Traveller.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume I, Issue 62, 13 November 1880, Page 4 (Supplement)

Traveller.

ON VESUVIUS.

An hoot and a half of intereßting walking brings, us to the top,, where we halt. a moment to take a look into the crater, thinking this ia the end ot oar -journey ; bat' the guide beakqnß us ovei, and, folkviag Mm down the side ot the crater, we soon find ourselves on a level with the crusted lava, wbioh qovers nearly the whole surfdoe of the crater, about 150 or 200 feet below the top of the cone, and at a point where it broke down the wall of the latter in the eruption of 1872. This orusted lava of the orater is black, and looks mnob like slffg from a furnace, but in this case it is extreme); hot and smoking, and it requires great care in the orater not to have tbe boots burnt off, or the olothes set on fire, both of which accidents often happen. I walked out a considerable distanoe on the crust, which gave forth ominous, hollow Bounds in response to my footsteps and strokes from my stick. Here and there sudden puffs of steam would' throw up sprays of molden lava and sprirjkle people^ who happened to be near. One lady oi my acquaintance tans' had hor l umbrella burnt up, while a gentleman had hie clothing Bet on fiie, another, lost the soles off hie boots by walking on the hot erußt, and a lady saw tbe crust slowly rfse up at her feet and the molden mass flow slowly fiver. Of course a hasty retreat is the thing in such oases. The "molden mass flows to the surface at varioas points, and dipping it up on my Btiok, 1 embedded a number of copper coins in little masses of it. .As I walked about in ibis hot atmosphere the oomiction gradually dawned upon me that the orater of Vesuvius was a hallow aad deceptive mockery, and an excellent place to get away from. It seemed as if I were literally standing over the jaws of perdition and within a single step ot entering the seething realms of infernal spirits, and as this conviction gained strength I turned to retrace my steps, and as I did so I found an open seam, about a foot wide, in the crust behind me, and as I was about to step over this, on looking downward I flaw the white-hot mass within about three feet of the snriaoe and direotly beneath my feet. I quickly regained the smoking ashes of the cone at the side of the lava and immediately felt safer, and here I sat down to make further observations.— Cor. Boston Advertiser.