ENVIRONS OF NAPLES.
271
is consumed; but it rarely occurs that houses,
or other buildings, are destroyed by the pro¬
gress of the lava. The lava preserves its
interior heat a very long time, and as it cools,
it becomes as we mentioned before, as hard
as stone, and assumes a brown colour inter¬
mixed with red and blue spots. It is used for
paving the streets in Naples, and the neigh¬
bouring towns, and when it is properly
polished it becomes so glossy, that it is manu
factured into tables, and snuff boxes, and
even into rings and ear-rings.
The ashes of Vesuvius are nearly of the
same nature as the lava. The force with
which they issue from the crater, impels them
to a considerable height, and sustains them a
long time in the air. The wind sometimes
carries them to an astonishing distance. The
ancient writers assert, that during the erup¬
tion in the year 79, the ashes from Vesu¬
vius extended to Egypt and Syria, that they
reached Constantinople in 472, Apulia and
Calabria in 1139 ; and if they are to be