II.—Notes on the late Eruption of Vesuvius

Extract

The Eruptions of Vesuvius naturally create a wider and deeper interest than those of any other volcano, owing to the mountain lying within sight and hearing of one of the most populous and frequented eities of Europe. And in these days of telegraphs and newspaper correspondence the mingled feelings of alarm and admiration which these phenomena excite at Naples are rapidly spread over the civilized world, tinged with all the exaggerations and embellishments that the imagination of writers, who, probably, witness an eruption for the first time, can bestow on them.