and sulphur-suggesting colors.  And it actually had deep fissures in it, over which we stepped and among which we went, out of which came blasts of hot, horrid vapor, with a roaring as if we were in the midst of furnaces.  And if we came near the cracks the heat was powerful in our faces, and if we thrust our sticks down them they were instantly burned; and the guides cooked eggs; and the crust was thin, and very hot to our boots; and half the time we couldn’t see anything; and we would rush away where the vapor was not so thick, and, with handkerchiefs to our mouths, rush in again to get the full effect.  After we came out again into better air, it was as if we had been through the burning, fiery furnace, and had the smell of it on our garments.  And, indeed, the sulphur had changed to red certain of our clothes, and noticeably my pantaloons and the black velvet cap of one of the ladies; and it was some days before they recovered their color.  But, as I say, there was no sense of danger in the adventure.

We descended by a different route, on the south side of the mountain, to our horses, and made a lark of it.  We went down an ash slope, very steep, where we sank in a foot or little less at every step, and there was nothing to do for it, but to run and jump.  We took steps as long as if we had worn seven-league boots.  When the whole party got in motion, the entire slope seemed to slide a little with us, and there appeared some danger of an avalanche.  But we did n’t stop for it.  It was exactly like plunging down a steep hillside that is covered thickly with light, soft snow.  There was a gray-haired gentleman with us, with a good deal of the boy in him, who thought it great fun.

I have said little about the view; but I might have written about nothing else, both in the ascent and descent.  Naples, and all the villages which rim the bay with white, the gracefully curving arms that go out to sea, and do not quite clasp rocky Capri, which lies at the entrance, made the outline of a picture of surpassing loveliness.  But as we came down, there was a sight that I am sure was unique.  As one in a balloon sees the earth concave beneath, so now, from where we stood, it seemed to rise, not fall, to the sea, and all the white villages were raised to the clouds; and by the peculiar light, the sea looked exactly like sky, and the little boats on it seemed to float, like balloons in the air.  The illusion was perfect.  As the day waned, a heavy cloud hid the sun, and so let down the light that the waters were a dark purple.  Then the sun went behind Posilipo in a perfect blaze of scarlet, and all the sea was violet.  Only it still was not the sea at all; but the little chopping waves looked like flecked clouds; and it was exactly as if one of the violet, cloud-beautified skies that we see at home over some sunsets had fallen to the ground.  And the slant white sails and the black specks of boats on it hung in the sky, and were as unsubstantial