istinguishing each other by their voices; one lamenting his own fate,
another that of his family; some wishing to die from the very fear
of dying; some lifting their hands to the gods; but the greater part
imagining that the last and eternal night was come, which was to destroy
the gods and the world together. Among them were some who augmented the
real terrors by imaginary ones, and made the frighted multitude believe
that Misenum was actually in flames.

"At length a glimmering light appeared, which we imagined to be rather
the forerunner of an approaching burst of flames, as in truth it was,
than the return of day. However, the fire fell at distance from us; then
again we were immersed in thick darkness, and a heavy shower of ashes
rained upon us, which we were obliged every now and then to shake off,
otherwise we should have been crushed and buried in the heap.

"I might boast that, during all this scene of horror, not a sigh or
expression of fear escaped me, had not my support been founded in that
miserable, though strong, consolation that all mankind were involved in
the same calamity, and that I imagined I was perishing with the world
itself! At last this dreadful darkness was dissipated by degrees, like a
cloud of smoke; the real day returned, and soon the sun appeared, though
very faintly, and as when an eclipse is coming on. Every object that
presented itself to our eyes (which were extremely weakened) seemed
changed, being covered over with white ashes, as with a deep snow. We
returned to Misenum, where we refreshed ourselves as well as we could,
and passed an anxious night between hope and fear, for the earthquake
still continued, while several greatly excited people ran up and
down, heightening their own and their friends' calamities by terrible
predictions. However, my mother and I, notwithstanding the danger we had
passed and that which still threatened us, had no thoughts of leaving
the place till we should receive some account from my uncle.

"And now you will read this narrative without any view of inserting it
in your history, of which it is by no means worthy; and, indeed, you
must impute it to your own request if it shall not even deserve the
trouble of a letter. Farewell!"

DION CASSIUS ON THE ERUPTION

The story told by Pliny is the only one upon which we can rely. Dion
Cassius, the historian, who wrote more than a century later, does not
hesitate to use his imagination, telling us that Po