[6] Bulwer Lytton's _Last Days of Pompeii_ presents to the reader a graphic picture of the terrible event here referred to:--"The eyes of the crowd followed the gesture of the Egyptian, and beheld with ineffable dismay a vast vapour shooting from the summit of Vesuvius, in the form of a gigantic pine tree; the trunk--blackness, the branches--fire! A fire that shifted and wavered in its hues with every moment--now fiercely luminous, now of a dull and dying red that again blazed terrifically forth with intolerable glare!... Then there arose on high the shrieks of women; the men stared at each other, but were speechless. At that moment they felt the earth shake beneath their feet; the walls of the theatre trembled; and beyond, in the distance, they heard the crash of falling roofs; an instant more and the mountain-cloud seemed to roll towards them, dark and rapid; at the same time it cast forth from its bosom a shower of ashes mixed with vast fragments of burning stone. Over the crushing vines--over the desolate streets--over the amphitheatre itself--far and wide, with many a mighty splash in the agitated sea, fell that awful shower." A visit to the disinterred city will probably produce on the mind a still more lasting and vivid impression of the swift destruction which overtook this city. [7] Quoted by Phillips, _loc. cit._, p. 45. [8] _Vesuvius_, p. 72 _et seq._ [9] Johnston-Lavis, "On the Geology of Monti Somma and Vesuvius," _Quart. Jour. Geol. Soc._, vol. 40 (1884). [10] Palmieri, _Eruption of Vesuvius in 1872_, with notes, etc., by Robert Mallet, F.R.S. London, 1873. [11] Those who lost their lives were medical students, and an Assistant Professor in the University, Antonio Giannone by name. [12] Involving, as Mr. Mallet calculates, an initial velocity of projection of above 600 feet per second. [13] Such as that given by Professor Phillips in his _Vesuvius_. CHAPTER II. ETNA. (_a._) _Structure of the Mountain._--Etna, unlike Vesuvius, has ever been a burning mountain; hence it was well known as such to classic writers before the Christian era. The structure and features of this magnificent mountain have been abundantly illustrated by Elie de Beaumont,[1] Daubeny,[2] Baron von Waltershausen,[3] and Lyell,[4] of whose writings I shall freely avail myself in the following account, not having had the advantage of a personal examination of this region.