longed suffering.

What a fine subject Pompeii would furnish for the pen of a Byron! As I have
before remarked, all the valuables and utensils of all sorts found here
have been removed to Portici; it is a great pity that everything could not
be left in Pompeii in the exact situation in which it was found on its
first discovery at the excavation. What a light it would have thrown (which
no description can give) on the melancholy catastrophe as well as on the
private life and manners of the ancients! But if they had been left here,
they would, even tho' a guard of soldiers were stationed here to protect
them, have been by degrees all stolen.

There were some magnificent tombs just outside the gates which must have
been no small ornament to the city.

We returned to Resina to dinner at six o'clock.

We had made an arrangement with one of the guides of Vesuvius called
Salvatore that he should be ready for us at Resina at seven o'clock with a
mule and driver for each of us to ascend the mountain, and we found him
very punctual at the door of the inn at that hour. The terms of the journey
were as follows. One _scudo_ for Salvatore and one _scudo_ for each mule
and driver for which they were to forward us to the mountain, remain the
whole night and reconduct us to Resina the following morning. The object in
ascending at night and remaining until morning is to combine the night view
of the eruption with the visit (if possible) to the crater, which cannot
with safety be undertaken by night, and to enjoy likewise the noble view at
sunrise of the whole bay and city of Naples and the adjacent islands. We
started therefore at a quarter past seven and arrived at half past nine at
a small house and chapel, called the hermitage of Vesuvius, which is
generally considered as half-way up the mountain. In this house dwells an
old ecclesiastic who receives travellers and furnishes them with a couch
and frugal repast. We dismounted here and our worthy host provided us with
some mortadella and an omelette; and we did not fail to do justice to his
excellent _lacrima Christi_, of which he has always a large provision. We
then betook ourselves to rest, leaving orders to be awakened at two o'clock
in order to proceed further up the mountain. There was a pretty decent
eruption of the mountain, which vomited fire, stones and ashes at an
interval of twenty-five minutes, so that we enjoyed this spectacle during
our ascent. A violent noise, like thu