Religion's all! Descending from the skies,

The goddess in her left holds out this world,

And in her right the next."

The short fleeting period of mortal life will soon be ended; the graves are waiting for us, and we must shortly occupy the house appointed for all living.

"No more these eyes the sun shall view,

Earth o'er these limbs her dust shall strew,
And life's fantastic dream be o'er."

But there is an inconceivably momentous scene depending,—
the awful invisible world, the unchangeable eternal state.
And O, shall you, my beloved children, be with the damned
cast out, or numbered with the blest? God grant you may
be found with the latter! For what a rich reversion awaits
those who have done the will of God! If eye hath not seen,
ear hath not heard, nor yet hath it entered into the heart
of man to conceive what God hath laid up for them that love
Him, what amazing incentives are these to the practice of
piety! There is a further inducement, in that God has con-
descended to propose rewards to such as have the hardest
battles to fight, and the greatest difficulties to surmount:
Every man shall receive according to that he hath done;"
"Fight the good fight of faith;" "Well done, good and faithful
servant;" "Come off more than conquerors."
And if your
conduct shall have proved the happy means of leading num-
bers of souls into an acquaintance with God and with religion,
and you meet them at His right hand, this surely will be an
augmentation of your heavenly felicity. Such considerations
stimulate the mind to fresh ardour in the path of duty. Con-
sider not the difficulties of the way; but remember, "the
hardest fight is highest crowned." There are distinctions of
reward, degrees of glory, different orders of glorified spirits;
and a Divine Rewarder, who is not unfaithful to forget any
work of faith, any labours of love; who has palms of victory,
crowns of glory, to bestow, and who is preparing mansions
for such as are faithful unto death. My heart is full. Surely
I shall meet you in the regions of eternal bliss!

I must now take my leave of you, commending you to the

universal Parent. To Him, through Christ, direct your prayers. Your pious grandfather and grandmother, your own father and mother, are daily recommending you to His favour and protection. May these ardent requests be granted; and may their eternal success be celebrated in the courts above, when those venerable ancestors shall present us and ours, with their other descendants, before the Most High, saying, "Here, Lord, are we, and the children Thou hast given us." Once more I subscribe myself,

My dearest children,

Your affectionate Mother.

ERUPTION OF MOUNT ETNA.*

VIRGIL's description of an eruption might be adopted in the present instance to the letter:

"Sed horrificis juxtà tonat Ætna ruinis:
Interdumque atram prorumpit ad æthera nubem,
Turbine fumantem piceo et candente favillâ :
Attolitque globos flammarum, et sidera lambit:
Interdum scopulos avulsaque viscera montis
Erigit eructans, liquefactaque saxa sub auras
Cum gemitu glomerat, fundoque exæstuat imo."

All the descriptions that I have read, or heard from eyewitnesses, have embodied most of the features here so truly and finely painted. Still, in the present instance there are many peculiarities which call for a more detailed report, and which distinguish the present eruption as the grandest and most terrible that we have had for many years.

Its long duration is the first point which strikes us; for, beginning on the night of the 20th and 21st of August, it has continued with greater or less violence down to the present moment. The indications of its approaching activity were, as usual, the drying up of wells in the neighbourhood, the duration of most dense clouds of white smoke, which rose like a vast pine-tree, hollow rumbling sounds, and three violent

By a correspondent of the "Athenæum," in November last.

shocks, as of an earthquake. Shortly after, towards the east, two new mouths were opened in the site which is known under the name of the Valle del Leone. At first only clouds of a very fine ash were thrown up, which completely covered all the land near the mountain; and quantities of which being taken up still higher by an impetuous wind, were carried far off into the sea. These, however, were but a small instalment of what was to follow. Immediately afterwards an immense body of lava was vomited forth, which, precipitating itself down the mountain with the violence of a torrent, divided into three streams. One of these flowed in the direction of Zaffarana, another in the direction of the Comune of Giarra, more particularly on an estate called Milo, near Giarra. To give an idea of the immense quantity of liquid fire that was thrown out, official statements describe this river of lava as being two miles in breadth at the greatest, and ten palms in depth; whilst the rapidity with which it moved was such as to cover in one hour a space of not less than one hundred and sixty palms in extent. It seems that in a very short time, in consequence of the increasing strength of the eruption, the new mouths were broken up, so as to form one only, from which masses of rock and cinder were thrown into the air to a great height, and, falling on the wide extent of country round, carried with them the most fearful ruin. The utmost intensity of the eruption perhaps took place on the 25th, 29th, and 30th of August, and on the 4th of September. The rumbling subterraneous thunders were then incessant, as was also the shaking of the ground. To this add the clouds of smoke and flame which rested like an imperial diadem on the summit, and your readers may form some faint idea of the magnificent and awful spectacle which Etna on those days presented.

The accidents of the land, and the greater or less quantity of materials thrown out of the mountain, produced a great variety in the course of the streams of lava. Sometimes they appeared to drag their slow length along; sometimes to precipitate themselves with threatening violence, expanding widely till they covered vast spaces of land, or twisting and twining into the most capricious sinuosities, and, according to

the varying rapidity of their movements, varying their depth and extent. On the 22d of August the running lava is stated to have been eighteen palms deep; whilst on the 30th it had increased to two hundred and forty palms in some places. On the 31st of August the eruption still continued very violent. The lava, advancing on the village of Ballo, completely swallowed up several houses on that day, as also the road which divides it from Zaffarana. During the next two days it diminished in power, and hopes were entertained that one or two neighbouring villages might be saved. On the 4th of September, however, it again burst forth with unusual fury; thundering, shaking, and vomiting forth new matter in the direction of Milo. Thus the mountain continued its activity with greater or less violence throughout the whole month. If the lava flowed in smaller quantity, denser clouds of smoke arose, and a greater quantity of ashes and sand were thrown out. During the month of October much activity was manifested, though greater hopes were entertained that the eruptions might soon cease; and indeed now we may say that nothing more is to be apprehended.

The damage, however, that has been inflicted on the poor inhabitants is a sad fact, which it is difficult to estimate; for the course of the lava lay through a country of extraordinary fertility, and abounding in every species of vegetation. Had nothing but ashes been thrown out, all the saints in the calendar would have been festeggiati; for nothing is so productive of fertility as volcanic ashes: but what can make any impression on large masses of indurated lava but the slow operation of the elements, or what root for centuries will ever be able to pierce it except the prickly pear? The sufferings and losses of the people have been indeed most severe; and painful were the scenes which were witnessed by many a curious traveller. In the neighbourhood of Zaffarana, which has suffered the most, the inhabitants, at the very commencement of the eruption, fled from their homes; and, despairing of ever entering them again, tore away the wood from the roofs and the doorways, in order to erect some temporary cabins on a securer site. In the cellars, the wine, which is the great article of produce of the soil, and almost the only

resource of the inhabitants, was madly thrown about, and nearly entirely lost; from the wells, such water as remained was drawn off, to prevent new disasters: so that a country once smiling with beauty, and teeming with abundance, was, in a few hours, reduced to a mass of ruins; and, like decrepid old age, seemed to be awaiting the approach of the last fell destroyer. The calculations of the poor people were but too sure; for, shortly, the whole district, glowing with the purple grape, and every species of fruit, was swallowed up by the sea of fire, and the labour of years disappeared in a moment.

Those who have witnessed an eruption have been always struck with the apparent sympathy of the vegetable world with the surrounding ruin. As the lava approaches trees, they shrink, and tremble, and send forth sounds as if they were sensible of extreme suffering; and then, swaying backwards and forwards, yield to the power of the remorseless enemy. Such incidents, of course, were not unobserved during the recent eruption; and, in minds highly excited by the grandeur and terrors of the scene, and more susceptible than usual of impressions, they added not a little to the tragic character of the event.

Of course, every man, woman, and child who could go down, has been to visit Mongibello in all his grandeur; and we have had the usual quantum of personal adventures and hair-breadth escapes. One and the same, however, has been the impression of all; that he who has not seen a volcanic eruption has yet to see the grandest and most terrific object that nature can present.

I conclude this letter with a short description of the scene as I received it from a friend :

"After much struggling and falling, we at length reached the foot of a steep and rugged hill, soon after midnight; and there first we caught a glimpse of the eruption, though of our proximity we had been some time before convinced, by the roaring and the tremulous movements of the mountain. An hour's climbing brought us to the summit of this hill, which was composed of rock and large blocks of lava; and no easy matter was the ascent, as we had to use both hands and feet, and occasionally were obliged to assist each other up. When, VOL. XVII. Second Series.

C