•S'J HJi 13 . J. H™ 11 **' 8 I private library, No. n DUKE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY FRIENDS OF DUKE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY GIFT OF ► Mrs. W. Carroll Barnes * TOUR THROUGH SICILY and MAlJM I N A SERIES OF LETTERS'% TO WILLIAM BECKFORD, Esq, OF SOMERLT IN SUFFOLK ; FROM P. B R Y D O N E, F.-jL & I N TWO VOLUME S. Printed at GREENFIELD, Massachusetts "By THOMAS D I C K M A N, For THOMAS & ANDREWS : Sold at theh BOOKSTORE, NO. 45, NEWBURY STREET, BOSTON, .AND BY THE PRINTER, #>Jk IN GREENFIELD. M,DCC,XCVIII, 1 (3 ADVERTISE M H A D there been any book in onr lan^ on the fubjecl of the following letters, they naver m have feen the light. The Author wrote amufement of his friends, and as an affiftance to memory ; and if it will in any degree apolog" their imperfections, he can with truth declare tf never were intended for publication : Nor indeed that idea fuggefted to him, till long after they v written. One principal motive, he will own, defire of giving to the world, and perhaps of tr ting to pofterity, a monument of his friendihip with gentleman to whom they are a&drefTed. . When Mr. Forfter's tranflation of Baron B book firft appeared, thefe letters were already prefs, and the author apprehended an anticipat; fubjecl ; however, on perufal he had the faL find, that the two works did not much interfere In tranfcribing them for the prefs, he fc und it fary both to retrench and to amplify ; by which i of the epiftolary ftyle has probably fuiFere '. of the letters have been extended much K j original length. He now prefents them to the Public with the great- eft diffidence ; hoping that fome allowance will be made for the very inconvenient circumftances, Tittle favour* able to order or precifion, in which fome of them were written : Eut he would not venture to new model them ; apprehending, that what they might gain in form and expreflion, they would probably lofe in cafe and fimplici- ty ; and well knowing that the original impreffions are better defcribed at the moment they are felt, than frona t\ic moft exaft recolleftion. CONTENTS THE TWO VOLUMES, LETTER I. p. i. SMIMATE of Naples— Compared With that cf Rome, ^ — Si race iv'tnd — Antidote aga'infl its ejfeBu Coajt of Bala, &c. LETTER II. p. S. Voyage from Naples to Mtjjina. — Bay of Naples, — Lipari ijlands. — Strombolo.—Scylla. — Cal. LETTER III. p. 2$. Harbour of Meffina. — Charybdis. — Galleys. — V a convent. — Feaji of St. Francis. — Advantages of Mcjjina for valetudinarians. LETTER IV. p. 35. Sicilian banditti. — A famous diver.— Cbarybd't Feajl of the Vara.—Singular pfaenomt A 2 -i-4i ii CONTENTS. LETTER V. p. 47. Journey to Taurominum. — Coafi of Sicily. — Nelrades. — theatre of Taurominum.-— Naumachia; — Refer- voirs, &c. LETTER VI. p. 52. Journey to Jaci. — Mount Mtna. — Pie dmont.~S mall Volcanos. — Torrent of boiling water. — Great chef nut trees, — Age of the lava. — River of Acis. LETTER VII. p. 63. Journey from Jaci to Catania. — Coajl formed of lava. — Confiicl betwixt the fire and water. — Harbour of lava. — St. Agatha's veil — Its power over Mount Mt- na. — Great antiquity of the eruptions of this mountain. LETTER VIII. p. 67. Prince of B'fcaris — His mufeum.— -Convent of Bene' diclines. — Lava run over the walls of Catania— Antiquity of this city. — Revenue of the bijhop raifcd from the fale of the fnow of Mtna. — Earthquake 1693. — Antiquities. — Elephant of lava. — Heathen temple converted into a church .-—Refemb lance of the Catholic to the ' Pagan rites. — Saints dif graced. — Devotion of the Catholics. — Preparations for afcending Mount JEtna. LETTER IX. p. 78. Journey up Mount Mtna. — Three regions of the moun- tain. — Common progrefs of an eruption. — Leffer mountains formed on Mtna. — Difference of Mtna and Vefuvius. — Fate of the country near Hyhla. — Montpelieri. — Celebrated Jiatues covered by the lava. — Eruption of 1669. — Dreadful effe els of the lava. — Singular fate of a vineyard. — Mouth from whence this eruption iffued,—-A cavern. — Wildnefs *f the 'CONTENTS. nt inhabitants of JEtna. — Converfatton vuitb them,— La Regione Sylvofa. — La Spelonca del Capriole,— Vievj of the Jetting fun. — Pafs the night in a cavern. . — Eruption of 1766. — Lava not jet cold. — //; vafl depth, LETTER X. p. 91. Continuation of the journey up Mount JEtna. — Difficul- ties attending it. — Torre del Filofofo. — Diftincluefs of vifion. — Conical mountain. — Summit of JEtna.— Prof peels from it. — Regions of the mountain. — Cra- ter. — Reflexions. — Defcent from JEtna, LETTER XI. p. 104. Menfuration of heights by the barometer. Not reduced to a certaim'y. — Suppofed height of JEtna. — Mag- netical needle agitated on the mountain. — Elcclncity of the air near volcano:. — Singular effecls of eleftrici- tj* — Lightning from the J "moke of JEtna. — Variety of waters on the mountain. — Subterraneous river.— Periodical and poifonjus firings. — Caverns. — Plants and flovoers of JEtna. — Wild beajls. — Hor/es. — Cat- tle. — Crater falls in every century. — Anjinomus and Anapius, their filial piety. — Earthquake 1169.— - Eruption 1669. — Poetical defcriptions of JEtna, LETTER XII. p. 123. Voyage from Catania to Syracufe. — Coafi formed by Mount JEtna. — Homer takes no notice of this moun- tain. — Virgil lands his hero at the foot of it. — Vieiu of mountain from thefea. — Circumference of JEtna,— River Simetus. — Amber found near its mouth.— Lakes of Beviere and Pant ana. — Leontine fields.—* Augufla. — Syracufe.— Remains of antiquity. — Latomie, — Ear of Dionyfius.— Amphitheatre.— Catacombs.— • Temp It s. — Ortigia. — Fortification. — Fountain of Are- thuf a. —Fictions concerning it t —Alphceus» — Harbours ' -■'" iv CONTENTS. of Syracufe. — Arching •dcs~~ His burning glaffes.— Magnificence of the Undent Syracufe.— Poverty of the modern, LETTER XIII. p. i 4 6. Voyage to Pachinus or Capo Pajfero.— Maltefe fparcn- aros — Method of rowing them.— A hurrican . — Cap§ Pajero.— Barrennefs of the country. — Danger of this Coajl. — Method of avoiding it. LETTER XIV. p. ic 3 . Sulphureous lake. — Serpent. — Voyage to Malta. LETTER XV. p. 157. Malta. — Its productions. — Corn — Cotton — Oranges. — Indufiry of the Maltefe. — Departure of a Maltefe .— Harbour of Malta. — Fortifications.— -Public buildings. — 'Church of St. John.— -Coajp: racy of the Turkijh jlafemple of Ceres at Enna.— Temple of Venus Erecina. — Difference of Homer and Virgil in their accounts of Sicily* CONTENTS. vii LETTER XXXII. p. 295. Monte Pelegrino. — St, Rofolia. — Ancient fortrefs. — Situation of Palermo* — Antiquity of that city, — Infcriptions. LETTER XXXIII. p. 301. Utility of Ices in a hot climate. — Sicilian fifheries.—— 'The c l unny jjjh. — The Pejce Spada, or Sword filb. — Method of fijhing in the night.— Coral fijping.— OppreJJion of the goba*. Bickfo*d, I REMEMBER to have heard you regret, that in all your peregrinations through Europe, you had ever negleded the ifland of Sicily j and had fpent much of your time in running over the old beaten track, and in examining the threadbare fubjecHs "of ttaly and France ; when probably there were a variety of objects, aot lefs interefting, that (till lay buried in oblivion in that celebrated ifland. We intend to profit from this hint of yours. Fullarton has been urging me to it with all that ardour, which anew profpeft of acquiring knowledge ever infpires in him ; and Glover, your old acquaintance, has promifed to accompany us. B 2 A TOUR THROVSH The Italians reprefent it as impoffible : As there are mo inns in the ifland, and many of the roads are over dangerous precipices, or through bogs and forefts, in- fefted with the moft refolute and daring banditti in Europe. However, all thefe confiderations, formidable as they may appear, did not deter Mr. Hamilton,* his lady, and Lord Fortrofe.+ They made this expedition laft fumraer ; and returned fo much delighted with it, that they have animated us with the ftrongeft defire of enjoying the fame pleafure. Our firft plan was to go by land to Return, and front thence, crofs over to Meffina ; but on making exaft inquiry, with regard to the ftate of the coontry, and method of travelling, we find that the danger from the banditti in Calabria and Apulia is fo great, the accommo- dations fo wretched, and ^conveniences of every kind fo numerous, without any consideration, whatever, to throw into the oppofite fcale, that we foon relinquiflied that fcheme ; and in fpite of all the terrors of Seylla and Charybdis, and the more real terrors of fea ficknefs, (the mod formidable monfter of the three) we havedetermm- Qd to go by water : And that no time may be loft, we have already taken our paffage on board an Englilh fhip, which is ready to fail with the firft fair wind. Now as this little expedition has never been con- fidered as any part of the grand tour ; and as it will probably prefent many objects worthy of your attention, not mentioned in any of our books of travels ; I flatter myfelf that a fhort account of thefe, will not be unac- ceptable to you ; and may in fome degree make, up tor your having neglected to vifit them. You may therefore expect to hear of me, from every town where we flop ; and when I meet «ith any thing deferving of notice, I ftiall attempt to defcribe it in as tew words as poflible. Now kmght «f the Bath. + AW earl ofSeaforth* SICILY AND MALTA. 3 We have been waiting with impatience for a fair wind, but at prefent there is little profpett of it. The weather is exceedingly rough, and not a (hip has been able to get out of the harbour for upwards of three weeks paft. This climate is by no means what we expefted to find it ; and the ferene Iky of Italy, fo much boafted of by our travelled gentlemen, does not altogether deferve the great eulogiums beftowed upon it. It is now the middle of May, and we have not as yet had any continuance of what may be called fine weather*' It has, indeed, been abundantly warm, but feldom a day has paired without fudden ftorms of wind and raia, which render walking out here to be full as dangerous to our invalids, as it is in England. I am perfuaded that our phyficians are under {o^rm miftake with reaard to this climate. It is certainly one of the war^Ht in Italy; but it is as certainly one of the moft inconftant ; and from what we have obferved, difagrees with the greateft part of our vale- tudinarians ; but more particularly wich the gouty people who have ail found themfelves better at Rome • which, though much colder in winter, is, I believe, a healthier climate. Naples, to be fure, is more eligible in fummer, as the air is conftantly refrefhed by the fea breeze, when Rome is often fcorched by the moft infupportable heat. Laft fummer, Farcnheit's ther- mometer never rofe higher at Naples than 76. At Rome it was at 89. The difference is often itiii more confiderable. In winter it is not lets remar. Here, our greateft degree of cold was in the end cf January ; the thermometer ftooi at 36 ; at Rome i to 27 ; fo that the diftance between the twoextre:: heat and cold laft year at Naples, was only 40 deg whereas at Rome, it was no lefs than 62. Yet, by all accounts, their winter was much more agreeable and healthy than ours. For they had clear i eather, whilft we were deluged with rains, accompanied wi h xtvy high wind. The people here allure us, .that in fooae 4 A TOUR THROUGH feme feafons it has rained every day for fix or feven weeks. ISut the moil difagreeable part of the Neapoli- tan climate is the firocc, or fouth eaft wind, which is ?ery common at this feafon. It 13 infinitely more jrelaxing, and gives the vapoura in a much higher degree, than the worft of our »ainy Novembers. It has now blown for thefe feven days without intermif- lion; and has indeed blown away all our gaiety and fpirits ; and if it continues much longer, I do not know what may be the confequence. It gives a degree of laffitude, both to the body and mind, that renders them abfolutely incapable of performing their ufual functions* It is not perhaps furprifing, that it mould produce thefe •ffefts on a phlegmatic Engliih ccnftitution ; but we have juft now an inftance, that all the mercury of Ffance muft fink under the load of this horrid leaden -atmofphere. A fnaart Parisian marauis came here, about ten days ago : He was fo full oi(pimal fpirits that the people thought him mad. He never remained a moment in the fame place ; but at their grave convcr- fations, ufed to (kip from room to room with fuch amazing elafticity, that the Italians fwore he had got fprings in his (hoes. I met him this morning, walk- ing with the ftep of a philofopher ; a fmelling bottle in his hand, and all his vivacity cxtinguifhed. I afked what was the matter? "Ah; mon ami," faid he, " je m'ennui a la mort ; moi, qui n'ai jamais fee, " Fennui. Mais cet execrable vent m'accable ; et deux u jours de plus, et je me pend." The natives themfelves do not fufFer lefs than ftrangers ; and all nature -feerns to languilh during this abominable wind. A Neapolitan lover avoids his mif- trefs with the utmoft care in the time of the firocc, and the indolence it infpires, is almoft fufficient toextinguifh every paflion. All works of genius are laid afide, dur- ing its continuance ; and when any thing very flat or infipid is produced, the ftrongelt ph'rafe of difapproba- tion they can beftow is, " Era fcritto in tempo del " firocco ;" SICILY AND MALTA. £ "firocco ;" that it was writ in the time of the firocc. I (hall make no other apology for this letter ; and when- ever I happen to tire you, be kind enoagh to remember (pray do) that it is not me you are to blame, but the firocc wind. This will put me much at eafc, and will fave us a world of time iri apologies. I have been endeavouring to get fome account of the caufe of this very fingular quality of the lirocc ; but the people here feldom think of accounting for any thing, aud I do not find, notvvithftanding its remarkable efFedls, that it has ever yet been an object of enquiry amongft them. I have not obferved that the firocc makes any. remark- able change in the barometer. When it firft fet in, the mercury fell abou^i line and a half; and has continued much about the fake height ever fmce ; but the ther- mometer was at 43 the morning it began, and rofe al- moft immediately to 6$ ; and for thefe two days paft it has been a' 70 and 71. However, it is certainly not the warmth of this wind, that renders it fo oppreffive to the fpirits ; it is rather the want of that genial quality, which is fo enlivening ; and which ever- renders the weftern breeze fo agreeable : The fpring and elafticity of the air feeins to be loft ; and that active principle which animates all nature, appears to be dead. This principle we have fometimes fuppofed to be nothing elfe than tke fubtle electric fluid that the air ufually con- tains ; and indeed, we have found, that during this wind, it appears to be almoft annihilated, or at leait, its activity exceedingly reduced. Yefterday, and to-day, we have been attempting to make fome electrical ex- periments ; but I never before found the air {o un- favourable for them. Sea-bathing we have found to be the beft antidote againft the effects of the firoce ; and this we certainly enjoy in great perfection. Lord Fortrofe, who is the fil ( create as to deftroy ; and that what has on y l^en looked upon as the confumer of countries, is in faft 12, THOUGH fac~l the very power that produces them. Indeed, tl part or* our earth fecms already to have undergo fentence pronounced upon the w hole of it : But i). I e phoenix i has rifen again from its own allies, in muck greater beauty and fp-endour than before it was conftimed. The traces of thefe dreadful conflagrations are it ill con- spicuous in every corner ; they have been violent in • itions, but in the end have proved falutary in . c /reels. The fire in many places is not yet extin- guifhed, but Vefuvius is now the only fpot where it mges with any degree of activity. Mr. Hamilton, our Minifter here, who is no lefs dif- tinguiihed in the learned than in the polite world, has lately examined it with a truly philofophic eye, and this is therefult of all his obfervations ; however, at prefent I only fit down to give you as account of the profpect •f this fingular country, and not to write its natural his- tory ; which would lead me into too vaft a fie! fhall reierve that curious fubject till our return, when I fhall have more leifure to make you acquainted with it. —I beg therefore, you would at leaft fufpend yov.r judgment for the prefent, and do not condemn m< jfore I am heard. After contemplating this delightful profpect, till fun- fet, the windfprung up again, and we have now almoft reached Capre, 50 miles diltant from Naples. We have jult fpoken with an Englilh fhip. They tell us that the Marquis of Carmarthen, Lord Fortrofe, and Mr. Ham- ilton, obferving the calm, took a boat to make us a vifit, but unfortunate 1/ wiiftaking their vciTel for ours, we have had the mortification to mifs them. The night is very dark, and mount Vefuvius is faming at a dreadful rate : We can obferve the red hot thrown to a vaft height in the air ; and I fall, rolling down the fide of the mountain, ftiip is going fo fmooth, that we arc fcarce fenfible of tfie SICILY AND MALTA. f$ *he motion ; and if this wind continues, before to-mor- row night we (hall be in fight of Sicily. Adieu. Th* captain is making a bowl of grog, and promifing us A happy voyage. 1 6th. All wrong — Sick to death — Execrable firocc wind, and dire&ly contrary— Vile heaving waves — A plague of all fea voyages. That author was turely right, who faid, that land voyages* were much to be preferred. 17th in the morning. For thefe 24 hours pad we have been groaning to one another from our beds ; ' execrating the waves, and wifhiag that rather been at the mercy of all the banditti of Calabria. We arc now beginning to change cur tune. The -lirccc is gone, and the wind is oonfiderably fallen ; we are ftill three woful figures. • Our fervants too arc as lick and as nelplefs as we. The captain fays, that , our Sicilian man, was frightened out of his wits ; and has been praying to St. Januarius with all hi* might. He now thinks he has heard him, and impute* the change of the weather entirely to his intereft with his faint. 17th. Three o'clock. Weather pleafart and favour- able— A fine breeze fince ten ; — have juft come in fight of Strombolo. Our pilot fays it is near 20 leagues off. We have likewife a view of the mountains of Calabria, but at a very great diftancc. Ship fteady ; and fea-ficknefs almoft gone, EJcvea at night. The weather is now fine, and we are all well. After fpying Strombolo, by degrees we came in fight of the reft of the Lipari iflands, and part of the coaft of Sicily. Thefe iflands are very piftur- efque. Tour t« the Eaft. C 14 A TOUR THRO Ufl H •fque, and feveral of them ftill emit fmoke particularly Volcano and Volcanello ; but none of them, for fome a£es part, except Strombolo, have made any eruptions of fire. We are juft now lying within about three miles ©f that curious ifland, and can fee its operations diftinft- ly. It appears to be a volcano of a very different nature from Vefuvius, the explofions of which fucceed ©ne another with fome degree of regularity, and have n© treat variety of duration. Now I have been obferring trombolo, ever fince it fell dark, with a good d:al of f leafure, but Hot withoat fome degree of perplexity, as I cannot account for its variety. Sometimes its explo- sions refemble thofe of Vefuvius, and the light fecms •nly to be occafioned by the quantity of fiery (tones thrown into the air; and as foon as thefe have falleu down, it appears to be extinguifhed, 'till another ex- plofion caufes a frefh illumination : This I have obferv- cd always to be the cafe with Vefuvius ; except when the lava has rifen to the fummit of the mountain, and Continued without variety to illuminate the air around it. — The light from Strombolo evidently depends on fome other caufe. Sometimes a clear red flame ifiues from the crater of the mountain, and continues to blaze with- out interruption for near the fpace of half an hour, The fire is of a different colour from the explofions of flones, and is evidently produced from a different caufe. It would feem as if fome inflammable fubftance wera fuddenly kindled up in the bowels of the mountain. It is attended with no noife, nor explofion that we are fen- fible of. It has now fallen calm, and we (hall probably have an opportunity of examining this volcano more mi- nutely to-morrow. We are told at Naples that it had lately made a violent eruption, and had begun to form a new ifland at fome little diftance from the old ; which piece of intelligence was one of our great inducements to this expedition. We think we have difcovered thi* ifland, as we have obferved fevcral times the appearance of a fmall flame rifing out of the fea, a little to the ftuthweft of Strombolo: and fuppofp it mult have itfueil SICILY AND MALTA. 15 iffued from this new ifland ; but it is poffible this light may come from the lower part of the ifland of Strom- bolo itfelf. We fhall fee to-morrow. igth We are frill off Strombolo, but unfortunately at prefent it intercepts the view of thatfpot from whence we obferved the flame to arife, and we can fee no ap- pearance of any new ifland, nor indeed of any lava that has of late fprung from'the old one. We have a diftinft view of the crater of Strombolo, which feems to be different from Vefuvius, and all the old volcanos that furroud Naples. Of thefe, the craters are without ex- ception in tne center, and form the higheft part of the mountain. That of Strombolo is on its fide, and not within 200 yards of its fummit. From the crater to the fea, the ifland is entirely compofed of the fame fort of aflies and burnt matter as the conical part of Vefuvinsj and the quantity of this matter is perpetually increafmg, from the uninterrupted difcharge from the mountain* for of all the volcanos we read of, Strombolo feems ti> be the only one that burns without ceafing. JEtna. and Vefuvius often lie quiet for many months, even years, without the leaft appearance 'of fire, but Strombolo i& ever at work, and for ages paft has beea looked upon j» the great light-houfe of thefe feas. It is truly wonderful, how fuch a conftant and inv menfe fire is maintained for thoufands of yews, in the midft of the ocean ! That of the other Lipari iflands" feems now almoft extincl, and the force of the whole to be concentered in Strombolo, which a&s • as one great vent to them all. We ftill obferve Volcano and Vol- Canello throwing out volumes of fmoke, but during the whole night we could not perceive the leaft fpark of fire from either of them. It is probable, that Strombolo, as well as all the reft of thefe iflands, is originally the work of fubterraneous ■re. The matter of which they are compofed, in a manner >l6' A TOUR THROUGH manner demonftrates this ; and many of the Sicilian authors confirm it. There are now eleven of them in all ; and none of the ancients mention more than feven. Fazzello, one of the beft Sicilian authors, gives an ac- count of the production of Volcano, now one of the noil confiderable of rhefe i Hands. He fays it happened in the early time of the republic, and is recorded by Eofebius, Pliny, and others. Ke * : even in his time, in the beginning of the 16th century, it ftill dif- charged quantities of fire and of pumice ilones ; but that in the preceding century, in the year 1 444.1 on the 5th of February, there had been a very great eruption of this ifland, which (hook all Sicily, and alarmed the coaft of Italy as far as Naples. He fays the fea boiled all around the ifland, and rocks of a vail fize were dis- charged from the crater ; that fire and fmoke in many places pierced through the waves, and that the naviga- tion amongft thefe iilands was totally changed ; rocks appearing where it was formerly deep water ; and many •f the (traits and (hallows were entirely filled up. He obferves, that Ariftotle, in his book on metcow, .takes notice of a very early eruption of this ifland, by which not only the coaft of Sicily, but likewifc many cities in Italy were covered with afhes. It has probably been that very eruption which formed the ifland. He defcribes Strombolo to have been, in his time, pretty much the hm ns at this day ; only that it then pro- duced a great quantity of cotton, which is not no cafe. The greateft part of it appears to be barren, the north fide there are a few vineyards ; but tlu very meagre : Oppofite to thefe, there is a rock at fame diftancc from land ; it feems to be entirely of lava, and is net lefs than co or 60 feet above the water. The whole ifland of Strombolo is a mountain that rifes fuddenly from the fea ; it is about ten miles round, and is not of the exact conical form, fuj >;nmon to all volcanos. We were determined to have landed on the SICILY AND MALTA. i_7 the iiland, and to have attempted to examine the volca- no ; but our Sicilian pilot allures us, that the crater is ^ot only inacceffible (which indeed I own it appears to be) but that we fhall likewife be obliged to perform a quarantine of 4.8 hours at Medina ; and that beiides, we ihould run a great rifk of being attacked by the natives, who jure little better than favages, and always on th« alarm againft the Turks.— On weighing thefe reafons, and putting the qucftion, it was carried, to proceed on our voyage. I own it is with much regret that I leave this curious ifland, withoBt being better acquainted with it. I have been looking with a good glafs all round, but can fee no marks of the eruption we heard fo much of at Na- ples ; indeed, the fouthweft part, where we faw the ap- pearance of fire, is ftill hid from us by the interpofitiort of the ifland.; and if there has been an eruption, it was certainly on that fide : It is probable we mail never be able to learn whether there has been one or not ; or, at leaft, to make ourfelves mailers of any of the particulars, relating to it ; for events of that kind do not make i'uch a noife in this ignorant and indolent country, as the blowing of an aloe, or a goofeberry bu(h at Chriftmas, daes in England. Strombolo rifes to a great height ; our pilot fays, higher than Vefu^ius ; but 1 think he is roiftaken. Both the captain and he agree, that in clear weather it is difcoverable at the diilance of 25 leagues ; and that at night its flames are to be leen ilill much farther ; fo that its viable horizon cannot be lefs than 500 miles, which will require a very conflderable elec- tion. The revenue thefe iflands bring to the king of Na- ples is by no means inconfiderable. They produce great quantities or alum, fulphur, nitre, cinnabar,, and ruoft forts of fruits, particularly railin3, currants, and £gs in great perfection ; fome of their wiaes .are like muck e 2 l3 A TOUR. THROUGH much efteemeil ; particular!/ the Malvafu, well know* all over Europe. The ifland of Lipari (from which all the reft take the name) is by much the largeft, as well as the moft fertile. By the defcription of" Ariftotle, it appears that it was in time, what ftrombolo is in ours, confidered by failors 5- light-houfe, as its fires were never extinguiflied. It '. not fuffered from fubterraneous fires for many ages paft, though it every where bears the marks of its former Hate. This is the iiland fuppofed by Virgil (who is one of our travelling companions) to be the habitation of jEolus ; but indeed all of them were formerly called jEolian. As they were full of vaft caverns, roaring with internal fires, the poets feigned that iEolus kept the winds prifoners here, and let them out at his plea- fure. This allegorical fi&ion is of great ufe both to Virgil and Homer, when they want to make a ftorm, and forms no inconfiderable part of their machinery. A goddefs has nothing to do but take a flight to the Lipari iflands, and iEolus, who was the very pink of «ourtefy, has always a ftorm ready at her command. Homer indeed, departing fadly from his ufual digni- ty, fuppofes that iEolus kept the winds here, each tied up in their refpeclive bags ; and when any particular wind was demanded, he made them a prefent of a bag full of it, to ufe at difcretion. Some of the ancient hiftorians (Diodorus I think) fays that this fable tookiry rife from a wife king named Jiolus ; who, from obferv- in$* the fmoke of thefe burning iflands, and other _phaenomena attending them, had learned to foretel the weather j and from thence was faid to have the com- mand of the winds. The forge ef Vulcan too has been fuppofed by the poets to be placed in Hiera, one of thefe iflands. Vir- gil fends him here, to make the celeftial armour for iEneas, and gives a noble defcription of this gloomy habitation) % !ICILY AND MALTA. I $ habitation," where he found the Cyclops bufy forging a jrbolt lor Jupiter ; the account of which is very lingular. + This ifland is now called Volcano, the fame 3 recorded to have been produced by rire in the or the Republic. So that Virgil commits he- re a very great anachronifm, in fending Vulcan to a place which at that time did. not exift, nor for many ages af'er. But this bold poeticai licence he amply repays us for, by the fine defcription he gives of it. Thefe iflands, he fays, were called Volcanian as well as ^£olian : " Volcani domus, et Volcani nomine tellus." So that the change of the name from Hiera to Vclcan* was a very natural one. This is the ifland that Pliny calls Terafia ; and both Strabo and he gave an account of its production. 19th. Found ourfelves within half a mile of the coaft of Sicily, which is low/, but finely variegated. The oppofne ccaii; e-f Calabria is very high and the mountains are covered with the fineft verdure. It was almoft a dead calm, our (hip fearce moving half a mile in an hour, fo that we had time to get a complete view of the famous } * Amid the Hefperinn and Sicilian flood All black with fnwke, a rocky ifland flood, The dark Vulcatitan land, the region of the god. Here the grim Cyclops ply, in vaults profound y The huge JKoh an forge that thunders round, Th' eternal anvils ring the dungeon o'er ; From fide to fide the fiery caverns roar, t£c. T Beneath their hands, tremenduous tc furvey ! Half rough, half form 'd, the dreadful engine lay, Thrte points of rain; three forks of haiTconjptre ; Three arm'd with wind, and three were barbd withfire^ The mafs they temper d thick with livid r Fear, wrath, and ternr> and the lightnings blaze. Pitt, 20 A TOUR THROUGH famous reck of Scylla, on the Calabrian fide, Cape Pylorus on the Sicilian, and the celebrated Straits of the Faro that runs between them. Whilil we were ftill fome miles diftant from the entry of the Strait?, we heard the roaring of the current, like the noife of fome large im- petuous river confined between narrow banks. This encreafed in proportion as we advanced, 'till we faw the water in many places raifed to aconfiderable height, and forming large eddies or whirlpools. The fea in every other place was as fmotfth as glafs. Our old pilot told us, that he had often feen (hips caught in thefe eddies, and whirled about with great rapidity, without obeying the helm in the fmalleft de a ree. When the weather is calm, there is little danger ; but when the waves meet with this violent current, it makes a dreadful fea. He fays, there were five fhi'ps wrecked in this fpot lail winter. We obferved that the current fet exactly for the rock of Scylla, and would infallibly have carried any thing thrown into it againft that point ; fo that it was not without rcafon the ancients have painted it as an objett of fuch terror. It is about a mile from the entry of the Faro, and forms a fmall promontory, which runs a little cut to fe*, and meets the whole force of the waters, as they come out of the narrowed part of the Straits. The head of this promontory is the famous Scylla. It muft be owned that it does not altogether, come up to the formidable defcription that Homer gives of it ; the reading of which (like that of Shakefpeare's cliff) alraoft makes one's head giddy. Neither is ths paffage fo vvonderous narrow and difficult as he makes it* Indeed it is probable that the breadth of it is greatly in- creafrd fince his time, by the violent impetuofity of the current. And this violence too muft have always diminifhed, in proportion as the breadth of the channel incrcafed. Our pilot fays, there are many fmall rocks that (hew their heads near the bafe of the large one. Thefe are probably the dogs that are defcribed as howling rowud SICILY AND MALT-*. fit the moniier ScvlJa. There are likewife many caverns that add greatly to the noife of the water, and tend ftill to increafe the horror of the fcene. The rock is near 200 i^t high. There ij a kind of caflle or fort built on its tammit ; and the town of Scylla or Sciglio, containing three or four hundred inhabitants, ftands oh its fouth ft , gives the title of prince to aCalabref* famil . As the current-was directly againft us, we were ob- liged to lie to, for fome hours, 'till it turned. The motion of the water ceafed for fome time, but in a few- minutes it began in the oppofite direction, though not with fuch violeipe. We lay juft oppofite to Cape PyloJjl jrus (where the light houfe is now built.) It is faid to have been thus named by Hannibal, in recompenfe to Pelorus his pilot, for having put him to death on this fpot, on a falfe fufpicion of his wanting to betray him : For feeing himfelf land-locked on all fides, he thought there was no efcaping, and that Pelorus had been bribed to deliver him up ; but as foon as he difcovered the Straits, he repented of his rafnnefs, and fome years af- terwards erected a £atue here, in atonement to the manes of Pelorus. Pomponius Mela tells this ftoiy ; from whence he draws two very wife inferences : That Han- nibal naud have txsen extremely pailionate : And that ha knew nothing at all of geography. Others deny this au- thority, and fay it was named Pelorus from UlylTes's pilot, who was drown near to this place ; but there can be no fort ot foundation for thisconjeclure ; forUlyfles's whole cr?w were drowned at the fame time, and he 1 "elf was driven through thefe Straits, mounted on the broken mart of his mip. It is like molt difputea > ngft antiquaries, a matter of mighty little tjuence ; and I leave you at full liberty to choofe cf the two accounts you pleafe. From hence we had an opportunity of obfervin pretty large portion of Calabria, which formerly con- ilitutcd a confiderable part ot that celebrated count : '. ■ knov 22 A TOUR THROUGH known by the name of Great Greece, and looked upon as one of the moft fertile in the empire. Thefe beauti- ful hills and mountains are covered with trees and brufh- tvood to the very fummit ; and appear pretty much in the fame ftatc as fome of the wilds of America, that are iuft beginning to be cultivated. Some little fpots where the woods are cleared away, juft ferve to (hew the natur- al fertility of the foil, and what this country might foon be brought to, were induftry and population encouraged ; but it ftill remains a good deal in the fame fituation as when the barbarous nations left it ; and I believe it is hard tgne, which have given rife to an opinion of the fame kind. However, the fimilarity in that cafe, is muck more finking to the eye at leaft, than in this. The approach to Meffina is the flneft that can be im. agined ; it is not fo grand as that of Naples, but it is much more beautiful, ifcjlthe key exceeds any thing I have ever yet feen, even m Holland. It is built in the form of a crefcent, and is furrounded by a range of magnificent buildings, four ftpries high, and exactly iniibrm, for the fpace of an Italian mile. The ftieet be: 14 A * O V R THROUGH betwixt thefe and the ft a is abotrt 1 feet wide, and forms one of the mcit • ; I It enjoys the freeft air, and coinman r ful profpect. : It is only expofed to the fun, being fhaded all the reit of the day by th n g*« ^ *• beiides conftantly refreihed by the cowling breeze from the Straits ; for the current of the water es Hke- : fnt in the air, that renders : of the eooleit habitations in Sicily. We call anchor about four this afternoon,- near the center of this enchanted femi-cirele, the beam; ; 5 ; but our pleafure \ I inter- rupted by a difeovery that the name of one oi cur fer- rants had been omitted in our bills of health; a: I aifu ranee from the captain, that if 1 I we fhould certainly be obliged to perform a long qaarac Whiiil we were dclibe rating upon this weighty matter, we obferved a boat with the people of the health- approaching us. We had juft time to get him wra] up in a hammock, and {hut down below the hate with orders not to flir in cafe of a fearch, a appear again above deck, 'till he mould be called, poor fellow was obliged to keep in his hole 'till it was dark, as our conful and fome people of che health • flayed on board much longer than we could have wi and we are ftill obliged to conceal him ; for if ht difcovered, wefhall probably get into a very b They are particularly Ariel here in this re deed they have great reafon to befo; lince thi city was almoit annihilated by the plague in the year 1743, when upwards of 70,000 people are faid to have died in it and its diftric't in the fpace of a few months. We have now got on more, Mtd are lodged in fhe moil wretched of Inns ; although And to ir Sicily ; but we are contented ; f< bad iaip accommodation and fea-1 ; will appear a palace, and any bit of SICILY AND MALTA. 2£ I (hall fend this off by the poft, which goes to- mor- row for Naples, and (hall continue from day to day to jive you fome account of our transactions ; trifling as i hey are, there will probably be fomething new ; and it will add greatly to tne pleafure of our expedition, to think that it has contributed to your entertainment. Adieu, Ever yours, &c. LETTER III. Me£ina % May 2©» THE harbour of Meffina is formed by a fmall pro- montory or neck of land that runs off from the eaft end of the city, and feparates that beautiful bafoa from the reft of the Straits. The (hape of this promon- tory is that of a reaping hook, the curvature of which forms the harbour, and fecures it from all winds. From the ftriking refemblance of its form, the Greeks who never gave a name that did not either defcribe the object or exprefs feme of its moft remarkable properties, called this place Zancle or the Sickle, and feigned that the fickle of Saturn fell on this fpot, and gave it its form. But the Latins, who were not quite fo fond of fable, chang- ed its name to Meflina (from mejfis, aharveft) becaufeof the great fertility ef its fields. It is certainly one of the fafeft harbours in the world after mips have got in ;. but it is likewife one of the moft difficult of accefs. The celebrated gulf or whirlpool of Charyodis lies near toits entry, and often occafiens fuch an Inteftine and irregular motion in the water, that the helm lofes moft of it* power, and (hips have great difficulty to get in, even with the faireft wind that can blow. This whirlpool, I think, is probably formed by the fm*ll promontory 1 D have 26 4- TOUR THROUGH have mentioned ; which contracting the Straits in thfe fpot, muft neceflarily increafe the velocity of the cur- rent ; but no doubt other caufes, of which we are ig- norant, concur, for this will by no means account for aJJ tke appearances which it has produced. The great noife occafioned by the tumultuous motion of the waters in this plaee, made the ancients liken it to a voracious fea-monr>er perpetually roaring for its prey ; and it has been reprefented by their authors as the moll tremendous paflage in the world. Ariftotle gives a long and a formid- able defcription of it in his 125th chapter De Admiran- dis, which I find tranflated in an old Sicilian book I have got here. It begins, a Adeo profundum, horri- dumque fpectaculum, Sec," but it k too long to tran- scribe. It is likewife defcribed by Homer,* 12th or the Odyffey ; Virgil,+ 3d iEneid ; Lucretius, Ovid Salluft, ' * Dire Scylla then a fcene of horror forms, And here Chary bdis fills the deep **ith Jiorms : When the tide rujhes from her rumbling caves, The rough rock rtars ; tumultuous bed the waves ; 1 hey tofs, they foam, a wild confujion raife, Like waters bubbling o'er the fiery blaze ; Eternal mijls obfeure th' eep, wondrous deep, below appears the ground. Pope, f That realm of old a ruin huge was rent, In length of ages from the continent* With force convulfive burji the ijle away ; Through the dread opening broke the thund* ring feet ^ At once the thundering Jca Sicilia tore, And f under d from the fair Hefperian fhore ; Andjiill the neighbouring coafls and towns divide! With fcanty channels and C9Ktra£lcd tides. SICILY AND MALTA. V] Salluft, Seneca, as alfo by many of the old Italian and Sicilian poets, who all fpeak of it in terms of horror ; and reprefent it as an objeft that infpired terror even when looked on at a diftance. It certainly is not now fo formidable : And very probably, the violence of this motion continued for fo many ages, has by degrees worn fmoth the rugged rocks, and jutting ftielves, that may have intercepted and confined the waters. The breaHth of the Straits too, in this place I make no doubt is confid- erably enlarged. Indeed, from the nature of things it muft be fo ; the perpetual fri&ion occafioned by the current muft wear away the bank on each fide» and en- large the bed of water* The veffels in this paflage were obliged to go as near as poffible to the coaft of Calabria, in order to avoid the fuction occafioned by the whirling of the waters in this vortex ; by which means when they came to the narroweft and moft rapid part of the Straits^ betwixt Cape Pelorus and Scylla, they were in great danger of being carried upon that rock. From whence the prov- erb, itill applied to thofe, who in attempting to avoid one evil fall into another, " Incidit in Scyllam, cupiens evitare Charybdem," There is a fine fountain of white marble on the key, reprefenting Neptune holding Scylla and Chary bd is chained, Fiercr to the right tremendous Scylla roars. Chary bdls on the left the flood devours ; Thrice /"wallow'd in her wombfubjides the fea t Deep, deep as hell ; and thrice fie f pouts away From her black bellowing gulpBs di/gorg'd on high Waves after waves, that dajh againjl the fiy. Pit r. ^8 A TOUR THROUGH chained, under the emblematical figures of two Tea mon- gers, as reprefented by the poets. The little neck of land, forming the harbour of Meifina, is ftron^ly fortified. The ciradel, which is indeed a very fine work, is built on that part which connects it with the main land. Th« farthermoft point which runs out to fea, is defended by four fmall forts, which command the entry into the harbour. Borwixt thefe lie the lazaret, and a Tight hoofe to warn failors of their approach to Chary bdis, as that other on Cape Pelo- ius is intended to give, them notice of Scylla . It is probably from thefc light-houfes (by the Greeks ealled Pharoi) that the whole of this celebrated Strait, has been denominated the Faro of Meifina. There are a number of gallies and galliots in this beautiful harbour, which ftill add greatly to its beauty. Three of thefe failed this morning, in order to cruize 'jfound the ifland, and to protect it from the fudden in- vafions of the Barbarians, who ar> often very trouble- fome on the fouth coaft. Thefe vefills made a very pifturefque appearance as they went out of the harbour ; their oars moving all together, with the greatett regu- larity. I think there are nine or ten men to each oar ; and indeed it appears to be the hardeit work you can imagine. They all rife, at every ftroke of the oar, and when they pull, they almoft throw themfelves on their backs, and feem to exert their utmoft force. Thefe wretches are chained to their oars, and fieep every night on the bare benches, without any thing to throw over them. Yet, what is ft range, not.vithitanding all the mifery they fufFer, I am told there was never known an inftance of any of them putting themfelves to death. They often, indeed, confer that favour upon one anoth- er, but it is only in their quarrels, and by no means out of kindnefs. In a company of Englifh in the fame •ircumftances, promotion would probably go on much ftfter, SICILY AND MALTA. 9.9 fafter, as there wauld be no want of vacancies, provided only ropes and knives were to be had. We intended this morning to have paid our refpedls to the prince of Villa Franca, the governour, and to have delivered oar letters ; but he is gone to his country houfe, and as there are no carriages to be had, we are obliged to wait his arrival in town, which will probably be to-morrow or next day. We are ftill under a good deal of uneafinefs about our fervant, and are obliged to conceal him carefully from the people of the health office, who feem to haunt us* as we have met them this morning in all cur walks. Were he to be difcovered, perhaps fome of us might have the plea fu re of making a little voyage on board one of thofe gallies, far our amufement. Indeed, the captain of the lhip, poor fellow, would run the greateft rifle, who is obliged to anfwer for every perfon on bsard. We ihall leave this place as foon as pof- iible ; for I do not believe there is much more to be ieen about it. 20th at night. After dinner our depute conful (a Sicilian) carried us to feveral convents, where we were received by the nuns with great politenefs and affability. We converfed with them for fome hours through the grate «nd found fome of them by no means deficient, either in point of knowledge or fprightlinefs ; but none of them had fincerity enough (which w» met with in Portugal more than once) to acknowledge the unhappi- nefs of their fituatinn. All pretended to be happy and contented, and declared they would not change their prifon for the mod brilliant fituation in life. — However fome of them had a foft melancholy in theij,. countenances, that gave the lie to their words ; an3* am perfuaded in a tete a tete, and on a more intim?te acquaintance, they would have told a very different ftciy. Several of them are extremely handfome ; but P 3. indeed, JO A TOUR THROUIJH indeed, I think they always appear fo ; and am very certain, from frequent experience, that there is no ar- tificial ornament, or fludied embeliifhment, whatever, that can produce half fo flrong an effect, as the modefl and fimple attire of a pretty young nun, placed behind ? double iron grate. To fee an amiable, unaffected, and unadorned perfon, that might have been an honour and an ornament to fociety, make a voluntary refigna- tion of her charms, and give up the world and all its pleafures, for a life of falling ana mortification, it can- not fail to move our pity ; * And pity melts the mind to love." There is another confederation which tends much t« increafe thefe feelings ; that is our total incapacity ever to alter her fituation. The pleafure of relieving an object in diftrefs, is the only refuge we have againft the pain which the feeing of that object: occafions ; but here this is utterly denied us, and we feel with for row, that pity is all we can bellow. From thefe, and the like reflection, a man generally feels himfelf in bad fpirits after com cifmg with amiable irons. Indeed, it is hardly pofSble, without a heavy heart, to leave the grate ; that inexorable and impenetra- ble barrier.- At lalt we took our leave, expreffing our happinefs, in being admitted fo near them • but at the •fame time deploring our mifery, in feeing them forever jemoved at fo unmeafurable a diftance from us. They were much pleafed with our vifit, and begged we would jepeat it every day during our ilay at Mcffina ; but this might prove dangerous. On leaving the convent, we obferved a great con- courfe of people on the top of a high hill, at fome dif- tance from the city. The conful told us, it was the celebration of a great feftival in honour of St. Francis, and was worth our going to fee. Accordingly, we ar- rived SICILY AND MALTA. 3 T rived juft as the faint made his appearance. He was carried through the crowd with vaft ceremony* and re- ceived the homage of" the people with a becoming dig- nity ; after which he was again lodged in his chapel, where he performs a number of miracles every day, to all thofe who have abundance of money and abundance of faith. His minifters, however, are only a fet of poor greafy capuchins ; who indeed do not feem to have enriched themfelves in his fervice. In general, he is but a fhabby mailer if one may judge by the tattered clothes of his fervants ; and St. Benedict, who does not pretend to half his fan&ity, beats him all to nothing. The peo- ple continued to dance, in foft Sicilian meafures, 'till after fun-fet, when they retired. Many of the country -girls are extremely handforae, and dance with a good grafe. The young fellows were all in their funday's clothes, and made a good appearance. The alTembly room was a fine green plain on the top of the hili. It pleafed us very much, and put us in mind of fome of Theocritus's defcriptions of the Sicilian pleafurcs. But Theocritus, if* he could, have raifed up his head, would probably have been a good* deal puzzled what to make of the fhabby figure of St. Francis, marching through amongft them with fuch majefty and folemnity. Another part of the ceremony too would have greatly alarmed him, as indeed it did us. The whole court before the church was furrounded with a triple row of fmall iron cannon, about fix inches long ; thefe were charged to the muzzle, and rammed very hard ; after which they were fet clofe to each oth-.r, and a train laid, that com- pleted the communication through the whole number, which mult have exceeded 2000. Fire was fet to the train, and in two or three miuutes, the whole was dis- charged, by a running fire ; the reports following one another fo quick, that it was impomblc for the ear to feparate them. The efFecl was very grand; but it would have been nothing without the fine echo from the high mountains on each fide of the Straits, which pro- longed the found for fome confiderable-time after the firing was fmifhed. The . $-2 A TOUR THROUGH The view from the top of this hill, is beautiful be* yond difcription. The Straits appear like a vafl: majef- tic river, flowing flowly betwixt two ridges of moun- tains, and opening by degrees from its narroweft point, *till it {wells to the fize of an ocean. Its banks, at the fame time, adorned with rich corn-fields, vineyards, orchards, towns, villages, and churches. .The profpecl is terminated on each fide by the tops of kigh mountains covered with wood. We obferved in our walks to-day, many of the flow- ers that are much efteemed in our gardens, and ©thers too that we are not acquainted with. Larkfpur, flos Adonis, Venus' looking-glafs, havvkfweed, and very fine lupins grow wild over all thefe mountains. They have likewife a variety of flowering (hrubs ; particular- ly one in great plenty, which I do not recoiled ever to have feen before : It appears a beautiful round fruit, of a bright mining yellow. They call it, 31 pomo d'oro, or golden apple. All the fields about Meffina are cover- ed with the richeft white clover, intermixed with a variety of aromatic plants, which perfume the air, and render their walks exceedingly delightful. But what is remarkable, we were moft fenfible of this perfume, when walking on the harbour which is at the greateft diftance from thefe fields. I mentioned this peculiarity to a Meflinefe gentleman, who tells me, that the fait pro- duced here by the heat of the fun, .emit* a grateful odour, fomething like violets ; and it is that, probably, which perfumes the fea-fliore. On confulcing Fazzello De rebus Sieulis, I find he takes notice of the fame Angularity ; and likewife obferves, that the water of the Straits has a vifcous or glutinous quality, which by de- grees cements the fand and gravel together, and at lali consolidates them to the folidity.of jock. There are fine mady walks on all fides of Meffina ; fome of thefe run along the fea-ftiore, and are forever fanned by the cooling breeze from the Straits. The hou{£* SICILY AND MALTA. houfes are large, and moft of the articles of life are cheap and in plenty ; particularly fifti which are reckon- ed betterhere, than any where elfe in the Mediterranean. The hire of lodgings is next to nothing ; almoft one half of tha^ noble range of buildings I have defcribed, being abfolutely uninhabited fince the defolation of 1 743 ; (o that the proprietors are glad to get tenants on any terns. It now occurs to me, that from all thefe confiderations, there is no place I have feen, fo admira- bly calculated for the refidence of that flock of valetu- dinarians, which every autumn leave our country with the fwallows* in fearch of warm climates. I have been inquiring with regard to their winter feafon, an/1 find all agree, that, in general, it is much preferable to that of Naples. They allow they have fometimes heavy rain for two or three weeks ; but it never lafts loBger : And befides, they have, always fome fair hours every day, when people can go out for exercife ; for the moment the rain is over, the walks are dry, the foil being a light gravel. The advantages of Meffiua over Naples in other refpeifls, I think, are confiderable. At Naples there are no walks-; and, the truth is, they have no occafion for them, no more indeed than they have for legs ; for you know as well as I, that walking there, is little lefs infamous than dealing ; and any perfon that makes ufe of his limbs is looked upon as a blackguard, and def- pifed by all good' company. The rides too are all at a great diftance ; and you are ooliged to go fome miles on iireets and pavement before you get into the country ; befides paffing the vile grotto of Pauflllipe, where you are in danger of being blinded, and ftifled with duu\ There are fekioin any public diverfions here ; the attend- ing of which at Naples, and complying with their bad hours, does often more than counteract all the benefit obtained from the climate. That deteftable practice of gaming too, is by no means fo prevalent here ; which irom the anxiety i; occafions to the mind, and lafiitude to J4 A TOUR' THROUGH to the body, mufl be death to all hectic people, weak breafts, or delicate nerves. I could fay much more on this fubjeel, but as I have many of thefe circumftances only from the report of the inhabitants, it makes me more diffident, than if I had known them from my own -experience. We found our banker, Mr. M- , a very fenfible man, and fpent fome hours with him, both this morning and evening, very agreeably. He has given us fome account of the police of the country, the moft fingular, perhaps, of any in the world, to fuch a degree, indeed, that I (hall not venture to tell it you, 'till I have talked it over with fome other people, to fee if the accounts a g rcc J — though from the character that gentleman bears, both here and at Naples, he is as good authority as any in the ifland. The prince of Villa Franca it arrived : &o that we (hall probably have our audience to-morrow morning. Adieu — We arc juft going to fup upon {leaks made of the pefce fpada or fword-fHh, which are caught in great plenty in thefe feas. The fw<*rd df this one, is upwards of four feet long ; and a formidable weapon it is ; — not unlike a Highland broad fword. This fim, when cut, bears a perfett refemblance to flefii ; fo much, that none of us doubted it was beef-fteaks they were dreffing for us, and exprefTed our furprifc at finding that dilh in Sicily, Good night. LETTER ilCILY AND MALTA. 35 LETTER IV. 1 ft. WE are juft returned from the prince's. He re- ceived us politely, but with a good deal of ftatc. He offered us the ufe of his carriages, as the it arc none to be hired ; and, in the ufual ftile, defired to know in what he could be of fervice to us. We told him (with an apology for our abrupt departure) that we were obliged to fct off to-morrow, and begged his protection on our journey. He replied, that he would give or- ders for guards to attend us, that mould be anfwer- able for every thing ; that we need give ourfelves no farther trouble ; that whatever number of mules we had occafion for, mould be ready at the door of the inn, at any hour we mould think proper to ap- point : He added, that we might entirely rely on thofe guards, who were people of the mod determined refo- lution, as well as of the moft approved fidelity, and would not fail to chaftife on the fpot, any perfon who mould prefume to impofe upon us. Now, who do you think thefe trufty guards are com- pofed of ? Why, of the moft daring, and moft harden- ed villains, perhaps, that are to be met with upon earth, who, in any other country, would have been broken epon the wheel, or hung in chains ; but are here publicly protected, and univerfaiiy feared and refpefted. It was this part of the police of Sicily, that I was afraid to give you an account of: But I have now converfed with the prince's people on the fubjeel, and they have con- firmed every circumftance Mr. M made me ac- quainted with. He told me, that in this eaft part of the ifland called Val Demoni, (frora the devils that are fuppofed to in- habit < 2$ A TOUR THROUGH habit mount /Etna) it has ever been found impracticable to extirpate the banditti ; there being numberlefc caverns and fubtcrraneous paflagcs in that mountain, where no troops could poflibly purfue them ; that befides, as they are known to be perfectly determined and refo- lute, never failing to take a dreadfui revenge on all who have offended^ them, the prince of Viila Franca has embraced it, not only as the fafeft, but likewife as the wifelt, and raoft political fcheme, to become their declared patron and protector. And fuch cf them as think proper to leave their mountains and forcfts, though perhaps only for a time, are fare to meet with good encouragement, and fecurity in his fervice j they enjoy the moft unbounded confidence, which, in no inftance, they have ever been found to make an improper or a dimoneft ufe of. They are clothed in the prince's livery, yellow and green, with filver lace ; and wear, likewife, a badge of their honourable order, which entitles them to univerlal fear and rcfpect from the people. I have juft been interrupted by an upper fervant of the prince's, who both by his looks and language, feems to be of the fame worthy fraternity. He tells us, that he has ordered our muleteers, at their peril, to be ready by day-break ; but that we need not go 'till we think proper ; for it is their bufinefs to attend on nojtri eccei- leitzu He fays^he has likewife ordered two of the moft defperate fellows in the whole ill and to accompany us ; adding, in a fort of wkifper, that we need be under no ap- prehenfion ; for if any perfon mould pnfume to impofe, wpon us to the value of a fingle baiocc,* they would cer- tainly put them to death. 1 gave him an ounce,+ which I knew was what he expected ; on which he redoubled his bows and his eccellen/.is, and declared we were the molt honourab'tl'i S'tgnor't he had ever met with, and that if we pleafed, he himfeif mould have the honour of at- tending * A /mall ciitu t ^'b.ut rjeve* Jbtll'tngs, SICILY AN© MALTA. $J tending us, and would chaftife any perfon that mould dare take the wall of us, or injure us. m the fmalleft trifle. We thanked him for his zeal, (hewing him we had fwords of our own. On which, bowing refpectfully, he retired. I can now, with more aflu ranee, give you fome ac- count of the converfation I had with Seignior M , who, as I faid, appears to be a very intelligent man, and ftas refided here for thefe many years. He fays, tbat in fome c ircu raft ances thefe banditti are the raoft refpectable people of the Ifland ; and have by mich the higheft, and raoft romantic notions or what they call their point of honour. That however criminal they may be with regard to faciety in general, yet, witii refpect to one another, and to every perfon to whom they have once profefled it, they have ever maintained the molt unfhaken fidelity. The magiftrates have often been obliged to protect them, and even pay them court, as they are known to be perfe&Iy determined, and defperate j and fo extremely vindictive, that they will certainly put any perfon to death, who has ever given them juft caufc of provocation. On the other hand, it never wasknown that any perfon who had put himfelf under their protec- tion, and fhewed that he had confidence in them, had caufe to repent of it, or was injured by any of them, in the raoft minute trifle ; but on the contrary, they will protect him from impofitions of every kind, and fcorn to go halves with the landlord, like m oft other conductors and traveling fcrvants ; and will defend him with their lives, if there is occafion. That thofe of their number, who have thus enlifted themfelvcs in the fervice of fociety, are known and refpected by the other banaitti all over the iflaod ; and the perfons of thofe thev accompany are ever held facred. For thefe reafons, raoft travellers choofe tohire a couple of them from town to town ; and may thus travel over the whole ifland in fafetv. To illuftrate their character the more, he added E two 3$ A TOUR THROUGH two (lories, which happened but a few days ago, and are ft-Ul in every body's mouth : A number of people were found digging in a place where iome treafure was fuppofed to have t been hidden during the plague : As this had been forbidden under the moft fevere penalties, they were immediately carried tor prifon, and expected to have been treated without mer- cy; but, luckily for the others, one of thefe heroes happened to be of the number. He wrote to the prince of Villa Franca, and made ufe of fach powerful argu- ments in their favour, that they were all immediately fct at liberty. This will ferve to (hew their confequence with the civil power j the other (lory will give you a ftrong idea of their barbarous ferocity, and the horrid mixture of ftubborn vice and virtue (if I may call it by that name') that feems to direct their actions. I mould have mentioned, that they have a practice of borrowing money from the country people, who never dare refufe them ; and if they promife to pay it, they have ever been found punctual and exact, both as to the time and the Aim ; and would much rather rob and murder an innocent perfon, than fail of payment at the day appoint- ed : And this they have often been obliged to~do, only in order (as they, fay) to fulfil their engagements, and to fave their honour. It happened witkin this fortnight, that the brother of one of thefe heroic banditti having occafion for money, and not knowing how to procare it, determined to make ufe of his brother's name and authority, an artifice which he thought could not eafily be discovered ; ac- cordingly he went to a country pried, and told him his brother had occafion for twenty ducats which he defired he would immediately lend him. The pried aifured him that he had not then fo large a fum, but that if he would return, in a few days it fkould be ready for him. The .5 I C I L Y A N D M ALT A. 39 'i he other replied, that he was afraid to return to his brother with this anfvver 3 and he would, by ail means, take care to keep 'till fuch time as he had pacific could not be anfwerable fcr the cenfequence3. As bad fortune would have it, the very next day the prielt and the robber met in a narrow road ; the former fell a trembling, as the latter approached, and at laft dropped on his knees to beg for mercy. The robber, aironiihed at his behaviour, defired to know the caufe of it. The trembling prieft anfwered, " II denaro, il denaro," the money, the money — but fend your brother to-morrow, and you (hall have it. The haughty robber allured him, that I . fd&hied taking money of a poor prieft j adding, that if any of his brothers, had been low enough to make, fuch a demand, he him felt was ready, to advance the fum. The prieft then acquainted him with the viiit he had received the preceding night from his brother, by his order ; alluring him, that if he had been matter of the fum, he mould immediately have fupplied it. Wei!, fays the robber, I will now convince you whethe: brother or I are moft to be believed ; you mail go with me to his houfe, which is but a few miles diitant. On their arrival before the door, the robber called on his brother, who never fufpecling the difeovcry, immediate- ly came to the balcony ; but on perceiving the prieft he began to make excufes for his conduct. The robber told him there was no excufe to be n^e ; that he only defired to know, the faft, Whether he had gone to bor- row money of that prieft in his name or not ? On his owning he had, the robber with deliberate coolnefs lifted his blunderbufs to his moulder, and (hot :him- dead- ; and turning to the aftonimed prieft, " You will now be perfuaded, (faid he) that I had no intention of robbing you at leaft." You may now judge how 'happy we muft be in the company of our guards. I don't know but this very hero may be one of them y as we are affured they are two 40 A TOUK THROUGH two of the moft intrepid and refylutu fallows in the ifland, 1 will not clofe this letter till 1 give you fome account of our journey. In the mean time adieu. We are going to take a look of the churches and public buildings ; but with thefe I mail trouble you very little. 2ift at night. We have been very well entertained, both from what we have feen and heard. We ufed to admire the dexterity of forne of the divers at Naples, when they went to the depth of forty eight or fifty feet, and could not conceive how a man couid remain three minutes under water without drawing bieath ; but thefe are nothing to the feats of one Colas, a native of this place, who is faid to have lived for feveral days in the fea, without coming to land ; and from thence got the firriame of Pefce, or the fim. Some of the Sicilian authors affirm, that he caught fHh merely by his agility in the water ; and the credulous Kircher aflerts, that hie could walk acrofs the Straits at the bottom of the fea. Be that as it will, he was fo much celebrated for fwim- ming and diving, that one of their kings (Frederick) came on purpofe to fee him perform ; which royal vifit proved fatal to poor Pefce ; for the king, after admiring his wonderful force and agility, had the croelty to pro- pofe his diving near the guiph of Charybdis; and to tempt him the more, threw in a large golden cup, which was to be his prjfle mould he bring it up. Pefce made two attempts, and aftonifhed the fpeclators by the time he remained underwater ; but in the third, it is thought he was caught by the whirlpool, as he never appeared more ; and his body is faid to have been found fome time afterwards aear Taurominum (about thirty miles diftant) it having been obferved, that what is fwallowed Bp by Chary bdis is carried fouth by the current, and thrown out upon that ooaft. On the contrary nothing wrecked here was ever carried through the Straits, or thrown out on the north fide • • de/criptiins of the poets, SICILY AND MALTA. 43 2 part of it. It is of a huge fize, and moves throagft ' the ftreet with vaft uomp and ceremony. In the centre is the principal figure, which reprefents the Virgin ; and, a little higher, there are three others to denote the Trinit}\ ftfcund thefe, are a number of wheels, faid to be of a very curious conftruftion. Every wheel contains a legion of angels, according to their different degrees of precedency ; feraphiras, cherubims, and powers. The,fe are reprefented by a great number of beautiful little children, all glittering in clothes of cold and fil- ver tiffue x with wings of painted feathers fixed to their fhoulders. When the machine is fet in motion, all thefe wheels move round, and the different choirs of angels continue in -a conitant flutter, Tinging hallelujahs round the Trinity and the Virgin during the whole of the preceffion, and are faid to make a moll beautiful appear- ance. *This is all I could learn of this lingular mew, neither were we admitted to fee the machine ; eonfeious, I fuppofe, of the ridicule of which it is fufceptible, they did not choofe to unveil ib facred an object, to the eyes of heretics — This illand has ever been famous for the celebration of its fealts, even in ancient as well as modern times.' They fpare no expenfe ; and as they have a large fhare both of fuperftition and invention, they never fail to produce fomethiig either very fine or very ridiculous. The feaft of St. Rofolia at Palermo is faid to be the fineft (hew in Europe, and cofts that city every year a large fum. They allure us there is more tafte and magnificence -difpiayed fn it, than in any thing of the kind in Italy ; and r.dvife Us by all means to attend it, as it happen? fome time near the middle of fuaamer, when we mall probably be in that end of the illand. If you pleafe we fhall now take leave of Mefiina ; — I did not expeft to make fo much out of it. But it woul i not be fair neither ; without at leaft putting yoa in mind of the great veneration it has ever been held in £>y the reft of J- icily, for the afliirance it gave to Count Kugiero in freeing the illand from the yoke of the bara- cenv : A TOUR THROUGH cens ; in confederation of which, great privileges were granted it by the fucceeding kings ; feme of which are faid ftill to remain. It was here that the Normans land- ed j and this city, by the policy of feme of its own in- habitants, was the firft conqueft they made ; after which their victorious arms were foon extended over the whole ifland ; and a final period put to the Saracen tyrann) . Count R'ugiero fixed the feat ol government at Palermo ; and put the political fvftcm of the ifland upon a folid balls ; of which the form (and the form alone) ftill re- mains to this day. He divided the whole Ifland into three pans ; one he gave to his officers, another to the church, and a third he referved for himfelf. Of thefe three branches he corjpofed his parliament, that re- fpeclable body, of which the fkeleton only now exifts ; fer it has long ago loll all its blood, nerves, and animal fpirits ; and for many ages paft has been reduced to a perfect caput mortuum. The fuperititious tyranny of Spain lias not only deitroyed the national fpirit of its own inhabitants, but likewife that of every other coun- try which has fallen under its power. Adieu. Ever yours. P. S. Apropos ! There is one thing I had almoft forgot, and I never mould have forgiven myfelf. Do you know, the extraordinary phaenoraenon in the world is often obferved near to this place ? I laughed at it at firtf, as you will do ; but I am now convinced of its reality ; and am perfuaded too, that if ever it had been thoroughly examined by a philofophical eye, the natural caufe muft long ago have been afligned. It has often bfcen remarked, both by the ancients and moderns, that in the heat of fummer, after the fea and air have been much agitated by winds and a periect calm fucceeds, there appears, about the time of dawn, in that part of the heavens over the Straits, a great varie- ty of fingular forms, fome at reft and fome moving about with great velocity. Thefe forms, in proportion as S i O I L Y AND MALTA. 45 as the light increafes, Teem to become more aerial ; till at lait, Come time before fun -rife, they entirely difappear. "The Sicilians reprefent fhis as the rroft beautiful fight in nature ; Leanti, one of their latcft and belt writers, came here on purpofe to fee it : He fays, the heavens appear crowned with a variety of objects : He mentions paiaces, woods, gardens, &c. befules ihe figures of men, and other animals, that appear in motion amongft them. No doubt the imagination mufl be greatly aiding, in forming this aerial creation ; but as fo many of their au- thors, both ancient and modern, agree in the fact, and give an account of it from their own obferraticn, there certainly muft be fome foundation for the fiery. There is one Giardina, a Jefuit, who has lately written a treatife on this phenomenon, but I have not been able to find it. The celebrated Meiiinefe Gallo has likewife publifhed fomething on this fmgular fubject ; if 1 can procure either of them in the iiland, you (hall have a more perfect account of it. The common people, ac- cording to cuftora, give the whole merit to the devil ; and indeed it is by much the fhorteft and eafieft way of accounting for it : Thofe who pretend to be philofophers, and refufe him this honour, are greatly puzzled what to make of it. They think it may be owing to fome un- common refraction, or reflexion of the rays, from the water of the Straits ; which, ^s it is, at that time, carried about in a variety of eddies and vortexes, muft confequently, fay they, make a variety of appearances on any medium where it is reflected. ^This, I think, i* nonfenfe, or at leaft very near it ; :«$ until they can fay more to the purpofe, I think they Bad much better have left it in the hands of the old gentleman. I fuf- pecVit is fomething in the nature of our Aurora Borea- lis ; and like many of the great phenomena of nature* depends upon electrical caufes ; which in future ages, I have little doubt, will be found to be as powerful an agent in regulating the univerfe, as gravity is in this age, or as the fubtle fluid was in the kft. The 46 A / O U R THROUGH The electrical fluid, in this country of volcano?, is probably produced in much greater quantity than in any other. The air ftrongly impregnated with this rnarter, and confined betwixt two ridges of moun' at tfte fame time exceedingly agitated from below, by the violence of the current, and the impetuous whirling of the waters j may it net be fuppofed to produce a variety of appearances ? And may not the lively Sicilian imaginations, animated by a belief in daemons, and all the wild offspring of fnperfdtion, give thefe appearances as great a variety of forms ? Remember, I do not fay it is fo ; and hope yet to have it in my power to give you a better account of this matter. However, if yo'i fhould fuppofe mc in this ftory, or in any future one I may tell you, to be inclined to the fabulous, you will pleafe to lemember, that I am now in the country of table ; this iiland having given rife to more perhaps, except Greece, thrn all the world bef.de. You have, ore, only to fuppofe that thefe regions are ftill contagious j and ca4i to mind that mount iEtna ha ; ever been the great mother of rnonfters and chimeras, ancient and the- modem world. However, 1 (hail, if poiTxble, keep free of the infection, and enter- tain you only with fuch fubjeds as fall under my own nation. But indeed, from what I have already heard >t that wonderful mountain, the moft moderate account of It would appear highly fabulous to all fuch as are unacquainted with objects of this kind. Adieu. ;ink of fetting off to-morrow by day break. I am s not been a ilqrm, that we might have had a _, Pandemonium reared over our heads, and ail the devils at work around it. I mall leave thisnoije fent by the firft poll, and (hall write to you again from Catania, if we k efcape unhurt from all the perils of iEtna. Adieu. LETTER SICILY AND MA LTA. 47 LETTER V. Giardinii near Taurominum, May 22. WE have had a delightful journey, and if all Sicily be but as agreeable, we fhall not repent of our expedition. We left Meflina early this rooming with fix mules for ourfelves and fervants, and two for our baggage. This train, I aflure you, makes no con- temptible appearance ; particularly when you call to mind our front and rear guard ; by much the moil con- fpicuous part of i'. Thefe are two great drawcanlir figures, armed capapie, with a broad hanger, two enor- mous piftols, and a long -arquebufe : This they kept cocked and ready for action in all fufpicious places ; where they recounted abundance of wonderful fto^ies ef robberies and murders ; fome of them with fuch very minute circumftances, that I am fully perfuaded they themfelves were the principal actors. However, I look upon our fituation as perfectly fecure; they pay us greac refpecl, and take the utmoft pains that we mall not be impofed upon. Indeed, I think they impofe upon every- body except us ; for they tax the bills according to their pl«fure ; and fuch cheap ones I never paid before. To-day's dinner for eleven men (our three muleteers in- cluded) and feeding for ten mules and horfes, did not amount to half a guinea, And, although we pay them high, (an ounce a day each) yet I am perfuaded they fave us at lead one half of it on our bills. They en- tertained us with fome of their feats, and make no fcruple of owning their having put feveral people to death ; but aid, " Mas tutti, tutti ftonorabilmente," — That is to fay, they did not do it in a daftardly manner, nor without juit provocation. The Ica-coaft of Sicily is very rich; the fides of fome .; a tains are highly cultivated, and prefent the moft 48 A TOUR THROUGH moft agreeable afpc<£t that can be imagined : c oil, and illk, all mixed together, and in the greatcft abundance : However, the Cultivated part is butYraall in proportion to what is lyin^ wafte, and only ferves to mew the great fertility &i this illand, were it peopled, and in induftrious hands. The fides of" the road are covered with a variety of flowers and of flowering ihrabs ; fome oi them exceedingly beautiful. The in- clofures are many of them fenced with hedge* of the Indian fig, or prickly pear, as in Spain and Portugal ; and our guides aflure us, that in many of the parched ravines round JEtna, there are plenry or trees which produce both cinnamon and pepper ; not fo ftrong, the/ ciilow, as thofe of the fpicc illand?, but which arc fold to the merchants at a low price, by a fet of banditti^ who drefs themfelves like hermits : Thefe fpices are mixed with the true pepper and cinnamon from the Indite, and fent over ail Europe. * The road from Medina to this place is extremely romantic; It lies the whole way along the coail, and commands the view of Calabria, and the Youth part o( the Straits ; covered with chebecks, galleys, galliots, and a quantity ©filming boats. The view on the right hand is confined by high mountains, on the very fum- mits of which they have built feveral confiderable towfp and villages, which with their churches and fteeples, make a very pic"turefque appearance. They have chofen this elevated fituation, I fuppole, wi:h a double view ; to protect them both from their enemies, and from the violent heat of the climate. This forenoon, we found" it exceffive, but had the fineft fwimming in the world before dinner ; whicji l$ept us cool and frefli for all the reft of the day. We have bciides provided ourfeh r es with umbrellas, without which, at this feafon, traveling would be impracticable. Betwixt this place and Jvl s little to i' mountains, formerly c?l!ed the I wife , : T C i t Y A !m D Ma T, ta. ty fikcwife the mountain of Neptune, which is reckoned the highcit of that chain. It is celebrated for a gulf, Cr crater, on its fummit, from whence, at particular times, there iifucs an exceeding cold wind, with fuch "violence that it is difficult to approach it% I was forrv to pafs this Angular mountain, but it wtfjJd have delayed us a day or two to vilit it ; and we >re hftftening w ; th impa- tience to a much greater bbfe^tej iti* f.o'v namedil monte Scuderio, atod is fa id to be fo hi*h Xte.t the Adriatic -can be feen from its ftmtnffc i'"rom the dcrcriutkfli they give of it, it appears evidently to be an old volcano. The Niffo takes its rife from this mountain ; a river re- nowned in antiquity for the gold found in its channel ; Tor which reafon, it was by the Greeks called Chry- fothoas. It is laid, the remains of the ancient gold mines are ftill to be feen near the fource of this river ; but the modern maftcn &. SkiJv have aievttr beenvnte'r- priiing enough to expose -therm It * as on this tbarm ing coaft, where the flodOs of Apollo were kept by his daughters, Phsethufa and ksrfrtpetic ; the fei/.ing of which, by Ulyffes" io accounted the lgqgeK$ft1dife world. It appears to mC greatly fuperiotir to &frtv? Adrian's viila, near Rome. It is entire enojgh, \o giVfc a very tolerable idea cf the Roman theatre, and iftSeed aftoniibes by its vaftrtefs ; not* can I conceive how ?.r.y voice could extend through the prodigious number \s( people it muft have contained. i paced about c*e Quarter of it ; over the boxes that were intended fit the women, which is hot near the dutward circte bf all ; the reft is fo broken, that I could ^et no farther. It meafured about izo ordirwnr fteps 5 V £0 A TOUR THROUGH fo that you may conceive the greatnefc of the whole". The feats front mount 4itna, which makes a glorious appearance from this place ; and no doubt has orten di- verted their attention from the fcene, It arifes from an immenfe bafe, and mounts equally on all fides to its Commit : It is juft now throwing out volumes of white fmoke, which do not rife in the air, but feem to roll down the tide of the mountain like a vaft torrent. The afcent of iEtna, on each fide, is computed at about 30 miles, and the circumference of its bale, at 1 co : I think it does not appear to be fo much ; but I lhali probably be enabled to give you a fuller account of it afterwards. After admiring the great theatre of Taurominum, we went to examine the Naumachia, and the refervoirs for fupplying it with water. About 1 50 paces of one fide of the wail of the Naumachia remains ; but as this is not complete, there is no judging of its original dimes- ficns. This is fuppofed to have been a large fquare, in- oicled with iirong walls, and capable of being rilled with water on occafion ; intended for the exhibition of fca- fighrs, and ail naral exercifes : There were four refer- voirs for fupplying this with water. All are upon the fame grand fcale. One of thefe is almoft entire ; it is fupported by a great number offtrong pillars, in the fame manner as thofe of Titus's baths at Rome, and fevcral others you may have feen in. Italy. I would dwell longer on objects of this kind, but 1 am perfoaded descriptions can give but a very im- perfect idea of them ; and to mark out the preciie di- mentions with a mathematical exaftrefs, where there is nothing very remarkable, mull fuiely be but a dry work, both to the writer and reader. I fiiall therefore coi mytelf (1 hope it will content you too) with endeavour- ing to communicate, as entire as pofiible, the fame im- prerfioa I myfeif fiiall receive, without defcending too much to particulars, or fatiguing myielf or the roeefurarion of a merely becaufr ;,re fueh, except where mere ii indeed i S ! C I 1 7 AND MALTA. 51 lit iking, and different too, from what has already been defcribed in Italy. I own I defpair of fuccefs : Few things, I believe in writing being more difficult than thus, " s'emparer de " l'imagination," to feize to makeourfelves matters of the reader's imagination, to carry it along with us through every fcene, and make it in a manner congenial with our own ; every profpect opening upon him with the fame light, and arifing in the fame colours, and ar the fame inftant too, as upon us: For where defcriptions fail in this, the pleafure of reading them mult be very trivial. Now, perhaps, this fame journal ftyla is the raoft favourable of any to produce thefe effects. It is at leaft the molt agreeable to the writer ; who never has bis fubjeft to feek, but needs only recollect what has pafled ilnce he lail laid down the pen, and travel theday over again ; and if he travels it to good purpofe, k ought to be equally agreeable to the reader too, wh<, thereby becomes one of the par'y, and bears a {hare j { . all the pleafures of the journey without fuffering the fatigues of it. One of my greateft difficulties, I fee, wiii be tfee finding proper places to write in, far the inns are aire* gether execrable, and there is no fuch thing as getting a room to one's felf : I am juft now writing en the cud of a barrel, which I chofe rather than uvz tabic, as it is further removed' from noiie. I mult, therefore, intreat you, once for ali, to excufe incorrc:in:fs and want of method. How can one b* methodical upon a barrel f It has ever been tht molt declared enemy to method. You might as well expect a fermon from Bacchus, or a Coherent fpcech from our friend lord . , after he has flnilhed the third bottle. You will be pleafed then, juft to take things as they occur. Were I obliged to be {rriclly methodical, 1 mould have no pleafure in ^ ritin^ you thefe letters ; and then, if my poiition is juit, you have no pleafure in reading them* Oui > i 4- t, o u r a h » o t» « *., O.Hf guard.-, have procured us ! - : ugh not in tha town of Taurominuro, but in Ciarviini, a .village at lii^ li>o.t -of the mountain on wh:e!i it iia.id?. The people. , \trc.mely attentive, a; i] :,*.-• ,••■' bee ! - . tpuer and ^oj.\ . . ,-,', •,•".■, a:>.v u it mail ►vait no longer. Adieu. 1 o-morrow we intend ui mount /Ktna. on tl^js [its eaft) fide, if we find i; ! .£ver } ours. — « ..^rt.;^ S - :{tr - ... Yeilcrdatf I : were (a much fatigue^ with riie abominable roads iuiu .'Etna, that 1 was no: able to wield a pen j rud to-day, I afkire you, has by no mey\ns been a day r,f reft ; however, 1 muft not delay any longer, othcrwife ♦ able to ma&e up my lee-way. I am afraid you will (uftcr wore from the fatigues of the . 11 i at ilri: apiu&hspdtyU W.e left Gtardinj £! &ve eVioek, About h»if a «niLe ftlrtber the ft/ft segl^a of mount #tna begins, and here they ivivc foe wp 3k; ftatuc-of a fain:, tor haying pre- vented tUe lat'Jiiioift naming up the mountain of Tau- •onatnum 'dnd decoying the adjacent country ; which the people third* V «#ttainly mult have done, had it not been for this kind tnterpofttirtn, but he, very wifely, a> well us huAtifflttak Quudu&cd it dow n a low valley to. left die Catania, road on the left, and began to • . :ttsi the mouiUftiftfc.ift ouicr to viiic the celebrated Uee>. $ f C I L Y AND MALTA. J J tree, known by the name of // Caf.agno dt Cento Ca- va/Ii, (the chefnut-tree of a hundred horfe ;) which for feme centuries paft has been looked upon as one of the greateft wonders of JEtna. We had likewife pro- pofed, if polTible, to gain the fumnsit of the mountain by this fide, and to defeend by the fide of Catania ; but we were foon convinced of the impoliibility of" this, and obliged, with a good deal of reluctance, to reiinquiih that p2:t of our fcheme. As we advanced in the firft region of i£tna, we ob- ferved that there had been eruptions of fire all over this country at a great diilance from the fummit, or principal crater of the mountain. On our road to the village of Piedmonte, I took notice of feveral very confiderablc craters, and ftones of a large f;ze, fcattered ail around, that had been discharged from them. Thefe ftones are preci fely fuch as are thrown out of the crater of mount V'efuvius ; and indeed the lava too feems to be of the fame nature, though rather more porous. The diftance from Giardini to Piedmonte is only ten miles, but as the road is exceedingly rough and difficult, we took near four hours to travel it. The barometer, which at Giardini (on the fea fide) ftood at 29 inches ten lines, had now fallen to 27 : 3* Fahrenheit's ther- momerer made by Mr, Adams, in London, 73 degrees. We found the people extremely curicus and mqoifitive to know our errand, which, when we told, many of them offered to accompany us. Of thefe we chofe two ; and after drinking our rea, which was matter of great fpeculation to the inhabitants, who had never before feen a breakfail of this kind, we began to climb the mountain. We were di reeled for five or fix miles of our road aqaedu^, which the prince of Palagonia has made great expenfe, to fupply Piedmonte with water. After .F ^ 54 TCU R T H RO l> C *f- After we- left the aqueduc% # the afcent bceomc a gooi deal more rapid, 'till we arrived at the beginning of the fecoad region, called by the natives la Rcgione Sj/vofa* oir the woody region; becaufe it is compofed of ons iraii Ibreffr, chat extends. all around the mountain. Pare 0# ihis v.sc-de'-hoyed by a very fingular event, not later thxni f&e yettr 17 >c. During an eruption of the vol- cano, antinuneivU: *oaeht of hoiling water iiTued, as is imagined, from the great crater of the mountain, and in m in'tant poured down to its bale ; overwhelming and mining every tYtmg is aact with in its courfe. Our con- *J'.^&>:l> laew^ni ta the ?s*ees of this torrent, which arc ttill very vililile j. but are now. beginning to recover ver- dure and vegitation, which for fome time appeared to. Rave been loll. The track it has left, feems to bee about a ruile and a balibcoad • and in fome places fti.U-, 1 «T>ii?ntm opinion, T tind, is, that this wv.tcr. raifed by the ppwpr of faction, through fome .communi- cation betwixt the volcano and zhc fea ; the abfurdity of which is too glaring to need a refutation., Yhe. power < of fuction alone, even fuppofmg a pertect vacuum, could fie\ er raiie water to mose than thirty-three or thirty- fouic feet* v«hi%h is ecpal to the weight of a column of w*r ch* -.vik;le height.©? the atropfphese. But this cir- hould imagine,, might be caiily enough either by a iireajn of lava falling fudden- Ia !!Kj o:ic n' sLs vallies . oir £hovv, -that occupy the r re&jo?» o4' the mountain, and melting it down 7-. tvhac I think is ft'U more probable, that the melted fnow, iiixfcvsg vaft caverns and refervoirs in the moun- tain, where .it i& iedgsd foi feme time, 'rill the excefuvc heat of the lava below burfb the fides of thefe cavern;, produc xnomenoB, which has been matter of fcreat f peculation to the Sicilian philofophers, and has employed rhe pens cf feveral of them. . The fame thing happened in an eruption of Vefuvius lait century, and in an iattans £wcpr away about coo people,.. who \ s ■urchin^* S,tC I L V AJID MA.L15A, : ajarching in proceflion at the foot of the mountain, tt» implore the mediation of St. Januarius. Near, to this place we pafied through fomc beautiful woods of cork and ever-green oak, growing abfolutely out of the lava, the foil having as yet hardly rilled the crevices of that porous fubftanee ; and not a great way farther, I obferved feveraflittle mountains tjiat feemed to have been fromed by a late eruption. I dismounted my mule, and climbed to the top of them. all. They are fevcn in number ; every one of them with a regular cup or crater on the top, and in fome the great gulf, or (as they call it) Voragine, that had difcharged the burnt matter of which thefe little mountains are formed, is ftiU open. I tumbled Hones down into thefe gulfs, and heard the noife for a long time after. All the fields round to a collide rabtc diftance, are covered with large burnt, {tones difcharged from thefe little volcanos. From this place it is not lefs than five or fix miles tp the great c.befnut- trees, through forelts growing out of the lava, in feveral places almofl impaflable. . Cf thefe*- there are many of an enormous fize ■ .but the Cattagno de Cento Cavalli is by much the melt celebrated. 1 hav.p e,yen found it marked in an ol -Oiwp of Sicily, publlfhed near a hundred years ago ;_. and in all the maps of -Etna,,, and its environs, it, makes a very conipicucu;. figure. I own I was by no means iiruck with its appearance, as it does not feera to be one. tree, but. a bulb of rue large trees, growing. together.. We complained to our guides of the impolition ; when they unanimoufly alfured u-*,. that by the unLverfal tradition and. even teitimeny of the « country, all thefe were once united in one l^cm ; th^t their grandfathers remembered this, when it was looked npon as the glory of the foreft, and vilited from aU< ffiarre-rs ; that formany years paft it-had been redueecHo the venerable ruin we beheld. We began to examine it, with more attention, and found that there was indeed an Appear ance^as if the fe five trees, had really been once tfniteJ 56 'A TOUR THROUGH united in one. The opening in the middle is at prefent prodigious ; and it does indeed require faith to believe, that fo vaft a fpace was once occupied by folid timber. But there is no appearance of bark on the in- ilde of any of the (tumps, nor on the fides that are op- polite to one another. Mr. Glover and I meafured it feparately, and brought it exactly to the fame frze . 204. feet round. If this was once united in one folid item, it muft with juftice indeed have been looked upon as 'a very wonderful phenomenon in the vegetable world, and was defervediy ftiled the glory of the Brett. I have fince been told by the Canonico Recupero, an ingenious ecclefiaftic of this place, that he was at the cxpenfe of carrying up peafahts With tools to dig round the Caftagno de Cento Cavalli, and he ailures me, upon his honour, that he found all the fe item's united below ground in one root. Ialledged that fo extraordina object muft have been mentioned by many of their writers. He told me that it had, and produced f examples ; Philateo, Carrcra, and feme others. Carrera begs to be excufed from telling its dimenGons, bu~ he la fure there was wood enough in that one tree to build a large palace. Their poet, Bagolini, too, h.is celebrated a tree of the fame kind, perhaps the fame tree ;* and Meffa, one of their molt efteemed au: fays he has fcen folid oaks upwards of 40 feet round 'j. but adds, that the fize of the chefnut-trees was beyond belief, the hollow of one of which, he fays, contained 500 Ihcep ; and 30 people on horfeback had often been in it at a time. 1 fhall not pretend to fay, that this is the fame tree he means ; or whether it was ever one tree or not. There are many others that are well deferv- * Supremos inter montes monjirojior Qtnui Monftrofi fcetum fitp'it'is JEtna ded'it > Cajlaneam genuit^ cujus modo concave cortex Turmam equitum haudparvam conUne! % atqxcgregt ./ » the curioiity of travellers. One of thefe about a.mik and a half higher on the, rajomitajn, is called //. Cafiagm J: I Galea ; it rifes from oi-.e folid item to a coniideiable height, after which it branches out, and is a much finer i than the other, I. meniured it about two i'cet from the ground and found it 76 icct round. There i> a third called // Cafiagno del Nave, that is-pretty nearly of the fame fize. All thefe grow on a thick rich foil, formed originally, I believe, of aihes thrown out by the mountain. The climate here is much more temperate than in the firft region of ^tna, where the exceflive. heats mult ever prevent a. very luxuriant vegetation. I* found the barometer had now fallen to 26 : ,t; which announces an elevation of very near four thoufand feet ; equiva- lent in the opinion of fome of the French academicians, to 18 or 20 degrees of latitude &i the formation of s. climate. The vail quantity of nitre contained in the aihes of /Etna, probably contributes greatly to increafe the luxu- riance of this vegetation ; and the air too, ibongly im- pregnated with it from the fmoke of the volcano, mull. create a conllant fupply of this fait, termed by fome, not without reafon, the food of vegetables. There is the ruihs of, a, hpuip- in the iniide of the great chefnut-tree which had been built for holding the fruit it beards, which ii ttill eonfiderable ; here we dined with excellent appetite, and being convinced, that it, was in, vain to a.tt?mpt getting to the top of the moun- tain on that ipde, we began to defcend ; and after a very fatiguing journey over old lavas, now become fertile fields a/id rich vineyards, we arrived about funfet at J act Rralty where* with no fmall difficult)', we at lait gQC lodging in a convent of Dominicans. The laft lava we croflTcd before our arrival there, is of a vaft extent, I thought we never fhould have had doqe with 58 A TOUR THROUGH with it ; it certainly is not lefs than fix or feven miles broad, and appears in many places to be of an enormous depth. When we came near the fea, I was defirous to fee what form it had affumed in meeting with the water. I went to examine it and found it had driven, back the waves for upwards of a mile, and had formed a large black high promontory, where before it was deep water. This lava, I imagined, from its barrennefs, for it is as yet covered with a very fcanty foil, had run from the mountain only a few ages ago ; but was furprifed to be informed by Signor Recupero> the hiftoriographer of JEtnz, that this very lava is mentioned by Diodorus $iculus to have burft from iEtna in the time of the fee- ond Punic war, when Syracufe was befieged by the Romans. A detachment was fent from Taurominum to the relief of the befieged. They were (lopped on their march by this Ilream of lava, which having reached the fea before their arrival at the foot of the mountain, had cut off their paffage ; and obliged them to return by the back of iEtna, upwards of 100 miles about. His au- thority for this, he tells me, was taken trom inferiptions on Roman menuments found on this lava, and that ic was likewife well afcertained by many old Sicilian au- thors. Now as this is about 2000 years ago, one would have imagined, if lavas have a regular progrefs in be- coming fertile fields, that this muft long ago have be- come at leaft arable ; this, however, is not the cafe, and it is as yet only covered with a very fcanty vegetation, and incapable of producing either corn or vines. There are indeed pretty large trees growing in the cTevices, which are full of a rich earth ; but in all probability it will be fome hundred years yet, before there is enough of it to render this land of any ufe to the proprietors. It is curious toconfider, that the furface of this black and barren matter, in procefs of time, becomes one oi the Hioft fertile foils upon earth : But what muft be the SICILY AND MALTA. 59 time to bring it to its utmoft . perfection, when after 2000 years it is (till in moft places but a barren rock ? — Its progrefs is poflibly as follows : The lava being a very porous fubftance, eafiiy catches the dull that is car- ried about by the wind ; which at rirft, I obferve only yields a kind of mofs ; this rotting, and by degrees in- creafing the foil, fome fmall meagre vegetables are next produced ; which rotting in their turn, are likewife converted into foil. But this progrefs, I fuppofe, is often greatly accelerated by mowers of afhes from the mountain, as I have obferved in fome places the richeft foil, to the depth of 5* or 6 feet and upwards ; and {till below that nothing but rocks of lava. It is in thefe fpots that the trees arrive at fuch an immenfe fize. Their roots (hoot into the crevices of the lava, and lay fuch hold of it, that there is no inftance of the winds fearing them up ; though there are many, of its break- ing off their largeft branches, A branch of one of the great chefnut-trees, where we palled yefterday, has fallen acrofs a deep gully, and formed a very commodious bridge over the rivulet below. The people fay it was done by St. Agatha, the guardian iaint of the moun- tain, who has the fuperintendance of all its operation?. In the loweft part of the flrfl region of iEtna, the harvelt is almoit over ; but in the upper parts of the fame region, near the confines- of* the Regione Sylvofa, it will not begin for feveral weeks. The reapers, as we went along, abufed us from all quarters, and more excellent blackguards I have neves met with ] but indeed, our guides were a full match for them. They began as foon as we were within hearing, and did not finifh tiil we were got quite without reach of their voicjjp ; which they extended as much as they could. As it was all in Sicilian, we could make very little of it, but by the interpretation of our t.vevcr, we could not help admiring the voiu- • natural elocution with which they fpoke. Tfeis fel i f 6 tJ r '-'i v n r6 u C rt This ciiftom i.s as old as the time of the Romans, Sh3 jTrobablv much older, as it in mentioned by Horace, and drhers, of their authors. It is itill in vqmie here a* much as ever : the matters encourage it-; they think it gives them fpirits, and makes the \tofls go on more chccrfuliv ; and 1 believe Ihev *Yrc right, 'for it is v. ha: M v. hat pteftfure rifey fecmcet to take in it, and ;'"firtS *nd mcrrirrlcnt it cccrdioned. T Jorgot to mention that we pafled the fource of the • •imoiis cohl river (ttfinms fitJJo.' This is the river i\i Celebratr-d by the poets in the fable of Ach and Galatea. It was here that Acis \v*s fuppofed to have been killed bv r^oJipbefBua ardtbe gods out of* com-, jail'on converted hirrn into xlris river ; which, as itill retawing the tcrtor inferred by the dreadful voice of the Cyclops, runs with great rapidity. -«nd about a mile from its fource throws itfcJf into tire fea. It rifes at once out of the earth ft large ilrcam-. Its water is re- markably pure, and lb extremely cold, that it is reckon- ed dangerous to drink it ; but 1 am told it has likewife a poifonous quality, which proceeds from its being im-v rxegnated with vitrioi ••; to fuch a degree, that cattle have often been killed by it. It never freezes ; but, tfhat hTefnarkable f it "is faid often to contract a de- gree of cold greater than that of ice* Thefe particulars I was informed of by the priefts at Aci : which place, anciently called Aci Aquileia, and frvrjral others near it, Aci Caftcllo, Aci Terra, &c. take their names from the unfortunate mepherd Acis. A little to the call: o\ tlie rlVcr Acis, is the mouth of The river Alcantara, one of the moll confiderable in the. ifland. It takes its rife on the north fide of mount uEtna, and marks out the boundary 'of the mountain for ribout Co miles. Its courfe has been flopped in many places, by the eruptions of "the volcano ; fo that ftric~t ly fpeakirig, the ucirts of Mtnh. extend much beyond it ; -Hough it has generally be^n confidcred a$ the boundary) SICILY AND MALTA. 01 We paflcd it on our way to Piedmont, over a large bridge built entirely of lava ; and Bear to this the bed of the river is continued for a great way, through one of the moft remarkable, and probably one of the moft ancient lavas that ever run from iEtna. In many places' the current of the river, which is extremely rapid, has worn down the folid lava to the depth of 50 or 60 feet. Recupero, the gentleman 1 have mentioned, who is en- gaged in writing the natural hiftoxy of JEtma, tells me* he had examined this lava with great attention, and he thinks that its courfe, including all its windings, is not lefs than 40 miles. It iiTued irom a mountain on the 1 Jjfeorth fide of iEtna, and finding fome vallies that lay to the eaft, it took its courfe that way ; interrupting the Alcantara in many places, and at laft arrived at the fea not far from the mouth of that rives. The city of Jaci or Aci, and indeed all tbe towns om this coaft, are founded on immenfe rocks ©f lava, heaped one above another, in fome places to an amazing height; for it appears that thefe flaming torrents, as foon as they arrived at the fea, were hardened into rock, which not yielding any longer to the prefTure of the liquid fire be- hind, the melted matter continuing to accumulate, formed a dam of fire, which, in a (hort time run over the folid front, -pouring a fecond torrent into the ocean; this was immediately confolidated, and fucceeded by a third, and fo on. Many .of the places on this coaft, ftill retain their an- cient names ; but the properties afcribed to them by the ancients are now no more. The river Acis, which is now fo poifonous, was of old celebrated for the fweer- nefs and falubrity of its waters ;* which Theocritus fays, were ever held facred by the Sicilian Ihepherds. G We * Qu'wue per 'JEtnaos Acis petit aguora fines, Et dnke gratuin N'.reMe perlait rtnda. S 1 L. Itla, 6l A TOUR THROUGH* We .we're furprifed to find that (6 many places retain- ed the name of this fwain, who I imagined had never ex- ited, but in the imagination of the poets : But the Sicilian authors fay, that Acis was the name of a king, who reigned in this part of the ifland, in the time of the moft Temote antiquity ; in confirmation of which, Mafia gives the tranflation of an infcription found near- Aci Caftello.+ He is faid to have been flain in a fit of jealoufy by Poliphejnus, one of the giants of JEtna ; which gave rife to the fable. Anguillara, a Sicilian poet, in relating this ftory gives a tremendous idea of the voice of PoTiphemus ; the paflage has been greatly admired, " Tremor per troppo horrore JEtnn ; c Tifeo •* Fece maggior !a fiamma ufcirdel mcr.te : « E Pacchino, e Peloro, e Lilibeo "\ j|| " Quafi attuffar nel mar l'altera frontc ; " Cadde il martel di man nel monte JEtnxo, « All Re di Lenno, a Sterope, e a Bronte ; " Fugir fiere & augei di lor ricetto " E fi ftrinfe ogni madre il figiio al Petto/' You will obferve however,'that the Sicilian poet can not in juftice claim the entire merit of thefe lines, as they are evidently borrowed from Virgil's defcription^of the found of the fury Aleclo's horn, in the 7th iEncid, The + DIM QGN1JE> SATURNIM, JETNMM DEO RUM MARTI, FILIA, UXORI, IN PORTU SEPULCIIRUM, VEMPLUM, ET ARCEM ACIS, FAUNI FILIUS\ PICf NEPOS, LATINI F RATER. SICILY AND M A L T.A. 63 The laff line, perhaps the mod beautiful, of the whole, is almofcword for wprd, «• Et trepidae matres preflere ad peftont natos»" It has been obferved too, by foine critics, that even this defcription of Virgil is not his owt>, but copied from, the account that Apollonius Rhodius gives of the roaring of the dragon that guarded the golden fleece ; Ho that you fee there is nothing new under the fun. Rhodius probably ftole it from fomebolly elfe, and fo on. Poett have ever been the greateft of all thieves, and happy it is, that poetical theft is no felony ; otherwife, I am afraid, Pamaflus would have been but thinly peopled. Farewell ; tomorrow I (hall endea^ur to bring you up with us, for at prefent you will pleafe to obfervc, that you have got no iarther than the city of Jaci; and kave ftill many extinguilhed volcanos to pafs before your ar» rival here. Ever yours, Sec, LETTER VIL Catania, May l^th. THE road from Jaci to this city, is entirely ovet lava, and confequently very fatiguing and. trouble- fome. Within a few miles of that place, we counted eight mountains formed by eruption, with every one its crater, from whence the burnt matter was difcharged. Some of thefe are vtry high, and of a great compafs. It appears evident, that the eruptions of mount uEtna have formed the whole of this coaft, and in many places have driven back the fea foe feveraL miles* from its an- cient ^4 A TOUR THROUGH t eient boundary. The account the Sicilian au-thoVs give %f the conflict betwixt thefe twoave^fe elements is truly tremendous ; and in relating; it, they feem to have bee% i lhaken With horror. Conceive the front of a torrent of fne, ten miles in breadth, and heaped up to an enormous fotight, rolling down thetnountain^ and pouring its flames N into thy ocean ! The noife, the^ aflfure us, is infinitely more dreadful than the loudeft thunder ; and is heard through the whole country to an immenfe diftance. The wafer fetmed to retire and diminilh before the fare, and toconfefc its fuperiority ; gelding up irs pofieffiohs, and c6ntracling its banks, to make room for its imperious mailer, who commands it: " Thus far {halt thou come,. and 50 farther." — -The clouds 6*f fait vap^pr darken the , face of the fun, covering up this fcene, under a veil of horror and of nigh^/ and laying wade ever/ field and vineyard in thefe regions of tho iiland. The whole fith on the eoai* are deftroyed, the colour of the fea itfelf is ranged, and the uanfparency of its waters loft foe aaany months. TUere are uhree rocks of lava at foiue Utile diftance from (here, whicii Pliny take? frequent notice of, and calls them the three Cyclops, it is pretty fingular, thai they are (till diftinguiihed by the faise name. The fate of Catania has been very remarkable, and -will ever appear fabulous. It is fituated immediately at trie" fo6t Of th'19 great volcano, and has been feveral times dcilroyed by it : That indeed is not extraordinary ; it would have been much more fo had it efcaped : f what I am going t6 relate, is a Angularity that probat I never happened to any city but itfelf. It was always ii great want of a port, 'till by an eruption in the 1 6th century ; and no doubt, by the i^erpofition of Agatha, what was denied them by nature, they receiv from the generofity of the mountain. A ftream of k\ running into the fca, formed a mole which no expei ■> eould have fumiihed them. This lailed for fome ti $ r C i l V AND MALTA. 6 C a fafe and commodious harbour, 'till at laft, by a fubfe- quent eruption, it was entirely filled up and demolimed* fo that probably the poor faint, had funk much in her credit. Fot a£ this unfortunate period, her miraculoA Veil, looked upon as "the greateft trcafure of Catania, and efteemed ao infallible remedy againft earthquakes and volcanos, feerns to have loft its virtue/ The, tor- thq; images ci every faint that were placed there to oppofe k ; and la^- rent burft over the walls, fwejping away thq; images ing wafte great part of this fcelutiful cify, poured into the fea. However, the people fay, that at that time they had given their faint, very juft provo«ation, but thafc .(he has long ago been reconciled to them ; and has promifed never to fuffear flie mountaq^oget the better of them for the future. Many qfcthem are fo thorough- ly convinced of this (for thtyvare extremely fuperflitious) that I really believe if the lava wfere at their walls, they would not be at the pains to remove their effects. Neither is it the veil of St. Agatha alone, that they think poiTefled of this wonderrul dominion over the mountain ; but every thing that has touched that piece of facredVattire, ihey fuppofe is impregnated in a lefler degree* with the fame miraculous properties.' Thus there are a number of little bits of cotton and linen fixed to the veil ; which, after being blefled by the bifhop, are fuppofed to acquire power enough to fave any perfon's houfe or garden ; and wherever this expedient has failed, ikis always afcribed to the want of faith of the perfon,inot any want of efficacy in the veil. However, thev Ibfll you many ftories of thefe bits of cotton being- fi ted to the walls of houfes and vineyards, and preferv- in^hem entirely from the conflagration. On ourarrival at^atania-, we were amazed to find, that in (o noble and beautiful a city, there was no fuch thing as an inn. Our; guides, indeed, conducted us to a houfe they called fucfc ; but it was fo wretchedly mean and dirty, that we were obliged to look out for other lodgings • and by the affiftance of the Canonico Recu- O 2 pero* 66 A TOUR THROUGH pcro, for whom w »ear to a vault, which is now thirty feet b< .'. ground, and has rrobajpiy been a burial place, there is a draw-well, w't^e there are fcveral ftrata of lavas, with earth to a confid^iblc thicknefs over th- furfnee of each itratura Recupcro h* made ufs of this as an ar- gument to prove thereat antiquity of the eruptions of this mountain. For if it requires two thoufand years or upwards, to form but a fcanty foil on the , Airfare of a lava, there mn!t have been more than thijt fftnee of time betwixt each of the eruptions which have formed thefe ftrata. But what mall we fay of a pit they -funk near *o Jaci cf a great depth. They pierced through feven diilincl lavas one under the crher, the furraces of which Were parallel, and moil of them covered with a thick bed of rich earth. Now, fays he, the crnnti i w^ich forrned-thc loweft of thefe lavas if we may be allowed to reafon from analogy, muft have ilo.ved fro. r. :hf mountain at leaf* 1400b years ago. ftecupero tells me he is exceedingly embarraffed, by thefe difcoveries, in writing the hiftcry of the»mountain. Tliat Mofes hangs Jike a dead weight upon him, and blunts all his zeal for inquiry ; forthat ceally he has not the confeienefc to make his mountain fo young, as that prophet makes the world..— -What do you think of thefe ■fentiments from a Roman Catholic divine ? The feifhop, who is ftrenuoufly orthodox, for it ,is an ex- cellent fee, has already warned bim to be upon his guard : j SIC1L1' A N f> M A L T A. 6 V guard : And not to pretend to be a better natural hitter an than Mofes : Nor to prefume to urg e any thipg that may in the fmalleit decree be deedjp contradictory to bis facred authority. Adieu. Ever yours. ( :tter viii. Catania, May i6t£> THIS morning we went to fat the houfe and mute urn of the prince of Bifcaris ; which, in antiques is inferior to none I have ever fe>n, except that of the king of Naples at Portici. Wrutt adds greatly to the *alue of thefe Is, that the princV hinifelf has had the fatisfacTion of feeing moil of them brought to fight. He has dug them our of the ruins of the aflcfent theatre of Catania, at an incredible expeiffe ; but happily his .pains have been amply repaid, by the number and varie- ty of Curious objects he has difcovered. It would be cndlefs to enter into an enumeration of them ; ever, during* our fhort ftay. We had the fatisfaction of feeing part oT a rich Corinthian cornice and feveral pieces ci (tatues, produced again to the light, after lying for to many ages in darknefs and oblivion. His collection o: medals, cameos, and intaglios is likewife very prkcely, and fo are the articles in natural hiftory : But the polite and amiable behaviour of the owner, gives more pleas- ure than all his curiofities. He did wot, oftentatioufly, like the prince of Villa Franca, tell us, that his houfe and carriages were at our command ; but without any hint being given of it, we found his coach waitl&g at our door ; and,we (hall probably be obliged to make ufe of it during our ftay. His family confilts of the princefs km wife, a Con, and a daughter, who fecm to emulate each 6S A TOJR THROUGH each other in benignity. They put me in mind of fome happy families I have feen in our own country, but re- iemble nothing we have yet met with on the continent. He ib jufl now building a curious villa on a promontory formed by the lava of 1669. The fpot where the houie ftands was formerly at leaft 50 feet deep of water ; and the height of the lava above the_ prefent level of the feas, is not lefs than 50 more. This afternoon I walked out alone to examine the capricious forms and fingular ap^larances that this de- ftruclive branch has afluraed in laying wafte the country. I had not gone far when I efpied a magnificent building at fome diftance, which feemed to (land on the higheft part of it. My cu-rionty led me on, as I had heard no mention of any palace ,pn this fide of the city. On en- tering the great gate, my furprife was a good deal in- ereafed on obferving a facade almoft « qual to that o/- Verfailles ; a noble ftaircafe of white marble, and every thing that announced a royal magnificence. I have never heard that the kings of Sicily had a palace at Catania, and yet I could not account for what I faw in any other way. I thought the vaft front before me had been the whole of the palace ; but conceive my amaze- ment, when on turning the corner, I found another front of equal greatnefs ; and 4ifcovered that what I had feen was only one fide of a fquare. v I was no longer in doubt, well knowing that the church alone could be miftrefs of fuch magnificence. I haftened home to communicate this difcovery to my friends ; when I found the Canonico Recupero already with them. He abufed me exceedingly for prefuming, to go out without our Cicerone, and declared he had never bgjh fo much difappointed in his life ; as he had eome on purpofe to carry us there, and to enjoy our fcrprife and atfonifhmeiu. H« then told us, that it was no other than a convent of fat Benedicline monks ; who were determined to make fure of a paradife, at lealfin this . SICILY AND MA'LTA. 6*J rb*n world, if not in the other. He added, that they ,- 1 about i5,qqo1. a year; aniaimcafc fc . . deed for this country. We went with Recupero to pay our refpe&s to thefe ions of humility, temperance', and mortification ; and we mud own, they received and entertained us with great civility and polilenefs, and even without oftenta- tion. Their mufeum is little inferior to that of the prince of Bifcaris, and the apartments that contain it are much more magnificent. But their garden is the great- eft curiofity : AUhougn it b* formed on the rugged anil barren furface ot the lava, it has a variety and a neat- ness feldom to be met with. The walks are broad, and paved with flints ; and the trees and hedges (which by the bye are in a bad tafte, and cut into a number oi ridiculous ihapesj thrive exceedingly. The whole foil mu£ have been brought from a great diftance, as the furface of this lava (only i :o years eld] is as hard and bare as a piece of iron. The church belonging to this convent, if rmiihed, would be on • fmcit i;> Europe ; but as it isvfounded en the fur 'ace of tlv. ous and brittle lava, part of the foundation has way to the preffure of fo huge a fabric ; aa : kceflors, and imitating forae part of their idolatry. This appears to be ftrictly the cafe. I tc^ £ notice of it to bignor R , who is not the mote zealous feclary in the world, and who frankly owned the truth of the obferva- tion. H I In fome places the very fame images ftill remain ; They have only ehriftened them ; and what was Venus or Proferpine, is now Mary Magdalene, or the Virgin. Tjfle fame ceremonies are daily performed before thefe images ; in the fame language, and nearly in the fame maimer. The faints are perpetually coming down in perfon, and working miracles, as the heathen gods did of old. The walls of the temples are covered with the vows of pilgrims, as they were formerly. The holy water, which was held in fuch deteftation by the firit chriftians, is again revered, and iprinkled about with the fame devotion as in the time of paganifm. The fame incenfe is burnt, by priefts arrayed in the fame manner, with the fame grimaces and genuflections, be- fore the fame images, and in the fame temples too. In fhort, fo nearly do the rites coincide, that were t^c pa- gan high-prieft to come back, and re-aflurae his u tions, S i C I L Y A N D M A L T A. 73 fcions, he would only have to learn a few new name* ; to get the Mafs, the Paters, and the Aves by heart ; which wculd be much eafier to him, as they are in a language he underftands, but which his modern fuccef. fors are often ignorant of. Some things to be fure, would puzzle him ; and he would fvvear that all the myfteries of Eleufis were nothing to the amazing myftery of tranfubftantiation ; the only one that ever attempted to fet both our understanding and our fenfes at defiance, and baffles equally all the faculties both of the foul and body. He would, likewife, be a good deal at a lofs to acceunt for the ftrange metamorphofis of fome of his old friends. That (he would fay) I can well remember, wai the ftatue of Venus Meretrix, and was only worfhiped by the loofe and voluptuous. She feems to be wonderfully improved fince you' made her a chriftian.; for I find fhc is now become the great prote&refs of chaftity and of virtue. — Juno too, who was fo implacable and fo re- vengeful, you have foftened down into a very moderate fort of deity ; for I obferve you addrefs her with as little fear or ceremony as any of the reft of them ; I wifh you would make the Furies chriftians too, for furely they w&uld be much the better for it. But ob- serving the figure of St. Anthony, he woald exclaim with aftoniihment. Eut what do I behold ! Jupiter, the fovereign of gods and men, with a ragged cloak over his moulders ! What a humiliating fpetfacle I Well do I remember, with what awe we bent before that once refpeclable image. But what ha* become of the thun, • derbolt, which he held in his hand to chaftife the world ; and what is that he has got in its place ? His conductor would tell him, that it was only a piece of rope, with knots upon it to chaftife himfelf ; adding, that he was now doing penance for his longofurpatioa ; and that the thunder had long ago been put into better hands. However, he would foon find, that even thefe faints fometimes change their names, according to the enthu- t faafttc caprice ot the people ; and from this verfatility, * he ■ H 74 A TO'UR THROUOH he would ftill be in hopes, iri procefs of time, to fee hij friend Jupiter re-aflume his bolt and his dignity. Do you remember old Huet ; the greateft ot all originals ? One day, as he pafled the ftatue of Jupitev in the capitol, he pulled off his hat, and made him a bow. —A jacobitc gentleman, who obferved it, afked him why he paid fo much refpeft to that old gentleman. — For the fame reafon, replied Huet, that you pay fo much to the Pretender. Befides, added he, 1 think there is rather a greater probability that his turn will come round again, than that of your hero ; I mall, therefore, endeavour to keep well with him, and hope he will never forget that I took notice of him in the time of his adveriity. Indeed, within the courfe of my own observation, I can recoiled fome of the mod capital faints in the cal- endar, who have been difgraced by the people, and new s given to their ftatues. When we were in Portu- gal iait war, the people of Cailel Branco were fo en- raged at St. Antonio, for following the Spaniards to plunder the town, contrary, as they affirmed, to his ex< pref3 agreement with them, that they bioke many of his ilatues to pieces ; and one that had been more revered than the reft, they took the head off, and clapped q one of St. Francis in its place ; whole name the , . ever after retained. Even the great St. jam fell', I am told, was in imminent danger duri amine at Naples. A Swifs gentleman aifurcd lie had heard, them load him with abafe . and declared point-blank, that if he did not pr them corn by fuch a time, he faould no longer b« faint. However, fuch inftances are hut rare ; and in general the poor catholics are fully lbdemniri< I tsof pafiion and refentment, from the lull per- ,'n of" the i: ence and protection of their beloved patrons. SICILY AND MALTA. 75 I have obfervcd, with pleafure, that glow of gratitude *nd affection that has animated their countenances; and am pcrfuaded that the warmth of enthufiaftic devotion they often feel before their favourite faints, particularly their female ones, muft have fomething extremely de- lightful in it ; refembling, perhaps, the pure and de*i«. cate fen fations of the moft refpeclful love. I own I have fometimes envied them their feelings ; and in my heart curfed the pride of reafon and philofophy, with all its cool and caitelefs triumphs, that lulls into a kind of ftoical apathy thefe moft exquifite fenfations of th« . foul. Who would not choofe to be deceived, when the deception raifes in him thefc delicious paffions, that are fo worthy of the human heart ; and for which, of all others, it feems to be the mod fitted ? But if once you have fteeied it over with the hard and impenetrable tem- per of philofophy ; thefe fine-fpun threads of weaknefs and affection, that v/ere fo pliable, and fo eafily tied, become hard and inflexible ; and forever lofe that deli- cate tone of fenfibility that put them into a kind of unifon and vibration with every object around us : For it is certainly true what has been faid of one part of our fpecies, and may almofl with equal juftice be applied to the whole, " That to their weaknefs half their charms we owe." I remember Dr. Tifibrt told me, he had a patient that actually died of bve for Chrift ; and when in the laft extremity, feemed (till to enjoy the greateft happi- nefs ; calling upon him with all the fondnefs of the moft cnthufiaftic paflion. And from what I have often ob- ferved before the Jtatues.of the Virgin and St. Agptfeii I am perfuaded, they have many innmoriros that Yvould willingly Jay down their lives for them. Now, pray don't you think too, that this pergonal kind of worihip is much better adapted to the capacities q{ the vulgar, than the more pure nni fublinw modes ■ H ^T it ; v:l- \) their iimple undeiiiandings, unaccuitomed to Speculation - and that certainly require fomething grofs and material, ibme objeci of fenfe to fix their attention ? This even feems to have been the opinion of fome of the facred writers, who often reprefent God under fome material form. Were yon to attempt to give a country iellow an idea ©f the Deity ; were yeu to tejl him of a being that is immaterial, and yet whofe effence penetrates all matter; who has exifted from all eternity, and whofe extenfion is equally boundlefs with his duration; who fills and prevades millions of worlds, and animates every objeci they contain ; and who, in the fublime language of our poet, « ? Tho' chang'd thro' all, is yet in all the fame, " Great in the earth, as in th' aetherisl frame : «« Warms in the fun, refrefhes in the breeze,. " Glows in the liars, and bloflbms in the trees ;. < f Li\es thro' all life, extends thro' all extent ; " Spreads undivided, operates unfpent. *•' To him no high, no low, no great, no fmall ; «' He fills, he bounds, connects, and equals all." Novr, what do you imagine he would think of fuch a beino- ? I am afraid his understanding would be fo be- wildered, that he could not think at all. _ But fet up before him the figure of a fine woman, with a child in her arms, the moft intereiiing objeci in nature ; and tell him Ihe can procure him every thing fee wants ; he knows perfeftly well what he is about. ; feels himieif animated by the objeci, and prays to her with a might. Adieu. We are going to be very bufy ; and preparing every thing for one of the greateft objena> i arc as different, both in climate and f cfions, at the three zones of the earth ; and per- with eoual propriety, might have been ftiled the Torrid, the crate, and the Frigid zone. The - n frfrrourkh the foot of the mountain, and i moft fertile country in the world on all fides of ir, ro the extent of about fourteen or nftee» , .. ere the wocriy region begins. It is compofed 1 entirely o? iava, which, after a number of ages> ,i(i converted Lito the moil fertile of all foils. At Nicolofi, which j s twelve miles up the mountain,. und the barometer at 27 : \\ ; at Catania it £ood ~t 20 : S| ; although the former deration is not very great, probably not exceeding 3000 feet, yet the climate was totally changed. At Catania tire harveft was en- tirely over, and the heats were infupportable ; here thev were moderate, and in many places the corn SICILY AND MALT J $ yet green. The road for, thefe twelve miles is the worft I ever travelled ; entirely over old lavas and the mouths- of cxtingyifhed volcanos, now converted into corn fields, vineyards and orchards. The fruit of this region is reckoned the fineft in Sicily, particularly the figs, of which they have a great variety. One of thefe of a very large fize, efteemed fuperior in flavour to all the red, they pretend is peculiac to JEtna^ The lavas, which as I have already (aid form this region of the mountain, take their rife from an infinite number of the moft beautiful little mountains- on earth,, which are every where fcatteredon the immenfe declivi- ty of iEtna. Thefe are all of a regular figure ; either that of a cone,, or a femi-fphere ; and ail, but a very- few, are cove-red with beautiful trees, and the richeil verdure •. Every eruption generally forms one of thefe mountains. As the great crater of JEtna. irfelf is raifed to fuch an enormous height above the lower regions of the- mountain, it is not pofiible,> that the internal fire raging for a vent, even round the bafe, and no doubt vaftly be- low it, ihould be carried to the height of twelve or thirteen thoufand feet, for probably fo high is the funv. mit of iEtna. It has therefore generally happened, that after making the mountain and its neighbourhood -•ror fome time, it at laft burfts open its fides, and this if. called an eruption. At firft it only fends, forth a thick fmoke and (bowers of alhes that lay wafte the adjacent country : Thefe are fooa- followed by. red-hot {tones, and rocks of a great fize-, thrown to an immenfe height in the aiF. The fall of thefe ftones, together with the qu amities, of afnes difcharged- at the fame- time, at lad form the fpherical and conical mountains I have men- tioned. Sometimes this procefs is unimed in the courfe of a few days, fometimes it lads for months, which was fche cafe in the great eruption 1669. In that cafe, the wountain formed is of a great fizc ; fomc. of them are no* 8-0 A TOUR THROUGH not hCs than feyen or eight mi!<" c round, and upwards of one thoufand feet in per;>endicular height ; others arc not more than two or three miles i ind three or four hundred feet hi'o-ri. o After the new mountain is formed, the orally burfts out from its lower fide ; and ; very thing before it, is for the moft part terminated by the fca. This is the common progrefs of nn eruption ; however, it fometimes happens, though rarely, that the lava burfts at once from the fide of the mountain, without all thefe attending circumftances ; and this is commonly the cafe with the eruptions of Vefuvius, where the elevation being fo much fmaller, the melted matter is generally carried up into the crater of the mountain, which then exhibits the phenomena I have defcribed ; difcharging fhowers of {tones and aihes from the mouth of the vol- cano, without forming any new mountain, but only adding confiderably to the height of the old one ; 'till at laft the lava, rifing near the fummit, burfts the fide or the crater, and the eruption is declared. This has literally been the cafe with two eruptions I have been an attentive witnefs of in that mountain ; but >*£tna is upon a much larger fcale,and oae crater is not enough to give vent to fuch ocean* of liquid fire. Recupero aflfures me, he faw irr an eruption of rfcat rnoantain large rocks of fire difcharged to the height of~ fome thoufand feet, with a noife much more terrible than that of thunder. He meafured from the time of their greatcft elevation 'till they reached the ground, rmd found they took twenty-one feconds to defcend ; which, according to the rale of the fpaces, being as the fquares of the times, amounts, 1 think, to upwards of 7000 feet. A moft aftonifhing height furely, and re- quiring a force of projection beyond what we have any conception of. I meafured the height of the cxplofions of Vefuvius by the fame rule, 2nd never obferved any of the ftones thrown from it to take more than 1 {cc. T A, : cicea i , which they had ri to littl more than i 200 feet. Our landlord at Nicolofi gave us an account of the fingular fate of the beautiful country near Hybla, at no great diftance from hence. It wis fo celebrated for its fertility, and particularly for its honey, that it was called Mel Paffi, 'till it was overwhelmed by the lava of iEtna ; and having then become totaily barren, by a kind of pun, its name was changed to Mai Paili. In a fecund eruption, by a fhower of alhes from the mountain, it foon realfumed its ancient beauty ani fertility ; and for many years was called Bell Paflia. Lalt of all, in th$ unfortunate sera of 1669* it was again laid unci^r an ocean of fire, and reduced to the moll wreti which time it is known again by its frcond appellation cf Mai Paffi. However, the lava, in its courfe ove: this beautiful country, has left feveraliittle iflands or hillocks ; juft enough to (hew what it formerly was. Thefe make a fingular appearance, in ail the bloom of the mod luxuriant vegetation, furrounied and rer* almoitinacceilible by large fieUs of black and vc . lava.. The mountain, from whence the fi.rft eruption iffued, that covered the Mel Paflia, is knowa by the name of Monpeiieri ; I was ftruck with its beautiful appearance at a diftance, and cjuld not rcfift the defire I had of examining it minutely, as well as of obferving the effe&s of the two eruptions that overwhelmed this celebrated, country, Monpeiieri is ratirer of a. fpherical than a coi fiiape, and does not rife in perpendicular height above; 300 feet, but it is fj perfectly regular on every and fo richly overfpread. with fruits and flowers, that I could not have fo heavenly a fpot, 'without the gre regret. Its cup or crater is large in proportion to the mountain, and is as exadUy hollowed oat as the beft jrud« howl, I walked auit? round . 3 tli tj :..-. t (inference; moft be fomewh&t moit. c-^an a wile. This mountain was formed by the firft eruption that destroyed the country of Mel PaTi, and is of a very old date. It buried a great number of villages and country houfes ; and particularly two noble churches, which are more regreted than all the reft, on account of three ftatues, reckoned at that time the moft perfect in (he ifland. They have attempted* but in vain, to recover them ; as the foot where the churches flood could never be juftly afcertaioed. Indeed it is impombie it fliould • for thefe churches were built of lava, which it is weP known is immediately melted, when it comes into con- Cadi with a torrent of new erupted matter : And Mefla, fays, that in fome eruptions of iEtna, the lava has poured down with fuch a fudden impetuofity, that in the courfe of a few hours, churches, palaces, and villages, have been entirely melted down, an J ,the whole run off in fufion without leaving the leafl mark of their former oxiilence. But if the lava has had any confiderable time to cool, this fmgular effect never happens. The great eruption of i65q» after fluking the whole country around for four months, and forming a very large mountain of {tones and afhes, burft out about a mile above Monpelicri, and defcending like a torrent, bore directly againft the middle of that mountain, And (they pretend) perforated it from fide to fide ; this however I doubt, as it muft have broken the regular form of the mountain, which is not the cafe. JBut cer- tainit is, thatit pierced to agreatdepth. The lava then di- vided into two branches ; auJ furrounding this mountain, joined again on its fouth fide ; and laying wade th-o whole country b-twixt that and Catania, fcaied the of that city, and poured its flaming torrent into . -an. In its way, it is faid. to have deftroyed the fi )os of near 30,000 people, and reduced them to b?ggary. It formed fereral lulls where there < for t r 5ICILV AND 'MALTA. formerly valies, and filled up a large lake, of w "there is not now the lcaft veftige to be ieen. As the events of this eruption are better -known than any other, they tell a great many lingular itcries of it-; one of which, however kicredible it may appear, is well afcertained. A vineyard, belonging to a convent of Jefuits, lay direclly in its way. This vineyard was formed on an ancient-lava, probably a thin one, with a number of caverns and crevices under it. The liquid lava entering into thefe -caverns, foon filled them up, and by degrees bore up the vineyard ; and' the Jefuits, who every moment expected to fee it buried, beheld with -amazement the whole field begin to move oii. I: was carried on the un-face of the lava to a confderablc diitance^; and though the greateft part was deftrqyed, yet fome of it remains to this day. We went to c: s the mouth from whence this idful torrent iti'ued ; and were furprifed to find it . ' t three or four yards diameter. /.hence it fprung, I think, is little -.-.nical part of Vefuvius. There is a vaft cavern on the oppofitc 'fide of it, where people go to lnoot wild pigeons, which breed in great abundance. The innermofl parts of this in arc fo very difrnal nni gloomy, that our landlord i I ! us feme people hall loft their fenfes from having ad- an eJ too far, imagining they faw devils and the fpirits of the damned ; for it is ftill very generally believed here, that j$una is the mouth of hell. We found a degree of wildnefs and ferocity in the inhabitants of this mountain, that I have not obferved any whe^e clCc. It put me in miad of an obfervation the Padre dclla Torre (the hiiloriographer of mount ^ roid me he had often made in the confines of ,. tl ces where the air is, jfeoft impreg- nated - 54 A TOUR THROUGH : i with fulphur and hot exhalations the people were always moil wicked and vicious. Whatever truth there be in the obfervation, the^people about Nicolofi at I feem to confirm it. The whole village flocked round us, and the women in particular abufed us ex- ceedingly ; the caufe of winch we at laft found was that R ''s blooming complexion and white ikin had made them take him for one of their own fex. They made a great clamour, and it was with difficulty we could ap- peafe them. The perfon whom Recupero had appointed to accompany us, known by the name of the Cyclops, (the man in tfie illand that is beft acquainted with mount iEtna) was ordered by them not to go with us ; and if "we had not at laft obtained their confent by foothing and flattery, the beft method with women, he durft not have difobeyed them. At firft we had been obliged to fhut the gate of the court, they were fo very noify and tumultuous ; but when our landlord (a prieft) for whom we had letters from Catania, allured them that we were Chriilians, and came with no bad intentions, they be- came more moderate, and we ventured out amongft them. This confidence foon acquired theirs, and in a fhorr time we became good friends, and had a great deal of converfation. It was with much difficulty I could perfuade them that we were not come to fearch for hidden treafures, a great quantity of which they believe is to be found in Monpelieri ; and when I went to that mountain they were then fully convinced that this was our intention. Two of the men followed me, and kept a clofe eye on every ftep that I took ; and when I lifted any bit of lava or pumice, they came running up, thinking it was Tome- thing very precious j but when they obferved they were only bits of done, and that I put them into my pocket, they laughed heartily, talking to one another in their mountain jargon, which is unintelligible even to Italians. However, as moil of them fpeak Italian fo as to be un- derstood, they aficed me what I was going to make of thofe SI CI L V AND MALTA. St, *.hofe biti of flone ? I told them they were of great value in our country ; that the people there had a way of making gold of them : At this they both feemed ex* ceedingly furprifed, and fpokeagain in their own tongue* However, I found they did not believe me ; one of them told me, if that had been true, I certainly would not have been fo ready in telling it : But, faid he, it it is fo, we will ferve you forever, if you will teach us that art ; for then we fhall be the richeft people on earth. I aflured them that I had not yet learned it my- felf, and that it was a fecret known only to a very few. They were likewife a good deal furprifed to fee me pull out of my pocket a magnetical needle and a fmail electrometer, which I had prepared at Catania to ex* amine the electrical ftate of the ai* ; and I was at rirft afraid they mould have taken me for a conjurer (which you know already happened amongft the Appc. but iuckfily that idea did not ftrike them. On our way back to Nicolofi we were joined by three or four. more, with their wives. I began to be a litrl- afraid of myfelf, left they fhould infiit on knowing the fecret. However, I took out my bits of Java, and. told them they were at their fervice, if they had any occafion for them. But they refuted them, faying, they wifhed to the Virgin, and St. Agatha, that I could take away the whole of it ; as it had ruined the iinelt country in all Sicily. One fellow, who affumed an air of fuperior wifdom and dignity to the reft, made them form a circle roun*l him, and began to interrogate me with great gravity and compofuTe. It was with difficulty I could keep my countenance ; but as I was alone with them, at fome dtfta«nce from the village, I was afraid of offending. He delired me to anlwer him with truth and precifion, what were the real motives of our coming fo fatiguing -and difagreeable a journey ? I told him, on my word, that 86 A TOUR THROUGH that we had no other motive but curiofity toexamine mount JEtna, On which, laughing to one another with great contempt, Un bel ragione queJio t non e *vero y laid they (a very pretty reafon, truly.) The old fellow thcR afked me what country we were of. I told him, we were Inghfe. E dove loro pae/e ? faid he j whereabouts does their country lie ? I told him it was a great way oiF, on the other fide of the world. Da you in my next. Adie«. Ever yours* LETTER .SICILY AND M A El T T E R X. Catania, May zqthj At mghi AFTER getting a comfortable nap on our bed©; leaves in the Spelonca del Capriole, we awokr about eleven o'clock ; and melting down a fufficienw quantity of fnmv, we boiled our tea kettle, and ma«.ie \ hearty meal, to prepare us for the remaining part of bur expedition. We were nine in number ; for we had our three fervants, the Cyclop* (our conductor) and two men to take care of our mules. The Cyclops now be- gan to difplay his great knowledge of the mountain, and we followed him with iaiplicit confidence. He con- dueled us over " Antres vaft, and Defaits wild," where fcarce human foot Lad ever trod. Sometimes through gloomy forefts, which by day light were delightful ; But now, from the univerfal darknefs, the ruftling of the trees, the heavy dull bellowing of the mountain, the vaft expanfe of ocean ftretched at an irnnenfe dis- tance bel^w us, inlpired a kind of awful horror. Some- times we found our ftlves afcending great rocks of lava*' where if our mules lh ?uld make but a falfe ftep, we might be thrown headlong over the precipice. How- ever, by the affiftance of the Cyclops, v/e overcame all thefe difficulties ; and he managed matters fo well, that in the fpace of two hours, we found we had got above the regions of vegeta' ad left the forefts of /Etna far behind. like a dark and gloomy gulf below us ied the moun- tain. The profpeel bef >r t na- ture ; we beheld an ed us exceeding! In the centre of this, t defcried the high fm s •: $2 A TOUR THROUGH tremendous head, and vomiting out torrents of fmoke. It indeed appeared altogether inacceflible, from the vaft extent of the fields of fnow and ice that furrounded it. Our diffidence was ftill increafed by the fentiments of the Cyclops, He told us, it often happened, thqt the furface of the mountain being hot below, melted the fnow in particular fpots, and formed pools of water, where it was impoffible to forefee our danger ; that it likewifc happened, that the furface of the water, as well as the fnow, was fometimes covered with black afhes, that rendered it exceedingly deceitful ; that however, if we thought proper, he would lead us on wirh as much caution as poffible. Accordingly, after holding a council of war, which you know people gen- erally do when they are very much afraid, we detached cur cavalry to the foreft below, and prepared to climb the fnows. The Cyclops, after taking a great draught of brandy, defired us. to be of good cheer ; that we had, plenty of time, and might take as many refts as we pleafed. That the fnow coald be little more than ftven miles, and that we certainly Ihould be .able to pafs it before fun rife. Accordingly, taking each of us a dram of liqueur, which foon removed every objection, we began our march. The afcent for fome time was not fleep ; and as the furface of the fnow funk a little, we had tolerable good footing; but as it foon began to grow fteeper, we found our labour greatly increafe : However, we determined to perfevere, calling to mind in the midft of our labour, that the Emperor Adrian and the philofopher Plato had undergone the fame ; and from the fame motive too, to fee the rifing fun from the top of iEtna. After incredi- ble labour and fatigue, but at the fame time mixed with a great deal of pleafurc, we arrived before dawn at the ruins of an ancient ftrufture, called // Torre del Filo/cfo, fuppofed to have been built by the philofopher Empedocles, who took up his habitation here the better te ftudy the nature of mount iEtna. By others it is fuppofed 3 ICILY AND MALTA. fuppofed to be the ruins of a temple of Vulcan, whofe ftiop, all the world knows (where he ufed to make ex- cellent thunderbolts and ceieitial armour, as wel^as nets to eatch his wife when (he went aftray) was ever kept in mount -dEtna. Here we refted ourfelves for fome time, and made a frefh application to our liqueur bottle, which I am perfuaded, both Vulcan and Empedocles, had they been here, would have greatly approved of after fuch * march. I found the mercury had fallen to 20 : 6. We had bow time to pay our adorations in a filent contemplation of the fublime objects of nature. The fky was clear* and the immenfe vault of the heavens appeared in awful majefty and fplendor. We found ourfelves more (truck with veneration than below, and at firft were at a lofs to know the caufe ; 'till we obferved with aftonimmenl^ that the number of ftars feemed to be infinitely increaf- ed ; and the light of each of them appeared brighter than ufual. The whitenef6 of the milky way was like a pure flame that (hot acrofs the heavens ;. and with the naked eye we could obferve ciufters of ftars that were invifible in the regions below. We did not at firfV attend to the caufe, nor recoiled that we had now pafTed through ten or twelve thoufand feet of grofs va- pour, that biunts and confufes every ray, before it reach- es the fur face of the earth. We were amazed at the diftindnefs of viGon, and exclaimed together, What a gloiious fituation for an obfervatory ! Had Empedocles had the eyes of Gallileo, what difcoveries mult he not hare made ! We regrettqd that Jupiter was not vifible, as I am perfuaded we mfght have difcovered fome of his fatellites with the naked eye, or at lead with a fmaH glafs which I had in my pocket. We cblerved a lighr a great way below us on the mountain, which feemed to move amongft the forefts, but whether an Ignus Fatuus, or what it was, 1 mall not pretend to fay. We like«vife took notice of feveral of thofe meteors called Falling Stars, which (till appeared to be as much elevated above iu, 54 A TOUR THROUGH ys, as when fctn from the plain ; fo that in all probability, thofe bodies move in regions much beyond the bounds that fome philofophers have ailigned to our atmcfphere. After contemplating thefe objects for fome time, we /etofF, and foon after arrived at the foot of the great be oranges and citrons, appeared to b~ in full blow. Jt was the lava of this mountain that i» faid to have covered up the port of Ulyffes, which is now three milca di.tanr from the fea ; but I mould fuppofe this eruption to have been much older than eit^iet Ulyffes or Troy. On our arrival at Catania, we went immediately to be J, being exceedingly oppreffed by rhe fatigue of our expedition ; but ftill more by the violent heat of the day : A day. in which, I think, I have enjoyed a gr*aapde- gree of pleafure, and fuffered a greater degree of pain, than any Other day of my life, Ar I«4 A TOUR THROUGH As my leg continues very much {Veiled, I au fttfl confined to my room, and mottly, indeed, to my , from whence I have written you the greateft part of thefe two epiftles, the enormous length of which afhamed of. However, as I have rtill omitted fe I articles, that I intended to take notice of, I mail a fequel tomorrow ; and fo conclude my account of ; iHtna. Had it not been for this abominable fprain, holds me faft by the foot, you probably had not g fo eafily ; but I am obliged to drop all farther thoughts of climbing mountain*, though there arc many things I ftill wanted to examine. Adieu. Ever your*. LETTER XI. Catania, May 30th. WE took care to regulate two barometers at the foot of the mountain. One of which was left with the Can ni co Recuper >, and the other we carried along with us. The former, cur friend aflures uf, had no fcnilble variation during our abfence. We both left it and found it at 29 inches >\ lines and a half, EngliJi meafare. On our arrival at Catania, the one we carried op with us had rifen again exactly to the fame point. I have likewif? a good quick filler thermometer, which I borrowed from the Neapolitan phil>fopher Padre della Torre, who fumim -d us with letters for this place, and would have accompanied us, could he have obtained leave of the king. It is male by A lams at IjLndon, and (as I myfclf proved) exactly gradu vo points of freezing and boiling wate«\ It renheit's fcaK I {hall mark the beigrn the different region* of JEtm, with tnc rules far matin* Sicily and malt a. 105 friating the elevation of mountains by the barometer, which, I am forry to fay, have been hitherto (o very ill afcertained. Caflini, Boguer, and the others who have written on the fubjeft, to the reproach of fcience, differing fo much amoogft themfelves, that it is with difficulty we can come near the truth. Mtna has been often meafured, but I believe never with any degree of accuracy ; and it is really a fhame to the fociety eftablifhed in this place, called the J^tnean Academy, whofe original inflitution was to ftudy the nature and operations of this wonderful mountain. It was my full intention to have meafured it geometrically ; but I am forry to fay, although this is both the feat of an Academy and University, yet there was *o quadrant to be had. Of all the mountains I have ever feen, ./Etna would be the eafieft to meafure, and with the greateft certainty, and perhaps the propereft place on the globe to eftablifh an exact rule of menfuration by the barometer. There is a beach of a vaft extent that be- gins exaclly at the foot of the mountain, and runs for a great many mile3 along the coaft. The fea-mark of this beach forms the meridian to the fmnmit of the mountain. Here you are fure of a perfect level, and may make the bafe of your triangle of what length you pleafe. But unfortunately this menfura- tion has never been executed, at kail with any tolerable deg.ee of precifion. Kircher pretends to have meafured it, and to have found it 4©oo French toifes in height ; which is more than any of the Andes, or indeed than any mountain upon earth. The Italian mathematicians are ftill more abfurd. Some of them make it eight miles, fome fix, and fome four. Amici, the laft, and I believe the beft who has made the attempt, reduces it to three miles, 264 paces; but even this muft be exceedingly errone- ous ; and probably the perpendicular height of iEtna 4oe& not exceed 12000 feet, or little more than two miles* I06 A TOUR THROUGH miles. I fhall mark the difFereat methods of determin- ing heights by the barometer ; and you may choofe which you pleafe. I believe the allowance in all of them, particularly in great elevations, where the air is fo ex- ceedingly thin and light, is much too fmall. Mikeli, whofe menfurations are efteemed more exact, has ever found it fo. Cailini allows, I think, ten French toifes of elevation, for every line of mercury, adding one foot to the firit ten, two to the fecond, three to the third, and.fo on : But furely the weight of the air diminishes in a much greater proportion. Boguer takes the difference of the logarithms of the height of the barometer in lines (fappofing thefe loga- rithms to confift only of five figures ;) from this dif- ference he takes away a 30th part, and what remains he (uppofes to be the difference of elevation. I do not recollect his reafon for this fuppoiition j but the rule feems to be ilill more erroneous than the other, and has been entirely laid afide. I am told, that accurate ex- periments have been made at Geneva, to citabliih the menfuration with the barometer ; bat 1 have not yet been able to procure them. Mr. de la Hire allows twelve toifes, four feet, for the line of mercury : And Picart, one of the moil etaft of the French academic •ians, fourteen toifes, or about ninety Englifh feet. Height of Farenheit's Thermometer. At Catania, May 26th. at mid-day 76 Ditto, May 27, at five in the morning 72 At Nicolofi, 1 2 miles up the mountain, mid-day 73 At the cave, called Spelonca del Capriole, in the fecond region, where there was ftiil a confiderable quantity of ihow, at feven at night. 6t la the fame cave at half an hour pa ft cieren cz £ SICILY AND MALTA. IOJ At the Torre del Filofofo, in the third region, at three in the morning 34<| At the foot of the crater of^iEtna 33 About half way up the crater 29 On the fummit of iEtna, a little before fun rife 27 Height of the barometer in inches and lines. At the fea fide at Catania 29 8{ At the village of Piedmont, in the firft region of ^tna 27 S At Nicolofio, in the fame region 27 i| At the Caftagno de Cento Cavalli, in the fecond region 26 Sz At the Spelonca del Capriole in the fecond region 24 2 At the Torre del Filofofo, in thtt third region to c At the foot of the crater eo 4! Within about 300 yards of the fummit 19 6v At the fummit of JEtm. (fuppofed to be about) 19 4. The wind at the fummit was fo violent that I could not make the obfervation with perfect exaclnefs ; how- ever, I am pretty certain that it was within half a line. I own I did not believe we mould find ^Etna fo high. I had heard indeed that it was higher than any of the Alps, but I never gave credit to it : How great then was my aftonilhment to find that the mercury fell ai- moft two inches lower than I had ever obferved it on the very higheft of the acceffible Alps j at the fame time I am perfuaded there are many inaoceflible points of the Alps, particularly Mont Blanc, that are (till Kiuch higher than ^Etna, I 10$ A TOUR THROUGH I found the magnetical needle greatly agitated near the fummit ©f the mountain ; (the Padre dello Torre told me, he had made the faraeobfervation on Vefuvius) however, it always fixed at the north point, though it took longer time in fixing than below. But what Recupero told me happened to him, was very fwgular. Soon after the eruption in 1 7 re, he placed his compafs on the lava. The needle, he iays, to his great aftoniih- ment, was agitated with much violence for fome con- fiderable time, till at laft it entirely loft its magnetical power, (landing indifcriminately at every point of the compafs ; and this it never after recovered, till it was again touched with the loadftone. The wind, and my unfortunate fprain together, in a great meafure prevented our electrical experiments, on which we built not a little ; however, I found that round Nicolofi, and particularly on the top of Mon- pelieri, the air was in a very favourable ftate for electri- cal operations. Here the little pith-balls, when inflat- ed, were fenfibly affected, and repelled each other above au inch. I expected this electrical (late of the air would have increafed as we advanced on the mountain ; but at the cave where we flcpt, I could obferve no fuch effect. Perhaps, it was owing to the exhalations from the trees and vegetables, which are there exceedingly luxuriant ; whereas about Nicolofi, and round Monpelieri, there is hardly any thing but lava and dry hot fend. Or per- haps it might be owing to the evening being farther advanced, and the dews beginning to fall. However, I have no doubt, that upon thefe mountains formed by eruption, where the air is ftrongly impregnated with fulphureous effluvia, great electrical discoveries might be made. And perhaps, of all the reafons afligned for the wonderful vegetation that is performed on this mountain, there is none that contributes fo much towards it, as this conftant electrical ftate of the air ; For from a variety of experiments it has been found, that an in- creafe of the electrical matter addi much to the prcgrefs of SICILY AND MALTA. IO9 of vegetation. It probably a&s there ia the fame man- ner as on the animal b< dy ; the circulation we know is performed quicker ; and the juices are driven through the fmali vefleis with more eafe and celerity. This has often been proved from the immediate removal of obltructions by electricity ; and probably the rubbing with dry and warm flannel, etteemed fo efficacious in fuch cafes, is doing nothing more than exciting a greater degree of electricity in th? part ; but it has likewifc been demonftrated, by common experiment of making water drop through a fmall capillary fyphon, which the moment it is electrined runs in a iuli ltream. I have, indeed, very little doubt, that the fertility of our fea- fons depends as much on this quality in the air, as either on its heat or moiitare. Eleclricity will probably foon be confidered as the great vwitying principle of nature, by which the carries on molt of her operations. It is a fifth element, dif- tinct from, and of a fuperior nature to the other four, which only compofe the corporeal parts of matter : But this fubtle and a*tive fluid is a kind of a foul that per- vades and quickens every particle of it. When an equal quantity of this is dirtufed through the air, and over trie face of the earth, every thing continues calm and quiet ; but if by any accident one part of matter has acquired a greater quantity than another, the moll dreadful confequences often enfue before the equilibri- um can be reftored. Nature feems to fall into convul- fions, and many of her works are deftroyed : All the great phenomena are produced ; thunder, lightning, earthquakes, and whirlwinds : For, I believe, there is little dourvt, that all thefe frequently depend on this fole caufe. And again, if we look down from the fub- Jime of nature to its minutiae, we fhall ftill find the fame power ac~ting ; though perhaps in lefs legible characters ; for as the knowledge of its operations is ftill in its in- fancy, they are generally mifunderftood, or afcribed to fomc L IIO A TOHR THROUGH fome other caufe. However, I have no doubt, that in procefs of" time thefe will be properly investigated j when mankind will wonder how much they have been in the dark. It will then poflibly be found, that what we call fenfibility of nerves, and many of thofe difeafea that the faculty have as j et only invented names for, are o* ing to the body's being po&fled of too large, or toofmall a quantity of this fubtle and active fluid ; that very fluid, perhaps, that is the vehicle of all our feelings ; and which they have fo long fearched for in vain in the nerves : For I have foinetimes been led to think, that this fenfe was nothing elfe than a flighter kind of electric effect, to which the nerves ferve as conductors ; and that it is by the rapid circulation of this penetrating and animat. ing fire that our fenfations are performed. We all know, that in damp and hazy weather, when it feems to be blunted and abforbed by the humidity ; when its adtivi- tv is loft, and little or none of it can be collected ; we ever find our fpirits more languid, and our fenfibility Icfs acute ; but in the firocc wind at Naples, when the air feems totally deprived of it,the whole fyftem is unftrung, and the nerves fcem to lofe both their tenfion and elafti- city, till the north or weft wind awakens the activity of this animating power, which foon reftores the tone, and enlivens all nature, which feemed to droop and languifb during its abfence. It is like wife well known, that there have been in- frances of the human body becoming eleclric without the mediation of any electric fubitance, and even emitting fparksof fire with a difagreeable fenfation, and an extreme degree of nervous fenfibility. About (even or eight years ago, a lady in Switzerland was aifecled in this manner, and though 1 was not able, to learn ail the particulars of her cafe, yet feveral Swifs gentlemen have confirmed to me the truth of the ftory.— She was uncommonly fenfible of every change of weather, an J had her eleftrical feelings firongeft in a clear SICILY AND MALTA. Ill elear day, or during the paifage of thunder- clouds, when, the air is known to be replete with chat fluid. He: cafe like mod others which the doctors can make noth- ing of, was decided to be a nervous one, ier the real meaning of that term I take to be only, that the phyii- cian does not underfland what it is, Two gentlemen of Geneva had a fhort experience of the fanae fort of complaint, though ftill in a much fupc- riour degree. Profeffor Sauiiure and young Mr. Jala- bert, when travelling over one cf the high Alp*, were caught amongft thunder-clouds ; and to their utter aftonimment, found their bodies fo full of electrical lire. that fpontaneous flaihes darted from their fingers with a crackling noife, 'and the fame kind of fenfation as when ftrongly electrified by art. This was communicated by Mr. jalabert to the Academy of Sciences at ?ari;>, I think, in the year 1763 ; and you will find it recorded in their memoirs. It feems pretty evident, I think, that theie reeling* were owing to the bodies being poffeficd of too great 2 ' .ihare of electric fire. This is an uncommon c-iio. ; but I ido not think it at all improbable, that many of our in- valids, particularly the hypochondriac, and thefe we call Maladet Jmaginaires, owe their difagreeable feel- . ings to the oppofite caufe, or the bodies being pofterfed <^pf too fmall a quantity of this fire j foi ..c t\-id that 1 . diminution of it in the air feldom fail's to increafe their uneafy fenfations, and >vuj verfa. Perhaps it might be of femce to tliefe people to wear fome electric fubftance next to their fkin, to defend the nerves and fibres from the damp, or non-electric air. 1 would propofe a waiftcoat of the nneft flannel, which ihould be kept perfectly clean and dry ; for the e: of the body, in cafe of any violent perfpiration, will foon deftroy its electric quality : This mould be covered by another of the fame fize of filk. The animal heat, Ill A TOUR THROUGH and the friction that exercife muft occafion betwixt theie two fubttances, produce a powerful electricity ; and would form a kind of electric atmofphere around the body, that might poffibly be one of the belt preferva- tives againft the effect of damps. As for our Swifs lady* I have little doubt that her complaints were owing in great part, perhaps entiely, to her drefs ; and that a very frnall alteration, almoft in any part of it, would effectually have cured her. A lady who has her head furrounded with wires, and her hair ftuck full of metal pins, and who at the fame time ftands upon dry filk, is to all intents and purpofes an electrical conductor infolated, and prepared for collecting the fire from the atmofphere : And it is not at all fur- priftng, that during thunder-dorms, or when the air is extremely replete with electrical matter, me mould emit fparks, and exhibit other appearances of electrici- ty. — 1 imagine a veiy trifling change of drefs, which from the conftaot vci fatility of their modes may fome day take place, woisid render this lady's difeafe alto- gether epidemical amongft the fex. Only let die foles of their fhoes be made of an electric fubftance, and let the wires of their caps, and pins of their hair, be fome- what lengthened and pointed outwards ; and I think there is little doubt, that they will often find themfelves in an electrified ftate .* But, indeed, if they only wear filk, or even worfted ftockings, it may fometimes proy* fuflicient ; for I have often infolated electrometers as perfectly by placing them on a piece of dry filk or flan- nel, as on glafs. How little do our ladies imagine, when they furround their heaJs with wire, the moil powerful of all con- ductors, and at the fame time wear itockings, fhoes, and gowns of filk, one of the moft powerful repellents, that they prepare theii bodies in the fame manner, and ac- cording to the fame principles as electricians prepare their conductors for att rafting the fire . of lightning ! if they cann SICILY AND MALTA. I 1 3 cannot be brought to rclinquifh their wire caps and their pins, might they not fall upon fome fuch preservative as thofe which of late years have been applied to objects of lefs confequence ? Suppofe that every lady fhou-ld provide herfelf with a fmall chain of wire, to be hooked on at pleafure dur- ing thunder- ftorms. This mould pafs from her cap over the thickeft part of her hair, which will prevent the fire from being communicated to her head ; and fo down to the ground. It is plain this will act in the fame manner as the conductors on the tops of fteeples, which from the metal fpires that are commonly placed there, analogous to the pins and wires, were fo liable to acci- dents. You may laugh at all this, bet I allure you I never was more ferioas in my life. A very amiable lady of my acquaintance, Mrs. Douglas, of Kelfo, had almoft loft her life by one of thofe caps mounted oq wire. She was ftanding at an open window during a thunder-ftorm : The lightning was attracted by the wire, and the cap was burnt to aihes ; happily her hair was ia its natural ftate, without powder, pomatum, or pins,; and prevented the fire from being conducted to he: head ; tor as (he felt no kind of mock, it is probable that it went ofF from the wires of the cap to the wall, clofe to which (he then ftood. If it had fownd any con- ductor to carry it to her head or body, in all probabili- ty Ae muft have been killed.— A good ihong head of hair, if it is kept perfectly clean and dry, is probably one of the beft preservatives againft the fire of lightning, But fo foon as it is fluffed full of powder and pomatum* and bound together with pins, its repellent force is loll, and it becomes a conductor.* But I beg pardon for thefe L 2 * Since the writing ef thefe Utters, the auth r 1*4$ made fame experiments on the electricity if hair ; n.vhicb ten { ft ill to convince him the ?nore of what he has ad- ccs-wax, and to comb herfifiers hair, who was fitting en a chair befire her. Scon after /he began to con:- young lady on the wax was greatly afiom/hed tofi, tuhole b dy eleSrified ; darting out J parks of fire * * pomatum had been u/edfr many mouths. SICILY AND MALTA. 1 1 j globe, heated by friction, it throws ofF fpontar.eoa* ii ilhes into the air, without being brought into the at- trartion of any conductor* or body lefs eleftric than it- felf ; (indeed the fpontaneous difcharges from a good electrical globe, often bear a perfect refemblance to this kind of lightning ;) however, if a non-ele&ric cloud were to pais near the Cfater ai that time, the crafii of thunder would probably b» very violent, which inieed is often the cafe when the air is tull of wet clouds in the time of an eruption ; but when this does not hap- pen, the equilibrium is probably reftored by dc. and without any mock, from the furplu^ of dectrica! matter being gradually communicated ro the earth and lea all around the mountain ; the immenfe lavas that have run from it, feFving a> conductors. So highly electric is the vapour of volcanos, that ir •en obferved in fome eruptions both of jEtnn a id ins, that th~ whole tracl of fmoke, which fome- times extended above ioo miles, v produced the dreadful eiFccls ; killing ihepherds and flocks on the mountains ; biafting trees, and f.rtting fire to houf ; wherever it met with thesn on an elevated foliation* Nov probably the flying of a kite, with a wire round it-, itVmg, would foon have disarmed this formidable cloud. Thefe errecls, however, only happen when the dry and little agirated, but when ^t is fall of moid ir, the great rarefaction from the heat of the lava generally brings it .do. vn in violent torrents of rain, i foon convey the electrical matter from the clouds le earth, and reftorcs the equalibrium. As Recupero, who is a facetious and an agreeable ; enough to fit a good deal with me confinement I have gathered many remarks lis converfation, that may psrhaps be worthy of vour attentio.-. XI& A TOUR THROUGH The variety ot waters about iEtna, he tells rae, is furprifmg. I have already mentioned the Fiume Fred- do, or the river of Acis : Recupero confirms what I had been told of it. There is a lake on the north of the mountain, of about three miles in circumference, which receives feveral considerable rivers ; yet, although there is no apparent outlet, it never overflows its banks. I fuggefted the probability of a fubterraneous communi- cation betwixt this and the Fiume Freddo. He faid there was no refemblar.ee in the quality of their waters; however, I think it is probable that in a courfe of fo many miles, through the caverns of iEtna, full of falu and minerals, it may acquire both its cold and its vitri- olic qualities. There is another lake on the top of a mountain to the weft of iEtna, the bottom of which could never be found. It is obferved never either to rife or fall, but always to preferve the fame level. It is undoubtedly the crater of that mountain (which is all o{ burnt mat- ter) converted into a lake. The river which fupplies> the baths of Catania is of a very different nature : It never continues the fame, but is perpetually changing. Its current is- for the moft part confined under ground by the lavas : but fometimes it burits out with fuch vio- lence that the city has fuffered greatly from it ; and what is ftill more unfortunate, thefe eruptions are gen- erally followed by fome epidemical diftemper. It has no.v been conilantly diminishing for thefe two years pall, and is at preient aliroit reduced to nothing. They are in perpetual dread of its breakiug out, and laying waftc their fields, as it has fo f>ften done before. What is lingular, it generally burits out after a long tract of the drieft and warmeft weather. The ^Etnean academy have never bern able to account for this circumftance, think it is moft probable, that it arifes from the meltng of the fnow on 'jfyna, but I fnab not pretend r hew. Thefe perhaps, overfilling the caverns that efu- ally receive their water, the furplus is carried off into this river. The SICILY AND MALTA. II7 The river of Alcantara certainly takes its rife from the melting of thefe fnows. Its waters, I obferved, are of the fame whitifh colour as all the rivers are, that run from the G lac ieres amongft the Alps. There are fevcral periodical fpring6 on JEtna, that flow only dur- ing the day, and ftop during the night. Thefe are naturally and eafily accounted for from the melting of the fnow ; for it melts only during the day, being hard frozen every night, even in the hotteft feafon. There are likcwife a variety of poifonous fprings, fome of fo deadly a quality, that birds and hearts have been found lying dead on their ha* ks, from rnving drunk of their water. But (what is perhaps ftill more fmgular) Recu- pero told me, that about twenty years ago, a rent open- ed in the mountain, that for a confiderable time lent forth fo mephitic a vapour, that like the Avernus, birds were fuffocated in flying over it. There are many caverns where the air isfo extremely- cold, that it is impoffible to fupport it for any time. Thefe the peasants make ufe of as re ervoirs for the fnow ; and indeed they make the fineft ice houfes in the world, preferving it hard frozen during the hotteft fummers. It would be endlefs to give an account of all the cav- ern^, and other curious appearances about JEtna. Kireher fpeaks of a cave which he faw, capable, he fays, of containing 30,000 men. Here, he adds, numbers of .people have been loft from their temerity in going too far. One of thefe caverns ltill retains the name of Proierpine, from its being fuppofed by the ancients, the paifag.* by which Pluto conveyed her into his do- minions ; on this occafion Ovid defcribes Ceres, as fearching for her daughter, with two trees which Hie had pluciced from the mountain, and lighted by way of torches. Thefe he calls Teda, which is ftill the name of the tree, I have feen no where but on mount iEtna. It produces a great quantity of rofin, and was fur^ly the molt proper tree Ceres could "have pitched upon for her purpofe. This roiin is called Catalana> and is ef- teemed a cure for fores.- I llS A TOUR THROUGH I have mentioned the great variety of flowers, trees> &e. on mount j£ma. 1 have found a long Ji(t of them in MaiTa ; but as I am not acquainted with their Sicil- ian name-, I can make little out of it. I have engaged a perfon here to procure me a collection of their feeds in the feafon. I find of the number, the cinnamon, farfapariila, faffafras, rhubarb, and many others that I thought had not been natives of Europe. The Palma Chriiti too, that plant fo much celebrated of late, from the feed of which the caftor oil is made, grows both here and in many other places of Sicily, in the greateil abundance. Our botanifls have called it Ricinus Ameri- canus, fuppofing it only to be produced in that part of the world. A E2th phj fician, I remember, has lately written a treatife on this plant, and the virtues of the oil extracted from its feed, which he makes a fort of CatholicoH. You may believe we (hall not leave bicily without providing ourfelves with a quantity of this precious tted. Mount iStna, I find, is as much celebrated by the ancients as the moderns, for the variety of its odoriferous productions. Plutarch fays, their fmeli was fo ftrong, that on many places of the mountain it was impoffibie to hunt. I ihaii tranfcribe the paflage as- it is before me in an old tranflation I have borrowed : *» Circum yEtnam in Sicilia neminem ferunt cum cani- u bus venat'jm iri ; quia enim multos perpetuo illic ut " in viridario prata, collefque flores mittunt a fragrantia, «' qua; earn oram occupat, obfufcare ferarum anhela- u nones," &c. Ariftorle has likewife a paffage to the 1?ry fame purpofe ; but this may fuffice. There were formerly a variety of wild beafts in the woody regions of iEtna ; but notwithftanding this ad- vantage they had over the dogs and hunters, the number of thefe is now greatly reduced. They have ftill, how- ever, the wild boar, the roebuck, and a kind of wlid goat ; but the race of Hags, which was much celebrated,. a* SICILY AND MALTA. 11^ as well as that of bears, is thought to be extincl. Sev- eral places of the mountain are ftill named trom thofe animals. The horfes and cattle of mount jEtna were efteemed the bell in Sicily. The cattle are ftill of a large fize, and have horns of fuch a length, that they are preferved as curiofities in fome mufeums. The horfes, I am afraid, have degeneratea. There are faid to be quantities of porcupines and land tortoifes on fome parts oi ^£tna ; but we had not the good fortune to meet with any of them. Neither did we fee any eagles or vultures, which are likewifc faid to be inhabitants of this mountain. The accounts given of mount jEtna by the old Sicil- ian authors (feveral of whom I have borrowed from Recupero) are very various. Some of them defenbe the hol.ow of the crater as being feven or eight miles in circumference, fome make it five, and others only three. And probably all of them are right ; for I find, by all their accounts that generally once in about 100 years, the whole crater has fallen down into the bowels of the mountain : That in procefs of time, a new cra- ter is feen peeping out of the gulf.; which, perpetually irfcreafing by the matter thrown up, is by degrees raifed again to its ancient height, till at laft becoming too , heavy for its hollow foundations, it again gives way, and at once finks down into the mountain. This hap- pened about ioo j'ears ago, in the year 1669, as record- ed by Borelli, whofe account of it I have before me, " Univerfum cacumen, quod ad inftar fpeculae, feu tur- *« ris, ad ingentemaltitudinem elevabatur, quod una " cum valla planitie arenofa depreiTa, atque abforpta eft " in profundum voraginem," &c. The fame likewife happened in the year 1 536, as recorded by Fazzello and Filoteo ; and in the years 1444, 1329, and 11 57. Of all thefe 1 have read aa account ; but probably be- twixt 120 A TOUR THROUGH twixt the two lair mentioned, there has been another that is not recordec, as the intervals betwixt all the reft are pretty nearly equal. Some of them give a dreadful accent of it. Fol- cando, one of their hiitorians^ teiis ,us, it (hook the whole ifland, and refoundeo through all its (h And their poet Errico, fays, on the fame occaiion : u S'cde il/uo gran mug'ifi " Per mille ptagge e ttdi" u The bellowing dire a thoufand lands refound, *' Whole trembling Ihores return the dreadful found." In all probability, this event will very foon happen, as the circumference of the crater is no where recorded to have been reduced to lefs than three miles ; and Recu- pero fays, it is at prefent only three mites and a half; befides, 100 years, the common period, has now elapf- ed fince its laft fall. There are many dories of people perifhing by their temerity, in being too curious fpedators of the erup- tions of this mountain ; but there are dill many more, of thofe that have been miraeuloufly faved by the inter- pofition of fome faint or the virgin, who ate fuppoied to be in a perpetual ftate of wariate with the devils in mount JEma. That part of the ifland where JEwsl Hands, has ever been named// Val Demwiy trots the frequent apparitions of thefe devils, it makes one third oi' the ifland. The other two are oamed the Val di Attto, and the Val d't Mazzara. There is one ftory, though a very old one, tl.. I ilill related at Catania ; it is taken notice Ariftotle, Strabo, and others. In the time of a eruption, when the fire was pouring down upon - M A L T A. I 2 5 on the globe. There are many pafiages in their au- thors that (how this;, though perhaps, none raoie ilrdng- ly, than their making Deucalion and Pyrrha cake refuge on the t>p of it, to fare them feives from the univeilai deluge.* I ih ill now conclude this long account of mount JEt- na, with Virgil's celebrated uefcription o f it in the third ./Eneid, which has been fo much admired. You may compare it with the following defcription of the famous poet Raitano, held, 1 allure you, in full as high eftimation by the Sicilians. " Nel mezzo verfo l'ethere avviccina JEtna la fronte fqa cinta di orrcri, E con ifpavantevole rovina Riinbomba, e con orribili fragori, Sovente negri nubi al ciei deltina Fumanti di atro turbine, e di ardori, Ergi globbi di fiainma, e fu iambifce * Le ilelle omai con iniuccate itrifcie ; Scogli, e rivclte vifceredi monte Krruttando tal volta avido ertolle ; E congemiti vomita, e con onte Liquifatti macigni, infondo bolle." So fings the Sicilian mufe ; you will not, howevei ; hehtate to give the preference to the Roman one j al- though the former is evidently ilolen from her. a -Horrificis juxta tonat jEtna minis, Interdumque atram prorumpit ad aethera nubem, Turbine M 2 * (latacljjmus) quod nos diluvium did ?n us, cum fa Si us eft, omm gutus humanum interiit prater Deucaiiontvi tt Pyrrbam, qui in m ntem JEtnam qui atiijftmus in '■ .:a ejje dicitur fugerunt/^c, HlGtffu* i:6 A TOUR T H R V Q h Turbine fumantem piceo ct candenre favilla, Attolitque globus fla-.nmarum, et fideru lambit; Inte'rduihqiie fcopulos, avolfaqae vifcera montis Erigiteru^tans, liquefaclaqfte iaxa Tub auns Cum gemitu glomerat, fundoq le exseduat imo." But both thefe have been great!/ outione by the wonderful imagination 6f our great countryman, Sir Richard Black mo re ; who accounts at once for the whole phenomena of /Etna, by the frmple idea of giv- ing the mountain a fit of the cholic : A thought that had efcaped all the poets and philofophers of antiquity, and fee ms forever to have bee-n referved for the pro- found genius of this great mailer and father of the Ba- thos. I have forgot the palTage ; but you will find it, . I think, in Prince Arthur, The philofophical poet Lucretius, has likewife men- tioned the eruptions of mount ^Etna ; but Pindar is the oldelf poet we Know of, that has taken any notice of them. Hisdefcription, is, I think, the mod fatrsfaclo- ry of all, and conveys a c'earer idea, both of the moun- tain itfeif, and an eruption of the mountain, than either the Roman or Sicilian poet, though it is not n>ar fo much laboured, nor worked up with all that vari clrcumftances, they have found means to introduce. Jts greateit fault is, that Pindar had ftill kept in that abfard idea of the ancients, that Jupiter had buried the giants under mount yEtna, and that their ftrug to get Ipofe, was the caufe of its eruptions : But this he touches but flight!/, as if am3med to give fuch a rcafon. Tnc patfage is tranflated into Engiifh bv Mr. V- u Now under lniokiag Cumis fulp/Trous CQi And vail Siciiia, he» his tortur'd breath By fnowy JEir\z y riujrfe of endlefs froft, c miehty prop of hcav'n forever p'eft, Forth S r d I t V A N D MALTA. Forth from whofe flaming eaverns ifTuing rife Tremendous fountains of pure liquid lire, Which veil in ruddy milts the noon day fides, V.'hile rapt in fmoke the eddying flames afpirc : Or gleaming thro' the night with hideous roar, Far o'er the reid'ning main, huge rocky fragments pour." This parage decides what has been much difpured, that JEtna was, in thefe early ages, of as great an eleva tion as at prefent. It has been alledged, that volcanos al-vays increafe in. height till they are exttnguifned, when they are fuppofed to moulder down, and by de- grees fmk into the caverns that are below them, like- the aflruni, and the fplfateria at Naples : However, we fiii that JEtna. was at that time, as now, covered with eternal fnows, and was fuppofed, like Atlas, to be one of the great props of heaven, But what plea (eg me fche moil in this description is, that it proves b-._ the poflibility: of a doubt, that in thefe very remote erup- tions, it was common for the lavas of iEtna great way out to fca. The concluuon, 1 thJ as juft, and perhaps not lefs fublime, than the " avo!- faque vifcera montis erigit eruclans" of Virgil, which 1 muit own I think rather comes too near Sir Richard's fit of the ch jli.c. . Thucydides fpeaks of three eruptions of this moon, tain, bat is not to particular as we could have wifhed. He does not mention the date of the firfl ; bat fays it was the earlie.l aft~r the arrival of the Greeks in Sicily. The fecond happened about the time of the 77th Olym- piad, and the lail in that of the 83th, which was nearly abrjt the period when Pmdar wrote ; fc that we can- thaf his defcription is taken from the ac- count- he had heard of feme of th^fe eruptions, the ciicum nric^s of acceiTu ventorum immotus et ingens;" of which at prefent, there are not the leaft remains. It is probably the fame that was called by the Sicilians the port of Ulyffes ; which is often mentioned by their writers. The place of its exiftence is ftill mown, be- twixt three and four miles up the country, amongft the lavas of i&tna. However, I can fee no fort of reafon why they have called this the port of Ulyffes : For furely Homer does not bring his hero near the precincts of mount iEtna. Indeed,! think it is evident, that this volcano did not burn during the time of Homer, nor for fome ages preceding it, otherwife it is not poffi- ble, that he would have faid fo much of Sicily, without taking any not?ce of fo great and capital an objeel, which of all others, the daring and fublime imagination of Homer would have been the moft eager to grafp at. It is evident from his account, that Ulyffes landed at the weft end ofojiicily, oppolite to the ifland of Lachaea, now Favignana, almoft two hundred miles diftant from this port. 'Virgil, with more judgment lands his hero at the foot of iRtna, which gives him an opportunity of in- troducing fome of the finefc defcriptions in the JEr.cid, ^t it is fomewhat odd, that here he makes iEneas find •Pof Ulyffes's companions, who had efcaped the rage oTPolyphemus, and had lived for feverai months in the woods and caverns of this mountain. Virgil muft have been aware of this impropriety, as he well knew that Homer had landed Ulyffes, and placed the cave of Poly- phemuX at the moft diftarlt point of the ifland. But he could not prevail on himfelf to pa fs mount iEtna. He was (o thoroughly convinced that this was the moft proper |L funk under ground near mount ./Etna, and continued her fubterraneous courfe to the fea. This river was navigable in the time of the Romans, aud Mafia fays, the only one in the ifland that was fo. It takes its rife on the north fide of iEtna, and furrounding the weft flcirts of the mountain, falls into the fea near the ruins of the ancient Morgantio. It no longer finks under ground as it did formerly ; but it is now celebrated for a quality it does not appear to have poffefTed in the times of antiquity, as none of the old writers take notice of it. It throws up near its mou'h great quanti- ties of fine amber : This is carefully gathered by tht rpcafants in the neighbourhood, and brought to Catania, where it is manufactured into the form of crofTes, beads, faints, &c. and is fold at high prices to the fuperftitiousw people on the continent. We bought feveral of thefe refpectable figures, and found them electrical in a high degree, powerfully attracting feathers, ftraws, and other light bodies fomewhat emblematical, ycu will £ay, of what they reprefent. Some pieces of this amber con- tain flies and other infects curioufly pTeferved in its fub- ftancc ; and we were not a little entertained with the in- genuity of one of the artifts, who has left a large blue bottle fly, with its wings expanded, exactly over the head of a faint, to reprefent, he told us, lo Jpirito fanto defcending upon him. I have got fome fine pieces of * rhis amber, more electric, I think, aad emitting a Wronger fmell, than that which comes from the Baltic. The generation of this fubftan;e has long been a cor- troverted point amorgft naturalilts ; nor do I believe rt^ is as yet afcercained, whether it is a fea or a land pro- duction. It is generally fuppofed to be a kind of gum or bitumen, that ilfues from the earth in a liquid itete, at which time the flies and other infects that light upen it are caught, and by their ftruggles to get loofe, foon work themfelves into its fubftance, which hardening round them, they are for ever prcferved in the greatelt per SICILY AND MALTA. ljj perfe&ion. Large fine pieces are conftantlv found at the mouth of the Simetus, fuppofed ro have been brought down by the river ; but it is lingular, that none of it ia ever found any where but on the fea more : They have Jikewife here a kind of. artificial amber, made I am told from copal ; but it is very different from the natural. Not tar from the mouth of this river there are two of the largeft lakes in Sicily ; the Beviere and the Pan- tana ; the firft of which is fuppofed to have been made by Hercules j in confequence of which it was held facred by the ancients. They are full of a variety of fifh j one fpecies of which called Moletti, is much eftecmed : The falling and exportation of thefe makes a confidera- ble branch of commerce at Leontini, which is in that neighbourhood : That city is one of the moft ancient in the ifland, and is fuppofed to have been the habitation of theLeiirigons. The Leon tine fields have been much famed for their fertility : Both Diodorus and Pliny afiert that they yield- ed wheat an hundred fold, and that grain grew fpontane- Qiifly here without cukure : But this was only during the reign of Ceres, and ie not now the cafe. In a few hours failing we came in fight of the city of Auguita, which is beautifully fituated in a fraalj ifland that was formerly a peninfcla : It was therefore ca-lled by the Creeks, Cherfonefus. Both the city and fortifications ieem eunfiderable, and are faid to contain about 9900 inhabitants. The ruins of the Little Hybla, fo cele- brated for its honey, lie within a few miles of this fore our arrival at Syracufe, it fell a lead -calm, and we fpied a fine turtle taft afleep en the ■ of the water. Cur pilot ordered a profound filence- 1 34 A TOUR THROUGH filence, and only two oars to row very gentlv, that i£ poffible we might furprife him. Every thing was put in order, and two men were placed ready at the prow to feeure the prize. We were all attention and ex- pectation, and durft hardly breathe for fear ot disturb- ing him. We moved flowly on, and the turtle lay (tone ftill ; the two men bent down their bodies, and had their arms already in the water to feize him. No alderman, with all deference be it fpoken, e\er beheL his tirtle with more pleafure and fecurity ; nor feafted his imagination more iufcioufly upon the banquet. He was already our own in idea* and we were only thinking of the various ways in which he fheuld be d relied : \\ hen, how vain and tranfitory all human polTeflions! the turtle made a plunge, flipped through their fingers, and difappeared in a moment, and with him all our hopes. We locked rerv foolifh at each other, without uttering a word, till Fullarton allied me in the molt provoking manner in the world, whether I would chufe a litile of the caili- palh or the cailipee. The two men fhrugged up their moulders, and laid P cz.u nza ; but Glover told them in a rage, that all the pazienza on earth was not equal to a good turtle. Soon after this, the remains of the great Syracufe ap- . pearcd ; the remembrance of whofe glory, magnificence) and ilh.'iinous deeds both in arts and arms, made us for fome time even forget our turtle, .but, alas ! how are the mighty fallen ! this proud city, that vied with 1 itfelfc is now reduced to a heap of rubbifh : ror what remains of it deferves not the name of a city. We rowed round the gr.ateft parr of its wails w.thout feeing a human creature ; thole very walls that were the terror :an arms j from whence Archimedos battered their fleets, and ngines lifted their veiTe) fea, and darned them againft the rocks. the interior part oi greed but too SICILY AND MALT its external appearance. There waa not an ii be fouud ; and after 1 the mona md re- ligious fraternities in fcarch ot b whole of them to wretchedly . preferred at hi could not i every kind. We had letters for the Count Ca t lodge i : :r re- >, in | tion ; and like wile in giving us letters of recommenda- tion for Malta. He is a gentleman of good fcnfe, an i has written feveral tretitifes on the antiquui Sicily. Of the four cities that cornpofed m: ancient Syra there remains only, Ortigia, by mu< ated in the ifland of that nam:. It is i miles round, and fuppofed to contain about 14,000 in ants.- The ruins of the other three, Tycna, Acra and Neapoli, are computed at twenty two miles in cir- cumference, but almoft the whole of this fpace 1 converted into rich vineyards, orchard-, r.ni corn fields : • ads of thefe are indeed every where built broken marbles full of engravin-s and i moil of them defaced and fpoiled*. The prb remains of antiquity are a theatre many fepulchers, the Lato nie, the Catacorabs, and the t famous ear of Dionyfiup, whic itroy. The Latomie now ma!.. aneous ;, and is indeed one of d sautiful and ro- mantic fpots 1 ever beheld. Molt of it is about one hundred ieet below the level of the earth, and of an in- credible extent. The whole is hewn out of hard as marble, cornpofed of a concretion of {hells, gravel, and other ma The bottom of this nenie A TOUR T H R O W G 11 imrnenfe quarry, from whence the greateft part of Sy- lc was built, is now covered with an exceeding rich iuil ; and as no wind from any point of the corapafs can tojch it, it. is fi'led with a great variety of the iineft drubs and fruit trees, which bear with vail: luxuriance, and arc never Waited. The oranges, citrons, bergamots, pomegranates, figs, &c. are all of a remarkable fize and fine quality. Some of thefe trees, but more particularly the olives, grow out of the hard rock ; where there is no vifiblc foil ; and exhibit a very uncommon and p leaf- ing appearance. a variety of wild and romantic fcenes in this curious garden ; in the midit of which we were fur- prifed by the appearanee of a figure under one of the caverns, that added greatly to the dignity and folemnity of the place. It was that of an aged man, with a long flowing white beard that reached down to his mid- dle. His old wrinkled faee and fcanty grey locks pronounced him a member of fome former age as as of this. His hands, which were (hook by the | held a fort of pilgrim's flafr ; and about his neck I was a Uring of large beads with a crucifix hanging to its end. Had it not been for thefe marks of his later ex- igence, I don't know but I fhould have aficed him, whether in his youth, he had not been acquainted with Theocritus and Archimedes, and if he did not re her the reign pf Dionyfius the tyrant. But he far; the trouble, by telling us he was the hermit of the \ and belonged to a convent of Capuchins on the above ; that he had now bid adieu to the upper world, and was determined to fpend the reft of his life in this folitude, in prayer for the wretched mortals tha: foabit it. This figure, together with the fcene in which it ap- pears, are indeed admirably well adapted, and ref. mutual dignity upon each other. We left fome n. upon the rock : For the Capuchins, who are the gn SICILY A N D M A L 1 37 aw on earth, never touch money, but fave theii toc> tender conferences, and preferve their vows unbroken, by the fnnple device of lifting it with a pair of pincers, and carrying it to market in their fack or cowl. This I have feen more than once. We were much delighted with the Latomie, and left it v.ith regret : It is the very fas*? that has been {o much celebrated by Cicero about i 800 years ago ; » Opus eft ingens (fays he) mag- " nihcu'ii regum, ac ty ran nor urn, Totum ex faxo in " mirandam altitudinem depreffo," &c. A little to the weft of it is fuppofed to have itood the country houie, the fale of which you will remember he gives io lively and pleafant an account 01 ; by which a goldfoiitb (I have forgot his name) cheated a Roman nobleman in a very ingenious manner. The car of Dionyfius is no lefs a monument of the ingenuity and mag ni5.ee nee, than of the cruelty of that tyrant. It is a huge cavern cut out of the hatd rock, in the form of the human ear. The perpendicular height of it is about 80 feet, and the length of this enormous ear is not lefs than 250. The cavern was faid to be fo contrived, that every found made in it, was collected and united into one point, as into a focus ; this was called the Tympanum ; and exactly oppofite to it the tyrant had made a fmall hole, which communicat- ed with a little apartment where he ufed to conceal himfelf. He applied his own ear to this hole, and is faid to have heard diftindly every word that was fpoken in the cavern below. This apartment was no fooner finiihed, and a proof of it made, than he put to death all the workmen that had been employed in it. He then confined in it all that he fufpefted were his enemies ; and by over-hearing their converfation, judged of their guilt, and condemned and acquitted accord- ingly. As this chamber of Dionyfius is very high in the rock, and now totally inaccefiible, we had it not in our power N 2 t© 1 3& A TOUR THROUGH fo make proof of tl experiment, which our guides told us had been ie years ago by the captain of an Engliih fhip. The echo in the ear is prodigious. ; much fuperior to any other cavern I have feen. The hole in the rock, lich the prifoners were chained, (till remain, and even the lead and iron in feveral of them. We fur- priied a poor young porcupine who had come here to drink, i our guides made lawful prize, to this 'here arc caverns of a great extent, where they carry on a manu factory of nitre, which is found in vaft abundance on the fides cf thefe caves. The amphitheatre is in the form of a very eccentric eilipfe, and is much ruined ; but the theatre is fo entire, that moll of tb< or feats ftill remain. Both thefe are in that part of the city that was called Nea- poii, or the New City. " Q_ tii eft urbs (fays, ** Cicero) q::x quia poftrema aedificata eft, Nei n nominator, quam ad fuminam theatrutn eft maximum," &c. However, it is but a fmall theatre in~comparifon of that at Taurominttm. We fearched amongft the fepul- chre?, feveral of which are very elegant, for that of Archimedes ; but could fee nothing refembling it. his own defire it was adorned with the figure of a fphcre inferibed in a cylinder, bat kad not been loft by his un- grateful countrymen, even before the time that Cicero was quaeftor of Sicily. It is pleafant to obferre, with what eagernefs this p;reat man undertakes the fearch of it, and with what exultation he describes his triumph on the difcovery. " Ego autem cum omnia colluftrarem *< oculis (eft enim ad portas Agragianas magna frequen- M tia fepulchrorum) animadverti columnellam non mul- " turn e dumis eminentem, in qua inerat fphaerae ngnra u et cylindri. Atque ego ftatim Syracufanis (era-it *' autem principes mccum) dixt, me illud ipfum arbi- " trari effe quod qusererem., Immifli cum falcibus raolti " purgarunt, et aperuerunt locum ; quo cam patefactus " eifet M A L T A. I39 wrefot terribas parti bus rerncu . lima fui c. ignoraiTet, niii ab ho uc. nbs are a grea: either to thofe of Rome or Naples, and i . ir remains of tempi Montalbano, who has vritren on tl thefe that are nc of that of Jupiter Olyropus ftiH remain pio of Minerva (now and dedicated to : They have late de to it: but ■ in a J . Oi l v.ai anciently an Kland ; it is often denomi ich by ;, Cicero, and many of the Greek . in lattci v by the ruins of this mighty Gity, the fcrait that feparated it from tic conti- nent, was filled up ; and it had now been a pe; for many ages ; till the pt of i.pain, at expenfe, cut through the neck of land that joined it to Sicily, and has a^am reduced it to ifcs ilate. Here he has raifed a noble fortification, which appears to be almofc impregnable. There are tour ftrong gates, one within the other, with each a glacis, covered way, fcarp and c >unterfcarp, and a broad deep ditch filled with fea water, and defended by an immenfe number cf embrifiKes ; but not io much as one fingle piece of artillery. This you will no doubt think rediculous enoughs J>40 A TOUR THROUGH enough, but the ridicule is ftill heightened, wh-n I allure you there is not a cannon of any to this noble fortrefs, battery of iixp ers for faluring (hips that g oat o: the po.: you a'e at a iofs to account for this, you will pleafe to remember that ir i« a work, of the king of bpain. However, the ditches are very ufeful ; they are pe uaily covered with fifhing boats ; and they can ufe their nets and lines here with the greateil fuccefs, even i moitilormy weather; though I dare fay this was none of ■ tives that indoced his majefty to make them, ity of the piace have likewife barges here, tor their amufement. As the celebrated fountain of Arethufa has ever been- looked upon as one of the greaieit curiofities of cufe, you may believe we were uct a little impatient to examine it : And inieed only by obferving Cicero's ac- count of it,* we foon foui?d it out. It ftill exactly ers the defcription he gives, except with regard to the great quantities of fiih it contained, which feera now to have abandoned it. The fountain of Arethufa was dedicated to Diana, who had a magnificent temple near it, where great fes- tivals were annually celebrated in honour of the god-- dzfi. We found a number of nymphs, up to their knees in the fountain, bufy washing their garments, and we dreaded the fate of A&seon and Alphcus : But if thefe were of Diana's train, they are by no means fo coy as they were of old ; and a man would hardly chufe to run^he rifi: of being changed either into a flag or a for the belt of them. It * In hac infula extrema eft font aqua/ aulas, cut nom- en Arethufa eft, hicredibili magn'itudme plemjjimus pijcium, qui jluclu tot us operiretur, n'iji muni tone, ac tnoU lap'idum a man d'i*iunclus (Jf-tj CSfo Cic. SICILY AND MALTA. I41 It is indeed an aftonifhing fountain ; and rifes at •nee out of the earth, to the fize of a river. The o.>etical fictions concerning it are too well kno^n to require that I flhould numerate them. Many of the people here believe to this day, that it is the identical river Arethufa, that finks under groana near Olympia in Greece, and continuing its courfe tor five or fix hundred miles below the ocean, rifes again in this fpot. It is truly aftolftfhing that fuch a {lory as this mould have gamed fuch credit amongfr the ancients, for it is not only their poets, but natural historians and philofo- phers too, that take notice of it. Piiny mentions it more than once ; ana there arc few or none of the Latin poets t..at it has efcaped. This ft range belief has been communicated to the Sicilian authors, and, what is amazing, there is hardly any of them that doubt of it. Pomponious Mela, las, Mafia, and Fazzelio, are all of the fame ents; to fupport which they tell you the old ftory of the golden cup won at the* Olympic games, which was thrown into Grecian Arethufa, and was foon after cafe up again by the Sicilian one. They likewife add, that it had always been obferved that after the great ficrifices at Olympia, the blool ol which fell into that river, the waters of Arethufa rofe for feveral days, tinged with blood. This, like many modern miracles, was pr trick of the pricfts. Thofe of Diana had the charge of the Fountain of Arethufa, and no doubt were raut terefted to fapport the credit of the ftory ; for it that goddefs that converted the nymph Arethufa into a and c miucted her by fubterraneous paifages ! , to avoid the purfuit of AJpheus, who vrent the fame fate. 14- A TOUR THROUGH At a little diftanee from the fountain of Arethufa., there is a very large fpring of freih water, that boils up in the fea. It is calied Occh'i di Zi/ica, and by fome Alpheus, who is fuppo fed by the poets to have pi Arethufa below the fea ail the way to Sicily. As this fpring is not taken notice of by any cf the great number of the ancients that fpeak of Arethufa, it is moft probable that it did not then exift ; and is a part, of that fountain that Jiasfince bunt out before its arrival at the ifUnd of Ortigia. HafJjIflbeeil^iK the time of the Greeks, there is no doubt that they would have made ufe of this, as* a ihong argument tc prove the fubnarine journey of Arerhufa ; as in fact it rifes at fome diitance in the fea, and pretty much in the fame direction that Greece lies from Ortigia. It fome- times boils up fo ftrongly, that after piercing the fait water, I am told it can be ta^en up very littie affected by it. Syracufe has two harbours ; the Iarg2ft of which, on the fouth weit fide of Ortigia, is reckoned fix miles round, and was eiteem ,a -i one of the belt in the Mediter- ranean. It is faid by Di jdorus to have run almoit into the heart of the city, an \ vas called Mamoreo, becaufe entirely furrounded with buildings of marble; the entry into this harbour was ftrongly fortified, and tne Roman fleets could never penetrate into it. The fmall port is on the north eafl: of Ortigia, is likewife recorded to have been highly ornamented. Fazzello fays, there is Hill the remains of a fubmarinc aquedudt, that runs through the middle of it, wh*cb was intended to convey the water from the fountain of Are- l o ti.e other parts of the city. Near this port they mow the fpot where Archimedes' houfe ftood ; and ukewife the tow^r from whence he is laid to have fet fire to the Roman galleys with ing 1 SICILY AND MALTA. I43 ing glafles ; a ftory which is related by feveral authors but which is now almoft univerfaliy exploded, from the difficulty to conceive a burning glafs or a concave fpec- ulum, with a focus of fuch an immenfe length as this muft have required. However, I mould be apt to imagine if this be not entirely a fiction (of which there is fome probability) that it was neither performed by refracting burning glafles nor fpeculums, but only by means ot common looking glafles, oJ^very clear plates of metal. Indeed, from the lltuation ot the place it muft have been done by reflection ; for Archimedes' tower itood on the north of the little port where tjje Roman fleet are faid to ha\e been moored ; fo that their vefleh. lay in a right line betwixt him and the fun at noon ; and at a very fmall diftance from the wall of the city where this tower ftood. But if you will fuppofe this to have been per- formed by common burning glafies, or by thofe of the parabolical kind, it will be neceifary to ralfe a tower of a ; and abundantly capable of fetting fire to every con buitible fuouance. This experim nt might be eafily made by means battalion of men, arming each with a 1< t king giafs in» ftead of a firetock ; and fetting up a board at two or three hundred yards duiante for them ro fire at. I fup- | c w< uld take a en fide ra 1 ioie they were' expegfcat this exerciic : but, oy iiaciice, I have no doubt 44* A TOVR THROUGH doubt that they might all be brought to hit the mark inftaptaneoufly at the word of command ; like the lark catchers in fome countries, who are io dextrious at this manoeuvre, that with a fmall mirror they throw the rays of light on the lark, let her be ever fo high in the air ; which, by a kind of fafcination, brings down the poor animal to the fnare. You may laugh at all this ; but I don't think it is impofiible that a looking glafs may one day be thought as neceflary an implement for a foldier^as at prcfent it is for a beau. 1 am very apprehenfive the French will get the {tart of us in this fignal invention ; as I have been aiTured long ago, that few of their men ever go to the field, without firft providing themfeives with one of thefe little warlike engines, the true ufe of which, happily for us they are as yet unacquainted with. You will eafily perceive, that if this experiment fuceeeds, it mull altet the whole fyftem of fortification, as well as of attack and defence j for every part of the city that is expofed to the view of the befiegers, may be ealiiy fet in a flame : Aud the befieged would have the fame advantage over the camp of the bcfieging army.* We are already completely tired of Svracufe, vs of all the wretched places we have yet met with, is by many degrees the raoft wretched : For beiides that its inhabitants are {o extremely poor and beggarly,, ■ of them are fo overrun with the itch ; * Si>ice the r .' thefe letters, has : ntii thai . ■ /it. — He covf.rucud a kind mall mirrors > .. tner y that the rajs . Itaa c SfCILV AND MALTA. 145 perpetual apprehenfions, and begin to be extremely well fatisfied that we could not procure beds. It is truly melancholy to think of the difmal contraft that its former magnificence makes with its prefent meannefs. The mighty Syracufe, the raoft opulent and powerful of all the Grecian cities, which by its own proper ftrength alone was able, at different times to contend againft all the power of Carthage and of Rome : Whick is recorded (what the force of united nations is now- incapable of) to have repulfed fleets of two thoufand fail, and armies of two hundred thoufand men ; and contained within its own walls, what no city ever did before or fince, fleets and armies that were the terror of the world. This haughty and magnificent city, reduced even below the confequence of the moft infignificant burgh ! " Sic tranfit gloria mundi."- 1 have noc even been able to procure a table to write upon, but by way of fuccedaneum am obliged to lay a. form over the back of two chairs. We have got into the moft wretched hovel you can conceive, and the moft dirty ; bat what is ftill word of all, we can find nothing to eat ; and if .we had not brought fome cold fowls along with us Wc might have ftarved. The heat has beerf^confiderably greater here than at Catania. The thermometer is juft now at 78. There is an old remark made on the climate of this place bv ibme of the anciects ; which is ftill faid to hold good : That at no feafon, the fun has ever been invifible dur- ing a whole day at Syracufe. I find it mentioned by feveral Sicilian authors, but (hall not vouch for the truth of it. Adieu. My next will probably be from Malta ; for we (hall fail tomorrow if it be poflible to procure a He likewife told us, that the Turks had : quent invaftons upon this point of the iilaad, whi- all others, lay moft expofed to their depredations ; tha: lately three of their chebecks ran into a fmall harbour a few rnile6 from this, and carried oft fix merchant (hips -, and that very often, fome of their light veffels were (een hovering off the coaft ; that the only way to be in per- fect fecurity from thefe two enemies by fea and land, was to choofe a place on the coaft lb deep, that the banditti by land could not wade in to us ; and at the fame time lb (hallow, as to be equally inacceliible to the banditti by fea, Whea wc found ourfelves thus in fecurity on both hands, we wrapt ourfelves up in our cloaks, and fell afleep : However, we had but a very uncomfortable night ; the wind rofe, and the motion of our little bark was exceedingly difagreeable, and made us heartily lick, As foon as day began to appear, we made them pull in to fhore ; when we were immediately cured of ourfick- nefs ; and as the weather continues ftill unfavourable, we have fallen upon a variety of amufements to pafs the time. We have been thrice in the water, which is warm and pleafant ; and in the intervals, I have written you t.his letter on the top of a large bafket, in which we carry our fea ftore. We have likewife gathered (hells, pieces of coral, of fpunge, and feveral beautiful kinds of fea weed. The rocks here are all of fand and gravel run together, and become as hard as granite. There are many fhells and other marine fubftances mixed in their compofition, which render them objetts of curi- ofity in the eye of a naturalift. This morning we made a kind of tent of a fail drawn over the point of a rock, and fixed with an oar, by way of O 2 1^0 A 1 O U K THROUGH of pole. Here we breakfafted mod luxurioufly on c cellen? tea and honey of Hybla. I was interrupted in this part of my letter, by an offi- cer from the fort of Capo Paffero. He tells us, that we may give overall thoughts of getting farther for thefc fix days. What do you think is his reafon ? I own I was in fbme pain till he mentioned it. This wind fet in exactly as the moon entered her fecond quarter, and it will certainly continue till fhe is full. There is a jafcal for you ! if he be telling truth, I mall certainly ftudy aftrology. He iikewife told us, that two galliots had been fcen off the coaft ; and defired us to be upon our guard ; but I own, the moon, together with other circumftances, has confiderably weakened his evidence with me. We have learned from his converfation, that the fort of Capo Paffero is made ufe of as a place of exile for the delinquents in the army ; of which number I have not the leaft doubt that he is one. He told us there were two near relations of the viceroy, that had been lately fent there for mifdemeanors ; that for his part, he be- longed to a very agreeable garrifon ; but as he loved retirement, he chofe to accompany them. However, his countenance told a very different ftory ; and faid, in ftrong language, that he was a tres mawvais/ujet, Be- iides, he is a ftupid fellow, and has tired me. I could Jearn nothing from him. It mud be owned, this is an excellent place of exile for a young rake, who wants to fhow away in the beau monde. It is not within many miles of any town or village ; fo that the gentlemen may enjoy retirement in its utmoft perfection. We were furprifed to find on this coaft quantities of the true pumice ftone, which at firft wefuppofed to have been brought by the fea from uEtna, till we lilj»vife difcorered SICILY AND MALTA. I £ 1 di I covered many large pieces of lava, which make us imagined there muft have been fome eruption ot fire in this part of the ifland ; yet I fee no conical mountain, or any other indication of it. If our officer's prognoftications prove true, and we are detained here any longer, I mail examine the coun- try to a much greater diftance. The wind continues directly contrary ; the fea is very high in the canal of Malta, and our Sicilian fervant is in a fad trepidation. But I fee Glover and Fullarton coming for their dinner ; fo I mail be obliged to give up the baflcet. This fea air gives one a monftrous appetite ; and, it is with grief I mention it, we are. already brought to fhort allow- ance : Only one'cold fowl among three of us ; all three pretty (harp fctj I aflure you. Thofe infamous rafcals to lofe our turtle ! They have fpied a fifhing boat, and are hailing her as loud as they can roar j but, alas ! (he is too far off to hear them. They have juft fired a gun to bring her to, and happily (he obeys the fignal, io there are ilill hopes ; otherwife we (hall foon be reduced to bread and water. Our tea and fugar toe are juft upon a clofe, which is the crueleft article of all ; but we have plenty of good bread and Hybla honey ; fo we are in no danger of Halving, We have likewife made an admirable and a very com- fortable difpofition for our night's lodging. The Spa- ronaro is fo very narrow, that it is impoftible for us -all to lie in it ; befides, we are eaten up with vermin, and have nothing but the hard boards to lie on : All thefe confiderations, added to the curfed fwinging of the boat, and the horrid ficknefs it occalions, have deter- mined us rather to truft ourfclves to the mercy of the ban- ditti, than to lie another night at fea : Befides, we have made the happieft difcovery in the world ; a great quan- tity of fine, foft, dry fea weed, lying under the (helter of a rock, and feems intended by Providence for our bed: Over this we are going to a ftretch fail, and expeft I 5 - A TOUR T H R U t expecl to deep mod luxurioufly ; but to prevent all danger from a furprife, we have agreed to itand fentrv by turns, with Fulla-rton's double barrelled gun, well primed and loaded for the reception of the enemy ; at the firft difcharge of which, and not before, the whole guard is to turn out with all the remaining part of our artillery and fmall arms ; and as our fituation is a very advantageous one, I think we mail be able to make a flout defence. As we are fix in number, three mailers and three fervants, the duty, you fee, will be but trifling ; and five of us will always deep in fecurity. Our guard, to be fure, might have been ftronger : But our Sparonaro men have absolutely refufed to be of the party ; having much more confidence in their own element ; however, they have promifed, in cafe of an attack, immediately to come to our afliftance. I think the difpolition is far from being a bad one, and we are not a little vain of our generalftiip. The fifhingboat is now arrived, and they have bought fome excellent little fifties, which are already on the fire. Adieu. Thefe fellows are roaring for their cold fowl, and I can command the baflcet no longer. Ever Yours. LETTER VierLY AND M.A.LTA. 1$/$: LETTER XIV. Malta, June tfh. J:N fpite of appearance, and our officer's wife prog- noftications, the wind changed in the afternoon, and we got under fail. by fix o'clock : We pafled the Straits, and coafted along till eight, when landed to cook fome macaroni we hadpurchafed of our failors, and try if we could (hoot fomething for fea flore, as we have ftill a long voyage before us, We came to the fide of a fulphureous lake, the fmell of which was fo ftrong, that we perceived it upwards of a mile diftant. We found the water boiling up with violence in many places, though the heat at the banks of the lake is very inconfiderable. However, this, add- ed to the pumice and lava we found near Capo Pafiero, , tends greatly to confirm us in the opinion, that this part of the ifland, as well as. about jEtna, has, in former ages, been fubjeel to eruptions, of fire. . I think it is more than probable, that this is the cele- brated Carmerina, which jEneas faw immediately after his paffiog Pachynus (or Capo Paffero} which, Virgil fays, the fates had decreed (hould never be drained. " Hinc altas cautes projeftaque faxa Pachyni " Radimus ; et fatis numquam conceiTa moveri m Adparet Camarina procul." Virgil had good reafon to fay fo ; for the level of the lake or marfh (it being fomething betwixt the two) is at lead as low as that of the fea, and consequently never •oujd be drained. 154 A TOUR THROUGH It is furrounded with a variety of fine ever-greens; and flowering (hrubs, or which the palmeta, and the arbutus or ftrawberry tree, are the moft beautiful. We faw a great many wild fowls ; but, what furprifed me> in fo unfrequented a place, they were fo (hy, that there was no getting near them : There was one kind, in particular, that attracted our attention ; it was of the fize and form of a grey plover, and flew in the fame manner ; but had a tail of a great length, which feemed to be compofed only of two fmall flexible feathers, that made a very uncommon appearance in the air. After ufing all our art to moot one of them, we were obliged to give up the attempt. Here we killed a fmall black fnake, which, I think, anfwers the description I have feen of the afp. We diiTected out its tongue, the end of which appears iharp like a Ming, and I fupppofe is one, as it darted out with violence againft our flicks, when we pvefented them to it. Now as all animals, when attacked, make ufe of thofe weapons that nature has armed them with for their defence, it appeared evident to us (fuppofing this rule a juft one)' thar this animal was confeious of a power of hurting in its tongue ; and we have been more tally convinced of it from difleclion. The iting ap- pears confiderably larger than that of a bee. We found a little bag at the other end of the tongue, and proba- bly, if we had had a mil fcope, mould have found the tongue perforated. This fnake had no teeth ; but very hard gums. I have taken care to preferve the tongue for your infpeclion. As I think it has always been fuppofed, that ferpents- hurt only with their teeth, I thought this might be worthy of your notice. It is true, that the darting out Of the tongue is a trick of the whole ferpent tribe ; but this animal feemed to do it with peculiar ferocity, and to ftrike it with violence againft our fticks. It* this that put us upon the examination SICILY AND MALTA. 155 I don't recoiled that this Angularity is mentioned- in any book of natural hiftory, but poflibly I may be mif~ taken ; nor indeed do I remember either to have feen or heard of any animal armed in this manner. Unlefs you will fuppofe me to adopt the fentiments of poor Mr. S , who, ever nnce his marriage, alledges that the tongues of many females, are formed after this fin- gular manner j and remarks one peculiarity, that the iting feldom or never appears till after matrimony. He is very learned on this fubjeel, and thinks it may poflibly have proceeded from their original connection v/ith the ferpent. Let this be as it may, I fmcerely, hope that you and 1 (hall never have fuch good reafon for adopting that opinion. A little after nine we embarked. The night was de- lightful ; but the wind had died away about fun (ct y and we were obliged to ply our oars to get into the canal of Malta. The coaft of Sicily began to recede ; and in a fhort time, we found ourfelves in the ocean. There was a profound filence, except the noife of the waves breaking on the diftant more, which only ferved to render it more folemn. It was a dead calm, and the moon lhone bright on the waters : The waves, from the late ftorm, were ftill high, but fmooth and even, and followed one another with a flow and equal pace. The fcenc had naturally funk us into meditation ; we had remained near an hour without fpeaking a word, when our failors began their midnight hymn to the Virgin. The mufic was Ample, folemn, and melancholy, and in perfect harmony with the fcene, and with all our feel- ings. They beat exact time with their oars, and obferved the harmony and the cadence with the utmoft precifion. We liftened with infinite pleafure to this melanchcly concert, and felt the vanity of operas and oratorios. There is often a folemnity and a pathetic in the modu- n of thefe Ample productions, that caufes a much :ger effect, than the compeftion of the greatei* mailers, afliited by ail the boafted rules of counter-poinr. -ij6 A TOUR THROb'eH At laft they fung us afleep, and we awoke forty miles diftant from Sicily. We were now on the main ocean, and faw no land but mount iEtna ; which is the perpet- ual polar ftar of thefe feas. We had a line breeze, and about two o'clock we difcovered the ifland of Malta ; and in lefs than three hours more, we reached the city of Valetta. The approach of the ifland is very fine, although the lhore is rather low and rocky. It is every where made inacceffible to an enemy, by an infinite number of fortifications. The rock, in many places, has been Hoped into the form of a glacis, with ftrong parapets and intrenehments running behind it. The entry into the port is very narrow, and is com- manded by a ftrong caftle on either fide. We were hailed from each of thefe, and obliged to give a ftrift account of ourfelves ; and on our arrival at the fide of the key, we were vifited by an officer from the health- office, and obliged to give oath with regard to the cir- cumftances of our voyage.— He behaved in the civil- eft manner, and immediately fent us Mr. Rutter, the Englifh conful, for whom we had letters of recom- mendation. On getting on fhore, we found ourfelve3 in a new world indeed. The ftreets crowded with well drefT- ed people, who have all the appearance of health and affluence ; whereas at Syracufe, there was karce a crea- ture to be feen ; and even thofe few had disappearance of difeafe and wretchednefs.— — Mr. Rutter immedi- ately conducted us to an inn, which had more the ap- pearance of a palace. We have had an excellent fupper, and good Burgundy ; and as this is the king's birthday, we have almoft got tipfy to his health. We are now .going into clean, comfortable beds, in 'expectation of the fweetcft fl umbers. Think of 'the luxury of this, after being five long days Without throwing off our •clothes. Good night. 1 would not lofe a moment oi it for the world. People may fay what they pleafe, SICILY AND MALTA. I 5 7 there is no enjoyment in living in perpetual eafe and afHuence, and the true luxury is only to be attained by undergoing a lew hardships. Lut this is no time to.' .philoiophife. So adieu. LETTER XV. Malta, J, OUR banker, Mr. Poufilach, wr.s here before we were up, inviting us to dine with him at his coun- try houfe, from whence we arejuit now returned. He gave us a noble entertainment, ferved on plate, v. elegant delfert, and a great variety of wines. After dinner we went to vifit the principal villas of ihe ifland ; particularly thofe of the grand matter, and the general of the gallies, which lie contiguous to each other. Thefe are nothing great or magnificent ; but they are admirably contrived for a hot climate, where, of all things, lhade is the moll deferable. The orange groves are indeed very fine, and the fruit tiiey bear is fuperior to any thing you have {^cn either in Spain or Portugal. The afpect of the country is far from being pleating : The whole iiland is a great rock of very white free-ftone, and the foil' that covers this rock, in raoft places, is not more than live or fix inches deep ; yet, what is Angular, we found their crop in general was exceedingly abundant. They account for it from the copious dews that fall during the fpring and fummer months ; and pretend likewife, that there is a mcifture in the rock below the foil, that is of great advantage to the corn and cotton, rpetually moift and cool ; without whi P 158 A TOUR THROUGH which lingular quality, they fay, they could have n» crops at all, the heat of the fun is fo exceedingly vio- lent. Their barley harvefl has been over fome time ago ; and they are juft now finifhing that of the wheat. The whole ifland produces corn only fufficient to fupport its inhabitants for five months, or little more ; but the crop they moft depend upon is the cotton. T hey began fow- ing it about three weeks ago, and it will be finifhed in a week more. The time of reaping it is in the month of October, and begining of November. They pretend that the cotton produced from this plant, which is fown and reaped in tour months, is of a much fupcrior quality to that of the cotton tree. I compared them, but I cannot fay I found it fo ; this is indeed the fincft, but that of the cotton tree is by much the ftrongeft texture. The plant rifes to the height of a foot and a half, and is covered with a number of nuts or pods full of cotton : Thefe, when ripe, they are at great pains to cut off, every morning before fun rife ; ior the heat of the fun immediately turns the cotton yel- low ; which, indeed, we faw from thofe pods they fave for feed. They manufacture their cotton into a great variety of fluffs. Their (lockings are exceedingly fine. Some of them, they allured us, had been fold for ten fequins a pair. Their coverlids and blankets are eftcemed all over Europe. Of thefe the principal manufactures arc eftabliflied in the little ifland of Gozzo, where the peo- ple are faid to be more induitrious than thofe of Malta, as they are more excluded from the world, and have fewer inducements to idienefs. Here the fugar cane is ftill cultivated with fuccefs, though not in a:i able quantity. SICILY AND M A L T A. 1 59 The "Maltefe oranges certainly defcrve the charaileT . of being the fineft in the world. The fcafon continues for upwards or* (c^'tn months ; from Novem- till the middle of June ; during which time, thofe t if ul trees are always covered with abundance of this delicious fruit. Many of them are of the red kind, much fuperior, in my opinion, to the others, which are rather too lufcious. They are produced, I am toU* iVo.n the common orange bud, engrafted on the porrt^ itc flock. The juice of this fruit is red as blood,* [ a fine flavour. The greateft part of their crop is fent in prelents to the different courts of Europe, and to the relations of the chevaliers. It was not without a good deal of difficulty that we procured a few chclh for our friends at Naples. The induftry of the Maltefe, in cultivating, their little ifland, is inconceivable. There is not an inch of ground loft in any part of it ; and where there jvas not foil enough, they have brought over (hips and boats loaded with it from Sicily, where there is plenty and to fparc. The whole ifland is full of inclofures of free-frone, v. gives the country a very uncouth and a very barren pedt ; and, in fummer, refle&s fuch a light and that is exceedingly difagreeable and ottenfive to the eyes. The inclofures arc very fmall and irregular, ac- cording to the inclination of the ground. This, they i'ny, they are obliged to obferve, notwithRandin deformity it occafions ; other wife the floods, to v. they are fubjeci, would loon carry off their foil. The iiland is covered over with country houfes and villages, befides feven cities, for fo they term them ; but there are only two, the Valetta and Citta Vecchia, that by any means defcrve that appellation. Eterv little village has a noble church, elegantly hniflied and adorned with itatues of marble, rich tapeftry, and a large quantity of filver plate. They are by much the fomeit country churches I have ever feeii. But J OO A T O V R T H R O U « H I am interrupted in my writing, b\ the beginning (1 am told) of a very fine (how. If it be fo, 1 ihall give you foaie account of it by and rv en at night. The mow is now finimed and has. "ded us great entertainment. It was the departure of" a Maifefe fquadron to affilt the French agatnit the dfey of Tunis, who, it teems, has fallen under the dit- ure of the grand monarque, becaufc he refufed to er up without ranforn, the Corfican Haves that were > before the French were in poffetiion of that ifland. The tqffuiron confided of three gaiiies; the iargeil with nine hundred men, each of the others with (even hun- dred ; three galliots, and feveral J'campav'ias, fo called ;Vom their exceeding fwiftnefs. Thefc immenfe bodies were ail worked by oars, and moved with great regu- larity. The admiral went tint, an.i the reft in order, according to their dignity. The fea was crowded with , and the ramparts and fortifications were fiiled v/i th company. The port refounded on all fides with difcharge of heavy artillery, which was anfwered by •iiies and gallicts as they left the harbour. As :ho is here uncommonly great, it produced a very Ie efFeft. re wore about thirty knights in each galley, mak^ . jnals all the way to their miitrefTes, who were weeping for the departure upon the baftions ; for thefc gentlemen pay almoit as little regard to their vows cl chaftity, as the prielts and confdfors do. After vi ing the (how from the ramparts, we took a boat and fol* ' lowed the fqdadron for feme time, and did not return till long after fun fct. We have been admiring the wonderful ftrength of' this place, both by nature and art. It is certain!; happidt fituationthat can be imagined. The ci;y ftands upon a penlnfula, betwixt two of the finelt ports ii world, which arc defended by almoft impregnable forti S I C I L Y A N T D M A LTAi 1 6 I aeacions. That on the fouth call tide of the city is tlia largeKh It runs about two miles into the heart of the i.'land, and is Co very deep, and furrounded by fuel- high grounds and fortifications, that they aiTured us, the liirgeit fhipsof war might ride here in the moil: ftromy weather, almoft without a cable. This beautiful bafon is divided into five diftincl har- bours, all equally fafe, and each capable of containing an irmnenfe number of (hipping. The mouth of the hirbour is fcarcely a quarter of a mile broad, and is commanded on each fide by batteries that would tear the rtrongeft (hip to pieces before me could enter. Befides this, it is fronted by a quadruple battery, one above the other, the largeft of which is * flour a' can, or on a level with the water. Thefe are mounted with about 80 of their heavieft artillery ; fo that this harbour, I think, may really be considered as impregnable ; and indeed the Turks have ever found it 10, and I believe ever will, Trie harbour on the north fide of the city, although they only ufe it for fifhing, as the place of quaran- tine, would, in any other port of the world, be confid- ered as ineftimable. It is likewife defended by very ftrong works ; asd in the centre of the bafon there is an ifland on which they have built a caftle and a lazaret. The fortifications of Malta are indeed a moft ftu- pendous work. All the boafted catacombs of Pome and Naples are a trifle to the immenfe excavations that have been made in this little ifland. The ditches, of a vail fize, are all cut out of the folid rock. Thefe ex- rend for a great many miles ; and raifc our aftonifhment fo think that fo fmall a (tale has ever been able to make One 1 6 2 A TOUR THROUGH One title of the tflaad is Co c fortified by na- ture, that there was nothing left tor arc. The rock is of a great height, and absolutely perpendicular from the fea for feveral miles. It is very Angular, that on this fide there are ftiil the veftiges of fevcral with the track; of carriages worn deep into the r_. The To roads are now terminated by the precipice, with the fea beneath ; and ihe.v to a demonftration, that this illand has in former ages been of a much larger fize it 13 at prefeat ; bur the convulfion that ccca.i i I diminution is probably much beyond the reach of I tory or tradition. It has often been obferveJ, notwifhftanding the very great diflanc'e of mount iEtna, .hat this illand has generally been more or lefc affected by its eruptions, and they think it probable, that on fame of thofe occasions a part of it may have been :l into the fea. We have now an opportunity of obferving that one £:'ii of mount iEma is clearly difcovered from Malta. They reckon the diilance near 200 Italian miles. .And the people here afore us, that in the great eruptions of that mountain, their whole ifland is illuminated j and from the reflection in the water, there appears a great tuck of fire in the fea all the way from Malta to Sici- ly. The thundering of the mountain is likewife dif- rinfily heard. Good night. I am fatigued with this day's expedition, and {hall finifh my letter tomor- row. June 6'h, As the city of Valetta is built upon a hill, »one of the ftreets except the key are level. They are all paved with white free-ftone, which not only creates a great dult, but from its colour is likewife fo offenfivc to the eyes, that moft of the people here are remarkably weak fighted. The principal buildings are the palace ©f the grand matter, the infirmary, the arfenal, the inns or hotels of the kven Tongue's, and the great church of St. John, The palace is a noble though a plain Uru&ure, S I C I L A. JtV) he. grand matter (who ilulies convenience nagni licence) is more comfortably and conr.no- tlj lOj than any prince in Europe, the king of Inia perhaps only excepted. The great itair is the call eft and the beit I ever faw, St. John's is a magnificent church. The pavement, in particular, is reckoned the richeft in the world. It is entirely cornpofed of fepulchral monuments of the fineft marbles, prophyry, lapis lazuli, and a variety of other valuable lton^s, admirably joined together, and at an incredible expenfe ; representing in a kind of Mofaic, the arms, infigma, &c. of the perfoas whofe -axes t\v>y arc intended to commemorate. In the mag- nificence of thofe monuments, the heirs of grand matters and c iers have k each other. We went this day to ;'ee th church fervicc. It kerns to be more ov parade and ceremony than what I have ever obferved even in any other catholic country. The numo . genuflections before the altar, the killing of the priori Hand, the holding up of his robes by the fubaltern priefts, the ceremony of throwing incenfe upon all the knights of the great crofs, and neglecting the poorer knights, with many other articles, appeared to m high- iculous ; and molt efientially different indeed from that purity and fimplicity of woruhip that constitutes the very eifence of true chriftianity ; and of which the great pattern they pretend to copy, (at Co very noble an example. This day (the 6th of June) is held as a thankfgiving for their deliverance frown a terrible confpiracy that was formed about twenty one years ago, by the Turkifh flaves ; at one ftroke to put an end to the whole order •f Malta. All the fountains of the place were to be poifoned ; T H R O U OH poiibned ; and every flave had taken a folcr»in oath tf- put his matter to death. It was difcovcred by a Jew, who kept a coffee- ho ufev He underilood the Turkifh language, and overhearcd fome ciifcourfe that he thought fufpiciou:-. He wen: immediately and informed the grand matter. The fufpected perfons were inftantly fcized and put to the torture, and foon confefled the whole plot. The exe- cutions were {hocking. One hundred and twenty five were put to death by various torments. Some were burned alive, Tome were broken on the wheel, anl fome were torn to pieces by the four gallies rowing dii7erent ways, and each bringing off its limb. Since that time, the ilaves have been much more ftriclly watched, and have lefs liberty than formerly. Adieu. I fkall write to you again before we leave Malta. You is, 8i L E TTER XVI. Malta, June V h I"^HIS day we made an expedition through the illand in coaches drawn by one mule each ; the only kind q\ vehicle the place affords. Oarconduftors could fpeak nothing but Arabic, which is (till the language of the common people of Malta ; fo that yon may believe we did not reap much benefit from their converfation. We went firft to the ancient city of Melita, which is near the centre of the ifland, and commands a view of the whole ; and in clear weather, they pretend, of part of Barbary, and of Sicily. The city is ftrongly fortified, and is governed by an officer called the Hahem. He received SICILY AND MALTA. l6t received us very politely, and fhewed us the old palace, which is not indeed much worth the feeing. . The cathedral is a very line church ; and although of an ex- ceeding large free, is at prefertf entirely hung with crinv fon damafk richly laced with gold. The catacoTibs, not far from this city, are a great: work. They are laid to extend for fifteen miles undex ground ; however, this you are obliged to take on the credit of your guides, as it would rather be rifking roo much to put it to the trial. Many people, they allure us. have been loft from advancing too far in them ; the proiigious number of branches making it next to im- porTibie to find the way out again. From this we went to fee the Bofquetta, where the grand mailer has his country palace ; by the accounts we had of it at Valetta, we expected to find a foreft ftored vith d.er a.vd every kind of game, as they talk- ed much of the great hunts that were made every year in thefe woods. We were n-jt a lictle furprifed to find only a few fcatterei trees, and about half a dozen deer : But as this is the only thing like a wood in the ifland, it is.efteeined a very great curioiity. The palace is as little worth feeing as the forel ; though indeed the i of it is very fine. The furniture .: or four hundred years old, and in the mod Gothic tafte that can be imagined : But indeed the J mailer fe.ldom or never refides here. The great r >arce of water that fupplies the city of Va- letta, takes ir to this place ; and there is an a- queduft con feme thoufand arches, that conveys n thence to the city. The whole of this immsnfe .vas finilhed at the private expenfe of one of the. grand matters. Not far from the old city there is a fmall church, ted to St, Paul ;. and juft by the church, an. l66 A TOUR THROUGH ulous ftarue of the faint with a viper on his hand , fuppofed to be placed on the very fpot on which the hjufe flood where he was received after his fhipwreck on this ifland, and where he (hook the viper o f hand inro the fire \v : thout being hurt by it : At which J time the Maitefe allure us the faint curfed all the ven- omous animals of the ifland, and baniihed them for ever ; jail as St. Patr::k treated thofe of - mrire ifle. Whether this be the caufe of it or nor, we lhall leave to divines to determine, (though if it had, I think St. Luke would have mentioned it in the ads of the Apoftles) but the faft is certain, that there are no venomous animals in Malta. They allured us that vi- pers had been brought from Sicily, and died aim >it im- mediately on their arrival. Adjoining to the church there is the celebrated grot- to in which the faint was imprifoned. It is looked up- on with the utmoft reverence and veneration ; and if the (lories they tell of it be true, it is v/ell intitlcd to it all. It is exceedingly damp, and produces (I believe by a kind of petrifaction irom the water) awhitifh kind of flone, which they allure us, when reduced to a pow- der, is a fovercign remedy in many difeafes, and favc3 the lives of thoufands every year. There is not a houfe in the ifland that is not provided with it : And they tell us there are many boxes of it fent annually not only to Sicily and Italy, but likewife to the Levant and the Eaft Indies : And (what is confidered as a daily land- ing miracle) notwithftanding this perpetual confump- tion, it has never been exhaufted, nor even fenfibly diminifhed ; the faint always taking care to fupply them with a frefh. quantity the day following. You may be fure we did not fail to fluff our pockets with this wonderful ftone ; I fufpect.ed thev would have prevented us, as I did not fuppoie t\\n faint would have worked for heretic? • However,, neither he nor the prieft* i> I C I L Y AND MALTA. i6t priefts had any objection, and we gave them a few- Pauls* more for their civiiit) . I tailed fon.e ot it, and beiieve it a very haimlefs thing. It taites like exceed- ing bad Iviagnefia, and 1 believe has pretty much the fame effects. They give about a tea-ipoonfui of it to children in the fmall-pox. and in fevers. It produces a copious fweat about an hour after, and, they fay, never foils to be of fervice. It is likewife elteemed a certain remedy againit the bite of all venomous animals. There is a very tine ilatue oi irt. haul in the middle ot this grotto, to which they afcribe great powers. We were delighted on our way back to the city, with the beauty of the fctting fun ; much fuperior, Tthink, to what 1 have ever obierved it in Italy. Ihe whole of the eallern part of the heavens, for halt an hour after fun fet, was of a fine deep purple, and made a beautiful appearance : r l his, the Maltefe tell us, is generally the cafe every evening, at this feafon of the year. I forgot to fay any thing of our prefentation to the grand mailer, for which 1 aik pardon both of you and him. his name is Pinto, and oi a Pomiguefe family. He has now been at the head of this fingular little ftatc for upwards of thirty years. He received us with great politeneis> and was highly pleafed to find that fome of us had been in Portugal. He mentioned* the intimate commercial connections that had fo long fubfifted betwixt our nations, and exprefied his defire ot being of fervice to us, and of rendering our iiay in his ifland as agreea- ble as poflible. he is a clear headed, fenhble, little old man ; which, at fo advanced a period of Hie, is very uncommon. Although he is confiderably upwards of ninety, he retains all the faculties cf his mind in perfection. He has no minilter, but manages every- thing himfelf ; and has immediate information of the moft * A fmall ftlvtr a l6% A TOUR THROUGH moft minute occurrences. He walks up and down flairs, and even to church, without afliitance ; and has the appearance as if he would ftill live for many years. His houfheld attendants and court are all very prince- ly ; and as grand mafter of Malta, he is more abfolute, and pofTefies more power, than mcft fovreign princes. His titles are Serene Highnefs and Eminence ; and as he has the difpofal of all lucrative offices, he. makes of his councils what he pleafes ; befides, in all the councils that compofe the jurifdi&ion of this little nation, he himfelf prefides, and has two votes. Since he was .chofen grand mafter, he has already given away 126 commejnderies, fome of them worth upwards of 2000I. a year ; befides priories and other offices of profit. He has Ifae difpofal of twenty one commenderies and orle priory every five years ; and as there are always a number of expectants, he is very much courted. He is chofen by a committee of twenty one ; which committee is nominated by the feven nations, three out of each nation. The election mull be over within three days after the death of the former grand matter ; and during thefe three days, there is fcarce a foul that ileeps *t Malta : All is cabal and intrigue ; and meft of the knights are marked, to prevent their particular attach- ments and connections from being known : The mo- ment the eledibn is over, every thing returns again to its former channel. The land force of Malta is equal to the number of ii)cn in the ifland fit to bear arms. They have about 500 regulars belonging to the fhips of war ; and 150 compofe the guard oi the prince. The two iflands of Malta and Gozzo contain about 1 ccooo inhabitants. The men are exceedingly robuft and hardy. I have feen them row for ten or twelve hours without intermit fion, and without even appearing to be fatigued. S I fc I L Y A 14 D MALTA. 1 69 Their fea force confifb of four gallies, three gallioH* four (hips of fixty guns, and a frigate of thirty fix, be- tides a number of the quick failing little 1 effeis called Scampavia* (literally, Runaways. ) Their (hips, gal- lies, and fortifications, are not only well fupplied with excellent artillery, but they have likewife invented a kind of ordnance of their own, unknown to all the world befides. For we found, to our no fmall amaze- ment, that the rocks were not only cut into fortifica- tions, but likewife into artillery to defend thefe fortifi- cations ; being hollowed out in many places into the form of immenfe mortars. The charge is faid to be about a barrel ot gunpowder, over which the/ pbee a large piece of wood, made exaclly to fit the mouth of the chamber. Cn this they heap a great qlMBf cannon balls, fhclh, or other deadly maternl^^and when an enemy's (hip approaches the harbour, they fire the whole into the air ; and they pretend it produces a very great effect, making a mower for two or three hundred yards round, that would fink any velTel. Notwithstanding the fuppofed bigotry of the Maltefe-, the fpirit of toleration is fo ftrong, that a mo r que, has lately been burlt for their fworn enemies, the Turks. Here the poor flaves are allowed to enjoy their religion in peace. It happened lately that fome idle boys dis- turbed them during their fervice j they were immedi- ately fent to prifon, and feverely punifhed. The police indeed is much better regulated than in the neighbour- ing countries, and a(Tafiin3tions and robberies are very uncommon ; the laft of which crimes the grand mailer punilhes with the utmoft feverity. Eut he is faid, per- haps in compliance with the prejudice of his nation, to be much more relax with regard to the firft. Perhaps Malta is the only country in the world where duelling is permitted by law. As their whole c'teblifhment is originally founded on the wild and ro- mantic 17© A TOl r R THROUGH mantic principles of chivalry, they have ever found it too inconfiftent with thofe principles to aboliih duelling ; but they have laid it under fuch reitrittiuns as greatly to leffen its danger. Thefe arc curious enough. The dueilitts are obliged to decide their quarrel in one par- ticular ftreet of the city ; and if they prefume to fight any where elfe, they are liable to the rigour of the law. But what is not lefs fingular, and much more in their favour, they are obliged under the molt fevere penalties to put up their fword, when ordered to to do, by a 'woman , a pricji, or a knight. Under thefe limitations, in the midft of a great city, one would imagine it aknoft impoffible that a duel could ever end in blood ; however, this is not the cafe. A crofs is always painted on the wall oppofite to the fpot where a knight has been killed, in commemoration of his fall. We counted about twenty of thefe crofles* About three months ago, two knights had a difpute at a billiard table. One of them, after giving a great deal of abufive language, added a blow ; but to the aflonimment of all Malta (in whofe annals there is not a fimilar inftance) after fo great a provocation, he abfolutely rcfufed to fight his antagoniit. The chal- lenge was repeated, and he had time to reflcc't on the confequences, but ftill he refufed to enter the lifts. m He was condemned to make amende honourable in the great church of St. John for forty five days iucceiiive- ly ; then to be confined in a dungeon without light tor five yeats, after which he is to remain a prifoner in the cattle for life. The unfortunate young man who re- ceived the blow is likewife in difgrace, as he has not had an opportunity of wiping it out ir. the blood of his adverfary. This has been looked upon as a very fingular affair, ani isniil one vf the principal topics of conversion. The firit port of the fentence has already been executed, ani SICILY A 'A D MALTA. 1 7 I i , >r wretch is now in his dungeon. Nor is it ;:it, thai any aS^tement wii be made in what r:~ If the lonflature in other countries punifned with equal rigour thofe tiut dc $gut» as it does in this thofc that do nut, I believe we ih;uli fooa have an end of dueling : But I mould imagine the puniinment for fighting ought never to be a capital one, (but rather fomc thing ignominious ;) and the punifhment for not fighting ihould always b« fo, or at leail fome fever? corporeal punimment ; for ignominy will have as little edect on the perfon who is willing to fubmit to ihe ap- pellation of a coward, as the fear of death on one who makes it his glory to defpife it.. The Maltefe frill talk, with horror of a florrn th2t happened here on the 29th of October, 175:7, of which as it was of a very Angular nature, I mail translate you fame account irom a little book they have givtn mc, written on that iubjeft. About three quarters of an hour after midnight, there appeared to the fouth well of thz city a great black ci.)ud, which, as it approached, changed its colour, till at lad it became like a name of lire mixed with I v dreadful noife was heard on it, that alarmed the whole city. (: pafiecl ovei : porr, and came firti: j Englrfii (hip, which in.aa inftant was to:n to pieces, and nothing left but Ituik ; part of the malls, fails, and cordage were car- ried along with the cloud to a coniidcra'ole dii The final 1 boats and felloqaes that fell in its way all broken to pieces, and funk. The noii'c in: and became more frightful. A centlnel, ten approach, ran into his box ; Both he and it were up and carried into the. fea,- where he perifhed. J: travcrfed a coaiiderable part of the city, and laid i., tains almo.: jo J in its way. Several houfes i 7 2 A TGUR THROUGH fcoufes we re laid level with the ground, and it did not Jeave one fteeple in its pafTage. The bells of fome of them, together with the fpires, were carried to a con- iiderable diftance. The roofs of the churches were demclifhed and beat down, which, if it had happened in the day time, muft have had dreadful confequences, as all the world would immediately have run to the churches. It went orT at the north eaft point of the city ; and demolishing the light houfe, is faid to haye mounted up into the air, with a frightful noife ; and pafied over the fca to Sicily, where it tore up fome trees, and did other damage, but nothing confiderable ; as its fury had been- moitly fpent upon Malta. The number of killed and wounded amounted to near 200 ; and the lofs of (hir£ ping, houfes, and churches, was very confiderable. Several troatifes have been written to account for this- lingular hurricane, but I have found nothing at all fatis- factory. The fentiments of the people are concife and pofitive. They declare, with one voice that it was a legion of devils let loofe to punifh them for their fins. 'There area thoufand people in Malta that will take their oath they favv them within the cloud, all as black as pitch, and breathing out fire and brimftone. They add, that if there had not been a few godly perfons amongfc tlirtn, their whole city would certainly have been in- volved in one univerfal dsftruclion. The horfe races of Malta are of a very uncommon kind. They are performed without either faddle, bridle, whip, orfpur; ami yet the horfes are faid to run full fpeed, and to afford a great deal of diverfion. They are accuftomed to the ground for fome sveeks ■ ; and although it is entirely over rock and pave- ment, there are very feldom any accidents. They have] races of afTes and mules performed in the fame manner. fur times every year. The rider is only furniftied with ■. I) M A L T A. I v 3 a machine like a (hoc maker's awl, to prick on his courfer if. he is lar.y. As Malta is an epitom; of all Europe and an aflena- blageof the younger brothers, who are commonly the beft of its drl families, it is probably one of the belt Acad- emics for poiitenefs in this part of the globe ; bendes, where ever/ one is entitled by law as well as cuftom, to demand fatisfaetion for the lead breach of it, people are under a neceffity of b?ing very exacT: and circumfpeft, both with regard to their words and aclions. All the knights and commanders have much the ap* pearance of gentleman, and men of the world. We met with no character in extreme. The ridicules and prejudices of every particular nation, are by degrees foftened and wore off, by the familiar intercourfe and colliiion with each other. It is curious to obferve the efrcft it produces upon the various people that compofc this 1 ttle medlev. The French fkip, the German ftrur, and the Spaniih {talk, are ail mingled together in fuch fmall '.;roportions, that none of them are ftriking ; yet every one of theft nations ftill retain fomething of their original chara.^eridic : It is only'the exuberance of it that is wore off; and it is ftill eafy todiftinguifh the in- hioir-mts o f the fouth and n rth fide of the Pyrenees, as well a 3 thofe of the eaft and weft fide of the Rhine ; f r r ihough the Parifian has, in a great meafure, loft his aiTuming air, the Spaniard his taciturnity and folemnity, the German his formalitv and his pri^e ; yer ftill you 1 -.nan, the Frenchman, and the Spaniard : It ia he caricature, that formerly made them ridiculous, that has difappeared. This inftitu'«on, which h a ftrange compound of the - and f ecle iaftic, has now fubfifted for nearfeven argj • and though I believe, one of the firft $orn, has long furvived every other child of chivalry. u 174 A TOUR. THROUGH It poiMes great riches in molt of the Catholic c tries of Europe ; and did fo in England too, before the time of Henry VIII. but that capricious tyrant did not choofe that any iniVitution, however ancient or refoecl- ed, ftiould remain in his dominions, that had any doubi of his fupremacy and infallibility ; he therefore feized 01 all their poffeflions, at the fame tine that he enrich- ed himfelf by the plunder' of the church. It was in vain for them to plead that they were rather a military than an eccleftaflic order, and by their valour had been of great fervice to Europe, in their wars againft the infidels : It was not agreeable to his fyftem ever to hear a reafon for any thing ; and no perfon could poffi- bly be right, that was capable of fuppofmg that the king could be ;vrong. Malta, as well as Sicily, was long under the tyranny of the Saracens ; from which they were both delivered about the middle of the eleventh century, by the valour of the Norn»ans : After which time, the late of Malta commonly depenoed on that of Sicily, till the em Charles V. about the year fcjo'i gave it, together with the ill and of Gozzo, to the knights ol St. John of Jerufalem, who at that time had ioit the iflaid of Rhodes, in teftirnony of this concc.Ti n, the grand 1 matter is full obliged, every year, to fen i a ralcon to rhc king of siciiy, or his viceroy ; and on every new fucce.Tion, to fvear allegiance, and to receive, from the hands of the Sicilian monarch, the inveititure of thefe- V.vo iflands. Ever fince our arrival here, the weather has been- perfectly clear and ferene, without a cloud in the fky ; *nd for f<»m* time aft?r fan i£t, the heavens exhibit a moft beautiful appearance, which I don't recoiled to have obferved any where elfe. The eaftern part of tne- feemifphere appears of a rich deep purpl**, and the weft- cm is the true ye»1v.v glov of Cla\id Lorrain, that you afed to aim're fo much. The weather, however, is not intolerably 3 ICILY AND MALTA* I75 intolerably hot; the thermometer ftand* commonly be- twixt 75 and 76. Adieu. "We are now preparing for a long voyage, and it is not eafy to fay from whence I: fhull write yoa next. Ever Yours. *Mf> OF THE FIRST V.OLWFR "X" "& J** ft A TOUR THROUGH SICILY and MALTA. VOL. II. LETTER XVII. Agrlgentum, June nth. Dear Becbfurrf, w E left the port of Malta in a fparonaro which we hired to convey us to this city. We coafted along the ifland, and went to take a view of the north port, its fortifications and lazaretto. All thefe are xgxy great, and more like the works of a mighty ana powerful people, than of fo fmall a ftate. The mortars cut out of the rock are a tremendous in- vention. There are a&out fifty of them, near the dif- ferent creeks and landing places round the ifland. They are directed at the moif probable fpots where boats would attempt a landing. The mojith* of fome of thefe a>crtm 17 8- TOUR THROUGH mortars are about fix feet wide, and they are fa^'d t% throw«a 'hundred cantars of cannou bails or ftones. A cantar is, I think, about a hundred pound weight ; fo that if they do take place, they muft make a dreadful havoc amongft a debarkation of boats. The diftance of Malta from Gozzo is not above four or five miles, and the fmalL lHand of Cornmino lies be- twixt them. The coaits of all the three are bare and barren, but covered over with towers, redoubts, and, fortifications of various kinds. As Gozzo is fujppofed to be the celebrated ifl,and of Calypfo, you may believe we expected fome thing very fine ; but we were difappointed. It muft either be greatly fallen off fince the time (he inhabited it, or the archbifhop of Cambray, as well as Homer, muft have flattered greatly in their paintiDg. We looked as we v/ent along the coaft, for the grotto of the goddefs, but could fee nothing that refemblcd it.. Neither could we obferve thofe verdant banks eternally covered with flowers ; nor thofe lofty trees for ever in bloffom, that loft their heads in the clouds,, and afforded a fhade to the facred baths of her and her nymphs.. We faw, in- deed, fome nymphs ; but as neither Calypfo nor Eu- cli3ris feemed to be of the number, we paid little atten- tion to them, and I was in no apprehenfion about my Tclemachus : Indeed, it would have required an imag- ination as ftrong as Don Quixote's, to have brought about the metamorphofh. Finding our hopes fruftrated, we ordered our failors to pull out to fea, and bid adieu to the iiland of Calyp- fo,, concluding, either that our intelligence wis falfe, or that both the ifland and its inhabitants were greatly changed. We foon found ourfelves once more at the mercy of the waves : Night came on, and our rovers began tiieir evening fong to the Virgin, a,nd beat time with their oars, J heir pfflrjng was acceptable ; for we had SICILY AND MALTA. 179 had the moft delightful weather. We wrapped ourfelve* up in our cloaks, and flept moft comfortably, jiaving provided mattreffes at Malta. By a little* after day- break, we found we had got without fight of all the iflands, and law only a part of mount JEtnz finoking above the waters. The wind fprung up fair, and by ten o'clock we had light of the coaft of Sicily. On confidering the fhaallncfs of our boat, and the great breadth of this pafTage, we could not help ad* miring the temerity of thefe people, who, at all feafons of the year, venture to Sicily in thefe diminutive veflels$ yet it is very feldom that any accident happens ; the/ are fo perfectly acquainted with the weather, foretelling, almoft to a certainty, every ftorm, many hours before it comes on. The faiiors look upon this pafiage as one of the moft ftormy and dangerous in the Mediterranean, It is called the canal of Malta, and is much dreaded by the Levant lhips ; but indeed, at this feafon, there is n* danger. We arrived at Sicily a little before fun fet, and land- ed oppolite to Ragufa, and not far from the ruins of the little Hybla ; the third town of that name in the ifland, diftinguiftied by the epithets ef the Great (near mount yEtna) the Letter (near Augufta) and the Little (juft by Ragufa.) Here we found a fine fandy beach, and whilft the fervants were employed in drefling fup- per, we amufed ourfeives with bathing and gathering fhells, of which there is a confiderabie variety. We were in expectation of finding the nautilus, for which this ifland is famous ; but in this we did not fucceed. However, we picked up fome handfome fhells, though not equal to thofe that are brought from the Indies, After fupper, we again launched cur bark, and went to fea. The wind was favourable as we could wifn. We had cur nightly ferenade as ufual, and the nextdav, by 1 80 A TOUR THROUGH by twelve o'clock, we reached the celebrated port of Agrigenium. Thr-captain of the port gave us a polite reception, and infifted on accompanying us to the city, which ftands near the top of a mountain, four miles diftant from the harbour, and about eleven hundred feet above the level of the fea. The road on each fide is bordered by a row of exceeding large American aloes ; upwards of one third of them being at prefent in full blow, and making the moft beautiful appearance that can be imag- ined. The flower ftems of this noble plant are in gen- eral betwixt twenty and thirty feet high, (fome of them more) and are covered with flowers from top to bottom ; which taper regularly, and form a beautiful kind of pyramid, the bafe or pedeflal of which is the fine fpreading leaves of the plant. As this is cfteemed in northern countries, one of thegreateft curiofities of the vegetable tribe, we were happy at feeing it in fo great perfection ; much greater, I think, than I had ever feen it before. With us, I think, it is vulgarly reckoned, (though I believe falfely) that they only flower once in a hundred years. Here I was informed, that, at the lateft, they -always blow the fixth year ; but for the moft part the fifth. As the whole fubftance of the plant is carried into the fern and the flowers, the leaves begin to decay as foon as the blow is completed, and a numerous off- fpring of young plants are produced round the root of the old one j thefe are flipped ofFj^and formed into new plantations, either for hedges or* for avenues t© their country houfes. The city of Agrigentum, now called Girgmth is ir- regular and ugly ; though from a few miles diftance at fea, it makes a noble appearance, little inferior to that of Gene a. As it lies on the floie of the mountain, . rta SICILY AND MALTA. !o*I 'the houfcs do not hide one another ; but every part of the city is fee*. On our arrival, we found a great falling ofF*fndced ; the houfes are mean, the ftreets dirty, crooked, and narrow. It itill contains near twenty thoufand people ; a fad reduction from its ancient grandeur, when it was faid to confift of no lefs than eight hundred thoufand, being the next city to Syracufe for number. The Canonico Spoto, from Mr. Hamilton's letter, and from cur former acquaintance with him at Naples, gave us a kind and hofpitable reception. He infilled on our being his guefts ; and we arc now in his houfe, comfortably lodged, and elegantly entertained, which, after our crowded little apartment in the fparonaro, is by no means a difagreeable change. Farewell. I mall write to you again foon. Ever Your.-, LETTER XVIII. Agr'igentum, June nth. WE ate juft now returned from examining the an* tiqnities of Agrigentum, the mofl confiderable, perhaps, of any in Sicily. The ruins of the ancient city lie about a mort mile from the modern one. Thefe, like the ruins of Syra- cufe, are moftly converted into cornfields, vineyards, and orchards ; but the remains of the temples here, are much more confpicuous than thofe of Syracufe. Four of thefe have flood pretty much in a right line, near the R foutfe iS2 a «r*«R ^rnneuoa fouth wall of the city. The firft they call the temple of Venus ; almoft one half of which ftill remains. The fecond is that of Concord : It may be confidered as en- tire, not one column having as yet fallen. It is precise- ly of the fame dimenfions and fame architecture as that of Venus, which had probably ferved as the model for it. By the following inscription, found on a large piece of marble, it appears to have been built at the expenfe of the Lilibitani ; probably after having been defeated by the people of Agrigentum. CONCORDIA AGRIGENTINORUM SACRUM, RESPUBLICA LILIBITANORUM, DEDICANTIBUS M. ATTERIO CAND1DO PROCOS. ET L. CORNELIO MAR. CELLO. Q^ P. R. P. K. Thefe temples are fupported by thirteen large fluted Doric columns on each fide ; and fix at each end, All their bafes, capitals, entablatures, &c. ftill remain en- tire ; and as the architecture is perfectly fimple, with- out any thing alFe&ed or ftudied, the whole ftrikes the eye at once, and pleafes very much. The columns are, indeed, fhorter than the common Doric proportions j and they certainly are not fo elegant as fome of the ancient temples near Rome, and in other places in Italy. The third temple is that of Hercules, altogether ia ruins ; but appears to have been of a much greater fize than the former two. We meafured fome of the broken columns, near feven feet in diameter. It waa thet the famous ftatue of Hercules ttocd, fo much celebrated by Cicero ; which the people, of Agrigen- ram defended with fuch bravery, againft" Verres, who cted to feize it. You will find the whole flory ngairift that infamous praetor. SICILY AND MALTA. 1 8g There was likewife in this temple a famous picture by Zeuxis. Hercules was reprefcntcd in his cradle killing the two ferpents : Alcmena and Amphitrion having jaft entered the apartment, were painted with every jnark of terror and aftonifliment. Pliny fays, the painter looked upon this piece as invaluable ; and therefore could never be prevailed upon to put a price upon it, but gave it as a prefent to Agrigentum, to be placed ia the temple of Hercules. Thefe two great mafter pieces have been loft. We thought of them with regret, whilft v/e trod on thefe venerable ruins. Near to this lie the ruins of the temple of Jupiter Olympus, fuppofed by the Sicilian authors to have been the largeil in the heathen world. It is now called U templo de'g'tgant'ii or the Giant's Temple, as the people cannot conceive that fuch maffes of rock could ever be put together by the hands of ordinery men. The frag- ments of columns are indeed enormous, and give us a vail idea of this fabric. It is faid to have flood till the year i ico ; but it is now a perfect ruin. Our Cicerones affured us, it v/as exactly the fame dimenfions with the church of St. Peter at Rome : But in this they are, egregioufly miitaken. St. Peter'a being much greater than any thing, that ever the i. ;ii picduced. There are the remains of many more temples, other great works ; but thefe, J t confpicuous. They fhew you that c ... of Prof- erpine, of Caftor, and Poliux, and a very remaTkabla one of Juno. This too was enriched by o.:e of th« raoft famous pictures of antiquity : which is celebrated by many of the ancient writers. Z ed to excel every thing that had gone before him, and to form a model of human perfection. To this end he prevailed on all the finelt women of Agrigentum, who were even ambitious of the honour, 10 appear naked before him. Of thefe be cbofe five .odels, and - i ding x&4 A T O I'R THR9U8 H moulding all the perfections of thefe beauties into one*. lie compofed the picture of the goddefs. This was ever looked upon as his mallei -piece ; but was unfortunately burnt when the Carthagenians took Agrigentum. Many *>f the citizens retired into this temple a* to a place of ufcxy i but as foon as they found the gates attacked by the enemy, they agreed to fet fire to it, and chofe rather to perifh in the flames, than fubmit to the power of the conquerors. However, neither the deftructi«n t»f the temple, nor the lofs of their lives, has been fo much regretted by pofterity, as the lofs of this picture. The 'emple of JEfcnlapfes (the ruins of which are ftill to be feen) was not lefs celebrated for a ftatue of Apollo. It. was taken from them by the Carthagenians, at the lame time that the temple of juno was burnt. It was carried off by the conquerors, and continued the greatcft ornament of Carthage for many years, and was at laft reflored by Scipio, at a final deftruction of that city. Some of the Sicilians alledge, I believe without any ground, that it was afterwards carried to Rome, and Hill remains there, the wonder of. all ages ; known to the whole world under the name of the Apollo of iielv idere ; and allowed to be the perfection of human I ih&uld be very tegious, were I to give you a minute Jefcription of every piece of antiquity. Indeed, little or nothing is to be learned from the greateft part of them. The ancient walls of the city are moftly cut out of the rock ; the catacombs and fepulchrcs are ali very great : One of thefe is worthy of particular notice, becatlfe it is mentioned by Polybius, as being cppofite to the temple of Hercules, and to have been {truck by lightning even in his time. It remains alrnoft entire, and anfwers the defcription he gives of it : The inferip- tions are fo defaced, that we could make nothing of them. SICILY AND M A L T A. I&J This is the monument of Tero king of Agrigenturrt ( one of the firit of the Sicilian tyrants. The great an- tiquity of it may be gathered from this, that Tero is not only mentioned by Diodorus, PolybiW, and the later of the ancient hiftorians ; but likewife iy/ Hervio- tus, and Pindar, who dedicates two of his >des to him : So that this monument mufl be more than two thoufand years old. It is a ki^d of pyramid, probably one of the moft durable forms. All thefe mighty ruins of Asjrigentum, and the whole mountain on which it ftands, are compofed oi a concre- tion of lea (hells, run together, and cemented by a kind of fand or gravel, and now hi: - jrne as hard, and p :kaps more durable than even ms/bie itfelf. This ftone is white before it has been expofed to the air ; but in tem- ples and other ruins, it is become of a dark brown. I ihall bring home fcrr.e pieces of it for the infpeftion of the curious. I found thefe (hells on the very fummit of the mountain, at haft fourteen or fifteen hundred feet above the level of the fca. hey are of the commoneft kinds, cockles, mufcles, oj Iters, &c. "^f'he thing, we know are neither rich nor rare, tf But wonder how the devii they got there." Pope, By what means they hare been lifted up to this vaft height, and fo intimately mixed with the fubftance o£ the rock, I leave to you and your philofophical Iriend to determine. This old battered globe of ours has probably furFered many convaliions not recorded in any hiftory. You have heard of the vafV Stratum of bones lately difcovered in Iftria and OfTero ; part of it rum below rocks of marble, upwards of forty feet in thick- nefs, and they have not yet been able to afcertain its extent : Something of the fame kind has been found in Dalmatia, in the ifland of the Archipelago ; and, late- ly, I am told, in the rock of Gibraltar, Now, the R 2 deluge A TOUR THROUGH deluge recorded in fcripture, will hardly account for all the appearances of thi* fort to be met with, almoft in country in the world. But I am interrupted by viators ; which is a lucky circumftance, both for you and mc ; for I was jjft going to b* very philofophi'cal, ani confequently very dull. Adieu. LETTER XDC. Agrigentum, June \^'h^ THE interruption in my lair, Was a deputation frox the bifhop, to invite us to a great dinner tomor- row at the port ; fo that we (hall know whether this place ftiil deferves the character of luxury, it al held amongft the ancients : We have great reafo think, from the politencfs and attention we have afet with, that it has never loll its ancient hofpitality, foi which it was like wife fo much celebrated. 01 Plato, when he vifited Sicily, was fo much (Iruck with the iu>:ury cf Agrigentum, both in their houfes and their tabbs, that a faying of his is ftill recorded ; *hat they built as if they were never to die, and eat as if they had not an hour to live. It is preferred by Jiliah, and is juft now before me. . He tells a ftory by way of illuftration, which fhews- a much greater conformity of manners than one could have expected, betwixt the young nobility amongft the ancients, and our own at this day. He fays, that after a great feaft, where there was a anmber of young people of the firft fafhion, they got ail much intoxicated, that, from their reeling ani tumbling iiCILY AND .- tumbling upon one another, they imagined they were at fea ia a ftorm, a.ij began to think themfelvcs in the moil imminent danger ; ac lad they agreed, that the /ay to fave their lives was to lighten the fiiip, and with one accord began to thro.v the rich fun . out of the windows, to the great edification of the moo below; and did not ft )p till they had entirely cleared the houfe of it, which, from, this exploit, was ever after denominated the trinunes, or the (hip. Ke fays it was one of the principal palace:, of the city, and retain- ed this name for ever after. In Dublin, I have beea told, there are more than one triremes ; aid that this. frolic, which they call throwing the houfe out of the •winaow, is by no means uncommon, At the fame time that Agrigentum is abufed by ancient authors for its drunkennefs, it is as much cele- brated for its-h-ofpitality ; a,nd I believe, it will be fouad, that this virtue, and this vice, have ever had a fort of fneaking kindnefs for each other, and have gen- erally gone hand in band, both in ancient and in n era times. The Swifs, the Scotch, and the Irifti, who are at prefent the rnoft drunken people in Europe, are likewife, in all probability, the moft hofpitable ; where- as, in the very fober countries, Spain, Portugal, and Italy, hofpitality is. very little known, or indeed any other virtue, except fobriety ; which has been produced, probably a good deal from the tyranny of their govern- ment, and their dread of the inquiiition. : for where every perfon is in far, left his real fentiments mould appear, it would be very dangerous to unlock his heart y. but in countries where there are neither civil nor eecle- fiaftical tyrants to lay an embargo on our thoughts, people are under no apprehenfion left they mould be known. However, thefc are not the only reafons. The mor- al virtues and vices may fome times depend on natural taufes* The very elevated fixation 01 this city, where thr i 3 3 A T O b' R THRO U G M the air is exceedingly thin and cold, has perhaps b^en one reafon why its inhabitants are fonder of wine tliart their neighbours in the vailies. The fame may be faid of the three nations I have mentioned ; the greateft part of their countries lying amongft hills and mountains, where the climate renders ftrong liquors more iicceifary ; or, at leaft, lefs perni- cious, than in low places. It is not furprifing, that this practice, probably begun amongft the mountains, where the air is fo keen, has by degrees crept down into the vailies, and has at laft become aimoft epidemic- al in thofe countries. Fazzello, after railing at Agrigentum for its drunk- ennefs, addr, that there was no town in the ifland fo celebrated for its hofpitality. He fays that many of the nobles had ferrants placed at the gates of the city, to invite all Grangers to their houfes. It is in reference to tins probably, that Empedoclea fays, that even- the g.ites of the city proclaimed a welcome to every itrangcr. From our experience, we are well ent ; tied t» fay, that the people of Agrigentum llill retain this an- tiquated virtue, fo little known in polite countries. Tomorrow we {hall have a better opportunity of judging* whether it is llill accompanied by its fitter vice. The accounts that the old authors give of the magnifi- *<:.:\2e of Agrigentum are amazing - f though indeed there are none of them that proclaim it. in ftronger terms than the monument that ftill remain. Diodorus fays, the great veffels for holding water were common- ly of filver, and the litters and carriages for the moft part were of ivory richly adorned. He mentions a pond made at an immenfe expenfe, full of fiih ar\d of water fowl, that in hi* time was the great refort or the inhabitants, on their feftivals ; but he fays, that even then^ (in the age of Auguftus) it was going to ruin, requiring too ^reat an expenfe to keep it up. There SrCILV AND MALTA. l8^ is not now the fmalleft vettige of it : But there is ftill to be fecn a curious fpring of water that throws up a kind of oil on its furface, which is made ufe of by the poor people in many difeafes. This is fuppofed to mark. out the place of the celebrated pond - y which is re- corded by Pliny and Solinus to have abounded with this oil. Diodoru-, fpeaking of the riches of Agrlgentum, mentions one of its citizens returning victorious from the Olympic games, and entering his city, attended by three hundred chariots, each drawn by four white horfes, richly caparifoned ; and gives many other inflances of their vaft profufion and luxury. Thofe horfes, according to that author, were eileemect all over Greece, for their beauty and fwiftnefs ; and their race is celebrated by. many of the ancient writers. " Arduus inde Agrages oftentat maxima longe " Moenia, magnanimam quondam generator equorum." fays Virgil in the third JEneid ; and Pliny acquaints uj,. that thofe which had been often victorious at the games were Rot only honoured with burial rites, but had mag- nificent monuments erecled to eternize their memory. This Timeus confirms : He tells us, that he faw at Ag- rigentum feverai pyramids built as fepulchral monu- ments to celebrated horfes ; he adds, that when thofe animals became old and unfit for fervice, they were al- ways taken care of, and fpent the remainder of their lives in eafe and plenty. I could wifh that our countrymen would imitate the gratitude and humanity of the Sicil- ians in this article ; at leaft the latter part of it. I don't know that our nation can fo juftly be taxed with cruelty or ingratitude in any other article as in their treatment of horfes, the animal that of all others is moil entitled to our care. How piteous a thing it is* on many of your great roads, to fee the finelt old hunters, that were OCQ£> 1 90 A T 6 V R THROW CM puce the glory of the chace, condemned, in the decline of life, to the tyranny of the moft cruel oppreifors j in whofe hands they fuffer the moft extreme mifery, till they at laft fink under the taflc that is aifigned them. I am called away to fee fome more antiques, but (hall finilh this letter tonight as the poft goes off for Italy tomor- row morning. 13 th, Afternoon. We have feen a great many old walls and vaults that little or nothing caw be made of. They give them names, and pretend to tell you what they were, bat as they bear no refemblance to thofe things now, it would be no lefs idle to trouble you with their nonfenfe than to believe it. We have indeed feert one thing that has amply repaid us for the trouble we have taken. It is the representation of a boar hunting in alto relievo, on white marble , and is at leaft equal, if not fuperior, to any thing of the kind I have ever met with ia Italy. It confifts of four different parts ; which form the hiftory of this remarkable chace and its confequences. The firft is the preparation for the hunt. There are twelve hunters, with each his lance, and a Ihort hanger under his left arm of a very lingular form. The dogs refemble thofe we call lurchers. The horfes are done with great fire and fpirit, and are perhaps a better proof ot the excellence of the race, than even the teftimony of their authors; for the artift that formed thefe muft certainly have been accuiiorned to fee very fine horfes. The fecond piece reprefents. the chafe. The third the death of the king, by a fall from his horfe. And the fourth, the defpair of the queen and her attendants, on receiving the news. She is reprefented as falling down in a fwoon, and fupported by her women, who are ail in tears. It SICILY AN© MALTA. Igi Jt is executed in the moit mafterly flyle, and is, in- deed, one of the fineft remains ©f antiquity. It is pre- ferved in the great church, which is noted through all Sicily for a remarkable echo ; fomething in the man- ner of our vvhifpering gallery at St. Paul's, though more difficult to be accounted for. Jf one perfon ftands at the weft gate, and another places himfelf on the cornice, at the moft diftant point of the church, exactly behind the great altar, they can hold a converfation in very low whifpers. For many years this Angularity was little known ; and feveral of the confefiing chairs being placed near the great altar, the wags, who were in the fecret, ufed to take their ftation at the door of the cathedral ; and by this means heard diftinclly every word that pafled betwixt the conteffor and his penitent ; of which, you may believe, they did not fail to make their own ufe when occafioa offered. The moft fecret intrigues were difcovered ; and every woman in Agrigentum changed either her gallant or her confeflbr. Yet ftill it was the fame. At laft, however, the caufe was found out ; the chairs were removed, and other precautions were taken, to prevent the difcovery of thefe facred myfteries, and a mutual amnefty pafled ambngft all the offended parties. Agrigentum, like Syracufe, was long fubjeel to the yoke of tyrants. Fazzello gives fome account of their cruelty, but I have no intention of repeating it : One ftory, however, pleafed me ; it is a well known one, but as it is fliort, you mall have it. Perillo, a goldfmith, b#- way of paying court to Phalaris the tyrant, made him a prefent of a brazen bull, of admirable workmanfhip ; hollow within, and fo contrived that the voice of a perfon (hut up in it, founded exaclly like the bellowing of a real bull. — The artift pointed out to the tyrant what an admirable effect T$2 A TOUR THROUGH «ffed this muft produce, were he only to (hut up a (cto criminals in iu and make a fire under them, Phalaris, ftruck with fo horrid an idea, and perhaps curious to try the experiment, told the goldfmirh that he himfelf was the only perfon worthy of animating his bull : That he muft have ftudied the note that made it roar to the greateft advantage, and that it would be unjuft to deprive him of any part of the honour of his invention. Upon which he ordered the goldfmith to be fhut up, and made a great fire around the bull ; which immediately began to roar, to the admiration and delight of all Agrigentum. Cicero fays this bull was carried to Carthage at the taking of Agrigentum ; and was reftored again by Scipio., after the deltruclion •f that city, Fazzello adds another ftory, which is flill more to the honour of Phalaris. Two friends, Melanippus and Cariton, had confpired his death. Cariton, in hopes of faving his friend from the danger of the enterprize, de- termined to execute it alone. However, in his attempt to poignard the tyrant, he w^as feized by the guards, and immediately put to the torture, to make him confefs his accomplice ; this he bore with the utmoft fortitude, refufing to make the difcovery ; till Melanippus, in- formed of the fituation of his friend, ran to the tyrant, afluring him that he alone was the guilty perfon ; that it was entirely by his inftigation that Cariton bad acl- ed ; and begged that he might be put on the rack in- rhe place of his f-iend. Phalaris, il ruck with fuch he- roifm, pardoned them both. twitliftanding this geaerous action, he was in refpe&i a barbarous tyrant. Fazzello gives the following account of his deatn, with which I vhall • elude this letter, for I am monftroufly tired, and I dare fay fo are yea. ZAo the philofopher, came to Agri- gentum, an -m it tod into the prefence oA I i SICILY AND MALTA. 1 93 tyrant, advifed him, for his own comfort, as well as thai, of his fubjecls, to rcfign his power, and to lead a private life. Phalaris did not relifti thcfe philofophical fentiments, and fufpecling Zeno to be in a confpiracy with fome of his fubjecls, ordered him to be put t© the torture in prefence of the citizens of Agrigentura. Zeno immediately began to reproach them with cowardice and pufillanimity infubmitting tamely to the yoke of fo worthlefs a tyrant ; and in a fnort time raif- ed fuch a flame that they defeated the guards, and ftoned Phalaris to death. I dare fay you are glad they did it fo quickly. Well, I (hall not write fuch long letters for the future ; for I aflure you it is at Ie< troublefome to the writer as reader. Adieu. We mail fail tomorrow or next morning for Trapani, from whence you may expect to hear from me. We are now going out to examine more antique walls, but I fcall noc trouble you with them. Farewell. LETTER XX. June i6t/j. WHEN I have nothing tKe to do, [ generally take up the pen. We are now on the top of a high mountain, about half way betwixt Agrigentum and Palermo. Our fea expedition by Trapani has fail- ed, and we are (iCtermined to put no more confidence in that element, happy beyond mealure to find ourfelves at a diftance from it, though in the moft wretched of Tillages. We have travelled all night on mules ; and arrived I94 A TOUR THROUGH arrived here about ten o'clock, overcome with fleepand fatigue. We have • juft had an excellent dilh of tea, which never fails to cure me of both ; and I am now as frerh as when we fet out. It has not had the fame ef- fect on my companions j they have thrown themfelves down on a vile draw bed in the corner of the hovel ; and in fpite of a parcel of ftarvcd chickens, that are. fluttering about and- picking the ftrawsall round them, they are already faft afleep. I (hall feize that time to recapitulate what has hap- pened iincc my laft. The day after I wrote to you, we made fome little excurfions round Agrigentum. The country is delight- ful, producing corn, wine, and oil, in the greateft abund- ance : The fields are, at the fame time, covered with a variety of the fineft fruits ; oranges, lemons, pome- granates, almonds, piftachio nuts, &c. Thefe afforded , us almolj as agreeable an entertainment as the coufidera- tion of the ruins from whence they fpring. We dined with the bifhop, according to agreement, and rofe from the table, convinced that the ancient Ag- rigentini could not poffibly underftand the ttue luxury of eating, better than their defendants, to whom they have tranfmitted a very competent portion both of their iccial virtues and vices. I beg their pardon for calling them vices, I wifh I had a fcfter name for it ; it looks like ingratitude for their hofpitality, for which wc owe them fo much. We were j-ft thirty at table, but, upon my word, I do not think we had lefs than a hundred diihes of meat. Thefe were dreffed with the richeft and moil delicate fauces ; and convinced u& that the old Roman proverb cf * k Siculus coquus ct cicula rnenfa," wasnot rnor« plicable in their time, than it is at prefent. was wanting that could be invented lo simulate end to SrCILY AND MALTA. 1 95 flatter the palate ; and to create a falfe appetite as well as to fatisfy if. Some of the very difhes fo much rcl- ifhed by the Roman epicures made a part of the fcaft ; particularly the morene, which is fo often mentioned by their authors : It is a fpecies of eel, found only in this part of the Mediterranean and fent from hence to feveral of the courts of Europe. It is not fo fat and lucious as other eels, fo that you can cat a good deal more of it : Its flem is as white as fnow, and is indeed a very gFeat delicacy. But a modern refinement in luxury has, I think, (till produced a greater : By a particular kind of management they make the livers of their fowls grow to a large fize, and at the fame time acquire a high and rich flavour. It is indeed a moft incomparable difh ; but the means of procuring it is fo cruel, that I will not even truft it with you. Perhaps without any bad intention, you might mention it to ionic of your friends, they to others, till at lad it might come into the hands of thofe that would be glad to try the experiment ; and the whole race of poultry might ever have reafon to curfe me ; let it fuffice to lay, that it occafions a painful and lingering death to the poor animal ; that I knotv- is enough to mak? you wifh never to taftc of it, whatever efredt it may have upon others. The Sicilians eat of every thing, and attempteJ to make us do the fame. The company was remarkably merry, and did by no means belie their ancient charac- ter, for moft of them were more than half tea's over, long before we rofe from table ; and I was fomewhat nperehenfive of a fecond edition of the Triremes fcer.c, as they were beginning to reel exceedingly. By the bye, I do not doubt but that phrafe of half Jens fw/-, may have taken its origin from feme fuch ftory. They begged us to make a bowl of punch, a liquor they had often heard of, but had never feen. The materials were immediately found, and we fucccrded fo well, that they preferred it to all the wines on the table, of which thev ' I96 A TOUR %H R O V G H they had a great variety. We were obliged to replen- ish the bowl fo often, that I really expected to fee mod of them under the table. They called it Pontio, and /poke loudly in its praifc ; declaring that Pontio (allud- ing to Ponriu* Pilate) was a much better fellow than they had ever taken him for. However, after dinner, one of them, a reverend canon, grew exceffively fick, and while he was throwing up, he turned to me with a rueful countenance, and making his head, he groaned out, « Ah, Signor Capitano, fapeva fern pre che Pontio f ra u.i granie traditore." " I always knew that Pon- tijis was a great traitor." Another of them overhearing exclaimed, " Afpcttatevi Signer Canonico." — fait (fair! he) my good Canon." « Niente ziodi Signor Pontio, vi prego. Recardate, l Poatio v'ha fatto un cswonico ; c Pontio ha fat to iua eccellcnza uno Vefcovo : Non fcordatevi mai di i amicj." a ^vhat do you think of thefe reverend fathers of the church ? Their merit, you will eauly perceive, does not eonfift in fafting and prayer. Their creed, they fzy, they have a good deal modernized, and is much fimple than that of Xthanafius. One of them told me, that if we would but ftay with them for fome I ttle time, we fnould foon be convinced tb.at they were :' e happieft fellows on earth. " We have exploded (fa'd he) from our fyfteiri every thing that is difmal or melancholy ; and are perfuaded, that of all the roads in the univerfe, the road to heaven muft be the pleaf- anteft and leaft gloomy : If it be not (o t (added he) God have mercy upon us, for I am afraid wemalinevSr get there." I told him I could not flatter him ; " That ir laughing was really a fin, as fome people taught, they were certainly the greateil of all finners." " Well (faid he) we (hall at leaft endeavour to be happy here ; and that, I am perfuaded, is the belt of all preparations for happinefs hereafter. Abftinence, (continued he) from all innocent and lawful pleafures, we reckon one of SICILY A M D M A L T A. 1 97 of th: grsatsft lias, and guard againft it with the r.tmo/l cars ; an 1 I am pretty fure it is a fin that none or" ui here will ever be damned for." He concluded by re- peating two lines, which he told me was their favourite maxim : The meaning of which was exaftly thofe of Mr. Pope. '• For God is paid when man receive?, " To enjoy is to obey." This is not the firft time I have met with this liber- tine fpiri't amongfll the Roman Catholic clergy. There h \o much nonfenfe and mummery in their worfhip, that they are afraid left Grangers ihould believe they arc ferious ; and perhaps too often fly to the oppofitc ex- treme. We were, however, much pleafed with the bifhop ; he is greatly and defervedly refpecled, yet his prefencc did no wife diminim, but rather increafed, the jollity of the company. He entered into ever)' joke, joined in the repartee',' at which he is a great proficient, and entirely laid afide his epifcopal dignity ; which, how- ever, I am told, he knows very well howto,ai?ume when it is necefiary. . He placed us next to himfelf, and ochaved indeed, in every refpeft, with the greateft eafc ar,d politenef'. He is of one of the firft families of the •Hand, and brother to the Prince of . I had hi", whole pedigree pat, but now I have loft it ; no mat- ter : He is an honeft, pleafanr, little fellow, and that is of much more confequer.ee. He is not yet forty ; and fo high a promotion in (o early a period of life, is reckoned very extraordinary, this being the richefl: biihopric in the kingdom. He is a good fcholar, and very deeply read, both in ancient and modern learning; and his genim is in no degree inferior to his erudition. The fimiUrtty o£ character and cirenmftances ftruck mc fo ilrongly, that I could fcarce help thinking I had got befide S 2 A TOUR THROUGH e our worthy and refpecteble friend, the b p of D y t which, I aflfure you, Hill aided greatly to the pleafure I had in his company. I told the bifhop of this ; adding that he was brother t6 1 d B 1 ; he feemed much pleafed, and faid, he had often heard of the family, both when lord B was ambaffador in Spain, and his other brother commander in the Medi- terranean. We found in this company a number of Free Mafons, who were delighted beyond meafure, when they dif- eovered that we were their brethren. They preffed us lo ipend a few more days amongft them, and offered us letters to Palermo, and every other town we fhould thidik of vifiting ; but the heats are increafing fo vio- lently, that we were afraid of prolonging our expedi- tion, left we mould be caught by the iirocc winds, fup- pofed to blow from the burning deferts of Africa, and forne times attended with dangerous confequences to thofe that travel over Sicily. But Ifmdl have omitted fevcral circumstances of our dinner. I mould have told you, that it was an annual Jfeaft given by the nobility of Agrigentum to the bifhop. it was ferved in an imroenfe granary, half full of wheat, ©n the tea more, chofen on purpofe to avoid the heat. The whole was on plate ; and what appeared fingular to us, but I believe is a much better method than ours ; great payrt of the fruit was ferved up with the fecond eourfe, the iirft diih of which that went round was Itrawberries. The Sicilians were a good deal furprifed us ear them with cream and fugar, yet upon trial •'.iey did not at ail didike the compolition. The deiTert confided of a great variety of fruits, and ::;il a greater of 'ices ; thefe were lo difguifed in the fhapta of peaches, figs, oranges, nuts, &c. that a fon unaccuftomed to ices might very eafily have been in, as an honeft fea oiiicer was lately at the hoafe SICILY A N 13 MALTA. 1 99 ©f a certain rriiriiiter of your acquaintance, not lefs diftinguiihed for the elegance of his table, than the exact formality and fuboidination to be obferved at ir. After the fecond courfe was removed ; and the ices, in the fnape of various fruits and fweetmcats, advanced by- way of rear-guard ; one of the fervants carried the figure of a fine large peach to the captain, who, unac- quainted with deceit of any kind, never doubted that it was a real one ; and cutting it through the middle, in a moment he had one large half of it in his mou:h ; at firft he only looked grave, and blew up his cheeks to give it more room ; but the violence of the cold foon getting the better of his patience, he began to tumble it about from fide to fide in his mouth, his eyes ruining out of water, till at Ialt, able to hold no longer, he fpit it out upon his plate, exclaiming with an horrid oath, " A painted fnowball, by G — 1" and wiping away his tears with his napkin, he turned in a rage the Italian fcrvant that had helped him, with 2 " d — n your maccaroni eyes, you (oa of a b — , what did you mean by that ?" The fellow, who could not understand a word of it, could not forbeaF fmiiing, which ftill convinced the captain the more that it was a trick ; and he was juft going to throw the reft of the fnow ball in his face, but was prevented by one of the company ; when recovering irom his paifion, and thinking the ob- jfft unworthy of it, he only added in a foiter tone, *< Very well, neighbour, I only wiih I had you on board (hip for half an hour, you mould have a doz- en before you could fay Jack Robinfon, for all your painted cheeks." I aft. pardon for this digreffion, but as it is a good laaghable ftory, I know you will excufe it. About fix o'clock we took a cordial leave of our jolly friends at />grigentum ; a id embarked on board our Sparonaro at t:e new port. I mould kave told you, that this karbcur has lately been made at a very great ex- penfc j this city having ajways been one of the princi- pal iOO A TOUR THROUGH pal ports of the ifiand, for the exportation of grain. i he biihop and his company went into a large barge, and failed round the harbour, we faluted them as we vent out ; they rerurned the compliment, and we took a fecond leave. The evening was fine, and we coafted along for a good mar,/ miles ; we pafTed feveral points and little promontories, that were exceedingly beautiful and piclurefque, many of them were covered with no- ble large aloes in full blow. In one place, I counted upwards of 200 of thofe fine majeftic plants all in flower ;. a fight which I imagined was hard! let with in the world. After fun fet, alas, fain would I conceal what happened after fun let ! but life you know is chequered with good and evil, and it would have been great prefurnption to receive fo much of the one, with- out expecting a little da(h of the other too. Befides,. a fea expedition is nothing, without a ftorm. Our journal would never have been readable, had it not been for this. -Well, I allure you we had it. It was not indeed fo violent as the £reat one off Louifburgh, or perhaps even that defcribed by Virgil ; the reading or which is faid to have made people Tea tick ; but it was rather too much for cur little bark. I was going to tell you that after funfet the fky began to overcaft, and in a fnort time, the whole atmofphere appeared fiery and threatning. We attempted to get into fome creek, but could 6od none. The wind grew loud, and we found it was in vain to proceed ; but as the night was dark and hazy, we were dubious about the pofiibility of reaching the port of Agrigentum. , However, this was all we had for it, as there were none other within many miles. Accordingly we tacked about, and plying both oars and fail, with great care not to come amongft the rocks and breakers, in about two hours we fpied the light houfe ; by which we directed our courfe, and got fafely into port, betwixt ose -md two in the morning : We lay ^ow;. on our rpattrefs, and flept found till ten, when finding the faillty of cur hypothecs, that there could be- bo bad. weather in the mediterranean at this feafon, we unanimoufly SICILV AND MALTA. 201 aaammoufly agreed to have nothing more to do with Sparonaroes, and fent immediately to engage mules to carry us over the mountains to Palermo. The ftorm continued with violence the whole day, and made us often think heaven that we had got fafely back. It was not till five in the afternoon that we had mules, guides, and guards, provided us ; when we fet off, pretty much in the fame order, and in the fame equipage as we had done about three weeks ago from Medina. Our guards attempted to fill us wich the raoft dreadful apprehenfions of this road, mewing us every mile, where fuch a one was robbed, fuch another was murdered ; and entertain- ed us with fuch melancholy ditties the greateft part of the way. Indeed, if one half their ftories be true, it is certainly the mod dangerous road in the world ; but I looked upon moil of them as fictions, invented only to increafe their own confequence, and to procure a little more money. There is, indeed, fome foundation for thefe ftories ; as there are numbers of gibbets erected on the road in terrorem ; and every little baron has the power of life and death in his own domain. Our bifhop's brother,- whofe name I have forgot, feized lately four and twenty of thofe defperate banditti, after a itout reliftance, where feveral were killed on both fides ; and not.vichitanding that fome of them were under the protection of the nobility, and in their fervice, they were all hanged. However, this has by no means root- ed them out. Our guard in the fufpicious places went with their pieces cocked, and kept a clofe lookout to either fide of them ; but we faw nothing to alarm us> except the moft dreadful roads in the world ; in many places worfe than any thing I ever met with among the Alps. After travelling about twenty miles, we arrived by two in the morning at the moil wretched, I don't know what to call it, there was not aay one thing to be had but a little itraw for the mules. However, after a good deal of difficulty, we at laft got fire enough to boil our tea 202 A TOUR THROUGH tea kettle, and having brought bread from Agrigentura, we made an excellent meal. Oar tea table was a round ftone in the field, and as the moon (hone bright, we had no occafion for any other luminary. You may believe our flay here was as fhort as poflibie ; the houfe was. too dreadfully nafty to enter it, and the ftable was full of poor wretches (lceping on the bare ground. In fhort, I never faw in any country Co miferable an Inn, for Co it is ftiied. We mounted our cavalry vith all expedi- tion, and in a fhort time go: into the woods, where we were ferenaded by the nightingales as we went along, who made us a full apology and attonement for the bad cheer wc had met with. In a Ibort time it was day, and then we had entertainment enough from the varied fcenes of the moil beautiful, wild and romantic country in the world. The fertility of many of the plains is truly aftonifhing, without inclofures, without manure, and almoft without culture. It is with reafon, that this ifland was ftiied " Romani imperii horreum/' the gran- ary of the Roman empire. Were it cultivated, it would ftill be the great granary of Europe. Pliny fays it yield- ed a hundred after one ; and Diodorus, who was a native of the illand, and wrote on the fpot, allures us that it produced wheat and other grain fpontaneouily ; and Homer advances the fame fact in the Odyffey : The foil untiPd, a ready harveft yields, With wheat and barley wave the golden fields ; Spontaneous wines from weighty cjufters pour, And Jove defcends in each prolific (bower. Popi. Many of the mountains feemed to be formed by fubter- raneous fire-; feveral of them retain their conical figure and their craters, but not foexaclas thofe on mount JEt- na, as they are probably much older. I likewifeobferved many pieces of lava on the road, and in the beds of the torrents ; and a good deal of the ftone called tufa, which is certainly the production of a volcano ; (o that 1 have no doubt, that a great part of this ifland, as well SICILY AND MALTA. 203 as the neighbouring ones of Lipari, &c. has bee* originally formed by fubterraneous fire _; we likewife pafled fome quarries of a kind of talc ; and alfo of a courfe alabafter ; of this they make a fort of ftucco or plaifter refembling that of Paris ; bat what I much re- gretted, we miffed feeing the famous fait of Agrigentum ; found in the earth, about four or iive miles from that city. It has this remarkable property different from all other fait, that in the fire it prefently melts ; but in the water it cracks and fplits, but never diffolves. It is celebrated by Pliny, Ariftotle, and others of the ancient, as well as modem naturalifts. Fazzello, whom I have brought along with me to read on the road, fays, he has often experienced this ; he adds from the authority of thefe ancient authors, that they formerly had mines of this fait, fo pure ana folid, that the liatuaries and fculptures preferred it to marble, and made various works of it. The poor people of the village have found us our, and with looks full of mifcry have furrounded our door, Accurfed tyranny — what defpicable objects we become in thy hands ! is it not inconceivable, how any govern- ment mould be able to render poor and wretched, a country which produces almoft fpontaneoufly, every thing that even luxury can defire r But alas ! poverty and wretchednefs have ever attended the Spaniin yoke, both on this, and on the other fide of the globe. They make it their boaft, that the fun never fets on their dominions, but forget that iince they became fuch, they have left him nothing to fee in his courfe but de- ferted fields, barren wilderneiTes, oppreifed peafants, and lazy, lying, lecherous monks. buch are the fruits of their boaftcd cor.quefts. They ought rather to be afhamed that the iun fhould ever fee them at all. The fight ot thefe poor people has filled me with indignation. This village is furrounded by the fmeit country in the r.orld, vet there w*.s neither bread nor wine to Le found 204 A TOUR THROHH found in it, and the poor inhabitants appear to be more than half ftarved. •' 'Mongft Cere's richeft gifts with want opprefs'd, " And 'midft the flowing vineyards, die of third." I mall now think of concluding, as I do not recollect that I have much more to fay to you. Befides, I find myfelf exceedingly ileepy. I fincerely wiih it may not be the fame cafe with you, before you have read fhus far. Wc have ordered our mules to be ready by five o'clock, and fhall again travel all night ; the heats are too great to allow of it by day ; adieu. Thefe two fellows are ftill found afleep. In a few minutes I fhall be fo too, for the pen is almoft dropping out of my hand. Farewell. LETTER XXI. Palermo) "June igt/j, WE are now arrived at the great capital of Sicily, which in our opinion in beauty and elegance is greatly fuperior to Naples. It is not, indeed, fo large, but the regularity, the uniformity and neatnefs of ir$ itreets and buildings, render it much more pleating ; it is full of people, who have moftly an air of affluence and gaiety. And indeed wc fcem to have got into a new world. But flop, net fo faft 1 had forgot that you have ftill 50 miles to travel on a curfed itubborn mule, pver rocks and precipices ; for I can fee no reafon, why we (hould bring you at ence into all the fweers of Palermo, withouj: bearing at leail fome little parr in tie fatigues of the journey. Come, we (hall make tj^ei fhort as poffible. S t C I L Y AND MALTA. 205 We left you, I think, in a little village en the top cf a high mountain. We mould indeed ufe ycu very iii, were we to leave you there any longer ; for I own it it. the very vvorft country quarter, that ever fell to my lot. However, we got a good comfortable fleep in it, the only one thing it afforded us ; and the fleas, the bugs, and chickens, did all that lay in their power even to deprive us of that, but we defied them. Our two leaders came to awake us before five, apoftrophyitig their entry with a detail of the horrid robberies and mi that had been committed in the neighbourhood ; aii cf them, you may be fure, on the very road that we wera to go. Our whole fquadron was drawn cut, and wc were ranged in order of battle, by five o'clock, when we be- gan our march, attended by the whole village, man, woman, and child. We foon got down amongft the woods, and- endeavoured to forget the objects cf mifery we had left behind us. The beauty and richnefs of the country increafed in proportion as we advanced. The mountains, although of a great height (that we have left is near 4000 feet, the mercury Handing at 26 inches 2 lines) are covered to the very fummit with the richefr pall.11 re. The grafs in the \ allies is already burnt up, io that the flocks are all upon the mountains. The gradual feparation of heat and cold, is very vifible in taking a view of them. The vallies are brown and fcorched, and fo are the mountains to a considerable height ; they then begin to take a (hade of green, which grows deeper and deeper, and covers the whole upper region ; however, on the fummit, the grafs and corn are by no means fo luxuriant as about the middle. We were amazed at the richnefs of the crops, far fuperior to any thing I had ever feen either in England or Flan- ders, where the happy foil is affifted by all the arts of cultivation; whiift here, the wretched 'hufoandman can afford to give it a furrow • and gathers in with a heavy* T 206 A TOUR THROUGH heavy heart, the moll luxuriant harveft. To whatporpofe is it given him ? Only to lie a dead weight upon his hand, fometimes till it is entirely loft ; exportation being pro- hibited to alt fuch as cannot pay exorbitantly for it to the fovereign. What a contrail is there betwixt this, and the little uncouth country of Switzerland ! to be fare, the dreadful confequences of opprefiion can never be fet in a more ftriking oppofition to the bleffings and charms ef liberty. Switzerland, the very excrefcence of .Europe, where nature feems to have thrown out all her eold and ftagnating humours; full of lakes, marines, and woods,and furrounded by immenfe rocks, and everlaft- ing mountains of ice, the barren, but facred, rampart* of liberty. Switzerland, enjoying every blcffing, where every blefling feems to have been denied ; whilit Sicily, covered by the moft luxuriant hand of nature ; where Heaven feems to have mowered down its richeit bleff- iagswith the utmoft prodigality ; groans under the moft abject poverty, and with a pale and wan vifage, ftarves in the midft of plesty. It is liberty alone that works this (landing miracle. Under her plaftic hands the mountains fink, the lakes are drained ; and rheie rocks, t'nefe marines, thefc woods, become fo many fources of wealth and of pleafure. But what has temperance tod» wiih wealth ? " Here icignj Content, " And nature's child Simplicity ; long fince " Exil'd from poliih'd realms/'' " "lis Induftry fupplies " The little Temperance wants ; and rofy Health " Sits uniting at the board." You will begin to think I a;*i in danger of turning poetical in theie clafiic fields ; I am fure 1 neither fui- of the mountains we have pafled to be Par- ; nor did I believe any one or the nine foolilh hcoa, except Melpomene perhaps, ak flie SICILY AND MALTA. 20/ the is fo fond of tragical faces : However, I feall no*' get you out of them as foon as poffiblc, and bri ng you once more into the gay world. I affbre you, 1 have often wifhed that you could have lent me your rnufe, on this expedition ; my letters would then have be*n more worth the reading ; but you mult take the will for the deed. After travelling till about midnight, we arrive another miferable village, where we Jlept for (ow)t hour:. on draw, and continued our journey again by day break. We had the plcafure of feeing the rifing fun from the top of a pretty high mountain, and were delighted with the prefpeel of Strombolo, and the other Lipari iflands, at a great diflance from us. On our deicene from this mountain, we found ourfeives on the banks of the fea, and took that road, i preferable to any inland one, al- though feveral miles nearer. We fuon lighted from our mules, and plunged into the water, which has ever made one of our greateft pleafures in this expedition : No body that has not tried it, can conceive the delight of ; after the fatigue of fuch a journey, and pairing days without undrefiing. Your friend FuUartor., though only feventeen, but. whofe mind and body now equally defpife every fatigue, found himfelf ftrong as a lion, and fit to begin (uch another march. We boiled our tea kettle under a fig tree, and eat a bceakfait that might have ferved a company ot^ drafting players. The approach to Palermo is fine. The allies arc planted with fruit trees, and large American aloes in full blow. Near the city we palled a place of execu tion, where the quarters of a number of robbers were hung up upon hooks, like fo many hams ; fome of them appeared newly executed, and made a very unfighrly ngute. On our arrival, we learned that a priett unit three others had been taken a icw days ago* after r,n o'o- ftinate defence in which feveral were killed on both the priell, rather than "fubmit to his conquerors, p«- :OS A TOUR THROUGH t\ his hanger into his breaft, and died on the fpot : The rcit fubrmtted and were executed. As there is but one inn in Palermo, we were obliged »ree to their own terms (five ducats. a da/.) We are bat indifferently lodged ; however,, it is the only inn we have yet feen in Sicily, and indeed, may be faid to ie only one in the illand. It is kept by a noify troublefo'rhe French woman, who I find will plague us ; there is no keeping her out of our rooms, and (lie neves les in without telling us of fuch a prince and fuch a . thai: were fo fu perlati vely happy in being lodged in her houfe : We can eafily learn that they were all ritely in love with her ; and indeed (he feems to it very much amifs, that we are not inclined to be : fame fentiments. I have already been obliged to. or, that we are very retired fort of people, and do not like company ; I find (he does not efteem us the bet- ter for it ; and this morning (as I paffed- through the kitchen, without fpeaking to her) I overheard her ex- claim, " Ah mon Dieu ! comme ces Anglois font fau- rages I" I believe we mult take more notice of her, ctherwife we mall certainly have our rent railed ; but &e i* as fat as a pig, and as ugly as the devil, and lays on a quantity of paint on each of her fwelled cheek* fat locl:s like a great plaifter of red Morocco. Her pi;cure is hanging in the room where I now am writing, a^ well a:; that of her hufband, who, by the bye, is a nitiny : They are no lefs vile curiofities than the origin- als. He is drawn with his {huff box open in one hand, and his dim of coffee in the other ; and at the fame time, fait Variable a Madame. I took notice of this tripple occupation, which feemed to imply fomething particular. She told me that the thought was hers : That her hufbandwas exceedingly fond of fnuff and of coffee, and wanted by this to (hew that he was ftiil more occupied with her than with either of them. I could not help. applauding the ingenuity of the conceit. Ma- dame is painted with an immenfe bouquet in her breait, and SICILY AND MALTA. and an orange in her right hand, emblematic i fweecaefa and purity ; and has the prettied little I on her face you can imagine. She toll file i::- fitted on the painter drawing her a-jee le foufih fur le •v-jagcy but as he had not e/prit enough to make her fmile naturally, (he was obliged to Utrce one, " qui u n'etoit pas tout a fait fi jolie que ie nature!, mais q 11 •* vaudroit toujours '.nieux que de paroitre fombre ;■' I agreed with her perfectly ; and allured her it become her very much, " parceque les dames grafles font tou- jours Je bonne hiLimur." I found, however, that fhc would willingly have excufed me the latter part of the compliment, which more than ioit all that I had gained by the former. " II eft vrai" (laid ibe, a good de.il piqued) "j'ai un peu de l'embonpoint, mais pas taut graffe pourtant." I pretended to excufe myfelf, from not enderftan iing all the fineffe of the language ; and aifured her, that de V embonpoint was the very phrafe I meant to make ufe of. She accepted the apology, and we are again reconciled ; for, to give the devil his due, they are good humoured. She made me a courtfey, and repeated, " Oui, Monfieur, pour parler comme il taut, " il faut dire de I' embonpoint. On ne dit pas grade." -I afTured her, bowing to the ground, that the word mould for ever be razed from my vocabulary. She left me with a gracious fmile, and courtfey much lower than the firfl ; adding, <; je fcavois bien que Monfieur etoit un " homme comme il faut ;'" at the fame time tripping off on her tip toes, as light as a feather, to mew me how much I had been miltaken. This woman made me re- collect (what I have always obfervedj how little the manners of the French are to be changed by their con- nection with other nations ; allowing none to be in any degree worthy of imitation but their own. Although flie Jias now been here thefe twenty years, (he is ftill as perfectly French, as if Ihe had never been without the gates of Psris ; and looks upon every woman in Paler- mo with the twmoft contempt, becaufe they have never fee* T 2 A TOUR THROUGH feen that capical, nor heard the fublime muiic of its opera. She is likewife (allowing for the deference of rank) an admirable epitome of all French women, whoft .univerfal pafTnn has ever been the defire of admiration, and of appearing young ; and ever would be, I believe, wer* they to live to the age of a thoufand. Any perfon that will take a look at the withered death's heads in their public places, covered over with a thick mafk of paint, will be convinced of this. Now, our old ladies, when they get to the wrong fide of fixty, generally t?ke a jump up the borders of four fcore, and appear no lefs vain of their years, than ever they were of their ycuth, I know fome of them, that I am fure are not lefs happy, nor lefs contented, nor (I might almoft add) lefs admir- ed with their wrinkles, than ever they were with their dimpler. I do not know whether a cheerful old woman, who is willing to appear fo, is more refpectable, or more elHmable : or a withered witch, who fills up every wrinkle with varnifn, and at four fcore attempts to give herfeif the bloom of four-and-twenty, is ridiculous and contemptible: But as dinner is on the table, I IhaH leave it to you to determine. Adieu. LETTER XXII. Palermo, June 25. I SMALL have a great deal to write you about this city ; we arc t\'try day more delighted with it, and lhall leave it with much regret. We have now delivered our letters, in confequenceof which we are loaded with civili- ties, and have got into a very agreeable fet of acquaint- ance. Bur I mail firft attempt to give yovi fome little idea of the town, and then fpeak of its inhabitants. It is by much the moft regular I have feen, and is built upon i> I C I L Y AND MALTA, apon that plan, which I think, all large cities ought to follow. The two great ftreets interfeft each other in ihe centre of the city, where they form a handfome fquare, called the Ottangolo, adorned with elegant uni- form buildings. From the centre ot this fquare, you fee the whole of thefe noble rheets, and the four great gates of the city which terminate them ; the fymmetry and beauty of which produce a fine erTecl. The whole of thefe are to be magnificently illuminated fume time next month, and muft certainly be the fine:! fight in (he world. The four gates are each at the didance of about half a mile, (the diameter of the city being no more than a mile :) thefe are elegant pieces of architecture richly adorned ; particularly the Porta Nova and Porta Felice, terminating the great ft reet called the Corfo, that runs fouth .vert and north eaft. The leiler ftreets in general run parallel to thefe great ones ; (o that from of the city, in a few minutes walking, you are Aire to arrive at o.ie of the capital ftreets. The Porta Felice (by much "the handforaeft of thefe gate^; opens to the Marine, a delightful walk which conftitutes one of the great pleafures of the nobility of Palermo. It is bounded on one iide by the wall of the city, and on the other by the fea, from whence, even at this fcorching feafon there is always an agreeable breeze. In the cen- tre of the Marino they have lately erected an elegant kind of temple, which, during the fummer months, is made ufe of as an orcheftra for mufic ; and as in this feafon they are obliged to convert the night into day., the concert does not begin till the clock {hikes mid- night, which is the fignal for the fymphony to ftrike up ; at that time the walk is crowded with carriages and people on foot ;. and the better to favour pleafure and intrigue, there is an order, that no perfon, of what- ever quality, ihall prefume to carry a light with him. The flambeaux are extinguished at the Porta Felice, where the fervants wait for the return of the carriages ; and the company generally continue an hour or two together ia utter darknefs ; except when the intruding moon, with 211 A T9ffR THROUGH with her horns and her chaftity, comes to difturb them. The concert (inifhes about two in the morning, when, for the moil part, every hufband goes home to his own wife. This is an admirable inttitution, and never produces any fcandal : No hufband is fuch a brute as to deny his wife the Marino ; and the ladies are fo cautious and circumfpeft on their fide, that the more 10 avoid giving offence, they very often put on mafques. Their other amufements confift chiefly in their Crwerfaziones, of which they have a variety every night. There is one general one, fupported by the fubfeription of the nobility, which is open every even- ing at funfet, and continues till midnight, when the Marino begins. It better deferves the name of a con- rerfation than any I have feen in Italy ; for liere the people really come to converfe, whereas in Italy, they only go to play at cards and eat ices. I have obferved, that feldom or never one half of the company is engag- ed in play, nor do they either play lon^ or deep. There are a number of apartments belonging to this converfation, illuminated with wax lights, and kept ex- ceedingly cool and agreeable; and it is indeed altogeth- er one of the inoft feniible and comfortable inftitutions I have feen. Befides this, there arc generally a number of particular converfations every night, and what will a good dcalfurprife you, thefe are always held in the apartments of the lying in ladies ; for in this happy climate, child bearing is diverted of all its terrors, and is only confidcred as a party $f pleafure. This circum- ftance we were ignorant of till t'other morning. The duke of Verdura- who docs us the honours of the place, with great attention and politenefs, came to tell us, we had a vifit to make that was indifpenfible. " The " Princefs Paterno (faid he) was brought to bed iaft " night ; and it is abfolutely iacumbent on you to pay •* your refpecls to her this evening." At firil I thought fee was in joke, but he allured me he w&> ferious, and that SICILY AND MALTA. 2 1 3 that it would be looked upon as a great unpolitenefs to neglecl it. Accordingly we went about fan fet, and found the princefs fitting up in her bed, in an elegant undrefs, with a number of her friends around her. She talked as ufual, and feemed to be perfectly well. This converfation is repeated every night during her convalef- cence, which generally lads for about eleven or twelve days. This caftom is univerfal, and as the ladies here are very prolific, there are for the moft part three or four of thefe affemblies going on in the city at the fame time ; pofiibly the Marino may net a little contribute towards them. The Sicilian ladies marry at thirteen or fourteen, and are fometimes grandmothers before they are thirty. The Count Stetela prefented us a few days ago to his coufin, the Princefs Partana, who he told us had a great number of children, the eldeft of which* was a very fine girl of fifteen. We talked to the princefs for half an hour, not in the lead doabting all the time that (he was the daugh- ter, till at laft the young lady came in ; and even then, it was net eafy to fay which appeared the h mdfomeft or the youngeit. This lady has had twelve children, and is ftill in her bloom ; (he affured me that (he never en- joyed more perfect health than when (he was in child bed ; that during the time of pregnancy (he was often indifpofed, but that imaiediately on delivery fne was cured of all her complaints, and was capable of enjoying the company of her friends even more than at any other time. I exprefled my furprife at this very lingular hap- pinefs of their climate or conftitution ; but appeared ilill more furprifed when I told her that we loft many of our fined women in child bed, and that even the moft fortunate : and eafy deliveries were attended with violent pain and anguifh. She lamented the fate of our ladies, and thanked heaven that (he was born a Sicilian, 214 A TOUR THROUGH What this Angularity is owing to, let the learned de- termine ; but it is furely one of the capital bleflings of thefe climates, where the curfe that was laidapon moth- er Eve feems to be entirely taken off : I do not know how the ladies here have deferved this exemption, as they have at leaft as much both of Eve and the ferpent as ours have, and ftill retain their appetite, as ftrong as ever, for forbidden fruit. It feems hard, that incur own country, and in Switzerland, where the women in general, are the chafteft in Europe, that this curfc ihould fall the hcaviell ; it is probably owing to the climate : In cold, but more particularly in mountainous countries, births are difficult and dangerous ; in warm and low places they are more eafy ; the air of the firit hardens and contracts the fibres, that of the fecond foftens and relaxes them. In fome places in Switzerland, and among the Alps, they lofe almoft one half of their wo- men in childbed, and thofe that can afford it, often go down to the low countries fome weeks before they lie in, and find their deliveries much eafier. One my eafi- ly conceive what a change it muft make upon the whote frame, to add the preffure of a column of air of two or three thoufand feet more than it is accuitomed to : And if mufcular motion is performed by the preilure of the atmofphere, as fome have alledged, how much muft this add to the action of every mufcle ! however, if this hypothefis were true, our ftrength mould have been di- miniftied one third on the top of iEtna, which did not appear to be the cafe ; as we had paffed through one third of the quantity of air &f the whole atmofphere. I have often thought that phyfician* pay too litcle atten- tion to thefe confiderations ; and that in (kilful hands they might be turned to great account, in the cure of many difeafes ; they only fend their patients to fuch a degree of latitude, but never think of the degree of altitude in the atmofphere. Thus, people with the fame complaints are fent to Aix and to Marfeilles, although the air in thefe two places muft be effentially different. Marfeiiles is on the level of the fea, and Aix (as I my- felf SICILY AN1 MALTA. SI5 felf meafurcd it) is near 600 feet above it. Now I am perfuaded, that in fuch a country as Switzerland, or on fuch a mountain as Mtnz, where it is eafy at all times to take off a preffure from the human body of many thoufand pounds weight, that an ingenious phyfician might make great difcoveries ; nor indeed would thefe difcoverieB be confined to the changing of the quantity of air that preffes on the body, but would likewife be extended to the changing of the quality of the air we breathe ; which on the fide of iEtna, or any very high mountain, is more varied than in travelling through fifty degrees of latitude. I beg pardon for this digref- fion ; the only amends I can make, is to put it out of my power to trouble you with any more, and thus ab- ruptly allure you how much, &c. LETTER XXIII. Palermo, June i6th< OUR fondnefs for Palermo increafes every day, and we are beginning to look forward with regret to the time of our leaving it, which is now faft approach- ing. We have made acquaintance with many fenfible and agreeable people. The Sicilians appear frank a»d fincere ; and their politenefs does not coniiit in fhew and grimace, like feme of the polite nations of the continent. The viceroy fets the pattern of hofpitalitv, and he is followed by the reft of the nobles, hit ^liable, agreeable man, and I believe is as much b ea and eflcemed as a viceroy to an abfolute moi can be. He was in England in his youth, and is fond of many of our author*, with whorr. he fee«r»s to be intimately acquainted : he fpeaks the language ably well, and encourages the learning of :c amongft his people 1\6 A TOUR THROUGH people. He may be confidered with regard to Naples as what the lord lieutenant of Ireland is with regard to England, with this trifling difference, that, like his malter, he is invefted with an ablolute authority ; and keeps his parliament (tor he has one too) in the moll perfect, fubjection. The patriots here, although a verj numerous body, have never been able to gain one point, no nor a place, nor even a person for a needy friend. Had lord Townfnend the power of the marquis Foglia- no, I fuppofe your Hibernian fquabbics (of which we hear fo much, e\ en at this diitant corner) would foon have an end. Notwithstanding this great authority, he is affable and familiar, and makes his houfe agreeable to every body. We go very often to his aflemblies, and have dined with him ievcral times ; his table is ferved with elegance and magnificence, much fuperior indeed to that of his Sicilian naajefty, who eats off a fervice of plate, at leaft 300 years old, very black and rufty indeed : I heard a gentleman afk one day, whilft we were Handing round the table, if it had not been dug out of Herculaneum. That of the viceroy is very elegant, and indeed the whole of his entertainments correfpond with it ; though we have as yet feen nothing here, to be compared to the luxury of our feaft in the granary at Agrigentum. The Sicilian cookery ir. a mixture of the French and Spanifh ; and the Olio ilill preserves its rank and dignity in th.2 centre of the table, furrounded by a numerous train of fricaffees, fricar agouts, and pet de loups ; like a grave Spanifh Don, amid'it a number of little fmart marquis. The other nobility whom we have had occafion to fee, are likewife very magnificent in rheir entertainments ; bu; cularly in theii ferts and ice?, of which t! have feen in any other country. r : very ten ate v. U to wine : them our method of I and of hob and nobbing with their friend=, rirginj SICILY AND MALTA. 21; two glafles together ; this focial prattles has animated them fo much, that they have been fomettmes led to drink a greater quantity than they are accustomed to ;' and they often reproach us with having made them drunkards. In their ordinary living they are very fru- gal and temperate ; and from the fobriety we have fecn here, we are now more purfuaded that the elevated fitn- ation of Agrigentum muft" be one great caufe of its great drunkennefs. The Siciiians have always had the chamcttr of being rery amorous, and furely not without reafon. The: whole nation are poets, even the peafants ; and a man ftands a poor chance for a miitref], that is not capable of celebrating her praifes. I believe it is generally allowed that the paftoral poetry had its origin in this iflarrd j and Theocritus, after whom they fail copy, will ever be looked upon as the prince of paftoral poets. And indeed in mufic too, as well as pocty, the Colt aniorcu*; pieces are generally ftiled Sicilian: ; thefe they ufed to play all night under their miitreffes' windows, to expreft the delicacy of their paflioii ; but ferenading is not now fo much in famion, as it was during the time of their more intimate eonnecuon with Spain, when it was faid by one of their authors, that no perfon could pafs for n man of gallantry that had not got a cold ; and was fure never ta fucceed in making love unlefs he made it in a hoarfe voice. The ladies are not now fo rig-id, and will fometimes condefcend to hear a man, even although he mould fpeak in a clear tone. Neither do they any longer require the prodigious martial fe its, that were then nece(Tary to win them. The attacking of a mad bull, or a wild boar, was reckoned the handfomeft compliment a lover could pay to his nrrftreft ; and the putting thefe animals to death foftened her heart .much more than all the fighing love-fick tales that could be invented. This has been humouroufly ridiculed by one of their poets, Ke fays that Cupid's little golden dart 2l8 A TOUR THROUGH was now changed into a many fpear, which anfwered a double purpofe ; for at the fame time that it pierced the tough bull's hide, it likewiie pierced the tenderlady's heart. Bjt thefe Gothic cuftoms are now confined to Spain, and the gentle Sicilians have reailumed their foftnefs. To tell you the tru:h, gallantry is pretty much upon the fame footing here as in Italy, the eltabliiliment of Cicihbees is pretty general, though not quite fo uni- verfal as on the continent. Howevar, a breach of the rnarrh^e vow is no longer looked upon as one of the deadly fins j and the con fe nor falls upon eafy and pleaf- ant enough methods of making them atone for it. bufbandsjare content ; and like able generals, make up ibr the iofs of one fortrefs, by the taking of another. However, female licentioufnefs has by no means come to fuch a height as in Italy. We have feen a great deal of domeitic happiness ; hulbands and wives that truely love o.ie another, and whofe mutual care and pleafure is the educAt^qn of their children. I could name a number : The Duke of Vcrdura, the Prince Partana, the Count mi, and many others who live in the moft facred ch fights arc very rare on the continent. But inueed the itile that young people are brought up in here, to lay a much more folid foundation for matrimo- nial kftppioclsf than either in France or Italy. The ; ladies are not fhut up in convents till the day of their marriage, but for tha meft part live, in the houfe with thiit parents, where they receive their education, and are every day in company with their friends and >ns. From what I can obferve, I think they are allowed alaicil as much liberty as with us. In their ..biles, we often fee a club of young people >th fexes) get together in a corner, and amufe "•Ives for hours, at crofs purpofes, cr'fuch like , without the mothers being under the leait anxic- InJeed, we fometimes join in thefe little parties, Mremely entertaining. In general,.they lively, and have a number of thofe jeux 7, vhiei: I think mull ever be a proof, in ?ll countries, SICILY AND MALI'. 21^ countries, of the familiar interooarfe bet people of the two fexes ; for all the! if they are not feafoned by f and fubtle agency, which ren I terelUng in thefe mixed focieri ones, compoicd of only on: part of in Italy, Spain, and Portugal, I ha tA^k games; in France feklom, but in Switzerland, (where the greatefl liberty and familiarity n. anongft the young people) they are r . Bar the convcrfarion hour is arrived, an i our i waiting. Adieu. LETTER XXIV. Palermo, Jun THERE are two fmall countries, one to the eaft, the other to the weft of this city, where the principal nobility have their country palaces. Both thefe vri have. viiited ; there are many noble houfes in each of . That to the eaft is called La Bagaria, that to the weft II Colle. We are this inftant returned from L and I hiften to give you an account of the ridic things we have ieen, though perhaps me for it. The palace of the Prince of Valguancra is, by much the iineit and molt beautiful of all the r of the Bagaria ; but it is far from being the mod extra- ordinary : Were I to defcribe it, I mould only tell of things you have often fee:i and heard of in other countries, fo I mail only fpeak of one, which, for if* fingularity, certainly is not to be paralleled on the face of the earth ; it belong* to the prince of P , a 2 -O A TOUR THROUGH man cf immenfe fortune, who has devoted his whole life to the llucly of monfters and chimeras, greater and more ridiculous than ever entered into the imag- ination cf the wiliefl: writers of romance or knight errantry. The amazing crowd of ftatues that fur round hishoufe, . appear at a diilunce like a little army drawn up for its deience ; but whea you get amongft them, and every one afiumes liis true iikenefs, you imagine you have got into the regions of deiufion and enchantment; for of at immenfe group, there is not one made to repre- fent any object in nature ; nor is the abfurdity of the wretched imagination that created them lefs aftonifhing than its wonderful fertility. It would require a volume to deicribe the whole, and a fad volume indeed it would make. He has put the heads of men to the bodies of cv^ry fort of animal, and the heads of every other ani- mal to the bodies of men. Sometimes he makes a com- pound of five or fix animals that have no fort of refem- blance in nature. He puts the head of a lion to the neck of a goofe, the body of a lizard, the legs of a goat, the tall of a fox. On the back of this monfrer, lie rn* another if pofiible ftill more hideous, with five >.r fix heads, and a hvSn cf horns, that beats the beaft in Revelations aU to nothing. There is no kind of horn in the world that he has not collected ; and his pleafure is, to f, notwithstanding which, it may be truly faid, he has net broke the fecond commandment ; for of nil that number, there is not the likenefa of any thi heaven above, in the earth beneath, or in the waters under the earth. The old ornaments which were pit up by his father, who was a fonfiblc man, appear t , been in a good tale. They have all been knocked r > pieces, an i laid together in a heap, to make roo , this new creation. The innde of this enchanted c.vrle corref-nn Is exact- ly with the out ; it is- in every refpelt as whimfical and fantaftical, and you cannot tun yourfclf to any fide, where you are not flared in the face by fome hideous figure or other. Some of the apartments are fpacious and magnificent, with high arched roofs, which info a J of plaitter or itacco, are eornpofed entirely of large mirrors, nicely joined together. The effect that the fe produce (as each of them make a fmall angle with the other) is exactly that of a myltinlying glafs ; (6 that when three or four people are walking belo^, there h always the appearance of three or four hundred walking above. The whole of the doors are likewife covered over with fmall pieces of mirror,* cut into the mpft ridiculous fhapes, and intermixed with a great variety of cryftal and glafs of different colours. All the chirru n»y pieces, windows, and fide boards, are crowded with pyramids and pillars of teapots, caudlecups, bowls, cups, lancers, &c. ftrongly cemented together ; fome of thefo columns are not without their beauty ; one of them has a large china chamber pot for its bafe, and a circle of pretty little flower pots for its capital ; the (ha't of the column, upwards of four feet Ion*, is compofed en- tirely of teapots of different iizes, diminifliing gradual- ly from the bafe to the capital. The profufion of chinn that has been employed in forming thefe columns is incredible j I dare fay there is not lefs. than forty pillars U 2 2 21 A TOUR THROUGH M.nils formed in this (triage fantaftic m;nn:r. M>1 of the rooms are pawed with fine marble tables of distent colours, that look like fo many tomb (tones. So Tie of thefe are richly wrought with lapis lazuli, porphyry, and ether valuable ftones ; their fipe poliih is now gone, and they only appear like common marble j the place of thcie beautiful 'tables he has fupplied by a new fet of his own invention, fome of which are not without their merit. Thefe are male of the fined tortoife (hell mixed with mother of pearl, ivory, and a variety of metals ; and are mounted on fine (lands of folid brafs. The windows of this enchanted caftle are compofed of a variety of glafs of every different colour, mixed without any fort of order or regularity. Blue, red, green, yellow, purple, violet. So that at each window, you may have the heavens and earth of whatever colour yon choofe, only by looking through the pane that [hafes you. The houfe clock is cafed in the body ot a ftatue j the eyes of the figure m«ve with the pendulum, turning up their white and black alternately, and make a hideous appearance. His bed chamber and dreffin? room are like two apartments in Noah's ark ; there is fcarce a bead, how- ever vile, that he has not placed there ; toads, frogs, ferpent', lizards, feorpions, all cut out of marble, of their refpeclive colours. There are a good many bufts too, that are not lefs fingularly imagined. Some of thefe make a very handfome profile on one fide ; turn to the other, and you have a ikeleton ; here you fee a nurfe with a child in her arms ; its back is exactly that of an infant ; its face is that ot a wrinkled old woman of ninety, Foi SICILY AND MALTA. 22J For fome minutes one can laugh at thsfe follies, bat in ligation and contempt foon get the better of your mirth, and the laugh is turned into a fneer. I own I was foon tired of them ; though fomc things are fo ftrangely fancied, that it may well excufe a little mirth, even from the moft rigid cynic, The family flatues are charming ; they have been done from fome old pictures, and make a moil' venerable appearance ; he has dreffed them out from head to foot, in new and elegant fuits of marble ; and indeed the effect it produces is mors ridiculous than any thing you can conceive. Their (hoes are all of black marble- their ftockings generally of red ; their clothes are of different colours, blue, green, and variegated with a - rich lace of gtalV antique. The periwigs of the men ani head dreifes of the ladies are of fine whire ; Co are their fhirts, with long flowing rufHes of alabatter. The walls of the houfe are covered with fome fine barffo re- lievos of white marble, in a good tafte ; thefe he could not well take out. f or alter, fo he has only added iov menfe frames to them, Each frame is compofed of four . large marble tables. The author and owner of this fin^ular collection is a poor miferable lean figure, fhivering at a breeze, and feeni* to be afraid of every body he fpeaks to ; but (what furprifed me) I have heard him talk fpecioufly enough on feveral occafions. He is one of the richeft fubjects in the ifland, and it is thought he has not laid ouc left than 20,000 pounds in the creation of this world of monfters and chimeras. He certainly might have fallen upon fome way to prove hirafelf a fool at a cheaper rate. However it gives bread to a number of poor people, to whom he is an excellent mailer. His houfe at Palermo is a good deal in the fame ftile : His carriages are cov- erd with plates of brafs, fo that I really believe fome of them are mufket proof. The 224 A TOUR THROUGH The government have had ferious thoughts of demol- ishing the regiment of monilers he has placed round his houfe, but as he is humane and inoffenfive, and as this vvould certainly break his heart, they have as yet for- borne. However, the feeing of them by women with child is faid to have been already attended with very unfortunate circumRances ; feveral living mongers hav- ing been brought forth in the neighbourhood. The ladies complain that they dare no longer take an airing in the Bagaria ; that fome hideous form always haunts their imagination for fome time alter : Their hufoands too, it is faid, are as little fatisfied with the great variety of horns. Adieu. I mail write you again by next po^ as matter multiplies fail upon me in this me- tropolis. Ever voars* LETTER XXV. Paler vn, Juve $Oth. '"FT'-HE account the people here give of the firocc, cr A fouthcaS wind, is truly wonderful ; today, at the viceroy's we were complaining of the violence of the heat, the thermometer being at 79. They affured us, that if we vtaid till the end of next month, we fftould probably look on this as pleafant cool weather ; adding, thatif^ve had ence experienced the firocc, all ether v/eather will appear temperate. I alked to what degree the thermometer commonly rofe during this wind ; but found to my furprife, that there was no fnch inftrument in ufe amongftthem : However, the violence of it, they afiure us, is incredible ; and that thofe who had remain- ed many years in Spain and Malta, had never felt any heat SICILY AND MALTA. heat in thofe countries to compare to it. How it hap- pens to be more violent in Palermo than in any other part of Sicily, is a myftery that ftill remains to be in- folded. Several treatifes have been written on this fub- jecl, but none that give any tolerable degree of fatis- faftion. As we (hall flay for foma time loager, it is polTible we may have an opportunity of giving you forne account of it. They have begun fome weeks ago to make prepara- tions for the great feaft of St. Rofolia"; and our friends here fay they are determined that we mail not leave them till after it is over ; but this I am afraid will not be in our power. The warm feafon advances, and the time we appointed for our return to Naples is already elapfed ; but indeed, return when we will, we (hall make but a bad exchange ; and were it not for thofe of o*jr own country whom we have left behind us, we cer- tainly mould have determined on a much longer flay. But although the fociety here is fuperior to that of Na- ples, yet, call it prejudice, or call it what you will, there is a je nef^ai quoi, a certain confidence in the character, the worth and friendfhip of our own people, that I have feldom felt any where on the continent, ex- cept in Switzerland. This fenfation, which conftitutes the charm of fociety, and can alone render it fupporta- ble for any time, is only infpired by fomething analo- gous, and fympathetic, in our feelings and fentiments ; like two inftruments that are in unifon, and vibrate to each other's touch : For fociety is a concert, and if the inftruments are not in tune, there never can be harmony j and (to carry on the metaphor) thi$ harmony too muft fometimes be heightened and fupportedby the intioduc- tion of a difcord ; but where difcords predominate, which is often the cafe between an Englifh and an Ital- ian mind, the mufic muft be wretched indeed. Had we but a little mixture of our own fociety, how gladly mould we fpend the winter in Sicily ; but we often think with regret on Mr, Hamilton's and Mr. Walter's families : llG A TOUR THROUGH zn\ wifh again to be on the continent. Indeed, even the plrafures we enjoy here, we owe principally to Mr. Hamilton : His recommendations we have ever lound to be the beft paflport and introduction; and the zeal and cordiality with which thefe are always received, proceeds evidently not from motives of deference and refpeel to the oiintfter, but of love and affection to the man* This morning we went to fee a celebrated convent of Capuchins, about a mile without the city ; it contains nothing very remarkable but the burial place, which indeed is a great curiofity. This is a vail fubterraneous apartment, divided into large commodious galleries, the walls on each fide of which are hollowed into a variety of niches, as it intended for a great collection of ftatues ; thefe niches, inftead of ftatues, are all filled with dead bodies, fet upright upon their legs, and fixed by the back to the infide of the nich : Their number is about three hundred ; they are all dreiTed in the clothes they ufually wore, and form a molt refpeclable and venerable aflembly. The fkin and mufcles, by a certain prepara- tion, become as dry and hard as a piece of ftock-fi(h ; and although many of them have been here upwards of two hundred and fifty years, yet none arc reduced to fkeletons ; the mufcles, indeed, in fome appear to be a good deal more flirunk than in others ; probably be- caufe thefe perfons had been more extenuated at the time of their death. Here the people of Palermo pay daily vifits to their deccafed friends, and recal with pleafure and regret the fcenes of their pad life : Here they familiarize them- felves with their future ftate, and choofe the company, they would wifti to keep in the other world. It is a common thing to make choice of their nich, and to try if their body fits it, that no alterations may be neceflary after they are dead ; and fometimes, by way of a volun- SICILY AND MALTA. ±1?? t-aty penance, they accuftom themfelves to ftand for hours in thefe niches. The bodies of the princes and firft nobility are lodg- ed in handfome chefts or trunks, fome of them richly adorned : Thefe are not in the fhape of coffins, but all of one width, and about a foot and a half, or two feet deep. The keys are kept by the neareit relations of the family, who fome times come and drop a tear over their departed friends. I am notfureif this is not a better method of dif- pofing of the dead than ours. Thefe vifns muft prove admirable leffons of humility ; and I affure you, they are not fuch objects of horror as you would imagine : They are faid, even for ages after death to retain a ilrong iikenefs to what they were when alive ; fo that, as foon as you have conquered the firll feelings excited hy thefe venerable figures, you only confider this as a vaft gallery of original portraits, drawn after the life, by the jufteft and moft unprejudiced hand. It muft be owned that the colours are rather faded ; and the pencil does not appear to have been the inoft flattering in the world ; but no matter, it is the pencil of truth, and not of a mercenary, who only wants to pleafe. We were alledging too, that it might be made of very con- fiderable utility to focicty ; and that thefe dumb orators could give the moil pathetic leclures upon pride and vanity. Whenever a fellow began to fttut, like Mr. B. or to arTecl the haughty fupercilious air, he mould be fenc to converfe with his friends in the gallery ; and if their arguments did not bring him to a proper way of thinking, I would give him up as incorrigible. At Bologna they mewed us the fkclcton of a celebrat- ed beauty, who died at a period of life when ihe was ftili the object of univerfal admiration. By way of making atonement for her own vanity, fne bequeathed herfclf as a monument to curb the vanity of others. Recollec'ting 328 A TOUR T HR OUGH Recollecting on her death-bed the great adulation that had been paid to her charms, and the fatal change they were foon to undergo, fhe ordered that her body mould be diiiec'ted, and her bones hung up tor the infpeftion of all young maidens who are inclined to be vain of their beauty. However, if fhe had been preferved in this moral gallery, the leflbn would have been itronger ; for thofe very features that had raifed her vanity would ftill have remained, only divefted of all their power, and difafmed of every charm. Some of the Capuchins fieep in thefc galleries every night, and pretend to have many wonderful vifions and revelations ; but the truth is, that very few people believe them. No woman is ever admitted into this convent either dead ©r alive ; and this interdiction is written in large characters over the gate. The poor indolent Capuchins, the fraileft of all ilelh, have great need of fuch precau- tions : They have no occupation from without, and they have no refourecs within themfelves, fo that they xnuil be an eafy prey to every temptation : Bocaccio, and ail the books of that kind, are filled with ftories of their frailty. Yefterday, dining at the Prince of Sperlinga's, and talking on this fobjed, the Abbe T gave us an anecdote of a friend of his, who was formerly a brother of this convent. He is known by the name of Fra Pafqual, and has paC'cd through many fmgular feencs of life, ■which it would be too long to recount. gration, or, if you will, tranfmigration, was from cue o ditti of this -kingdom, in which ity he had been enrolled lor fome time; but, tired ;er and fatigue, ro which he was perpetually ..;• at laS determined to exchange the charac- ,ero, for that of the faint, and try if it not both fafer and furer, to rely on the weaknefs of •tilers, than on our own ftrength. 'SICILY AND MALTA. 11$ fra Pafqual pretended a ftrong compulsion for the tranfgreffions ot his paft life, and made a promife to the Virgin, that the remainder of it fnould be 'pent in mortification and penance, to atone fcr them... To this end, Pafqual took the vows of poverty and of chaftify, and entered into all the rigours ot the .monaitic life. 1 ot .fome weeks he behaved in a moll exemplary manner.; he went bare footed, wore -a large rofary, and a thicker conl of difcipline than any mouk in the convent ; and his whole deportment gave te'ftimony of the moft unfeigned re- pentance ; however, the devil v.r.s .{till at work in the heart of Pafqual, and all thefc external mortifications only made him work the harder ; in fnorr, he found it impofiible to drive him out: Pafqual was fenfible of this ; and afraid left the enemy fhcmld at lad get the better of him, he thought it advifeable to leave at Pa- lermo the character of fanelity he had acquired, and be- gin fomewhere elfe upon a new fcore. He embarked for Naples, where he was fegn admitted into a Capuchin convenr. As Pafqual knew from experience that the dull uni- formity ot the monaftic life required fome little amufe- ments to render it fuppor table, the firit thing he fee about was to find a miftrefs. He made love to a lady of eafy virtue, who foon admitted his addreiTes, but at -the fame time informed him, that be had a formidable rival, who was jeabus as a tiger, and would not fail to put them both to death, mould he difcover the intrigue. This was no other than a lifeguard-man, a fellow of fix i'eet two inches, with a valt fpada, like that of Goliath, and a monftrous pair of curled whifkers, that would have caft a damp on the heart, of any man bu*.Fra Paf- qual ; but the monaftic life had nctt y.et enervated him ; he was.accuftomed to danger, and loved a ftw difficul- ties :. However, as in his prefent character he could not be on a footing with his rival, he thought it beftonly'to make ufe of prudence and ftratagem »o funjxlant him : Thefe W 230 A TOUR THROUGH Thefc are the ecclefiaftical arms, and they have general- ly been found too hard for the military. The lady promifed him an interview as foon as the court mould go to Portici, where the lifeguard-man's duty obliged him to attend the king. Pafqual waited with impatience for forae time ; at laft the wifhed-for night arrived ; the king fct off, after the opera, with all his guards. Pafqual flew like lightning to the armi of his miftrefs ; the preliminaries were foon fettled ; and the happy lovers had juft fallen afleep, when they were fuddenly alarmed by a rap and a well known voice at the door. The lady ftarted up in an agony of def- pair, afluring Pafqual that they were both undone ; that this was her lover ; and if fome expedient was not fallen upon, in the firft tranfports of his fury, he would cer* tainly put them both to death. There was no time, for reflection ; the lifeguard-man demanded entrance in the raofr peremptory manner, and the lady was obliged to inftant compliance. Pafqual had juft time to gather his rags together, and cram himfelf in below the bed ; at that inftant the door opened, and the giant came in, rattling his arms and ftorming at his miftrefs, for having made him wait fo long ; however, fhe foon pacified him. He then ordered her to ftrike a light, that he might fee to undicfs : This ftruck Pafqual to the foul, and he gave Irmfelf up for loft; however, the lady's addrefs faved him, when he leaft expected it. In bring- ing the tinder, (he took care to let tall fome water into the box ; and ail the beating Ihe and her lover could beat, they could not produce one fpark. Every ftroke of the flint founded in Pafqual's ears like his death knell ; but when he heard the lifeguard-man fwearing at the tinder for not kindling, he began to conceive fome hopes, and blefled the fertile invention of woman. The lady told him he might eafily get a light at the guard, which was at no great diftance. Pafqual's heart leaped with joy ; but when the foldier anfwered that he was abfent without leave, and dur^t not be fecn, it again SICILY AND MALTA. 23 1 again began to flag ; but on his ordering her to go, it died within him, and he now found himfelf in greater danger than ever. The lady herfelf was difconcerted ; but quickly recovering, lhe told him, it would be too long before fhe could get dreffed ; but advifed him to go to the corner of a neighbouring ftrcet, where there was a lamp burning before the Virgin Mary, who could have no objection to his lighting a candle at it. Pafqual revived ; but the foldier declared he was too much fa- .tigued with his walk, and would rather undrefs in the *iark ; he at the fame time began to grope below the bed for a bottle of liqueurs, which he knew flood there. Pafqual ihook like a quaker, however, ftill he efcaoed. The lady obferving what he was about, made a fpring, and got him the bottle, at the very inftant he was with- in an inch of feizing Pafqual's head. The lady then went to bed, and told her lover, as it was a cold might, Ihe would warm his place for him. Pafqual admired her addrefs, and began to conceive fame hopes of efcaping. His fituation was the mod irkfomc in the world ; the bed was fo low, that he had no room to move ; and when the great heavy lifeguard- man entered it, he round himfelf fqueezed down to the ground. He lay trem- bling and iVifling his breath for fome time, but found it abfolutcly impolfiblc to fupport his fituation till morn- ing ; and ; ndeed, if it had, his clothes, which were fcattered about, muft infallibly difcover him : He therefore began to think of making his efcape ; but he could not move without alarming his rival, who wai now lying above him. At firft he thought of ruining fuddenly out, and throwing himfelf into the ftrcet ; but this he difdained, and, on fecond thoughts, determined to feizc the lifeguard-man's fword, and either put him to death, or make an honourable capitulation both for himfelf and the lady. In the midft of thefe reflections, his rival began to fnore, and Pafqual declares that na mufic was ever fo grateful to his foul. He tried to ftir a 2J2 A TOUR THROUGH a little, and finding that did not awake the enemy, he by degrees worked himfelf out of his prifon. He im- mediately laid hold of the great fpada ; when all his fears forfook him, and he felt as bold as a lion. He now relinquifned the daftardly fchemc of efcaping, and only thought how he could belt retaliate on his rival, for all that he had made him fuiFer. As Pafqual was ftark naked, it was no more trouble to him to j -'t on the foliier's clothes than his own ; and as both his cloak and his cappouch together were not worth a fixpepce, he thought it moil eligible to equip himfelf a la militaire, and to leave his facerdotal robes to the foldier. In a fhort time he was drelTed cap-a-pie. Hisgreafy cowl, his cloak, his fandals, his rofary, and his rope of difcipline, he gathered together, and placed on a chair before the bed ; and girded himfelf with a great buff belt, inftead of the cordon of St. Francis, and grafping his trulty Toledo initead of the crucifix, he fallied forth into the ftreet. He pondered for fome time what fcheme to fall upon ; and at firft thought of returning in the character of another lifeguard- man, pretending to have been fent by the officer with a guard in queft of his companion, who not being found in his quarters, was fuppoicd to have deferted : And thus, after having made him pay heartily for all that he iia 1 fuffered un^ej the bed, to leave him to the enjoy- ment of his panic, and the elegant fuit of clothes he had provided hirn. However, he was not fatisfied with this revenge, and determined on ,onc ftjll more folid. He. went to the guard, and told the officer that he had met a Capuchin, fria.r, with all the enfighs of his fanclity «ibout him, fculking through the ilreets, in the dead of rii*h.t„ when. -they uretertl to be employed in prayer for the. fins of mankind. That prompted by curiofity to follow hi.n, the holy friar as he expecled went ftrait to the houfe of a celebrated courtezan ; that , he faw him admitted, and^Udened at the window till he heard them go to bed together : That if he di'3 n^r fmd this in- formation SICILY AND MALTA. 13 J formation to be true, he mould refign himfelf his prifon- er, and fubrait to whatever puniihment he (hould think proper. The officer and his guard delighted to have fuch a hold of a Capuchin (who pretended to be the very models of fanctity, and who revile in a particular man- ner the licentious life of the military) turned out with the utmoft alacrity, and, under the conduct of Pafqual, furrounded the lady's houfe. Pafqual began thundering at the door ; and demanded entrance for the officer of his guard. The unhappy foldier waking with the noife, and not doubting that it was a detachment fent to feize him, gave himfelf up to defpair, and inftantly took melter in the very place that Pafqual had fo lately occu- pied ; at the fame time laying hold of all the things he found on the chair, never doubting that they were his own clothes. As the lady was fomewhat dilatory in opening the door, Pafqual pretended to put his foot to it, when up it flew, and entering with the officer and his guard, demanded the body of a Capuchin friar, who they were informed, lodged with her that night. The lady had heard Pafqual go out, and having no fufpicion that he would inform againft himfelf, me protefted her innocence in the mod folemn manner, taking all the faints to witnefs that (he knew no fuch perfon : But Pafqual fufpe&ing the retreat of the lover, began grop- ing below the bed, and foon pulled out his own greafy cowl and cloak ; " Here (faid he to the officer) here " are proofs enough : I'll anfwer for it, Signor Padre " himfelf is at no great diftance." And putting his nofe below the bed ; " Fogh (fays he) I fmell him ; he " (links like a fox. The fureft way of finding a Capu- " chin, is by the nofe ; you may wind him a mile off." Then lowering their lanthorn, they beheld the unfor- tunate lover fqueezed in betwixt the bed and the ground,, and almoft ftifled. " Ecco lo (faid Pafqual) here he is, " with all the enfigns of his holinefs ;" and pulling thera W 2 £J4 A T " O 1/ (i U them out 0:1* by one, the cruciiijc, the rofarj and the cord of difciplihe. " You may fee (faidhc) that the *' reverend father came hereto do penance ," and taking up the cord, •« Suppofe now we mould a!fift him in this * i meritorious work. And'iami, Slgnor Padre, andtamo^ " We will faveyou the trouble of inflicting it yourfelf ; " and whether you ca:iic here to fin, or to repent, by * 4 your own maxims, you know, a little found difcipiinc «' i» healthful to the foui." The guard were lying round the bed in convulfions of laughter ; and began breaking the moil galling and moll infolent jokes upon the fappofed padre. The lifeguard-man thought Limfelf enchanted. He at lait ventured to fpeak, and declared they were all in a miftake ; that he was no Capuchin : Upon which the laugh redoubled, and the coarfeft joke* were repeated. The lady, in the mean time, with the beft diffembled marks of fear and aflonifhment, ran about the room, exclaiming, ** Qime J Jiani) psrdut't — Siama " incaniat'i — Slamo in/Grecian" Pafqual delighted to fee that his plan had taken its full effect, thought it now time to make his retreat, before the unfortunate lover -could have an opportunity of examining his clothes, and perhaps detecting him : He therefore pretended regi- iueRtal bufinefs, and regretting much that he was obliged to join his corps, took leave of the officer and his guard - r at the fame time recommending by all means, to treat ihe holy father with all that reverence ancfrcfpcct that -vas due to fo facred a pcrfon. The lifeguard-man, when he got oat from below the bed, began to look about for his clothes ; but obferving nothing but the greafy weeds of a Capuchin friar, he was now perfectly convinced, that Heaven had delivered him over, for his offences, to the power of fome dremon (fox of all mortals, the Neapolitan foldiers are the moft iuperftitious.) The lady too, acted her part fo well, that he had no longer any doubt of it. " Thus it is (laid he in a penitential voice) «* to offend heaven ! I *' o 11 gentlemen ; if you will bring yoarfelves to difgraee, " you fhall at leait make me the agent of ihe^ing it : " But reme nber, if you are obferved walking, no mortal " will believe you keep a coach ; and do you expect '** after that to b; received into company r" " Well, well, Philip, do as you pleafe, but we mud go to the conversation." Pnilip mrug^ed up his moulders 44 Diabito, cbe farsHto / Andiam-i dunqu? Sigmri, ajJij'/tj." So £iyin», ht led the way, and we followed. Philip 238 A TOtfR THROUGH Philip had ftudied the geography of the town ; he conducted us through lanes only known to himfelf, and" carefully avoided the great ftreet ; 'till at laft we arriv- ed at a little entry, which leads to the converfation- rooms ; here the carriages ufually Hop. We flipped up the entry in the dark ; when Philip, darting into a (hop, lighted his flambeau in an inftant. and Came rufhing be- fore us, bawling out, u Piazza per gli Signort for- " rejlteri ;" when all the world immediately made way for us. After we had got into the rooms, he called fo loud after us, afking at what time he mould order the coach to return ; that, overcome partly by rifibility, and partly by a confcioufnefs of the deceit, not one of" X us had power to anfwer him. Philip, however, follow- ed us, and repeated the queftion fo often, that we were obliged to give him a reply, " a mezzo notte." At midnight he came to tell us that the coach was ready. We were curious to fee how he would behave on this occafion ; for it was not half fo difficult to get in unob- ferved, as to get out : However, Philip's genius was equal to both. As foon as we got into the entry, he ran to the door, bawling out Antonio as hard as he could roar. No Antonio arfwered ; and unfortunately, there was a number of gentlemen and ladies going away at the fame time. They begged of us, as ftrangers, to Hep firft into our carriage, and abfolutely refufed to go out before us. Philip was fadly puzzled. He firft ran up the ftreet, then he ran down, and came back all out of breath, curfing Antonio. »' That rafcal (faid he) is " never in the way, and you muft turn him off. fie u pretends that he could not get up his coach to the " door, for the great crowd of carriages ; and is waiting u about fifty yards below. Voftri Eccellenzi had better " ftep down (faid Philip) otherwife you will be obliged " to wait here at leaft half an hour." We took leave of the company, and fet off, Philip ran like a lamp- lighter, till he had almoft pafled the carriages, when dafhing his flambeau on the ground, as if by accident, he extinguiflied it, and getting into a narrow lane, he waited SICILY AND MALTA. 2.Q waited till we came up ; when he whifpered us to follow him, and conduced us back, by the fame labyrinth we had came ;'^ v d thus faved us from eternal infamy. However, he affures us, he will not venture it again for his place. Now what do you think of a nation where fuch prejudices as thefe prevail ? It is pretty much the cafe all over Italy. An Italian nobleman is afhamed of nothing fo much as making ufe of his legs. They think their dignity augments by the repofe of their members ; and that no man can be truly refpe&able, that does not loll away one half of his time on a fofa, or in a carriage. In fhort, a man is obliged to be indolent and effeminate? not to be defpifed and ridiculous. What can we expeft of fuch a people ? Can they be capable of any thing great or manly, whofeem almoft afhamed to appear men! I own, it furpafles my comprehension ; and I blefs my ftars every time that I think of honeft John Bull, even with all his faults. Will you believe me, that of all that 1 have known in Italy, there are fcarce half a dozen that have had fortitude enough to fubdue this moll con- temptible of all human prejudices ? The Prince of Campo Franco too in this, place, is above it. He is a noble fellow, and both in his perfon and character, greatly refembles our late worthy friend, General Crau- furd. He is a major general too, and always drefles in his uniform, which ftill increafes the refemblance. Every time I fee him, he fays or does fomething that recals ftrongly to my mind the idea of our noble general. He laughs at the follies of his country, and holds thefe wretched prejudices in that contempt they deferve. " What*would the old hardy Romans think (faid he, M talking on this fubjeel) were they permitted to take a " view of the occupations of their progeny ? I mould 41 like to fee a Brutus or a Caffius amongft us for a little " time ; how the clumfy vulgar fellows would be hooted. " I dare fay they would foon be glad to return to the " (hade* again." Adieu ; t4© A TOUR THROUGH Adieu ; for fome nights pad we have-been obfemng the courfc of a comet ; and as we were the iirfl people here that took notice of it, 1 affure yor % ve are looked upon as very profound aftronomers. I ihalK fay more of it next letter. We have now got out of our abomina- ble inn, and have taken a final leave of our French landlady. The Count Bulhemi, a very amiable young man, has been kind enough to provide hs a lodging on the fea fhore ; one of the cooleft and moft agreeable ia Palermo. Ever yours, &c. LETTER XXVI. Palermo, July id, OUR comet is now gone ; wc lirfl: obferved it on the 24th. It had no tail, but was furrounded with a faintifh ill defined light, that made it look like a bright ftar fhining through a thin cloud. This in all probability, is owing to an atmofphere, around the body of the comet, that caufes a refraclion of the rays, and prevents them from reaching us with that diftindtnefs we ebferve in bodies that have no atmofphere. We were ftill the more perfuaded of this two nights ago, when we had the good fortune to catch the comet juft paffingclofe by a fmall fixed itar, whofc light was not only confider- ^blwhHmrhed, but we thought we obferved a fenfible cHabgc of place in the ftar, as foon as irs ray* fell into the atmofphere of the comet ; owing no doubt to the refraction in pafling through that atmofphere. We at- tempted to trace the line of the comet's courfc, but r* ve could find no globe, it was not poffible to do it with any degree of precificn. Its direction was almoft due north, and its velocity altogether amazing. We did net SICILY AND MALTA. 24I fiot obferve it (o minutely the two or three firft n'ghts of its appearance, but on the 30th it was at our zenith here, /latitude 3 10'; longitude from Lond. 13 ) about five minutes after midnight, and lad night, the firft of July, it paffed four degrees to the eaft of the polar ftar, nearly at 40 minutes after eight. So'tijat, in lefs than 24 hours, it has defcribed a great areh In the heavens ; upwards of co degrees ; which gives an idea of the moft amazing velocity. Suppofing it at the diftance of the fun, at this rate of travelling, it would go round the earth\ orbit in lefs than a week. Which makes, I think, con- siderably more than fixty millions of miles in a day ; a motion that vaftly furpafles all human cornprehenficn. And as this motion continues to be greatly accelerated, what muft it be, when the comet approaches ftill nearer to the body of the fun ! Laft night a change of place was obfervable in the fpace of a few minutes, particular- ly when it paffed near any of the fixed ftars. We at- tempted to find if it had any obfervable parallax, but the vaft rapidity of its morion always prevented us ; for whatever fixed liars it was in the horrizon, it had got fo far to the north of them, long before it reached the meridian, that the paralLix, if there was any, entirelv •efcaped us. I fhall long much to fee the obfervatirms that have been made with you, and in other diftant countries, on this comet ; as from thefe we fhall probably be enabled to form fome judgment of its diftance from the earth ; which, although we could obferve no parallax, I am apt to believe it was not very great, as its motion was fo verr perceptible. We could procure no instruments to meas- ure its a*arent diftance from any of the fixed ftars, fa r! rat the only two cbfervations any thing can be made of, ^re, the time of its pafling the polar liar laft night, its diftance ffomit,and the time of its arrival at our zenith on the 30th ; this we found by applying the eye to a flraight rod, hung perpendicularly fromafmall thread. The % ?4 2 A TOVR THROUGH The comet was not in the exact point of the zenith, but to the befl: of our obfervation, about fix or feven minutes to the north of it. Laft night it was vifible almcft im- mediately after fun fet ; long before any of the fixed ftars appeared. It is now immerfed in the rays of the fun, and has certainly got very near his body. If it re- turns again to the regions of fpace, it will probably be vifible in a few days, but I own I mould much doubt of any fuch return, if it is really by the attractive force of the fun, that it is at prefent carried with fuch amazing •elerity towards him. This is the third comet of thii kind, whofe return I have had an opportunity of watch- ing ; but never was fortunate enough to find any of them after they had pafled the fun ; thofe that do really return, appear at that time much more luminous than before they approached him. The aftronomy of comets, from what I can remember of it, appears to be clogged with very great difficulties, and even fome feeming abfurdities. It is difficult to conceive, that thefe immenfe bodies, after being drawn to the fun with the velocity of a million of miles in an hour ; when they have at lafl come almoft to touch him, fnould then fly off from his body, with the fame velocity they approach it ; and that too, by the power of this very motion that t^is attraction has occafioned. The demonftration of this' i remember is very curious and ingenious; but Twilh it may be entirely free from foph- i.try. No doubt, in bodies moving in curves .round a fixed centre, as the centripetal motion increafes, the centrifugal one increafes likewife; but how this motion/ which is only generated by the former, fnoufcl at lalt get rhe better of the power that produces it ; and that too, at the very time this power has acquired its utmoft force ani energy ; feenss fomewhat diificulffo conceive, it is the only inltance I know, wherein the effect increas- ing regularly with the caufe ; at laft, whiUrMl caufe is frill acting with full vigour; the effect entirety gets the r of the caufe.,antJI leaves it in the lurch.' For, the bjdy SICILY AND MALTA. £43 body attracted, is at laft carried away with infinite ve- locity from the attracting body. By what power is it carried away ? Why, fay our philofopiieis. by the very power of this attraction, which ha. now produced a n power fuperior to itfeif, to wit, the centrifugal force. However, perhaps, all this may be reconcilable to reafon ; far be it from me to prefume attacking fo glo- rious a fyitem as that of attraction. The law ihat the heavenly bodies are faid to obferve, in tlefcribing equal areas in equal rimes, is fuppofed to be demomtrated, and by this it would appear, that the centripetal and centrifugal forces alternately get the mattery of o. se another. However, I cannot help thinking it foraevyhat hard ut conceive, that gravity mould always get the better 01 the centrifugal force, at the very time that its action is the fmalleft, when the comet is at its greateft dirtane© from the fun ; and that the centrifugal force mould get -^ the better of gravity, at the very time that its action if the greateftj when the comet is at its n^atcft point u the fun. To a common obferver it would rather appear, tha* the fun, like an electric body, alter it had once charged the obj eels that it attracted with its own effluvia or at- mofphere, by degrees lofes its attraction, and ai iaii ewfi repels them ; and, that t\\t attracting po^vcr, like whai we likewife obferve in electricity, does not return agaia till the effluvia imbibed from the attraciing body is dis- pelled or diffipated j when it i& again attracted, and f» on alternately. For it appears (at ieaft to an capluio- fophical obferver) fomewhat repugnant to reafon, to fay that a body flying off from another body fome thoufand's of miles in a minute, mould all the tune be violently attracted by ihat body, and that it l& even by virtue or" this very attraction that it is flying off from it. iie would probably ark, What more codd u do, orgy, were it reailjf to be repelled ? Had 244 A TOUR THROUGH Had the fyftcm of electricity, and of repulfion as well as at t raction, been known and eftablifhcd in the la ft age, I have little doubt that the profound genius of Newton would have called it to his aid ; and perhaps accounted in a more fatisfactory manner, for many of the great phenomena of the heavens. To the beft of my remem- brance, we know of no body that poflefles, in any con- ii.lerable degree, the power of attraction, that in certain tircumftances does not likewife pofiefs the power of re- pulfion. The magnet, the tourmalin, amber, glafs, and every ek&rical fubftance. Now from analogy, as we find the fun fo powerfully endowed with attraction, why may we not likewife fuppofe him to be pofleffed of re- gion ? Indeed, this very power feems to be confefled by the Newtonians to refide in the fun in a moli won- derful degree ; for they aiTure us he repels the rays of light with fuch amazing force, that they fly upwards of millions of miles in feven minutes. Now why mould v.c confine this repulfion to the rays of light only ? As they are material, may net other matter brought near his body, be affected in the fame manner? Indeed one would imagine, that their motion alone would create the molt violent repulfion ; and that the force, with which they are perpetually flowing from the fun, would moil effectually prevent every other body from approach- ing him ; for this we find is the conftant effect of a rapid ftream of any other matter. But let us examine a little more his effects on comets. The tails of thefe bodies, arc probably their atmofpheres rendered highly ■■•j'trical, either from the violence of their motion, or ire. i their proximity to the fun, — ■ — Of all the bodies c know, there is ncne in fo cofiitant and fo violent an electrical ilatc, as the higher regions of our own atmof- rhere. Of this I have long been convinced ; for, fend up a kite with a fmall wire about its firing, only to the height of 12 or 1300 feet, and at all times it will pro- duce tire, as I have found by frequent experience ; fome- tur.es when the air was perfectly clear, without* a cloud ^ju the hemifphere ; at other times, when it was thick and S I G I L V A:U M A L T A. 24^ and hazy, and totally unfit for eieSrical operations be- 1 )w. No>v, as this is the cafe at fo fuoail a heig'ir, and ihid the erFeci ftill >;vows ihonger, i proportion a; the kite a.lvances (for I have fometimes obferved, thai; a little blaft of wind, fuddenly >ut a I hundred feet, I. r : :an doubled the e3 mult it be tn very great elevation? ?r— Indeed we may often judge or' it from the violence with which the clonus, jtaied, from the meteors formed above the region of thcclouds, and ■ particularly from the aurora boreaiis, which has b:en obferved to have much the fa n* colour and appearance as thematter that forms the tails of ccm.ts. Nov/ what mul be the eJecl of (o vafl a body as our atmofphere, made ftrongly eia&rical, when it happen? t j approach any other body ? It mufi: always be either vio- lently attracted or repelled, according to the pofitive or negative quality (tn the language of the electrician the body that it approaches. It has ever been obferved t) ^mets . (juu as we fhould expect, from a very lighc fluid body, attached to a foiid heavy ont) are drawn after the comets, ao 1 jcg as they are at a alliance from the fun ; but as foon aj the comets get near his boJy, the tail veers about to that fide of the comet that is in the oppofue direction irom the fun, and no longer follows the comet, but con- tinues its motion Tideways, oppofing its vvnoie length to the medium through which it palies, rather than a-liow it in any degree to approach the fun. Indeed, iis ten- dency to follow the body of the comet is ftill ofcferva* ble, were it nut prevented by fome force fuperior to that tendency ; for the tail is always obferved to bend a Uuie. to th3t fide from whence the comet is flying. This per- haps is fome proof too* that it does not move in abfaliitc vacuum. When the comet reaches its perihelion, the tail i? generally very n>uch lengthened, perhaps by the rarefaction X ?. frcrc : 4 6 TOUR THROUGH from the heat ; perhaps by the increafe of the fun's re- puliion, or thit of his atmofphere. It tlill continues projected, exactly in the oppofite direction from the fun ; and when the comet moves 01F again to the regions of fpace, the tail, inftead of following it, as it did on its approach, is projected a vafl way before it, and (till keeps the body of the comet eKacYly oppofed betwixt it and the fun ; 'till by degrees, as the distance increafes, the length of the tail is diminifhed j the repulfion pro- bably becoming weaker and weaker. It has likewifebeen obferved, that the length of thefe fails are commonly in proportion to the proximity of the comet to the fun. That of 1 680 threw out a train that would almoft have reached from the fun to the earth. If this had been attracted by the fun, would it not have fallen upon his body ? When the comet at that time was r.ot one fourth of his diameter diftant from him ; but ir.'iead of this, it was darted away to the oppofite fide . :he heavens, even with a greater velocity than that of the comet itfelf. Now what can this be owing to, if not to a repuliive power in the fun, orhisatmofphere ? And," indeed, it would at firft appear but little lefs abfurd to fay, that the tail o£ the comet is all this time violently attracted by the fun, although it be driven away in an oppefite direction from him, as to fay the fame of the comet itfelf. It is true, this repulfion feems ?o begin much fooner to affect the tail, than the body of the comet ; which is fuppofed always to pafs the fun before it begins to fly away from him, which is by no means the cafe with the tail. The repulfive force, Therefore (if there is any fuch) is in a much lefs propor- tion than the attractive one, and probably juft only enough to counterbalance the latter, when thefe bodies are in their perihelions, and to turn them fo much afidc, as to prevent their falling into the body of the fun. The projectile force they have acquired will then carry them out to the heavens, and repuliion probably diminifh- ing SICILY AND MALTA. ing as they recede from the fun's atmofphere, his attrac- tion will again take place, and retardjtheir motion reg- ularly, 'till they arrive at their aphelia, when they cnce more begin to return to him. I don't know how you will like all this : Our comet has led me a dance I very little thought of ; and I believe I mould have done better to fend it at once into the fun, and had done with it : And that, indeed I am apt to believe, will be its fate. For as this comet has no tail, there is, of confequence, no apparent repulfion. If it was repelled, its atmofphere like the others, would be driven away in the oppoiite direction from the fun ; I therefore do not fee any poffible method it has of efcap- Thefc comets are certainly bodies of a very different nature From thofc with tails, to which indeed they ap- pear even to bear a much lefs refemblance than they do to planets : And it is no fmali proof of the little progrefs we have made in the knowledge of the univerfe, that they have not as yet been diftinguifhed by a different name. This is the ^lird kind of body that has been discover- ed in our fyfte:n, that all appear ciTentially different from each other, that are probably regulated by different laws, and intended for very different purpofts. How much will pofteritybe aftonifhed at our ignorance, and wonder that this fyftem, fhouldhave exilted for fo many thoufand years, before we were in the leaft acquainted with one half of it, or had even invented names to diftinguifh its different members ! I have no doubt, that in future ages, the number of the comets, the form of their orbits, and time of their revolutions, will be as clearly demonftratcd as that of the plaiets. It is our countryman, Dr. Halley, who has begun this great work, which may be confidered jufl • now 24S A TOUR THROUGH' cow as in its tallied infancy. Thefc bodies too, with thick: atmofpheres, but without tails, will likewife have their proper places afcertained, and will no longer be confounded with bodies to which they bear no refem- Llance or connection. Comets with tails have feldom been vifible, but on- tkeir recefs from the fun. It is he that kindles them up, and gives them that alarming appearance in the heavens. On the contrary, thofe without tails have feldom, per- haps never, been ;bferved, but on their approach to him. I don't recollect any whofe return has been tolera- bly wtll ascertained. 1 remember, indeed, a few years ago, a fmall one, that was faid to have been difcovetcd by a teiefcope, after it had pafled the fun, but nevermore became viable to the naked eye. Thisaflertion is eerily made, and nobody can contradict it ; but it does not at ail appear probable, that it mould have been fo much kfs luminous afrer it had pa (ltd the fun, than before it approached him ; and I will own to you, when I have heard that the return of thefe comets had efcaped the eyes of the molt acute aftronoruers, I have been tempted to think, that they did not rcturo at all, but were ab- fojbed in the body of the fun, which their violent mo- tion towards him feemed to indicate. Indeed, I have often wifhed tharthis difcovery might be made, as it would in fome meafure account for what has as yet been looked fepoo unaccountable : That the fun, notwithftanding his daily waiie, from enlightening the univerfe, never appeari diminished either in uze or light. . Surely this v/afte muft be immenfe, and were there »ot in nature fome hidden r.rovifion for {applying it, in the fpace of fix thoufand > ears, fuppofmg the world to be no olJer, the planets muft have got to a much greater diilance from hii bod}-, by the vail diminiuio* of nis attraction ; they mult like- wife have moved much flower, and confequently the length of our year muft have been greatly increafed. Nothing of all thift teems to be the cafe : The diameter cf .the fun is tht fame that ever ir was : He neither ap- pears SICILY AND MALTA. 249 pears diminifhed, nor our diftance from him increafed : His light, heat, and attraction feem to be the fame as ever ; and the motion of the planets round him is per- formed in the fame time ; of confequence, his quantity of matter fall continues the fame. How then is this vaft wafte fupplied ? May there not be millions of bodies attracted by him, from the boundlefs regions of fpace, that are never perceived by us ? Comets, on their road to him, have feveral times been accidentally difcovered by telefcopes, that were never feen by the naked eye* In- deed the number of black fpots on the fun feem to indicate that there is always a quantity of matter there, only in a preparation to give light, but not yet refined and pure enough to throw off rays like the reft of his body. For I think we can hardly conceive, that any matter can remain long on the body of the fun without becoming luminous ; and fo we find thefe fpots often difappear» that is to fay, the matter of which they are competed i» then perfectly melted, and has acquired the fame degree of heat and light as the reft of his body. Even in oue glais-houfes, and other very hot furnaces, moil forts of matter very foon acquire the fame colour and appearance as the matter in fufion, and emit rays of light like if. But how much more muft this be the cafe at the furface of the fun ! when Newton computes, that even at many thou fan d miles diilance from it, a body would acquire a degree of heat two thoufand times greater than that of red hot iron. It has generally been underftood, that he faid the great comet really did acquire this degree of heat ; but this is certainly a miftake : Sir Ifaac's ex- preilion, to the belt of my remembrance, is, that it might have acquired it. And if we coniider the very great fue of that body, and the fhort time of its peri- helion, the thing will appear impollible : Nor indeed do I think we can conceive, that a body, only as large as our earth, and the fpots on the fun are often much larger, could be reduced to fufion even on his furface, but after a very confiderable fpace of time. Nov* 25a A TOUR THROUGH Now as it fccms to be univerfally fuppofed, that the rays of light are really particles of matter, proceeding from the body of the fun, I think it is abfolutely necef- fary that we mould fall upon fome fuch method of fending him back a fuppiy of thofe rays, otherwife, let his (lock be ever fo great, it muft at laft .be ex- haufted. I wifh aftronomers would obferve whether the fpots on the fun are not increafed after the appearing of thefe comets ; and whether thefe fpots do not difappear again by degrees, like a body that is gradually melted down in a furnace. But there is another confide ration too, which naturally occurs : Pray what becomes of all this vafl quantity of matter after it is reduced to light ? Is it ever collected again into folid bodies ; or is it for ever loft and diiiipated, after it has made its journey from the fun to the objeft it illuminates ? It is fome- wliat ftrange, that of all that immenfe quantity of mat- ter poured down on us during the day, that pervades and fills the whole univerfe ; the moment we are deprived of the luminous body, the whole of it, in an inftant,, feems to be annihilated : In fhort, there are a number of difficulties attending the common received doctrine of -light ; nor do I think there is any point in natural philofophy the folution of which is lefs fatisfadlory. If we fuppofe every ray to be ftreams of particles of mat- ter, darting from the luminous body, how can we con- ceive that thefe ftreams may be interfered and pierced by other ftreams of the fame matter ten thoufand differ- ent ways, without caufmg the leaft: confufion either to The one or the other ? For in a clear night we fee diftinclly any particular ftar that we look at, although the rays coming from that ftar to our eye is pierced for million* of miles before it reaches us by millions of ftreams of the fame rays, from every other fun a id ftar in the univerfe. Now fuppofe, in any other matter that: we know of, and one would imagine there ought at leaft to be fome fort of analogy ; fuppofe, I fay, we mould only SICILY AND MALTA. ifcjl ©nly attempt to make two ftreama pafs one another ; "water, for inftance, or air, one of the pureft and the moft fluid fubftances we are acquainted with, we find it totally impoflible. The two ftreams will mutually in- terrupt and incommode one another, and the ftrongeft will ever carry off the weakeft into its own direction ; but if a ftream of light is hit by ten thoufand other ftreams, moving at the rate of ten millions of miles in a minute, it is not even bent by the impreffion, nor in the fmalleft degree diverted from its courfe ; but reaches us with the fame precifioii and regularity, as if nothing had in- terfered with it. Befides, on the fuppofition that light is real particles of matter moving from the fun to the earth, in the fpace of feven minutes, how comes it to pafs, that with all this wonderful velocity, there feems to be no momentum ! for it communicates motion to no body that obftrucls its paflage, and no body whatever is removed by the pe reunion. Suppofing we had never heard of this difcovery, and were at once to be told of a current of matter flying at the rate ot ten millions of miles in a minute, and fo large as to cover one half of our globe, would we not imagine that the earth muft inftantly be torn to pieces by it, or carried off with the moft incredible velocity ! it will be objected, that the extreme minutenefs of the particles of light prevents it from having any fuch effect ; but as thefe particles are in fuch quantity, and fo clofe to each other as to cover the furface of every body that is oppofed to them, and entirely to fill up that vaft fpace betwixt the earth and the fun, this objection I mould think in a great meafure falls to the ground. The particles of air and of water are likewife extremely minute, and a fmall quantity of thefe will produce little or no effect, but increafe their number, and only give them the millionth part of the velocity that is afcribed to a ray of light, and no force whatever could be able to vvithftand them. Adieu. I have unwarily run myfelf into the very -deeps of philofophy; and find it rather difficult to ftrug- 2$l A TO IT* THROUGH gle out again. I afk your pardon, and promife, if j»f- fiWe, for the future, to fleer quite clear of them. 1 am fore, whatever this comet may be to the univerfe* it has been an ignis fatuus to me ; for it has led me ftrangely out of my road, and bewildered me amongft rock and quick fends, where I was like to flick fifty times. I have forgot whether or not you are a rigid New- tonian ; if you are, I believe I Lad better recant in time for fear of accidents. I know this is a very tender point ; and I have feen many of thofe gentlemen, who are good chriftians too, that can bear, with much more temper, to hear the divinity of our Saviour called in queftion than that of Sir Ifaac ; and look on a Cartefian or Ptolomean as a worfe fpecies of infidel than an atheift. • I remember when I was at college, to have feen a heretic to their doclrine of gravity, very fuddenly con- verted by being toiled in a blanket ; and another who denied the law of centripetal and centrifugal forces, foon brought to aflent, from having the demonftration made upon his fliouJders, by a fcone whirled at the end of a ftnng. Thcfe are powerful arguments, and it is difficult to withftand them. I cry you mercy. lam without reach of you at prefent, and you are heartily welcome to wreak your vengeance on my letter. i-ETTER SICILY AND MALTA. 2$$ LETTER XXVII. Palermo, July 6ih % MANY of the churches here are extremely rich and magnificent. The cathedral (or as they call it, Madre Chiefa,) is a venerable Gothic building, and of . a large fize j it is fupported within by eighty columns of oriental granite, and divided into a great number cf chapels, fome of which are extremely rich, particularly that of St. Rofolia, the patronefs of Palermo, who is held in greater veneration here, than all the perfons of the Trinity, and which is (till much more than even the Virgin Mary herfelf. The relics of the faint are pre- ferved in a large box of filver, curioufly wrought, and enriched with precious (tones. They perform mary miracles, and are looked upon as the greateft treafure of the city. They are efteemed the moft effectual reme- dy againfl the plague, and have often preferved them from that fatal diitemper. The faint gained fo much credit in favir.g them from the lafl plague of Meflina, although it was at two hundred miles diitance, that they have, out of gratitude, ereded a noble monument to her. St. Agatha did as much for Catania, but that city has not been fo generous to her. The other riches of this church confiil principally in feme bones of St. Peter, and a whole arm of St. John the Baptift. There is likewife a jaw bone of prodigious efficacy • and fottm. other bones of lefs note. It contains fome thin t fmaller confequence, which however, are not altogether without their merit. The monuments of their Normal Kings, feveral of whom lie buried here, arc of the finefc porphyry, fome of them near feven hundred years old, and yet of very tolerable workmar.fnip. Oppoflte to thefe, there is a tabernacle of lap^ylazuli. It is about fifteen feet high, and finely ornamented. . Some cf the prefents Y 2J4 A TOUR THROUGH prefents made to St. Rofclia, are by na means contempt- ible. A crofs of very largo brilliants, from the king of Spiin, is, I think, the molt confide rable. The Sachriftie too is very rich ; there are fome robes embroidered with oriental pearl, that are near four hundred years old, and yet look as frelh as if done yefterday. The Jefuits' church is equal in magnificence to any thing I have feen in Italy. The genius of thofe fathers appears ftrong in all their works ; one is never at a lofs to find them out. They have been grofsly calumniated ; for they certainly had lefs hypecrify than any other or- der of monks. The Chiefa del Palazzo is entirely encrufted over with ancient mosaic ; and the vaulted roof too is all of the fame. Cut it is endlefs to talk of churches. Here are upwards of three hundred. That of Monreale, about five miles diitant from this city, is the next in dignity jn the ifland, after ihe cathedral of Palermo. It is near- ly of the fame fuc, and the whole is encruited with mofaic, at an incredible expenfe. Here are liktwife feveral porphyry and marble monuments of the firlr. kings ot Sicily. This cathedral was built by King William the GcoJ, whofe memory is (till held in great veneration amongft the Sicilian!. §The archbifhop of Monreale, is already looked upon sa faint, and indeed he deferves beatification better, I believe, than moft of thofe in the calendar. His in- come is very great, of which he referves to himfelf as much as procures him clothes, and the fimpleft kind of food ; all the reft he devotes to charitable, picus, and public ufes. He even feems to carry this too far, and denies him felt the Amnion gratifications of liie ; fuch as fleeping or. a bed ; a piece of luxury he is faid never lo indulge kimfeJf in, but lies every night on draw. He SICILY AMD MALTA. 255 He is, as you may believe, adored by the people, who crowd in his way as he palTes, to receive his bene dic- tion ; which they aliedge is even of more foverrrign efficacy than that of the pope. A.id indeed fo it is, for he never fees an ooject in diftrefs, bar he is furc to re- lieve him ; not trailing alone to the fpiritual efficacy of the blefling,but always accompanying it with fomething folid and temporal ; and perhaps this accompaniment is not eftcemed the word part of it. The to*n and coun- try round M'^nreale arc greatly indebted to his liberality, and in every corner exhibit marks of his munificence. He has juft naw made a prefent to the cathedral of a magnificent altar ; only libuur one half of which is fin- ifhed. It is of maflive filver, exqaifitely wrought, reprefenting in high relief, forne of the principal (lories in the bible, and, I think, will be one of the fineft in the world. But wha: is if much greater utility, he has at his own expenfe made a noble walk the whole way from this city to Monrcale, which was formerly of rerf* difficult accefs, as it (lands near the top of a pretty high mountain. The walk is cut with a great deal ol judg- ment on the fide of this mountain, and winds by eaf/ zig-zags to the top of it. It is adorned with fevcral elegant fountains of water, and is bordered on each fide with a variety of flowering (hrubo. The valhy at the /opt of the mountain is rich and beautiful. It appears on flkttinued orange garden for mmy miles, and ex- hibitl an elegant piece of fcej ery ; per fuming the air at the fame tim: with the moll delicious odours. We were (o pleafcd with this little expedition, that notwithstand- ing themeat of the feaHon, we could not keep in our carriage, but walked alaioll the whole of it. The city of Palermo for thefe ten days paft has been wholly occupied in preparing for the great feat* of St. Kofolia. And if the Iho v is in any degree adequate to the cxpenfe and trouble it cods them, it uiuft indeed be a very noble one. They ar_* crciiing an incredible number of arc'is* and pyramids for the illuminations. They 256 A TOUR THROUGH They are of wood ; painted and adorned with artificial flowers. Thefe, they tell us, are to be entirely covered over with fmall lamps ; fo that when feen at a little distance, they appear like fo many pyramids and arches of flame. The whole Marino, and the two great (beets that divide the city, are to be illuminated in this mag- nificent manner. The number of pyramids' aad: arches prepared for thefc illuminations, we are told, exceeds, two thoufand. They are erected on each fide of the ftreet, betwixt the foot path and the pavement, and run in two right lines exactly parallel from end to end. Each of thefe lines is a mile in length, which makes four miles for the whole. The four gates are the villas to thefe four ftreets, and are to be highly decorated and ' illuminated. From the fquare in the centre of the city, rhe whole of this vaft illumination can be feen ^once ; and they afiure us the grandeur of it exceeds all belief. "^Jhc whole of the Marino is to bedreffed cut in the fame manner ; and for thefe three weeks paft, they have been employed in erecting two great theatres lor fireworks. One of thefe fronts the viceroy's palace, and is almoli' equal to it in fize. The other is laid on piles driven in the fea, exa&ly oppofite to the great orcheftra in the centre of the Marino. Befides thefe, they are building an enormous 1 engine, which they call St. RofaJia's tri, umphal car. From the fizfc of it 1 , one would irm it were for ever to remain in the fpot where it is ed ; but they aflure us, it is to be drawn in tri through the city. It is indeed mounted upon wl but it does not appear that any force whateyer^an bq able to turn them. I own my curiofity increafes every day to fee this fmgular exhibition. The car is already higher than moit houfes in Palermo, and they are ftill adding to its height. But the part ©f the (how they value themfelves the moll on, is the illumination of the great church ; this they affirm is fuperior to any thing in the world ; the illumination of St, Peter's itfelf not excepted. The preparations a s tn- W v heels, SICrLY AND MALTA. 2J7 preparations for it, are indeed amazing. Theft were bogun about a month ago, an J will not be finiihed till towards rhe hut days of the feait. The whole of the cathedral, both roof and walls, is entirely covered over \ n'rrou -, intermixed with grid and Clver pap*r, an- 1 an infinite variety cf artificial fljwers. A!l thefc are arranged and difpofed, in my opinion, with great tiSe anl elegance ; none of them predominate, but they are intermingled every where in a ju.l proportion. Every altar, chapel, an! column, are finifhed in the fame manner, which takes off from the lit tie nets of the particular ornaments, and give*, an air of granleur ani uniformity to the wh Ae. The roof is hung with in- numerable I u. Ires filled with wax candies, and I am per- f jaded, 'when the whole is lighted up, it muil be equal to any palace either in the Fairy Tales or the Arabian Nights Entertainment, Indeed it fee ins pretty much in the fane ftyle too, for all is gold, filver, and precious ft -As. The faints are drefied out in all their glory, and the fairy queen herfelf .was never finer than is St. Rofolia. The people are laying yonder in crowds be- fore her, praying with all their mi^ht. I dare fay, for cne petition off;r*d to God Almighty, (he has at Icafl an hundred. W< were juft nr.v remarking, with how little refpecl t\\zy pafs the chapels dedicated to God ; they hardly deign to give a little inclination of the head ; but when they com- near thofe of their favourite faints, they bow .e weather fince we came to Palermo. The baromT-.r has continued conftantly within a line or two i fame point, 29}; and the Iky has been always cJ except the day of the firocc and the 26th of June, we had a pretty fmart mower of rain for two hours ; fa that I think I have nothing farther to do, but to mark the heights of the therinometr June \tiir. 1 ; 1 i '9 20 21 22 *3 2 4 H 26 27 28 ; 5 • 7*1 ft Si June 268 A TOUR THROUGH Thermomoist*. June 30 ?8i Jul/ i - 79 - - 80 3 8o| 4 At oar new lodgings on the fea fide, fronting the north, 74 I'--- " 73- 7 - - - 72f &. The firocc wind, 1 1 a In the afternoon, 82 q - - - 79* io 78 The more I confiJer the extreme violence of this $eat, the more I am furprifed that we were able to bear k with fo litrle inconvenience. We did not even feel • that depreffion of fpirits that commonly attends very- great heats with ns. The thermometer rofe 40 degrees cr very near it ; anJ.it happens flngularly enough, that before the firccc began, it flood juft about 40 degrees •above the point of congelation ; fo that in the morning of the 8th of July, the heat incrcafed as mu^h, almoit. initaataneoufly, as it generally does during the whole lime that the fun moves from tropic to tropic ; for the difference of 72 and 112, is the fame as between the jreezing point and 72 ; or between a cold day in win- tej an.d a warm, one in fummer. Yefterday we had a great entertainment in. the palace of the Prince Partana, from the balcony of which the viceroy reviewed a regiment of Swifs, the beft I have vet feen in the Neapolitan fervice. They are really a fine-' body of men, and notwithstanding the violence of the heat, went through their motions with great fpirit. They had two field pieces on each flank, which were ex^emely well ferved ; and the evolutions were per- •i with more nrecifion a>id fteadinefs than one gen- eral lr S I C I h V A N & M A L T A. It) 9 erally ms'ts with, except in England or German)'. The grenadiers were lurnihei wixH fdfe ^ren;ules, which produced every effect of real ones, except that of doing mifchief. TTfte throwing of thefe wjj the part of the entertainment that feemed to plcafe the molt ; arid the grenadiers took, care to direct the.n to that their efteclk fhould not he loft. When a number of them fell together amongft a thick crowd of |Us nobility, which was commonly the cafe, it a forded an entertain- ing fcene enough, for they defen led themielvcs with their hats, and threw them very dext • i ap-Mi their neighbours. However we law no damage done, ex- cept the iinging of a few wigs and caps ; for the laiies were there in as great numbers as the gentlemen. The company at the Prince Partana's wa$ brilliant, and the entertainment noble. It confilted principally of ices, creams, chocolate, fweetmeats, and fruits, of which there were a great variety. Not one half of the company played at cards ; the reft amufed thernfelves in conversation and walking on the terrace. V7e found the young Prince and Princefs, who are very amiable, with feveral of their companions, playing at crofspur- pofes, and other games of that kind. We were jo} fully admitted of this cheerful little circle, where we amufed ourfelves very well for fev^ral hours. I only mention this, to mow you the different i'ydein of behiviour here and in Italy, where no fuch familiar intercourfe is al- lowed amongft young people before marriage. The young ladies here are eafy, affable, and unaffected ; and not (as on the continent) perpetually (tuck up bv the fides of their morhcrs, who bring them into company, not for their amufement, but rather to offer them for fale : and feem mightily afraid led every one fhould fteal the.ii, or that they themfelves mould make an elopement ; which indeed I fhould think there wasibme danger of, confide ring the reftraint under which they are kept : For fure.y there is no fuch ftrong incitement to rice, as the making a puniftiment of virtue* £ 2 Here ! ZJO A TOUR THROUGH Here the mothers fnow a proper confidence in their daughters, and allow their real characters to form and to ripen. In the other cafe they have cither no char- acter at all, or an affe&ed one, which they take care to thxaw off the moment they hare got a hufbani ; when they think it impoflible to recede too tar from thofe rigourous maxims of decorum and circurafpeftion, the practice or which they had ever found io extremely dif- ■,i£ re tabic. Were they allowed firil to Ihow what they really are, _ r am perfuadedthey would not be half fobad; but their parents, by the manner they treat them, fhovr that the/ Uave no confidence in their principles ; and fetm to kaye adopted the ungenerous maxim oi our countryman, " That every woman is at heart a rake/' Now in countries where this maxim becomes of gen- -ral belief, there is no doubt that it likewife becomes ;rue ; for the women having no longer any character to )Tt, they will even avoid the pretences to virtue, vejl knowing that thole pretences are only looked upon as hypoClify and affeclation. 1 dare fay you will agree with mi, tna: the better method to make them virtuous is firft to make £hem believe that we think them fo • for where virtue is »"- a ^7 cfteemed, there are none that would willingly rclinqu. :m the character ; but where it requires a guard, (as Parfo^ Ad3 ™ %'J il eertain1 / is not worth the centinel. Seme of the families here put me h» min 4 of . ou r do- tnefric fyftem. The prince of Rcfutta**, Iiis w i&> and daughter, are always together ; but it is be£aufe they thoofeto be fo, and there appear-, the ftrongeft afleftioa without the leaft diffidence on the one fide, or rclt/aint en the other. The young princefs, Donna Rofolia, :s cne of the moft amiable young'ladies I have feea ; ilae was of our little party laft night, and indeed made one of ;:s greateft ornaments. It would appear vain an \ partial SICILY AND MALTA. 27 1 partial after this, to fay that in countenance, fentimcnt, and bshaviour, (he feems altogether Engliih ; but it is true : And this perhaps may have contributed to advance her ftili higher in our elteem ; for in fpite of all our philofophy thefe unphilofophical prejudices will ftill ex- ift, and no man, I believe, has entirely divefted hirafelf of them. We had lately a noble entertainment at her father's country houfe, and had reafon to be much pleaf- ed\vith the unaffected hofpitality and eafy politenefs of the whole family. This palace is reckoned the moil magnificent in the neighbourhood of Palermo. It lies about fix or fevcn miles to the weft of the city, in the country called II Colle ; in the cppofite direction from the Bagari3, which I have already- mentioned. The viceroy and his family, with the greateftpart of the no- bility, were of this party, which lafted till about two in the morning. At midnight a curious fet of fire works were played off, from threads of thcpalaee, which had a fine effect from the garden below, Farewell* I hsd no time to write yelterday, and though we did not break up till near three this morning, I have got up at eight, 1 was fo eager to give you fome account of the firocc wind. We are now going to be very bufy : The feaft of Sf. Rofolia begins tomorrow ; and all the world are oa the very tiptoe of expectation : Perhaps thty may be difappointed. I often with that you were with us, par- ticularly when we are happy : Though you know that it is by no means feaits and fhows that make us fo. However, as this is perhaps the mod remarkable one in Europe, tint you may enjoy as much of it as poflible, I (hall fit down every night, and give you a fhort account of the tranfactions of the day. We are now going to breakfast ; after which we are engaged to play at Ballon, an exercife, I fuppofe, you are well acquainted with ; bat as the day promiies to be extremely hot, I believe I fhall defert the party and go a fwiraming. But I fee 272 A TOUR THROUGH F. and G. have already attacked the figs and peaches* £0 I rauft appear for my intereft- Farewell. LETTER XXX. Palermo, July 12 tb, \ BOUT five in the afternoon, the feftival began jlV. by the triumph of St. Rofolia who was drawn with great pomp through the centre of the city, from the Marino to the Porto Nuovo. The triumphal car was preceded by a troop of horfe, with trumpets and kettle Jrums ; and all the city officers in their gala uni- forms. It is indeed a moifc enormous machine : It meafurcs feventy feet longi thirty wide, and upwards of eighty high j and as it patted along, overtopped the lottieft houfes of Palermo. The form of its under part is like that of the Roman gaflies, but it fwells as it ad- vances in height ; and the front afiumes an oval mape, like an amphitheatre, with feats placed in the theatrical manner. This is the great orcheftra, which was filled with a numerous band of mufkians placed in rows, one above the other: Over this orcheftra and a little behind it, there is a large dome, fupporttd by fix Corinthian columns, and adorned with a number of figures of faints and angels ; and on the fummit of the dome there is a gigantic filver ftatue of St. Rofolia. The whole ma- chine isdrefled out with orange trees, flower pors, and trees of artificial coral. The car ftopped every fifty or fixty yards, when the orcheftra performed a piece of mafic, with fongs in honour of the faint. It appeared a moving cattle, and completely filled the great ftreet from fide to fide. This indeed was its greateft difad- vantage, for the fpace it had to move in, was in no wife proportioned to its fize, and the houfes feemed to dwin- dle SICILY AND MALTA. 273 die away to nothing as it pafied along. This vaft fab- ric was drawn by fifty fix huge mules, in two rows, cu- rioully caparifoned, and mounted by twenty eight pof- tillions, drefied in gold and filver fluffs, with great plumes of frftrich feathers in their hats. Every window and balcony, on both fides of the ftreefc, were full of well dreffed people and the car was followed by many thoufands of the lower fort. The triumph was finifhei in about three hours ; and wn fucceededby the beauti- ful illumination of the Marino. I believe I have already mentioned that there is a range of arches and pyramids extending from end to end of this noble walk : Thefe are painted and adorned with artificial flowers, and are entirely covered with lamps, placed fo very thick, that at a little diflance the whole appears fo many pyramids and arches of flame. The whole chain of this illumination wa3 about a mile in length, and indeed you can hardly conceive any thing more fplendid. There was no break or imperfection*, any where ; the night being f> ft ill that not a fiagle lamp was extinguished. Oppofite to the centre of this great line of light, there- was a magnificent pavillion erec~ted for the viceroy and his company, which confuted of the whole nobility of Palermo : And on the front of this, at fome little dif- tance in the fea, flood the great fire works, reprefenting the front of a palace, adorned with columns, arches* trophies, and every ornament of architecture. All the ehebecks, gallics, galliots and other fhipping, were rang- ed around this palace, and formed a kind of amphithea- tre in the fea, inclofing it in the centre. Thefe began the mow by a difchargc of the whole of their artillery, the found of which reechoed from the mountains, produced a very noble cfFecl ; they then played off a variety of water rockets, and bombs of a curious conftruftion, that ofcen burft below water. This continued for half an hour, when in an inftant, the whole of the palace was beautifully 274 A TOUR THROUGH beautifully illuminated. This was the fignal for the ihipping to ceafe, and appeared indeed like a piece of enchantment, as it was done altogether inftantaneouf- ly, and without the appearance of any agent. At the fame time the fountains that were reprefented in the court before the palace, began tofpout up fireiand^madearep- refentation of fome of the greatyV/ d'eaus of Verfailles and Marly. As fooa as thefe were extinguifhed, the court affumed the form of a great parterre ; adorned with a variety of palm trees of fire, interfperfed with or- ange trees, flower pots, vafes, and other ornaments. On the extinguifhing of thefe, the illumination ot the palace was likewife extinguished ; and the front brokt? out into the appearance of a variety of funs, ftars, and wheels of fire, which in a (hort time reduced it to a perfect ruin. And when all appeared finiihed, -there buril from the centre of the pile, a vaft explofion of two thoufand rocket6, bombs, ff.rpents, fquibs, and devils, which feemed to fill the wl{ole atmofphere ; the fait of thefe made terrible havoc amongft the clothes of the poor people who were not under cover, but afforded ad- mirable entertainment to the nobiiity who were. Dur- ing this exhibition we had a handfome entertainment of coffee, ices, and fweetmeats, with a variety of excel- lent wines, in the great pavillion in the centre of the Marino ; this was at the expenfe of the Duke of Caitel- lano, the praetor (or mayor) of the city. The principal nobility give thefe entertainments by turns every night during the feftival, and vie with each other in their magnificence. As foon a9 the fire works were finifhed, the viceroy went out to fea in a galley richly illuminated. We chofe to ftay on more, to fee the appearance it made at a diftance. It was rowed by feventy two oars, and indeed made one of the moft beautiful objects you can imagine ; flying with vaft velocity over the waters, as fmooth and as clear as glafs, which {hone round it like a flame, and reflected its fplendor on all fides. The cars SICILY AND MALTA. 27 j oars beat time to the French horns, clarionets, and trumpets, of which there was a numerous band on the prow. The day's entertainment was concluded by the Corfo, which began exactly at midnight, and iailed till two in the morning. ; The great ftreet was illuminated in the fame magnifi- cent manner as the Marino. The arches and pyramids were eretted at little diftances from each other, on both fides of the ftreet, betwixt the foot path and the fpace for carriages ; and when feen from either of the gates, ap- peared to be two continued lines of the brighteft flame. Indeed, thefe illuminations are fo very different, and {q much fuperior to any I have ever feen, that I find it difficult to give any tolerable idea of them. Two lines of coaches occupied the fpace betwixt thefe two lines of illumination. They were in the greateft gala \ and as they open from the middle, awd let down on each fide, the beauty of the ladies, the richnefs of their drefs, and brilliance of their jewels, were difplayed in the molt advantageous manner. This beautiful train moved flowly round and round for the fpace of two hours ; and every member of it feemed animated with a defire to pleafe. The company appeared all joy and exultation : Scarce two coaches paiT- ed without foir.e mutual acknowledgement of affedion or refpeel ; and the plea fu re that fparkled from every eye feemed to be refle&ed and communicated by a kind of fympathy through the whole. In fuch an afTembly, it was impoffible for the heart not to dilate and expand itfelf ; I own mine was often fo lull, that I could hardly find utierarce ; and I have feen a tragedy with lefs emotion than 1 did this icene of joy. I always thought thefe sifedions had been Grangers to pomp and parade; but here the univerfal Zj6 A TOUR THROUGH joy feemed really to fpring from the heart ; it brighten- ed up every countenance, aid fpoke afTcftion and friend- ihip from every face. No (lately air, no fupercilious look ; all appeared friends and equals. And fure I am, that the beauty of the ladies was not half fo much heightened either by their drefs or their jewels, as by that air of complacency and good humour with which it was animated. We were diftributed in different coaches amongft the nobility, which gave us a better opportunity cf making thefe obfervations. I will own to you, that I have never beheld a more delightful fight ; and if fuperftition oft- en produces fuch effecls, I fincerely wilh we had a lit- tle more of it amongft us. I could have thrown myfelf down before St. Rofolia, and bleffed her for making fo many people happy. We retired about two o'clock, but the variety of glittering feenes and gaudy objecls ftill vibrated before my eyes, and prevented me from fleeping ; however, I am almoft as much refrelhed as if I had j but I really believe four more fuch days will be too much for any of us. Indeed, I am fure that it is impofiible to keep it up, and it muft necetTarily flag. I think, from whet I can obferve, they have already exhaufted almoft one half of their preparations ; how they are to fupport the other four days, I own, J do not comprehend ; however, we. ftiall fee. I thought to have given you an account of every- thing at night, after it was over, but I find it impoflible ; the fpirits are too much diflipaled, and exhausted, and the imagination is too full .'of objects to be able to fep- arate them with any degree of regularity, i 11. all write you therefore regularly the morning follow-in; this fever of the fancy has had time to c< things appear as they really are. Adieu the. morrow. Here is a fine (bower, which will SICILY AND MALTA. 277 / * air, and fave the trouble of watering the Marino and the great ftreet, which is done regularly every mc i when there is no rain. The thermometer is at 73. 13th. I thought there would be a falling off. Yef- terday's entertainments were not fo fplendid as thofe cf the day before. They began by the hcrfe races. There were three races, and fix horfes flarredeach race. Tliefe were mounted by boys of about twelve years old, with- out either faddle 01 bridle, but only a fmali piece of cord, by way o: bit, in the horfe's mouth, which i: feems is fufficient to ftop them. The great fireet was the ccurfe ; and to this end it was covered with eaith to the depth of five or fix inches. The firing of a cannon at the Porto Felice was the fignal for flatting ; and the horfes feemed to underftand this, fur they ail fet ofrat once, full fpeed, and continued at their utmeft ftretch to trie Porto Nuovo, which was the winning pofl. It is exactly a mile, and they performed i* in a tifinuto and thirty five feconds, which, conficiering the fize of the horfes, (fcarte fourteen hands] we thought was very great. Thefejj arc generally Barbs, or a mixed breed, betwixt a Sicilian and Barb. The boys were gaudily drefled, and made a pretty appearance. We were fur- prifed to fee how well they ftuck on ; but indeed, I obferved they had generally laid faft hold of the mane. The moment before ftarting, the flrect appeared full of people ; nor did we conceive how the race conkl jjoffibly be performed. Otir furprife was increa fed when we faw the horfes run full fpeed at the very thickeft of this crowd, which did not begin to open, till they were slmoft clofe upon it. The people then opened, und fell Lack en each fide, by a regular uniform motion, from one end of the itreet to the ether. This lingular ma- noeuvre feemed to be performed without any buftle or csniufion, and tie moment the horfes were pall, they i.iileni. However, it deft roys a great rare A a 2/0 A TOUR THROUGH part of the pleafure of the race; for you cannot help being under apprehenfions for fuch a number of people, whom you every moment fee in imminent danger of Leing trod to death ; for this mult inevitably be their fate, were they only a fecond or two later in retiring. Thefe accidents, they allow, have often happened ; however, yefterdaj-, every body efcaped. The viclor was conduced along the ftreet in triumph, with his prize difplayed before him. This was a piece of white iilk embroidered and worked with gold. Thefe races I think are much fuperior to the common ftile of races in Italy, which are performed by horfes alone without riders ; but they are by no means to be compared to thofe in England. The great ftreet was illuminated in the fame manner as on the preceding night ; and the grand converfation ©f the nobles was held at the archbiftiop's palace, which was richly fitted up for the occafion. The gardens were finely illuminated ; and put me in mind of our Vauxhall. There were two orcheftras (one at each end) and two very good bands of mufic. The entertainment was fplendid, and the archbifhop ihewed attention and politenefs to every perfon of the company. About ten o'clock the great triumphal car marched back again in proceflion to the Marino. It was richly illuminated with large wax tapers, and made a molt formidable figure. Don Quixotte would have been .Very excufabie in taking it for an inchanted caille, moviftw through the air. We did not leave the arch- bilhop's till midnight, w'-.en the Ccrfo began, which wa.s precifely the fame in every refpeel as the night be- fore, and afforded us a delightful fcene. j.tth. SIC ILY AND MALTA. iff) 14th. Laft night the two great Greets and the four gates of the city that terminate them, were illuminate* 1 in the molt fplendid manner. Thefe ihects other in the centre of the city, where they fori tiful fquare, called La Piazza Ottangolare, from the eight angles they form. This fquare was richly orna- mented with tapeftry, ftatues, and artificial flowers ; and as the buildings which form its four fides are uni- form, and of a beautiful architecture, and at the fame time highly illuminated, it made a fine appearance. There are four orcheftras erecled in it ; and the bands of mufic are greater than I had any cone: this city could have produced. From the centre of this fquare you have a view c whole city of Palermo thus dreffed out in its glory indeed, the effect it produces furpaifes belief, 'i [ gates that form the villas to this i] 1. ly decorated, and lighted up in an elegant illuminations reprefenting a variety or trop arms of Spain, thofe of Naples, Sicily, i.ni 1 Palermo, with their guardian geniufes, &c. The conversation of the nobles was held r: roy's palace ; and the entertainment was illii n niricent than any of the former. 'I lie gi oppofite to the front of the palace began at ten o\ and ended at midnight ; after which wc went to th« Corfo, which laded, as ufual, till two i -'i n g. This part of the entertainment full pleafes us mo is indeed die coly part of it that readies ; and where this is not the cafe, a puppet mow is j u it *.-. as a coronation. Wc have now get accjiK.hucJ almoit every countenance ; and from that air of gooi and benignity that animates them, ani ms to be mutually reflected from one to the other, wc arc inclined to form the 010ft favourable opinion of the people. 2bO A TOUR THROUGH Our fireworks lad night were greater than thofe of the Marino, but their effect did not plcafe mefo much; the want of the Tea and the (hipping were two capital wants. y likewife reprefented the front of a palace, but of ater extent. It was illuminated too as the former, ar.il the whole conducted pretty much in the fame man- ner. We fa\v it to the greateft advantage from the bal- conies tf the ftate apartments, in the viceroy's palace, where we had an elegant concert ; but to the no fmall poirttment of the company, Gabrieli, the fineft finger, but the mod capricious mortal upon earth, did not choofe to perform. rcth. Three races, fix horfes each, as formerly. They called it very good fport. I cannot fay that lad- mired it. A poor creature was rode down, and I be- lieve killed ; and one of the boys had likewife a fall. The great affernbly of the nobility was held at the judice Monarchia'r, an officer of high truft and dignity. Here we had an entertainment in the fame ftiie as trie ethers, and a good concert. At eleven o'clock the viceroy, attended by the whole company, went on feet to vifit the fquare and the great church. We made a prodigious train $ for though the city was all a lamp of light, the fervants of the viceroy and nobility at- tended with wax flambeaux, to {hew us the way. As focn as the viceroy entered the fquare, the four orches- tras ftruck up a fymphony, and continued playing till he left it. The crowd around the church was very great, and without the prefence of the viceroy, it would have been impoflible for us to get in ; but his attendants foon cleared the paffages ; and at once entering the great gate, we beheld the moft fplendid fcenc in the world. The whole church appeared a flame of light ; which, reflect- ed from ten thoufand bright and mining furfaces cf di(rtrer.t colours and of different angles, yroduccd an effccl, : C I L Y AND MALTA. IS I cfFe«5t, which, I think, exceeds' all the enchantment I have ever read. Indeed, that human art could have deviled any thi I believe I have already mentioned that church, walls, roof, pillars, and pilafters wei red over with mirror, interfperfed with gold and filver paper, artificial flowers, &c. done up with tafte and elegance, fo that not one inch eith or plaiiter was to be feeii. Nov, form an ide2, ii can, of our great cathedrals drciTed. out irrtl and illuminated with twenty thouiand wax tapers, and }ou will have fome faint notion of this fplendid fcene. I own it did greatly exceed my expectations, although; from the deferiptions we had of it, they were r very high. When we recovered from our firft furprifc, which had produced, unknown to ourfelves, many ex- clamations of aftonifhment, I ebferved that all the eyes of the. nobility were fixed upon us ; and that the joyed exceedingly the amazement into which we were thrown. Indeed this fcene, in my opinion, greatly ex- ceeds all the reft of the- fhow. I have often heard the illumination of St. Peter's fpoken of as a wonderful fine thing : So indeed it is ; but it is certainly no more to be compared to this, than the planet Venus is to the Sun. The efretts indeed are of a different kind, and cannot well be compared together. This fcene was too glaring to bear any confiderable time ; and the heat occaftoned by the immenfe number of lights, foon became intolerable. I attempted to reckon thq number of luftres, and counted upwards of five hundred ; but my head became giddy, and I was obliged to give it up. They aifare us that the number of wax tapers is not lefs than twenty thoufand. There a>re eight and twenty altars, fourteen on each fide ; thefe are A a 2 25 2 A TOUR THROUGH are dreffed o'Jt with the utmofc magniacence ; and the great altar is ftill the moft fpiendid of all. When you think of the gaudy materials that com- pofe the lining of this church, it will be difficult to annex an idea of grandeur and majefty to it : At Icaft, fo it flruck me, when I was nrft told of it ; yet, I af- fure you, the elegant fimplicity and unity of the defign prevents this effed, and gives an air of dignity to the whole. It is on this part of the (how the people of Palermo value themklves moll ; they talk of all the reft as tri- fling in companion of this ; and indeed, I think it is probable, that there is nothing of the kind in the world that L equal to it. It is ftrange they' fhculd choofe to be at fo great an expenfe and trouble, for a ihow of a few iours only ; for they have already begun this morning, -to ftrip t\ e church of its gaudy drels, and I am told it WiU fiot be iinifned fcr ma?y weeks. Froii the church we went immediately to the Corfo, which concluded, as ufual, the entertainments of the day. 16th. Lad night we had the full illumination of all the ftreets. The adembly was held at the pj-setor's, where there was an elegant entertainment and a concert. Pacherotti, the fail man of the opera, di ft ingu tilled himfelf very much. I think he- is one of the moit agreeable fingers 1 ever heard ; and am perfuaticd, that in a few years, he will be very celebrated. Campanuc- ,«i, the fecond foprano, h, I think, preferable to mod that I have heard In Italy ; and ycu will the more eaftly believe this a when I inform you, that he is engaged for nex t winter, to be the 8rft finger in the great opera at Romo. Is it not ftrange, that the capital of all Italy ; aad, for the fine arts, (as it formerly was for anus) the capital of ?hc world, ihoulJ condefcead to choofe its tint, opera performer SICILY AND MALTA. 2§ J performer from amongft the fubalterns of a remote Sicilian ilage ? You will believe, that with two fuch fopranos as thefe, and Gabrieli for the firit, woman, the opera here will not be a defpicable one. It is to begin in a few days notwithstanding the extreme heat of the feafon ; Co fond are the people here of thefe entertainments. Their opera dancers are thofe you had lad year at London ; they are juft arrived, and the people are by no means pleafed with them. We faw them this morning at the rehearfal ; and, to their great furprife, addrefled them in Engliih. You cannot imagine how happy they were to fee us. Poot fouls ! I was delighted to hear with what warmth of gratitude and affection they fpoks of England. There is a mother and two daughters ; the youngefl pretty, but the eldeft,. the Sift dancer, ap- pears a fenfible, mo. left, weil-behaved girl ; more fo than is common with thefe fort of people. Speaking of England, ihe fakl, with a degree of warmth, that her good"reatment in general could hardly infpire, that in her life (he never left any country- with fo fore a heart ; and had ihe only enjoyed her health, all the world ihould never have torn her away from if. She feemed affected when (he faid this. I acknowledge the honour (he did the Englim nation ; but alledged that the fenti- ments, and the manner in which they were uttered, could fcarcely proceed from a. general love of the coun- try. She anfwered me with a fmile-, but at the fame time I could obferve the tear in her eye. At that in- ftant we were interrupted ; however, I (hall endeavour, if poflible, to learn her (lory ; for I am perfuaded there is one : Perhaps you may know it, as I dare fay it is no fecrct in London. But I have got quite away from my fubjeel, and had forgot that I fat down to give you an account of the feait. Indeed I will own, it is a kind of fubjeft I by no '2 8 4- A TOUR THROUGH no means like to write upon ; I almofl repent that I had tfndertaken it, and am heartily glad it is now over. It does very well to fee mows ; bat their defcription is of all things on earth the rnoft infipid : For words and writing convey ideas only by a flow and regular kind c.i: progreis ; and while we gain one, we generally -another, fo that the fancy ieklom embraces the whole ; but when a thoufand objects ftrike ycu at once^ the im- agination is liiicd and farisfied. The great procefTion that clofes the feftival began at ten o'clock.' It only differed from other procerus in this, that befides all the priefts, friars, and religious or- ders of the city, there were placed at equal clithmces from each other tea lofty machines made of wood and palteboard, ornamented in an elegant manner reprcfent- ing temples, tabernacles, and a variety of beai pieces of architecture. Thefe are furniihed by the dif- ferent convents and religious fraterr ides, who vie each orher in the richuefs and elegance of the * Some of them are not Iefs than fixty feet high. ^I'hey are filled with figures of faints asd of angels, mil wax, fo natural and fo admirably well painted, that many of them feemed really to be alive. All thefe figures are prepare! by the nuns, and by them dreiied out in rial robes of gold and filver tiffue. V/e were a good deal amufed this morning to fee then* returning home in coaches to their refpective nurms At firlt we took them for ladies in their gala drefs, going out to vifit the churches, wich we were told was the cuftom, and began to pull off our hats as they went pail. Indeed, we were led into this blunder by fome of our friends, who carried us cut on purpofe ; and as they faw the coaches approach, told us, This is the Princefs of iuch a thing ; there is the Duchefs of fueh another thing ; and, in fhort, we had made half a dozen of our be.ft bows, (to the no fmall entertainment of thefe wags) before we discovered the trick. They now infift upon it, SICILY AND WALTA. 2$5 it, that we ars good Catholics, for all this morning we had been bowing to faints and angels. A great fiiver box, containing the bones of St. Ro- foUa, clofed the proceffion. It was carried by thirty fix of the mod refpedable burgeffes of the city, who look upon this as the greateft honour. The archbimop walked behind it, giving his benediction to the people as he paired. No fooner had the proceffion finimed the tour of the great fquare before the praetor's palace, than the fountain in the centre, one of the largeft and fineft in Europe, was converted into a fountain of fire ; throwing it up on all fides, and making a beautiful appearance. It only lafted for a few minutes, and was extinguished by *a vaft exploiion, which concluded th< whole. As this was altogether unexpected, it produced a fiae effect, and" furprifed the fpc&atcrs more than any of the great fireworks had done. There was a mutual and friendly congratulation raa througk the whole anembly, which foon after parted ; and this morning every thing has once more reaffumed i?s natural form ard order ; and I aflure you, we were not more happy at the opening of the feftival, than w©. are no-.v at its concluiion. Every body was fatigued and exhaufted by the perpetual feafting, watching, and dif- fipation of thefe live days. However, upon the whole, we have been much delighted with ir, and may with truth pronounce, that the entertainments of the feaft of St. Rofolia are much beyond thofe of the holy week at Rome ; of the Afceniion at Venice ; or, indeed, any other feftival we have ever been witnefs of, I believe I did not tell you, that about ten or twelve days ago, as the time we had appointed for our rerurn to Naples was elapfed, we had hired a fmall vefiel, and provided every thing for pur departure ; We had even taken £36 A TOUR- THROUGH taken leave of the viceroy, and received our paffports. Our baggage and fea ftores were already on board, when we were fet upon by our friends, and foliated -with fo much earneftnefs and cordiality, to give them another fortnight, that we found it impoffible to refine it ; and in confequence difcharged our veffel, and fent for our trunks. J mould not have mentioned this, were it not to (hew you how much more attention is paid to Grangers here than in moil places on the continent. We reckon ourfelves much indebted to them for having obliged us to prolong our flay ; as, independent of the amufements of the feuival, we have met with fo much hofpitality and urbanity, that it is now with the moil lincere regret we find curfelves obliged to leave them. Indeed, had we brought our clothes and books from Naples, it is hard to fay how loeg we might have (layed. We have fent to engage a veflel, but probably (hall not fail for five or fix days. Adieu. LETTER XXXI. J. y a/ermo, July \§tk. WE have now had time to enquire a little fome of the antiquities of this ifland, and have found feveral people, particularly the pr'nee of Torre - muzzo, who have made this the great objeft of ; Rudy. However, I find we rauil wade through c- SICILY AND MALTA. 2$f of fiction, before we can arrive at any thing certain or fatisfaclory. Moft of the Sicilian authors agree in deriving their origin from Ham, or, as they call him, Cham, the fon of Noah, who, they pretend, is the fame with Saturn. They tell you that he built a great city, which from him was named Camefena. There have been violent difputes about the fituation of this city.: Berofo fup- pofes it to have ftood, where Camarina was afterwards founded, and that this was only a corruption of its primitive name. But Guarneri, Carrera, and, others, combat this opinion, and affirm, that Camefena ftood near the foot of iEtna, betwixt Aci and Catania, almoft oppofite to the three rocks that ftill bear the name of the Cyclops. Indeed Carrera mentions an infcription that he had feen in a ruin near Aci, fuppofed to have been the fepulchre of Acis, which he thinks puts his matter out of doubt. Thefe are his words : tf Ha=c eft «• infcriptio vetuftae cujufdam tabellas repertae in pyra- " mide fepulchii Acis, ex fragmentis vetuftiffimae Cham- " efenae, urbis hodie Acis, conditae a Cham, gigantum " principe, etiam noncupato Saturno, Chamefeno, in " promontorio Xiphonio, ubi adhuc hodie vifuntur folo u aequata antique veftigia, et ruime didtae urbis et arcis " in infula prope Scopulos Cyclopum, et retinet adhuc " fincopatum nomen 1 a Gazzena." This fame Cham they tell you was a very great fcoun- drel, and that efenus, which fignified infamous, was added to his name, only to denote his character. Faz- zello fays, he married his own fifter, who was called Rhea ; that Ceres was the fruit of his marriage ; that (he did not inherit the vices of her father, but reigned over Sicily with great wifdom and moderation. That \"i\e taught her fu ejects the method of making bread and trine, the materials for which their iiland produced ipentaneoufly in great abundance. That her daughter Proferpine was oi equal beauty and virtue with herfelf : Grius 1S8 A TOUR THROUGH Onus king of Epirus had demanded her in marriage, and on a refufal, carried her off by force ; which gave oc- cafion to the wild imagination of Greece to invent the fable of the rape of Proferpine by Pluto, king of hell, this Orius being of a morofe and gloomy difpofuion. Ceres has ever been the favourite deity of the Sicil- ians. She chofe her feat of empire in the centre of the ifland, on the top of a high hill called Enna, where fhe founded the city of that name. It is ftill a confiderable place, and is now called Caftragiovanni ; but little or nothing remain, of the ruins of Enna. Cicero gives a particular account of this place. He fays, from its fituaticn in the centre of the ifland, it was called Umbilicus Sici/ia-, and defcribes it as one of the moft beautiful and fertile fpots in the world. The temple of Ceres at Enna was. renowned all over the heathen world, and pilgrimages were made to it, as they are at prefent to Loretto. Fazzello fays, ir held in inch veneration, that when the city was furprifed and pillaged, by the flaves and barbarians, they did not prefume to touch this facred temple, although it con- tained mere riches than all the city befides. There have been violent difputes amongft the Sicil- ian authors, whether Proferpine was carried off near the city of Enna, or that of y£tna, which ftood at the foot of that mountain, but it is of mighty little corife- ouence, and more refjre«ft, I think, is to be paid to the fentiraents of Cicero, who f;ives. it in favour of I than the whole of them. D'.oiorus too is of opinion, and his defcription of this plac the very words as thofe of Cicero. They b as a perfect paradife j abounding in beautifv clear fprings ot rivulet-, and like iEtna, cove a varie:y of flowefs at all feafons of the }ear. author! SICILY AND MALTA. 2$^ authorities, if you pleafe, you may add that of Milton; who compares it to paradife itfelf. Nor that fair field Of Enna, where froferpine gathering flowers, Herfelf a fairer flower, by gloomy Dis Was gathered. Jf you want to have a fuller account of this place you will find it in Cicero's pleadings sgainft Verres, and in the fifth book of Diodorus. I have converted with feveral gentlemen who have been there ; they afifure me that it ftill anfvvers in a great rfteafure to the defcription of thefe authors. Medals, I am told, are ftill found, with an elegant figure of Ceres, and an ear of wheat for the reverfe ; but I have not been able ta procure any of them. There was another temple in Sicily not lefs celebrated than this one of Ceres. It was dedicated to Venus Erecina, and, like the other too, was built on the fum- rnit of a high mountain. The ancient name of this mountain was Eryx, or as the Sicilians call it Erice, but it is now called St. Juliano. Beth mountain and temole are often mentioned by the Greek and Latin hiftorians, and happily the Sicilian ones have no difpute about its Situation or origin, which they make to be almoft as ancient as that of Ceres. Diodorus fays that Dedalus, after his flight from Crete, was hofphably received here, and by .his wonderful (kill in architecture added greatly to the beauty of this temple. He enriched it with many fine pieces of fculpture, but particularly with the figure of a ram of fuch exquifite workmanfhip that it appeared to be alive. This, I think, is likewife men- tioned by Cicero. . cas too in his voyage from Troy to Italy, landed this part of the ifland, and according to Diodorus and 2$Q A TOUR THROUGH and Thueydides, made rich prefents to this temple ; but Virgii is not fatisfied with this ; he muft raife the piety of his hero ftill higher, and, in oppcfition to all the hiitorians, mr.kes iEneas the founder of the temple.* Its fame and glory continued to increafe for many ages ; and it was ftill held in greater veneration by the Romans, than it had been by the Greeks. Fazzello fays, and quotes the authority of Strabo, that feventeen cities of Sicily were laid under tribute, to raife a fumcient reve- nue to fupport the dignity, and enormous expenfes of this temple. Two hundred foldiers were appointed lor itt guard, and the number of its priefts, prieilefles, and min- ifters male and female, were incredible. At certain feafons of the year, great numbers of pigeons, which were fuppofed to be the attendants of Venus, ufed to pafs betwixt Africa and Italy ; and rett- ing for fome days on mount Eryx, and round this temple, it was then imagined by the people that the goddefs her- felf was there in perfon ; and on thefe cccafions, he fays, they worlhipped her with all their might. Fefti- vals were inftituted in honour of the deity, and the mod modefl woman was looked upon as a prude, that refufed to comply with the rites. However, there were not many complaints of this kind ; and it has been alledged, that the ladies of Eryx were iometimes feen looking cut for the pigeons long before they arrived ; and that they ufed to fcatter peas about the temple to make them ftay as long as poffibJe. Venus was fuccceded in her poiTe&ions of Eryx by St. Juliano, who now gives his name both to the city and mountain ; and indeed he has a very good title, for when the place was clcfely beiieged, the Sicilians tell you, * Turn vUina n/iris Erja?n it zcr;i:,> ftl\ fundatur Ver.er'i Ida *Uqu> f.cerhs Et lucus late facer aid'ifar V ra n*, di * of SICILY A!!D MALTA. 2 Jt you, he appeared on the walls armed cap-a-pie, and frightened the enemy to fuch a degree, that they in- flantly took to their heels, and left him ever fince in quiet pofTeflion of it. It would have been long before Venus and her pigeons could have done as much for them. Many medals are found in the neighbourhood, but rh*re is not the lead veftige of this celebrated temple. Some marbles with inferiptions and engravings that have been found deep below ground are almoft the only re- maining monuments of its exiftence. Suetonius fays, that it had even fallen to ruins beforo the time of Tibe- rius ; but as Venus was the favourite divinity of that Emperor, he had ordered it to be magnificently repair- ed ; however, it is fomewhat difficult to reconcile this with Strabo's account; who tells us, tbat tven before his time it had been totally abandoned ; and indeed this fecms mod probable, as every veftige of it haj \k>\v dis- appeared, which is not commonly the cafe with the great works of the age of Tiberius. iEneas landed at the port of Drepanum, at the foot of this mountain. Here he loft his father Anchifes ; in honour of whom, on his return from Carthage about a year after, he celebrated the games that make fo great a figure in the iEneid, "Vhich Virgil introduces with a good deal of addrefs as a compliment to the piety of Auguftus, who had inftituted games of the fame kind in honour of Julius Ciefar, his father by adoption. It is lingular, that Virgil's account of this part of Sicily mould be Co very different from that of Homer, when there was fo fhort a fpace, only a few months, be- tween the times that their two heroes vifited it. Indeed, Virgil fecms to have followed the hiftorians, in his con- duct of this part ot his poem, more than the fentiments of Homer ; who makes this very country where iEneas as fo hofpitably received* the habitation of Polyphe- mus iqi A TOUR THROUGH jtfus and the Cyclops, where UlyiTes loft fo many of hit- companions, and himfelf made fo very narrow an efcape. The ifland of Lioofia where he moored his fleet, lay- very near the port of Drepanum, and Homer defcribes the adventure of Polyphemus to have happened oh the ihore of Sicily, oppofue to that ifland. Virgil has taken the liberty to change the fcene of aclion, as he was better acquainted both with the geography and hiftory of the country than Homer ; and perhaps with a good deal of propriety places it at the foot of mount ./Etna. I am afraid there is not fo much propriety in changing the action itfelf, and contradicting the account that Homer gives of it. For Ulyffes fays that Polyphe- mus devoured four of his companions ; but that he, by his addrefs, faved all the reil, and was himfelf the lalt that efcaped out of the cave. Now Virgil makes Ulyf- fes to have told a lie, for he affirms that he left Ache- men ides behind him ; and Achemenides too gives a. dif- ferent account of this affair from Ulyfles : He allure* JSncas, that Polyphemus devoured only two of his com- panions ; after which they put out his eye, facuto te/o] with a fharp weapon ; which rather gives the idea of a fpear or javelin, rhan that of a great beam of wood made r?d hot in the fire, as Homer defcribes it. But there are many fuch pafiages. Don't you think they f:cm either to indicate a negligence in Virgil, or a want, of deference for his mailer ? Neither of which, I believe, lie has ever been accufed of. The Sicilian authors are by no means pleafed with Virgil for making ^Sneas the founder of this temple of Venus Erecina. They will only aliow that the colony which he was obliged to leave there, after the burning of his ihius, did, in honour of his mother Venus, build tbe city of Ervx around her temple..: But they all infill it, that the temple was built by Eryx, or as they ■ another fon of Venus, but much older .: fame that wss^found to be Co equal a match . S TC I L Y AND MALTA. 1% J match near the foot of this mountain. Thc.fpor, where this is foppofed to have happened, ftill retains the name oifilcampo di Hercde) the fields of Hercules. Through the whole fifth book of the ^Sneid, this Eryx is ftyled the brother of iEneas ; and, in his account of the games, Virgil introduces thofe very gauntlets with which he fought with Hercules, (in hoc tpfo littore) in this very field. The fight of which, from their enormous fize, aftoniOies the whole holt, and frightens the champion Dares fo much that he refufes to fight. Adieu. The opera begins in two clays ; after which T think, we (hall Toon take leave of Sicily. Ever yours. LETTER XXXII. Falerme, July 2ljf. Y r ESTERDA Y we walked up to the Monte Pelegrino to pay our refpefts to St. Rofolia, and thank her for the variety of entertainment (he afforded us. It is one of the mofl fatiguing expeditions I ever made in my life. The mountain is extremely high, and fo un- commonly fteep, that the road up to it is very properly termed in Sca/a, or the Stair : Before the difcovery of St. Rofolia, it was looked upon as almoft inacceffible, but they have now at a vaft expenfe cut out a road, over precipice? that were almoft perpendicular. We found the faint lying in her grotto, in the very fame attitude in which fhe is laid to have been difcovered ; her head reclining gently upon her hand, and a crucifix before her. This. 8t^ ^9f A TOUR TH.ROS/GH This is a ftatue of the finefb white marble, and of moft cxquiiite workmanmip. It is placet! in the inner part of the cavern, on the very fame fpot where St. kofolia expired. It is the figure of a lovely young girl of about fifteen, in an z€t of' devotion. The artiit has found means to throw fomething that is extremely touching, into tiie countenance and air or this beautiful ftatue. I never in ray life faw one that affected me fo much, and ami.. not furprifed that it mould have captivated the hearts of the people. It is covered with a robe of beaten gold, and is adorned with fome valuable jewels. The cave is of a confiderable extent, and extremely damp, fo that the poor little faint muft have had very cold uncomfortable quarters. They have built a church arcund it ; and appointed priefts to watch over thefe precious relics, and receive the offerings of pilgrims that vifit them. An infeription graved by the hand of St. Rofolia herfelf, was found in a cave in mount Qucfquina, at a confiderable diftance from this mountain. It is faid that me was difturbed in her retreat there, and had wandered from thence to mount Pelegrino, as a more retired and inacceifible place. I fhail copy it exactly, .as it is preferved in the poor little faint's own Latin. EGO ROSOUA sinibaldi oyisoyr- NE ET ROSARUM DOMINI F1LIA AMORE DEI MEI JESU CHR1STI IN HOC ANTRO'HABITA- RI DECREVI. After St. Rofolia was feared from the cave where this infeription was found, Ihe was never more heard of, till SICILY AND MALTA. till her bones were found about five hundred years afrer r in this fpor. The profpecl from the top of mount Pclegrino is beautiful and extenfive. Molt of the Lipari iflands are difcovered in a very clear day, and likewife a large por- tion of mount iEtna, although at the diitance of almoil the whole length of Sicily. The Bagaria too, and the Colle, covered over with a number of fine country houfes and gardens, make a beautiful appearance. The city of Palermo ftands within iefs than two miles of the foot of the mountain, and is feen to great advantage. Many people went to this mountain .during the time of the great illumination, from whence they pretend it has a fine effeci; but this unfortunately we neglecled. Near the middle of the mountain, and not far from, its -'ummit, there itlll ac-pears fame remains of a cele- brated cattle, the origin of which the Sicilian authors carry back to the mcit remote antiquity. Mafia fay*, it is fuppofed to have been built in the reign of Saturn immediately after the flooJ ; tcr in the time ^i the earlieit Carthagenian wars, it was already much reflect- ed on account of its venerable antiquity, ]t was then a place of ftrenoth, and is often mentioned by the Greek hiitorians. Diodorus fays, in his twenty third book, that Hamilcar kept poiTeflion of it for three year*, againli all the power of the Romans ; who, with an army of forty thouiand men, attempted in vain to dif- lodge him. The fituation of Palermo is feen, I think, to more advantage from the Monte Pelegrino than from any where elfe. This beautiful city itands near the extremi- ty of a kind of natural amphitheatre, formed by high and rocky mountains ; but the country that liesbetwixt pity and thefe mountains is one of the rieheit and nv>fc beautiful fpots in the world. The whole appears a magnificent garden, filled with fra'u tree? of every fpecies, 2£6 A f OUR THROUGH fpecics, anil watered by clear fountains and rivulets, . that form a variety of windings through this delightful plain. From the fingularity of this fituation, as well as from the richnefs of the foil, Palermo has had many flattering epithets beftowed upon it ; particularly by the poets, who have denominated it Conca d'Oro t The Golden Shell, which is at once exprefuve both of its fituation and richnefs. It has likewife been ftyled Aurea Valle, Hortus Sici/i^ f C5V. and to include all thefe together, the lailing term of Felix has been added t® its name, by which you will find itdiftinguifhedeven . in the maps. Many of the etymologifts ailed ge, that it is from the - richnefs of this valley that it had its original name oF PanormttSi which, in the old Greek, language, they pretend, fignificd All a garden : -But others fay there i$ no occaiion for {training fignifications, and a,Tert, with more appearance of plaufibility, that it was called Poti- or mus, trom the fize and conveniency of its harbours ; . one of which is recorded anciently to have extended into the very centre of the city. And this is the ac- count Diodorus gives of it ; it was called . Panormus, lavs he, becaufe its harbour even penetrated to the very innermeft parts of the city. Panormus in the Greek language fignifying All a port : And Procopius, in his hiftory of the wars cf the Goths, afluresus, that in the time of Eelifarins, the port was deep enough for that general to run his (hips up to the very walls of the city, and give the aiTault from them. It is not nowfo well in- titled to this name as it was formerly. Thefe harbours have been almoft entirely deirroyed and filled up ; moft probably, IJthink, by the violent torrents from the moun- tains that furround it ; which are recorded fometimes to have laid wafte great part of the city. Fazzello fpeaksof an inundation or which he was an eye witnefs, that came down from the mountains with fuch fury, that fhey thought the city would have been entirely fwept away. He fays, it burft down the wall near to the r palace, SICILY AND MALTA. I97 palace, and bare away every thing that oppofed its paffage j churches, convents, houfes, to the number of two thoufand, and drowned upwards of three thoufand people. Now the fragments and ruins carried to thr iea by fueh a torrent alone would be fufficient to fill up a little harbour, fo that we are not to be furprifed, that thefe capacious ports, for which it had been fo much celebrated, no longer cxiit. Next to Chamefeno, Palermo is generally fuppcfed to be the moft ancient city in the ifland. Indeed, there (fill remain fome monuments that carry back its origin to the times of the moft remote antiquity. A bifhop of Lucera has wrote on this fubjecl. Ke is clearly of opinion, that Palermo was founded in the days ef the firit patriarchs. You will laugh at this j fo did I j but the bilbop does not go to work upon conjecture only ; he fupports his opinion with fuch proofs, as I own to you, fta?gered me a good deal. A Chaldean infcription was di (cove red abdut fix hundred years ago, on a block of white maFblo ; it was in the reign of "William II. who ordered it to be tranflated into Latin and Italian. The biinop (ays, there are many fragments in Palermo wirh broken inferipti^ in this language; and feemsto think it beyond a doubt, that the city was founded by the Chaldeans, in the vety early ages of the world. This is the literal translation :— - — if During the time that " Ifaac, the (on of Abraham, reigned in the valley of " Damafcus, and Efaa, the fon ot Ifaac, in Idumea, a> " great multitude ot Hebrews, accompanied by many " of the jfeopie of Damafcus, and many Phoenicians, (< coming into this triangular iiland, took up their " habitation in this moll beautiful place, to which they ' " gave. the name of Panormus.^ The bilhop tranflates another Chaldean infcription, which is indeed a great curiofity. It is ftill preferved, though not with that care that lo valuable a monument of antiquity deferves. It is placed over one of the old gates of the city, and when that gate falls to ruin, it will 29$ A TOUR THROUGH will probably be forever loft. The tranflation is in Latin, but I mall give it you in Engliih : ■" There " is no other God but one God. There is no other u power but this fame God. There is no other eon- " queror but this God whom we adore. The com- " mandcr of this tower is Saphu, the fon of Eliphar, " fon of Efau, brother of Jacob, fon of Jfaac, fon of " Abraham. The name of the tower is Baych, and the " name of the neighbouring tower is Pharat." Thefe two infcriptions feem to reflect a mutual light upon each other. Fazzello has preferved them both', and remarks upon this laft, that it appears evidently from it, that the tower of Baych was built antecedent to the time of Saphu, (or, as we tranflate it, Zephu) who is only mentioned as commander of the tower, but not as its founder. Part of the ruins of this tower Hill remain, and many more Chaldean infcriptions have been found amongft them, but fo broken and mangled, that little could be made of them. Fazzello is in great indignation at fome mafons he found demolilhing thefe precious relics, and complains bitterly of it to the fenate, whom he with jufticc upbraids for their negligdfcc and indiffer- ence. Converfing on this fubjeft t'other night with a gen- tleman who is well verfed in the antiquities oi this place, I took the liberty of objecting to the Greek etymology, Pan-ormus, it appearing extremely abfurd to give a Greek name to the city long before the ex- iftence of the Greek nation : I added, that I was a good deal furprifed Fazzello had not attempted to ac- count for this feeming abfurdity. He allowed the ap- parent validity of the obie&ion, and blamed Fazzclb for his negligence ; but ^Tured me, that Pan-ormus, or fomething very nearly of the fame found, fignified in the Chaldean language, and Jikewife in the Hebrew, a paradife, or delicious garden ; and that the Greeks probably finding it fo applicable, never thought of changing SICILY AN ALTA, *99 ♦hanging its name. Thi3 1 was in no capacity to con- tradict. He added too, that Panormus was likewife an Arabic word, and fignified '■This water ; which proba- bly was the realbn the Saracens did not change its name, as they have done that of almoft every thing •elfe ; as this is as applicable and as expreffive of the fituation of Palermo, as any of the other etymologies ; it being furrounded on all fides with beautiful fountains of the pureft -water, the natural confequence of the vicinity of the mountains. Pray (hew this letter to our friend Mr. Crofts, and defire his fenumenta on thefe etymologies and antiqui- ties. Tell him I have not forgot his commiffion, and fhail procure him all the oldeft and raoft unintelligible books in Palermo ; but I muft beg, for the repofe and tranquility of mankind, that he will not rcpublilh them. On thefe conditions, I fend him a moft valuable frag- ment : It is part of a Chaldean infeription that has been exactly copied from a block of white marble found ia the ruins or the tower Baych. I own I fhould Jike much to fee it tranilated : The people here have as yet made nothing of it : And we were in no capacity f affift them. M **r*\. 30© a toupIhrouch xdil ^ SICILY A JU? MAL X A. 10 1 ¥ Dn confulting the Bible, I find, that in car transla- tion, this Ton of Efau is called Eliphaz, and Fliphaz's fon, who was captain of this tower, Zepho. The varia- tion of the names you fee is but tripling. It is not im- probable that the other tower, Pharar, by a fmail van'a- tion of the fame kind, has been named from their couf- in, Pharez, the fon of Judah, who got the Itart of his brother Zarah. You will find the ftory at the end of the thirty-eighth chapter of Genefis. The thirty feventri chapter will give you fornc account of Eliphar; and Saphu : But I can find no etymology for the name of the tower Baych. 1 dare fay Mr. Crofts can tell you what it means. Pharez fignifies a brepch ; a very in- aufpicious name one would think for a tower. Adieu. The weather has become exceeding hot. The ther- mometer is 'at 80. Ever yours. TETTER XXXIII, Palermo, July z^th. IN the courfe of our acquaintance with {omc gentle- men of fenfe and obfervation in this place, we have learned many things concerning the ifland, that per- haps may be worthy of your attention ; and as this day is fo hot that I cannot £0 out, I fhall endeavour to re- collect fome of them, both .for your amufement and my own. The thermometer is up at 8iy. So you may judge of the fnuation of our northern confiitutions. There is one thing, however, that I have always obferved in thtfc fouthern climates j that although the degree C c 5 3^2 A TOUR ^KOUCH degree of heat Is much greater than with us, yet it 1$ not commonly attended with that weight and oppreflion of fpirits that generally accompany our fultry days in fummer. I am fire, that in fuch a day as this, in Eng- land, we ihould be panting for breath ; and no mortal would think either of reading or writing. That is not :fe here ; I never was in better Ipirits in my life : Indeed 1 believe the quantities of ice we eat may con- tribute a good deal towards it ; for I find, that in a very violent heat, there is no fuch cordial to the fpirits as ice, or a draught of ice-water : It is not only irom the cold it communicates, but, like the cold bath, from the fuddennefs of that communication, it braces the ftomach, and gives a new tone to the fibies. It is ftrange that this piece of luxury (in my opinion the grea^it of all, and perhaps the only healthy one) Ihould iliil be fo much neglected with us. I knew an Englifli lady at Nice, who in a Ihort time v,as cured of a threatening confumption, only by a tree indulgence in the ufe of ices ; and I am perfuaded, that in fkilful hands, few remedies would be more effectual in many of our flamach and inflammatory complaints, as hardly any thing has a ftronger or more immediate cfFect upon the whole frame ; and furely our administer- ing of warm drinks and potions in thefe complaints tend often to nourifh the difeafe. It is the common practice here, in inflammatory fevers, to give quantities of ice- water to drink ; nay, fu far have they carried it, that Dr. Sanghes, a celebrated Sicilian phyfician, covered ever the bread and belly of his patients with fnbw cr ice; and they affure us, in many cafes, with great fuccefs.-- But, indeed, I ought in juflice ro add, that this phyfi.- cian's practice has not been generally-adopted. I'crhaps it is from the prefent benefit I find from ice, that I have faid fo much in favour of it ; for I am fully perfuaded, that it I had not a quantity of it (landing here below the table, J fhcuid very focn be obliged to give SICILY AND MALTA. jOJ give up writing, and go to bed } but whenever I bsgin to flag, another glafs is lure to fee m<2 to right! again. I was going to give you {brae account of the thherie* of this ifland. The catching of the tunny-fifh. conftitutes one of the principal Sicilian, amufements during the furamer months; and the curing and lending them to foreign markets makes one of the greateit branches of their commerce. We were invited yeilerday by the Prince Sperlinga to a party of tunny-nlhing ; but the violence of the heat prevented it. Thefe fi(h do not make their appearance in the Sicil- ian fcas till towards the latter end of May ; at which time the To/tnares, as they call them, are prepared for their reception. This is a kind of aquatic caftlc, formed, at a great expenfe, of ftrong nets, faaieneu to the bottom of the fea by anchors and heavy leader weights. Thefc tonnaros are erected in the paiTages amongfi the rocks and iflands that are moft frequented by the tunny-fifh. They take care to fhut up wii.ii nets tiic entry into thefe paiT.iges, all but one little opening, which is called the outward gate of the tonnaro. This leads into the firit apartment, or as they call it, the hail. As loon as the fifli have got into the hail, rhe fifhermen, who- {land centry in their boats during the feafon, fhut the outer door, which is no more than letting down a fmall piece of net, which effectually prevents the tunny from returning by the way they came. They then open the inner door of the hall, which leads to the feeond apartment, which they call the anii-chainhct , I by making a noife on the fur face cf the water, lis., foon drive the tunny-run. kto it. As fuol . e have got into the an:!- clumber, ti^ i J04 A TOUR THROUGH of the hall is again (hut, and the outer door is opened for the reception of more company . Some tonnaros have a great number of apartments, with different names to them ail ; the faloon, the par- lour, the dining room, &c. but the latl apartment is always i\y led la Camera dclia Morte, The chamber of Death : 'i nis is compofed of fl longer nets and heavier anchors tlua the others. As foon as they have colrecled a fuflkient number of tunny-Sib, they aredriven from all the other apartmenrs into the chamber of death ; where the {laughter begins. The fifhermen, and often the gentlemen too, armed with a kind of fpear or harpoon, attack the poor de- fer.celefs animals on ail fides ; which now giving them, felves up to defpair, dafh about with great force and agility, throwing the water over all the boats ; and tearing the nets to pieces, they often knock out their brains againit. the rocks or anchors, andforaetimes even againft the boats of their enemies. You fee there is nothing very generous or manly ia this fport. The taking of the Pcfce Spada, or fword- fi(h, is a much more noble diverfion : No art is made ufe of to enfiare him but with a fmall harpoon, fixed to a long line, they attack him in the open feas, and will often ftrike. htm at a very considerable diftance. It is exactly the whale- riming in miniature. The Sicilian fiihermen (who are abundantly fuperilitious) have a Creek fentence which they make ufe of as a charm to bring him near their boats. This is the only bait they ufe, and they pretend that it is of wonderful efficacy, and abfolutely obliges him to follow them ; but if un- fortunately he lhould overhear them fpeak a word of Italian, he plunges under water immediately, and will appear no more, As SICILY AND MALTA. 2°S As thefe fifh arc commonly ' of a great fize and ftreugth, they will fometimes run for hours after they are {truck, an] afford excellent fport. I have f:en them with a fword four or five feet long, which gives them a formidable appearance in the water, panic after they are wounded. The flefli of thrfe anima's is excellent ; it is more like beef tha» fifh, and the com- mon way of dreifin* it is in fteaks. The fifning of the Ps/ce Spada is mod conli derablc in the fea of Mefiina, where they have lib: wife greac quantities of eels, particularly the Moreveh fb much eiteemed amo.-gll the Romans, which 1 think is iaiced the fineit fifh i ever eat. But it is not only their large fifh that they fuike with harpoons j they have the Lim: method of taking mullet dories, a. kind of mackarel, and many other ipecies ; but this is always performed in the nighr. As focn a* it is dark, tvvo men get into a fraall boat ; one of them holds a lighted torch over the furface of the water, the other Hands with his harpoon ready poifed in his hand. The light of the torch foon brings the fifh to the fur- face, when the harpooner immediately tlnkes them, i have feen great quantities killed in this manner both h:re and at Naples. A large fleet of boats employed in thk kind of fulling make a beautiful appearance on'ths wj.'.zt, in a fine fummer night. The coral hhnery is chiefly praclifed at Trapani ; They have invented a machine there which anfwers the purpofe much beyond their expectations. This is only a great crofs of wood, to the centre of which is fixed a. heavy hard {tone, capable of carrying the crofs to the bottom. Pieces of fmall net are tied to each limb of the crofs, which h poifed horizontally by a rope, and let down into the water. As foon as they feel it touch the bottom, the rope is made fail to the boat. They then C C 2 OS A T O U R THROUG H all over the coral beds : The confe- quence of which is, the groat ftone breaks off the coral from the rocks, and it is immediately entangled in the nets. Since this invention the coral fifnery has turned out to confiderable account. The people of Trapani are e^ccmed the moll in- genious of the id and ; the/ are the authors of many ufeful and ornamental inventions. An artiil there, hai lately difcovercd a method of making Cameios, which are a perfect imitation of the ancient ones engraved on the onyx. They are done on a kind of hard ihell from partes of the belt antiques, and (o admirably executed, that it is often difficult to dittinguifh the ancient from the modern. Thefe fet in gold, are generally worn as bracelets, and are at prefent in high eflimation amongft the ladies of quality here. Mrs. Hamilton* procured a pair of them lalt year, and carried them to Naples, where they have been much admired. Commiffions were immediately fent over, and the man has now more bufmefs than he can manage ; however, we have been fortunate enough to procure ate.v pairs of them for our friends. I have (cen Cameios that have coft two hun- dred guineas that could fcarce be diftinguifiied from one of thefe. The 'difficulties under which the poor Sicilians labour, from the extreme opprcilion of their government, oblige them foraetimts to invent branches of commerce that nature feems to have denied them, as they are not allowed to enjoy thofe fhe has bellowed. The fugar- cane was very much cultivated in this iiland, but the duties impofed were fo enormous, that it has been almoft abandoned. But their crops of wheat alone, were they under a free government, would foon be furHcient to render this little nation one of the richeiv and moil ilj-uriihing •* AV-u Lady Hamilton, S I C I L Y A tf D MALTA. 2°7 flourifhing in the world ; for even in the wretched {late of cultivation it is in at prefent, one good crop, I am told, is fufficient to maintain the ifland for feven years. Yon will be a good deal furprifed, after this, to hear that the exportation of this commodity has been pro- hibited for thefe feveral years pad ; at leafc to all fuch as are not abie to pay moft exorbitantly for that privilege. The confequence is, that corn has become a- drug. The common price of the falma, which is t\yo load?, was about thirty one millings ; at prefent it is reduced to five (hillings and fix pence, and there is a probability that it will ftill fall lower. This crop, which has been very abundant, I am told, in nvmy places they have hardly been at the pains to gather in, as there is little probability of this cruel pro- hibition being removed. The farmers are already ruined, and the ruin of their mailers mufc inevitably follow. This is the method the rainiftry of Naples, or father that of -3 pain, has taken to humble the pii.le of the Sicilian barons, tvhofe power they pretend is ftill very extcntive, and their jurifdiclion sbfolure ; moft of them poiTefiing a right of life and death in their own domain, However, there is a probability that they will foon.be obliged to reiinmiiih their privileges. The hint is 'univerfal, and if the minillry perfevere in rous raeafures, there rnuil be either a revolt, or they mfcft fcon be redu :ed to a I erty as well as of fervitude. I believe iraieed moit of them would reaii- ly embrace any plaufible fcheme, to fnake off their yoke ; as in general they appear to be people of great fcnfibility, with high notions of honour and liberty. Talking of the natural riches of their ifland, Yes, fay they, if thefe- were difplaycd, you would have reafon indeed to fpeak of them. Take a look at thefe mountain^ veins of every metal, and many Rom in • but to what end mould we explore them ? It is net we that mould reap the profit. 3g8 a tour t h r o u g h profit. Nay, a difcovery of any thing very rich might pebbly prore the ruin of its poiieil^r. No, 'in our prefect fituation the hidden treasures of the iiland i ever remain a profound fecret. Were we happy enough toenjoy the blefMngs of your constitution, you might call as rich indeed. Many hidden doois of opulence \. then be opened, which now are not even thought or, and we ihould foon reaiTume our ancient name and con- fequence ; but at prelent we are nothing. This is the Language that foine of the firft people amungir. them hoiu with us. However, they itiii boar* that they retain more of the feudal government than any nation in Europe. The ihadow indeed remains, but the iubitance is tronc long ago. It has long, been the object of the Bourbon miniitry to reduce the power of the barons in every kingdom, Richlieu began the i'yf- teni in France, and it has ever fince been profecuted by his fucceiibrs ; iis influence has now fpread over the whp|e oi their poffjihons in Europe ; of which, as this is the molt remote, it lias like wife been the longeit in reaching it. The foundation of the feudal {yftem was firft laid here by the count Fmgeiro, about the middle of the eleventh century, immediately after he had driven the ens out of the iiland. He divided Sicily into three pans ; the firft, by confent of his army, was given to the church ; the fecond he bedowed upon his officers, and th€ third he referved for himfelf. Of thefe three branches, or as they call them Brmc- dos, (arms) he cornpofed his parliament, the form of which remains the fame to this day. The Btaccio Mi/itareis cornpofed or all the barons of the kingdom, to the number of two hundred and fifty-one, who are Still obliged to military ferviee : Their chief is the prmce Butero, who is hereditary prefident of the par- liamenr; for in conformity to the genius of the feudal government- SICILY AND MALTA. ^°9 government fome of the great officers are fcill hereditary. The three archbifhops, all the bifriops, abbes, piiors, and dignified clergy, amounting to near feventy, form the Bracc'io EccLjIaJiico : The archbifnop of Palermo is their chief. The Bracc'io Demaniale is formed by election, like our houfe of commons : There are forty three royal cities, ftyied Demaniale, that have a right to elect members. Every houfeholder had a vote in this eleclion. Their chief is the member of Palermo ; who is likewife praetor or mayor of the city. He is an officer of the higheft rank, and his power is very ex- tenfive ; inferior only to that of the viceroy ; in whofc abfenee, the greateft part of authority devolves upon him. He has a company of grenadiers for his body guard ; and receives the title of excellency. The praetor, together with fix fenators, who are ftyied patricians, have the management of the civil government of the city. He is appointed every year, by the king, or by the viceroy, which is the fame thing ; for I don't find that the people any longer exer- "cife even the form of giving their votes : So that the very fhadow of liberty has now difappeared as well as the fubftance. -You may judge of the fuuation of liberty in a kingdom, where all courts >civii and criminal are appointed by regal authority, and where all offices are conferred only by the will of the fovereign, and .depend entirely upon his caprice. I own I feel moft fmcerely for the Sicilians, who, I think, are poflfetfed of many admirable qualities. But the fpirit of every nation mull infallibly fink, under an oppreffive and tyrannical government. Their fpirit however has in a great meafure kept them free from one branch of tyrannv, the raoft dreadful of all, that of tne inquifition. The kings of Spain wanted to eftablifh it in its full force ; but the barons, accuftomed to exer- cife defpotic government themfelves, could not bear the thoughts of becoming Haves to a fet of ignorant Spanilh priefts ;. JIO A TOUR THROUGH priefts : And, I believe, they took the only way that was left to avoid it. Every inquifitor that pretended to more zeal than they thought became him, was immedi- ately ailafiinated ; particularly if he prefumed to inter- fere with the conduft or fentiments of the nobility. This foon took ofF the edge of their ze3l, and reduced the holy office to a becoming moderation. However, they are extremely circumfpecl in their conversation about religious matters ; and generally ad'vife Grangers to be on their guard, as the power of the inquifuion, although confidefably reduced, is by no means anni- hilated. The laws of Sicily are fcattered in a great number of volumes; thefe the king of Sardinia intended to abridge, and collect into one code, but unfortunately he was not long enough in poffemon of the ifland, to accoai- plifh this ufeful work. But where there is an authority above all laws, laws can be but of little fervice. The power of the- viceroy is very abfolute ; he has not only the command of all the military force in the kingdom, but likewife ptefides with unbounded authori- ty in all civil tribunals ; and as he alio is iurcfted with legantine power, his fvvay is equally great in religious matters. He has the right of Dominating to all the great offi- ces n the kingdom ; and conhrmiag of ail. dignities, both civil and ecclefiaftical. In vifiting the prifons, a ceremony which he performs with great pomp twice a year, lie has the power of lib^ erating whatever prisoners he pieafes ; of reducing or altering their fentenccs, their crimes and accufaiions having fir it been read over to him. Indeed, that there may be fome appearance of a regard! to law a.ui juftice, his counfellor alwavj attends him on thef jus, to SICILY AND MALTA. Jit mark out the limits of the law. This is an officeT of very high rank, appointed to affiit ihe viceroy in his decifions, where the cafe may appear intricate or dubi- ous ; and always is, or ought to be one of the ableft law- yers in the ifland. For the moit part, this office has Decn given to ftrangers. who are fuppofed -co have no kindred or particular connection here, that in giving their judgment the) may be tree from all prejudice and partiality. He has free admittance into ad courts and tribunals, that he may be the better enabled to give the viceroy an account of their proceedings. The whole military force* of Sicily, amounts at pref- ent, from what I can learn, to "9500 men, about 120® of which are cavalry. Many of their cities and ior- treffes would require a very numerous garrifon to defend them : Particularly Medina, Syracufe, and Palermo : But indeed the ftate of their fortifications, as well as that of their artillery, is fuch, that (even if they were inclined) they could make but a fmall defence. If this iiland were in the hands of a naval pawef, I think it is evident, that it muft command the whole Levant trade : There are feveral little ports at each end of it, beftdes the great ones of Trapani, Syracufe," and Mcilina, which lie pretty near the three angles of the triangle. Whatever fhips had palled either of thefe, the others cculd be apprifed of in the fpace of half an hour, by means of fignal towers, which the Sicilians have erected all around their ifland to warn them againft fudden invafions from the Barbary fide. Thefe towers are built on every little promontory, within light of each other. Fires are always kept ready for lighting, and a perfon is appointed to watch at each of them, fo that the whole iiland can be alarmed, they allure us, in j he fpace[of an hour. By tile, bye, we have been witnefs here of a practice, that appears to be a very iniquitous one, and in the end, I JI2 A TOUR THROUGH I fhould think, mull prove the deftrr.clion of our Medi- terranean trade. Several (hips have put in, at this port with Englifh colours, but to our furprife, not one Entliihman on board. Thefe, I find, they call Bandi- ere men : Perhaps it is a known practice, although, I own, I was an utter ftranger to it. They are very numerous in thefe feas, and carry on a confiderable trade through the whole of the Mediterranean, to the great detriment of our own (hips. Moft of them belong to Genoa and Sicily, though they pafs under the name of Mlnoiquins. They purchafe Mediterranean parTports, I $m tcid, from feme of the governours of our garrifojis, which entitles them, during the time fpecirled in thefe pafTports, to trade under Englifh colours. I am allured that the number of thefe Bandierc men amounts to fome hundreds. They have often one or two Engliih failors on board ; or at lead fome perfon that fpeaks the language, to anfwer when they are challenged. Pray can you tell me if this pradice is known in England ? Adieu. The heat has become intolerable, and I am able to write no more ; however, I mould not have given it up yet, but my ice is all melted, and I have not the conference to fend out a fervant for more : I dare fay, you are very glad of it, and wifh it had been melted long ago. If this continues, I believe we ourfelves fhaii be melted. The thermometer is above eighty two, and the heat Mill feeins to increafe. The fea has even become too hot for bathing ; and it- MALI 315 titles may be faid to be in the inveife ratio of thc.ii antiquities. The luxury of the people here, like that of the ' politans, conults chiefly in their equipag but by a wife law of the king of Sardinia, w) furprifed ihould ftill remain in force, the v ice roy alone is allowed to drive in the city with fix hortes ; the prae- tor, the archbiftiop and prefulent of the parliament four ; all the reft of the nobility, are reitricied to two. Bu: this is only within the gates of Palermo ; and when they go to the country, there is none of them that drive, with lefs than four : Befides, every family ot diftinctiod has at leaft two or three carriages in daily ufe ; for no man of famion is io unpolite as to remfe his wife a chariot of her own, of which fhe has the entire com- mand, (without this the Marino could never fubiiit ;) and the upper fervants of the firft families would be juft as much a.lhamed to be Cctn on foot as their raairersi We took the liberty to ridicule the folly of this prac- tice : They allow of its obfuidity, and wifh to break, through it : but who is to lead the way f We even pre- vailed with fome of the young nobility, which I allure you was no fmail condefcenfion, to walk the itreets with us during the illuminations ; but even this condefcen- fion, fhe wed the folly of the prejudice in a ftronge: light than if they had refufed us ; for they would not be prevailed on to fHr out, till they had fent their fer- vants about ten yards before ihe:n, with large flambeaux, although the whole city was in a flame of light. You may believe we did not fpare them upon this occafion ; but it was ail to no purpofe. However, it is pofRble that we may overlook many cuftoms of our own, that are not lefs ridiculous ; for ridicule for the moil part is relative, and depends only on time place. Perhaps you may remember the Prince or maboo ; I Ihould like to hear the account he would give of the Englifn nation in his own country ; i j pur cuftoms (truck him in a ftill more ridicuiv 3i6 A TOUR THROUGH Walking oat in St. James's Park, in the afternoon, ht ©bferved one of his acquaintance driving in a phaeton, with four horfes. The Prince burft into a violent fit of lau^hin* : When they aflced him what was the matter ? " Vat the devil (Cud the Prince in his bad Englifh) has 11 that fellow eat fo much dinner that now it takes four ** horfes to carry him ? I rode out with him this morn- " ing, and he was then fo light, than van little horfe lt ran away with him. He mull either be a great fool (i or a great glutton." Another time they infiikJ on the Prince going to the play. He went ; bat he foon tired of it, and returned to his companions. " Well, Prince, i'faid they) « what did you fee f" " Vat did I fee," 'replied he with the utmoft contempt) " I did fee " lome men playing de fiddle, and feme men playing " de fool." I only infer from this, that it is with fome degree of oaution we fliould ridicule the cuftoms ot other nations : A Sicilian, perhaps, would laugh with as much jultice at many of our cuftoni* * that* for Li^ancfj of cb!i /v !r!* p people to drink when they have no inclination to it ; that in the north of eating Soland geefe before dinner, to give them an appetite ; that of phyficians and lawyers wear- ing enormous wigs, and many others that will naturally occur to you, none of which appear in the leaft ridiculous to the people that prattife them ; who would no doubt defend them as ftrenuoufiy as the Sicilians do the neceffi- ty of carrying flambeaux before them during the great illumination. Indeed,, they have juft now given us an admirable fpecimen of fome of our ridicules, in one of their opera-dances, with which we have been a good deal entertained, I believe I told you that the dancers are lately come from England : They have brought upon the ftage many of the capital London characters : The bucks, the mac- caronies, the prigs, the cits, and fome others fUll more refpe&able : Thefe are well fupported, and afford a good I SICILY AND MALTA. good deal of laughing. But I am interrupted, ot wife I mould have given you a more particular account of thetn. Adieu. The heat is intolerable ; and there is no pofiibility of walking out. We complain without reafon of our own climate ; and king Charles's obferva- tion I am perfuaded was juft ; " That there is hardly any climate, where* throughout the year, we can have fo much exercife in the op€B air." LETTER XXXV, PaUrmh r I V HE Sicilians are animated in converfadon, and X their aition for the moft par: is io ju$ an i preffive of their fentiments, that without is faid, one may comprehend the fuhjeft oi courfe. We ufed to think the French and N great adepts in this art ; hut they are much < the Sicilians, both in the variety and juftnefa o* gefticulation. The origin of this cuftom they can- - - ■■ v, the time of the earlieft tyrants of Syracufe, prevent confpiracies, had forbid their fubjeds, und mod fevcre penalties, to be feen in parties t gether. This obliged them to invent a metho municating their fentiments by dumb (how, w pretend has been tranfmitted from generation tion ever fince. I think it is not at all improbable that thi&cuifo n nvay have given the firft idea of coaicdv ; as ws iiruj, tktf D d 2 3^8 A TOUR THROUGH that Com fliort time after, Epicarmus, a native of that city, was the author of this invention. The Sicilians till lately retained a great many foolifk a id fupunVitious cuftoms ; but particularly in their mar- riage and funeral ceremonies ; it would be tedious to give you an account of all thefe ; fome of them are (till practiced in the wild and mountainous parts of the iiiand. As foon as the marriage ceremony is performed, two of the attendants are ready to cram a fpoonful of honey into the mouths of the bride and bridegroom ; pronouncing it emblematical of their love and union, which they hope will ever continue as fweet to their fouls, as that honey is to their palates. They then be- gin to throw handfuls of wheat upon them, which is continued all the way to the houfe of the bridegroom. This is probably the remains of fome ancient rite to Cerej, their favourite divinity, and they think it cannot jail of procuring them a numerous progeny : However, the Sicilian women have no occafion for any charm to promote this, as, in general, they are abundantly prolific even without it : Fazzello gives an account of women having frequently upwards of forty children ; and Carrcra mentions one who had forty feven. : e young couple are not allowed to tafte of the riags-feaft ; this they pretend is to teach them nee and temperance ; but when dinner is fiuimed, . ii g'ftat bone is prefented to the bridegroom by the tmefe's father, or one of her neareft relations, who pro- nounces thefe words : " Rodi tu quefi* -ojpn Sec. "'Pick « you this bone, for you have now taken in hand to M cick one, which you will find much harder and of « more difficult digeftion." Perhaps this may have given rife to the common faying, when one has under- taken any thing arduous or difficult, that " He has got « a bone to pick." The SICILY AND MALTA. 319 The Sicilians, like mod other nations in Europe, carefully avoid marrying in the month of May, and look upon fuch marriages as extremely inaufpicious. This piece of fuperftition is as old, perhaps older than the time of the Romans, by whofe authors it is fre- quently mentioned ; and by whom it has been tranfmit- tcd to almoft every nation in Europe. It is fomewhat unaccountable, that fo ridiculous an idea, which can have no foundation in nature, mould have flood its ground for (o many ages. There are indeed other cuf- toms ftill more trivial, that are not lefs univerfal. That of making April fools on the firft day of that month - s the ceremony of the cake on Twelfth-night ; and fome others that will occur to you, of which, no more than this, I have ever been able to learn the origin. The marriages of the Sicilian nobility are celebrated with great magnificence ; and the number of elegant carriages produced on thefe occafions is afconifhing. I wanted to difcover when this great luxury in carriages had taken its rife ; and have found an account of the marriage of the daughter of one of their viceroys to the duke of Bivona, in the year 1551. It is defcribed by one Elenco, who was a fpe&ator of the ceremony. J-Je fays the ladies as well as gentlemen were all mounted on fine horfes, fumptuoufly caparifoned, and preceded by pages : That there were only three carriages in the ciry,^ which were ufed by invalids who were not able to ride on horfeback. Thefe he calls Care/te, which wprd now fignifies a little cart. The Sicilian ladies, marry very young, and frequently live to fee the fifth or fixth generation. You will ex- pect, no doubt, that I fhall fay fomething of their beau- ty. In general, they are fprightly and agreeable ; and. in mod parts of Italy they^vould be efteemed handfome. A Neapolitan or a Roman would furely pronounce them fo. But a Piedmontefe would declare them very ordinary ; fo indeed would moil Englifhmen, Nothing J20 A TOUR THROUGH £o vague as our ideas of female beauty : They change in every climate ; and the criterion is no where to be found. " Afk where's the North ? — At York, 'tis on the Tweed, " In Scotland at the Orcades, and there, " At Nova Zembla, or the Lord knows where." No two nations, perhaps no two men, have affixed precifely the fame chara&eriftics ; and every one exalts his idea of it, according to the beauty of the women he is accuflomed to fee ; fo that even the fame perfon may fometimes oppear beautiful, fometimes ugly juft in proportion as we have feen others that are more or lefs lb. I remember, after making the tour of Savoy and the Lower Valais, every woman we met in Switzciland appeared an angel. The fame thing happens in travel- ling through fome parts of Germany ; and you will, eafily recollect the furprifing difference betwixt a beauty at Milan and one at Turin, although thefe places lie adjacent to each other. It is a pity that the Juno of Zeuxis has been loft, if it were no more than to have fhewn us the notion the ancients had of a perfect beauty. Indeed, the Venus of Medicis has been confidercd as a model of perfection, but it is furely abfurd ; for who ever heard of a perfect beauty of five feet, high ! the very idea is ridiculous ; and whatever figure her god- defifhip might make amongfl the ancient divinities, Jh- the pantheon at Rome, I 2m afraid fhe would cut but a forry one amongft the modern ones, in that of London. In (hort, I believe we may fafely conclude, that beauty is a relative quality, and the to kalon is no longer the fame, no more in a phyfical than a moral fenfe, in any two places on the globe. The ladies here have remarkable fine hair, and they enderftand how to drefs and adorn it to the greateft ad- vantage. It ie now only ufed as an embelliihmeflt ; but JA> 9 I C I L Y A W D MALTA. 2 tl in former times w 1 that, like that of Sampfon, it was found to be jth aid prote&ion of they: country. Tncre U for you, that all the wile mtn of the Eaft co < folre. Their hiftorians relate, (in wrhofe n _n r e is rather dubious) that this city had fu r ' iege from the Saracens and was greatly reduced by famine ; but what diftreffed tnem ftill more, there were no materials to be found for i ng bowft rings, aad they were on the point of fur- rendering. In this dilemma, a patriotic dame ftepped forth, and propofed to the women, that the whole of them mould cut off their hair, and ttriit it into bow- ftrings : This was immediately complied with. The heroifm of the women, you know, mull ever excite that of the men. The befieged, animated by this gallant facrifice of the fair, renewed their defence with fuck vigour, that the afiailints were beat off: and a reinforce- ment foon after arriving, the city was faved* The ladies ftill value them (elves on this ftory, which yoa may believe has w»» ^~n ^rgotten by their oaras. •" * ue nair or our ladies (fays one of their quaint poets) " is ftill employed in the fame office ; but now it dif- " charges no other {hafts but thofe of Cupid ; and the with little cut fcratches, that look extremely ridiculous. Some come in cracking their whips, with buckfkin breeches and jockey caps. Some are armed with great oaken fcicks ; their hair tied up in enormous clubs, and flocks that fwell their necks to double the natural iize. But what affords the principal part of the entertainment is, three quakers who are duped by three ladies of the to^n, in concert with three jack-tars, their lovers. Thefe characters, as you may believe, are much exag- gerated, though, upon the whole,, they are fupported with humour, and have afforded us a good deal of laugh- ing ; however, we were hurt to fee the refpeclablc character of quakers turned into fuch ridicule ; and as the people here were altogether unacquainted with ir, we have been at fome pains to explain to them the fim- plicity and purity of their manners, and the incorrupti- ble integrity of their principles. Although the Sicilians in general are a good fort of people, and fecm to be endowed with a large fhare of philanthropy and urbanity ; yet it mufl be owned they have no great affection for their neighbours on the. con- tinent ; and indeed the diflike is altogether* reciprocal. It is fomewhat fingular ; I am afraid not much for the honour of human nature ; that through all Europe, the two neighbouring nations have a perperual jarring with each other. I could heartily wifh that we had been an exception from this rule ;. but am forry to fee from our n^wfpapers, which are feit to the nobilitv of this city, that at prefent we are rather the mail diitinguifhed for it j at lead our a.iimonties, if there really are any, S e 2 nmke A T U R T H R U G tf nuke by much the greatcft ndi'fc of all. We have often been afk-d by foreigners what was the ground of the mighty quarrel, that fuch torrent, of the moft illiberal abufe have been poured out by a people fo celebrated for liberality of fentiment ; and it is with difficulty we can ptrfuadc the:n, that although from the papers, this fonietinr.es appears to be the voice of the nation, yet in fact, it is only confined to a Cct of the moft worthless and defp'cable incendiaries ; like him who fet the houfe in a flame, on purpofe to pilfer during the conflagra- tion. Bj: the abufe that is levelled at the king, fur- prifes them more than all the reft ; and you cannot con- ceive their amazement and indignation when we affured them, that notwithstanding all this, he was the moft virtuous and benevolent prince on earth. Then, ex- claimed a Sicilian nobleman, you muft certainly be the moft damnable people on the globe. I was a good deal ftrtrek with the fuddennefs of the charge ; and it was not without many explanations of the liberty of cur • onftittition, and particularly that of the prefs, that I eouH prevail with him to retract his fentiments ; and think' more favourably of us. Still he infiited, that fo "egregious an abuie of this liberty, was only a farther proof of his pofition j and that there muft be fome- ihing cfientially wrong, in a nation that could allow of fuch abufe levelled at the moft facrcd of all characters : The higheft virtue united to the higheft ftation. We iuTured him that what he heard, was only the voice of the moft, abandoned and profligate wretches in the na- tion ; who, taking advantage of the great freedom of 'the prefs, had often made thefe newfpapers the vehicles of the moft deteftable fedition. That both the king and queen were beloved by all their fubje<5b, at leatr by all thofe of worth ; that they never were fpoken of, but as the moil perfect model of conjugal union and happine fs, as well as of every focial endowment ; and that they could have no enemies, but the enemies or virtue* However, SICILY AND MALTA. ^'Jl However, after all, we could but patch up a peace with him. He could not comprehend (he faid) how the voice of a few incendiaries mould be louder than the general voice of the nation, We told him, that people who were pleafed commonly held their tongue > and that fedition and libel ever made a greater noife than panegyric ; juft as the fire bell is rung louder, and is more liftened to than the bell for rejoicing. Adieu. Our pilot fays the wind is not fair, {o that poSibly we may llill flay a day or t\v j longer. Ever yours. LETTER XXXVII. Palermo., J-xlj iy/%. WERE I to enter upon the natural hiftory of this, ifland, it would lead me into a vaft field of fpeculation, for which I have neither time nor abilities : However, a variety of objects (truck us as we travelled along, that it may not be amifs to give you fome ar- count of. There are a variety of mineral waters, al- moin through the whole of Sicily. Many of thefe are boiling hot ; others it ill more lingular, are of a degree of cold fuperior to that of ice, and yet never freeze. In fevcral places, they have fountains that throw up a kind of oil on their furface, which is of great ufe to the peafants, who burn it in their lamps, and ufe it to many other purpofes ; but there is flill a more remarka- ble one near NicoGa which is called // Fonte Canalotto, It is covered with a thick fcum of a kind of pitch, which 332 A TOUR THROUGH which amongft the country people is efteemed a fovereign remedy in rheumatic, and many other com- plaints. The water of a fmall lake near Nafo is celebrated for dying black every thing that is put into it ; and this it is faid to perform without the mixture of any other ingiedient, although the water irfelf is remarkably pure and tranfparent. They have a variety of fulphureous baths, like thofe near Naples, where the patient is thrown into a profufe f.veat, only from the heat of the vapour. The moft celebrated are thofe of Sciaccia, and on the mountain of St. Cologero ; not in the neighbourhood of ./Etna, as I expected, but at a great diftance from the moun- tain. But indeed I am much inclined to believe, that not only mount iEtna, but the greateft part of Siciiy> and almoft the whole cf the circumjacent iflands, have. been originally formed by fubterraneous fire ; but I fnall have an opportunity of fpeaking more largely on this fubject, when I give you an account of the country xound Naples. I have obferved lava, pumice, and tufa in many parts of Sicily, at a great diftance from JEtna. ; and there are a variety both of mountains and valiies that ftill emit a hot vapour, and produce fprings of boiling water, .About a mile and a half to the weft of this city at a fmall beach where we often go a fwimming, there are many fprings of warm water, that rife even within the fea, at the depth of five or fix feet. We were at firft a good deal furprifed to find ourfelves almoft inflantane- oufly both in the hot and cold bath ; for at one ftroke we commonly paffed through the hot water, which only extends for a few feet round the fpring. It gave us a momentary glow, and produced a very odd, uncouth fenfation, by no means an agreeable one. I mentioned this Angularity to feveral gentlemen here, wlfo tell me they have obferved the fame thing. Not i s i c r L Y A .NT D MALTA. ^'33 Not a great way from this is a celebrated fountain, called 77 Mar Dolce, where there are fume remains of an ancient naumachia ; and in the mountain above it,, they (hew you a cavern, where a gigantic Ikeleton is faid to have been found ; however, it fell to dull when they attempted to move it ; Fazzello fays, its teeth were the only part that refilled the imprcffionof the air ; that he procured two of them, and that they weighed near two ounces. There are many fach ftories to be met with in the Sicilian legends,' as it feems to be an univerfal belief, that this iliand was once inhabited by giants ; but although we have made diligent inquiry, we have never yet been able to procure a light of any of thefe gigantic bones which are faid to be Hill pre- ferved in many parts of the iliand. Had there been any foundation for this, I think it is probable, they mull have found their way into feme of the mufeums ; but this is not the cafe ; nor indeed have we met with any perfon of fenfe and credibility that could fay they had feen any of them. We had been affured at Naples, that an entire Ikeleton, upwards of ten feet high, was preferved in the mufeum of Palermo ; but ther^ is no fuch thing there, nor I believe any where elfe in the iliand. This mufeum is well furniihed both with an- tiques and articles of natural hiftory, but is' not fuperior to what we Have ktn in many other places. The number of fouls in Palermo are computed at about 1 50,000. Thofe of the whole iliand, by the lafb enumeration, amounted to 1,123,163 ; of which number there are about 50,000 that belong to the differ- ent monafteries and religious orders. The number of houf.'s are computed at 268,120, which makes betwixt five and fix to a houfe. The great (landing commodity of Sicily, which has ever conilituted the riches of the iliand, was their crops of wheat ; but they cultivate many other branches of commerce, "though none that could bear any proportion to this, were it under a free government, and exporta- tion 334 A. TOUR THROUGH tion allowed. Their method of preferving their grain will appear fome what lingular to our farmers : Initead of expofing it as we do, to the open air, they are at the greateft pains to exclude it entirely from it. In many places, where the foil is dry, particularly near Agrigentum, they have dug large pits or caverns in the rock. Thefe open by a fmall hole at top, and fwell to a great width below ; here they pour down their grain, after it has been made exceedingly dry -, and ramming, it hard, they cover up the hole, to protect it from rain ; and they aflurc us it will preferve in this manner for many years. The Soda is a plant that is much cultivated, and turns out to confiderable account. This is the vegeta- ble, that by the action of fir>2, is afterwards converted into mirrors and cryftals. Great quantities of it are fent every year to fupply the glafs houfes at Venice. They have likewifc a confiderable trade in liquorice, rice, figs, raifins, and currents, the bed of which grow amongit thediftinguiftied volcanoes of the Lipari iflands. Their honey is, I think, the higheft flavoured I have ever feen ; in fome parts of the iiiand even fuperior to that of Minorca : This is owing, no doubt to the quantity of aromatic plants, with which this beautiful coontry is every where overfpread. This honey is gathered three months in the year ; July, Auguft, and October. It is found by the pcafants ia the hollows of trees and rocks ; and is eileemed of a fuperior quality to that produced under the tyranny of man. The country of the LefTer Hybla is ft ill, as formerly, the part of the iiiand that is moft celebrated for honey. The Count Statela made us a prefent or fome of it, gathered on his brother the prince of Spaccaforno's eilate, which lies near the ruins of that city. Sugar is now no article of the Sicilian commerce, though a fmall quantity of it is ftill manufactured for homt confumption ; but the plantations of the fugar- cane, 3 I C I L Y AND MALTA. 23 5 c*ne, I am told, thrive well in fereral parts of the Aland. The juke of liquorice is prepared both here and ia. Calabria, and is fent to the nothern countries of Eu- rope, where it is ufed for colds. The juice is fqueezed out of the roots ; after which it is boiled to a con- fiftency, and formed into cakes, which are packed up with bay-leaves in the fame order that we receive them. In fom« of the northern parts of the ifland, I am told, they rind the (hell fith that produces a kind of flax, of which gloves and flocking are made ; but thefe two are found in greater quantities in Calabria. Their plantation* of oranges, lemons, bergamors, almonds, &c. produce no inconfidcrabitr branch of com- merce. Tne piilachi/ nut too is much cultivated in many parts of the ifland, and with great fuccefs. Thefe trees, like many others, are male acid female : The male is called Scornabecccy and is always barren ; but unlefs a quantity of thefe are mixed in every plantation, the piitachio tree never bears a nut. But of all the va- riety that is cultivated in Sicily, the manna tree,, is ef- teemed the raoft profitable ; it refembles the alb, and is I believe of that fpecies. About the beginning of Auguft, during the fcafon of the greateft beat, they make an in- cilion in the bark, near to the root of the tree ; a thick whitifh liquor is immediately difcharged from the wcund, which foon hardens in the fun, when it is care- fully taken off and gathered into boxes. They renew thefe incifions every day during the feafon, observing, however, only to wound one iide of the tree • the other fide they referve for the furamer following. The cantharides fly is a Sicilian commodity : It is found on feveral trees of iEtna, whole juice isfuppofed to have a corrofive or abfterfive quality, particularly the pine and the fig trees ; and I am told the canthar- ides of Mount ^Etna are reckoned preferable to thofe of Spain. The 33« A TOUH IHROUGH The marbles of Sicily would afford a great fource of opulence, were there any encouragement to work the quarries : Of thefe they have an infinite variety, and of the fineft forts. I have fcen fome of them little in- ferior to the giall and vcrd antiqua, that is now fo prec- ious. The beautiful yellow columns you muft have obferved in the royal chapel of Caflerto are or the firft kind. They have like wife fome that very much refera- ble lapis lazuli and porphyry. At Centorbi they find a kind of foft ftone that dif. folves in water, and is ufed in warning "mftead of foap, from which property it is called P'tetra Sapondr^ They Jikewife find here, as well as in Calabria, the celebrated ftone, which, upon being watered and expofed to rt pretty violent degree of heat, produces a plentiful crop of mufhrooms : But it would be endlefc to give you an account, ot all the various commodities and curious productions of this ifland ; ^Etna alone affords a greater number than many of the moft extenfivc kingdoms, and is no lefs an epitome of the whole earth in its foil and climate, than in the variety of its produ&ions. JBefides the corn, the wine, the oil, the filk, the fpice, and de- licious fruits of its lower region ; the beautiful foreft, the flocks, the game, the tar, the cork, the honey, of its fecond ; the fnow and ice of its third ; it affords from its caverns a variety of mineral and other produc- tions ; cinnabar, mercury, fuiphur, alum, nitre, and vitrol ; fo that this wonderful mountain at the fame time produces every neceffary, and every luxury of life. Its firfl region covers their tables with all the delica- cies that the earth produces; its fecond fupplies them with game, cheefe, butter, honey ; and not only fur- nilhes wood of every kind for building their mips and houfes, but likewife an inexhauitible (tore of excellent fewel ; and as the third region, with its ice and fnow, keeps them frclh and cool during the heat of fummer, fo this contributes equally to keep them warm and com- fortable during the cold of winter. Thus AND MALTA. J.j J Thus you fee, the variety of climates is not confined to JEtnz itfelf ; but, in obedience to the voice of man, defcends from that mountain ; and, mingling the vio- lence of their extremes, difFufes the rooft benign influ- ences all over the ifland, tempering each other to mod- eration, and foftening the rigour* of every feafon. We are not then to be furprifed at the obftinate at- tachment of the people to this mountain, and that all his terrors have not been able to drive them away from him : For although he fometimes chaftifes ; yc: y like an indulgent parent, he mixes fuch bleflings along with his chaftifements, that their affections can never be eftranged; for at the fame time that he threatens with a rod of iron, he pours down upon them ail the bleffings ©f the age of gold. Adieu. We are now going to pay our- refpetts to the viceroy, and make our farewell vifits. This cere- mony never fails to throw a damp on my fprrits ; but I have feldom found it fo ftrong as at prefent, there be- ing little or no probability that we (hall ever fee again a number of worthy people we are juft now going to take leave of, or that we mail never have it in our pow- er to make any return for the many civilities we have received from them. Farewell. The wind we are told is fair, and I fhall probably be the bearer of this to the continent, from whence you may toon expect to hear from, &c. LETTER XXXVIII. Naples, Augu ft \jl, AFTER two days delightful failing, we have again arrived in this city ; where, to our infinite joy, \v% have found all the worthy friends we had left behind F f us. UK THROOflli Thb indeed was neccfiary, to wipe out the ira- hich the having of Sicily had occafioned. ill ftill remain here, at leaii for three months, till of the Mai Aria is entirely over. You r of travelling through the Campania which although it is locked upon by many of our learned doctors as a vulgar error, yet ill not fubmit ourfeives to the expert- 3 pafs the winjtf at Rome, where we Lnd occup ugh 'for four or five thence by Losftito, Bologna, &c. to d beaten track. jWe fliall then leave ids of Italy, for the delightful cool tains m Switzerland ; where liberty and fimplici- ty, long fince banimed from polifhed nations, ftill original purity ; where the temperature and moderation of the climate, and that of the inhab- itants a emblematical of each other. For whilft other nations are fcorched by the heat of the fun, ^nd tl - >cre fcorching heats of tyranny and ; here the ganial breezes forever fan the elghten that alacrity and joy which liberty and innocence alone can infpire.; here the genial flow cf the foul has never yet been checked by the idle and ufelefs refinement of art ! bat opens and expands itfelf to all the calls of aiFeftion and benevolence. But I muft You know my old attachment to that primitive :ry. It never fails to run away with me. :n, to make this the fcene of our fummer pleafures ; and by that time, I can forefee, we fhall be heartily tired of Art, an,d (hall begin again to languifh after Nature. It is file alone that can give any real or lading plcafure, and in all our -purfuits of happinefe if ihe is not our guide, we never can attain our end. Adieu, my dear friend. You have been our faithful companion during this Tour, and have not contributed SICILY AND MALTA. 33$ ik little to its pleafurc. If it has afforded equal enter- tainment to you, we (hall beg of you ftili to accompany us through the reft of our travels. A man muft have a miferable imagination indeed, that can be in folitude, whilft he has fuch friends to converfe with ; the consid- eration of it foon removes the mountains and the feas that feparateus, and produces thofe Sympathetic feelings, which are the only equivalent for the real abfence of a friend ; for I never lit down to write, but I fee you placed on the oppofite fide of the table, and fuppofe that we are juil talking over the tranfadions of the day. And without your prefence to animate me, how is it poflible that I could .have had patience to write thefe enormous epiftles ? Adieu. We are foon going to make fome excuriions through the kingdom of Naples : And if they produce aay thing worthy of your obfervation, we muft beg that you will ftill fubmit to be one of the party. I ever am, Moll fincerely and affectionately, yours, PAT. BRYDONE, 4.FINIS.4.. • il