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THE

THE

EUROPEAN MAGAZINE,

AND

LONDON REVIEW,

FOR JANUARY 1803.

ABRAHAM NEWLAND, ESQ.

[WITH A PORTRAIT.]

HE uniformity of a life paffed in the fame daily routine of employment, and chiefly devoted to attention to figures, will afford but little of entertainment in the recital, The detail, however, will not be unintereft ing to thofe who fee with fatisfaction the rife, progrefs, and final settlement in eafe and affluence of unremitting industry and unimpeached integrity; nor will the leffon be a ufelefs one to thofe who look forwards to the fame advantages, which they may hope to attain by the like honourable means.

ABRAHAM NEWLAND is the fon of William Newland, of St. Saviour's, Southwark, baker, and was born, it is conjectured, about the year 1730. His education was calculated for the counting-house, in which he was placed at an early age, but in which he did not continue long, as in February 1747 he was appointed a Çierk in the Bank of England, and rofe by regular gradation in the establishment until January 1778, when he was advanced to be Chief Cashier. His father died in 1764.

It has been obferved, that at a certain period of life men both acquire and retain fingular habits either of regularity or diffipation. At fifteen minutes paft nine o'clock in the morn. ing, Mr. Newland is feen conftantly, at his defk, and is never abfent from his duty until three in the afternoon.

B 2

The only relaxation he has allowed himself, for many fummers paft, is a daily ride in the Iflington stage-coach to a cottage at Highbury, where he drinks tea, and, after contemplating the beauties of the country, returns regularly in the evening to the Bank; out of which, it is afferted, he has not flept a night for the latt five-andtwenty years. He refides in a fuite of apartments in the Bank, annexed to his office as Chief Cafhier; and being a bachelor, his establishment is not large, His bufinefs fince his introduction into public life has conftituted his plea fure; and he is faid to have been known to declare, that he has derived more real happiness from a fingle hour applied to the performance of his offi cial duty, than from a whole day spent in the moft convivial and entertaining fociety.

In the various negociations of the Bank with Government, Mr. Newland has been of eminent fervice, and his opinion in fome doubtful cafes has been decifive.

To expatiate on the talents, the regularity, and clearnefs, with which he acquits himself of the duties of the department placed under his direction, would be a needlefs repetition of the high encomiums paffed upon him by all those who, both in and out of the Bank, have had occafion to witness his abilities and excellent fyftem of conducting business.

415973

ACCOUNT

ACCOUNT OF A NEW SPECIES OF VOLCANO, AT THE MOUNTAIN OF MACCALUBA, IN SICILY.

BY M. DE DOLOMIEU, CORRESPONDENT OF THE ROYAL ACADEMY OF PARIS.

ON the 18th of September, 1781, going from Arragona to Girgenti, I went (fays the Writer) out of the direct road, to obferve a place called Maccaluba, which was pointed out to me as very fingular, by a variety of relations that had very much excited my curiofity. The foil of the country 1 traverfed, is effentially calcareons. It is overspread with mountains and hills of clay, in which the currents of water have made deep fiffures, and fome of which are lined with a gypfeous cruft. After an hour's walk I arrived at the place of deftination; I beheld a mountain of clay, flat on the top. The bafe exhibited nothing remarkable; but on the plain that terminates its height, I obferved the most fingular phenomenon that nature has ever yet prefented to my view.

The bafe of this mountain being circular, it imperfectly reprefents a truncated cone. Its elevation above the valley in which it is fituated, and almost enclosed, is one hundred and fifty feet; and the plain at top is in a fmall degree convex, and about half a mile in circumference. This plain is fo extremely steril, that the lightest trace of vegetation cannot be obferved. Every where on the fummit is feen a very great number of truncated cones, at various distances from each other, and of various heights. The highest may measure about two feet and a half, and the smallest are not more than two or three lines. At the fummit of every one is a crater, in the form of a funnel; the depth of which is about onethird of the height of the cone it belongs to. The foil they reft on is a grey clay, dry and cracked in every direction, the pieces being about four or five inches in thickness. The great vibration that is felt by walking on this plain, fhows that the furface confifts of a thin crust, which covers a foft and halffluid fubftance; and it is not without trepidation that an obferver perceives that this dried clay covers an immenfe gulf of mud, in which he runs the greatest rifque of being fwallowed up.

The interior part of each finall crater is always moift, and exhibits a continual motion. Every moment a mats of moistened clay, of a grey colour, is elevated from the lower part

of the crater; this mafs is of a convex figure, and rifes till it has entirely filled the whole cavity, and furmounts it in the form of an hemifphere, which bursts, and lets a quantity of air efcape, that caufed the whole effect. The bursting is attended with a noise refembling that produced by drawing a cork out of a bottle, at the fame time that the clay is thrown out of the crater, and runs down the fides of the cone like a lava, extending beyond its bafe, to a greater or less distance, according to its quantity. As foon as the air is thus difengaged, the rest of the clay that was not thrown out, falls down into the crater, which then refumes its first form, and preferves it till a new bubble endeavours to escape. In this manner there is produced a con tinual motion of depreffion and ele vation, more or lefs frequent; and the frequency is increafed by ftamping upon the cruit of clay with which the fummit of the mountain is covered.

If a tick be thrust into one of these craters, it returns by little and little, by tarts, but is not thrown to a dif tance, as I had been taught to expect. During the time I was employed in obferving the phenomena of this mountain, three of my attendants amused themselves by throwing pieces of the dried clay into the mouth of one of the largeft craters; the pieces were all fwallowed up, and an hour employed in this kind of work produced no other effect than that of dilating the orifice a little, without filling it up. Some of thefe hillocks are entirely dry, and give no longer paffage to the air. The whole number of cones exceeds an hundred, but this number varies every day. Befides the cones there are feveral round cavities in the foil itfelf, efpecially towards the west, where the plain is lefs elevated than elfewhere. 1 befe cavities are an inch or two in diameter, and are filled with dirty falt water, out of which bubbles are continually emitted without noise or explosion, but fimilar to the boiling of water upon the fire. On the furface of fome of thefe concavities, I found a pellicle of bituminous oil, of a fufficiently ftrong odour, of that kind. which is often confounded with the fmell of fulphur.

Such

Such is the ftate of this mountain* during the fummer and autumn, till the rainy feafon arrives, and this is the ftate in which I faw it. But the circumitances during the winter are very different; the clay on its fummit then becomes foft, and almoft fluid by the rain; the conical hillocks are diffolved, and nothing prefents itself to the fight, but a vaft gulf of argillaceous mud, of which the depth is unknown, and which cannot be approached but with the greatest danger. An uncealing ebullition prevails over all this furface; the air that produces it, has no longer any particular paffages, but burits forth alike in all parts.

These two states obtain only when the mountain is calm. It has likewife its time of grand fermentation, in which it prefents phenomena that fpread terror and affright into all the neighbouring places, and that refemble thofe which precede the eruptions of ordinary volcanoes; fhocks of earthquakes, often very violent, are felt to the distance of two or three miles; fubterraneous thunders and noifes are heard, and after feveral days progreffive increase in the interior fermentation, they are fucceeded by violent eruptions, attended with much noife, that throw the foil, together with mud, clay, and some stones, to the perpendicular height of more than two hundred feet; all the fe matters falt again upon the fame fpot from which they were projected. The explosions are ufually repeated three or four times during the twenty-four hours; they are accompanied by a fetid fmell of liver of fulphur, which fpreads itself over the adjacent parts, and fometimes it is affirmed there is an appearance of fmoke. After these eruptions, the preliminary phenomena ceafe, and the mountain again refumes one of the two ftates before described.

The eruptions of this remarkable and fingular Volcano happen in autumn, when the fummer has been long and dry, but the interval is not regular. Many years fometimes elapfe without one; and afterwards they take place in two fucceffive years, or two years ont of three, as in 1777 and 1779, which are the times of the laft eruptions. The regular interval of five years, concerning which different authors have Spoken, is contrary to obfervation.

At the distance of one league from the fea-coaft, behind Girgenti, is a place named Moruca by the antients, and now Maccaluba, where, on an eminence in the middle of a barren plain, are obferved feveral different apertures, which, by a gentle ebullition, throw out mud and troubled water. On the 13th of September last (1777) half an hour after fun-rife, a noife was heard at this place, which every moment increasing, became in a fhort time? louder than the loudeft thunder. This was fucceeded by a trembling of the earth in the neighbourhood, where' large apertures are ftill to be seen, at the fame time that the principal mouth by which troubled waters and mud commonly iffue forth, became enlarged in diameter to fix palms *. Out of this mouth there arofe, or was emitted, fomething that refembled a cloud of fmoke, and which, in a very few feconds, arrived to the height of twentyfour palms. Although the matter of this explosion had the colour of flame in fome of its parts, it contained nevertheless liquid mud, and lumps of clay, which in falling, fpread themselves over the circumambient foil. The greater part, however, fell again into the great mouth from which they had been difgorged; this eruption lasted half an hour, and was repeated three other times, with the intermiffion of a quarter of an hour, and the duration of a quarter of an hour. In the mean time, the motion and agitation of large matfes under the earth were heard, at the distance of three miles the noise refembled that of the fea in a storm. While thefe terrible phenomena lasted, thofe who were prelent thought the end of the world was come, and were terrified by the apprehenfion of being buried under the clay that was thrown out of the principal mouth. This mud covered all the neighbouring foil, to the depth of fix palms, besides filling up the adjacent vallies, and though this clay was liquid on the day of the eruption, it appeared on the following day to have recovered its confiftence, fo that feveral curious perfons were able to approach the great mouth in the middle, for the purpose of obferving it. This mud ftill retains the fmell of fulphur, though not fo strongly as on the day of the eruption. The other mouths, which were thut

The Naples palm is about 91 English inches.

during the eruption, have appeared again, and we still hear a fubterraneous murmur, that makes us apprehensive of another eruption.

We are always tempted to attribute effects nearly fimilar to the fame cause. It is feen that this mountain has erup. tions like Mount Etna; and this has been fufficient to induce the inhabit ants of its environs, and the few travel. lers who have obferved it, to fuppofe that all the phenomena depend on fubterraneous fires. I arrived on the spot, pre-occupied with the fame idea. I expected nothing more than to fee an ordinary volcano, either in the commencement or termination. I did not fufpect that there was any other agent in nature, except fire, capable of producing the phenomena that had been announced to me; but I was quickly undeceived. I saw nothing around me that indicated the prefence of the igne. ous element, which, when in action, impreffes a diftinctive character on all its productions; and I was foon convinced that Nature employs very different means to produce effects that refemble each other. I faw that fire was not the principal agent, nor even concerned in the phenomena of this mountain; and if, in fome eruptions, smoke and heat were observed, that these circumstances are no more than cafual or acceffory, and do not point out the true caufe of the exploĥions. But, previous to a developement of the nature of this new agent, it will be necessary to give a detail of fome circumftances which I may have neglected in defcribing the more obvious appearances relating to this fingular pheno

menon.

My firft endeavour, on my arrival on the plain of Maccaluba was to afcertain whether any heat exifted in the ebullitions I faw about me. It was not without apprehenfion that I walked on this tremulous plain. It appeared dan gerous to me to approach too near the larger cones, about which the ground was more worn than elsewhere, and might yield, and fuffer me to fink. However,encouraged by repeated trials, I advanced to the very centre of the plain. I thrust my hand into the fluid mud of the craters, and into the cavities that contained water in a state of ebullition; but instead of the sensation of heat I expected, I experienced that of cold. I then plunged my thermo meter, which in the open air ftood at

twenty-three degrees and a half, and it defcended three degrees. I thruft my naked arm as deep as I could into the mud of one of the craters, and I experienced a fenfation of ftill greater cold than at the furface. No smell of fulphur or fmoke could be perceived, and, in fhort, I could by no poffible means difcover any veftige of fire in the state the mountain was then in. This fact being well established, it was neceffary to examine whether the igneous element either affitted or acted as chief agent in the great eruptions. I already began to doubt. I examined every part of this plain, and all the exterior parts of the mountain, without discovering any fubftance upon which the fire had acted. On the contrary, I found evident tokens to prove that this deftructive agent had not existed. Among the ejected matter of the latt eruption I faw fat clays, that contained calcareous spar not at all altered, calcareous ftones abfolutely untouched, together with regular cryftals of fpar, and fragments of laminated felenite, or gypfum fpeculare. Thefe matters, that is to fay, the fpar and cryftallized gypfum, are altered by the most gentle fire, and the grey clay, by the action of heat, is baked into a red tile or brick. Since these fubstances carry no marks of fire, they cannot have been subjected to its action, and confequently it has not exifted in this fingular phenomenon. As foon as my obfervations had convinced me this mountain was not an ordinary volcano, I readily faw the caufe of all the phenomena. Á bottle being filled with the air which escaped from the mud and the water, instantly extinguished a taper plunged into it. This air, mixed with atmospherical air, produced neither flame nor explosion. I had no opportunity of making other ex periments, but thefe were fufficient to how that it was fixed air that is the only agent in the phenomena I have de fcribed. And it feems to me, that the following explanation gives the true folution of this problem, which at first appeared rather embarraffing.

I have already taken notice, that the foil of all the country is calcareous, It is covered with mountains of a grey and ductile clay, that often contains gypfum; and accident has placed a Ipring of falt water in the middle of that called Maccaluba, great numbers of which are every where in this country abounding with mines of rock-falt,

This water continually moiftens the clay, and afterwards exudes through one of the fides of the mountain. The vitriolic acid of the clay feizes, by its greater affinity, the bafe of the marine falt, and difengages the marine acid, which acts on the calcareous earth be neath the mountain. This laft combination difengages a vast quantity of fixed air, that traverfes the whole mafs of moist clay, and bursts out through the furface. The vitriolic acid of the clay may likewife combine directly with the calcareous stone, and continually form gypfum. The constant motion of fixed air through the clay produces an effect fimilar to that which would arise from kneading, that is, it augments its ductility and tenacity. During the winter, or rainy season, the clay is more moittened, the air dif. engages itself more eafly, and the ebullitions are more multiplied. During

the fummer, the furface of the clay becomes dry, and forms a cruft more or lefs thick. The air then must make an effort to escape, and iffues forth at the place where the refiftance is leaft. It heaps together, by little and little, the portions of earth it brings along with it, and forms fmall cones, in the middle of which it preferves a paffage. But when the fummers have been long, hot, and dry, the clay increases in tenacity and compactnefs. It is no longer permeable to the air, but refiits the efforts of its elafticity. The air accumulates continually, and at a cer tain point of comprehenfion produces earthquakes, fubterraneous thunders, and, laftly, the eruptions concerning which I have spoken: and the greater the refistance, the more confiderable the explosion. Thus it appears, that fixed air is the only agent in all the phenomena of this mountain.

DR. JOHN BUTLER, BISHOP OF HEREFORD, TO WILLIAM SEWARD, ESQ.

Hereford, May 10, 1795.

GOOD SIR, SHOULD deferve the implied rebuke you fent me, if I had known where to direct my warm acknowledgment of the favour I received from you. It was uneafy to me not to do this, after having been highly entertained and inftructed by your Anecdotes, which are well chofen, and apply fo directly, many of them, to what has paffed in the world for fome years, that you deserve the

thanks of every serious friend to mankind, to religion, and government.

I with you health, time, materials, and inclination, to add another volume or two. You cannot fail to find readers, and they will hardly find better employment.

I remain,

DEAR SIR,

Your obliged humble Servant,
J. HEREFORD.

GREEN-ARBOUR COURT,

WHERE DR. GOLDSMITH RESIDED IN 1758 AND 1759.
(See FRONTISPIECE.)

THE abode of genius, though humble, is always interefting, and the contemplation of it is calculated to imprefs pleafing fenfations on the mind. What numbers flock to Stratford upon Avon, to view the fpot and trace the fteps which Shakespeare trod! and who would omit to visit Chalfont, in Buckinghamthire, the low-roofed temporary residence of Milton, ftill in being? Pope's Villa at Twickenham is the delight of every person of talte; and

Stoke Poges, the retreat of Gray,

where he wrote his admirable Churchyard Elegy, and other works, will long attract the notice of "mufing melancholy."

With awful veneration ftill we trace

The fteps which he fo long before had

trod;

With rev'rend wonder view the folema place

From whence his genius foar'd to Nature's God.

• See Dunfter's Edition of Paradife Regained.

The

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