Page:Three Years in Europe.djvu/386

340 and motionless far below. On its shores the lovely town of Naples and its suburbs of Resina and Torre del Greco stretched their far white walls and white houses in pleasing contrast to the blue waters of the sea. While behind the towns stretched lovely green fields and pastures for miles and miles, looking from this height more like a beautiful and extensive picture on a canvas than a real landscape!

We descended from our carriage at last and I stepped into a hotel where a little hot luncheon with a half bottle of Italian wine were not altogether unwelcome after our long journey in this damp weather. Thus refreshed we began our ascent over the remaining portion of the hill. The slope here is so precipitous as to be impracticable for horses. A railway has accordingly been constructed, but the car is pulled up this almost perpendicular height not by steam or electricity, but by rope and pulleys, along the rails! In this way then we were gradually pulled up nearer and nearer to the summit. The temperature was rapidly growing colder and we saw patches of snow on the sides of the hill which contained living fire in its bowels! At last we reached the terminus, and from this point we walked up to the summit.

I stood on the very brink of the crater and looked on the volumes of white sulphurous smoke issuing from below. Visuvius is active now, and the smoke is accompanied every now and then by showers of stone issuing with great violence. The smoke issues with such great velocity