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of the horizon around us; and the sun, though shining in full splendour, was completely eclipsed; but the points of the jets, receiving his rays as they rose through the vapour, wore the most charming lustre, being white and glistening as snow. The instant all was over, Mr Hodgson and I repaired to the foot of a small cataract, at the northern base of the mound, over which the streamlet is precipitated in its way down to the river, and had a pleasant bath in the warm water as it fell upon us from the rock above.

A small preliminary eruption again took place at seventeen minutes past one, and another four minutes before two. The basin continued filling, till within three minutes of three, when, after a number of very loud reports, the water burst, and the spouts rose with a noise and velocity which I can compare to nothing more aptly than to those of a quantity of large rockets fired off from the same source. This eruption was the longest of any we saw: a space of eight minutes and ten seconds elapsing from the first propulsion of the water from the basin, till it again subsided into the pipe. The jets were also much higher than in any of the former eruptions, yet none of them exceeded an hundred feet.

The most enrapturing scene, however, that we beheld, was exhibited on the morning of the 30th. About ten minutes past five, we were roused by the roaring of Strockr, which blew up a great quantity of steam; and when my watch stood at a full quarter, a crash took place as if the earth had burst, which was instantaneously