appeared like so many white specks in the vast plain, and even Naples occupied but an insignificant portion of the wide-spreading landscape. And who could in such a situation forget that beautiful passage of Cicero, in his Somnium Scipionis, where the sage, in his contemplation of the heavens, beheld the number and magnitude of the stars to be so great, and the earth so small, that he expresses himself as being ashamed of the Roman empire, which appeared like a single spot of the universe? O, that we were accustomed to the contemplation of celestial objects and heavenly hopes for then would the possessions of earth dwindle into insignificancy before our view, and its glory and its beauty would resemble the gaudy wings of a butterfly, which just then obtruded itself upon my notice, and courted a passing regard. "What do you here at this time of the year?" was the involuntary expression of my mind. "You gaily flutter about; but one cold night will lay your beauties in the dust!" I had a desire to grasp it, and keep it as a memento of Vesuvius; but I could not muster resolution enough to rob it of the few short hours it might yet have to live. Had I done so, Cowper, for whom I have the greatest veneration, would not have deigned to enter me on his "list of friends," condemning, as he does, the man

"Who needlessly sets foot upon a worm." And as to the inhabitants of the woods, he says,—

"When held within their proper bounds, And guiltless of offence, they range the air,

Or take their pasture in the spacious

field;

There they are privileged; and he that

hurts

Or harms them there, is guilty of a wrong."

And when they do not interfere with man's rights or claims,

"They are all the meanest things that

Since such sentiments are those of a philosopher as well as of a Christian man, I could never make a collection of insects, reptiles, or any other animate beings, in order to gratify the "lust of the eye." In my boyhood, fishing was a favourite sport of mine; not that monotonous trade of throwing lines out of a boat into the sea; but the angling with rod and line in the sparkling brook, which dashes down the wild and solitary glen. But my conscience was always uneasy; it was done for pastime, not from necessity; and though I broke the neck of every fish the moment it was taken out of the water, yet whenever I looked back upon it, and above all, when I saw the innocent worm writhing upon the hook, I have thrown down the rod, and felt that, notwithstanding the hackneyed excuses for the sport, I had lost all the pleasures of the excursion.

But I am a rambler. In two hours and a half we reached the foot of the cone, where we partook of the light refreshment already mentioned; and then, leaving our attendants and the donkey, and being armed with iron-pointed staves, we proceeded to mount to the summit.

The ascent is very steep, and is rendered still more difficult by reason of the ashes and loose pieces of lava, in which the foot must tread; so that the traveller often slides down as fast as he mounts up. customed to the climbing of mounBeing young and nimble, and actains, I outstripped my guide, and we reached the summit of the old crater in half an hour, being about half of the usual time occupied in so doing. As this had appeared to be the top of the mountain, I was surprised on reaching it to find a large plain of lava, with a smaller crater rising up on one side to a considerable elevation. As we were passing over this extensive level, Salvador stopped short and struck the paveA hollow ment with his stick. sound reverberated through the mountain, and made me start with amazement. Do you hear that? said my guide, "Yes," I replied:

"what is the cause of it?" "Formerly," said he, "this was an open crater, two thousand feet in circumference, and fifteen hundred in depth; but it was covered over by an eruption which took place two years ago, when also the small crater was formed; and it is over that crust that we are now walking." I sounded again, and listened to the hollow echo. "And is it so?" I exclaimed : "and if this thin crust were to give way, should we be precipitated fifteen hundred feet into the fire beneath?" "Yes, indeed," he replied; "and there are many presages of an approaching eruption; for the mountain is very uneasy at present. Put your hand here!" I did so, but instantly withdrew it; for a stream of the hottest vapour emanated from a fissure in the pavement. Proceed," I said; "for my feet are burning by this momentary stoppage," although they were guarded by a strong pair of boots.

66

We walked onward, and I mused upon the uncertainty of human events, and the suddenness with which destruction often arrives; and thought of the necessity of being always prepared for a future world, lest the crust of life should suddenly break through, and we should be precipitated into a more fearful flame than that which now raged beneath my feet. We soon reached the foot of the small crater, which was in volved in much sulphureous smoke, arising in a multitude of little jetties from the side of the volcano. The ascent was therefore difficult, both from the lava and ashes on which we trod, and the suffocating atmosphere which we were compelled to breathe. Salvador informed me that this crater was four hundred feet in circumference, and was now in a very unsettled condition, of which I speedily had ocular demonstration; for, upon our first looking down into its mouth, it was comparatively clear of smoke, a small half-stifled flame only arising in one of the corners of the bottom. I

asked Salvador if it was not practi

cable to descend into the crater. He informed me that this could

only be effected by having two men to hold the adventurer with a rope tied round his waist; but that no person would be so inconsiderate as to attempt it in the present state of the volcano. He had scarcely finished speaking, when it was suddenly filled with a dense sulphureous vapour, which must have proved fatal to any living creature in the hollow, as it even obliged us to turn away from the brink, in order to recover breath. Respiration was, however, difficult in any situation, and I quickly requested my guide to descend.

It is thus that many toil after the grandeur and honours of this changing world; and when, by dint of much labour, they have reached the desired distinction, and raised themselves to that state of eminence which they had envied as being the pinnacle of human bliss, they turn away with discomplacency from the attained possession, and sigh after that humbler condition in which they once enjoyed a richer quiet and security. Let those who are engaged in the pursuits of ambition remember that they are but climbing up the crater of a volcano which is at all times insecure, and where pure enjoyment is impossible, and the descent from which is sometimes fearfully rapid.

We retraced our steps, and again passed over the encrusting top of the large crater; but crossed in a different direction from that for merly taken, that we might descend by another side. "Look at your watch," said Salvador; with which I immediately complied, and marked "Folthe precise minute of time. low me;" and away he sprang like a bounding stone driven down a hill. I

followed him, wondering at his boldness at thus dashing down so very steep a place; but speedily discovered that this side of the crater was covered with the finest dust of lava, so that treading upon it was like standing upon wool. We leaped down, every jump carrying us twice as far as the spring which we took, by reason of the yielding nature of the ground; and had we fallen headlong, we could not have been

seem as if Satan reigned in this unhappy world, and grudged its inhabitants the enjoyment of God's ancient blessing," Increase and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it." To the depopulating systems of Heathenism, ancient and modern, I have no hesitation in adding another system equally heathen in its origin, its worship, its genius, and its tendencies. I mean Popery. Perhaps Protestant charity revolts at this classification; and the perusal of these lines may be interrupted by the exclamation, Nay, for Christ is there." His name is there; but it is vox et præterea nihil; his image is there, but I believe it was sometimes found in the cabinets of liberal Romans, among their other gods. His Spirit is not there. But let us come to facts; and as a Missionary in Spain, I will refer to that country, not only as half unpeopled by the doings of Inquisitors and Monks, long before the present civil war, but as still sustaining a fearful waste of life by a system of infanticide, existing in close connexion with the Clergy, and sustained by their influence, and perhaps for their convenience.

It is universally known that the Court of Rome has done precisely what St. Paul declared it would do. It has, for the better maintenance of its own policy, forbidden its Priests, Monks, and Nuns to marry. It is equally certain that, in order to render their canonical obedience apparent, many thousands of men in every Popish country, living in concubinage or otherwise, have to keep the numerous class of females who share their dwellings, out of sight; and it is further notorious that, by some contrivance or other, they must keep their children out of sight also. We shall have to inquire after these children. Every one who has any knowledge of the domestic manners of Spaniards in their own country, knows the mournful fact of the prevalence of licentiousness; and often, indeed, have I heard Spaniards, both married and unmarried, male and female, declare that connubial fidelity is comparatively little known, and that the marriage state is rather

dreaded than desired; that is to say, celibacy is universal with the Clergy as a duty, and with the mass of the people it is prevalent as a fashion; and this celibacy is but too frequently a mask worn over crime. From this cause also, many children are abandoned by their parents, who have cast away the sense of moral obligation. I will describe the manner in which multitudes of their children are disposed of, both in Portugal and Spain.

In every town of Spain, and I believe of Portugal also, there is, or should be, a building set apart for the secret deposition of those children whom it may not be agreeable to their parents to maintain at their own homes. It is called, la casa de expositos, "the house for exposed children." A hole is prepared in the thick wall of the building, in which is fixed a sort of trough, or manger, with straw. This is called, la cuna, "the cradle." This cradle is accessible from the inside for the removal of the children, as from the outside, for their deposition. It is covered by a trap-door which is never fastened, but falls of itself, and furnished with a bell, which the bringer of a child is to ring; which done, he or she quietly walks away, no discovery or pursuit being apprehended. But no one ever confesses himself to have been there. The utmost indication of care for the abandoned babe is, to place with it a certificate of baptism, that if it die it may have Christian burial; or some little mark, such as a piece of riband, which is equivalent to a promise that, in consideration of a somewhat more careful attention to the child, an alms will be sent in for the institution. But all this is anonymous, and the seal of secrecy is never broken; so that the parent will scarcely hear whether the infant dies or lives, and no responsibility is incurred on its account. Women of the lowest order, frequently mothers of such children themselves, are the nurses; and two, three, frequently four children, and sometimes more, are dependent on one nurse. They had little regard for their own children, and