A Tour Through Sicily and Malta: In a Series of Letters to William Beckford, Esq. of Somerly in Suffolk; from P. Brydone, ...W. Strahan; and T. Cadell, 1774 - 355 pages |
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A Tour Through Sicily and Malta: In a Series of Letters to William ..., Volume 2 Patrick Brydone No preview available - 2019 |
Common terms and phrases
Æneid Ætna affure aftoniſhment againſt almoſt amongſt antient appears befides beſt betwixt Catania cauſe caverns Charybdis coaft confiderable crater curious Cyclops deſcription difcovered diſcharged diſtance Empedocles eruption faid fame fays fecond feems feen feet feven feveral fhall fhew fide filk fince fineſt fingular fire firſt fize fnow folid fome foon formed ftill ftones fuch fummit fuppofed fure furface furrounded greateſt gulph height himſelf houſe immenfe increaſe iſland itſelf juſt laft laſt lava leaſt lefs likewife mafter Malta meaſured Meffina miles moft moſt moſt beautiful moun mount Etna mountain muſt Naples never obferved occafion ourſelves paffage paffed philofopher pleaſe pleaſure poffible prefent probably raiſed reafon Recupero refpect reft region rife rocks ſay ſcene ſee ſeems ſeen ſeveral ſhall ſhould Sicilian Sicily ſmall ſome ſpot ſtill Strombolo tain thefe themſelves theſe thofe thoſe thouſand told uſe vaft Vefuvius volcano wind
Popular passages
Page 56 - It certainly is not now so formidable ; and very probably, the violence of this motion, continued for so many ages, has by degrees worn smooth the rugged rocks and jutting shelves, that may have intercepted and confined the waters. The breadth of the Straits too, in this place, I make no doubt is considerably enlarged. Indeed, from the nature of things it must be so ; the perpetual friction occasioned by the current must wear away the bank on each side, and enlarge the bed of the water.
Page 202 - The scene still enlarges, and the horizon seems to widen and expand itself on all sides ; till the sun, like the great Creator, appears in the east, and with his plastic ray completes the mighty scene. All appears enchantment ; and it is with difficulty we can believe we are still on earth.
Page 138 - Near to a vault, which is now thirty feet below ground, and has, probably, been a burial place, there is a draw-well, where there are several strata of lavas, with earth to a considerable thickness over the surface of each stratum. Recupero has made use of this as an argument to prove the great antiquity of the mountain.
Page 205 - Etna, is the first object that calls your attention. It is marked out by a circle of snow and ice, which extends on all sides to the distance of about eight miles. In the centre of this circle the great crater of the...
Page 161 - Lives thro' all life, extends thro' all extent, Spreads undivided, operates unfpent; Breathes in our foul, informs our mortal part, As full, as...
Page 231 - When an equal quantity of this is diffused through the air, and over the face of the earth, every thing continues calm. and quiet ; but if, by any accident, one part of matter has acquired a greater quantity than another, the most dreadful consequences often ensue before the equilibrium can be restored.
Page 202 - Strombolo, and Volcano, with their smoking summits, appear under your feet; and you look down on the whole of Sicily as on a map; and can trace every river through all its windings, from its source to its mouth. The view is absolutely boundless on every side; nor is there any one object within the circle of vision to interrupt it, so that the sight is every where lost in the immensity...
Page 209 - ... air, instead of rising in it, as smoke generally does, immediately on its getting out of the crater rolls down the side of the mountain like a torrent, till, coming to that part of the atmosphere of the same specific gravity with itself, it shoots off horizontally, and forms a large track in the air, according to the direction of the wind, which, happily for us, carried it exactly to the side opposite to that where we were placed.
Page 206 - It is not smooth and even like the greatest part of the latter ; but is finely variegated by an infinite number of those beautiful little mountains that have been formed by the different eruptions of JEtna.
Page 361 - About three months ago, two knights had a difpute at a billiard table. — One of them, after giving a great deal of...