s of lava had flowed through them;
that is, lava which had issued from the mountain within a few hundred
years. From the road where the carriage was now moving, the party could
look down upon the beds of these streams, and as the lava had already
become partially decomposed, they looked like immense fields of rich
brown soil turned up by the plough. These valleys, by which the mountain
sides were furrowed, were so large, and the streams of lava in the beds
of them were comparatively so small, that Mr. George said he did not
wonder that the people in the towns along the sea shore were not more
afraid of living so near the mountain.

"There is room enough in these valleys," said he, "to hold the lava of a
thousand eruptions, before they would be filled up."

At length the carriage arrived at the Hermitage. The building stood, as
Rollo had seen with his opera glass from the balcony of the hotel, at
the outer extremity of a spur of the mountain, a mile or two from the
foot of the great cone. The road to the foot of the great cone lay along
the crest of the ridge. The observatory, which was a larger and
handsomer building, stood just above and beyond it, and was surrounded
with very pretty gardens.

The grounds around the Hermitage were very fertile, and though they were
steep and broken, they were so laid out in vineyards and groves of
mulberry trees, and the sun shone upon them so pleasantly, that they
presented a very attractive appearance. The Hermitage was a plain, but
neat stone building, massive and white, with a broad area before it,
where a great many carriages, and also a great many donkeys and mules,
all saddled and bridled, were standing. The carriage drove up rapidly,
and stopped before the door.

Here followed another noise and uproar, from beggars, musicians, mule
and donkey men, guides, and boys, who gathered about the carriage in a
crowd as soon as it stopped, all clamoring for money or employment. Mr.
George paid no attention to them, but assisting Mrs. Gray and Rosie to
descend, he led the way into the house. There was a boy at the door to
receive him. The boy led the way up a narrow flight of stone stairs to a
sort of hall, surrounded on every side by massive walls of stone. There
were two or three desolate-looking rooms opening from this hall. The
room doors were open. The floors were all of stone. There were tables
set in these rooms, and different parties were seated at them, partaking
of refreshme