Etna : a history of the mountain and of its eruptions . celymove, than it was discovered that the courier hadomitted to get the key from Nicolosi, and there seemeda prospect of spending the hours till dawn in the openair. Fortunately we had with us a chisel and ageological hammer, and by the aid of these we forcedopen the shutter serving as a window, and crept intothe house; ten minutes later a large wood fire wasblazing up the chimney, our eatables were unpacked,some hot coffee was made, and we were supremelycomfortable. At 3 we left the Casa Inglesi for the summitof the great crater, 1,
Etna : a history of the mountain and of its eruptions . celymove, than it was discovered that the courier hadomitted to get the key from Nicolosi, and there seemeda prospect of spending the hours till dawn in the openair. Fortunately we had with us a chisel and ageological hammer, and by the aid of these we forcedopen the shutter serving as a window, and crept intothe house; ten minutes later a large wood fire wasblazing up the chimney, our eatables were unpacked,some hot coffee was made, and we were supremelycomfortable. At 3 we left the Casa Inglesi for the summitof the great crater, 1,200 feet above us, in order to bein time to witness the sunrise. Our road lay for ashort distance over the upper portion of the Piano delLago, and the walking was difficult. The brighter stars•had disappeared, and it was much darker than it hadbeen some hours before. The guide led the way witha lantern. The ascent of the cone was a very stiffpiece of work; it consists of loose ashes and blocks oflava, and slopes at an angle of 45° or more according. < zh u o Ld Z oo Q z < Id(/) u-Jo z SUNRISE FROM THE SUMMIT. 53 to one writer, and of 33° according to another; probablythe slope varies on different sides of the cone: we do notthink that the slope much exceeds 33° anywhere on theside of the cone which we ascended. Fortunately therewas no strong wind, and we did not suffer from thesickness of which travellers constantly complain in therarefied air of the summit. We reached the highestpoint at , and found a temperature of 47° F. When Sir William Hamilton ascended towards theend of June the temperature at the base of the mountainwas 84° F., and at the summit 56° F. When Brydoneleft Catania on May 26th, 1770, the temperature was76° F., Bar. 29 in. 8J lines ; at Nicolosi at midday onthe 27th it was 73° F., Bar. 27 in. 1± lines; at theSpelonca del Capriole (6,200 feet), 61° F., Bar. 26 lines; at the foot of the crater, temp. 33° F,, in. 4J lines,
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