometimes they are used and sometimes they are not used. These inconsistencies remain.</li>
+<li>Addition of full-stops where omitted within text outlining chapter highlights; page ix after 'Silvestri',
+page x after 'Eruptions' and '1408', page xi after 'microscope', page 79 after '812'.</li>
+<li>Corrected 'ength' to 'length' on page 4.</li>
+<li>Corrected 't'jncedie' to 't'incedie' on page 12; its leading e has a tilde symbol over it but this has been omitted.
+Similarly, treblement has been transcribed without a tilde symbol over its leading e.</li>
+<li>Transcribed 'Guiseppe' as 'Giuseppe' on pages 17 and 144 since this is a more usual form.</li>
+<li>Added missing endquotes to quotation by Professor Jukes on page 27.</li>
+<li>Inserted full-stop after '(S.W.)', page 29, to end sentence.</li>
+<li>Corrected 'f' to 'of' on final line of page 33.</li>
+<li>Corrected 'of-course' to 'of course', page 42.</li>
+<li>Corrected 'unusally' to 'unusually', page 44.</li>
+<li>Corrected 'subsequenly' to 'subsequently', page 59.</li>
+<li>Corrected 'athough' to 'although', page 64.</li>
+<li>Numbered list of eruptions repeats item 5, then jumps to seven on page 82. Corrected to numeric order.</li>
+<li>'In the 1329' corrected to 'In the year 1329', page 85.</li>
+<li>'the time analcite' corrected to 'the term analcite', page 127.</li>
+<li>Corrected 'magnitite' to 'magnetite', page 140.</li>
+<li>Corrected 'Miscroscopic' to 'Microscopic', page 145.</li>
+</ol>
+</div>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Etna, by G. F. Rodwell
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ETNA ***
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+</html>
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@@ -0,0 +1,4181 @@
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Etna, by G. F. Rodwell
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Etna
+       A History of the Mountain and of its Eruptions
+
+Author: G. F. Rodwell
+
+Release Date: March 30, 2010 [EBook #31827]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ETNA ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Steven Gibbs, Adam Styles and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+                    ETNA.
+
+   [Illustration: View of Etna from Catania]
+
+
+
+
+                   ETNA
+
+       _A HISTORY OF THE MOUNTAIN AND
+              OF ITS ERUPTIONS._
+
+
+                    BY
+
+               G. F. RODWELL,
+
+     SCIENCE MASTER IN MARLBOROUGH COLLEGE.
+
+         WITH MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
+
+                [Illustration]
+
+                    LONDON
+
+   C. KEGAN PAUL & CO., 1, PATERNOSTER SQUARE
+
+                     1878
+
+[_The rights of translation and of reproduction are reserved._]
+
+
+
+
+          I  DEDICATE  THIS  BOOK
+
+                     TO
+
+                 MY  MOTHER.
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE.
+
+
+While preparing an account of MOUNT ETNA for the Encyclopaedia
+Britannica, I was surprised to find that there exists no single work in
+the English language devoted to the history of the most famous volcano
+in the world. I was consequently induced to considerably enlarge the
+Encyclopaedia article, and the following pages are the result. The facts
+recorded have been collected from various sources--German, French,
+Italian, and English, and from my own observations made during the
+summer of 1877. I desire to express my indebtedness to Mr. Frank Rutley,
+of H.M. Geological Survey, for his careful examination of the lavas
+which were collected during my ascent of the mountain, and for the
+account which he has written of them; also to Mr. John Murray for
+permission to copy figures from Lyell's "Principles of Geology." My
+thanks are also due to Mr. George Dennis, H.M. Consul-General in Sicily;
+Mr. Robert O. Franck, Vice-Consul in Catania; and to Prof. Orazio
+Silvestri, for information with which they have severally supplied me.
+
+G. F. RODWELL.
+
+MARLBOROUGH,
+
+_September 6th, 1878._
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+HISTORY OF THE MOUNTAIN.                                         1
+
+    Position.--Name.--Mention of Etna by early writers.--Pindar.--
+    AEschylus.--Thucydides.--Virgil.--Strabo.--Lucretius.--Lucilius
+    Junior.--Etna the home of early myths.--Cardinal Bembo.--Fazzello.--
+    Filoteo.--Early Maps of the Mountain.--Hamilton.--Houel.--Brydone.--
+    Ferrara.--Recupero.--Captain Smyth.--Gemellaro; his Map of Etna.--
+    Elie de Beaumont.--Abich.--Hoffmann.--Von Waltershausen's _Atlas
+    des Aetna_.--Lyell.--Map of the Italian Stato Maggiore.--Carlo
+    Gemellaro.--Orazio Silvestri.
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+PHYSICAL FEATURES OF THE MOUNTAIN.                              26
+
+    Height.--Radius of Vision from the summit.--Boundaries.--Area.--
+    Population.--General aspect of Etna.--The Val del Bove.--Minor
+    Cones.--Caverns.--Position and extent of the three Regions.--
+    Regione Coltivata.--Regione Selvosa.--Regione Deserta.--Botanical
+    Regions.--Divisions of Rafinesque-Schmaltz, and of Presl.--Animal
+    life in the upper Regions.
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+ASCENT OF THE MOUNTAIN.                                         43
+
+    The most suitable time for ascending Etna.--The Ascent commenced.--
+    Nicolosi.--Etna mules.--Night journey through the upper Regions of
+    the mountain.--Brilliancy of the Stars.--Proposed Observatory on
+    Etna.--The Casa Inglesi.--Summit of the Great Crater.--Sunrise
+    from the summit.--The Crater.--Descent from the Mountain.--
+    Effects of Refraction.--Fatigue of the Ascent.
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+TOWNS SITUATED ON THE MOUNTAIN.                                 62
+
+    Paterno.--Ste. Maria di Licodia.--The site of the ancient town of
+    Aetna.--Biancavilla.--Aderno.--Sicilian Inns.--Adranum.--Bronte.--
+    Randazzo.--Mascali.--Giarre.--Aci Reale.--Its position.--The
+    Scogli de'Ciclopi.--Catania, its early history, and present
+    condition.
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+ERUPTIONS OF THE MOUNTAIN.                                      79
+
+    Their frequency within the historical period.--525 B.C.--477 B.C.--
+    426 B.C.--396 B.C.--140 B.C.--134 B.C.--126 B.C.--122 B.C.--
+    49 B.C.--43 B.C.--38 B.C.--32 B.C.--40 A.D.--72.--253.--420.--812.--
+    1169.--1181.--1285.--1329.--1333.--1371.--1408.--1444.--1446.--1447.--
+    Close of the Fifteenth Century.--1536.--1537.--1566.--1579.--1603.--
+    1607.--1610.--1614.--1619.--1633.--1646.--1651.--1669.--1682.--
+    1688.--1689.--1693.--1694.--1702.--1723.--1732.--1735.--1744.--1747.--
+    1755.--Flood of 1755.--1759.--1763.--1766.--1780.--1781.--1787.--
+    1792.--1797.--1798.--1799.--1800.--1802.--1805.--1808.--1809.--1811.--
+    1819.--1831.--1832.--1838.--1842.--1843.--1852.--1865.--1874.--
+    General character of the Eruptions.
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+GEOLOGY AND MINERALOGY OF THE MOUNTAIN.                        114
+
+    Elie de Beaumont's classification of the rocks of Etna.--Hoffman's
+    geological map.--Lyell's researches.--The period of earliest
+    eruption.--The Val del Bove.--Two craters of eruption.--Antiquity of
+    Etna.--The lavas of Etna.--Labradorite.--Augite.--Olivine.--
+    Analcime.--Titaniferous iron.--Mr. Rutley's examination of Etna
+    lavas under the microscope.
+
+
+
+
+LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
+
+
+    View of Etna from Catania                _To face Title._
+    Topographical Map of Etna                 _To face page_           1
+    Sections of Etna                                "                 30
+    Grotto delle Palombe                            "                 36
+    The Casa Inglesi and Cone of Etna               "                 52
+    View of the Val de Bove                         "                 58
+    View of Etna from Bronte                        "                 66
+    Island of Columnar Basalt off Trezza            "                 74
+    Geological Map of Etna                          "                114
+    Map of the Val del Bove (woodcut)                                117
+    Ideal Section of Mount Etna                                      119
+    Profile of Etna                                                  121
+    Sections of Etna Lavas seen under the Microscope, _to face p._   138
+
+[Illustration: Topographical Map of Etna]
+
+
+
+
+ETNA.
+
+A HISTORY OF THE MOUNTAIN AND OF ITS ERUPTIONS.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+HISTORY OF THE MOUNTAIN.
+
+    Position.--Name.--Mention of Etna by early writers.--Pindar.--
+    AEschylus.--Thucydides.--Virgil.--Strabo.--Lucretius.--Lucilius
+    Junior.--Etna the home of early myths.--Cardinal Bembo.--Fazzello.--
+    Filoteo.--Early Maps of the Mountain.--Hamilton.--Houel.--Brydone.--
+    Ferrara.--Recupero.--Captain Smyth.--Gemellaro; his Map of Etna.--
+    Elie de Beaumont.--Abich.--Hoffmann.--Von Waltershausen's _Atlas
+    des Aetna_.--Lyell.--Map of the Italian Stato Maggiore.--Carlo
+    Gemellaro.--Orazio Silvestri.
+
+
+The principal mountain chain of Sicily skirts the North and a portion of
+the North-eastern coast, and would appear to be a prolongation of the
+Apennines. An inferior group passes through the centre of the island,
+diverging towards the South, as it approaches the East coast. Between
+the two ranges, and completely separated from them by the valleys of
+the Alcantara and the Simeto, stands the mighty mass of Mount Etna,
+which rises in solitary grandeur from the eastern sea-board of the
+island. Volcanoes, by the very mode of their formation, are frequently
+completely isolated; and, if they are of any magnitude, they thus
+acquire an imposing contour and a majesty, which larger mountains,
+forming parts of a chain, do not possess. This specially applies to
+Etna. "Coelebs degit," says Cardinal Bembo, "et nullius montis dignata
+conjugium, caste intra suos terminos continetur." It is not alone the
+conspicuous appearance of the mountain which has made it the most famous
+volcano either of ancient or modern times:--the number and violence of
+its eruptions, the extent of its lava streams, its association with
+antiquity, and its history prolonged over more than 2400 years, have all
+tended to make it celebrated.
+
+The geographical position of Etna was first accurately determined by
+Captain Smyth in 1814. He estimated the latitude of the highest point of
+the bifid peak of the great crater at 37 deg. 43' 31" N.; and the longitude
+at 15 deg. East of Greenwich. Elie de Beaumont repeated the observations in
+1834 with nearly the same result; and these determinations have been
+very generally adopted. In the new Italian map recently constructed by
+the Stato Maggiore, the latitude of the centre of the crater is stated
+to be 37 deg. 44' 55" N., and the longitude 44' 55" E. of the meridian of
+Naples, which passes through the Observatory of Capo di Monte.
+
+According to Bochart the name of Etna is derived from the Phoenician
+_athana_--a furnace; others derive it from ~aitho~--to burn.
+Professor Benfey of Gottingen, a great authority on the subject,
+considers that the word was created by one of the early Indo-Germanic
+races. He identifies the root _ait_ with the Greek ~aith~ and the
+Latin _aed_--to burn, as in _aes_-tu. The Greek name ~Aitna~ was
+known to Hesiod. The more modern name, _Mongibello_, by which the
+mountain is still commonly known to the Sicilians, is a combination of
+the Arabic _Gibel_, and the Italian _Monte_. During the Saracenic
+occupation of Sicily, Etna was called _Gibel Uttamat_--the mountain of
+fire; and the last syllables of Mongibello are a relic of the Saracenic
+name. A mountain near Palermo is still called Gibel Rosso--the red
+mountain; and names may not unfrequently be found in the immediate
+neighbourhood of Etna which are partly, or sometimes even entirely,
+composed of Arabic words; such, for example, as _Alcantara_--the river
+of _the bridge_. Etna is also often spoken of distinctively as _Il
+Monte_--the mountain _par excellence_; a name which, in its capacity of
+the largest mountain in the kingdom of Italy, and the loftiest volcano
+in Europe, it fully justifies.
+
+Etna is frequently alluded to by classical writers. By the poets it was
+sometimes feigned to be the prison of the giant Enceladus or Typhon,
+sometimes the forge of Hephaistos, and the abode of the Cyclops.
+
+It is strange that Homer, who has so minutely described certain portions
+of the contiguous Sicilian coast, does not allude to Etna. This has been
+thought by some to be a proof that the mountain was in a quiescent state
+during the period which preceded and coincided with the time of Homer.
+
+Pindar (B.C. 522-442) is the first writer of antiquity who has described
+Etna. In the first of the Pythian Odes for Hieron, of the town of Aitna,
+winner in the chariot race in B.C. 474, he exclaims:
+
+... "He (Typhon) is fast bound by a pillar of the sky, even by snowy
+Etna, nursing the whole year's length her dazzling snow. Whereout pure
+springs of unapproachable fire are vomited from the inmost depths: in
+the daytime the lava-streams pour forth a lurid rush of smoke; but in
+the darkness a red rolling flame sweepeth rocks with uproar to the wide
+deep sea.... That dragon-thing (Typhon) it is that maketh issue from
+beneath the terrible fiery flood."[1]
+
+[1] Translated by Ernest Myers, M.A., 1874.
+
+AEschylus (B.C. 525-456) speaks also of the "mighty Typhon,"
+(_Prometheus_ V.):
+
+                            . . . . . "He lies
+    A helpless, powerless carcase, near the strait
+    Of the great sea, fast pressed beneath the roots
+    Of ancient Etna, where on highest peak
+    Hephaestos sits and smites his iron red hot,
+    From whence hereafter streams of fire shall burst,
+    Devouring with fierce jaws the golden plains
+    Of fruitful, fair Sikelia."[2]
+
+[2] Translated by E. Myers.
+
+Herein he probably refers to the eruption which had occurred a few years
+previously (B.C. 476).
+
+Thucydides (B.C. 471-402) alludes in the last lines of the Third Book to
+several early eruptions of the mountain in the following terms: "In the
+first days of this spring, the stream of fire issued from Etna, as on
+former occasions, and destroyed some land of the Catanians, who live
+upon Mount Etna, which is the largest mountain in Sicily. Fifty years,
+it is said, had elapsed since the last eruption, there having been three
+in all since the Hellenes have inhabited Sicily."[3]
+
+[3] Translated by E. Crawley.
+
+Virgil's oft-quoted description of the mountain (_Eneid_, Bk. 3) we give
+in the spirited translation of Conington:
+
+    "But Etna with her voice of fear
+    In weltering chaos thunders near.
+    Now pitchy clouds she belches forth
+    Of cinders red, and vapour swarth;
+    And from her caverns lifts on high
+    Live balls of flame that lick the sky:
+    Now with more dire convulsion flings
+    Disploded rocks, her heart's rent strings,
+    And lava torrents hurls to-day
+    A burning gulf of fiery spray."
+
+Many other early writers speak of the mountain, among them Theokritos,
+Aristotle, Ovid, Livy, Seneca, Lucretius, Pliny, Lucan, Petronius,
+Cornelius Severus, Dion Cassius, Strabo, Diodorus Siculus, and Lucilius
+Junior. Seneca makes various allusions to Etna, and mentions the fact
+that lightning sometimes proceeded from its smoke.
+
+Strabo has given a very fair description of the mountain. He asserts
+that in his time the upper part of it was bare, and covered with ashes,
+and in winter with snow, while the lower slopes were clothed with
+forests. The summit was a plain about twenty stadia in circumference,
+surrounded by a ridge, within which there was a small hillock, the smoke
+from which ascended to a considerable height. He further mentions a
+second crater. Etna was commonly ascended in Strabo's time from the
+south-west.
+
+While the poets on the one hand had invested the mountain with various
+supernatural attributes, and had made it the prison-house of a chained
+giant, and the workshop of a swart god, Lucretius endeavoured to show
+that the eruptions and other phenomena could be easily explained by the
+ordinary operations of nature. "And now at last," he writes, "I will
+explain in what ways yon flame, roused to fury in a moment, blazes forth
+from the huge furnaces of Aetna. And, first, the nature of the whole
+mountain is hollow underneath, underpropped throughout with caverns of
+basalt rocks. Furthermore, in all caves are wind and air, for wind is
+produced when the air has been stirred and put in motion. When this air
+has been thoroughly heated, and, raging about, has imparted its heat to
+all the rocks around, wherever it comes in contact with them, and to the
+earth, and has struck out from them fire burning with swift flames, it
+rises up and then forces itself out on high, straight through the
+gorges; and so carries its heat far, and scatters far its ashes, and
+rolls on smoke of a thick pitchy blackness, and flings out at the same
+time stones of prodigious weight--leaving no doubt that this is the
+stormy force of air. Again, the sea, to a great extent, breaks its waves
+and sucks back its surf at the roots of that mountain. Caverns reach
+from this sea as far as the deep gorges of the mountain below. Through
+these you must admit [that air mixed up with water passes; and] the
+nature of the case compels [this air to enter in from that] open sea,
+and pass right within, and then go out in blasts, and so lift up flame,
+and throw out stones, and raise clouds of sand; for on the summit are
+craters, as they name them in their own language, what we call gorges
+and mouths."[4]
+
+[4] _De Natura Rerum_, Book 6, p. 580. Translated by E. Munro 1864.
+
+These ideas were developed by Lucilius Junior in a poem consisting of
+644 hexameters entitled _Aetna_. The authorship of this poem has long
+been a disputed point; it has been attributed to Virgil, Claudian,
+Quintilius Varus, Manilius, and, by Joseph Scaliger[5] and others, to
+Cornelius Severus. Wensdorff was the first to adduce reasons for
+attributing the poem to Lucilius Junior, and his views are generally
+adopted. Lucilius Junior was Procurator of Sicily under Nero, and, while
+resident in the Island, he ascended Etna; and it is said that he
+proposed writing a detailed history of the mountain. He adopted the
+scientific opinions of Epicurus, as established in Rome by Lucretius,
+and was more immediately a disciple of Seneca. The latter dedicated to
+him his _Quaestiones Naturales_, in which he alludes more than once to
+Etna. M. Chenu speaks of the poem of Lucilius Junior as "sans doute
+tres-poetique, mais assez souvent dur, heurte, concis, et parcela meme,
+d'une obscurite parfois desesperante."[6] At the commencement of the
+poem, Lucilius ridicules the ideas of the poets as regards the
+connection of Etna with Vulcan and the Cyclops. He has no belief in the
+practice, which apparently prevailed in his time, of ascending to the
+edge of the crater and there offering incense to the tutelary gods of
+the mountain. He adopts to a great extent the tone and style of
+Lucretius, in his explanation of the phenomena of the mountain. Water
+filters through the crevices and cracks in the rocks, until it comes
+into contact with the internal fires, when it is converted into vapour
+and expelled with violence. The internal fires are nourished by the
+winds which penetrate into the mountain. He traces some curious
+connection between the plants which grow upon the mountain, and the
+supply of sulphur and bitumen to the interior, which is, at best, but
+partly intelligible.
+
+[5] See Lucilius Junioris AETNA. Recensuit notasque Jos. Scaligeri,
+Frid. Lindenbruchii et suas addidit Fridericus Jacob. Lipsiae, 1826.
+
+[6] L'Etna de Lucilius Junior. Traduction nouvelle par Jules Chenu.
+Paris, 1843.
+
+    "Nunc superant, quacunque regant incendia silvae
+    Quae flammis alimenta vacent, quid nutriat Aetnam.
+    Incendi patiens illis vernacula caulis
+    Materia, appositumque igni genus utile terrae est,
+    Uritur assidue calidus nunc sulfuris humor,
+    Nunc spissus crebro praebetur flumine succus,
+    Pingue bitumen adest, et quidquid cominus acres
+    Irritat flammas; illius corporis AEtna est.
+    Atque hanc materiam penitus discurrere fontes
+    Infectae erumpunt et aquae radice sub ipsa."
+
+Many of the myths developed by the earlier poets had their home in the
+immediate neighbourhood, sometimes upon the very sides, of Etna--Demeter
+seeking Persephone; Acis and Galatea; Polyphemus and the Cyclops. Mr.
+Symonds tells us that the one-eyed giant Polyphemus was Etna itself,
+with its one great crater, while the Cyclops were the many minor cones.
+"Persephone was the patroness of Sicily, because amid the billowy
+corn-fields of her mother Demeter, and the meadow-flowers she loved in
+girlhood, are ever found sulphurous ravines, and chasms breathing vapour
+from the pit of Hades."[7]
+
+[7] Sketches in Italy and Greece, p. 201.
+
+It is said that both Plato and the Emperor Hadrian ascended Etna in
+order to witness the sunrise from its summit. The story of
+
+            "He who to be deemed
+    A god, leaped fondly into Etna flames,
+    Empedokles"
+
+is too trite to need repetition. A ruined tower near the head of the Val
+del Bove, 9,570 feet above the sea, has from time immemorial been called
+the _Torre del Filosofo_, and is asserted to have been the observatory
+of Empedokles. Others regard it as the remains of a Roman tower, which
+was possibly erected on the occasion of Hadrian's ascent of the
+mountain.
+
+During the Middle Ages Etna is frequently alluded to, among others by
+Dante, Petrarch, Boccaccio, and Cardinal Bembo. The latter gives a
+description of the mountain in the form of a dialogue, which Ferrara
+characterises as "_erudito, e grecizzante, ma sensa nervi_." He
+describes its general appearance, its well-wooded sides, and sterile
+summit. When he visited the mountain it had two craters about a stone's
+throw apart; the larger of the two was said to be about three miles in
+circumference, and it stood somewhat above the other.[8]
+
+[8] Petri Bembi DE AETNA. Ad Angelum Chabrielem Liber Impressum Venetiis
+Aedibus Aldi Romani. Mense Februario anno M.V.D. (1495).
+
+In 1541 Fazzello made an ascent of the mountain, which he briefly
+describes in the fourth chapter of his bulky volume _De Rebus
+Siculis_.[9] This chapter is entitled "_De Aetna monte et ejus
+ignibus_;" it contains a short history of the mountain, and some mention
+of the principal towns which he enumerates in the following order:
+Catana, Tauromenium, Caltabianco, Linguagrossa, Castroleone,
+Francavilla, Rocella, Randatio (Randazzo), Bronte, Adrano, Paterno, and
+Motta. Fazzello speaks of only one crater.
+
+[9] Fazzellus T. DE REBUS SICULIS. Panormi, 1558; folio.
+
+In 1591 Antonio Filoteo, who was born on Etna, published a work in
+Venice in which he describes the general features of the mountain, and
+gives a special account of an eruption which he witnessed in 1536.[10]
+The mountain was then, as now, divided into three _Regions_. The first
+and uppermost of these, he asserts, is very arid, rugged, and uneven,
+and full of broken rocks; the second is covered with forests; and the
+third is cultivated in the ordinary manner. Of the height he remarks,
+"Ascensum triginta circiter millia passuum ad plus habet." In regard to
+the name, _Mongibello_, he makes a curious error, deriving it from
+_Mulciber_, one of the names of Vulcan, who, as we have seen, was
+feigned by the earlier poets to have had his forge within the mountain.
+
+[10] Antonii Philothei de Homodeis Siculi, AETNAE TOPOGRAPHIA,
+incendiorum Aetnaeorum Historia. Venetiis. 1591. Preface dated September,
+1590.
+
+In 1636 Carrera gave an account of Etna, followed by that of the Jesuit
+Kircher, in 1638. The great eruption of 1669 was described at length by
+various eye-witnesses, and furnished the subject of the first detailed
+description of the eruptive phenomena of the mountain. Public attention
+was now very generally drawn to the subject in all civilised countries.
+It was described by the naturalist, Borelli, and in our own
+_Philosophical Transactions_. Lord Winchelsea, our ambassador at
+Constantinople, was returning to England by way of the Straits of
+Messina at the time of the eruption, and he forwarded to Charles II "A
+true and exact relation of the late prodigious earthquake and eruption
+of Mount AEtna, or Monte Gibello."
+
+The first map of the mountain which we have been able to meet with,
+was published in reference to the eruption of 1669; it is entitled,
+"Plan du Mont Etna communenent dit Mount Gibel en l'Isle de Scicille
+et de t'incedie arrive par un treblement de terre le 8me Mars dernier
+1669." This plan is in the Bibliotheque Nationale, in Paris; it was
+probably drawn from a simple description, or perhaps altogether from
+the imagination, as it is utterly unlike the mountain, the sides of
+which possess an impossible steepness. Another very inaccurate map was
+published in Nuremberg about 1680, annexed to a map of Sicily, which
+is entitled, "_Regnorum Siciliae et Sardiniae, Nova Tabula_." Again, in
+1714 H. Moll, "geographer in Devereux Street, Strand," published a new
+map of Italy, in which there is a representation of Etna during the
+eruption of 1669. This also was probably drawn from the imagination;
+no one who has ever seen the mountain would recognise it, for it has
+a small base, and sides which rival the Matterhorn in abruptness.
+Over against the coast of Sicily, and near the mountain, is
+written:--"Mount Etna, or Mount Gibello. This mountain sometimes
+issues out pure flame, and at other times a thick smoak with ashes;
+streams of fire run down with great quantities of burning stones, and
+has made many eruptions."
+
+During the eighteenth century Etna was frequently ascended, and as
+frequently described. We have the accounts of Massa (1703), Count
+D'Orville (1727), Riedesel (1767), Sir William Hamilton (1769), Brydone
+(1776), Houel (1786), Dolomieu (1788), Spallanzani (1790), and many
+minor writers, such as Borch, Brocchi, Swinburne, Denon, and Faujas de
+Saint Fond. There is great sameness in all of these narratives, and much
+repetition of the same facts; some of them, however, merit a passing
+notice.
+
+Sir William Hamilton's _Campi Phlegraei_ relates mainly to Vesuvius and
+the surrounding neighbourhood; but one of the letters "addressed to the
+Secretary of the Royal Society on October 17th, 1769," describes an
+ascent of Etna. Hamilton ascended on June 24th with the Canon Recupero
+and other companions; the few observations of any value which he made
+have been alluded to elsewhere under the head of the special subjects to
+which they refer. The illustrations of the _Campi Phlegraei_, specially
+the original water-colours which are contained in one of the British
+Museum copies, are magnificent, and convey a better idea of volcanic
+phenomena than any amount of simple reading. From them we can well
+realise the opening of a long rift extending down the sides of a
+mountain during its eruption, and the formation of subsidiary craters
+along the line of fire thus opened. Various volcanic products are also
+admirably painted. In the picture of Etna, however, which was drawn by
+Antonio Fabris, the artist has scarcely been more successful than his
+predecessors, and the slope of the sides of the mountain has been
+greatly exaggerated.
+
+M. Houel, in his _Voyage pittoresque dans les Deux Siciles_, 1781-1786,
+has given a fairly good account of Etna, accompanied by some really
+excellent engravings.
+
+In 1776 Patrick Brydone, a clever Irishman with a good deal of native
+shrewdness and humour, published two volumes of a _Tour in Sicily and
+Malta_, in which he devoted several chapters to Mount Etna. He made the
+ascent of the mountain, and collected from the Canon Recupero, and from
+others, many facts concerning its then present, and its past history. He
+also made observations as to the height, temperature of the air at
+various elevations, brightness of the stars, and so on. Sir William
+Hamilton calls Brydone "a very ingenious and accurate observer," and
+adds that he was well acquainted with Alpine measurements. M. Elie de
+Beaumont, writing in 1836, speaks of him as _le celebre Brydone_; while,
+on the other hand, the Abbe Spallanzani, displeased at certain remarks
+which he made concerning Roman Catholicism in Sicily, never fails to
+deprecate his work, and deplores "his trivial and insipid pleasantries."
+Albeit Brydone's chapters on Etna furnished a more complete account of
+the volcano than any which had appeared in English up to that time; his
+remarks are frequently very sound and just, and we shall have occasion
+more than once to quote him.
+
+It was reserved, however, for the Abate Francesco Ferrara, Professor of
+Physical Science in the University of Catania, to furnish the first
+history of Etna and of its eruptions, which had any just claim to
+completeness. It is entitled, _Descrizione dell' Etna, con la Storia
+delle Eruzioni e il Catalogo del prodotti_. The first edition appeared
+in 1793, and a second was printed in Palermo in 1818. The author had an
+enthusiastic love for his subject:--"Nato sopra l'Etna," he writes, "che
+io conobbi ben presto palmo a palmo la mia passione per lo studio fisso
+la mia attenzione sul bello, e terribile fenomeno che avea avanti agli
+occhi." The work commences with a general description of the
+mountain--its height, the temperature of the different regions, the view
+from the summit, the mass, the water-springs, the vegetable and animal
+life, and the internal fires. This extends over sixty-nine octavo pages.
+The second part of the book--eighty pages--gives a history of the
+eruptions from the earliest times to the year 1811; the third
+part--sixty-seven pages--treats of the nature of the volcanic products;
+and the fourth part--thirty-four pages--discusses certain geological and
+physical considerations concerning the mountain. At the end there are a
+few badly drawn and engraved woodcuts, and a map which, although the
+trend of the coast-line is quite wrong, is otherwise fairly good. The
+engravings represent the mountain as seen from Catania; the Isole dei
+Ciclopi, and the neighbouring coast; the Montagna della Motta; and a
+view from Catania of the eruption of 1787. This work has evidently to a
+great extent been a labour of love; it is full of personal observations,
+and also embodies the results of many other observers. It has furnished
+the foundation of much that has since been written concerning Etna.
+
+The Canon Recupero has been alluded to above; he accompanied Hamilton,
+Brydone, and others to the summit of the mountain, and he was employed
+by the Government to report on the flood which, in 1755, descended with
+extraordinary violence through the Val del Bove. Beyond this, Recupero
+does not appear to have published anything concerning Etna, although it
+was well known that he had plenty of materials. He died in 1778, and it
+was not till the year 1815 that his results were published under the
+title of _Storia Naturale et Generale dell' Etna, del Canonico Giuseppe
+Recupero.--Opera Postuma_. This work consists of two bulky quarto
+volumes, the first of which is devoted to a general description of the
+mountain, the second to a history of the eruptions, and an account of
+the products of eruptions. Some idea may be formed of the extreme
+prolixity of the author if we mention that two chapters, together
+containing twelve quarto pages, are devoted to the discussion of the
+height of Etna, while the first volume is terminated by sixty-three
+closely printed pages of annotations. A few rough woodcuts accompany the
+volumes; a view of the mountain which, as usual, is out of all reason
+as regards abruptness of ascent, and a _carta oryctographia di
+Mongibello_ in which the trend of the coast-line between Catania and
+Taormina is altogether inexact, complete the illustrations of this most
+detailed of histories.
+
+During the years 1814-1816 Captain Smyth, acting under orders from the
+Admiralty, made a survey of the coast of Sicily, and of the adjacent
+islands. At this time the Mediterranean charts were very defective; some
+places on the coast of Sicily were mapped as much as twenty miles out of
+their true position, and even the exact positions of the observatories
+at Naples, Palermo, and Malta were not known. Among other results, Smyth
+carefully determined the latitude and longitude of Etna, accurately
+measured its height, and examined the surroundings of the mountain. His
+results were published in 1824, and are often regarded as the most
+accurate that we possess.
+
+In 1824 Dr. Joseph Gemellaro, who lived all his life on the mountain,
+and made it his constant study, published an "Historical and
+Topographical Map of the Eruptions of Etna from the era of the Sicani to
+the year 1824." In it he delineates the extent of the three Regions,
+_Coltivata_, _Selvosa_, and _Deserta_; he places the minor cones, to the
+number of seventy-four, in their proper places, and he traces the course
+of the various lava-streams which have flowed from them and from the
+great crater. This map is the result of much patient labour and study,
+and it is a great improvement upon those of Ferrara and Recupero, but of
+course it is impossible for one man to survey with much accuracy an area
+of nearly 500 square miles, and to trace the tortuous course of a large
+number of lava-streams. Hence we must be prepared for inaccuracies, and
+they are not uncommon--the coast line is altogether wrong as to its
+bearings, some of the small towns on the sides of the mountain are
+misplaced, and but little attention has been paid to scale. Still the
+map is very useful, as it is the only one which shows the course of the
+lava-streams.
+
+Mario Gemellaro, brother of the preceding, made almost daily
+observations of the condition of Etna, between the years 1803 and 1832.
+These results were tabulated, and they are given in the _Vulcanologia
+dell' Etna_ of his brother, Professor Carlo Gemellaro, under the title of
+_Registro di Osservazioni del Sigr. Mario Gemellaro_.
+
+Carlo Gemellaro contributed many memoirs on subjects connected with the
+mountain. They are chiefly to be found in the _Atti dell' Accademia
+Gioenia_ of Catania, and they extend over a number of years. Perhaps the
+most important is the treatise entitled "_La Vulcanologia dell' Etna che
+comprende la Topographia, la Geologia, la Storia, delle sue Eruzioni_."
+It was published in Catania in 1858, and is dedicated to Sir Charles
+Lyell, who ascended the mountain under the guidance of the author. The
+latter also published a _Breve Raggualio della Eruzione dell' Etna, del
+21 Agosto 1852_, which contains the most authentic account of this
+important eruption, accompanied by some graphic sketches made on the
+spot. The last contribution of Carlo Gemellaro to the history of Etna,
+is fitly entitled _Un Addio al Maggior Vulcano di Europa_. It was
+published in 1866, and with pardonable vanity the author reviews his
+work in connection with the mountain, extending over a period of more
+than forty years. He commences his somewhat florid farewell with the
+following apostrophe:--"O Etna! splendida e perenne manifestazione della
+esistenza dei Fuochi sotteranei massimo fra quanti altri monti, dalle
+coste meridionali di Europa, dalle orientali dell' Asia e delle
+settentrionali dell' Africa si specchiano nel Mediterraneo: tremendo pei
+tuoi incendii: benigno per la fertilita del vulcanico tuo terreno
+ridotto a prospera coltivazione ... io, nato appie del vasto tuo cono,
+in quella Citta che hai minacciato piu d'una volta di sepellire sotto le
+tue infocate correnti: allogato, nella mia prima eta, in una stanza
+della casa paterna, che signoreggiava in allora piu basse abizioni
+vicine, ed intiera godeva la veduta della estesa parte meridionale della
+tua mole, io non potera non averti di continuo sotto gli occhi, e non
+essere spettatore dei tuoi visibili fenomeni!"
+
+In 1834, M. Elie de Beaumont commenced a minute geological examination
+of the mountain. His results were published in 1838, under the title of
+_Recherches sur la structure et sur l'origine du Mont Etna_, and they
+extend over 225 pages.[11] He re-determined the latitude and longitude
+of the mountain, measured the slope of the cone, and the diameter of the
+great crater, and minutely examined the structure of the rocks at the
+base of the mountain. He also gives a good sectional view, elevations
+taken from each quarter of the compass, and a geological map, which
+although accurate in its general details, can scarcely be considered
+very satisfactory. A relief map of Etna, a copy of which is in the Royal
+School of Mines, was afterwards constructed from the flat map, and this
+was, we believe, at the same time, the first geological map, and the
+first map in relief, which had been made of the mountain. Elie de
+Beaumont considers granite as the basis of the mountain, because it is
+sometimes ejected from the crater; old basaltic rocks appear in the
+Isole dei Ciclopi, and near Paterno, Licodia, and Aderno; _cailloux
+roules_ near Motta; ancient lavas on each side of the Val del Bove;
+modern lavas in every part of the mountain, and calcareous and
+arenaceous rocks in the surrounding mountains.
+
+[11] Printed in vol. IV. of _Memoires pour servir a une description
+Geologique de la France_. Par M.M. Dufrenoy et Elie de Beaumont.
+
+In 1836, Abich published some excellent sections of Etna, and an
+accurate view of the interior of the crater, in a work entitled _Vues
+illustratives de quelques Phenomenes Geologiques prises sur le Vesuve et
+l'Etna pendant les annees 1833 and 1834_.
+
+The whole of the thirteenth volume (1839) of the Berlin _Archiv fuer
+Mineralogie, Geognosie, Berghau und Huettenkunde_, is occupied by an
+elaborate memoir on the geology of Sicily[12] by Friedrich Hoffmann,
+accompanied by an excellent geological map. A long account of the
+geology of Etna is given, and an enlarged map of the mountain was
+afterwards constructed and published in the _Vulkanen Atlas_ of Dr.
+Leonhard in 1850.[13]
+
+[12] Entitled _Geognostiche Beobachtungen Gesammelt auf einer Reise
+durch Italian und Sicilien, in den jahren 1830 bis 1832, von Friedrich
+Hoffmann_.
+
+[13] _Vulkanen Atlas zur naturgeschichte der Erde von K. G. Von
+Leonhard._ Stuttgardt. 1850.
+
+In 1836 Baron Sartorius Von Waltershausen commenced a minute survey of
+Etna, preparatory to a complete description of the mountain, both
+geological and otherwise. He was assisted by Professor Cavallari of
+Palermo, Professor Peters of Hensbourg, and Professor Roos of Mayence.
+The survey occupied six years, (1836-1842), and the results of direct
+observation in the form of maps and drawings, occupied a hundred sheets
+160 millimetres (6-1/4 inches) long, by 133 m.m. (5-1/4 inches) broad.
+Twenty-nine separate points were made use of in the triangulation; and
+the scale chosen was 1 in 50,000. The results were published in a large
+folio atlas, which appeared in eight parts; the first in 1845 and the
+last in 1861, when the death of Von Waltershausen put an end to the
+further publication. There are 26 fine coloured maps, and 31 engravings.
+The cost of the atlas is L12. The maps are both geological and
+topographical, and they are accompanied by outline engravings of various
+details of special interest. The _Atlas des Aetna_ furnishes the most
+exhaustive history of any one mountain on the face of the earth, and
+Sartorius Von Waltershausen will always be the principal authority on
+the subject of Etna.
+
+Sir Charles Lyell visited Etna in 1824, 1857, and again in 1858. He
+embodied his researches in a paper presented to the Royal Society in
+1859, and in a lengthy chapter in the _Principles of Geology_. His
+investigations have added much to our knowledge of the formation and
+geological characteristics of the mountain, especially of that part of
+it called the Val del Bove.
+
+Later writers usually quote Von Waltershausen and Lyell, and do not add
+much original matter. The facts of all subsequent writers are taken more
+or less directly from these authors. The latest addition to the
+literature of the mountain, is the _Wanderungen am Aetna_ of Dr.
+Baltzer, in the journal of the Swiss Alpine Club for 1874.[14]
+
+[14] Jahrbuch des Schweizer Alpen Club. Neunter Jahrgang, 1873-1874.
+Bern 1874.
+
+A fine map of Sicily, on the unusually large scale of 1 in 50,000, or
+1.266 inch to a mile, was constructed by the Stato Maggiore of the
+Italian government, between 1864 and 1868. The portion relating to Etna,
+and its immediate surroundings occupies four sheets. All the small roads
+and rivulets are introduced; the minor cones and monticules are placed
+in their proper positions, and the elevation of the ground is given at
+short intervals of space over the entire map. An examination of this map
+shows us that distances, areas, and heights, have been repeatedly
+misstated, the minor cones misplaced, and the trend of the coast line
+misrepresented. For example, if we draw a line due north and south
+through Catania, and a second line from the Capo di Taormina, (the
+north-eastern limit of the base of Etna), until it meets the first line
+at Catania, the lines, will be found to enclose an angle of 26 deg.. If we
+adopt the same plan with Gemellaro's map, the included angle is found to
+be 53 deg., and in the case of the maps of Ferrara and Recupero more than
+60 deg.. Again, it has been stated on good authority, that the lava of 396
+B.C. which enters the sea at Capo di Schiso flowed for a distance of
+nearly 30 miles; the map shows us that its true course was less than 16
+miles. Lyell in 1858 gives a section of the mountain from West 20 deg. N.,
+to East 20 deg. S., but a comparison with the new map proves that the
+section is really taken from West 35 deg. N. to East 35 deg. S., an error which
+at a radius of ten miles from the crater would amount to a difference of
+nearly three miles.
+
+The mantle of Carlo Gemellaro appears to have fallen upon Cav. Orazio
+Silvestri, Professor of Chemistry in the University of Catania. He has
+devoted himself with unwearying vigour to the study of the mountain, and
+his memoirs have done much to elucidate its past and present history.
+His most recent work of importance on the subject is entitled _I
+Fenomeni Vulcanici presentati dall'Etna nel 1863-64-65-66_. It was
+published in Catania in 1867, and contains an account of some very
+elaborate chemico-geological researches.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+PHYSICAL FEATURES OF THE MOUNTAIN.
+
+    Height.--Radius of Vision from the summit.--Boundaries.--Area.--
+    Population.--General aspect of Etna.--The Val del Bove.--Minor
+    Cones.--Caverns.--Position and extent of the three Regions.--Regione
+    Coltivata.--Regione Selvosa.--Regione Deserta.--Botanical Regions.--
+    Divisions of Rafinesque-Schmaltz, and of Presl.--Animal life in the
+    upper Regions.
+
+
+In the preceding chapter we have discussed the history of Mount Etna;
+the references to its phenomena afforded by writers of various periods;
+and the present state of the literature of the subject. We have now to
+consider the general aspect and physical features of the mountain,
+together with the divisions of its surface into distinct regions.
+
+The height of Etna has been often determined. The earlier writers had
+very extravagant notions on the subject, and three miles has sometimes
+been assigned to it. Brydone, Saussure, Shuckburgh, Irvine, and others,
+obtained approximations to the real height; it must be borne in mind,
+however, that the cone of a volcano is liable to variations in height at
+different periods, and a diminution of as much as 300 feet occurred
+during one of the eruptions of Etna, owing to the falling in of the
+upper portion of the crater. During the last sixty years, however, the
+height of the mountain has been practically constant. In 1815 Captain
+Smyth determined it to be 10,874 feet. In 1824 Sir John Herschel, who
+was unacquainted with Smyth's results, estimated it at 10,872-1/2 feet.
+The new map of the Stato Maggiore gives 3312.61 metres = 10867.94 feet.
+
+When the Canon Recupero devoted two chapters of his quarto volume to a
+discussion of the height of Etna, no such exact observations had been
+made, consequently he compared, and critically examined, the various
+determinations which then existed. The almost perfect concordance of the
+results given by Smyth, Herschel, and the Stato Maggiore, render it
+unnecessary for us to further discuss a subject about which there can
+now be no difference of opinion.
+
+Professor Jukes says, "If we were to put Snowdon, the highest mountain
+in Wales, on the top of Ben Nevis, the highest in Scotland, and
+Carrantuohill, the highest in Ireland, on the summit of both, we should
+make a mountain but a very little higher than Etna, and we should
+require to heap up a great number of other mountains round the flanks of
+our new one in order to build a gentle sloping pile which should equal
+Etna in bulk."
+
+The extent of radius of vision from the summit of Etna is very variously
+stated. The exaggerated notions of the earlier writers, that the coast
+of Africa and of Greece are sometimes visible, may be at once set aside.
+Lord Ormonde's statement that he saw the Gulf of Taranta, and the
+mountains of Terra di Lecce beyond it--a distance of 245 miles--must be
+received with caution. It is, however, a fact that Malta, 130 miles
+distant, is often visible; and Captain Smyth asserts that a considerable
+portion of the upper part of the mountain may sometimes be seen, and
+that he once saw more than half of it, from Malta, although that island
+is usually surrounded by a sea-horizon. It is stated on good authority
+that Monte S. Giuliano above Trapani, and the OEgadean Isles, 160 miles
+distant, are sometimes seen. Other writers give 128 miles as the limit.
+The fact is, that atmospheric refraction varies so much with different
+conditions of the atmosphere that it is almost impossible to give any
+exact statement. The more so when we remember that there may be many
+layers of atmosphere of different density between the observer and the
+horizon. Distant objects seem to be just under one's feet when seen from
+the summit of the mountain. Smyth gives the radius of vision as 150.7
+miles: and this we are inclined to adopt as the nearest approach to the
+truth, because Smyth was an accurate observer, and he made careful
+corrections both for error of instruments and for refraction. This
+radius gives an horizon of 946.4 miles of circumference, and an
+included area of 39,900 square miles--larger than the area of Ireland.
+If a circle be traced with the crater of Etna as a centre, and a radius
+of 150.7 miles, it will be found to take in the whole of Sicily and
+Malta, to cut the western coast of Italy at Scalca in Calabria, leaving
+the south-east coast near Cape Rizzuto. Such a circle will include the
+whole of Ireland, or if we take Derby as the centre, its circumference
+will touch the sea beyond Yarmouth on the East, the Isle of Wight on the
+South, the Irish Channel on the West, and it will pass beyond Carlisle
+and Newcastle-on-Tyne on the North.
+
+The road which surrounds the mountain is carried along its lower slopes,
+and is 87 miles in length. It passes through the towns of Paterno,
+Aderno, Bronte, Randazzo, Linguaglossa, Giarre, and Aci Reale. It is
+considered by some writers to define the base of the mountain, which is
+hence most erroneously said to have a circumference of 87 miles; but the
+road frequently passes over high beds of lava, and winds considerably.
+It is about 10 miles from the crater on the North, East, and West sides,
+increasing to 15-1/2 miles at Paterno, (S.W.). The elevation on the North
+and West flanks of the mountain is nearly 2,500 feet, while on the South
+it falls to 1,500 feet, and on the East to within 50 feet of the level
+of the sea. It is quite clear that it cannot be asserted with any
+degree of accuracy to define the base of the mountain.
+
+[Illustration: Sections of Etna]
+
+The "natural boundaries" of Etna are the rivers Alcantara and Simeto on
+the North, West, and South, and the sea on the East to the extent of 23
+miles of coast, along which lava streams have been traced, sometimes
+forming headlands several hundred feet in height. The base of the
+mountain, as defined by these natural boundaries, is said to have a
+circumference of "at least 120 miles," an examination of the new map,
+however, proves that this is over-estimated.
+
+If we take the sea as the eastern boundary, the river Alcantara,
+(immediately beyond which Monte di Mojo, the most northerly minor cone
+of Etna is situated), as the northern boundary, and the river Simeto as
+the boundary on the west and south, we obtain a circumference of 91
+miles for the base of Etna. In this estimate the small sinuosities of
+the river have been neglected, and the southern circuit has been
+completed by drawing a line from near Paterno to Catania, because the
+Simeto runs for the last few miles of its course through the plain of
+Catania, quite beyond the most southerly stream of lava. The Simeto
+(anciently _Simaethus_) is called the Giaretta along the last three miles
+of its course, after its junction with the Gurna Longa.
+
+The area of the region enclosed by these boundaries is approximately 480
+square miles. Reclus gives the area of the mountain as 1,200 square
+kilometres--461 square miles. (_Nouvelle Geographie Universelle_, 1875.)
+The last edition of a standard Gazetteer states it as "849 square
+miles;" but this estimate is altogether absurd. This would require a
+circle having a radius of between sixteen and seventeen miles. If a
+circle be drawn with a radius of sixteen miles from the crater, it will
+pass out to sea to a distance of 4-1/2 miles on the East, while on the
+West and North it will pass through limestone and sandstone formations
+far beyond the Alcantara and the Simeto, and beyond the limit of the
+lava streams.
+
+There are two cities, Catania and Aci Reale, and sixty-two towns or
+villages on Mount Etna. It is far more thickly populated than any other
+part of Sicily or Italy, for while the population of the former is 228
+per square mile, and of the latter 233, the population of the habitable
+zone of Etna amounts to 1,424 per square mile. More than 300,000 persons
+live on the slopes of the mountain. Thus with an area rather larger than
+that of Bedfordshire (462 square miles) the mountain has more than
+double the population; and with an area equal to about one-third that of
+Wiltshire, the population of the mountain is greater by nearly 50,000
+inhabitants. We have stated above that the area of Etna is 480 square
+miles, but it must be borne in mind that the habitable zone only
+commences at a distance of about 9-1/4 miles from the crater. A circle,
+having a radius of 9-1/4 miles, encloses an area of 269 square miles;
+and 480 minus 269 leaves 211 square miles as the approximate area of the
+habitable zone. Only a few insignificant villages on the East side are
+nearer to the crater than 9-1/4 miles. Taking the inhabitants as
+300,000, we find, by dividing this number by 211, (the area of the
+habitable zone), that the population amounts to 1,424 per square mile.
+Even Lancashire, the most populous county in Great Britain, (of course
+excepting Middlesex), and the possessor of two cities, which alone
+furnish more than a million inhabitants, has a population of only 1,479
+to the square mile.
+
+Some idea of the closeness of the towns and villages may be found by
+examining the south-east corner of the map. If we draw a line from Aci
+Reale to Nicolosi, and from Nicolosi to Catania, we enclose a nearly
+equilateral triangle, having the coast line between Aci Reale and
+Catania as its third side.
+
+Starting from Aci Reale with 24,151 inhabitants, and moving westwards to
+Nicolosi, we come in succession to Aci S. Lucia, Aci Catena, Aci S.
+Antonio, Via Grande, Tre Castagni, Pedara, Nicolosi, completing the
+first side of the triangle; then turning to the south-east and following
+the Catania road, we pass Torre di Grifo, Mascalucia, Gravina, and reach
+Catania with 85,055 inhabitants; while on the line of coast between
+Catania and Aci Reale we have Ognina, Aci Castello, and Trezza. Within
+the triangle we find Aci Patane, Aci S. Filippo, Valverde, Bonacorsi, S.
+Gregorio, Tremestieri, Piano, S. Agata, Trappeto, and S. Giovanni la
+Punta: in all twenty-five, two of which are cities, several of the
+others towns of about 3,000 inhabitants, and the rest villages. These
+are all included within an area of less than thirty square miles, which
+constitutes the most populous portion of the habitable zone of Etna.
+
+That the population is rapidly increasing is well shown by a comparison
+of the number of inhabitants of some of the more important towns in 1824
+and in 1876.[15]
+
+                     _1824_  _1876_
+
+    Catania          45,081  85,055
+    Aci Reale        14,094  24,151
+    Giarre           13,705  17,965
+    Paterno           9,808  16,512
+    Aderno            6,623  15,657
+    Bronte            9,153  15,081
+    Biancavilla       5,870  13,261
+    Linguaglossa      2,415   9,120
+    Randazzo          4,700   8,378
+    Piedimonte Etnea  1,404   4,924
+    Zaffarana Etnea     700   3,884
+    Pedara            2,068   3,181
+    Trecastagni       2,406   3,061
+
+[15] I am indebted for these figures to Mr. George Dennis, H.M. Consul
+General for Sicily.
+
+The general aspect of Etna is that of a pretty regular cone, covered
+with vegetation, except near the summit. The regularity is broken on the
+East side by a slightly oval valley, four or five miles in diameter,
+called the _Val del Bove_, or in the language of the district Val del
+_Bue_. This commences about two miles from the summit, and is bounded on
+three sides by nearly vertical precipices from 3,000 to 4,000 feet in
+height. The bottom of the valley is covered with lavas of various date,
+and several minor craters have from time to time been upraised from it.
+Many eruptions have commenced in the immediate neighbourhood of the Val
+del Bove, and Lyell believes that there formerly existed a centre of
+permanent eruption in the valley. The Val del Bove is altogether
+sterile; but the mountain at the same level is, on other sides, clothed
+with trees. The vast mass of the mountain is realised by the fact that,
+after twelve miles of the ascent from Catania, the summit looks as far
+off as it did at starting. Moreover, Mount Vesuvius might be almost
+hidden away in the Val del Bove.
+
+A remarkable feature of Etna is the large number of minor craters which
+are scattered over its sides. They look small in comparison with the
+great mass of the mountain, but in reality some of them are of large
+dimensions. Monte Minardo, near Bronte, the largest of these minor
+cones, is still 750 feet high, although its base has been raised by
+modern lava-streams which have flowed around it. There are 80 of the
+more conspicuous of these minor cones, but Von Waltershausen has mapped
+no less than 200 within a ten mile radius from the great crater, while
+neglecting many monticules of ashes. As to the statement made by Reclus
+to the effect that there are 700 minor cones, and by Jukes, that the
+number is 600, it is to be supposed that they include not only the most
+insignificant monticules and heaps of cinders, but also the _bocche_ and
+_boccarelle_ from which at any time lava or fire has issued. If these be
+included, no doubt these numbers are not exaggerations.
+
+[Illustration: Grotto delle Palombe]
+
+The only important minor cone which has been produced during the
+historical period, is the double mountain known as Monti Rossi, from the
+red colour of the cinders which compose it. This was raised from the
+plain of Nicolosi during the eruption of 1669; it is 450 feet in height,
+and two miles in circumference at the base. In a line between the Monti
+Rossi and the great crater, thirty-three minor cones may be counted.
+Hamilton counted forty-four, looking down from the summit towards
+Catania, and Captain Smyth was able to discern fifty at once from an
+elevated position on the mountain. Many of these parasitic cones are
+covered with vegetation, as the names Monte Faggi, Monte Ilice, Monte
+Zappini, indicate. The names have not been happily chosen; thus there
+are several cones in different parts of the mountain called by the same
+name--Monte Arso, Monte Nero, Monte Rosso, Monte Frumento, are the most
+common of the duplicates. Moreover, the names have from time to time
+been altered, and it thus sometimes becomes difficult to trace a cone
+which has been alluded to under a former name, or by an author who wrote
+before the name was changed. In addition to the minor cones from which
+lava once proceeded, there are numerous smaller vents for the
+subterranean fires called _Bocche_, or if very small, _Boccarelle_, _del
+Fuoco_. In the eruption of 1669, thirteen mouths opened in the course of
+a few days; and in the eruption of 1809, twenty new mouths opened one
+after the other in a line about six miles long. Two new craters were
+formed in the Val del Bove in 1852, and seven craters in 1865. The
+outbursts of lava from lateral cones are no doubt due to the fact that
+the pressure of lava in the great crater, which is nearly 1000 feet in
+depth, becomes so great that the lava is forced out at some lower point
+of less resistance. The most northerly of the minor cones is Monte di
+Mojo, from whence issued the lava of 396 B.C., it is 11-1/2 miles from
+the crater; the most southerly cone is Monte Ste Sofia, 16 miles from
+the crater. Nearly all the minor cones are within 10 miles of the
+crater, and the majority are collected between south-east, and west,
+that is, in an angular space of 135 deg., starting midway between east and
+south, (45 deg. south of due east) to due west, (90 deg. west of due south).
+Lyell speaks of the minor cones "as the most grand and original feature
+in the physiognomy of Etna."
+
+A number of caverns are met with in various parts of Etna; Boccacio
+speaks of the Cavern of Thalia, and several early writers allude to the
+Grotto delle Palombe near Nicolosi. The latter is situated in front of
+Monte Fusara, and the entrance to it is evidently the crater of an
+extinct monticule. It descends for 78 feet, and at the bottom a cavern
+is entered by a long shaft; this leads to a second cavern, which
+abruptly descends, and appears to be continued into the heart of the
+neighbouring Monti Rossi. Brydone says that people have lost their
+senses in these caverns, "imagining that they saw devils, and the
+spirits of the damned; for it is still very generally believed that Etna
+is the mouth of Hell." Many of the caverns near the upper part of the
+mountain are used for storing snow, and sometimes as places of shelter
+for shepherds. We have already seen to what extent Lucretius attributed
+the eruptions to air pent up within the interior caverns of the
+mountains.
+
+The surface of the mountain has been divided into three zones or
+regions--the _Piedimontana_ or _Coltivata_; the _Selvosa_ or _Nemorosa_;
+and the _Deserta_ or _Discoperta_. Sometimes the name of _Regione del
+Fuoco_ is given to the central cone and crater. As regards temperature,
+the zones correspond more or less to the Torrid, Temperate, and Frigid.
+The lowest of these, the _Cultivated Region_, yields in abundance all
+the ordinary Sicilian products. The soil, which consists of decomposed
+lava, is extremely fertile, although of course large tracts of land are
+covered by recent lavas, or by those which decompose slowly. In this
+region the vine flourishes, and abundance of corn, olives, pistachio
+nuts, oranges, lemons, figs, and other fruit trees.
+
+The breadth of this region varies; it terminates at an approximate
+height of 2000 feet. A circle drawn with a radius of 10 miles from the
+crater, roughly defines the limit. The elevation of this on the north is
+2,310 feet near Randazzo; on the south, 2,145 feet near Nicolosi; on the
+east, 600 feet near Mascali; and on the west, 1,145 feet near Bronte.
+The breadth of this cultivated zone is about 2 miles on the north, east,
+and west, and 9 or 10 on the south, if we take for the base of the
+mountain the limits proposed above.
+
+The _Woody Region_ commences where the cultivated region ends, and
+extends as a belt of varying width to an approximate height of 6,300
+feet. It is terminated above by a circle having a radius of nearly 1-1/2
+miles from the crater. There are fourteen separate forests in this
+region: some abounding with the oak, beech, pine, and poplar, others
+with the chestnut, ilex, and cork tree.
+
+The celebrated _Castagno di Cento Cavalli_, one of the largest and
+oldest trees in the world, is in the Forest of Carpinetto, on the East
+side of the mountain, five miles above Giarre. This tree has the
+appearance of five separate trunks united into one, but Ferrara declares
+that by digging a very short distance below the surface he found one
+single stem. The public road now passes through the much-decayed trunk.
+Captain Smyth measured the circumference a few feet from the ground, and
+found it to be 163 feet, which would give it a diameter of more than 50
+feet. The tree derives its name from the story that one of the Queens of
+Arragon took shelter in its trunk with a suite of 100 horsemen. Near
+this patriarch are several large chestnuts, which, without a shadow of
+doubt, are single trees; one of these is 18 feet in diameter, and a
+second 15 feet, while the _Castagno della Galea_, higher up on the
+mountain, is 25 feet in diameter, and probably more than 1000 years old.
+The breadth of the Regione Selvosa varies considerably, as may be seen
+by reference to the accompanying map; in the direction of the Val del
+Bove it is very narrow, while elsewhere it frequently has a breadth of
+from 6 to 8 miles.
+
+The Desert Region is embraced between the limit of 6,300 feet and the
+summit. It occupies about 10 square miles, and consists of a dreary
+waste of black sand, scoriae, ashes, and masses of ejected lava. In
+winter it remains permanently covered with snow, and even in the height
+of summer snow may be found in certain rifts.
+
+Botanists have divided the surface of Etna into seven regions. The first
+extends from the level of the sea to 100 feet above it, and in it
+flourishes the palm, banana, Indian fig or prickly pear, sugar-cane,
+mimosa, and acacia. It must be remembered, however, that it is only on
+the east side of the mountain that the level within the base sinks to
+100 feet above the sea; and, moreover, that the palm, banana, and
+sugar-cane, are comparative rarities in this part of Sicily. Prickly
+pears and vines are the most abundant products of the lower slopes of
+the eastern side of Etna. The second, or hilly region, reaches from 100
+to 2000 feet above the sea, and therefore constitutes, with the
+preceding, the _Regione Coltivata_ of our former division. In it are
+found cotton, maize, orange, lemon, shaddock, and the ordinary Sicilian
+produce. The culture of the vine ceases near its upward limit. The
+third, or woody region, reaches from 2000 to 4000 feet, and the
+principal trees within it are the cork, oak, maple, and chestnut. The
+fourth region extends from 4000 to 6000 feet, and contains the beech,
+Scotch fir, birch, dock, plaintain, and sandworth. The fifth, or
+sub-Alpine region, extending from 6000 to 7000 feet, contains the
+barberry, soapwort, toad-flax, and juniper. In the sixth region, 7,500
+to 9000 feet, are found soapwort, sorrel, and groundsel; while the last
+narrow zone, 9000 to 9,200 feet, contains a few lichens, the commonest
+of which is the _Stereocaulon Paschale_. The flora of Etna comprises 477
+species, only 40 of which are found between 7000 feet and the summit,
+while in the last 2000 feet only five phanerogamous species are found,
+viz., Anthemis Etnensis, Senecio Etnensis, Robertsia taraxacoides,
+(which are peculiar to Etna), Tanacetum vulgare, and Astragulus Siculus.
+Common ferns, such as the _pteris aquilina_, are found in abundance
+beneath the trees in the Regione Selvosa.
+
+This division has been advocated by Presl in his _Flora Sicula_.[16] He
+names the different regions beginning from below: _Regio Subtropica_,
+_Regio Collina_, _Regio Sylvatica inferior_, _Regio fagi Sylvestris_.
+These four are common to all Sicily. The three remaining regions, _Regio
+Subalpina_, _Regio Alpina_, and _Regio Lichenum_, together extending
+from 6000 to 9,200 feet, belong to Etna alone.
+
+[16] "Flora sicula: exhibens Plantas vasculosas in Sicilia aut sponte
+crescentes aut frequentissime cultas, secundum systema naturale
+digestas." Auctore G. B. Presl. Pragae, 1824.
+
+At the conclusion of the first volume of Recupero's _Storia Naturale et
+Generale dell' Etna_ we find a somewhat different botanical division
+proposed by Signor Rafinesque-Schmaltz.[17] He makes his divisions in
+the following manner:--
+
+    1. Florula Piedemontana.
+    2. Florula Nemorosa.
+    3. Florula excelsa o della Regione Discoperta.
+    4. Florula Arenosa o della Regione delle Scorie.
+
+[17] Chloris Aetnensis: o le quattro Florule dell' Etna, opusculo del
+Sig. C. S. Rafinesque-Schmaltz, Palermo. Dicembre, 1813.
+
+In the latter region, (to which he assigns no limit as to height), he
+found Potentilla Argentea, Rumex Scutatus, Tanacetum Vulgare, Anthemis
+Montana, Jacobaea Chrysanthemifolia, Seriola Uniflora, and Phalaris
+Alpina.
+
+As regards the animal life on Etna, of course it is the same as that of
+the eastern sea-board of Sicily, except in the higher regions, where it
+becomes more sparse. The only living creatures in the upper regions are
+ants, a little lower down Spallanzani found a few partridges, jays,
+thrushes, ravens, and kites.
+
+Brydone says of the three regions: "Besides the corn, the wine, the oil,
+the silk, the spice, and delicious fruits of its lower region; the
+beautiful forests, the flocks, the game, the tar, the cork, the honey of
+its second; the snow and ice of its third; it affords from its caverns a
+variety of minerals and other productions--cinnabar, mercury, sulphur,
+alum, nitre, and vitriol; so that this wonderful mountain at the same
+time produces every necessary, and every luxury of life."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+ASCENT OF THE MOUNTAIN.
+
+    The most suitable time for ascending Etna.--The ascent commenced.--
+    Nicolosi.--Etna mules.--Night journey through the upper Regions of
+    the mountain.--Brilliancy of the Stars.--Proposed Observatory on
+    Etna.--The Casa Inglesi.--Summit of the Great Crater.--Sunrise from
+    the summit.--The Crater.--Descent from the Mountain.--Effects of
+    Refraction.--Fatigue of the Ascent.
+
+
+The ascent of Mount Etna has been described many times during the last
+eighteen centuries, from Strabo in the second century to Dr. Baltzer in
+1875. One of the most interesting accounts is certainly that of Brydone,
+and in this century perhaps that of Mr. Gladstone. Of course the
+interest of the expedition is greatly increased if it can be combined
+with that spice of danger which is afforded by the fact of the mountain
+being in a state of eruption at the time.
+
+The best period for making the ascent is between May and September,
+after the melting of the winter snows, and before the autumnal rains. In
+winter snow frequently extends from the summit downwards for nine or
+ten miles; the paths are obliterated, and the guides refuse to accompany
+travellers. Even so late in the spring as May 29th Brydone had to
+traverse seven miles of snow before reaching the summit. Moreover,
+violent storms often rage in the upper regions of the mountain, and the
+wind acquires a force which it is difficult to withstand, and is at the
+same time piercingly cold. Sir William Hamilton, in relating his ascent
+on the night of June 26th, 1769, remarks that, if they had not kindled a
+fire at the halting place, and put on much warm clothing, they would
+"surely have perished with the cold." At the same time the wind was so
+violent that they had several times to throw themselves on their faces
+to avoid being overthrown. Yet the guides said that the wind was not
+unusually violent. Some writers, well used to Alpine climbing, have
+asserted that the cold on Etna was more severe than anything they have
+ever experienced in the Alps.
+
+The writer of this memoir made the ascent of the mountain in August
+1877, accompanied by a courier and a guide. We took with us two mules;
+some thick rugs; provisions consisting of bread, meat, wine, coffee, and
+brandy; wooden staves for making the ascent of the cone; a geological
+hammer; a bag for specimens; and a few other requisites. It has to be
+remembered that absolutely nothing is to be met with at the Casa
+Inglesi, where the halt is made for the night; even firewood has to be
+taken, a fire being most necessary in those elevated regions even during
+a midsummer's night. For some time previous to our ascent the weather
+had been uniformly bright and fine, and there had been no rain for more
+than three months. The mean temperature in the shade at Catania, and
+generally along the eastern sea-base of the mountain, was 82 deg. F.
+
+As we desired to see the sunrise from the summit of the mountain, we
+determined to ascend during the cool of the evening, resting for an hour
+or two before sunrise at the Casa Inglesi at the foot of the cone.
+Accordingly we left Catania soon after midday, and drove to Nicolosi,
+twelve miles distant, and 2,288 feet above the sea. The road for some
+distance passed through a very fertile district; on either side there
+were corn fields and vineyards, and gardens of orange and lemon trees,
+figs and almonds, growing luxuriantly in the decomposed lava. About half
+way between Catania and Nicolosi stands the village of Gravina, and a
+mile beyond it Mascalucia, a small town containing nearly 4000
+inhabitants. Near this is the ruined church of St. Antonio, founded in
+1300. Nine miles from Catania the village of Torre di Grifo is passed,
+and the road then enters a nearly barren district covered with the lava
+and scoriae of 1527. The only prominent form of vegetation is a peculiar
+tall broom--_Genista Etnensis_--which here flourishes. We are now
+entering the region of minor cones; the vineclad cone of Monpilieri is
+visible on the left, and just above it Monti Rossi, 3,110 feet above the
+sea; to the right of the latter we see Monte San Nicola, Serrapizzuta,
+and Monte Arso. We reach Nicolosi at half-past four; for although the
+distance is short, the road is very rugged and steep.
+
+Nicolosi has a population of less than 3,000; it consists of a long
+street, bordered by one-storied cottages of lava. In the church the
+priests were preparing for a _festa_ in honour of S. Anthony of Padua.
+They politely took us into the sacristy, and exhibited with much pride
+some graven images of rather coarse workmanship, which were covered with
+gilding and bright coloured paint. Near Nicolosi stands the convent of
+S. Nicola dell' Arena, once inhabited by Benedictine monks, who however
+were compelled to abandon it in consequence of the destruction produced
+by successive shocks of earthquake. Nicolosi itself has been more than
+once shaken to the ground. We dined pretty comfortably, thanks to the
+courier who acted as cook, in the one public room of the one primitive
+inn of the town; starting for the Casa Inglesi at 6 o'clock. The good
+people of the inn surrounded us at our departure and with much warmth
+wished us a safe and successful journey.
+
+For a short distance above Nicolosi, stunted vines are seen growing in
+black cinders, but these soon give place to a large tract covered with
+lava and ashes, with here and there patches of broom. There was no
+visible path, but the mules seemed to know the way perfectly, and they
+continued to ascend with the same easy even pace without any guidance,
+even after the sun had disappeared behind the western flank of the
+mountain. In fact, you trust yourself absolutely to your mule, which
+picks his way over the roughest ground, and rarely stumbles or changes
+his even step. I found it quite easy to write notes while ascending, and
+even to use a pocket spectroscope at the time of the setting sun.
+Subsequently we saw a man extended at full length, and fast asleep upon
+a mule, which was leisurely plodding along the highway. The same
+confidence must not however be extended to the donkeys of Etna, as I
+found to my cost a few days later at Taormina. Here the only animal to
+be procured to carry me down to the sea-shore, 800 feet below, was a
+donkey. It was during the hottest part of the day, and it was necessary
+to carry an umbrella in one hand, and comfortable to wear a kind of
+turban of many folds of thin muslin round one's cap. The donkey after
+carefully selecting the roughest and most precipitous part of the road,
+promptly fell down, leaving me extended at full length on the road, with
+the open umbrella a few yards off. At the same time the turban came
+unfolded, and stretched itself for many a foot upon the ground.
+Altogether it was a most comical sight, and it reminded me forcibly, and
+at the instant, of a picture which I once saw over the altar of a
+church in Pisa, and which represented S. Thomas Aquinas discomfiting
+Plato, Aristotle, and Averroees. The latter was completely overthrown,
+and in the most literal sense, for he was grovelling in the dust at the
+feet of S. Thomas, while his disarranged turban had fallen from him.
+
+The district of lava and ashes above Nicolosi is succeeded by forests of
+small trees, and we are now fairly within the _Regione Selvosa_. At
+half-past 8 o'clock the temperature was 66 deg., at Nicolosi at 4 o'clock it
+was 80 deg.. About 9 o'clock we arrived at the Casa del Bosco, (4,216 feet),
+a small house in which several men in charge of the forest live. Here we
+rested till 10 o'clock, and then after I had put on a great-coat and a
+second waistcoat, we started for the higher regions. At this time the
+air was extraordinarily still, the flame of a candle placed near the
+open door of the house did not flicker. The ascent from this point
+carried us through forests of pollard oaks, in which it was quite
+impossible to see either a path or any obstacles which might lie in
+one's way. The guide carried a lantern, and the mules seemed well
+accustomed to the route. At about 6,300 feet we entered the _Regione
+Deserta_, a lifeless waste of black sand, ashes, and lava; the ascent
+became more steep, and the air was bitterly cold. There was no moon, but
+the stars shone with an extraordinary brilliancy, and sparkled like
+particles of white-hot steel. I had never before seen the heavens
+studded with such myriads of stars. The milky-way shone like a path of
+fire, and meteors flashed across the sky in such numbers that I soon
+gave up any attempt to count them. The vault of heaven seemed to be much
+nearer than when seen from the earth, and more flat, as if only a short
+distance above our heads, and some of the brighter stars appeared to be
+hanging down from the sky. Brydone, in speaking of his impressions under
+similar circumstances says:
+
+"The sky was clear, and the immense vault of heaven appeared in awful
+majesty and splendour. We found ourselves more struck with veneration
+than below, and at first were at a loss to know the cause, till we
+observed with astonishment that the number of the stars seemed to be
+infinitely increased, and the light of each of them appeared brighter
+than usual. The whiteness of the milky-way was like a pure flame that
+shot across the heavens, and with the naked eye we could observe
+clusters of stars that were invisible in the regions below. We did not
+at first attend to the cause, nor recollect that we had now passed
+through ten or twelve thousand feet of gross vapour, that blunts and
+confuses every ray before it reaches the surface of the earth. We were
+amazed at the distinctness of vision, and exclaimed together, 'What a
+glorious situation for an observatory! had Empedocles had the eyes of
+Galileo, what discoveries must he not have made!' We regretted that
+Jupiter was not visible, as I am persuaded we might have discovered some
+of his satellites with the naked eye, or at least with a small glass
+which I had in my pocket."
+
+Brydone wrote a hundred years ago, but his idea of erecting an
+observatory on Mount Etna was only revived last year, when Prof.
+Tacchini the Astronomer Royal at Palermo, communicated a paper to the
+Accademia Gioenia, entitled "_Della Convenienza ed utilita di erigere
+sull' Etna una Stazione Astronomico-Meteorologico_." Tacchini mentions
+the extraordinary blueness of the sky as seen from Etna, and the
+appearance of the sun, which is "whiter and more tranquil" than when
+seen from below. Moreover, the spectroscopic lines are defined with
+wonderful distinctness. In the evening at 10 o'clock, Sirius appeared to
+rival Venus, the peculiarities of the ring of Saturn were seen far
+better than at Palermo; and Venus emitted a light sufficiently powerful
+to cast shadows; it also scintillated. When the chromosphere of the sun
+was examined the next morning by the spectroscope, the inversion of the
+magnesium line, and of the line 1474 was immediately apparent, although
+it was impossible to obtain this effect at Palermo. Tacchini proposes
+that an observatory should be established at the Casa Inglesi, in
+connection with the University of Catania, and that it be provided with
+a good six-inch refracting telescope, and with meteorological
+instruments. In this observatory, constant observations should be made
+from the beginning of June to the end of September, and the telescope
+should then be transported to Catania, where a duplicate mounting might
+be provided for it, and observations continued for the rest of the year.
+There seems to be every probability that this scheme will be carried out
+in the course of next year.
+
+During this digression we have been toiling along the slopes of the
+_Regione Deserta_ and looking at the sky; at length we reach the _Piano
+del Lago_ or Plain of the Lake, so called because a lake produced by the
+melting of the snows existed here till 1607, when it was filled up by
+lava. The air is now excessively cold, and a sharp wind is blowing.
+Progress is very slow, the soil consists of loose ashes, and the mules
+frequently stop; the guide assures us that the Casa Inglesi is quite
+near, but the stoppages become so frequent that it seems a long way off;
+at length we dismount, and drag the mules after us, and after a toilsome
+walk the small lava-built house, called the Casa Inglesi, is reached
+(1.30 a.m., temperature 40 deg. F.) It stands at a height of 9,652 feet
+above the sea, near the base of the cone of the great crater, and it
+takes its name from the fact that it was erected by the English officers
+stationed in Sicily in 1811. It has suffered severely from time to time
+from the pressure of snow and from earthquakes, but it was thoroughly
+repaired in 1862, on the occasion of the visit of Prince Humbert, and is
+now in tolerable preservation. It consists of three rooms, containing a
+few deal chairs, a table, and several shelves like the berths of ships
+furnished with plain straw mattresses; there is also a rough fireplace.
+We had no sooner reached this house, very weary and so cold that we
+could scarcely move, than it was discovered that the courier had omitted
+to get the key from Nicolosi, and there seemed a prospect of spending
+the hours till dawn in the open air. Fortunately we had with us a chisel
+and a geological hammer, and by the aid of these we forced open the
+shutter serving as a window, and crept into the house; ten minutes later
+a large wood fire was blazing up the chimney, our eatables were
+unpacked, some hot coffee was made, and we were supremely comfortable.
+
+[Illustration: The Casa Inglesi and Cone of Etna]
+
+At 3 a.m. we left the Casa Inglesi for the summit of the great crater,
+1,200 feet above us, in order to be in time to witness the sunrise. Our
+road lay for a short distance over the upper portion of the Piano del
+Lago, and the walking was difficult. The brighter stars had disappeared,
+and it was much darker than it had been some hours before. The guide led
+the way with a lantern. The ascent of the cone was a very stiff piece of
+work; it consists of loose ashes and blocks of lava, and slopes at an
+angle of "45 deg. or more" according to one writer, and of 33 deg. according to
+another; probably the slope varies on different sides of the cone: we do
+not think that the slope much exceeds 33 deg. anywhere on the side of the
+cone which we ascended. Fortunately there was no strong wind, and we did
+not suffer from the sickness of which travellers constantly complain in
+the rarefied air of the summit. We reached the highest point at 4.30
+a.m., and found a temperature of 47 deg. F.
+
+When Sir William Hamilton ascended towards the end of June the
+temperature at the base of the mountain was 84 deg. F., and at the summit
+56 deg. F. When Brydone left Catania on May 26th, 1770, the temperature was
+76 deg. F., Bar. 29 in. 8-1/2 lines; at Nicolosi at midday on the 27th it
+was 73 deg. F., Bar. 27 in. 1-1/2 lines; at the Spelonca del Capriole (6,200
+feet), 61 deg. F., Bar. 26 in. 5-1/2 lines; at the foot of the crater, temp.
+33 deg. F., Bar. 20 in. 4-1/2 lines, and at the summit of the crater just
+before sunrise, temp. 27 deg. F., Bar. 19 in. 4 lines.
+
+On reaching the summit we noticed that a quantity of steam and
+sulphurous acid gas issued from the ground under our feet, and in some
+places the cinders were so hot that it was necessary to choose a cool
+place to sit down upon. A thermometer inserted just beneath the soil
+from which steam issued registered 182 deg. F. For a short time we anxiously
+awaited the rising of the sun. Nearly all the stars had faded away; the
+vault of heaven was a pale blue, becoming a darker and darker grey
+towards the west, where it appeared to be nearly black. Just before
+sunrise the sky had the appearance of an enormous arched spectrum,
+extremely extended at the blue end. Above the place where the sun would
+presently appear there was a brilliant red, shading off in the direction
+of the zenith to orange and yellow; this was succeeded by pale green,
+then a long stretch of pale blue, darker blue, dark grey, ending
+opposite the rising sun with black. This effect was quite distinct, it
+lasted some minutes, and was very remarkable. This was succeeded by the
+usual rayed appearance of the rising sun, and at ten minutes to 5
+o'clock the upper limb of the sun was seen above the mountains of
+Calabria. Examined by the spectroscope the Fraunhofer lines were
+extremely distinct, particularly two lines near the red end of the
+spectrum.
+
+The top of the mountain was now illuminated, while all below was in
+comparative darkness, and a light mist floated over the lower regions.
+We were so fortunate as to witness a phenomenon which is not always
+visible, viz., the projection of the triangular shadow of the mountain
+across the island, a hundred miles away. The shadow appeared vertically
+suspended in space at or beyond Palermo, and resting on a slightly misty
+atmosphere; it gradually sank until it reached the surface of the
+island, and as the sun rose it approached nearer and nearer to the base
+of the mountain. In a short time the flood of light destroyed the first
+effects of light and shadow. The mountains of Calabria and the west
+coast of Italy appeared very close, and Stromboli and the Lipari Islands
+almost under our feet; the east coast of Sicily could be traced until it
+ended at Cape Passaro and turned to the west, forming the southern
+boundary of the island, while to the west distant mountains appeared. No
+one would have the hardihood to attempt to describe the various
+impressions which rapidly float through the mind during the
+contemplation of sunrise from the summit of Etna. Brydone, who is by no
+means inclined to be rapturous or ecstatic in regard to the many
+wonderful sights he saw in the course of his tour, calls this "the most
+wonderful and most sublime sight in nature." "Here," he adds,
+"description must ever fall short, for no imagination has dared to form
+an idea of so glorious and so magnificent a scene. Neither is there on
+the surface of this globe any one point that unites so many awful and
+sublime objects. The immense elevation from the surface of the earth,
+drawn as it were to a single point, without any neighbouring mountains
+for the senses and imagination to rest upon, and recover from their
+astonishment in their way down to the world. This point or pinnacle,
+raised on the brink of a bottomless gulph, as old as the world, often
+discharging rivers of fire and throwing out burning rocks with a noise
+that shakes the whole island. Add to this, the unbounded extent of the
+prospect, comprehending the greatest diversity and the most beautiful
+scenery in nature, with the rising sun advancing in the east to
+illuminate the scene."
+
+When the sun had risen we had time to examine the crater, a vast abyss
+nearly 1000 feet in depth, and with very precipitous sides. Its
+dimensions vary, but it is now between two and three miles in
+circumference. Sometimes it is nearly full of lava, at other times it
+appears to be bottomless. At the present time it is like an inverted
+cone; its sides are covered with incrustations of sulphur and ammonia
+salts, and jets of steam perpetually issue from crevices. Near the
+summit we found a deposit, several inches in thickness, of a white
+substance, apparently lava decomposed by the hot issuing gases.
+Hydrochloric acid is said to frequently issue from the crater; the gases
+that were most abundant appeared to be sulphurous acid and steam. The
+interior of the crater appeared to be very similar to that of the
+Solfatara near Puzzuoli. During the descent from the cone we collected
+various specimens of ash and cinder, some red, others black and very
+vesicular, others crystalline, some pale pink. The steep slope of the
+cone was well shown by the fact that, although the surface is either
+extremely rugged owing to the accumulation of masses of lava, or soft
+and yielding on account of the depth of cinders, a large mass of lava
+set rolling at the top rushes down with increasing velocity until it
+bounds off to the level plain below.
+
+[Illustration: View of the Val de Bove]
+
+The great cone is formed by the accumulation of sand, scoriae, and masses
+of rock ejected from the crater; it is oval in form, and has varied both
+in shape and size in the course of centuries. When we saw it, it was not
+full of smoke or steam; but it was possible to see to the bottom of it,
+in spite of small jets of steam which issued from the sides. It
+presented the appearance of a profound funnel-shaped abyss; the sides of
+which were covered with an efflorescence of a red or yellow, and
+sometimes nearly white, colour. The crater presented the same appearance
+when it was seen by Captain Smyth in 1814, but he was so fortunate as to
+witness it in a less quiescent state. "While making these observations,"
+he writes, "on a sudden the ground trembled under our feet, a harsh
+rumbling with sonorous thunder was heard, and volumes of heavy smoke
+rolled over the side of the crater, while a lighter one ascended
+vertically, with the electric fluid escaping from it in frequent flashes
+in every direction.... During some time the ground shook so violently
+that we apprehended the whole cone would tumble into the burning gulf
+(as it actually had done several times before) and destroy us in the
+horrible consequences; however, in less than a couple of hours all was
+again clear above and quiet within." When Mr. Gladstone ascended in
+1838, the volcano was in a slight state of eruption: "The great
+features of this action," he writes, "are the sharp and loud claps,
+which perceptibly shook from time to time the ground of the mountain
+under our feet; the sheet of flame which leapt up with a sudden
+momentary blast, and soon disappeared in smoke; then the shower of
+red-hot stones and lava. At this time, as we found on our way down, lava
+masses of 150 or 200 pound weight were being thrown a distance of
+probably a mile and a half; smaller ones we found even more remote.
+These showers were most copious, and often came in the most rapid
+succession. Even while we were ascending the exterior of the cone, we
+saw them alighting on its slope, and sometimes bounding down with
+immense rapidity within, perhaps, some thirty or forty yards of our
+rickety footing on the mountain side. They dispersed like the sparks of
+a rocket; they lay beneath the moon, over the mountain, thicker than
+ever the stars in heaven; the larger ones ascended as it were with
+deliberation, and descended, first with speed and then with fury. Now
+they passed even over our heads, and we could pick up some newly fallen,
+and almost intolerably hot. Lastly, there was the black grey column,
+which seemed smoke, and was really ash, and which was shot from time to
+time out of the very bowels of the crater, far above its edge, in
+regular unbroken form."
+
+At the Casa Inglesi we remounted the mules, and made a slight detour to
+the east in order to look down into the Val del Bove, which is here seen
+as a gigantic valley, bounded on the north by the precipitous cliffs of
+the Serra delle Concazze, and on the South by the Serra del Solfizio. It
+is believed by Lyell and others that in the Balzo di Trifoglietto, at
+which point the precipices are most profound and abrupt, there was a
+second permanent crater of eruption. The Torre del Filosofo, a ruined
+tower, traditionally the observatory of Empedocles, stands near the Casa
+Inglesi. Not far from this a great deposit of ice was found in 1828. It
+was preserved from melting by a layer of ashes and sand, which had
+covered it, soon after its first existence, as a glacier: a stream of
+lava subsequently flowed over the ashes, and completely protected the
+ice; the non-conducting power of the ashes prevented the lava from
+melting the ice. The snow which falls on the mountain is stowed away in
+caves, and used by the Sicilians during summer. A ship load is also sent
+to Malta, and the Archbishop of Catania derives a good deal of his
+income from the sale of Etna snow.
+
+During our descent from the mountain we were much struck by the apparent
+nearness of the minor cones beneath us, and of the villages at the base
+of the mountain. They seemed to be painted on a vertical wall in front
+of us, and although from ten to fifteen miles distant they appeared to
+be almost within a stone's throw. This curious effect, which has often
+been observed before, is due to refraction. At the summit of Etna we
+have left one-third of the atmosphere beneath us, and the air is now
+pressing upon the surface of the earth with a weight of ten pounds on
+the square inch, instead of the usual fifteen pounds experienced at the
+level of the sea. In looking towards the base of the mountain we are
+consequently looking from a rarer to a denser medium; and it is a law of
+optics, that when light passes from a denser to a rarer medium it is
+refracted away from the perpendicular, and thus the object, from which
+it emanates, appears raised, and nearer to us than it really is. The
+objects around Etna appear near to us and raised vertically from the
+horizon for the same reason that a stick plunged in water appears bent.
+
+We reached Nicolosi again about noon, having left it eighteen hours
+before. The ascent of the mountain, although it does not involve much
+hard walking, is somewhat trying on account of the extremes of
+temperature which have to be endured. In the course of the morning of
+our descent we had experienced a difference equal to more than 40 deg. F. As
+to the ascent, you are moving upwards nearly all night; you have six
+hours of riding on a mule, some of it in a bitterly cold atmosphere; you
+get very much heated by the final steep climb of 1100 feet, and you find
+at the summit a piercing wind; of course there is no shelter, and you
+sit down to wait for sunrise on cinders which are gently giving off
+steam and sulphurous acid; the former condenses to water as soon as it
+meets the cold air, and you find your great coat, or the rug on which
+you have sat down, speedily saturated with moisture.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+TOWNS SITUATED ON THE MOUNTAIN.
+
+    Paterno.--Ste. Maria di Licodia.--The site of the ancient town of
+    Aetna.--Biancavilla.--Aderno.--Sicilian Inns.--Adranum.--Bronte.--
+    Randazzo.--Mascali.--Giarre.--Aci Reale.--Its position.--The Scogli
+    de'Ciclopi.--Catania, its early history, and present condition.
+
+
+We have before alluded to the fact that Etna is far more thickly
+populated than any other part of Sicily or Italy; in fact, more so than
+almost any equal area in the world, of course excepting large cities and
+their neighbourhood. This is due to the wonderful fertility of the soil,
+the salubrity of the climate, and, on the eastern base, to the proximity
+of a sea-coast indented with excellent harbours. The habitable zone of
+Etna is restricted to the _Regione Coltivata_, nevertheless some of the
+towns on the north and west have a considerable elevation; thus Bronte
+is 2,782 feet above the sea, and Randazzo 2,718. All the principal towns
+are situated on the base road of the mountain, which was indeed
+constructed in order to connect them. Out of the sixty-four towns and
+villages on the mountain, the following are the most important:
+Catania, Aci Reale, Paterno, Aderno, Bronte, Randazzo, Aci S. Antonio,
+Biancavilla, Calatabiano, Giarre, Francavilla, Linguagrossa, Licodia,
+Mascali, Misterbianco, Nicolosi, Pedara, Piedemonte, Trecastagne, and
+Tremestieri.
+
+On our return from the summit, we rested for awhile at Nicolosi, and in
+the cool of the evening started to make a _giro_ of the mountain by way
+of the base road. Descending by the Nicolosi road as far as Mascalucia,
+we branched off to the west, and made for Paterno, passing near the town
+of Belpasso, which was destroyed by the earthquake of 1669, and
+subsequently erected on a new site. It still contains more than 7,000
+inhabitants, although the district is extremely unhealthy.
+
+Paterno, the second largest town on the flanks of Etna after Catania and
+Aci Reale, stands in the very heart of the Regione Coltivata, and
+possesses more than 16,000 inhabitants. According to Cluverius, it is
+the site of the city of Hybla Major (~Hybla Megale~), a Sikelian
+city which was unsuccessfully attacked by the Athenians soon after they
+first landed in Sicily. During the second Punic War, the inhabitants
+went over to the Carthagenians, but the city was speedily recovered by
+the Romans. Pliny, Cicero, and Pausanias allude to it, but its later
+history has not come down to us. An altar was lately found in Paterno
+dedicated to _Veneri Victrici Hyblensi_. Several towns in Sicily were
+called Hybla, probably--according to Pausanias--in honour of a local
+deity. Paterno was founded by Roger I. in 1073: it was once a feudal
+city of some importance, and possessed a cathedral and castle, and
+several large monasteries. Although much fallen to decay, it still
+possesses a good deal of vitality, and the population is on the
+increase.
+
+On leaving Paterno the road turns to the North-west, and passes through
+the village of Ste. Maria di Licodia. Here originally stood the Sikelian
+City of Inessa (~Inessa~), which, after the death of Hiero I.,
+was peopled by colonists from Katana (then called ~Aitne~). The
+new occupants of the city changed its name from Inessa to Aetna, which
+it retained. The town later fell into the hands of the Syracusans, and
+in 462 B.C. the Athenians in vain attempted to take it. During the
+Athenian expedition both Aetna and Hybla were allies of Syracuse. In 403
+B.C. Aetna was taken by Dionysius, who placed in it a body of Campanian
+mercenaries. Sixty-four years later (B.C. 339) the town was taken by
+Timoleon. For many succeeding years we find no further mention of it.
+Cicero speaks of it in his time as an important place, and the centre of
+a very fertile district; it is also mentioned by Pliny and Ptolemy, and
+Strabo says that it was usually the starting point for those who
+ascended the mountain. Of its later history we know absolutely nothing.
+
+
+Six miles to the north-west of St. Mariah di Licodia, the road passes
+through Biancavilla--a town of 13,000 inhabitants, and the centre of a
+cotton district.
+
+The road continues in the same direction until the town of Aderno is
+reached; and here we arrived late in the evening, and gained our first
+experience of a Sicilian inn in an out-of-the-way town. After many
+enquiries we were directed to the only inn which the place could boast,
+kept by a doctor. No one appeared at or near the entrance, of course
+there was no bell or knocker, and we made our way up a dark stone
+staircase till we arrived at a dimly-lighted passage. A horrible old
+Sicilian woman now appeared, and showed us with great incivility the
+only room in the house, which its inmates were willing to place at our
+disposal. It was a fairly large room, with a stone floor which
+apparently had not been swept for weeks, and walls that had once been
+whitewashed; the furniture consisted of three beds placed on tressels, a
+plain deal table, and some primitive chairs. As to food they had neither
+bread, meat, wine, eggs, macaroni, fruit, or butter in the house;
+neither did they offer to procure anything. Even when some eggs had been
+obtained, and (after an hour's delay) cooked, there was not a single
+teaspoon to eat them with. The people of the town appear to subsist
+chiefly on beans and a kind of dried fish. If our courier had not been a
+very handy fellow and a tolerable cook, we should have been obliged
+more than once to go to bed supperless. As it was, the best he could do
+on this occasion was to get some bread, eggs, and wine, and--best of
+all--some snow, for the heat was intolerable. In a town of the same
+size--15,657 inhabitants--in England, we should have at least two really
+comfortable inns ready at any moment to receive and entertain the weary
+traveller.
+
+[Illustration: View of Etna from Bronte]
+
+Aderno stands on the site, and has preserved the name, of the ancient
+Sikelian city of Adranum (~Adranon~). According to Diodorus there
+existed here, from very early times, the temple of a local deity named
+Adranus. The city was founded by the elder Dionysius in 400 B.C.; it
+owed its importance to the renown of its temple, which was guarded by a
+thousand dogs. In 345 B.C. the city fell into the hands of Timoleon, and
+it was taken by the Romans at the commencement of the first Punic War.
+After this we cease to hear of it. The modern town was founded by Roger
+I. in the 12th century. The fine Norman tower--now used as a prison--and
+the monastery, were both built by King Roger.
+
+After leaving Aderno the base-road ascends, turns nearly due north, and
+leads us past a number of lava streams, notably those of 1610, 1603, and
+1651. A good view of Monte Minardo, and the minor cones in its more
+immediate neighbourhood, is obtained on the left, while on the right we
+see the Valley of the Simeto, and Centorbi high upon the hills.
+
+Nearly due west of the great crater is the town of Bronte, which is
+2,782 feet above the sea, and has a population of more than 15,000. It
+is a very primitive place, and several centuries behind the age; it
+reminded us forcibly, in one or two particulars, of Pompeii: the streets
+are narrow and tortuous, and the roadway very uneven. Awnings are
+sometimes hung across the street from side to side to provide shade. The
+shops are exactly like those at Pompeii; and in the main street we
+noticed an open-air kitchen, to which the would-be diner repairs,
+purchases a plateful of food, and eats it standing in the public way.
+The inn was even worse than that of Aderno, and apparently had never
+before received guests. We were offered one miserable room, without a
+lock to the door, and unprovided with either table or chair. Of course
+the bare idea of offering to procure, or furnish, or cook, any kind of
+food was too monstrous to be entertained for a moment. With difficulty
+the courier obtained some eggs, macaroni, and fruit, on which we dined
+in a small barn attached to a wine-shop.
+
+At Bronte we are only nine miles from the crater, on the steepest side
+of the mountain, and near the Tertiary sandstone which underlies this
+portion of the mountain. A short distance outside the town we saw great
+beds of the lava of 1832, piled up fantastically in all sorts of forms,
+and excessively rugged and uneven. It is quite bare of vegetation, and
+does not appear to have even commenced to be decomposed.
+
+Bronte gave its name to Lord Nelson, who was created Duke of Bronte by
+Ferdinand IV.:--an appropriate name for a great warrior ([Greek:
+bronte], thunder). The Nelson estates are scattered around the town.
+
+On leaving Bronte the road conducted us past several high hills of
+sandstone and quartzite near Monte Rivoglia; then we passed near
+Maletto, and, leaving the malarious lake Gurrita on our left, we soon
+after arrived at Randazzo. Near Maletto the road reaches it highest
+point--3,852 feet.
+
+The town of Randazzo was founded by the Lombards in the 10th century;
+during the Middle Ages it appears to have been a prosperous, populous,
+place; at present it possesses more than 8,000 inhabitants. The Emperor
+Frederick II. created his son Duke of Randazzo, and added to the name of
+the town, _Etnea_. It contains several very interesting architectural
+remains; a church of the 13th century, a mediaeval palace--the Palazzo
+Finochiaro,--and a ducal palace now used as a prison. The houses are for
+the most part built of lava, and some of the shops have massive lava
+counters extending half across their open front, while the door occupies
+the remainder, as at Pompeii. The view from Randazzo is very fine in
+every direction; the crater of Etna appears near, and Monte
+Spagnuolo--many hours distant--just outside the town. The town is 2,718
+feet above the sea, just above the Valley of the Alcantara--of which it
+commands a fine view, and also of the limestone hills on the other side.
+
+We were obliged to pass the night in the town, in an inn scarcely
+superior to that of Aderno, but distinctly better than the miserable
+Albergo Collegio at Bronte. At least the people were civil, and did
+their best. The one room of the inn had a bed in each corner, and a deal
+table in the middle. Three of the beds were occupied by engineers who
+were surveying in connection with a new line of railway; the fourth was
+made over to the courier. I slept in a small kind of ante-room on a bed
+chiefly composed of deal boards placed on tressels. Here again the
+courier was invaluable, in fact it would be simply impossible to make
+the circuit of Etna without a courier. He procured some eggs, macaroni,
+fruit, snow, tomatoes, and even meat, and cooked everything well,
+without a trace of garlic. He also took care that the linen was clean,
+and the general arrangements as comfortable as they could be under the
+circumstances. Let us also admit that neither at Aderno, Bronte, nor
+Randazzo were we troubled with musquitoes or any worse species of
+insect. These, we were assured, would appear in full force in the
+following month (September). Our only inconvenience of this nature
+arose from swarms of flies. The inns of these out-of-the-way towns
+probably receive scarcely a dozen travellers in the year, and these are
+Sicilians, who are not used to better accommodation. Evidently a
+_forestiare_ is quite a novelty: the people of these small towns used to
+look at us with great curiosity, and crowded round the carriage when we
+started. At Bronte we had a good example of this curiosity: owing to the
+hardness of the lava of 1832 the head had come off the handle of our
+hammer, and we went into a carpenter's shop to have it put on again.
+Presently we noticed that eleven people, including a priest, were
+looking on, apparently with intense and absorbing interest.
+
+From Randazzo the base-road descends, until at Giarre it is near the
+sea-level. This road is one of the most beautiful in Sicily; it is part
+of the old military route from Messina to Palermo, and it was traversed
+by Himilco in 396 B.C.; by Timoleon in 344 B.C.; and by Charles V. in
+1534. After leaving Randazzo the valley of the Alcantara becomes
+visible, while beyond it rise the lofty mountains of the Nebrodes. The
+road passes near Monte Dolce, and soon reaches Linguaglossa, a small
+town from whence the craters of 1865 may be reached in about four hours.
+The rapidly descending road passes through Piedemonte and Mascali, in
+the heart of an extraordinarily fertile region. Mascali, a village of
+3050 inhabitants, was considered by Cluverius to be the site of the
+Greek town of Callipolis, founded by a colony from Naxos as early as the
+fifth century, B.C. A full view of the coast line is obtained from the
+Capo di Taormina on the north, to a point below Riposto on the south. We
+descended through plantations of nuts, and groves of oranges and lemons,
+to gentle slopes covered with vineyards.
+
+From the town of Giarre, (17,965 inhabitants), we get a view of the Val
+del Bove, which, however, is almost always obscured by thin white
+clouds, while the summit of the mountain is clear. We noticed, indeed,
+every day that the summit, which had been absolutely clear all the day
+and night, became covered with clouds shortly before sunset, while about
+an hour later the clouds cleared off, and the mountain was sharply
+defined against the sky during the starlit night. Some of the effects of
+sunset behind clouds resting on the summit, while all the rest of the
+sky was bright blue, were exceedingly beautiful, and were quite
+untranslatable into any known language, save that of painting, and of
+music. Perhaps Turner could have done justice to them.
+
+After leaving Giarre we passed through a good deal of highly cultivated
+land belonging to Baron Pennisi, the largest landholder and richest man
+in Sicily. He makes good use of his wealth, and seems to be very
+popular among all classes. He possesses three palaces in Aci Reale, and
+has done a great deal to beautify the town. Archaeologists will remember
+him as the possessor of the finest collection of Sicilian coins in the
+world. Many of these have been found on his own estates, but he never
+scruples to give large sums of money for any coin which he covets.
+
+Aci Reale, one of the prettiest towns in Europe, is situated in the
+midst of a very fertile region 550 feet above the sea. To the east it
+faces the Ionian sea, while on the west towers Etna. The town is full of
+wealthy inhabitants, and the houses are large, lofty, and well built. It
+contains 24,151 inhabitants, and possesses celebrated sulphur baths, and
+one of the best hotels in Sicily. The wealth of this small town is well
+shown by the following fact: Since its foundation in the tenth century,
+till within a year or two of the present time, the town had been under
+the jurisdiction of the Archbishop of Catania. It happened, however, a
+few years ago, on the occasion of a religious procession in Catania,
+that the people of Aci considered that their patron Saint, S. Venera,
+was slighted. In fact the image of S. Agata, the patron Saint of the
+Catanese--whose veil has so often averted the lava-streams from the
+city--was put in all the prominent parts of the procession, while the
+image of S. Venera was comparatively neglected. The people of Aci at
+once returned home, and sent a petition to the Pope, praying that they
+might have a Bishop of their own directly subject to the Holy See, in
+order that they might no longer be subjected to such slights. The
+Vatican having duly considered the question consented to raise Aci to
+the dignity of a Bishopric, and to pay the Bishop a yearly stipend of
+10,000 lire, (about L400, but equal to L600 in Sicily), on condition
+that 200,000 lire were paid at once into the coffers of the Vatican.
+This was promptly done, and now Monsignore Gerlando Genuardi, Bishop of
+Aci Reale, may snap his fingers in the face of Monsignore Giuseppe
+Benedetto Dusmet, a Benedictine of the Congregation of Monte Cassino,
+and Archbishop of Catania.
+
+[Illustration: Island of Columnar Basalt off Trezza]
+
+Six villages in the neighbourhood of Aci Reale bear the name of Aci: Aci
+Castello, Aci Sant' Antonio, and so on, but Aci Reale claims to stand
+upon the very site rendered memorable by the story of Acis and Galatea.
+The river Acis (now called _Acque Grande_) rises from a bed of lava, and
+falls into the sea a mile from its source. Aci Reale stands on seven
+different beds of superposed lava, having layers of earth resulting from
+decomposed lava between. The Canon Recupero calculated from observation,
+that a lava requires at least 2000 years to form even a scanty layer of
+earth, consequently he inferred that the lowest of the lava streams upon
+which Aci rests must have been formed 14,000 years ago. These views he
+stated to Brydone a hundred years ago; the latter says, "Recupero tells
+me he is exceedingly embarrassed by these discoveries in writing the
+history of the mountain. That Moses hangs like a dead weight upon him,
+and blunts all his zeal for enquiry; for that really he has not the
+conscience to make his mountain so young as that prophet makes the
+world. What do you think of these sentiments from a Roman Catholic
+Divine? The Bishop, who is strenuously orthodox--for it is an excellent
+See--has already warned him to be upon his guard, and not to pretend to
+be a better natural historian than Moses; not to presume to urge
+anything that may, in the smallest degree, be deemed contradictory to
+his sacred authority." The Canon Recupero lost his church preferment on
+the publication of Brydone's book, and the whole body of clergy of
+Girgenti received a reprimand on account of a capital story which
+Brydone told of a dinner at which the Bishop presided, during which
+several of the reverend Canons suffered severely from the effects of
+English punch, which Brydone had brewed for them. We quite agree with
+Admiral Smyth when he says, "It is a pity that Mr. Brydone laboured
+under such a cacoethes, as to sacrifice a friend for the sake of a good
+story." Of course we now know that Recupero's estimate of the age of
+Etna was far within the true limits, but we derive this information
+from other sources. No true estimate can be obtained from the
+observation of the decomposition of lavas, for it has been often
+observed that two lavas will decompose at very different rates.
+
+A little to the north of the village of La Scaletta, at the base of the
+rocks upon which Aci Reale stands, there are two small caverns in the
+abrupt face of the basalt, which can only be approached in a boat. They
+consist of columnar basalt bent very curiously, and capped by amorphous
+basalt.
+
+A drive of a few miles to the South of Aci Reale brings us to Trezza, a
+small village built of lava. A short distance from the shore are the
+celebrated _Scogli di Ciclopi_, or rocks of the Cyclops, said to be
+those which Polyphemus hurled at Ulysses after his escape from the cave.
+The rocks, seven in number, form small islets, the largest of which, the
+Isola d'Aci, is about 3000 feet in circumference, and 150 feet high. It
+consists of crudely columnar basalt capped by a kind of marl. Near the
+top of the island there is a cave called the "Grotto of Polyphemus,"
+also a cistern of water. To the south of this island a very picturesque
+rock rises from the sea. It is 2000 feet in circumference and about 200
+feet in height, and consists of columnar basalt in four and eight-sided
+prisms, but not very regular; a hard calcareous substance is found in
+their interstices. Fine crystals of analcime are sometimes met with in
+the basalts of the Cyclops Islands. Lyell considers these basalts "the
+most ancient monuments of volcanic action within the region of Etna."
+
+A few miles south of the Isole di Ciclopi are the bay and city of
+Catania. We started from the latter when we commenced our ascent of
+Etna, and now on returning to it, we completed the circuit of the
+mountain by its base-road of 87 miles.
+
+Katana (~Katane~) is believed to have been founded about 730 B.C.
+by a Greek colony of Naxos, which had originally come from Chalcis. The
+city maintained its independence till the time of Hieron, who expelled
+the original inhabitants in 476 B.C., and peopled the city with
+Syracusans and inhabitants of the Peloponnesus to the number of 10,000.
+At the same time the name of the city was changed to Aetna ([Greek:
+Aitne]). In 461 B.C., however, the old inhabitants retook their city,
+and drove out the newly-settled strangers, who betook themselves to
+Inessa, occupied it, and changed its name to _Aetna_. At a later period
+the Katanians sided with the Athenians against the Syracusans. But in
+403 B.C. Dionysius of Syracuse took and plundered the city, sold the
+inhabitants as slaves, and established in it a body of Campanian
+mercenaries. The latter quitted it and retired to Aetna in 396 B.C.,
+when the city was taken by the Carthaginians after a battle off the
+rocks of the Cyclops. Katana submitted to the Romans in 263 B.C.,
+during the first Punic War, and it soon became a very populous city.
+Cicero mentions it as a wealthy city and important seaport. During the
+Middle Ages it underwent many changes both at the hands of nature and of
+man; it belonged in succession to the Goths, Saracens, and Normans; and
+in 1169 was destroyed by an earthquake, during which 15,000 of its
+inhabitants perished. Again in 1669, and 1693, it was almost destroyed
+by earthquakes. The present town is comparatively new, many of its more
+ancient remains are covered with lava, among them the remains of a fine
+Greco-Roman theatre, in which it is probable that Alcibiades addressed
+the Catanians in 415 B.C. There are also remains of a Roman
+amphitheatre, bath, and tombs. Of more modern structures, the cathedral
+is the first to claim our notice. It was commenced by Roger I. in 1091,
+but in less than a century was almost entirely destroyed by an
+earthquake. At one corner of the building you descend through a narrow
+passage cut in the lava, to a crypt in which some ancient Roman arches
+are shown, partly filled up with lava. Here also is seen a small stream
+of very clear water flowing through the lava. The cathedral contains
+several interesting tombs, and in the chapel of S. Agata, her body is
+preserved in a silver sarcophagus, which during certain fetes is carried
+through the town in procession, attended by all the authorities. S.
+Agata was martyred by the Praetor Quintianus in the reign of Decius, and
+is the patron saint of the city. Whenever Catania has been in trouble
+from the approach of lava streams, or from earthquakes, the veil of S.
+Agata has been used as a charm to avert the evil.
+
+The University of Catania is the most celebrated in Sicily. It was
+founded in 1445 by Alfonso of Arragon, and has produced several men of
+eminence. The city also possesses one of the finest monasteries in the
+world, now converted into schools and barracks. Formerly the monastery
+of S. Nicola was occupied by 40 monks, all members of noble families; it
+is sufficiently large to hold 400.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+ERUPTIONS OF THE MOUNTAIN.
+
+    Their frequency within the historical period.--525 B.C.--477 B.C.--
+    426 B.C.--396 B.C.--140 B.C.--134 B.C.--126 B.C.--122 B.C.--49 B.C.
+    --43 B.C.--38 B.C.--32 B.C.--40 A.D.--72.--253.--420.--812.--1169.
+    --1181.--1285.--1329.--1333.--1371.--1408.--1444.--1446.--1447.--
+    Close of the Fifteenth Century.--1536.--1537--1566.--1579.--1603.--
+    1607.--1610.--1614.--1619.--1633.--1646.--1651.--1669.--1682.--1688.
+    --1689.--1693.--1694.--1702.--1723.--1732.--1735.--1744.--1747.--
+    1755.--Flood of 1755.--1759.--1763.--1766.--1780.--1781.--1787.--
+    1792.--1797.--1798.--1799.--1800.--1802.--1805.--1808.--1809.--1811.
+    --1819.--1831.--1832.--1838.--1842.--1843.--1852.--1865.--1874.--
+    General character of the Eruptions.
+
+
+A list of all the eruptions of Etna from the earliest times has been
+given by several writers, notably by Ferrara in his _Descrizione
+dell' Etna_, and by Gemellaro. The latter places the first eruption in
+1226 B.C. in the time of the Sicani; the second in 1170 B.C.; and of the
+third he says, "In 1149 B.C. there was an eruption, and Hercules in
+consequence fled from the island." Of course these dates are worthless,
+and the statements are no doubt based upon the assertion of Diodorus,
+that before the Trojan war the Sicani were driven from the east side of
+Sicily by the eruptions of the volcano.
+
+1. The first eruption appears to have occurred in the time of
+Pythagoras; we have no details as to its nature.
+
+2. The second eruption occurred in 477 B.C. It is mentioned by
+Thucydides, and it must be the eruption to which Pindar and AEschylus
+allude. The former visited the tomb of Hiero I. of Syracuse in 473 B.C.,
+and the latter was in Sicily in 471 B.C. On the occasion of this
+eruption, two heroic youths named Anapias and Amphinomus,
+performed a deed to which Seneca and other writers allude with
+enthusiasm. While the lava was rapidly overwhelming the city of Katana,
+they placed their aged parents on their shoulders, and, at the risk of
+their lives, bore them through the flaming streets, and succeeded in
+placing them in safety. It was said that the fiery stream of lava parted
+to make way for them. Statues were raised to the honour of the _Pii
+Fratres_, and their burial place was long known as the _Campus Piorum_.
+Even a temple was erected to commemorate the deed.
+
+Lucilius Junior devotes the concluding lines of his poem on Etna to the
+glory of the brothers: "The flames blushed to touch the filial youths,
+and wherever they plant their footsteps, they retire. That day is a day
+of fortune; harmless that land. On their right hand fierce dangers
+prevail; on their left are burning fires. Athwart the flames they pass
+in triumph, his brother and he, each safe beneath his filial burden.
+There the devouring fire flees backward, and checks itself round the
+twin pair. At length they issue forth unharmed, and bear with them their
+deities in safety. Songs of poets honour and admire them; them has Pluto
+placed apart beneath a glorious name, nor can the mean Fates reach the
+holy youths, but have truly granted them the homes and dominion of the
+blessed."[18]
+
+[18] Translated by L. E. Upcott, M.A.
+
+3. The third eruption occurred in the year 426 B.C. It is mentioned by
+Thucydides as having commenced in the sixth year of the Peloponnesian
+War. It destroyed a portion of the territory of the inhabitants of
+Katana.
+
+4. An important eruption occurred in the year 396 B.C. It broke out from
+Monte di Mojo, the most northerly of the minor cones of Etna, and
+following the course of the river Acesines, (now the Alcantara) entered
+the sea at the site of the ancient Greek colony of Naxos. Himilco the
+Carthaginian general, was at this time on his way from Messana to
+Syracuse, and he was compelled to march his troops round the west side
+of the mountain in order to avoid the stream of lava.
+
+5. We hear of no further eruption for 256 years, when in the year 140
+B.C., in the consulship of C. Laelius Sapiens and Q. Servilius Caepio,
+there was an outburst from the volcano which destroyed 40 people.
+
+6. Six years later an eruption occurred according to Orosius and Julius
+Obsequens, in the consulship of Sergius Fulvius Flaccus, and Quintus
+Calpurnius Piso. We have no details concerning its nature or extent.
+
+7. The same authorities state that in the year 126 B.C. in the
+consulship of L. OEmilius Lepidus, and L. Aurelius Orestes, Sicily
+suffered from a very severe earthquake, and a deluge of fiery matter
+poured from Etna, overwhelming large tracts of country, and rendering
+the waters of the adjacent Ionian sea positively hot. It is said that
+the sea near the island of Lipari boiled, and that the inhabitants ate
+so large a number of the fishes which were cast, already cooked, upon
+their shores, that a distemper appeared which destroyed a large number
+of people.
+
+8. Four years later Katana was nearly destroyed by a new eruption. The
+roofs of many of the houses were broken in by the weight of hot ashes
+which fell upon them; but the lava stream turned aside near the city and
+flowed into the sea. The lava is believed to have issued from a small
+crater near Gravina, about 2-1/2 miles from Katana. The city was so much
+injured by this eruption that the Romans granted the inhabitants an
+immunity from all taxes for a space of ten years.
+
+9. An eruption, of which we have no details, occurred during the civil
+war between Caesar and Pompey.
+
+10. Livy speaks of an eruption and earthquake which took place shortly
+before the death of Caesar, which it was believed to portend.
+
+11. In 38 B.C., during the civil war between Octavianus and Sextus
+Pompeius, a violent eruption occurred on the east side of the mountain,
+accompanied by fearful noises and outbursts of flame.
+
+12. Six years afterwards an eruption of a less violent character took
+place.
+
+13. The next eruption of which we hear is that mentioned by Suetonius in
+his Life of Caligula. The Emperor happened to be at Messina at the time,
+and he fled from the town through fear of the eruption. This was in 40
+A.D.
+
+14. An eruption is said to have occurred in 72, in the second year after
+the capture of Jerusalem by Titus.
+
+15. Etna was now quiescent for nearly two centuries, but in the year
+253, in the reign of the Emperor Decius, a violent eruption lasting nine
+days occurred. The lava flowed in the direction of Catania, and the
+inhabitants for the first time tested the efficacy of the veil of S.
+Agatha, which afterwards stood them in such good stead on more than one
+occasion. The Saint had been martyred the year before, and when the
+frightened inhabitants saw the stream of lava approaching the city,
+they rushed to the tomb, and removed the veil which covered her body.
+This was carried to the edge of the descending torrent of lava, and is
+asserted to have at once arrested its progress.
+
+16. According to Carrera and Photius an eruption occurred in the year
+420.
+
+17. We now find no record of any volcanic action for nearly four hundred
+years. Geoffrey of Viterbo states that an eruption occurred in 812, when
+Charlemagne was in Messina.
+
+18. After another long interval of more than three centuries and a half,
+the mountain again entered into eruption. In February, 1169, occurred
+one of the most disastrous eruptions on record. A violent earthquake,
+which was felt as far as Reggio, occurred about dawn, and in a few
+minutes Catania was a heap of ruins. It is estimated that 15,000 persons
+were buried beneath the ruins. It was the vigil of the feast of S.
+Agatha, and the Cathedral of Catania was crowded with people, who were
+all buried beneath the ruins, together with the Bishop and forty-four
+Benedictine monks. The side of the cone of the great crater towards
+Taormina fell into the crater. At Messina the sea retired to some
+distance from the shore, and then suddenly returned, overwhelming a
+portion of the city, and sweeping away a number of persons who had fled
+to the shore for safety. The clear and pure fountain of Arethusa at
+Syracuse became muddy and brackish; while the fountain of Ajo, near the
+village of Saraceni, ceased to flow for two hours, and then emitted
+water of the colour of blood. Ludovico Aurelio states that the vines,
+corn, and trees were burnt up over large districts.
+
+19. According to Nicolo Speziale, there was a great eruption from the
+eastern side of the mountain in 1181.
+
+20. A stream of lava is said to have burst from the eastern side of the
+mountain in 1285, when Charles of Anjou was on his death-bed, and to
+have flowed fifteen miles.
+
+21. In the year 1329 Niccolo Speziale was in Catania, and witnessed the
+eruption of which he has left us an account. On the evening of June
+28th, about the hour of vespers, Etna was strongly convulsed, terrible
+noises were emitted, and flames issued from the south side of the
+mountain. A new crater--Monte Lepre--opened in the Val del Bove above
+the rock of Musarra, and emitted large quantities of dense black smoke.
+Soon afterwards a torrent of lava poured from the crater, and red-hot
+masses of rock were projected into the air. These effects continued till
+the 15th of July, when a second crater opened ten miles to the S.E. of
+Montelepre, and near the Church of S. Giovanni Paparometto. Soon after
+four other craters opened around it, and emitted smoke and lava. The
+sun was obscured from morning till evening by the smoke and ashes, and
+the adjacent fields were burnt up by the hot sand and ashes. Multitudes
+of birds and animals perished, and many persons are said to have died
+from terror. The lava streams were divided into three portions, two of
+which flowed towards Aci, and the third towards Catania. The ashes were
+carried as far as Malta, a distance of 130 miles.
+
+22. Four years afterwards an eruption is recorded by Silvaggio.
+
+23. A manuscript preserved in the archives of the Cathedral of Catania
+mentions an eruption which occurred on the 6th of August, 1371, which
+caused the destruction of numerous olive groves near the city.
+
+24. An eruption which lasted for twelve days commenced on the 9th of
+November, 1408; it originated in the great crater, but several mouths
+subsequently opened near the base of the mountain. Large quantities of
+red-hot ashes were emitted, some of which fell in Calabria. The villages
+of Pedara and Tre Castagne suffered severely from this eruption.
+
+25. A violent earthquake in 1444 caused the upper cone of the mountain
+to fall into the crater. A torrent of lava also issued from the
+mountain, and moved for a space of twenty days towards Catania, but it
+did not reach the city.
+
+26. Two years later lava issued from the Val del Bove near the Rock of
+Musarra; the crater then formed was perhaps the present Monte Finocchio.
+
+27. A short eruption, of which we have no details, occurred in 1447:
+after which Etna was quiescent for 89 years.
+
+28. Bembo and Fazzello mention an eruption which occurred towards the
+close of the 15th century, during which a current of lava flowed from
+the great crater, and destroyed a portion of Catania. In 1533 Filoteo,
+of whom we have before spoken as one of the earliest historians of Etna,
+descended into the crater, which possessed its present funnel-like form.
+He found at the bottom a hole, not larger than a man's head, from which
+issued a thin moist sulphurous vapour.
+
+29. In March, 1536, a quantity of lava issued from the great crater, and
+several new apertures opened near the summit of the mountain and emitted
+lava. It divided into several streams, flowing in different directions,
+one towards Randazzo, a second towards Aderno, and a third towards
+Bronte. The lava swept everything before it; at the same time quantities
+of smoke and ashes were ejected, the mountain was convulsed, and fearful
+noises were heard. Three new craters were formed on the south and west
+sides of the mountain, and on the 26th of March twelve new craters, or
+_bocche_, opened between Monte Manfre and Monte Vituri. A physician of
+Lentini, named Negro di Piazza, having approached too near to the scene
+of the eruption, was destroyed by a volley of red-hot stones. Several
+rifts were formed in the sides of the mountain from which issued flames
+and hot cinders.
+
+30. A year later, in May, 1537, a fresh outburst occurred; a number of
+new mouths were opened on the south slope of the mountain near La
+Fontanelle, and a quantity of lava was emitted, which flowed in the
+direction of Catania, destroying a part of Nicolosi, and S. Antonio. In
+four days the lava had run fifteen miles. At the same time violent
+shocks of earthquake occurred all over Sicily, the inhabitants thought
+that the last day had come, and many prepared for their end by receiving
+Extreme Unction. According to Filoteo the noises were so violent that
+many persons were struck deaf. The sun was obscured by smoke and dust,
+ashes fell in sufficient quantities to destroy the olive plantations of
+Messina, and were even carried 300 miles out to sea. The great crater
+suddenly fell in, so as to become level with the Piano del Lago. The
+height of the mountain was thus diminished by 320 feet.
+
+31. Three new craters opened in November, 1566, on the north-east slope
+of the mountain. Quantities of lava were emitted, which flowed towards
+Linguaglossa and Randazzo.
+
+32. A slight eruption, of which we have no details, occurred in 1579.
+
+33. According to Carrera, an eruption occurred in June, 1603. The
+mountain was shaken with earthquakes, and great volumes of smoke and
+flame were emitted.
+
+34. A stream of lava issued from the great crater four years later, and
+filled up the lake which had previously existed in the Piano del Lago.
+
+35. In February, 1610, lava was emitted from the great crater. It flowed
+towards Aderno, and filled up the bed of the Simeto, a little above the
+Ponte di Carcaci. A few months later a second stream destroyed a large
+portion of the forest Del Pino.
+
+36. In 1614 several new craters were opened between Randazzo and the
+great crater on the north side of the mountain. A quantity of lava
+issued from them, which united into one stream, and ran for ten miles,
+destroying a great deal of wooded country.
+
+37. A slight eruption occurred in 1619.
+
+38. In February, 1633, Nicolosi was partially destroyed by a violent
+earthquake; and in the following December earthquakes became frequent on
+the mountain. A new crater opened above the cone called Serrapizzuta,
+five miles from the great crater, and emitted a good deal of lava. A
+second crater afterwards opened about two miles to the east of the
+former. The eruption lasted off and on for four years: the ejected lava
+then covered a tract eighteen miles in length by two miles in width,
+the thickness sometimes attaining 42 feet. In 1643 a severe earthquake
+occurred, which was mainly felt on the west side of the mountain.
+
+39. In 1646 a new mouth opened on the north-north-east side of the
+mountain, five miles from the great crater. The lava flowed towards
+Castiglione.
+
+40. In February, 1651, several new mouths opened on the west side of the
+mountain, and poured out vast volumes of lava which threatened to
+overwhelm Bronte. In twenty-four hours the lava ran sixteen miles with a
+breadth of four miles.
+
+41. We have a more detailed account of the eruption of 1669 than of any
+previous outburst. It was observed by many men of different nations; and
+we find accounts of it in our own _Philosophical Transactions_, in
+French, and of course in Italian. Perhaps the most accurate and complete
+description is that given by Alfonso Borelli, Professor of Mathematics
+in Catania. The eruption was, in every respect, one of the most terrible
+on record. On the 8th of March the sun was obscured, and a whirlwind
+blew over the face of the mountain; at the same time earthquakes
+commenced, and continued to increase in violence for three days, when
+Nicolosi was converted into a heap of ruins. On the morning of the 11th
+a fissure nearly twelve miles in length opened in the side of the
+mountain, and extended from the Piano di S. Leo to Monte Frumento, a
+mile from the summit. The fissure was only six feet wide, but it seemed
+to be of unknown depth, and a bright light proceeded from it. Six mouths
+opened in a line with the principal fissure; they emitted vast columns
+of smoke, accompanied by loud bellowings which could be heard 40 miles
+off. Towards the close of the day, a crater opened about a mile below
+the others, and it ejected red hot stones to a considerable distance,
+and afterwards sand and ashes which covered the country for a distance
+of 60 miles. The new crater soon vomited forth a torrent of lava which
+presented a front of two miles, it encircled Monpilieri, and afterwards
+flowed towards Belpasso, a town of 8000 inhabitants, which was speedily
+destroyed. Seven mouths of fire opened around the new crater, and in
+three days united with it, forming one large crater 800 feet in
+diameter. The torrent of lava all this time continued to descend, and it
+destroyed the town of Mascalucia on the 23rd of March. On the same day
+the crater cast up great quantities of sand, ashes, and scoriae, and
+formed above itself the great double-coned hill now called Monti Rossi
+from the red colour of the ashes of which it is mainly composed. On the
+25th very violent earthquakes occurred, and the cone of the great
+central crater was shaken down into the crater for the fifth time since
+the first century A.D. The original current of lava had divided into
+three streams, one of which destroyed S. Pietro, the second
+Camporotondo, and the third the lands about Mascalucia, and afterwards
+the village of Misterbianco. Fourteen villages were altogether
+destroyed, and the lava was on its way to Catania. At Albanelli, two
+miles from the city, it undermined a hill covered with cornfields, and
+carried it forward a considerable distance; a vineyard was also seen to
+be floating on its fiery surface. When the lava reached the walls of
+Catania it accumulated without progression until it rose to the top of
+the wall, 60 feet in height, and it then fell over in a fiery cascade,
+and overwhelmed a part of the city. Another portion of the same stream
+threw down 120 feet of the wall, and flowed into the city. On the 23rd
+of April the lava reached the sea, which it entered as a stream 600
+yards broad and 40 feet deep. The stream had moved at the rate of
+thirteen miles in twenty days, but as it cooled it moved less quickly,
+and during the last twenty-three days of its course it only moved two
+miles. On reaching the sea the water of course began to boil violently,
+and clouds of steam arose, carrying with them particles of scoriae.
+Towards the end of April the stream on the west side of Catania, which
+had appeared to be consolidated, again burst forth, and flowed into the
+garden of the Benedictine Monastery of S. Niccola, and then branched
+off into the city. Attempts were made to build walls to arrest its
+progress. An attempt of another kind was made by a gentleman of Catania,
+named Pappalardo, who took fifty men with him, having previously
+provided them with skins for protection from the intense heat, and with
+crowbars to effect an opening in the lava. They pierced the solid outer
+crust of solidified lava, and a rivulet of the molten interior
+immediately gushed out, and flowed in the direction of Paterno;
+whereupon 500 men of that town, alarmed for its safety, took up arms,
+and caused Pappalardo and his men to desist. The lava did not altogether
+stop for four months; and two years after it had ceased to flow it was
+found to be red hot beneath the surface. Even eight years after the
+eruption quantities of steam escaped from the lava after a shower of
+rain. The stones which were ejected from the crater during this eruption
+were often of considerable magnitude, and Borelli calculated that the
+diameter of one which he saw was 50 feet; it was thrown to a distance of
+a mile, and as it fell it penetrated the earth to a depth of 23 feet.
+The volume of lava emitted during this eruption amounted to many
+millions of cubic feet: Ferrara considers that the length of the stream
+was at least fifteen miles, while its average width was between two and
+three miles, so that it covered at least forty square miles of surface.
+
+In a somewhat rare tract,[19] Lord Winchelsea, who was returning to
+England from Constantinople, and who landed at Catania, gives an account
+of what he saw of the eruption. He appears to have been frightened at
+the sight, and took good care to keep in a safe place; hence his letter,
+which is a short one, is mainly founded on hearsay. However, he says, "I
+could discern the river of fire to descend the mountain, of a terrible
+fiery or red colour, and stones of a paler red to swim thereon, and to
+be as big as an ordinary table.... Of 20,000 persons which inhabited
+Catania, 3000 did only remain; all their goods are carried away, the
+cannon of brass are removed out of the castle, some great bells taken
+down, the city gates walled up next the fire, and preparations made by
+all to abandon the city." The noble earl is less happy in his scientific
+ideas than in his general statement of the facts of which he was an
+eye-witness; we can only hope that he joined the recently-formed Royal
+Society on his return to England, and listened to Robert Hooke's
+discourse on fire. In describing the lava, Lord Winchelsea says, "The
+composition of this fire, stones, and cinders, are sulphur, nitre,
+quicksilver, sal-ammoniac, lead, iron, brass, and all other mettals!"
+Two other accounts are appended to the above letter; in one of these we
+are told that as the lava approached Catania, the various religious
+bodies carried their relics in procession, "followed by great multitudes
+of people, some of them mortifying themselves with whips, and other
+signs of penance, with great complaints and cries, expressing their
+dreadful expectation of the events of those prodigious fiery
+inundations." In the midst of all this, news was brought that a large
+band of robbers had taken advantage of the general distress, and were
+robbing right and left, and murdering the people: whereupon a troop of
+Spanish horse was sent out to protect the city and country, three pair
+of gallows were set up, and such as were found robbing were executed
+without trial by martial law.
+
+[19] "A true and exact relation of the late prodigious earthquake and
+eruption of Mount AEtna or Monte Gibello; as it came in a letter written
+to his Majesty from Naples by the Rt. Honble. the Earl of Winchelsea
+late Ambassadour at Constantinople, who in his return from thence
+visiting Catania in the Island of Sicily, was an eye-witness of that
+dreadful spectacle." Published by Authority. Printed by T. Newcomb in
+the Savoy. 1669.
+
+As the lava streams approached the city, the Senate, accompanied by the
+Bishop and all the clergy, secular and regular, went in procession out
+of the city to Monte di S. Sofia with all their relics, etc. There they
+erected an altar in view of the burning mountain, and celebrated mass,
+"and used the exorcismes accustomed upon such extraordinary occasions,
+all which time the mountain ceased not as before with excessive roaring
+to throw up its smoak and flames with extraordinary violence, and
+abundance of great stones, which were carried through the air."
+
+42. For a few years after this terrible eruption Etna was quiescent, but
+in 1682 a new mouth opened on the east side of the mountain, a little
+below the summit, and above the Val del Bove. Lava issued from it, and
+rushed down the precipices of the Val del Bove as far as the rock of
+Musarra.
+
+43. Six years later a torrent of lava burst from an opening in the great
+cone, and flowed into the Val del Bove for a distance of three miles.
+
+44. In the following year lava was emitted from a mouth in the Val del
+Bove, and it descended for about ten miles, destroying everything in its
+course, until it reached a little valley near Macchia.
+
+45. Early in January 1693, clouds of black smoke were poured from the
+great crater, and loud noises resembling the discharge of artillery were
+heard. A violent earthquake succeeded, and Catania was shaken to the
+ground, burying 18,000 of its inhabitants in the ruins. It is said that
+in all fifty towns were destroyed in Sicily, together with from 60,000
+to 100,000 inhabitants. Lava was emitted from the crater, which was
+lowered by the eruption.
+
+46. In the following year Etna again entered into eruption, ejecting
+large quantities of ashes, some of which were carried as far as Malta.
+
+47. In March 1702, three mouths opened in the Contrada del Trifoglietto,
+near the head of the Val del Bove. Lava was emitted from them, which
+flowed into the Valley of Calanna.
+
+48. Towards the end of 1723 loud bellowings issued from the mountain;
+earthquakes occurred, and a torrent of lava issued from the crater,
+which flowed towards Bronte, through the Bosco di Bronte.
+
+49. A small lava stream issued from the crater in 1732, and descended
+the western slope of the mountain, but without producing any damage.
+
+50. In October 1735, the usual noises which presage an eruption were
+heard, earthquakes followed, and a little later the crater emitted
+flames and red-hot stones. Lava also issued from it, and the stream
+divided into three branches, one of which flowed towards Bronte, a
+second towards Linguaglossa, and a third towards Mascali; but they did
+not get beyond the upper regions of the mountain.
+
+51. In 1744 the mountain threw out great quantities of ashes, but no
+lava.
+
+52. In 1747 a quantity of lava flowed from the great crater into the Val
+del Bove, and the height of the cone was considerably increased during
+the eruption.
+
+53. Early in the year 1755, Etna began to show signs of disturbance; a
+great column of black smoke issued from the crater, from which forked
+lightning was frequently emitted. Loud detonations were heard, and two
+streams of lava issued from the crater. A new mouth opened near the
+Rocca di Musarra in the Val del Bove, four miles from the summit, and a
+quantity of lava was ejected from it. An extraordinary flood of water
+descended from the Val del Bove, carrying all before it, and strewing
+its path, with huge blocks. Recupero estimated the volume of water as
+16,000,000 cubic feet, probably a greater amount than could be furnished
+by the melting of all the winter's snow on the mountain. It formed a
+channel two miles broad, and, in some places, thirty-four feet deep, and
+it flowed at the rate of a mile in a minute and a half during the first
+twelve miles of its course. Lyell considers the flood was probably
+produced by the melting, not only of the winter's snow, but also of
+older layers of ice, which were suddenly melted by the permeation of hot
+steam and lava, and which had been previously preserved from melting by
+a deposit of sand and ashes, as in the case of the ancient glacier found
+near the summit of the mountain in 1828. In November 1758, a smart shock
+of earthquake caused the cone of the great crater to fall in, but no
+eruption occurred at the time.
+
+54. Great quantities of ashes, and some small streams of lava, were
+emitted from the crater in 1759, a little later the cone, which had been
+again raised by the eruption, gave way, and the greater part of it fell
+into the crater. Two parts of it however were left standing.
+
+55. Severe shocks of earthquakes were felt on the east side of the
+mountain in 1763, and a new mouth opened in the Bosco di Bronte, ten
+miles from the town, between Monte Rosso and Monte Lepre. Four other
+mouths were afterwards opened in a line; they threw up quantities of
+scoriae and ashes, and afterwards lava. In the middle of June several
+mouths opened on the south side of the mountain, and a fissure 2000 feet
+long opened downwards in a southerly direction. The lava divided into
+two branches, the larger of which was ten miles long and 250 feet wide,
+with a depth of 25 feet.
+
+56. Several new mouths opened in the spring of 1766, and ejected large
+volumes of ashes, also streams of lava, which flowed in the direction of
+Nicolosi and Pedara. The Canon Recupero, one of the historians of Etna,
+witnessed this eruption, and narrowly escaped being destroyed. He had
+ascended a small hill 50 feet high, of ancient volcanic matter, in order
+to witness the approach of the lava stream which was slowly advancing
+with a front of two miles and a half. Suddenly two small streams
+detached themselves from the main stream, and ran rapidly towards the
+hill. Recupero and his guide at once hastened to descend, and had
+barely escaped when they saw the hill surrounded by lava, and in a few
+minutes it was melted down and sank into the molten mass.
+
+57. In the early part of 1780, earthquakes were felt all over Sicily,
+and on the 18th of May a fissure opened on the south-west side of the
+mountain, and extended from the base of the great crater for seven
+miles, terminating in a new mouth from which a stream of lava emanated.
+This encountered the cone of Palmintelli in its course, and separated
+into two branches, each of which was 400 feet wide. Other mouths opened
+later in the year, and emitted large quantities of lava, which
+devastated the country of Montemazzo.
+
+58. In 1781 the volcano emitted a quantity of lava which flowed into the
+Val del Bove. Clouds of grey ashes were also ejected. At the
+commencement of the great Calabrian earthquake of 1783, Etna ejected
+large quantities of smoke, but it was otherwise quiescent.
+
+59. In the middle of 1787 lava burst from the great crater, which also
+discharged quantities of sand, scoriae, and red-hot ashes. Large heated
+masses of rock were ejected to a great height, and subterranean
+bellowings were heard by the dwellers on the mountain.
+
+60. Five years afterwards a fresh outburst occurred, earthquakes were
+prevalent, and vast volumes of smoke bore to seaward, and seemed to
+bridge the sea between Sicily and Africa. A torrent of lava flowed
+towards Aderno, and a second flowed into the Val del Bove as far as
+Zoccolaro. A pit called _La Cisterna_, 40 feet in diameter, opened in
+the Piano del Lago, near the great cone, and ejected smoke and masses of
+old lava saturated with water. Several mouths opened below the crater,
+and the country round about Zaffarana was desolated. The Abate Ferrara,
+the author of the _Descrizione dell' Etna_, witnessed this eruption: "I
+shall never forget," he writes, "that this last mouth opened precisely
+on the spot where, the day before, I had made my meal with a shepherd.
+On my return next day he related how, after a stunning explosion, the
+rocks on which we had sat together were blown into the air, and a mouth
+opened, discharging a flood of fire, which, rushing down with the
+rapidity of water, hardly gave him time to make his escape."
+
+61. In 1797 a slight eruption occurred, and the great crater threw out
+ashes and sand, but no lava. Earthquakes were frequent.
+
+62. In the following year lava was emitted, and severe earthquakes
+occurred.
+
+63. The eruptions continued during 1799.
+
+64. In February 1800 loud explosions were heard by the dwellers on the
+mountain, and columns of fire issued from the crater, accompanied by
+forked lightning. This was succeeded by a discharge of hot ashes and
+scoriae, which, falling on the snows accumulated near the summit of the
+mountain, produced devastating floods of water.
+
+65. In November 1802 a new mouth opened near the Rocca di Musarra in the
+Val del Bove, which emitted a copious stream of lava. In a day and a
+half the lava had run twelve miles.
+
+66. In 1805 the great crater was in a state of eruption, and a cone was
+thrown up within it to a height of 1,050 feet.
+
+67. In 1808 the mountain again became active, and fire and smoke were
+emitted from the crater.
+
+68. In March 1809, no less than twenty-one mouths of fire opened in the
+direction of Castiglione. They ejected volumes of smoke, large
+quantities of scoriae and ashes, and afterwards lava, which, uniting into
+one torrent, flowed with a front of 450 feet for 8 miles. Fissures were
+formed in the earth, and loud explosions constantly occurred within the
+great crater; a small cone was thrown up.
+
+69. Two years afterwards more than thirty mouths opened in a line
+running eastwards for five miles. They ejected jets of fire accompanied
+by much smoke. The eruptions soon diminished in the higher mouths, and
+became more and more violent in the lower mouths, until the eruption
+centred in the lowest one called S. Simone, near the head of the Val del
+Bove. From this, great black clouds, having a lustre like that of black
+wool, issued, and afterwards quantities of lava, which formed a stream
+a mile wide, and eight miles long. It flowed nearly as far as the
+village of Milo. Frequent earthquakes accompanied this outburst, and
+they continued in various parts of the island for the following five
+years.
+
+70. In 1819 five new mouths of fire opened near the scene of the
+eruption of 1811; three of these united into one large crater, and
+poured forth a quantity of lava into the Val del Bove. The lava flowed
+until it reached a nearly perpendicular precipice at the bend of the
+valley of Calanna, over which it fell in a cascade, and, being hardened
+by its descent, it was forced against the sides of the tufaceous rock at
+the bottom, so as to produce an extraordinary amount of abrasion,
+accompanied by clouds of dust, worn off by the friction. Mr. Scrope
+observed that the lava flowed at the rate of about a yard an hour, nine
+months after its emission.
+
+71. A slight eruption occurred in 1831 from the great crater, which
+threw out lava on its northern side.
+
+72. In October of the following year a violent eruption occurred. A new
+crater was formed in the Val del Serbo, above Bronte and three miles
+from the summit. Seven mouths afterwards opened, three miles below the
+first. From one of these lava was emitted, which flowed to within a mile
+and a half of Bronte. The stream was a mile and a half broad, and 40
+feet deep.
+
+73. A slight eruption occurred in 1838, when a small quantity of lava
+was poured from the great crater into the Val del Bove.
+
+74. Four years later the crater discharged ashes and scoriae, and lava
+burst from the cone 300 feet from the summit. It flowed into the Val del
+Bove, in a stream 600 feet wide, and it came to a standstill ten miles
+from the summit.
+
+75. Near the end of the following year, fifteen mouths of fire opened
+near the crater of 1832, at a height of 7000 feet above the sea. They
+began by discharging scoriae and sand, and afterwards lava, which divided
+into three streams, the two outer ones soon came to a standstill, while
+the central stream continued to flow at the rapid rate of 180 feet a
+minute, the descent being an angle of 25 deg.. The heat at a distance of 120
+feet from the current was 90 deg. F. A new crater opened just above Bronte,
+and discharged lava which threatened the town, but it fortunately
+encountered Monte Vittoria and was diverted into another course. While a
+number of the inhabitants of Bronte were watching the progress of the
+lava, the front of the stream was suddenly blown out as by an explosion
+of gunpowder; in an instant red-hot masses were hurled in every
+direction; and a cloud of vapour enveloped everything. Thirty-six
+persons were killed on the spot, and twenty survived but a few hours.
+The great crater showed signs of disturbance, by emitting dense volumes
+of smoke, and loud bellowings, also quantities of volcanic dust
+saturated with hydrochloric acid, which destroyed the vegetation
+wherever it fell.
+
+76. A very violent eruption which lasted more than nine months,
+commenced on the 21st of August, 1852. It was first witnessed by a party
+of six English tourists, who were ascending the mountain from Nicolosi
+in order to see the sunrise from the summit. As they approached the Casa
+Inglesi the crater commenced to give forth ashes and flames of fire. In
+a narrow defile they were met by a violent hurricane, which overthrew
+both the mules and their riders, and urged them towards the precipices
+of the Val del Bove. They sheltered themselves beneath some masses of
+lava, when suddenly an earthquake shook the mountain, and their mules in
+terror fled away. They returned on foot towards daylight to Nicolosi,
+fortunately without having sustained injury. In the course of the night
+many _bocche del fuoco_ opened in that part of the Val del Bove called
+the Balzo di Trifoglietto, and a great fissure opened at the base of the
+Giannicola Grande, and a crater was thrown up from which for seventeen
+days showers of sand and scoriae were ejected. During the next day a
+quantity of lava flowed down the Val del Bove, branching off so that one
+stream advanced to the foot of Monte Finocchio, and the other to Monte
+Calanna. Afterwards it flowed towards Zaffarana, and devastated a large
+tract of woody region. Four days later a second crater was formed near
+the first, from which lava was emitted together with sand and scoriae,
+which caused cones to rise around the craters. The lava moved but
+slowly, and towards the end of August it came to a stand, only a quarter
+of a mile from Zaffarana: on the second of September, Gemellaro ascended
+Monte Finocchio in the Val del Bove in order to witness the outburst. He
+states that the hill was violently agitated, like a ship at sea. The
+surface of the Val del Bove appeared like a molten lake; scoriae were
+thrown up from the craters to a great height, and loud explosions were
+heard at frequent intervals. The eruption continued to increase in
+violence. On October 6th two new mouths opened in the Val del Bove,
+emitting lava which flowed towards the Valley of Calanna, and fell over
+the Salto della Giumenta, a precipice nearly 200 feet deep. The noise
+which it produced was like that of the clash of metallic masses. The
+eruption continued with abated violence during the early months of 1853,
+and it did not finally cease till May 27. The entire mass of lava
+ejected is estimated to be equal to an area six miles long by two miles
+broad, with an average depth of about twelve feet.
+
+I am indebted to M. Antonin Moris of Palermo for the following account
+of the eruption of 1852:
+
+The eruption of 1852 commenced on the 21st of August. The earthquakes,
+the jets of flame from the great crater, and the subterranean rumblings
+which usually precede an eruption, did not herald the approach of this
+one. An English family, who were then making the ascent of the mountain,
+together with a poor shepherd of Riposto, were the only witnesses of the
+first outburst. The latter was asleep in the midst of his flocks, and
+was awakened by violent shakings of the ground; he fled in haste, and
+some seconds afterwards the earth opened with a loud noise, vomiting a
+terrible column of fire, at the very spot which he had just abandoned.
+An enormous crevasse opened on the north side of Trifoglietto in the
+direction of the great crater. On its summit near the opening called the
+Piccolo Teatro, several openings were produced at the very first, but
+they only emitted feeble currents of lava. All the force of the eruption
+was concentrated at the foot of the escarpment of the Serra di
+Giannicola, 4 kilometres, (2-1/2 miles) from the summit of Etna. To the
+west of, and somewhat above the principal crater, a second one was
+formed, but its activity was of short duration. The liquid lava issued
+with such violence that in 24 hours it had reached the base of Monte
+Calanna, a distance of 3 kilometres, (nearly 2 miles). After surrounding
+this hill, it divided into two currents, one of which ran towards
+Zaffarana, and the other towards Milo. At a distance they seemed to
+present a united front of 2 kilometres, (1-1/4 mile), which threatened
+to destroy all the villages below. The Val del Bove was already
+entirely overrun; Isoletta dei Zappinelli in the midst of the lavas of
+1811 and 1819 was overwhelmed; the valley of Calanna was buried under
+the fire with lava, when on the 28th of August the lava hurled itself
+into the narrow passage of the Portella di Calanna. A frightful cascade
+of lava was then seen to precipitate itself from a height of 60 metres,
+with a harsh metallic noise, accompanied by loud cracking. Zaffarana was
+on the eve of total ruin; the fire had taken the direction of the ravine
+which terminates there, when suddenly, in the beginning of September,
+the devastating stream stayed its march against the ill-fated district.
+
+On the contrary that which had taken the direction of Milo, reinforced
+by a new current on the 10th of September, destroyed the hamlet of
+Caselle del Milo; and afterwards divided itself into two branches, which
+left the village of Caselle in safety between them.
+
+The inhabitants of La Macchia and Giarre gave themselves up for lost;
+for it seemed that the lava would be obliged to follow the valley of
+Santa Maria della Strada; happily, however, from the 20th of September
+onward, it ceased to advance perceptibly. The eruption did not totally
+subside till March 1853; but the lava-flows did no more than travel by
+the side, or on the top of the older, without extending beyond them.
+
+The crater of 1852 was called the Centenario, from its having been
+formed at the time of the centenary of the fete of S. Agatha. Santiago,
+in the island of Cuba, was destroyed by an earthquake on the very day of
+the eruption.
+
+During the whole period of the eruption, only one explosion proceeded
+from the great crater of Etna. By it an enormous column of ashes and
+scoriae was cast into the air.
+
+On the 9th of September white ashes were seen on the summit, which at a
+distance appeared like snow. When pressed together by the hand they took
+the consistence of clay, but they hardened in the fire, and could then
+be reduced to powder. They have been considered to be the _debris_ of
+felspathic rocks, disintegrated by the heat of the lava, and blown out
+by the expansive power of disengaged gas.
+
+The eruption of 1852 was one of the grandest of the recorded eruptions
+of Etna. More than 2,000,000,000 cubic feet of red hot lava was spread
+over three square miles. This eruption was minutely described by Carlo
+Gemellaro, in a memoir entitled, "_Breve ragguaglio della eruzione
+dell' Etna del 21 Agosto, 1852_."
+
+77. In October 1864, frequent shocks of earthquakes were felt by the
+dwellers on Etna. In January clouds of smoke were emitted by the great
+crater, and roaring sounds were heard. On the night of the 30th a
+violent shock was felt on the north-east side of the mountain, and a
+mouth opened below Monte Frumento, from which lava was ejected. It
+flowed at a rate of about a mile a day, and ultimately divided into two
+streams. By March 10th the new mouths of fire had increased to seven in
+number, and they were all situated along a line stretching down from the
+summit. The three upper craters gave forth loud detonations three or
+four times a minute. Professor Orazio Silvestri has devoted a quarto of
+267 pages to an account of _I Fenomeni Vulcanici presentati dall'Etna
+nel 1863-64-65-66_.
+
+78. In August 1874 the inhabitants of the towns situated on the north,
+west, and east sides of the mountain, were awakened by loud subterranean
+rumblings. Soon afterwards a formidable column of black smoke issued
+from the crater, accompanied by sand, scoriae, and ignited matter
+(_infuocata materia_). Severe shocks of earthquake were felt, the centre
+of impulsion being apparently situated on the northern flank of the
+mountain, at a height of 2450 metres above the level of the sea. Some
+small _bocche eruttive_ opened near the great crater, and ejected lava,
+but the quantity was comparatively small, and but little damage was
+done. An account of this eruption was given by Silvestri in 1874, in a
+small pamphlet entitled, _Notizie sulla eruzione dell' Etna del 29
+Agosto, 1874_. Since 1874 the mountain has been in a quiescent state.
+The centre of disturbance was at an elevation of 2450 metres (7600 feet)
+above the sea, on the north side of the crater, and between the minor
+cones known as the _Fratelli Pii_ and _Monte Grigio_. A new crater,
+having an elliptical contour, and a diameter of about 100 metres, was
+formed at this point. It is composed of a prehistoric grey labradorite,
+and of doleritic lava. Downwards from the main crater, in the direction
+of Monte di Mojo, a long fissure extended for 400 metres, and along the
+line of this fissure no less than _thirty-five_ minor cones opened, with
+craters of from thirty to three metres in diameter. The stream of lava
+ejected from the various _boccarelle_ was 400 metres long, 80 wide, and
+2 metres in thickness, and the bulk of volcanic material brought to the
+surface, including the principal cone and its thirty-five subordinates
+and their ejectamenta, was calculated to amount to 1,351,000 cubic
+metres. The lava is of an augitic character, and magnetic; it possesses
+a specific gravity of 2.3636 at 25 deg. C.
+
+It will be seen from the account of the foregoing eruptions that there
+is a great similarity in the character of the eruptions of Etna.
+Earthquakes presage the outburst; loud explosions follow, rifts and
+_bocche del fuoco_ open in the sides of the mountain; smoke, sand,
+ashes, and scoriae are discharged, the action localises itself in one or
+more craters, cinders are thrown up, and accumulate around the crater
+and cone, ultimately lava rises, and frequently breaks down one side of
+the cone, where the resistance is least. Then the eruption is at an
+end.
+
+Smyth says, "The symptoms which precede an eruption are generally
+irregular clouds of smoke, ferilli, or volcanic lightnings, hollow
+intonations, and local earthquakes that often alarm the surrounding
+country as far as Messina, and have given the whole province the name of
+Val Demone, as being the abode of infernal spirits. These agitations
+increase until the vast cauldron becomes surcharged with the fused
+minerals, when, if the convulsion is not sufficiently powerful to force
+them from the great crater (which, from its great altitude and the
+weight of the candent matter, requires an uncommon effort), they explode
+through that part of the side which offers the least resistance with a
+grand and terrific effect, throwing red-hot stones and flakes of fire to
+an incredible height, and spreading ignited cinders and ashes in every
+direction." After the eruption of ashes, lava frequently follows,
+sometimes rising to the top of the cone of cinders, at others breaching
+it on the least resisting side. When the lava has reached the base of
+the cone, it begins to flow down the mountain, and being then in a very
+fluid state, it moves with great velocity. As it cools the sides and
+surface begin to harden, its velocity decreases, and in the course of a
+few days it only moves a few yards in an hour. The internal portions,
+however, part slowly with their heat, and months after the eruption,
+clouds of steam arise from the black and externally cold lava beds after
+rain, which, having penetrated through the cracks, has found its way to
+the heated mass within.
+
+Of the seventy-eight eruptions described above, it will be noticed that
+not more than nineteen have been of extreme violence, while the majority
+have been of a slight and comparatively harmless character.
+
+[Illustration: Geological Map of Etna]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+GEOLOGY AND MINERALOGY OF THE MOUNTAIN.
+
+    Elie de Beaumont's classification of rocks of Etna.--Hoffman's
+    geological map.--Lyell's researches.--The period of earliest
+    eruption.--The Val del Bove.--Two craters of eruption.--Antiquity of
+    Etna.--The lavas of Etna.--Labradorite.--Augite.--Olivine.--
+    Analcime.--Titaniferous iron.--Mr. Rutley's examination of Etna
+    lavas under the microscope.
+
+
+The opinion of geologists is divided as to the manner in which a volcano
+is first formed. Some hold that the volcanic forces have upraised the
+rocks from beneath, and at last finding vent have scattered the lighter
+portions of such rocks into the air, and have poured out lava through
+the rent masses, thus forming a _crater of elevation_. Others maintain
+that the volcanic products are ejected from an aperture or fissure
+already existing in rocks previously formed, and that the accumulation
+of these products around the vent forms the mass of the volcano and the
+_crater of eruption_. Lyell favours the latter view; Von Buch, Dufrenoy,
+and Elie de Beaumont the former.
+
+According to M. Elie de Beaumont, Etna is an irregular crater of
+elevation. The original deposits were nearly horizontal, and lavas were
+poured through fissures in these, and accumulated at first in layers;
+afterwards the whole mass was upheaved and a crater formed.[20] The
+upheaving force does not appear to have acted at one point, but along a
+line traversing the Val del Bove. The latter he refers to a subsidence
+of a portion of the mountain. He divides the rocks of Etna into six
+orders: 1. The lowest basis of the mountain would appear to consist of
+granite, because masses of that rock have from time to time been
+ejected. 2. Calcareous and arenaceous rocks, of which the mountains
+surrounding Etna are composed, and which appear capped with lava near
+Bronte and elsewhere. 3. Basaltic rocks, which are met with near Motta
+S. Anastasia, Paterno, Licodia, and Aderno, and in the Isole de'Ciclopi.
+4. Rolled pebbles, which form a range of slightly rising ground between
+the first slopes of Etna on the southern side and the plain of Catania.
+(Lyell speaks of this rising ground as consisting of "argillaceous and
+sandy beds with marine shells, nearly all of living Mediterranean
+species, and with associated and contemporaneous volcanic rocks.") 5.
+Ancient lavas forming the escarpments around the Val del Bove; and 6th,
+Modern lavas. He considers that the fissures which abound on Etna are
+shifts or faults produced by dislocation, and that the minor cones are
+points along such fissures from which ashes and lava have been ejected.
+He admits the existence of two cones. The geological map of Etna
+prepared by M. Elie de Beaumont to accompany his memoir can scarcely be
+regarded as a great addition to our knowledge of the mountain. For
+although in the main points it is correct, so many details have been
+omitted that the map must be considered to have now been quite
+superseded by those of Von Waltershausen and Friedrich Hoffmann.
+
+[20] "Recherches sur la structure et sur l'origine du Mont Etna." 1836.
+
+The most convenient geological map of the mountain is without doubt that
+of Hoffmann, given in the _Vulkanen Atlas_ of Dr. Von Leonhard; and here
+reproduced. Von Waltershausen's geological map has been the foundation
+of all others which have subsequently appeared. It is a marvel of
+accurate work, and patient industry. The form however is inconvenient,
+as it nowhere appears as a whole, but in separate portions, which are
+scattered through the folio sheets of the very expensive _Atlas des
+Aetna_. It is accurate, and at the same time very clear and
+intelligible. By reference to the map it will be seen that from Capo di
+Schiso westward, to near Paterno, Etna is surrounded by sandstone hills;
+at the south we have recent clays, and, at intervals, chalk. A large
+triangular space having the two angles at its base, respectively near
+Maletto and Aderno, and its apex at the great crater, is covered with
+new lava; while around Nicolosi there is volcanic sand. At the Isole
+de'Ciclopi, Motta S. Anastasia, and a few other places, basalt is seen;
+on each side of the Val del Bove, dolerite; and near Misterbianco and
+Piedemonte, small deposits of clay slate. The great mass of the surface
+of the mountain, not specially mentioned above, is volcanic tuff.
+
+[Illustration: Map of the Val del Bove, to illustrate the theory of a
+double axis of eruption. (_Lyell_).]
+
+Among the more important and recent additions to our knowledge of the
+geology of Etna may be mentioned Lyell's paper on the subject,
+communicated to the Royal Society in 1858, the matter of which is
+incorporated in a lengthy chapter on Etna in the "Principles of
+Geology." Lyell visited the mountain in 1828, 1857, and 1858, and he
+then collected together a great number of personal observations; he also
+made use of the maps and plans of Von Waltershausen, and he has analysed
+the views of Elie de Beaumont and other writers. He alludes at the
+outset to the numerous minor cones of Etna produced by lateral eruption,
+and points out the fact that they are gradually obliterated by the lava
+descending from the upper part of the mountain, which flows around them
+and heightens the ground on which they stand. In this way the crater of
+Monte Nocilla is now level with the plain, and the crater of Monte
+Capreolo was nearly filled by a lava stream in 1669. Thus without
+doubt beneath the sloping sides of Etna a multitude of obliterated
+monticules exist.
+
+[Illustration: Ideal section of Mount Etna]
+
+The strata which surround Mount Etna on the south are of Newer Pliocene
+date, and contain shells which are nearly all of species still living in
+the Mediterranean. Out of sixty-five species collected by Lyell in 1828,
+sixty-one were found to belong to species still common in the
+Mediterranean. These strata are about the age of the Norwich crag; and
+the oldest eruptions of Etna must have taken place during the glacial
+period, but before the period of greatest cold in Northern Europe.
+
+Before visiting Etna, Lyell had been told by Dr. Buckland that in his
+opinion the Val del Bove was the most interesting part of Etna,
+accordingly he specially and minutely examined that part of the
+mountain. This vast valley is situated on the eastern flanks of the
+mountain, and it commences near the base of the cone, stretching for
+nearly five miles downwards. It is a large oval basin formed in the side
+of the mountain, and surrounded by vast precipices, some of which at the
+head of the valley are between three and four thousand feet in height.
+The surface is covered with lava of various dates, and several minor
+cones, notably those of 1852, are within its boundaries. The abrupt
+precipices reveal the presence of a large number of vertical dikes,
+radiating from a point within the valley, some of them, according to Von
+Waltershausen, being of ancient greenstone. Other dikes of more modern
+doleritic lava radiate from the present crater. From the slope of the
+beds in the Val del Bove, Lyell and Von Waltershausen have independently
+inferred that there was once a second great centre of eruption in the
+Val del Bove between the Sierra Giannicola, and Zoccolaro (_vide_ the
+Figure on p. 117). The axis of eruption passing through this point Lyell
+calls the _Axis of Trifoglietto_; while he distinguishes the present
+centre of eruption as the _Axis of Mongibello_. These centres probably
+existed simultaneously, but were unequal as regards eruptive violence;
+the crater of Mongibello was the more active of the two, and eventually
+overwhelmed the crater of Trifoglietto with its products, by which means
+the whole mountain became a fairly symmetrical cone, having the crater
+of Mongibello at its apex (_vide_ the Figures on pp. 119 and 121).
+Subsequently the Val del Bove was formed, probably by some paroxysmal
+explosion, caused by pent-up gases escaping from fissures. Possibly also
+subsidence may have occurred.
+
+[Illustration: Profile of Etna]
+
+We must then in the first place think of Etna as a submarine volcano
+of the Newer Pliocene age; when it reached the surface it increased
+rapidly in bulk by pouring out scoriae and lava from its two centres
+of eruption--the centre of Mongibello, and the centre of
+Trifoglietto,--general upheaval of the surrounding district followed,
+and ultimately the crater of Trifoglietto was obliterated by the
+discharges from the crater of Mongibello. Afterwards the Val del Bove
+was blown out by sudden eruptive force from beneath, and the mountain
+assumed its present aspect. Then the historical eruptions commenced,
+and of these we have given an account in the preceding chapter.
+
+The most obvious method of obtaining some idea as to the age of Etna, is
+to ascertain the thickness of matter added during the historical period
+to the sides of the mountain, and to compare this with the thickness of
+the beds of ancient lava and scoriae exposed at the abrupt precipices of
+the Val del Bove. There is reason for believing, however, that none of
+the ancient lavas equalled in volume the lava streams of 1809 and 1852,
+and the question is much complicated by other considerations. Lyell
+compares the growth of a volcano to that of an exogenous tree, which
+increases both in bulk and height by the external application of
+ligneous matter. Branches which shoot out from the trunk, first pierce
+the bark and proceed outwards, but if they die or are broken off they
+become inclosed in the body of the tree, forming knots in the wood.
+Similarly the volcano consists of a series of conical masses placed one
+above the other, while the minor cones, corresponding to the branches of
+the tree, first project, and then become buried again, as successive
+layers of lava flow around them. But volcanic action is very
+intermittent, the layers of lava and scoriae do not accumulate evenly and
+regularly like the layers of a tree. A violent paroxysmal outbreak may
+be succeeded by centuries of quiescence, or by a number of ordinary
+eruptions; or, again, several paroxysmal outbreaks may occur in
+succession. Moreover, each conical envelope of the mountain is made up
+of a number of distinct currents of lava, and showers of scoriae. "Yet we
+cannot fail to form the most exalted conception of the antiquity of this
+mountain, when we consider that its base is about 90 miles in
+circumference; so that it would require ninety flows of lava, each a
+mile in breadth at their termination, to raise the present foot of the
+volcano as much as the average height of one lava current." If all the
+minor cones now visible on Etna could be removed, with all the lava and
+scoriae which have ever proceeded from them, the mountain would appear
+scarcely perceptibly smaller. Other cones would reveal themselves
+beneath those now existing. Since the time when, in the Newer Pliocene
+period, the foundations of Etna were laid in the sea, it is quite
+impossible even to hint at the number of hundreds of thousands of years
+which have elapsed.
+
+We collected specimens of lava from various points around and upon the
+mountain. They presented a wonderful similarity of structure, and a
+mineralogist to whom they were shown remarked that they might almost
+all have come from the same crater, at the same time. A specimen of the
+lava of 1535 found near Borello, was ground by a lapidary until it was
+sufficiently transparent to be examined under the microscope by
+polarised light. It was found to contain good crystals of augite and
+olivine, well striated labradorite, and titaniferous iron ore.
+
+Elie de Beaumont affirms that the lavas of Etna consist of labradorite,
+pyroxene (augite), peridot (olivine), and titaniferous iron. Rose was
+the first to prove that the lavas of Etna do not contain ordinary
+felspar (or potash felspar), but labradorite (or lime felspar.)
+(_Annales des Mines_, 3 serie, t. viii., p. 3.) Elie de Beaumont
+detached a quantity of white crystals from the interior of a lava found
+between Giarre and Aci Reale; these were analysed by M. Auguste Laurent
+with the following results in 100 parts:--
+
+    Silica            47.9
+    Alumina           34.0
+    Oxide of Iron      2.4
+    Soda (Na{2}O)      5.1
+    Potash (K{2}O)      .9
+    Lime               9.5
+    Magnesia            .2
+                     -----
+                     100.0
+
+Von Waltershausen gives the following as the composition of two
+specimens of Labradorite from Etna:--
+
+                            I.               II.
+
+    Silica                53.56             55.83
+    Alumina               25.82             25.31
+    Sesquioxide of Iron    3.41              3.64
+    Magnesia                .52               .74
+    Lime                  11.69             10.49
+    Soda                   4.09              3.52
+    Potash                  .54               .83
+    Water                   .95                --
+                         ------            ------
+                         100.58            100.36
+
+Specimens of Augite from Etna have been examined by Von Waltershausen
+and Rammelsberg, with the following results:--
+
+                                   _Greenish_   _From_       _From_
+                         _Black._   _Black._   _Mascali._ _Monti Rossi._
+
+  Silica                  47.63      51.70       49.69       47.38
+  Alumina                  6.74       4.38        5.22        5.52
+  Protoxide of Iron       11.39       4.24       10.75        7.89
+      "        Manganese    .21         --          --         .10
+  Magnesia                12.90      21.11       14.74       15.29
+  Lime                    20.87      18.02       18.44       19.10
+  Sesquioxide of Iron        --         --          --        3.85
+  Water                     .28        .49         .51         .43
+                         ------      -----       -----       -----
+                         100.02      99.94       99.35       99.56
+
+Olivine is generally met with in the lavas of Etna. It has an olive, or
+bottle-glass green colour, and is disseminated through the lavas in the
+form of small crystalline grains, sometimes of some magnitude. Specific
+gravity 3.334. A specimen from Etna gave the following results on
+analysis:--
+
+    Silica              41.01
+    Protoxide of Iron   10.06
+    Magnesia            47.27
+    Alumina               .64
+    Oxide of Nickel       .20
+    Water                1.04
+                       ------
+                       100.22
+
+The titaniferous iron of Etna is found disseminated through the mass of
+the lavas, and is plainly distinguished when a thin section is examined
+under the microscope. It is sometimes met with in masses. A specimen
+from Etna, analysed by Von Waltershausen, was found to contain:--
+
+    Titanic Acid          11.14
+    Sesquioxide of Iron   58.86
+    Protoxide of Iron     30.00
+                         ------
+                         100.00
+
+The basalts of the Isole de'Ciclopi enclose beautiful transparent
+crystals of Analcime, the _zeolite dure_ of Dolomieu. The word is
+derived from ~analkis~ weak, in allusion to the weak electric
+power which the mineral acquires when heated or rubbed. Dana prefers the
+term _analcite_. Specimens from the Cyclops Islands have been analysed
+by Von Waltershausen and Rammelsberg, with the following results:--
+
+                             I.        II.       III.
+
+    Silica                 53.72      55.22      54.34
+    Alumina                24.03      23.14      23.61
+    Lime                    1.23        .25        .21
+    Soda (Na{2}O)           7.92      12.19      12.95
+    Potash (K{2}O)          4.46       1.52        .66
+    Water                   8.50       7.68       8.11
+    Magnesia                 .05         --         --
+    Sesquioxide of Iron       --         --        .12
+                           -----     ------     ------
+                           99.91     100.00     100.00
+
+The minerals of Etna are not nearly as numerous as those of Vesuvius. It
+has been remarked that no area of equal size on the face of the globe
+furnishes so many different species of minerals as Vesuvius and its
+immediate neighbourhood. Out of the 380 species of simple minerals
+enumerated by Hauy, no less than 82 had been found on and around
+Vesuvius, as long ago as 1828, and many have been since found.
+
+Of other common products of Etna, there are sulphur in various forms,
+sulphurous acid gas, ammonia salts, hydrochloric acid gas, and steam. A
+curious white mass, which we found near the summit, proved to be the
+result of the decomposition of lava by hot acid vapours. In the
+different lavas, the crystals of labradorite, and of olivine, vary in
+size considerably. Magnetic oxide of iron is very visible in thin
+slices of the lavas when placed under the microscope; and iron appears
+to be a constant constituent in nearly all the products of the mountain.
+
+Within the last few months Prof. Silvestri has detected a mineral oil in
+the cavities of a prehistoric doleritic lava found near Paterno.[21] The
+lava is in close contiguity to the clay deposits of a mud volcano, and
+when examined under the microscope is seen to consist mainly of augite,
+together with olivine and transparent crystals of labradorite. It
+contains numerous cavities coated with arragonite, and filled with a
+mineral oil which constitutes about one per cent of the whole weight of
+the lava. It was taken from the lava at a temperature of 24 deg. C., (75.2 deg.
+F.), and solidified at 17 deg. C. (62.6 deg. F.) to a yellowish green mass,
+which on analysis gave the following percentage composition:--
+
+    Liquid hydrocarbons boiling at 79 deg. C.            = 17.97
+    Hydrocarbons solidifying below 0 deg. C., boiling }
+      between 280 deg. and 400 deg. C.                    }  = 31.95
+    Paraffine melting between 52 deg. and 57 deg. C.         = 42.79
+    Asphalt containing 12 per cent of ash            =  2.90
+    Sulphur                                          =  4.32
+                                                      ------
+                                                       99.93
+
+[21] "Atti Accademia Gioenia," serie iii., vol. xii.
+
+Prof. Silvestri has recently made some interesting determinations of the
+specific gravity and chemical composition of the different products of
+Etna. They are given in full in his work entitled, "_I Fenomeni
+Vulcanici presentati dall'Etna, nel 1863, 1864, 1865, 1866_," which was
+published in Catania in 1867. The following table gives the specific
+gravity of various ancient and modern forms of lava, ashes, etc. of
+Etna:--
+
+                                               _Sp. Gr._
+
+    Ashes ejected in 1865                        2.644
+    Sand     "     "   "                         2.715
+    Scoriae   "     "   "                         2.633
+    Compact lava   "   "                         2.771
+    Scoriae ejected in 1669                       2.622
+    Compact lava   "   "                         2.697
+    Lapilli ejected in 1444                      2.420
+    Compact lava ejected in prehistoric times    2.854
+
+A very decided change in the specific gravity was found to take place
+after fusion. This can only be accounted for on the supposition that a
+chemical change is effected during the fusion:--
+
+                                _Sp. Gr._               _Sp. Gr._
+                             _before fusion._        _after fusion._
+
+    Pyroxene of Etna              3.453                  2.148
+    Felspar   "   "               2.925                  1.361
+    Olivine   "   "               3.410                  2.290
+    Lava of 1865                  2.771                  1.972
+    Ancient basaltic lava from }  2.854                  2.000
+      the Scogli de'Ciclopi    }
+    Ancient basaltic lava from }  2.795                  1.947
+      Aci Reale                }
+
+It will be seen from the following analyses that the sand, ashes,
+scoriae, and compact lava have virtually the same composition--indeed
+they consist of the same substance in different states of aggregation.
+
+                           _Ashes._  _Sand._  _Scoriae._  _Compact lava._
+
+    Silica                  50.00     49.80     50.00        49.95
+    Alumina                 19.08     18.20     19.00        18.75
+    Protoxide of iron       12.16     12.42     11.70        11.21
+    Protoxide of Manganese    .40       .45       .50          .49
+    Lime                     9.98     11.00     10.28        11.10
+    Magnesia                 4.12      4.00      4.20         4.05
+    Potash                    .60       .49       .69          .70
+    Soda                     3.72      3.60      3.40         3.71
+    Water                     .36       .29       .33          .23
+    Phosphoric acid      }
+    Titanic acid         } traces    traces    traces       traces
+    Vanadic acid         }
+    Sesquioxide of iron  }
+                           ------    ------    ------       ------
+                           100.42    100.25    100.10       100.19
+
+With these we may compare the composition of the lava which issued from
+Monti Rossi in 1669, and was analysed by Lowe, and of an ancient lava of
+Etna ejected during an unknown eruption, and analysed by Hesser.
+
+                            _Ancient lava._     _Lava of 1669._
+
+    Silica                      49.63                48.83
+    Alumina                     22.47                16.15
+    Protoxide of Iron           10.80                16.32
+    Protoxide of Manganese        .63                  .54
+    Lime                         9.05                 9.31
+    Magnesia                     2.68                 4.58
+    Soda                         3.07                 3.45
+    Potash                        .98                  .77
+                                -----                -----
+                                99.31                99.95
+
+The sublimations from the fumaroles are chiefly chloride of ammonium,
+perchloride of iron, and sulphur. An analysis of the gases of the
+fumaroles of 1865 gave the following results:--
+
+    Carbonic acid                 50.5
+    Hydrosulphuric acid           11.9
+    Oxygen                         7.1
+    Nitrogen                      30.5
+                                 -----
+                                 100.0
+
+An account of microscopic analysis of some of the lavas of Etna, for
+which I am indebted to Mr. Frank Rutley, will be found appended to this
+chapter. He considers that they are Plagioclase-basalts, and
+occasionally Olivine-basalts; and that they consist of Plagioclase,
+Augite, Olivine, Magnetite, Titaniferous iron, and a residuum of glass.
+
+Near the summit of the great crater I found a mass of perfectly white,
+vesicular, and very friable substance, somewhat pumiceous in appearance.
+It proved to be a decomposed lava, and was found elsewhere on the sides
+of the crater. Mr. Rutley examined a section of it, and reports: "Under
+the microscope a tolerably thin section shows the outlines of felspar
+crystals, lying in a hazy milk-white semi-opaque granular matrix. The
+felspar crystals are lighter and more translucent than the matrix, but
+are of much the same character, having a granulated or flocculent
+appearance, somewhat like that of the decomposed felspars in diabase.
+There are numerous roundish cavities in the section which may once have
+contained olivine, or some other mineral, or they may be merely
+vesicles."
+
+A qualitative analysis of this substance, made by Mr. H. M. Elder, has
+proved that it contains a large quantity of Silica (about 70 per cent.),
+and smaller proportions of Alumina, Iron, Magnesium, Calcium, and
+Potash; together with very small amounts of Sulphuric Acid and a trace
+of Ammonia. Lithium is absent, and Sodium is only present in very minute
+quantity. Water is present to the extent of nearly 20 per cent.
+
+During the eruption of Etna in 1869 Von Waltershausen noticed on some of
+the lava blocks which were still hot and smoking, silver-coloured
+particles, which rapidly underwent change. An insufficient quantity for
+analysis was collected, but during the eruption of 1874, Silvestri found
+a quantity of the substance and analysed it. (_Poggendorff's Annalen_,
+CLVII. 165, 1876.) It possesses a specific gravity of 3.147, and shows a
+metallic lustre similar to that of steel. On analysis it was found to
+consist of:--
+
+    Iron        90.86
+    Nitrogen     9.14
+               ------
+               100.00
+
+which corresponds with the formula Fe{5}N{2},--a formula assigned by
+Fremy to Nitride of iron. It has been named _Siderazote_. This new
+mineral species appears to be formed by the action of hydrochloric acid,
+and of ammonia on red-hot lava containing a large percentage of iron. It
+was formed artificially by exposing fragments of lava alternately to the
+action of hydrochloric acid and ammonia in a red-hot tube. At a high
+temperature Siderazote undergoes decomposition, nitrogen being evolved.
+In contact with steam at a red heat it forms magnetite and ammonia.
+
+
+
+
+_The Mineral Constitution and Microscopic Characters of some of the
+Lavas of Etna._
+
+By Frank Rutley, F.R.G.S., of H.M. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY.
+
+
+A cursory examination of the series of specimens collected by Mr.
+Rodwell, seemed to show that all the lavas of Etna, irrespective of
+their differences in age, exhibit a remarkable similarity in
+mineralogical constitution. Occasionally, however, there appears to have
+been a little difference in their respective viscidity at the time of
+the eruption, the crystals in some of them lying in all directions,
+while in others there appears to be a more or less definite arrangement
+of the felspar crystals, as seen in the lava of A.D. 1689.
+
+Although the specimens which I have examined microscopically do not
+appear to differ in the nature of their constituents, yet in some of
+them certain minerals fluctuate in quantity, some containing a
+comparatively large amount of olivine and well-developed crystals of
+augite, while, in others, these minerals, although one or other is
+always present, are but poorly represented by minute and
+sparsely-disseminated grains. It seems probable that all the Etna lavas
+contain traces of a vitreous residuum, since, when sections are
+examined under the microscope, a more or less general darkness pervades
+their ground mass as soon as the Nicols are crossed, and this general
+darkness does not appear to be dissipated during the horizontal
+revolution of the sections themselves. The translucent minerals in these
+sections are all doubly refracting, and as I have not been able to
+detect the presence of hauyne, noseau, sodalite, analcime, or any other
+cubic mineral in them, the natural inference is that the obscurity
+between crossed Nicols is due to amorphous matter. I have only been able
+to ascertain the presence of glass distinctly in a microscopic section
+of the lava of Salto di Pulichello. In the other sections which I have
+examined there appears to be a small quantity of interstitial glass, but
+it is so finely disseminated between the microliths of felspar and
+granules of olivine, augite and magnetite, which constitute the
+ground-mass of these rocks, that it is most difficult to determine the
+single refraction of such minute specks during revolution between
+crossed Nicols, and I therefore merely express a belief, which, in some
+instances, I cannot demonstrate with any certainty.
+
+[Illustration: Sections of Etna Lavas seen under the Microscope]
+
+Plagioclastic felspars are unquestionably the dominant constituents of
+these lavas. Lyell, in his "Principles of Geology," (9th Edition, p.
+411), states that the felspar is Labradorite. He does not, however, give
+the grounds for this conclusion, and, as microscopic examination alone
+merely indicates the crystalline system and not the species of felspar,
+it is unsafe to speculate upon this point in the absence of chemical
+investigation. In some of these lavas Sanidine is also present, but it
+is always subordinate to the plagioclase, and does not, as a rule,
+appear to play a part sufficiently prominent to entitle the rock to the
+appellation Trachy-dolerite.
+
+Augite and olivine are generally present in the Etna lavas, especially
+the latter mineral.
+
+Magnetite appears to occur in all of them. Titaniferous iron may also be
+represented, but I have failed to detect any well-defined crystals, or
+any traces of the characteristic white decomposition product which would
+justify me in citing the presence of this mineral, although it is stated
+by Lyell to occur in these rocks.
+
+The constituent minerals of the Etna lavas now to be described, namely,
+those of B.C. 396 and A.D. 1535, 1603 and 1689, are:--
+
+Plagioclase, augite, olivine, magnetite, and, in some cases,
+sanidine--possibly titaniferous iron--and in some, if not in all, a
+slight residuum of glass. These lavas must therefore be regarded as
+plagioclase-basalts, or occasionally as olivine-basalts. The plagioclase
+crystals vary greatly in size, some being mere microliths while others
+are over the eighth of an inch in length. They show the characteristic
+twin lamellation by polarized light, but the lamellae are often very
+irregular as regards their boundaries. The sections of the crystals
+themselves are also frequently bounded by irregular outlines, but they
+often show internally delicate zonal markings, as indicated in Fig.
+1,[22] which correspond with the outlines of perfectly developed
+crystals. The inclosures in the larger plagioclastic felspars consist
+for the most part either of brownish glass, containing fine dark
+granular matter--probably magnetite, which often renders them
+opaque,--or of matter similar to that which constitutes the groundmass
+of the surrounding rock. These stone and glass cavities are very
+numerous and most irregular in outline, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. They
+appear, however, to be elongated generally in the direction of the
+planes of composition of the twin lamellae. Zirkel has noted the
+plentiful occurrence of these glass inclosures in the felspar crystals
+and fragments of crystals which partly constitute the volcanic sands of
+Etna, in which he has also detected the presence of numerous isolated
+particles of brownish glass.[23] The felspar microliths, which
+constitute so large a proportion of the ground-mass in the Etna lavas,
+are in most instances probably triclinic. Monoclinic felspar does,
+however, occur in some of these rocks; but the difficulty of
+ascertaining the precise character of microliths renders it unsafe to
+speculate on the amount of sanidine which may be present. Some crystals,
+such as that shown in the centre of Fig. 2, appear at first sight to be
+sanidine, twinned on the Carlsbad type, but closer inspection often
+demonstrates the presence of other and very delicate twin lamellae.
+
+[22] _The figures in this plate are magnified 35 diameters._ Fig. 1.
+Lava of B.C. 396. The upper half of the drawing is occupied by a crystal
+of plagioclastic felspar showing twin lamellation and faint zonal
+markings, and with numerous irregular dark-brown inclosures of glass,
+probably containing magnetite dust and matter similar to that of the
+groundmass of the rock which consists of felspar microliths, granules of
+olivine, and augite crystals, grains of magnetite, and apparently a
+little interstitial glass. A crystal of augite is shown near the bottom
+of the drawing.
+
+Fig. 2. Lava of A.D. 1689. On the right hand side part of a plagioclase
+crystal with inclosures similar to that in the preceding figure. In the
+centre a small crystal of plagioclase. Groundmass similar to that of
+Fig. 1, but showing a somewhat definite arrangement of the small felspar
+crystals, indicative of fluxion.
+
+[23] "Mikroskopische Beschaffenheit der Mineralien und Gesteine."
+Leipzig, 1873; p. 480.
+
+The augite in these lavas sometimes occurs in well-formed crystals of a
+green or brown colour, and often shows the characteristic cleavage very
+well, especially in the augite crystals of the lava of the Boccarelle
+del Fuoco, erupted in 1535. A small crystal of green augite is
+represented at the bottom of Fig. 1. Augite, however, appears to be more
+plentiful in the rocks in the form of small roundish grains.
+
+Olivine is of very common occurrence in the Etna lavas, mostly in round
+or irregularly shaped grains, but also in crystals which usually exhibit
+rounded angles.
+
+A specimen of lava from Salto di Pulichello, erupted in 1603, gave
+well-developed examples of the presence of olivine, and also of
+plagioclase. The ground mass was found to consist of felspar microliths,
+and grains of olivine, augite, and magnetite, with some interstitial
+glass.
+
+Magnetite is present in all of the lavas here described. It occurs both
+in octahedral crystals and in the form of irregular grains and fine
+dust. To the presence of this substance much of the opacity of thin
+sections of the Etna lavas is due.
+
+Titaniferous iron may also be present. One small crystal in the lava of
+1535 appeared to show a somewhat characteristic form, but although much
+of the black opaque matter has undergone decomposition, I have failed to
+detect any of the white or greyish alteration product which
+characterises titaniferous iron, and in the absence of this, of definite
+crystalline form, and of chemical analysis, it seems better to speak of
+this mineral with reserve, although titanium is very probably present,
+since much magnetite is known to be titaniferous.
+
+The vitreous matter which occurs in these lavas is principally present
+in the form of inclosures in the felspar, and, sometimes, the augite and
+olivine crystals previously described. Its occurrence in the groundmass
+of these rocks has also been alluded to. In this interstitial condition
+its amount is usually very small--a fact already pointed out by Zirkel.
+
+I have unfortunately had no opportunity of examining the volcanic sands
+and ashes of Etna, but Zirkel's description of them seems to indicate
+their close mineralogical relation to lavas erupted in this district,
+with one exception, as pointed out by Rosenbusch,[24] namely, that he
+makes no mention of the occurrence of olivine in these ejectamenta.
+
+[24] "Mikroskopische Physiographie der Massigen Gesteine. Stuttgart,
+1877; p. 547.
+
+Reference to the Figures 1 and 2 will suffice to show how close a
+relationship in mineral constitution exists between these two lavas,
+separated in the dates of their eruption by an interval of over two
+thousand years.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+_New Maps of Etna._--After these pages had received their final revision
+in type, I met with two new maps of Etna in the Paris Exhibition. The
+literature of our subject will obviously be incomplete without some
+notice of them, although this belongs properly to the first chapter
+rather than to the last. The one is a map in relief constructed by
+Captain Francesco Pistoja for the _Istituto Topografico Militare_ of
+Florence. The vertical scale is 1/25,000 and the horizontal is 1/50,000.
+The surface is coloured geologically: the lavas erupted during each
+century being differently coloured, while the course of each stream is
+traced. This map, although by no means free from errors, is a vast
+improvement on the relief map of M. Elie de Beaumont. One defect, which
+might be easily remedied, is due to the fact that the lavas of three
+consecutive centuries are coloured so much alike, that it is almost
+impossible to distinguish them. The minor cones are well shown, the Val
+del Bove fairly well, and the map is altogether a valuable addition to
+our knowledge of the mountain.
+
+The other map is a _Carta Agronomica dell' Etna_, showing the surface
+cultivation. Different colours denote different plants, pistachio nuts,
+vines, olives, chestnuts, etc. It is beautifully drawn and coloured by
+hand, and is the work of Signor L. Ardini, of Catania.
+
+
+
+
+INDEX.
+
+
+    Abich, 22
+    Acesines, River, 81
+    Aci Reale, 72, 73
+    Acis, River, 73
+    Acque Grande, 73
+    Aderno, 65
+    Adranum, City of, 66
+    AEschylus, 4
+    Aetna, Town of, 64
+    Ajo, Fountain of, 85
+    Alcantara, Valley of, 69
+    Amphinomus, 80
+    Analcime, Analysis of, 128
+    Analcite, 127
+    Analysis of Augite, 126
+        "    "  Labradorite, 125, 126
+        "    "  Olivine, 127
+        "    "  Titaniferous Iron, 127
+        "    "  Analcime, 128
+        "    "  Mineral Oil, 129
+        "    "  Volcanic Ashes, 131
+        "    "  Lava, 131, 132
+        "    "  Sand, 131
+        "    "  Scoriae, 131
+        "       Microscopic, of Lavas, 135-141
+        "    "  Siderazote, 133, 134
+        "    "  Sublimations, 132
+        "    "  white friable substance, 133
+    Anapias, 80
+    Arethusa, Fountain of, 85
+    Ascent, Fatigue of, 60
+    Ashes, Volcanic, Analysis of, 131
+      "        "   Specific Gravity of, 130
+    Atlas des Aetna, 23
+    Augite, Analysis of, 126
+    Axis of Mongibello, 119, 122
+      "   " Trifoglietto, 119, 122
+
+    Baltzer, 24
+    Basalt, Columnar, 75
+    Base, Circumference of, 30
+    Belpasso, 63
+    Bembo, Cardinal, 10
+    Biancavilla, 65
+    Boccarelle del Fuoco, 36
+    Bocche eruttive, 110
+       "   del Fuoco, 36
+    Borelli, 90
+    Bosco di Bronte, 99
+    Botanical Regions, 40-42
+    Boundaries of Etna, 29
+    Brilliancy of Stars, 48, 49
+    Bronte, 67, 68
+    Brydone, 15
+
+    Campi Phlegraei, 14
+    Campus Piorum, 80
+    Cardinal Bembo, 10
+    Carpinetto, Forest of, 39
+    Carrera, 12
+    Casa del Bosco, 48
+      "  Inglesi, 51, 52
+    Castagno di Cento Cavalli, 39
+        "    della Galea, 39
+    Catania, 76-78
+       "  Destruction of, 94-96
+    Caverns of Etna, 37
+    Cavern of Thalia, 37
+    Centenario, 108
+    Chestnuts, 39
+    Circumference of base, 30
+    Cisterna, 101
+    Coltivata, Regione, 37, 38
+    Cones, Minor, 34-36
+    Crater of Elevation, 114
+       "   of Eruption, 114
+       "   The Great, 56-58
+    Craters, Minor, 34-36
+    Cultivated Region, 38
+    Cyclops, Rocks of, 75
+
+    Decomposed Lava, Analysis of, 133
+    Desert Region, 39, 40
+
+    Effects of Refraction, 59, 60
+    Elevation, Crater of, 114
+    Elie de Beaumont, 21
+    Elie de Beaumont's Classification, 115, 116
+    Empedokles, 10
+    Errors in Maps, 24
+    Eruption, Crater of, 114
+    Eruptions, General Character of, 112
+        "      Number of, 113
+    Etna, the Home of Early Myths, 9
+      "   a Submarine Volcano, 122
+    Enceladus, 4
+
+    Fatigue of Ascent, 60
+    Fazzello, 11
+    Ferrara, 15, 16
+    Filoteo, 11
+    Flood of 1755, 98
+    Forest of Carpinetto, 39
+    Fratelli Pii, Cone of, 111
+    Fumaroles, Sublimations of, 132
+    Fuoco, Regione del, 37
+
+    Gemellaro, Giuseppe, 18
+        "      Mario, 19
+        "      Carlo, 19, 20
+    General aspect of Etna, 34
+    _Genista Etnensis_, 45
+    Geological Maps of Etna, 117-18
+    Gibel Uttamat, 3
+    Gladstone's Account of Eruption, 58
+    Gravity, Specific, of Ejectamenta, 130
+    Great Crater, 57, 58
+    Grotto of Polyphemus, 75
+       "  delle Palombe, 37
+    Growth of a Volcano, 123
+    Gurrita, Lake, 68
+
+    Hamilton, 14
+    Height of Etna, 26, 27
+    Hephaistos, Forge of, 4
+    Himilco, 81
+    Hoffmann, 22
+    Homer, 4
+    Houel, 14
+    Hybla Major, 63
+
+    Increase of Population, 33
+    Inessa, City of, 64
+    Inglesi, Casa, 51, 52
+    Inns, Sicilian, 65, 67, 69
+    Iron, Nitride of, 134
+      "   Perchloride of, 132
+    Iron, Titaniferous, 127
+    Isola d'Aci, 75
+
+    Katana, 76, 77
+    Kircher, 12
+
+    Labradorite, Analysis of, 125, 126
+    La Cisterna, 101
+    Latitude of Crater, 2
+    La Scaletta, 75
+    Lava, Analysis of, 131, 132
+      "   Specific Gravity of, 130
+      "   Decomposed, Analysis of, 133
+    Lavas, Microscopic Analysis of, 135-141
+    Lavas of Etna, 125-141
+    Linguaglossa, 70
+    Longitude of Crater, 2
+    Lucilius Junior, 7-9
+    Lucretius, 6
+    Lyell, 23
+    Lyell's Researches, 118-122
+
+    Magnetite, 139
+    Maletto, 68
+    Maps, Geological, of Etna, 117, 118
+      "   of Etna, 13, 16, 21-24
+    Mascali, 71
+    Microscopic Analysis of Lavas, 135-141
+    Milo, 108
+    Mineral Oil in Lava, 129
+    Minor Cones, 34-36
+    Mongibello, 3
+        "      Axis of, 122
+    Monte Calanna, 107
+       "  Capreolo, 118
+       "  di Mojo, 36,81
+       "  Minardo, 34
+       "  Ste. Sofia, 36
+       "  Fusara, 37
+       "  Grigio, 111
+       "  Lepre, 85
+       "  Nocilla, 118
+       "  Rosso, 99
+       "  Spagnuolo, 69
+       "  Ste. Sofia, 95
+    Monti Rossi, 35, 91
+    Mules, 47
+
+    Name of Etna, 3
+    Natural Boundaries of Etna, 30
+    Naxos, 81
+    Newer Pliocene Strata, 120
+    Nicolosi, 46
+    Nitride of Iron, 134
+
+    Observatory on Etna, 50
+    Oil, Mineral, in Lava, 129
+    Olivine, 139
+        "   Analysis of, 127
+
+    Palombe, Grotto delle, 37
+    Paterno, 63
+    Pennisi, Baron, 71, 72
+    Piano del Lago, 51
+       "  di S. Leo, 90
+    Piedimontana, Regione, 37, 38
+    Pii Fratres, 80, 81
+    Pindar, 4
+    Polarized Light, applied to Analysis of Lavas, 136-139
+    Polyphemus, Grotto of, 75
+    Population, 31-33
+    Position of Etna, 2
+    Presl's _Flora Sicula_, 41, 42
+
+    Radius of Vision, 28
+    Randazzo, 68, 69
+    Recupero, 17
+    Recupero's Account of Eruption, 99
+    Refraction, Effects of, 59, 60
+    Regions of Etna, 37-42
+    Regione del Fuoco, 37
+    River, Acis, 73
+    Road around Etna, 29
+    Rocca di Musarra, 98
+    Rocks of Cyclops, 75
+    Rutley's, Mr. Frank, Analysis of Lavas, 135-141
+
+    St. Agatha, Veil of, 83
+     "  Maria di Licodia, 64
+    S. Niccola, Monastery of, 92
+    S. Simone, 102
+    Salto della Guimenta, 106
+    Sand, Volcanic, Analysis of, 131
+      "   Specific Gravity of, 130
+    Scogli di Ciclopi, 75
+    Scoriae, Volcanic, Analysis of, 131
+       "    Specific Gravity of, 130
+    Serra delle Concazze, 59
+      "   del Solfizio, 59
+      "   di Giannicola, 107
+    Serrapizzuta, 89
+    Sicilian Inns, 65, 67, 69
+    Siderazote, 133, 134
+    Silvestri, Researches of, 25
+    Simeto, Valley of, 67
+    Smyth, 18
+    Smyth's Observations, 2
+    Snow of Etna, 59
+    Specific Gravity, Alteration of, 130
+        "       "     of  Ejectamenta, 130
+    Strabo, 6
+    Stars, Brilliancy of, 48, 49
+    Stato Maggiore, Map of, 24
+    Sulphur in Sublimations, 132
+    Sublimations from Fumaroles, 132
+    Summit of Cone, 53, 54
+    Sunrise seen from Summit, 54, 55
+
+    Tacchini, 50
+    Taormina, 71
+    Tertiary Sandstone of Bronte, 67
+    Thucydides, 5
+    Titaniferous Iron, 127
+    Torre del Filosofo, 10, 59
+    Towns on Etna, 31
+    Trezza, 75
+    Trifoglietto, Axis of, 121
+    Trunks of Large Chestnuts, 39
+
+    Val del Bove, 34, 71, 98, 100, 119-121
+     "  Serbo, 103
+    Valley of Alcantara, 69
+    Virgil, 5
+    Vision, Radius of, 28
+    Volcano, Growth of, 123
+    Von Waltershausen, 23, 120
+    Vulkanen Atlas, 116
+
+    Winchelsea, Lord, 12, 94, 95
+    Woody Region, 38
+
+    _Zeolite dure_, 127
+    Zones of Temperature, 38
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Transcribers Notes:
+
+OE ligatures have been written as two letters. The chemical formulae
+in this text have subscripts written in curly brackets. For example,
+water appears as H{2}O.
+
+Passages in italics indicated by _underscores_. Passages in Greek
+indicated by ~tildes~.
+
+Printer's errors corrected and other transcription points as follows:
+
+ Page    Correction
+ ---------------------------------------------------------------------
+   -     Some arcane spellings retained where verified as correct for
+         the time of publication or quote, such as 'musquitoes',
+         'plaintain', 'mettals', 'felspar', etc.
+   -     Italian quotations sometimes include phrases such as "sull'
+         Etna" or "dell' Asia". There should be no space after the
+         apostrophes but spaces are often present. This may have been
+         done to better space the text during justification. Such errors
+         have not been corrected.
+   -     The document is inconsistent in the use of commas where quoting
+         numbers of over 1,000; sometimes they are used and sometimes
+         they are not used. These inconsistencies remain.
+  ix     Added '.' at end of 'Silvestri' in text block to maintain
+         style of other entries.
+   x     Added '.' at end of 'Eruptions' in text block to maintain
+         style of other entries.
+   x     Added '.' after '1408' in text block to maintain style of
+         other entries.
+  xi     Added '.' after 'microscope' in text block to maintain style
+         of other entries.
+   4     Corrected 'ength' to 'length'.
+  12     Corrected 't'jncedie' to 't'incedie'. 't'jncedie' and
+         'treblement' both printed with tildes over the first
+         occurrence of e in each word. Tildes omitted in this version.
+  17     Corrected 'Guiseppe' to 'Giuseppe'.
+  27     Added end quotes after final word on page.
+  29     Inserted full-stop after '(S.W.)', to end sentence.
+  33     Corrected 'f' to 'of'.
+  42     'of-course' corrected to 'of course'.
+  44     Corrected 'unusally' to 'unusually'.
+  59     Corrected 'subsequenly' to 'subsequently'.
+  64     Corrected 'athough' to 'although'.
+  79     Added '.' after '812' in text block to maintain style of
+         other entries.
+  80     Anapias and Amphinomus printed with diacritic marks omitted
+         in this text (breves over first 'a' in 'anapias' and 'i' in
+         'Amphinomus').
+  82     Numbered list runs 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 5, 7, 8... Second occurrence
+         of 5 amended to 6.
+  85     'In the 1329' corrected to 'In the year 1329'.
+ 127     'the time analcite' corrected to 'the term analcite'.
+ 144     Corrected 'Guiseppe' to 'Giuseppe'.
+ 145     Corrected 'Miscroscope' to 'Microscope'.
+ 152     Corrected 'magnitite' to 'magnetite'.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Etna, by G. F. Rodwell
+
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