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ACCOUNT OF MOUNT ÆTNA

AND

ITS ERUPTIONS.

1

"THIS mighty and imposing mountain, which rises in solitary grandeur to the height of above ten thousand feet, and embraces a circumference of one hundred and eighty miles, is entirely composed of lavas, which, whatever subordinate differences may exist between them, all possess the appearance of having been ejected above the surface of water, and not under pressure.

"In the structure of this mountain, every thing wears alike the character of vastness. The products of the eruptions of Vesuvius may be said almost to sink into insignificence, when compared with these coulées, some of which are four or five miles in breadth, fifteen in length and from fifty to one hundred feet in thickness, and the changes made on the coast by them are so considerable, that the natural boundaries between the sea and land seem almost to depend upon the movements of the volcano.

"The height too of Etna is so great,
VOL. I.
L

See page 148.

that the lava frequently finds less resistance in piercing the flanks of the mountain, than in rising to its summit, and has in this manner formed a number of minor cones, many of which possess their respective craters, and have given rise to considerable streams of lava.

"Hence an ancient poet has very happily termed this volcano the parent of Sicilian mountains, an expression strictly applicable to the relation which it bears to the hills in its immediate neighbourhood, all of which have been formed by successive ejections of matter from its interior.

"The grandest and most original feature indeed in the physiognomy of Etna, is the zone of subordinate volcanic hills with which it is encompassed, and which looks like a court of subaltern princes waiting upon their sovereign.

"Of these, some are covered with vegetation, others are bare and arid, their relative antiquity being probably denoted by the progress vegetation has made upon their surface, and the extraordinary difference that exists in this respect seems to indicate that the mountain, to which they owe their origin, must have been in a 10-SATURDAY, MARCH 15, 1828.

state of activity, if not at a period antece dent to the commencement of the present order of things, at least at a distance of time exceedingly remote.

"The silence of Homer on the subject of the eruptions of Etna is indeed often quoted in proof of the more modern date of this volcano; but to such negative evidence we have to oppose the positive statement of Diodorus Siculus, who notices an eruption long anterior to the age of this poet, as he says that the Sicani, who with the exception of the fabulous Cyclops and Lestrigons, were the first inhabitants of the island, and who are admitted on all sides to have possessed it considerably before the Trojan war, deserted the neighbourhood of Mount Etna in consequence of the terror caused by the eruptions of the volcano.

"This is confirmed by Dionysius Halicarnassus, who states that the Siculi, who passed over from Magna Græcia about eighty years before the Trojan war, first took possession of that part of the island which had been deserted by the Sicanians so that it is probable that the mountain was

at that period tolerably tranquil, and supposing no eruption to have taken place from that time till the age of Homer, it is by no means unlikely, that in a barbarous age, the tradition of events so remote may have been in great measure effaced, and thus have never reached the ears of the Greek poet.

"The earliest historian by whom the volcano has been noticed is Thucydides who says, that up to the date of the Peloponesian war, which commenced in the year 431 B. C. three eruptions had taken place from Mount Etna, since Sicily was peopled by the Greeks. It is probably to one of these that Pindar has alluded in his first Pythian Ode, written according to Heyné, in consequence of the victory obtained by Hiero in the year 470 B. C. It may be remarked that this poet particularly speaks of the streams of lava which if we may judge from Vesuvius, are less usual concomitants of the first eruptions of a volcano.

Diodorus Siculus mentions an eruption subsequent to the above, namely in the 96th Olymp or 396 years B. C.

which stopped the Carthaginian army in their march against Syracuse The stream may be seen on the eastern slope of the mountain near Giarre, extending over a breadth of more than two miles, and having a length of twenty-four from the summit of the mountain to its final termination in the sea. The spot in question is called the Bosco di Aci; it contains many large trees, and has a partial coating of vegetable mould, and it is seen that this torrent covered lavas of an older date which existed on the spot.

"Four eruptions are recorded to have happened between this period and the century immediately preceeding the Christian era, during which latter epoch the mountain seems to have been in a state of frequent agitation, so that it is noticed by the poets among the signs of the anger of the gods at the death of Cæsar.

"After this for about a thousand years its eruptions are but little noticed, but during the last eight centuries they have succeeded each other with considerable rapidity. Referring however to the chronological list of the eruptions of the mountain for a specification of these, I shall here merely allude to such as have produced some remarkable change in the character of the country.

"In the memorable eruption of 1669,

and in 1302 there was an eruption of Mount Epemeo in Ischia. From 1329 to 1719 there were forty-two eruptions of Etna, not quite one to a century. Vesuvius gave in the same time, or rather from 1306 to 1822, forty-two eruptions; the ratio of time a little more.

"It appears from this table that the nearest coincidence between the eruption of the two volcanos was in 1694 and in 1811, when they occurred within a month of each other, and that on eight several occasions an interval of less than half a year elapsed between them, viz. that of Vesuvius December 2, 1754, was followed by one of Etna on March 2, 1755; Vesuvius August 3, 1779, by Etna May 18, 1780; Vesuvius October 31, by Etna July 28, 1787; Etna June, 1788, by Vesuvius February, 1799; again followed by one of Etna in June, same year; Etna March 27, 1809, by Vesuvius December 10, 1809; Vesuvius October 12, 1811, by Etna October 25, 1811; again followed by Vesuvius December 31, same year; Vesuvius May 27, 1819, by Etna, November 25, same year."

Laconics;

OR,

a rent twelve inches in length took place Pithy Remarks and Maxims, collected

the sea,

on the flank of the mountain above Nicolise, about half-way between Catania and the summit, and from this fissure descended a torrent of melted matter, which continued flowing for several miles, destroyed a part of Catania, and at length entering formed a little promontory, which serves to arrest the fury of the waves in that quarter, at the same time the accumulation of matters ejected, raised on the mountain two conical hills called the Monti Mossi, which measure at their base, about two Italian miles, and are in height more than three hundred feet above the slope of the mountain, on which they are placed." Ferrara.

The earliest eruption of Etna that is recorded, was about 480 years before Christ, and there were nine others before that epoch, besides one of the Eolian Isles and one of Ischia. Vesuvius had no eruption during this period, nor is any previous one known, although it is certain that there must have been eruptions more ancient than any that are recorded of Etna, and the same remark may be made of Etna itself.

From the birth of Christ to 1824, there were only six eruptions of Etna; in the mean time there were nine of Vesu

from various Sources.

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HE that sinks to a familiarity with persons much below his own level, will be constantly weighed down by his base connexions; and though he may easily plunge still lower, he will find it almost In 1198, the Solfaterra was inflamed, impossible ever to rise again.

vius.

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MYSTERY.

THE feeling excited by mystery, is, a union of wonder and curiosity, and when the mystery is deep, becomes a sublime, and at the same time, a humbling emotion. Having its foundation in a principle of order, it necessarily involves the higher powers of intellect, and affords, what philosophers have sometimes been at a loss to find, a ground of distinction between man and the brutes We may therefore esteem it, notwithstanding implies ignorance, an evidence of our dignity. It is obvious also, that it must most frequently arise in contemplative and philosophic minds.

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This knight, before, by thirst of glory fir'd,
With other warriors to the fight aspir'd;
And yielding then to Tancred's nobler claim,
Mix'd with the throng that to attend him came:
But when he thus th' enamour'd youth beheld,
All motionless, neglectful of the field,
Eager he starts t' attempt the glorious deed;
Less swift the tiger's or the panther's speed!
Against the mighty Saracen he press'd,
Who sudden plac'd his ponderous spear in

rest.

But Tancred now, recovering from his trance

Saw fearless Otho to the fight advance: Forbear! the field is mine! (aloud he cries)

In vain he calls, the knight regardless flies. Th' indignant prince beheld with rage and shame ;

He blush'd another should defraud his name, And reap th' expected harvest of his fame.

And now Argantes, from his valiant foe, Full on his helm receiv'd the mighty blow. With greater force the Pagan's javelin struck The pointed steel thro' shield and corslet broke :

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Prone fell the Christian thundering on the
sand; *
Unmov'd the Saracen his seat maintained;
And, from on high, inflam'd with lofty pride,
Thus to the prostrate knight insulting cry'd:

Yield to my arms! suffice the glory thine
To dare with me in equal combat join.
Not so (cried Otho) are we fram'd to yield,
Nor is so soon the Christian courage quell'd;
Let others with excuses hide my shame,
'Tis mize to perish, or avenge my fame!
Book VI.

REJECTED LOVE.

For the Olio.

Blow, blow, ye winds, thy mighty power
Adieu thou misty shore,
Farewell for aye, thou lovely flower,

I ne'er shall see thee more.

Rage on, rage on, consuming fire,

Pierce deep, thou rancorous dart, And deeper still, I court your ire, Though deadly is thy smart.

Welcome to me, thy dying glow,

And welcome, death, thy mace; Gladsome I greet the kindly blow, That, creeping, comes apace.

Still in my wayward flickering dreams,
That seraph form I see,
And in that eye, there sweetly gleams
A ray of love on me.

But transient are those dreams, alas!
And falsely shines that ray,
In mockery's guile, from me they pass,
Like fairy-love, away.

I met her in her halls of pride,
Amid the mazy throng,

I saw her in her bowers glide

With careless step, along.

Burn on, burn on, thou ruin'd wreck,
Drink deep of sorrow's brine,
Encompass'd is that envied neck,
By happier arms than thine.

* See the Embellishment, illustrative of the above, page 145.

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DANIEL AND SARAH:
OR, A

SKETCH OF A COUNTRY COUPLE.
(For the Olio.)

Content,
In the low vale of life."-COWPER'S SOFA.

DANIEL and Sarah lived more than half a century together. That love which united their hearts in youth, remained with them to the end of their travel. Daniel was tall, thin, and fair: Sarah was short, stout, and dark. His voice was shrim and goat-like her's was deep and strong. He sang a counter-tenor: she sang a full diapason bass. The disposition of their sexes seemed changed. What she inherited, he did not possess. Yet, so

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amiable a couple, jogging through the storms of life, and combatting care, is not to be found in every circle. It is singular that Daniel never used the razor, but that Sarah shaved. But their taste was similar, and, their love of news gave indisputable evidence of it. Daniel would sit and read the whole of a newspaper, while Sarah listened remarked and digested. Then she would read it to him, while he argued the disputable points which came in contact with his moralities and politics.

Not a hundred yards from the bridge under which the river Avon runs,-in the straggling but improved village of Christian Malford, stands a neat and large dissenting meeting-house. This was formerly a Malt-house, which retains the original white and curdled cement floor. At the cottage adjoining this structure, Daniel and Sarah resided. Before the door, rather on the ascent, was a tiled porch, on which sun-green moss and yellow stonecrop grew, in company with the wallflower. Sarah here kept a shop, as a thin, narrow, licensed, strip of board, briefly indicated. Daniel supplied the commodities from an extensive dealers, in SuttonBenger. Under the meeting-house pulpit is an old arm chair, perhaps less remarkable important than Edward's or Macbeth's. than Gay's or Bunyan's, and, certainly less In this chair, as it was with that of Dr. Johnson, Daniel in worship times, regularly sat. His sunday clothes, which changed not with the biting-tooth of the moth, nor the slakeless thirst of time, was of the old cut, and the old school. His coat was a double-milled light drab, with cuffs and collars. There were silver buttons with his initials D. B. engraved, two on each cuff, and a shining row down the front, with six to each pocket behind, and two to each pocket at the side, well covered with flaps as large as the lid of a salt-box. He wore a calf-skin waistcoat, with deep pockets and parted off in front. His leather inexpressibles were, like a razor-strop, smooth and glossy, and crimped flaps reposed at the knee, and, as the gills of a cock, hung over his red garters and speckled worsted stockings. Then his shoes with a famous pair of silver buckles, that gave the tongue a sidelong lap over the shoe, clean and supple with currier's oil Day and Martin's Blacking had not then reached the village; and country prejudices in Daniel's time were strong against the use of any substance to leather but oil. His watch with a steel chain and brass seal, was silver and turnip-shaped; his buckle that fastened his plaited shirt at the breast, was formed like a heart, and his wedding accepted token. The studs at his wristbands were impressed in glass

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