There are thousands of people in the villages and hamlets on Mount Ætna who have never been off the mountain during their lives, and pass the whole of their existence in a state of poverty like this. I asked him if his townspeople thought much of their danger in living in a place constantly threatened with showers of fire and torrents of burning lava. He replied, “_Niente! Niente!_” Not at all! Not at all! because the mountain always gives notice of its eruptions long beforehand, by subterraneous rumblings and shakings, and the people have time to save themselves before the mountain bursts out. So strong is the attachment of man to his native soil! CHAPTER IX. _A snow-storm on the mountain.--Trick of the guide.--Night’s lodging at the Englishman’s house.--Sunrise.--Journey up the cone.--Arrival at the top.--Description of the crater._ By daylight the next morning we were up and pursuing our journey. The sky was clear, and the air exceedingly cold. After about an hour’s travelling, we got through the woods, and came out into another immense field of barren lava. High above our heads rose the snowy cone of the mountain, glistening bright in the rising sun--a most magnificent spectacle. Farther on we came to a little hamlet consisting of a dozen or fourteen houses, inhabited by charcoal burners, and there were fifteen or twenty shabby-looking asses strolling about, apparently seeking for something to eat; but what sort of food they could pick up in this desolate place, puzzled me to guess. These animals, however, will eat almost anything, and can make a good meal upon coarse stalks and thistles. We passed by two or three large hills of a deep red color, that seemed to be recently thrown up by an eruption. Our path lay over rough heaps of broken lava, where a horse could not have gone without stumbling at every step, yet our sure-footed beasts carried us safely over the most difficult spots. About noon, the sky, which had hitherto been clear, began to grow overcast, and I could perceive that the smoke from the crater, instead of streaming off to the northeast, was now rolling down the side of the mountain directly toward us. This showed that the wind had shifted to the north, and I felt serious apprehensions when I observed the increasing blackness of the sky.