Page:Life in the Old World - Vol. II.djvu/322

332 the guardian saint of Naples and the Madonna, they told us, had been brought hither, and here they were invoked to intercede that the further advance of the lava might be stayed, but—so far it seemed with but little result, for it was still moving onwards. We stopped; alighted from our carriage, and walked on to the edge of the fiery current where we could see extremely well the mode of its advance. I cannot compare it to any thing else but thick, fiery porridge in which the groats are red-hot stones and cinders, and which pours along in heavy waves one over another, and on reaching any inequality or hollow in the ground, forms regular avalanches in which flames burst forth. Here and there the fiery porridge meets with some impediment, when it piles itself into lumps, which quickly accumulate into large heaps which grow black externally, till some fresh impulse from the crater causes them to burst, occasioning explosions from their fiery interior. We could see the crater perfectly well, because it lay on this side the mountain, and the stream of fire which flowed from it formed an almost straight line of—it was said—three English miles wide. This flowed on amidst an incessant crashing and crackling noise as from a mass of burning coal, and the heat was great. We had this stream continually on our right, as we, together with a vast number of people, in carriages, on horseback, and on foot, proceeded onward towards the Hermitage, the road to which is still unimpeded by the lava, as we were told. The road, which on the lower parts of the mountain had some very narrow, and in the throng, difficult passes, became afterwards broad and excellent.