was rent in a north-west direction and a
copious torrent of lava issued forth. Two large craters formed at the
summit of the mountain, discharging incandescent projectiles and ashes.
A cloud of smoke enveloped the unhappy visitors, who were under a
hail-storm of burning projectiles. Eight were buried beneath it, or in
the lava, while eleven were grievously injured.[11] The lava-stream,
flowing over that of 1871 in the Atria, divided into two branches, the
smaller one flowing towards Resina, but stopping before reaching the
town; the larger precipitated itself into the Fossa della Vetraria,
occupying the whole width of 800 metres, and traversing the entire
length of 1300 metres in three hours. It dashed into the Fossa di
Farone, and reached the villages of Massa and St. Sebastiano, covering a
portion of the houses, and, continuing its course through an artificial
foss, or trench, invaded cultivated ground and several villages. If it
had not greatly slackened after midnight, from failure of supply at its
source, it would have reached Naples by Ponticelli and flowed into the
sea. The eruption towards the end of April had reached its height. The
Observatory ridge was bounded on either side by two fiery streams, which
rendered the heat intolerable. Simultaneously with the opening of the
great fissure two large craters opened at the summit, discharging with a
dreadful noise an immense cloud of smoke and ashes, with bombs which
rose to a height of 1300 metres above the brim of the volcano.[12] The
torrents of fire which threatened Resina, Bosco, and Torre Annunziata,
and which devastated the fertile country of Novelle, Massa, St.
Sebastiano, and Cerole, and two partially buried cities, the continual
thunderings and growling of the craters, caused such terror, that
numbers abandoned their dwellings, flying for refuge into Naples, while
many Neapolitans went to Rome or other places. Fortunately, the paroxysm
had now passed, the lava-streams stopped in their course, and the great
torrent which passed the shoulders of the Observatory through the Fossa
della Vetraria lowered the level of its surface below that of its sides,
which appeared like two parallel ramparts above it. Had these streams
continued to flow on the 27th of April as they had done on the previous
night, they would have reached the sea, bringing destruction to the very
walls of Naples. During this eruption Torre del Greco was upraised to
the extent of two metres, and