COTOPAXI. Cotopaxi is the loftiest of the volcanoes of the Andes which at recent periods have undergone eruptions. It lies near the equator, and yet, its summits are covered with perpetual snows. Cotopaxi is 18,876 feet in height,--that is, about three miles and a half perpendicular, above the level of the sea. Were Mount Vesuvius placed on the top of the Peak of Teneriffe, this mountain would exceed it in height, 2,622 feet! The following description should not fail to produce in our minds a solemn awe of God, who shows his power and majesty in the irruptions of volcanic mountains! In 1738 , the flames of Cotopaxi rose 3,000 feet, or upwards of half a mile, above the mouth of the crater! In 1744, the roarings of this volcano were heard at the distance of 600 miles, nearly the extent of Great Britain. On the 4th of April, 1768, the quantity of ashes ejected at the mouth of Cotopaxi was so great, that thick darkness covered the sky till three in the afternoon. The explosion which took place in 1803 was preceded by the sudden melting of the snow that covered the mountain. It is singular, that for twenty years before, no smoke or vapour appeared to issue from the crater. But in a single night, the subterraneous fires became so active, that at sun-rise, the external walls of the cone, heated to a very considerable temperature, appeared naked, and of the dark color which is peculiar to vitrified scoriae. Humboldt observes, "At the Port of Guayaquil, fifty-two leagues distant, in a straight line from the crater, we heard, day and night, the noise of this volcano, like continued discharges from a battery; and we distinguished these tremendous sounds even on the Pacific Ocean."