When one jet was about half high, another rose so as to keep
up the action without intermission; and in the lower part of the
fountain two subsidiary curved jets of great volume continually
crossed each other. So, "alone in its glory," perennial, self-born,
springing up in sparkling light, the fire-fountain played on as the
hours went by.
From the nearer margin of this incandescent lake there was a mighty
but deliberate overflow, a "silent tide" of fire, passing to the
lower level, glowing under and amidst its crust, with the brightness
of metal passing from a furnace. In the bank of partially cooled
and crusted lava which appears to support the lake, there were rifts
showing the molten lava within. In one place heavy white vapour
blew off in powerful jets from the edge of the lake, and elsewhere
there were frequent jets and ebullitions of the same, but there was
not a trace of vapour over the burning lake itself. The crusted
large area, with its blowing cones, blotches and rifts of fire, was
nearly all visible, and from the thickness and quietness of the
crust it was obvious that the ocean of lava below was comparatively
at rest, but a dark precipice concealed a part of the glowing and
highly agitated lake, adding another mystery to its sublimity.
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