8
that, although the town of Torre del Greco
was instantly surrounded with red-hot lava,
the inhabitants saved themselves by coming
out of the tops of their houses on the follow-
ing day. It is evident, observes Mr Kirwan,
that if this lava had been hot enough to melt
even the most fusible stones, these persons
must have been suffocated.
This eruption happened on the 15th of
June, at ten o'clock at night, and was an-
nounced by a shoek of an earthquake, which
was distinctly felt at Naples At the same
moment a fountain of bright fire, attended
with a very black smoke and a loud report,
was seen to issue, and rise to a considerable
height, from about the middle of the cone of
Vesuvius. It was hastily succeeded by other
fountains, fifteen of which were counted, all
in a direct line, tending, for the space of a-
bout a mile and a half downward, towards
the towns of Resina and Torre del Greco.--
This fiery scene—-this great operation of na-
ture--was accompanied by the loudest thun-
der, the incessant reports of which, like those
of a numerous heavy artillery, were attended
by a continued hollow murmur, similar to
that of the roaring of the ocean during a vi-
olent storm. Another blowing noise resem-
bled that of the ascent of a large flight of
rockets. The houses at Naples were for
several hours in a constant tremor, the doors
