1O
so as to have given a great extension to the
mouth of Vesuvius, which was conjectured to
be nearly two miles in circumference. This
sinking of the crater was chiefly on the west
side, opposite Naples, and, in all probability,
occurred early in the morning of the 18th,
when a violent shock of an earthquake was
felt at Resina, and other places situated at
the foot of the volcano. The clouds of smoke
which issued from this now widely-extended
mouth of Vesuvius were of such a density as
to appear to force their passage with the ut-
most difficulty. One cloud leaped itself on
another, and succeeding each other incessant-
ly, they formed in a few hours such a gigantic
and elevated column, of the darkest hue, over
the mountain, as seemed to threaten Naples
with immediate destruction, it having at one
time been bent over the city, and appearing
to be much too massive and ponderous to re-
main long suspended in the air.
From the above time until 1804, Vesuvius
remained in a state of almost constant tran-
quillity. Symptoms of a fresh eruption had
manifested themselves for several months,
when at length, on the night of the 17th of
August, a deep roaring was hard at the Her-
mitage of Salvador, and the places adjacent
to the mountain, accompanied by shocks of
an earthquake which were sensibly felt at
Resina, On the following morning, at noon,
