with their
golden showers, the smaller ones stopping still, the bigger ones rolling
down, and jumping along just like hares." "A wonderful pedestal," he
says, "for the explosion which surmounted it." How high the stones flew
up he could not tell. "There was generally one which went much higher
than the rest, and pierced upwards towards the moon, who looked calmly
down, mocking such vain attempts to reach her." The large stones, of
course, did not rise so high; and some, he says, "only just appeared over
the rim of the cone, above which they came floating leisurely up, to show
their brilliant forms and intense white light for an instant, and then
subside again."

Try and picture that to yourselves, remembering that this was only a
little side eruption, of no more importance to the whole mountain than
the fall of a slate off the roof is of importance to the whole house. And
then think how mean and weak man's fireworks, and even man's heaviest
artillery, are compared with the terrible beauty and terrible strength of
Madam How's artillery underneath our feet.

C
/ | \
/ | \
A /---+---\ E
/ | \
/-----+-----\ E
Ground / | B \ Ground
---------/ | \------------
| D | | D | D |
--+-----+--+---+-----+------
| | | | |
|

Now look at this figure. It represents a section of a volcano; that is,
one cut in half to show you the inside. A is the cone of cinders. B,
the black line up through the middle, is the funnel, or crack, through
which steam, ashes, lava, and everything else rises. C is the crater
mouth. D D D, which looks broken, are the old rocks which the steam
heaved up and burst before it could get out. And what are the black
lines across, marked E E E? They are the streams of lava which have
burrowed out, some covered up again in cinders, some lying bare in the
open air, some still inside the cone, bracing it together, holding it up.
Something like this is the inside of a volcano.

CHAPTER IV--THE TRANSFORMATIONS OF A GRAIN OF SOIL

Why, you ask, are there such terrible things as volcanos? Of what use
can they be?

They are of use enough, my child; and of many more uses, doubt not, than
we know as yet, or ever shall know. But of one of their uses I can tell
you.

They make, or help to make, divers and sundry curious thi