—Dr. Basire (who was archdeacon of Northumberland, prebendary of Durham, and chaplain to King Charles the Martyr and King Charles II.), in his account of a tour made by himself and companions in 1649, says:
"Wee landed to see Gaëta, a pleasant, strong, and very antient citty. In it we saw some wonders, especially the thorow rupture of a rocky mountain by an earthquake, which tradition sayes, and Cardinal Baronius publishes to have happened at our Savior's passion: a stupendous sight it is however, and well worth our digression."—Correspondence, &c., of Basire, edited by the Rev. W. N. Darnell, p. 90.
I cannot here consult Baronius, to see whether he gives any references, and should be very glad to be referred to any ancient historian who has noticed the event to which this remarkable chasm is attributed, and to know whether the tradition is preserved by any classical writer. I do not find the chasm in question described by any naturalist, or other traveller, whose writings I have been able to refer to. It is in a locality which abounds with indications of volcanic action. It is said that the Monte Somma was probably not distinct from the present cone of Vesuvius prior to the great eruption in A.D. 79. In Dr. Daubeny's Description of Active and Extinct Volcanos, mention is made of an ancient town beneath the town of Sessa, where a chamber with antique frescoes and the remains of an amphitheatre were disinterred, of the overwhelming of which there is no record, nor is there even a tradition of any eruption having occurred near it in the memory of man.
W. S. G.
Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
247. Cavalcade.
—Your correspondent MR. W. H. HESLEDEN, in his description of "A Funeral in Hamburgh" (Vol. iv., p. 269.), has twice made use of the word cavalcade in reference to that which would otherwise appear to be a walking procession. He will oblige me (and I dare say others of your readers) by explaining whether the procession was really equestrian, or whether he has any authority for the application of the term to pedestrians. The use of the word cannot have been a mere oversight, since it is repeated. The relation in which it stands makes it very doubtful whether it can, by any possibility, be intended to describe a riding party. If, by any latitude, the word may be otherwise applied, an authority would be interesting. If it is an error, it certainly should not go uncorrected in "NOTES AND QUERIES."
NOCAB.
Harley Street.