in the obscurest night, though it was in some degree dissipated
by torches and lights of various kinds. They thought proper to go down
further upon the shore, to ascertain whether they might safely put out
to sea; but found the waves still extremely high and boisterous. There
my uncle, having drunk a draught or two of cold water, flung himself
down upon a cloth which was spread for him, when immediately the
flames and their precursor, a strong stench of sulphur, dispersed the
rest of the company, and compelled him to rise. He raised himself with
the assistance of two of the servants, but instantly fell down dead;
suffocated, I imagine by some gross and noxious vapor. As soon as it
was light again, which was not until the third day after this
melancholy accident, his body was found entire, and free from any sign
of violence, exactly in the same posture that he fell, so that he
looked more like one asleep than dead."

In a second letter to Tacitus, Pliny in relating his own experiences,
says:

"Day was rapidly breaking, but the light was exceedingly faint and
languid; the buildings all around us tottered; and though we stood
upon open ground, yet, as the area was narrow and confined, we could
not remain without certain and formidable peril, and we therefore
resolved to quit the town. The people followed us in a panic of alarm,
and, as to a mind distracted with terror every suggestion seems more
prudent than its own, pressed in great crowds about us in our way out.

"As soon as we had reached a convenient distance from the houses, we
stood still, in the midst of a perilous and most dreadful scene. The
chariots which we had ordered to be drawn out oscillated so violently,
though upon level ground, that we could not keep them steady, even by
supporting them with large stones. The sea seemed to roll back upon
itself, and to be driven from its strands by the earth's convulsive
throes; it is certain, at least, that the shore was considerably
enlarged, and that several marine animals were left upon it. On the
other side, a black and terrible cloud, bursting with an igneous
serpentine vapor, darted out a long train of fire, resembling, but
much larger than the flashes of lightning.

"Soon after the black cloud seemed to descend and enshroud the whole
ocean; as, in truth, it entirely concealed the island of Caprea and
the headland of Misenum. The ashes now began to fall upon us, though
in no considerable quantity. Turning my h