lava. Firm as the ice-rind on an island lake, lay here the hardened crust above this sea of fire. Over this we had to pass, and on the other side lay again the uneven blocks, upon which the strangers stood, and looked down upon the new torrent of lava, which they could see only from this point.

We advanced singly, with the guides at our head, upon the crust of lava; it glowed through the soles of our shoes; and around us, in many places, where the heat had caused great chinks, we could see the red fire below us; if the rind had broken, we should have been plunged into the sea of fire! We essayed every footstep before we took it, and yet went on hastily in order to pass this space, for it burned our feet, and produced the same effect as iron when it begins to cool and become black, which, when put in motion, instantly emits again fiery sparks; on the snow, the footprints were black, here red. Neither of us spoke a word; we had not imagined this journey to have been so fearful.

An Englishman turned back to us with his guide; he came up to me upon the very crust of the lava where we were surrounded by the fiery red rents.

"Are there any English among you?" he inquired. "Italian only, and a Dane," I replied..

"The devil!" that was all that was said.

We had now arrived at the great blocks on which many strangers were standing. I also mounted one, and before me, down the mountain side, glided slowly the fresh torrent of lava; it was like a redly glowing fiery slime, as of melted metal streaming from a furnace, and which spread out below us far and wide, to a vast extent. No language, no picture, can represent this in its greatness and its fearful effect. The very air appeared like fire and brimstone; a thick steam floated upwards over the lava stream, red with the strongly reflected light; but all around was night. It thundered below in the mountain, and above us ascended the pillar of fire, with its glowing stars. Never before had I felt myself so near to God. His omnipotence and greatness filled my soul. It was as if the fire around me burned out every weakness within me; I felt strength and courage; my immortal soul lifted its wings.

"Almighty God!" breathed forth my spirit, "I will be Thy apostle. Amid the storms of the world I will sing Thy name, Thy might, and majesty! Higher shall my song resound than that of the monk in his lonely cell. A poet I am! Give me strength; preserve my soul pure, as the soul of Thy priest and of Nature's ought to be!" I folded my hands in prayer, and, kneeling amid fire and cloud, poured out my thanks to Him whose wonders and whose greatness spoke to my soul.

We descended from the block of lava on which we stood, and were scarcely more than a few paces from the place when, with a loud noise, it sank down through the broken crust, and a cloud of sparks whirled aloft in the air; but I did not tremble ; I felt that my God was near to me; it was one of those moments in life in which the soul is conscious of the bliss of its immortality, in which there is neither fear nor pain, for it knows itself and its God.

All around us sparks were cast upwards from small craters, and new eruptions followed every minute from the large one; they rushed into the air like a flock of birds which flew all at once out of a wood. Federigo was as much transported as I was, and our descent from the mountain in the loose ashes corresponded with our excited state of mind; we flew; it was a falling through the air: we slid, ran, sank. The ashes lay as soft as new-falling snow upon the mountains. We needed only ten minutes for our descent, whereas we had required an hour in ascending. The wind had abated; our asses were waiting for us below, and in the hut of the hermit sat our learned man, who had declined making the wearisome ascent with us.

I felt myself animated anew. I turned my glance continually backward; the lava lay in the distance like colossal, falling stars; the moon shone like day. We travelled along the edge of the beautiful bay, and saw the reflection of the moon and the lava in two long stretches of light, the one red; the other blue, trembling on the mirror of the waters. I felt a strength in my soul, a clearness in my comprehension; yes if I may compare the small with the great, I was so far related to Boccaccio, that the impression of a place, and its momentary inspiration, determined the whole operation of the spirit.

Virgil's grave saw his tears, the world his worth as a poet; the greatness and terror of the volcano had chased away depression and doubt; therefore, that which I saw this day and this evening is so vividly impressed upon my soul; therefore have I lingered over this description, and have given that which then stamped itself upon my breast, and which I otherwise must have spoken of at a later period.

Our learned man invited us to accompany him home. At the first moment I felt some embarrassment, a strange reluctance, after the last scene between me and Santa, to see her again; but the greater and more important decision in my soul soon annihilated this lesser one.

She took me kindly by the hand, poured us out wine, was natural and lively, so that at last I upbraided myself for my severe judgment upon her; I felt that the impure thought existed in myself; her compassion and sympathy, which she had evidently expressed so strongly, I had mistaken for unworthy passion. I sought now, therefore, by friendliness and jest, which was quite accordant with my present state of mind, to make up for my strange behavior the day before. She seemed to understand me, and I read in her glance a sister's heartfelt sympathy and love.

Signora Santa and her husband had never yet heard me improvise; they urged me to do so. I sang of our ascent to Vesuvius, and applause and admiration saluted me. That which Annunciata's silent glance had spoken was poured in eloquent language from Santa's lips, and they became doubly beautiful from these words: the eye burned with looks of gratitude into my very soul.

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I

CHAPTER XVIII.

AN UNEXPECTED MEETING. MY DÉBUT IN SAN CARLO.

T was decided that I should make my début as Improvisatore. Day by day I felt my courage to do so increase. In Maretti's house, and in the few families whose acquaintance I had made there, I contributed, by my talent, to the entertainment of the company, and received the warmest praise and encouragement. It was a refreshment for my sick soul; I experienced a joy therefrom, and a gratitude towards Providence, and nobody who could have read my thoughts would have called the fire which burned in my eyes vanity; it was pure joy! I had really a sort of anxiety about the praise which they bestowed upon me; I feared that I was unworthy of it, or that I should not always be able to preserve it. I felt it deeply, and ventured to express it, although it concerned me so much. Praise and encouragement are the best school for a noble soul; where, on the contrary, severity and unjust blame either render it timid, or else awaken defiance and scorn. I had learned this by my own experience.

Maretti showed me much attention, and went out of his way to serve me, and introduced me to persons who could be useful to me in the path which I had chosen for myself. Santa was infinitely mild and affectionate towards me; and yet it seemed to me that a something within me ever repelled me from her. I always went with Federigo, or when I knew that they had company with them; I feared lest the late scene should be renewed. Yet my eye dwelt upon her when she was not aware of it; and I could not help thinking her beautiful. It happened with me, as it so often happens in the world, people are jested with; they are told that they love somebody that they have never thought about, nor have paid much attention to. But then comes the desire to see what there may

be in this person, and why they should be fixed upon for our choice. One begins with curiosity, which becomes interest; and one has had examples of interest in a person becoming love. With me, however, it went no further than attention a sort of outward regard which I had never known before, but just sufficient to excite a beating of the heartan anxiety which made me bashful, and kept me at a distance from her.

I had now been two months in Naples ; on the next Sunday I was to make my début in the great theatre of San Carlo. The opera of the "Barber of Seville" was given that night; and, after this, I was to improvise on given subjects. I called myself Cenci; I had not the boldness to have my family name placed on the bill.

An extraordinary longing for the decisive day which was to establish my fame filled my soul; but with it there often went also an anxiety, a feverish terror, through my blood. Federigo comforted me: said that that came from the air — he, and almost everybody else, felt the same: it proceeded from Vesuvius, whose eruptions increased so greatly. The lava stream was already come below the mountain, and had taken the direction towards Torre del Annunciata. We could hear, in an evening, the thundering reports in the mountain; the air was filled with ashes, which lay thickly upon the trees and flowers. The top of the mountain stood enveloped in tempest-brooding cloud, from which, with every eruption, darted forth the zigzag pale-blue lightning. Santa was unwell, like the rest. "It is fever," she said, and her eye burned. She looked pale, and expressed herself very much troubled about it; because she must, and would, be in San Carlo on the evening of my début.

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"Yes," said she, "that I shall, even though I have a fever three times as severe the day after. I shall not remain away. One must venture one's life for one's friends, even if they know nothing about it!"

I passed my time now on the promenades, in the coffeehouses, and at the various theatres. Again, my excited state of mind drove me to the churches, to the foot of the Madonna ; there I confessed every sinful thought, and prayed for cour