FOOTNOTES:

FOOTNOTES:[1]Translated by Ernest Myers,m.a., 1874.[2]Translated by E. Myers.[3]Translated by E. Crawley.[4]De Naturâ Rerum, Book 6, p. 580. Translated by E. Munro 1864.[5]See Lucilius JuniorisAetna. 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.[7]Sketches in Italy and Greece, p. 201.[8]Petri BembiDe Aetna. Ad Angelum Chabrielem Liber Impressum Venetiis Aedibus Aldi Romani. Mense Februario anno M.V.D. (1495).[9]Fazzellus T.De Rebus Siculis. Panormi, 1558; folio.[10]Antonii Philothei de Homodeis Siculi,Aetnæ Topographia, incendiorum Aetnæorum Historia. Venetiis. 1591. Preface dated September, 1590.[11]Printed in vol. IV. ofMémoires pour servir a une description Geologique de la France. Par M.M. Dufrénoy et Elie de Beaumont.[12]EntitledGeognostiche 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.[14]Jahrbuch des Schweizer Alpen Club. Neunter Jahrgang, 1873-1874. Bern 1874.

[1]Translated by Ernest Myers,m.a., 1874.

[2]Translated by E. Myers.

[3]Translated by E. Crawley.

[4]De Naturâ Rerum, Book 6, p. 580. Translated by E. Munro 1864.

[5]See Lucilius JuniorisAetna. 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.

[7]Sketches in Italy and Greece, p. 201.

[8]Petri BembiDe Aetna. Ad Angelum Chabrielem Liber Impressum Venetiis Aedibus Aldi Romani. Mense Februario anno M.V.D. (1495).

[9]Fazzellus T.De Rebus Siculis. Panormi, 1558; folio.

[10]Antonii Philothei de Homodeis Siculi,Aetnæ Topographia, incendiorum Aetnæorum Historia. Venetiis. 1591. Preface dated September, 1590.

[11]Printed in vol. IV. ofMémoires pour servir a une description Geologique de la France. Par M.M. Dufrénoy et Elie de Beaumont.

[12]EntitledGeognostiche 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.

[14]Jahrbuch des Schweizer Alpen Club. Neunter Jahrgang, 1873-1874. Bern 1874.

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.

Inthe 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 differentperiods, 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 10,872½ 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 Œgadean 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 radiusgives 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 15½ 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 cannotbe asserted with any degree of accuracy to define the base of the mountain.

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 (ancientlySimæthus) 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 areaof 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 4½ 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 9¼ miles from thecrater. A circle, having a radius of 9¼ 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 9¼ 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 Cataniaand 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]

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 theVal del Bove, or in the language of the district Val delBue. 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, althoughits 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 theboccheandboccarellefrom which at any time lava or fire has issued. If these be included, no doubt these numbers are not exaggerations.

Grotto delle Palombe near Nicolosi

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 areseveral 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 calledBocche, 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 396b.c., it is 11½ 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°, startingmidway 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—thePiedimontanaorColtivata; theSelvosaorNemorosa; and theDesertaorDiscoperta. Sometimes the name ofRegione del Fuocois given tothe central cone and crater. As regards temperature, the zones correspond more or less to the Torrid, Temperate, and Frigid. The lowest of these, theCultivated 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.

TheWoody Regioncommences 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 1½ 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 celebratedCastagno 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 theCastagno 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, theRegione Coltivataof 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 theStereocaulon 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 thepteris aquilina, are found in abundance beneath the trees in the Regione Selvosa.

This division has been advocated by Presl in hisFlora 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, andRegio Lichenum, together extending from 6000 to 9,200 feet, belong to Etna alone.

At the conclusion of the first volume of Recupero'sStoria Naturale et Generale dell' Etnawe find a somewhat different botanical division proposed by SignorRafinesque-Schmaltz.[17]He makes his divisions in the following manner:—

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."

FOOTNOTES:[15]I am indebted for these figures to Mr. George Dennis, H.M. Consul General for Sicily.[16]"Flora sicula: exhibens Plantas vasculosas in Sicilia aut sponte crescentes aut frequentissime cultas, secundum systema naturale digestas." Auctore G. B. Presl. Pragæ, 1824.[17]Chloris Aetnensis: o le quattro Florule dell' Etna, opusculo del Sig. C. S. Rafinesque-Schmaltz, Palermo. Dicembre, 1813.

[15]I am indebted for these figures to Mr. George Dennis, H.M. Consul General for Sicily.

[16]"Flora sicula: exhibens Plantas vasculosas in Sicilia aut sponte crescentes aut frequentissime cultas, secundum systema naturale digestas." Auctore G. B. Presl. Pragæ, 1824.

[17]Chloris Aetnensis: o le quattro Florule dell' Etna, opusculo del Sig. C. S. Rafinesque-Schmaltz, Palermo. Dicembre, 1813.

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.

Theascent 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 orten 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 hasto 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 vinecladcone 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 afestain 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 hereand 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 oncesaw 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 theRegione 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 theRegione 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 seenthe 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 nothave 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 withmeteorological 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 theRegione Desertaand looking at the sky; at length we reach thePiano del Lagoor 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 thoroughlyrepaired 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.

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" accordingto 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. 8½ lines; at Nicolosi at midday on the 27th it was 73° F., Bar. 27 in. 1½ lines; at the Spelonca del Capriole (6,200 feet), 61° F., Bar. 26 in. 5½ lines; at the foot of the crater, temp. 33° F., Bar. 20 in. 4½ 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 darkergrey 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 timethe 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 downwith increasing velocity until it bounds off to the level plain below.

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