Page:Three Years in Europe.djvu/385

Rh To climb to the top of Visuvius and to look down on the boiling crater below had been my cherished desire since many a long year, and its fulfilment was luckily at hand! There is a company in Naples which spares modern tourists even the trouble of climbing, and takes them nearly to the summit of the volcano by a railway car! Early one morning then I paid my 28 francs at the office of this company and found myself along with a German traveller who spoke English, and an Italian priest who did not, journeying in a comfortable carriage drawn by two powerful horses, towards the summit of the volcano! We soon left the town behind and then began our ascent by a zigzag road up the side of the mountain. For miles and miles in every direction the sides and the base of Visuvius are covered by vast masses of lava, which have rolled down during long centuries and have congealed and formed themselves into all fantastic shapes and designs! As we slowly toiled up the winding path, we saw nothing on all sides of us but this uniform unending sheet of lava, stretching in black masses in every direction, and filling up every crevice and every slope of the hill. The weather was not fine, and torrents of rain descended as we drove upwards. From time to time however it cleared up, and as we ascended we had a most beautiful view of the town and the lovely bay sleeping below. I do not think I have ever looked on a prettier picture than this. The blue and placid bay of Naples with its magnificent curve, bounded far off by Capri and Ischia, slept gentle and azure