Forster, d.k. : Travels through Sicily and that part of Italy formerly called Magna Graecia, and a Tour through Egypt with an accurate description of its Cities, and the modern State of the Country, 8vo, contemporary calf, marbled boards front and back, pp. 383, London MDCCLXXIII. n & — v J N , \ 3 - A I ' -■ f \ / / r <■ / j % > if ■ / l TRAVELS THROUGH SICILY AND THAT PART OF I T A L Y FORMERLY CALLED MAGNA GRACIA. And a T O U R through E G T P % WITH An accurate Defcription of its Cities, and the modern State of the Country. Tranflated from the German, By J. R. FORSTER, F. R. S. LONDON: Printed for Edward and Charles Dilly, in the Poultry. M DCCLXXIII. I 4 Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2018 with funding from Getty Research Institute *9 « https://archive.org/details/travelsthroughsiOOried Thomas Falconer, Efq\ of Chester. Dear Sir, W H E N this reaches you, I fhail probably be on the oppofite hemifphere of our globe: but though at fuch a diftance I fhail never forget that early friend- fhip you honoured me with, when J. was taken notice oi but by very few* Give me leave, therefore, to prefix your name to this publica¬ tion (which could not be put to the prefs under my own eyes, on ac¬ count of my voyage), and thus publicly to acknowledge the favours A 2 received [ iv ] received at your hands, and pleafe to accept the ferttiments of the dueft regard and mod fmcere gratitude, with which I always fubfcribe my- felf, Dear S i r 5 Your mod: obliged humble fervant. London , Yune 2 i’ i 77 2 - J oim Reinhold Forfter, PREFACE. T H E author of this journey is a German Nobleman, called Baron Riedefel. To fay any thing more in favour of the pre- fent publication would be unfair, as the author has prefixed no pre¬ face to his work : it certainly will give a very good idea of the mo¬ dern fiate ol two countries, at pre- fent very little known, and little frequented by common travellers ; this circumftance muft prejudice our readers in favour of this work, efpecially as it breathes a love of liberty, not frequently met with in tranfmarine publications. * The PREFACE. The Cantaro fo often mentioned by our author, is a weight of one hundred and three quarters. The Salma liquid meafure, is about forty gallons, i The Salma com meafure, is not quite a quarter. The Palmo di Napoli , is eight inches and a half. The Carlino is about four-pence, thirty of which make an Oncia , or about half a guinea. The Ducat a is the third part of an Oncia . These PREFACE. These informations will, I hope, facilitate the reading of this journey, and fpare me the trouble of fre¬ quently repeating the fame, or re¬ ducing them to Englijh value, which fome readers perhaps might find fault with. The unhappy Abbe TVinckelman was our author’s friend; to him he wrote the letters here published, and they had the approbation of this great antiquary, who perhaps would have added fome notes to them, had he not met with an untimely fate, from a worthlefs ruffian, linden, June 8, 1772. T O Abbe WINCKLEMAN. Dear Sir, S you permitted me to communicate to you the obfervations I flhould make on my tour round Sicily and in the kingdom of Naples, I now take the liberty of laying them before you. They concern not merely antiquities, but extend likewife to feveral other fubje&s; you know I am fond of communicating my ideas to my friends, and you have often liftened to thefe trifles with patience. If you will with equal benevolence beftow your leifure hours on this fmall tribute of friendfhip, I fhall with pleafure begin my narrative; B and [ 3 ] and tills, I have reafon to hope, becaufe I know you. honour me with your afFedtion. On the 13th of March 1767, I went on board one of his Sicilian majelly’s Sciabecchi or Xebecs , called Santa Maria del Parco , which was commanded by a Malteje knight of the family of Staitti, at Trapani in Sicily. The weather was fair at our departure, and we failed the whole day, and half of the night with a brilk wind at north : however, on the nth, at day-break, the wind fell, and towards feven in the morning we had a violent fouth wind,. which we refilled for fome time; but as three hundred fol- diers, and feveral officers and people of quality, who were all fea-fick, were on board our veffiels, the commander refolved to put back again. I was very much dif- fatisfied with this circumflance, efpecially as I already faw the Liparian ifles behind, and the ille of Utica, with Cape Sajfarano , before me, and I would have prevailed on my friend the Chevalier Staitti to keep the fea; but as his fuperior, captain Bologna , the commander of two Sciabecchi ana ox Tartanes (which together ti mlponed the ' P whole [ 3 ] I whole regiment) made fignal for putting about, he was forced to obey, and that very evening, at ten o’clock, we came to an anchor in Baja. Here we were obliged to wait for a northerly wind till the 17th in the evening. The good company on board, the obliging behaviour of the captain, the neighbour¬ hood of Baja, fo renowned and fo pleafant in former times, and a fhort excurfion to the neighbouring ifles of Procida and Ifchia , made this time appear fhorter than I at firft imagined. That fame evening a cannon was fired as a fignal for our departure, and we weighed and fet fail with a briik eafic wind. We pafied by Capri, and every thing was perfectly quiet near the fhore, though I obferved, when walking upon deck with the captain., that the fea was fiill much agitated from the late fiorm. Towards midnight the waves increafed as we flood farther out to fea, and wind and billows fought with each other. On one fide, our little vefiel was bent by the wind againft the waves, which beat over it on the other. We were in no great danger, but obliged B 2 to § t [ 4 ] to face hunger and trouble, becaufe it was not pofiible to boil any thing on account of the high fea. The fhip’s officers and I comforted ourfelves on deck with a bottle of Malaga, whilft the other paffengers lay fea-fick, and confined in narrow cabbins ; after failing the whole day, and being toffed about by the fea, we anchored at feven in the evening of the 18th, in the harbour of Palermo. T his capital of the whole ifland is iituated in a bay between two promontories, the one Monte Pellegrino, formerly ErEfa, the other Cape Saffarano. The fituation of this town is not fo en¬ chanting as I had been taught to expedt, for it is quite furrounded with mountains, and has only a few cultivated vales. The city itfelf is fmall, but very populous; they count 150,000 inhabitants, but the true number is not above 120,000. The two principal flreets, and which crofs each other, are very fine. This is the only town in all Italy , which is lighted at night at the public expence. I LEAvfi the defcription of each par¬ ticular church and palace to thofe who 1 have [ 5 ] have more patience to write or read than you or I have. In the cathedral are four urns of porphyry, which are the tombs of as many kings of Sicily ; I could never get informed from whence they were brought; the porphyry is of the moft beautiful fort. The diape of the urns is not quite in the Greek dile, but much too fine for the times of the kings that are buried in them. It is faid, that this porphyry is gotten in Sicily; but I rather believe thefe urns were found in ancient Roman tombs, and then applied to the above-mentioned purpofe. The choir of the cathedral is adorned with ftatues of Ghaginiy the Sicilian Michael An¬ gelo >, and are held in high repute here. His manner is tolerable, but his figures are all too (hort, and the attitudes drained. The art of painting feerns to be at a very low ebb in Palermo , and I could not find one perfon that was able to give me an account of the bed paintings here. In the church of the Collegio Vecchio belonging to the Jefuits are fome pieces done by a painter, known by the name of Zioppo di Gangi his defign is foft, but without exprefiion, or fire; he has much light, and little fhade. Ia [ 6 ] In the church of St. Francefco d''Ajjiji is a painting of the Angelo Cujlode attributed to Raphael; though this is not true, yet the piece is very fine, its defign and color are good, and I am inclined to take it for a work of Coppola di Gallipoli , of whom I fhall foon have occafion to fpeak more. In the church of St. Francefco di Paola , out of town, are two beautiful paintings, which remain unnoticed, and are not efteemed j but they are fo fine, that I look upon them as the works of Paul Veronefe. The Jefuits at Palermo have a fine col¬ lection of antiquities; but thefe, like the Mufeum Kircherianum at Rome , are buried and loft among; the number of trifles and baubles. The cabinet of medals is pretty compleat in Roman and Sicilian coins. One of the fineft pieces among the marbles, is a bufto, perfectly refembling the ftatue of Sardanapalus at the fculptor Cavaceppi’s in Rome ; this, I believe, is marked in the hiftory of the arts. Here is likewife a clothed Venus of marble, and a little Amo- rino in a gruppo, a prefent of the prince of Scordia however, this whole piece is certainly [ 7 ] certainly modern, and of very bad work¬ manship. From the painted earthen vef- fels in this mufeum, refembling the TLtruf- can and Campanian ones, and which were dug a little out of the town, at a place where they now have built the Albergo de Poverty or, j Hofpital for the poor, one can form an idea of the Greek vafes in Sicily; but as there are much finer ones in Girgenti and Cataniay thefe do not deferve to be mentioned. At Moreaky a little town about two miles from Palermoy Situated on a moun¬ tain, the cathedral deferves to be noticed on account of two urns of porphyry; they are beautiful, and of a confiderable fize, and contain the allies of William the t Goody and William the Bad, two kings of Sicily. William the Good got this name, becaufe he was bigoted, and entirely de¬ voted to the clergy ; the other had the fur- name of Bad, for being wifer, and free from prejudices. This example proves the little dependence that can be had upon common fame, and confirms me in my contempt of it. In the fame church, among many others, is a painting of the JB 4 martyr- [ 8 ] martyrdom of St. Placidus; the fined: piece of Morrealefe, the Sicilian Raphael. There is fpirit in the fketch, and life in the exe¬ cution : the defign is inaccurate, but the ccilorit has ftrength and life. I fhall fay nothing of the Gothic Mofaic , which the Sicilians admire very much. In the Benedictine convent of St. Martino , about feven miles from Palermo , they fhew a painting in the refedory, and attribute it to Paolo Veronefe ; it is a fine piece, but cannot be done by this mafter. In the church are many fine pieces by the above- mentioned Morrealefe , and three more by Zioppo di Gangi. This convent has begun to colled: antiquities, and I here found a fine colledion of ancient vafes. But their figures in bronze, and their colledion of coins, do not deferve notice. The capital of this kingdom, Palermo , has an annual revenue of one million of Sicilian crowns (one of which is equal to twelve Neapolitan Car tint). The magi- ftrates of this city have made an agreement with the people always to give them bread at [ 9 ] at one and the fame price; thirty-three ounces for four Neapolitan Grant (or about two-pence fterling). All the corn which is exported from Sicily is fold here * each Sal- ma, which is about eight bulhels, pays fifteen Carlini , or between fix and feven fhillings fterling duty to the king ; and this makes the greateft part of his Sicilian, majefty’s revenues. On the 30th of March I left Palermo; travellers in this ifland muft either go on horfeback, or be carried in litters, becaufe the roads are impaffable for carriages. I .chofe the former, and was obliged, againft my will, to take one of the foldiers with me, whom the king keeps as guards againft the banditti. I was much againft taking this companion, but all my acquaintance, and even the viceroy himfelf, advifed me to it. The king pays a company of forty men, and each of the three vales another company, for the protection of travellers, and fafety of the roads. Every perfon, who pofteftes great eftates, keeps likewife a number of armed horfemen to guard his own perfon. I had been told, that thefe foldiers [ >0 ] foldiers were in fad: the leaders of the highwaymen, and only chofe to attend travellers, becaufe they were in connexion with thofe wretches ; but this is falfe, and the foldiers are very honed: fellows, in whom you may put entire confidence. I believe they may fometimes treat with lenity the robbers whom they take ; but you are without danger when • attended by them, and they condud the traveller with great attention and fidelity : yet, I think, one may fafely travel without them, as I never met a fmgle fufpicious perfon. The evening of the fame day I left Palermo , I reached Alcamo y and imme¬ diately experienced the Sicilian hofpitality; for having a recommendation to a man of note in this town, he introduced me into his houfe, and entertained me very ele¬ gantly. This gave me opportunities of obferving, that Sicily abounded with riches, where it was lead expeded. Though hut a little town, the gentleman lived in a very good houfe; his plate was rich, and his table well ferved : here I enjoyed every thing that civility, friend/hip, and fincerity could [ II } could offer. My liofpitable friend fhewed me all the different productions which grew upon his territories. Among the reft, they have here the beft Sommaco , a plant of which they make a powder for the tanning of leather : and the Salma of Alcamo is worth twelve Neapolitan Carlini more than that of other parts. Here they likewife have abundance of Manna , which is the juice of a kind of white Acacia , whofe bark they wound in the months of July, Augujl, and September , and the iffumg fap is thus infpiffated by the heat of the fun, and becomes Manna. This is of two forts, either in Cannole or Frafca: the firft is the beft, becaufe the fap comes out fo tough, and in fuch quantities, as to remain in great pieces, or to form tubes ; the fecond fort confifts of ftngle drops, which are received on a white cloth, fpread under the tree for that purpofe. Eight miles from Alcamo, and two from Calatafmi, there appears on a little hill a very perfect temple of the moft ancient Doric order, fuch as the temples of PeJH are, which you have feen. It is a remain¬ ing [ ^ ] mg monument of the ancient town of Segeftusy but not known to what deity it was confecrated ; it has thirty-fix columns, thirteen on each tide, including thofe on the corners, and five in the halls, before and behind. There are fome peculiarities to be obferved in the ftrudture of this temple, which cannot be explained with¬ out a drawing ; nor are they expreffed in my own drawing. The columns have bafes, which are two Neapolitan palms high, and eight palms broad. The en¬ trance is expreffed in the intercolumnia, which are likewife eight palms broad, by a particular excavation on the weft fide of the temple. Each column has twenty- five palms in circumference, and below the capital they grow narrower, but in a different manner from that of the columns at Pejli, Girgentiy and Selinunte y ending with a notch; nor are they fluted, like thofe of Pejli and Girgenti. From the manner, I am inclined to believe that the temple at Segejlus is of later date than the preceding ones. On the fame hill, near the temple, are two great round pieces like mill-ftones, of a harder and finer ftone than [ 1 than the temple itfelf; each of thefe pieces meafures fix palms and a quarter in diameter, and three palms and a half in height. They feem to be the remnants of columns, and not of an altar, as I had thought at firft, there being none of the charafteriftics of the latter on them. The fame evening I arrived at Trapani (the ancient Drepanum ) a fine well-built town, in which the falt-works deferve to be vifited. The fea-water is led into feveral refervoirs, where the heat of the fun eva¬ porates the aqueous particles, and leaves nothing but the fait behind. The reafon why they cannot every where, and on all the fea-coafts, prepare fait in this manner, is partly the want of the necqflary degree of heat, and partly the nature of the ground, which muft either be rock, or chalk, or clay. The Tunny fifhery hero is one of the greateft in Sicily , efpecially ^ound the adjacent ifles of Favignana and Falconieri ; the Genoefe family of the Pal- lavicrni , who bought it for 120,000 ze- chini, clear 20,000 Neapolitan ducats by it in a good year, On [ H ] On the Monte di ‘Trapano, or the ancient Eryx , which is lix miles from the town of that name, are but few remains of this 4 ancient town, and of the famous temple of the Venus Erycina ; there are fome frag¬ ments of columns of granite, where the order of architecture cannot be diftin- guifhed ; and a deep well, which is faid to be the fountain of the Venus Erycina . Here they likewife £hew two gates, which., as they pretend, were the ancient city gates, but I was convinced they were monuments left bv the Normans. This mountain of w 1’rapano is the higheft in the whole ifland, after mount /Etna, and like that, it is un¬ connected with any other mountains. The idea of worfhipping Venus on this moun¬ tain, preferably to any other place, may have taken its rife from the beauty of the females who inhabit it, as was the cafe with Gnidos in Greece , which was looked upon as the favorite refidence of this god- defs. The molt beautiful women in all. Sicily are indeed the inhabitants of this little town, and this gives many of them an opportunity of making their fortunes by marrying to great advantage. Their com- [ 15 ] complexions are as fair as thofe of any Englifhwoman or German, and they have alfo moft beautiful black eyes, full of fpirit and vivacity, and the moft regular Grecian profiles. The pure, ferene, and fubtle air of this neighbourhood is to be confidered as the natural caufe of this. I have faid nothing of St. Pofalia at Palermo, and I fhall therefore pafs over in filence the Madonna di Trapani, and an innumerable fwarm of miraculous faints over all Sicily . Before I leave Trapani, I muft give you an inftance of the Sicilian vindictive character, and of a remainder of the ancient Republican fpirit. In the times of the emperor Charles the Fifth, a fociety was formed at Trapani, who called themfelves The Society of St. Paolo, and had vowed to judge of the proceedings of their ma- giftrates, of their fellow-citizens, and of every inhabitant of the town : whofoever was condemned by this fociety, was fure to be loft ; for one of their members, upon whom they conferred the cruel office of a murderer, was obliged, without any reply, I [ *6 ] reply, privately to deftroy the perfon thus olandefiinely condemned. From 'Trapani I went to Marfala, the ancient Lilybceum. Charles the Fifth en¬ tirely filled up the harbour, which was formerly very famous : this he did to pre¬ vent the pirates of the coaft of Africa from any more landing there, as they had often ventured to do before, the port being very conveniently fituated for that purpofe. The Cape (Promontorium Lilybceum) is not a high land, as I expected, but very low, and quite even with the other land. Here are very few remains of antiquity I found nothing but a grotto, and a well, inclofed in coarfe Mofaic , under a little chapel on the fea fliore, which is faid to have been the refidence of the Sibyl of this place. Out of the town, towards Mazzara , are fame caves cut into the rocks for the fpace of fix miles, and which I look upon as quarries. Round Marfala they cultivate the greatefi: quantity, and the befi: fort of that ; plant, of which pot-afhes are made, which are ufed in making glafs ; it is there called Soda, or Saponara ; they fow it in Marcby [ l 7 3 March, and is fit for ufe in September} it is then cut and burnt to afhes. Between Trapani and Marfala is a little ifiand, now called St. Pantaleo, and faid to be the ancient Motya, where, ac¬ cording to Thucydides, the Phoenicians built a city, and from thence attacked and ha- raffed Lilybceum. Cluverius demonftrates, according to his cuftom, with a thoufand quotations, that it really is the ancient Motya; but he mentions nothing of the ruins there. I found veffiges of the city walls, and the remains of feven towers ; but the architecture does not appear to be Phoenician, becaufe the ilortes are cut too regularly ; they are eight palms broad, and four high. As there are walls in the ifle of Ghozzo f Gaidus) near Malta, which refemble the ancient walls near Pondi, X believe this regular architecture in Motya to bear date from the time of the Romans , efpecially as feveral urns, and Vafa Lacri - matoria have been found there, which are doubtlefs Roman: I fhall fpeak in the pro¬ per place of the architecture of the ruins in Ghozzo , c MAZ* [ >8 ] MAZZARA, from which a third part of the ifland has its name, is an incon¬ siderable town. The inhabitants infift upon it, that the ancient Selinus flood here, though the ruins of three beautiful temples in ‘Terra de Pulici , on the fea Shore, prove the true fituation of this town. In the cathedral are three fepulchral urns of marble, worked in relievo, the workman¬ ship is Roman , and but middling ; the Latin infcriptions (for I found no Greek ones) are entirely obliterated by time, and by the little care that has been taken of them. Gualteri was able to read them in his time, and mentions them. It is re¬ markable of this town, that though it lies on the fea fhore, fifli is very fcarce in it, becaufe the African pirates diflurb and take the fishermen ; and there is hardly one fifherman, who has not been, at leafl once, or even three or four times a flave at Tunis , which is but one hundred miles diflant from Mazzara. There is a very humane combination in this and other towns of Sicily for redeeming the Slaves,- and its mem¬ bers, in cafe of fcarcity of money, fell themfelves in order to free them. I will not [ J 9 ] not decide whether this humanity does not exceed its proper bounds; but I believe that felf-love, and the expectation of para- dife, often deftroy the merit of the action. At Mazzara I faw that Sicily produces likewife very fruitful women } for the duchels Sanzone , a little thin lady, had then twenty-fix healthy children. They cultivate much cotton here, and it is one of the bet revenues; it is fown in April , and ripens in September or Oc¬ tober , and even in Nove?nber , if the wea¬ ther be mild. The plant grows to the height of four or five palms ; the fruit refembles a hazel, and opens of itfelf, con¬ taining feveral black feeds, in which are wrapt the cotton. Twelve miles from Mazzara , and eight from the caftle Vetrano, on the fea (bore, are the ruins of three temples, being the remains of the ancient city of Selinus; in Sicily they are called Pilieri di CaJlel Vetrano . Next to the temple of the Olympian Jupiter at Girgenti, thefe are the greatefl fabrics C 2 of [ ] of antiquity, which are ftill preferred > they are indeed entirely pulled down, but one may yet difcover the order of archi¬ tecture, with the extent and the proportions of this building, from the gigantic admea- furements. The firft of thefe temples, lying neareft the fea, has columns with twenty-one flutes, as is ufual in all Doric columns ; the diameter of thefe pillars is of feven palms and a half; the fix guttas ©r drops below the Trygliphs are round, and take up a fpace of three palms and a half a remaining piece of the architrave meafured flxteen palms, the abacus ten palms and a half. It appears likewife that thefe columns had bafes, and I imagine the architecture was the fame as that of the temple at Segejium; I have not been able, among thefe ruins, to And or to mea- fure any other parts, befides thofe already mentioned. Of the fecond temple, I meafured the 'Plinth which refts on the capital; it had nine palms on each fide of the fquare; the diameter of the columns is five palms and a half; one of the comer ftones, which is n f 21 ] is ftill preferved entire, meafures feventeea palms and a half in length : the columns do not feem to be fo heavy as thofe of the former temple ; they are not fo fhort in proportion to their thicknefs, and the capi¬ tals are ornamented with fome fmall flutes. There are no remains of the bafes to be found , the columns have twenty-one flutes. Thefe temples are twice as long as they are broad, as all temples of this kind are; but nothing can now be diftinguifhed of the internal ftrudmre. The third temple is gigantic; its co¬ lumns have no flutes, except the four corner columns of the Celia; their Plinth mea¬ fures fourteen palms and a half fquare ; the diameter of the columns is eight palms; the frieze is four palms high ; the external columns of the portico are not fluted, and meafure ten palms and a half in diameter; they do not feem to have had any bafes. This temple is about one hundred and flxty yards long, and eighty broad. One of the columns of the Celia is ftill preferved, and has been repaired with fmall Hones, where it had been damaged ; from this it appears, C 3 that [ 22 J that the form of thefe columns was exactly like the fruftum of a cone. Upon the whole it fhould feem, that this temple was a more beautiful building than the other two ; but nothing can be diftinguiftied at prefent of its inner ftrudture, becaufe every thing is covered with ftones and rubbifh. In the Inter columnia of the entrance, I with fome difficulty di (covered fome fteps by which you defcend into the temple, as in that at Segejium. It is really worthy of ad¬ miration, how the ancients could raife thefe vaft maffes of ftone to fo great a height as they have done here ; the method however in which they did it plainly appears at this temple, and thofe of Girgenti when they wanted to raife a large ftone, they made a groove on each fide of it, in form of a femi- elliplis 3 into this they laid the rope, by which the ftone was drawn up. VIRGIL calls this town Palmofa Seli- nus -> but at prefent there are no palm- trees, and the country is ill cultivated. Many ftones have been carried away from the temples, for building a bridge over the river Be lice y and for this reafon we no longer o [ 2 3 ] longer find the architectonic parts complete there. Six miles from this temple, at Campo- bello , are fome quarries, where they break thefe monftrous mafTes of flone ; here we may be convinced of the methods which the ancients employed in their works. Here are ftill fome capitals and pieces of columns half wrought out of the rock, and half contained in it, as is told of the quarries in Egypt , whence the {tones for building the pyramids were taken. CASTE L VETR.A NO lies in a fine plain, and the country produces a great quantity of excellent wine and oil : this whole fertile trad belongs to the Duca di Monte Leone . SCIACCA (Thennce Selinuntice) is the place which claims the honor of having produced Agathocles. In the baths, which are faid to have been difeovered and cut out by j Dedalus, there are fome feats hewn in the rock, and a few inferiptions; one may diftinguilh the latter to have been in C 4 Greeks [ 2 4 ] Greek, but they are obliterated and illegible. The fituation of this town is extremely pleafant, being on a little hill, from whence there is a profpedt of the fea, and of a moil beautiful country, planted with fig, orange, and lemon trees : pilfachio trees grow in great plenty here, and it is re¬ markable that thefe trees never produce any fruit, unlefs another of the fame kind is planted near them having male flowers, and never bearing fruit; this male tree is called Scornabecco here. Sciacca is the only place where I found the inhabitants had fome tafte for painting; a citizen in very good circumftances, named Tejloni , had great talents in this art, and would have turned out a great painter, if he had ftudied at Rome. The young painter, that paints the hall in the leffer palace of your cardi¬ nal’s villa, is a native of Sciacca, as this 'Tejloni allured me, GIRGENTI ( Agrigentum , ArPArAS) is forty miles diftant from Sciacca. The- modem town is four miles diftant from the fea ihore, on a high mountain, where the caftle or fort of the Greek town formerly flood» [ 2 5 1 ■ Hood. If ever I enjoyed, in its full extent, the pleafure of a fine fituation and profped:, it was the morning after my arrival here, where I early viewed the whole country from the convent of the Augujline friars, who had received me. Reprefent to your mind, my dear friend, an eafy declivity under my window, four miles long, bound¬ ed by the fea, and extending on each fide about fix or feven miles; planted with vines, olive, and almond trees, excellent corn, already flowering on the 7 th of April , and the mofl palatable fruits which the earth can produce; the pofiefiions of each perfon divided by hedges of aloe and Indian figwort ; hundreds of nightingales filling the air with their melodious fongs; and amidft all thefe rural beauties, the well preferved temple of Juno Lacinia, the entire one of Concord, the remains of that facred to Hercules , and the ruins of the gigantic one of 'Jupiter. Here I exclaimed with Horace , *■—- *—Hic vivere vellem Oblitufque meorum , oblivifcendus et illis . Optimumprocul e terra Jpedtare jurentem. As f 26 ] As I was in want of fome repofc this day, I contented myfelf with viewing the mod remarkable things in the town. I went into the cathedral, where I faw the baptidery, which is made of one of the mod excellent, and perhaps the mod beau¬ tiful bado relievo’s of antiquity which has been preferved in marble to our times. Do not judge of it by the drawings of d'Or- ville, and father Pancrazi; rather de- droy thofe wretched reprefentations of the mod glorious and beautiful pieces of the ancients. This baptidery was found in the tombs of the ancient city of Agrigentum , and reprefents various figures differently executed on its four fides. The fird fide, which probably dood in front in the tomb, contains nine figures; the hero, who is the principal figure, is an Alto relievo , or three fourth parts of it are raided ; all that grace- fulnefs of form, and beauty of ideas, which is handed down to us by the ancients, is to be met with in this figure; you fee the form of one of the mod beautiful men, vifibly fingled out by nature for peculiar exploits, preferably to the red of mortals : he is raided above the other figures, more tall. [ 27 ] tall, more beautiful, more perfect than they in a word, the mafter-piece of nature and of art. The other figures re- prefent his attendants, and are likewife mailer-pieces as to the exadlnefs of the proportion and beauty of the form, yet lefs beautiful than the principal figure ; the old female that feems to petition the hero, is rather little in comparifon with the other figures, but perfedt in her kind. On the right fide of this urn is a figure which fwoons away, one of the moft beautiful female forms which art can imitate; the profile of the face is as perfedt and har¬ monious, as a mortal can imagine; the arms, efpecially the extended one, which is fupported by one of the nymphs, is a mailer-piece, and a model of the greateil beauty: the drapery is elegant, noble, and eafy, and the attitudes excellent. The hindmofl fide reprefents a chace, where three men, one with a fpear, another with an uclifted flone, and the third on horfe- back with a javelin try to wound a wild boar ; this work is bad, and finks infinitely below that of the front fide. The fourth fide, which is the left, when you confider it t 28 ] it from the front fide, is in the fame ftile as the laft piece, executed in low and very little raifed work, and reprefents a man lying on the ground, being fallen from a Quadriga 3 another man attempts to flop the four horfes, which look wild; and with difficulty you perceive a monfter like a dragon, in one corner, which fright¬ ens the horfes^ You have probably read father Pan- crazi’s opinion, where he makes this mo¬ nument a reprefentation of the hiftory, and the fepulchral urn of the laid king of Agri- gentum , named Phintia . I need not men¬ tion to you, that Phintia did not die at Agrigentum , but at Carthage \ but befides this, it does not at all appear probable, that fo hated a tyrant fhould have had fo beautiful an urn placed in honour of him. It is likewiie fuperfluous to obferve to you, that the hiftory does not coincide with it. After I had for a good while viewed the urn with great attention, I remained du¬ bious, whether it reprefented the hiftory of Hippolytus, and his ftep-mother Phedra , or that of Achilles dragging Heclor at his car. A [ 3 9 1 can The firft opinion feems the moil: probable : in that cafe, the capital figure in* front would reprefent Hippolytus , whom his nurfe (according to the tragedy) under the figure of the little old woman, endea¬ vours to perfuade; the next fide the fur- prize of Pbedra , on hearing the news of Hippolytus s death; the back or hindmoft fide, the young hero hunting ; and the left fide his unfortunate death, through the fright of his horfes by a dragon appearing out of the fea. I will not defend my opi¬ nion, perhaps the Greek tragedy, or the French one of Racine , may have milled me, and occafioned this imagination ; how¬ ever, I think there is a great correfpondence between the hiftory and the baifo relievo. From hence I was conducted to the? Segreteria, or office of the chapter of the cathedral,' where they fhewed me one of the fined: ancient vafes in terra cotta, which has been preferred from former ages. You mufl: have feen it in father Fancrazi s work. Whether the figures, as he ima¬ gines, really do or do not reprefent Vlyjfes in hell, on one fide; and on the other, his corn- [ 3 ° 1 companions before Circe, when {he was metamorphofing them, I leave to your decifion; for my part I own, that this explication does not fatisfy me, and does not appear exaft. The vafe is one of the larged and fined: of antiquity; it is four and a half Neapolitan palms high, of the mod elegant elliptic form, black with yel¬ low figures, which have beautiful profiles, and mod exactly proportionate colours. In this vafe you fee the bed Greek dile of thofe good times, when art was brought to its highed pitch by this nation, and I have found none in Italy which could equal it. The vafes, upon the whole, which I have feen in Sicily, are all fine, and proofs of the tade and ikill of the nation who made them. I (hall not determine whether they are an imitation of the Etrufcan or Campanian vafes in point of fubdance, colour, and form, or whether they accidentally got fo great a fimilarity with them. I am however rather inclined to think the Greeks in Sicily imi¬ tated the vafes of Etruria, but improved upon them, in the outlines of the figures. It is known that feveral particular towns in Sicily, fuch as Eher nice Selinuntice, and Gama- [ 3 1 3 Cawarina, were famous for making good vafes; and hiftory tells us, that Agathocles was the fon of a potter. Perhaps the earth of which the Etrufcans made their vafes, was much liked ; and why fhould not the ufe of them have become fafhionable, in the fame manner as we now have learnt to make china from the Chinefe and Ja¬ panese. In the churches of this town there are feveral other urns, and in the market-place an ancient infcription relating to the temple of Concord *, and a barbarous one of the temple of ‘Jupiter Olympicus : the urns are Romany and the infcriptions have been mentioned by Fazello f and other authors j it is therefore unneceffary to Ipeak more of it. The next day I rode to the ancient city of Agrigentum , in company with a gentle¬ man of Rome, and a lover of antiquities, Don Ettore, Barone di St. Anna , who had * Concordiae Agrigentinorum Sacrum, Res publica Lilybitanorum, dedicantibus M. At- terio. Candido Procos. et L. Cornelio Mar¬ cello Q. Pr. Pr. married. [ 32 ] married, and was fettled at Girgenti h# made the drawings and mod; of the expli¬ cations in father Pancrazi s work.— Agri- gent um lies on the declivity of the fame mountain, at the fummit of which the modern Girgenti is fituated. I firffc vifited the temple of 'Juno Lacinia at the eaftern extremity of the ancient city. This temple had thirty-four columns in its circumfe¬ rence, as all the now extant temples of the ancient Doric order have, whofe length is the double of their breadth (bijlunghi)* Only one fide of this temple is Handing j and from thence it appears that the columns, like all others of this order, have no bafes; they have twenty-one flutes, and are conic, like thofe of Pejii, and other temples of this kind. That, which, as it is faid, was facred to Concord, and in which there is now a church, has the fame proportion, fize, and number of columns; it makes the fined; appearance of all the temples at Girgenti, becaule it is entirely preferved,. and Hands elevated on a little hill. Here one may form a judgment of the beauty of that architecture, where a noble fimplicity and few ornaments are employed; none of the t 33 X the other lefTer temples can be compared to this for beauty, and every beholder is enchanted with the harmony of the few, but noble parts, of which this building confiftS. It has three heps; the Celia is now made ufe of a§ a church, and I plainly faw the IIPONAON and nOXGIKON 7 . The entrance was on the eaft fide in the por¬ tico, under which one could go round the Celia, and enter it on the weft tide; there are no marks of the Celia having had columns, but it feems that its walls were built entirely of free ftone, they being perfedt to this very day :—there are no veftiges of win¬ dows, and the light was probably admitted into the temple through the door only. It plainly appears, that the breaches, which are now in the wall, have been made in later times. On the eaft ftde of the temple there are ftill the remains of the ftairs, which led into it through the Intercolumnia , and the marks of fix fteps, each of which is half a palm high.—An EngUJhman, on vifiting this ftair-cafe, got people to dig under it. Without the walls of the old city, towards the fea, there is a building, of D which r 34 ! which the one remaining fide is faid to be all that remains of the temple of Mfcula - fins : the wall is built of great fquare hones* and has half projecting fluted pillars with¬ out bales, of the fame ancient Doric order with the preceding ones. Whether this temple is of the fame date with, or more modern than the former, and only built in imitation of the ancient order, it is difficult to determine. This way of building is pleaiing to the eye, and the demi-columns, which 'are fixed on this fine wall, have a good effeCL The wall is fo thick, that •a ftair-eafe of the fame order is con¬ trived within it, confiding of mere ilones, not cemented together with mortar, ap¬ pearing to me a mafter-piece of architecture, in its kind ; I was lorry that 1 could not meafure it, I could only fee it through feme, apertures in the wall, the entrance .being now clofed up. On my return to the ancient city, 1 took notice of its walls : they are, as Vitruvius informs us, fuch as. the Greeks were tiled to extruft on the rocks, and confining of great free flones : about eight palms afunder there were quadrangular pits, or openings, in— clofed m the fame hones, and filled with lime [ 35 ] lime and bricks. It is plain that this was done to leffen the expences and the trouble. The height of thefe walls cannot now be determined, but the rock itfelf is of a considerable height without, or towards the fea-fide, and could therefore be feen a great diflance at fea. Arduus inde Agragas oftentat maxima longe Maenia, magnanimum quondam generator equorum. Virg. /Eneid. Lib. III. They are not fo high within, becaufe the ground is raifed and made more level by the earth which has been carried on the rock. Along thefe walls yon fee a number of open tombs, which are fmall, fome round, fome Square thefe are probably thofe graves, which were allowed by Spe¬ cial licence to be dug fub Dio within the city, .as it was cuflomary to bury the dead without the city. I think it is likewife neceffary to men¬ tion the tomb, which is faid to be that of the tyrant ©EPON, though Palterdzi has engraved it.—It is remarkable in this fquare building, that the firft dory is of the Doric D 2 order. [ 36 ] order, and the fecond is fupported on' its four fides, by columns of the Ionic order* and capitals, over which there are Doric « trygiiphs, and round drops or guttas after the mofl ancient manner. This irregularity of architecture is only to be met with, in this fingle ancient ftruCture, and I am dubious whether it is really Greek or Ro-> man , the laft I rather fufpeCt. The build¬ ing narrows towards the top, and in the fecond flory is a window, which de- creafes in fize in the fame manner * it has a good effedt upon the eye, and its enchafe- ment is very ornamental. Above the fecond ftory is an Attic one in a good tafte, which appears to have been adorned with ftatues: from the ruins, it feems that fame great building has furrounded this quadrangular ftrudture, but it is impoffible now to form an idea of its plan, order, and delign. At laft I arrived at the famous ruins of the gigantic temple of the Olympian c jupiter 7 the exigence of which has been doubted by many.— Diodorus Siculus gives a plain and ample defeription of it in the 13th book, which I lhall here infert, as man¬ dated by Cluverius: “ Qlympii Jovis tern- il plo 3 [ 37 } c * plo quum jam prope effet, uti teBum indu~ ceretur, bellum impedimento fuit. Ab co delnceps tempore, excifo oppido, nunquam “ pofea Colophonem cedifciis imponere Agri- i( gent ini valuerunt. Fanum idpedum ccclx “ longifudine porreBum ef, ad lx vero pedes “ latitudo patet, et ad cxx pedes altitudo, “ fundamento tamen excepto, attollitur. Max- iC imum hoc omnium ef, quce per infulam “ habentur, et magnitudine JubJlruBionum “ cum exteris quoque comparari meretur. “ Nam, etiamfi molitio ijia ad finem perduBa “ non fuit, tamen quanta mole injlitutum “ fuerit adhuc adparet. Quum enun alii ad “ parietes ufque tcmpla producant , aut co- lumnis cedes compleBantur, utriufquefruc- ee turce genus huic fano inefi; quippe una {c cumparietibus columnce adfurgunt, rotunda “ extr inf ecus et quadrat a intus forma. Am- “ bit us harum ab exteriori parte xx pedes Si habet: tanta friarum amplitudine, ut cor- “ pus humanum injerere fe apte queat; in- of which Diodorus gives us fo fine a defeription, and of the circus : the aque¬ ducts are all fubterraneous, becaufe the water was brought from the high moun¬ tain. Nothing but the mere fituations re¬ main of the two temples of Jupiter and Minerva, which Polybius mentions. This is all I could obferve of the remains of ancient slgrigentum. The bifhop, who is of the family of Lucchejiy has a fine collection of Greeli and Roman coins, the number amounts to twelve hundred ; the feries of Roman em¬ perors is complete, he has many empreffes, and the fcarceft confular coins in bronze he poffefTes the coins of all the Sicilian cities in lilver, and many Punic ones in gold. But the molt fcarce and valuable pieces in his mufeum, are four golden bowls of the fize of a tea-faucer two of them are wrought in the Egyptian ftile, with figures of oxen in intaglio, or impreffed, fo that they appear raifed on the outlide : the other two are fmooth, and marked with dots, difpofed in various ornamental figures.— They [ ] They Were found in an ancient tomb, 2nd appear to have been eonfecrated to the fer- vice of Apis.. He has likewife fome earthen yeffels,but they are not remarkably beautiful. I must here mention, as a curious cir- cumftance in natural hiftory, a fpring of which Fazellus fpeaks, and which is iituated in the garden of my noble friend Ficani. From this fpring iffiies fo great a quantity of bituminous, oily matter, that it rifes on the furface of the water, whence it is taken, and ufed as oil in lamps. I have already given you an account of the fertility of this part of the country, but I am fo enchanted with it, as to begin to write of it again. In the month of April the com hid us and our horfes, and I mea- fured grafs which was ten palms high. Here are hill the nobleft horfes of all Sicily ; they are of an excellent race, and are fo fure-footed, that we could ride down a de¬ clivity, where the foot pafiengers who ac¬ companied us were obliged to Hide down. ■-—-Altor equorum Millerapit turmarn, atque hinnitibus aera flammac Pulveream volvens Agragas ad inania nubem. Silius, Lie. XIV. This t 47 ] This city is likewife celebrated for the beauty of its female inhabitants, but jea- loufy is fo predominant with the men, that the ladies are feldom feen. The inhabi¬ tants have wit and fine parts, and the an¬ cient hofpitality and urbanity are more exercifed here than in other places of Sicily. The profufion and voluptuoufnefs of anti¬ quity is now banifhed from among them, and one can no longer fay, Agrigentini de- liciis quotidie fe ita dedunty ac fi crajlino die morituri, demos ve.ro ita extruere , quaji ceter- num vidluri. The country people are obliged to live poorly, becaufe the land is in the pofiefiion of the rich only; and the monks in par¬ ticular rather leave the ground uncultivated, than incur any expence by tilling it; the day-labourer can get no more than fifteen Neapolitan Grani a day, if he works ever fo hard in the fields. If a judicious govern¬ ment would re-eftablifh order, juftice, and equality, this would be the happieft fpot on earth. The [ 43 ] The city is tolerably populous, having 20,000 inhabitants. The king has caufed a new port to be made, by which means the city carries on a great corn trade, and is now the greatefl Caricatore di Grant (ex¬ porter of corn) of all the feven towns which are allowed to export this commodity. In the magazines there are always above 80,000 Salma * of corn in A ore, and a Salma is as much as ; a Angle man can confume in a year. I here obferved, that the method of laying up corn for three or four years is quite natural, whereas the Englijh have fet pre¬ miums upon fuch an invention. The fpecies of ftone hereabouts, which is mixed with nitre, and the drynefs of the climate, pre- ferve the corn here but both thefe cir¬ cumstances are wanting in Germany and England . They dig deep pits in the rock, where they ram in the corn very clofe, and then immure it, to exclude any air y contrary to the opinion eftablifhed in other parts, that the frefh air preferves it. However, before it is fold, they expofe * 80,000 Salma are fometliing lefs than 8 o,oqq quarters. it [ 49 ] it to the open air, in order to fwell its bulk and weight. As I intended to pafs over to Malta , I was obliged to go by land to Alicata, which is twenty-four miles from Girgenti , and en¬ gage a little bark, of thofe which are much ufed, and very numerous in Malt;, called Speronara ,. becaufe there was none to be had in the harbour of Girgenti . I was glad to make this ihort continuation of my journey by land, as it gave me an op¬ portunity of feeing one of the mod: culti¬ vated and fined parts of the fouth fide of Sicily, and if no more, to have at lead a view of the fituation of the ancient town of Gela. Having fent home the foldier, who had hitherto accompanied me from Palermo, my kind hod Ficani took care to provide me with horfes, and a well-armed man on horfeback, fuch as they call Cam- pieri in Sicily , and without whofe company no Sicilian will travel fix miles : I was ob- - liged to accept him for my companion, without having the lead inclination to do fo, there being no occafion for him, as experience had taught me. The Sicilians E travel 4 [ 5° I travel fo feldom, and are fo ufed : to this* fafeguard, that they constantly think it neceflary, and are afraid to go without. Thus I left Girgcnti and this worthy man r and dined at Palma with a friend of his : Palma is a well peopled town r fituated in a moil pleafing and, fertile country, planted with all forts of fruit, but chiefly with almonds, which turns to great account. Neither Cluverius nor Flazellus fpeak of this agreeable well fituated lpot, which has likewilie a mine of fulphur found pretty near the furface of the earth, and dug up ins abundance : it is faid to be better in quality than that of Solfatara in Puzznoh, and> the Marfeilles and Eng/ijb Ships pay from ten to fifteen per cent., more for it,- than for the lad-mentioned fort.- I rode, through the fields' of Gela > Adparet Camarina pFOeul, campique Geloi, Immaniique Gela,- fluvii cognomine dida.- Virg. Ain-eid. Lib. IM.- Thefe fields are well cultivated!, and the corn that grows on them gives the fined and whited fort of flour, for which reafon they t 5> ] I illCy fend great quantities of the Pajle d' AIL tata to Malta. In the evening I reached Alicata or Licata. This little town pro¬ bably Hands on a part of the famous Gela, as the ancient river Gelay now called Flume Salfoy falls into the fea not far below it; it is well builtj and contains about 12,000 perfons. I fhall not attempt to decide the difpute between Cluvcrius and Fazellus ; the former doubted whether the ancient town of Geld really ftood here* So much is certain i that the Greek iftfcription, which is fixed in the cattle of Licata , and of which the Marchefe Maffei fpeaks, in a letter inferted in his Mufeum Veronenfe, was Found in this neighbourhood : I obferved as a peculiarity, that it is written with characters of different ages and various forms i it appears plainly to be the work of different ages, and of leveral hands, and efpecially as it contains an account of various Olympiads ; it is cut in a fine white marble. As we could not fet fail on Palm Sunday , the wind being contrary, I was well treated on ftiore, and got abundance of provifions E 2 pre- [ 5 ^ ] prefented to me for my confumption ora board the Speronara . On the 13 th of Jlpril I failed from Sicily on board the bark, which to all appearance is very dangerous, being fo narrow, that only two perfons can lie afide each other in the ftern part ; it hath one hdmfman and fix rowers. This is, however, the fafeft kind of veffels in the Mediterranean , for by her fwiftnefs fhe efcapes the pirates, and by her lightnefs fhe is fafe from the waves. We failed the whole day along the coaft of Sicily to Maz- zarelli, where the failors are ufed to wait for the coming on of night, in order to crofs the channel of Malta , which is only ninety miles broad. At midnight we began to row, it being quite calm, and continued rowing the whole night. At day-break we had a brifk eafterly breeze, which carried us to the weflward, and about ten in the morning of the 14th we landed on the ifle of Ghozzo y which lies to the weftward of Malta. I fpent my time in viewing this ifland, or rock, and with great trouble mounted to the top of it, which appeared quite uncultivated, but was, to my adonifhment, prodigioufly well [ 53 ] planted.. Reprefent to yourfelf a barren and hard rock, where the upper cruft has been beaten off, pounded, and by moift- ening it with water converted into foil, which the indefatigable inhabitants culti¬ vate. In this manner all the ground upon the ifle of Malta is managed, and cuftom inclines the hufbandman to believe that it muft be fo, and prevents him from envying the Sicilian, and the fertility of the ifle he inhabits : he thinks himfelf fuperlatively happy, if he can marry an Arabian beauty, and eat his fill of white onions and garlick ; and he is happy indeed, becaufe joy and contentment are his conftant companions. In this ifle, which is the Gaulus of the ancients, they cultivate abundance of fugar canes, and fo much cotton, that it not only pays for the goods which muff be imported, but like wife brings in a balance in cafh ; the women make a kind of carpets, which look like the 'Turkey ones, and fell very well. Here is a little town, and leveral villages, which they call Cajal, and which, as well as' in Malta , are very clean and peat, for the houfes and churches are hi E 3 built [ J4 ] built of the white Hone, of which the whole ifland confifts, Ghozzo has fome antiquities worth observing ; the moft lin¬ gular is a wall jp form of a femj-cjrcle, built of Hopes of unequal and rugged form, without any mortar, like the town waji neap Fondi j the Hones which compofe this wall in Qhozzo. are much larger than thofe at the laH mentioned place, for I found fome fixteqn palms in length. I (hall not make any conjectures about the form and defti- natipq of this building, but to me it ap¬ pears evidently to be of Punic origin. The great correfpondenpe and exaCt fimi- Jarify of this to the Etrujcan architecture (it having been faid that the building at Fondi was a work of the Hetrurians) is a circumftance which may give you an oppor¬ tunity for farther enquiries, and I {hall no£ venture to fay any thing more of it. Here are three Punic infcriptions, and one Roman ; the lafl is nearly obliterated, and the former are illegible : the body of a middling Hatue in th e. Roman Hile, is immured in the wall. The fame afternoon we failed from Ghozzo to Malta , where we arrived in the evening.. r 55 3 evening. I was furprized when I faw the many towers and baftions along the coaft, which defend the illand : but my aftonifh- ment increafed when I entered the harbour, and pafled by the cable St. Elmo ; the extent of this port, its fafety, and its divi¬ sions, which make five harbours out of one, are all the works of nature, which has fo admirably fhaped the rock; on the other hand, the fortifications, which every where furround and defend this port, are an aftonidling undertaking of art. I was ftruck with the view of the number and fize of the ba(lions, ravelines, and batteries; but I foon pitied thofe, who, not content with being confined by nature and the fea to one little rock, even included themfelves by art into a bill narrower fpace : I was fo feized with fear and fadnefs on the following days, when walking round the walls, and I faw myfelf lhut in on all fides, that I was very anxious to depart again. Jdow great a happinefs is the liberty of mankind 1 how is it poflible that fo many .do not know it, or undervalue it, cr even voluntarily refign it ? Unfeeling minds, E 4 how [ 5 * ] how can ye miftake the great;ft happinefs of human nature ! The town of Valetta is well built, an(f conflfts of 20,000 inhabitants ; the whole number of inhabitants on the ifles of Malta and Ghozzo is computed at 100,000. The knights, who govern this ille, are of diffe¬ rent European nations ; by this means the inhabitants of the town have loft their original character, and have received one, compofed of thofe of feveral other nation's : however, the influence of the climate ftill predominates, and a more patient, con¬ tented, and quiet people than the Maltefe , will hardly be found any where elfe. Ne- ceflity, and their intercourfe with foreigners, have inftilled the love of money, and the ideas of accumulating riches, into them ; and the knights, to their Ihame be it laid, have rendered the manners fo depraved, that there is not an honeft woman or girl to be met with in the whole town, except thole of the old nobility. Tliefe few noble families, who live entirely reclufe, and whofe houfes are more impregnable than the fortreffes of the ifland, are fo con¬ temptibly [ 57 2 tcmptibly treated by the knights of the order, that I heartily pitied them. All the other inhabitants of the town employ the bafeft and moft abjeCt means, even the beauty of their wives and daughters, to obtain protection, public places, penfions, and prefents from the Baillis , commanders, &c. of the order: the countryman and the failor are alone inexorable upon this point ; they fuffer the greateft hardfhips from the grand matter, they work hard, live upon a fmall pittance, and never tnur- mur againft the government; nay, they offer their own blood in defence of religion, becaufe they are influenced by a ftrong fa- naticifm ; but if any of the knights fhould attempt to carry off their wives or daughters, if they fhould by force, or by dint of money and perfuafive words prevail on them to go with them, thefe knights would be inevi¬ tably loft and murdered. Here then it is, we fee, how greatly the manners can alter the character of a nation, and defire of riches filence all other pafiions, when indi¬ viduals of this ftate, which poffeffes a very high degree of innate jealoufy, can fo far be blinded by fordid principles, as to give U P [ 58 ] up their wives and daughters to the knights of the order. In the church of St. Givanni, the pro¬ testor of their whole religion, the cieling is done by Prete Calabrefe ; where are painted the exploits of the Maltefe order, in various pieces, with much life and expreflion ; but his defign, as ufual, is very faulty and in- corredl. There are lome tombs of the grand mafters in the church, among which, that of the commander Cottone , who has eredted moftof the fortifications, ftill called La Cottonera , is the bed :; it confifts of black and white marble, but is not above mediocrity. This church, and the forti¬ fications, are all that deferve to be feen in the town : the latter arc very great and extenfive, and require 60,000 men to de¬ fend them. In the harbour for the fhips belonging to the order, I faw but few ; the whole naval force of the order confifts of four gallies, two fhips, and one frigate, which are exceedingly well manned, and infpire the Parks with more fear, than all the other powers of Italy can do. I T HE t 59 ] The revenues of the grand mailer are about 18,000 French Lonis-d'or - 3 he gets them from fome demefnes in the ille, the annats of the commanderies, and unjuft jafury of the corp, of which he has the monopoly, apd which he fells at what prices he pleafes : thus, though the people pay fio taxes or impofts, yet the grand mafter has an equivalent from them, by making them pay fo dear for their bread. The products of the ille are chiefly cotton^ and which is preferred to that of the Le¬ vant } of this is exported annually the value pf 400,000 Sicilian dollars (each at twelve Neapolitan Carlini). Here are alio cele¬ brated oranges ; they were fold to us at one half Neapolitan Grano each, on account of the great exportation. The grand mafter Jets out his garden annually for 1000 Sicilian Scudi; in it there are 700 orange, and 1000 Jemon-trees. I faw a terrace with ftraw- berries, which annually yielded the owner 150 of thefe Scudiy becaufe they brought fruit thrice a year. In the Bofchetto> which is another garden of the grand mafter, near the old town (Citta Vecchia) I am told there is r 6 ° i is a plantation of 10,000 orange-trees. Cwnin likewife brings much money into the country, becaufe it is cultivated and ex¬ ported in great quantities. The trade which the Maltefe carry on with their brigantines, which are built like xebecs, but fmaller, is furprizing. It confifts. in an advantageous barter of feveral goods and coins, which they con- iider as merchandize; fometimes ten or twelve people trade in company, and whole villages frequently have a fhare in fuch a brigantine. It is inconceivable how people, that can neither write nor read, are able to fee the profits that may arife from fo intricate a commerce, and which requires fo much calculation, and how they after¬ wards know to fhare thefe profits. As they who go upon the voyage are intitled to a greater fhare than thofe who remain at home, they diflinguifh their different fhares by fhells, or beans, or pebbles of different fizes. As the knights import all the various coins into Malta , thefe people exchange them with their knights, and t 61 ] bily goods at Genoa , which they fell at Cadiz and Lijbon with great advantage. In the old town is the church of St. Paolo, of the purefl and bed: architecture ; here they fhew the fabulous grotto, where St. Paul is faid to have been bitten by the viper. In the town-houfe (Palazze dei Giurati) there is an ancient Punic infcrip- tion, which is well preferved. The canon Agius, who is the molt learned man in Malta , and has the place of librarian at the public library belonging to the order, has explained it, and as he thinks hit the mean¬ ing of it, but I am not able to judge in this cafe. They often find urns of ftone in the ifland, containing the bones of the deceafed, and an infcription on the infide of the urn. They are generally in Punic characters. I have alfo feen feveral vafes found in Malta , perfectly refembling thofe of Campania , both in form, and in the debgn of the figures ; it may therefore be conjectured that they were brought th itlier from Sicily. * t The t 62 J The above-mentioned canon Aghts* ka$i made a grammar of the Maltfe language; in which he derives all the words from Arabic roots. The Maltefe indeed, and all the inhabitants of the coaft of Africa {Egypt not excepted) Can perfectly under- ftand each other, as I have been allured by people who lived many years at Alex¬ andria. As I have already fpokeri of the eha- falters of thefe people; I rmuft likewife fay jomething of their figure. The beauties; for which Malta has been fo celebrated; are now no longer to be found; and this is Owing to feveral reafons; firft, beeaUfe the knights have caufed a mixture of the blood of all the European elation s ; and fecondly,- becaufe 1 am of opinion; that on this rock fo immenfely hot, and fo near Africa , no real beauties can be born. It is true, the women, though of a fmall flature; are Well proportioned, their hands and feet beautiful, their eyes very fine and black; * The bbok here hinted at Teems to be, Agio de Soldanis della Lingua Punica & Grammatical & Dtzie- nario Punico-Maltefe , F» t 63 ] and what appears rather extraordinary* their complexions whiter than thofe of the Sicilian ladies, which probably arifes from the great care they take of them; but they all have flat nofes and thick lips, from which their vicinity to Africa eafily ap¬ pears. They have great fprightlinefs, wit, and genius; but as molt of them carry on a trade with their beauty, and their mothers educate them for that purpofe, they have no violent paffions or true affections. The African climate appears ftill more plainly in the men ; for they have flat and broad nofes, thick chins and lips, and frizzled woolly hair. They are rather fhort, but very ftrong arid nervous, referrt- bling the Moors f and walk barefoot both winter *nd fummer; for which rcafon their failors go- much better up the fhrouds than the Dutch, or even the Englijh failors.- They wear caps, and never any hats, which is- likewife the cuftom with the common people in Sicily. Round thefe caps they tie a handkerchief, whichT fufpeot gave rife to- the Titrkijl) cuftom of tying a. white muflin cloth round their turban. Much had been- told [ 64 ] told me of the temperance of the Maltefe, but I found, that the Tailors on board the Speronara y in which I failed along the remaining parts of Sicily and the kingdom of Naples , eat and drank twice as much as the Sicilians . I did not find the climate fo hot as I had been led to expedt. It is true, that this fpring 1767, was a remarkable cold and difagreeable one ; but not to mention that, I was allured at Malta> that before the middle of May they feldom took their hummer dreffes. I indeed found the fun’s heat very great, and perhaps more intenfe than it is in Germany in the midft of hum¬ mer ; but at the fame time a violent north wind carried a moil; piercing cold air along with it. As I vifited the temple of Sell- nunte., the fcorching heat of the fun burft the Ikin in my face, fo as to make it quite bloody; but the wind was fo fharp, that I was obliged to button my coat, though it was made of woollen cloth. I have faid nothing of the miracle by which they pretend, that there are no \ poifonous [ 65 ] poifonous animals on the ifle of Malta fince the times of St. Paul ; this is one of thole frequent and obvious miraculous legends, of the truth of which one may juftly doubt. The 23d of April I failed from Malta on board a Speronara , and as we had done in coming to the iile, we now went to a point of land, where the canal is narrowed:. There, is a little harbour, and a beautiful villa of one of the commanders of the order ; the place is called St. Giulia no. About eleven o’clock at night we failed from hence with a briile weflerly wind. Being near eight miles diftant from Malta, our captain fuddenly put about, becaufe he law a Ihip of which he had fome fufpicions ; however, on my fpeaking to him, he plucked up his courage, and continued his route* when we foon faw, that what he had been fo much embarralfed about was only a Sicilian tartane. On the 24th, about four o’clock in the afternoon, I landed in Sicily near Cape Paffaro (Promontorium Pacby- num ) one of the three Capes of Sicily, which is likewife a low point running out to fea, and not at all higher than the red: F of [ 66 ] of the land ; the fame as I had obferved of Cape Ljilybczum . On account of the vio¬ lence of the north wind, I was obliged to flop half a day at Marzamemi, where is the greateft 'Tunny fifhery in all Sicily . Here I obferved a plenty of barley and oats, growing like wild plants on the heaths : this circumltance has been doubted by many natural hiftorians, but I really found it here. However, I fhall not pretend to decide w'hether thefe kinds of corn were really found fir ft in Sicily , and that from thence the whole earth has been provided with them ; or whether this circumftance has given rife to the fable of Ceres , Trip- tolemus, See. or laftly, whether thefe wild plants may not really have fprung from feeds raifed by cultivation, and afterwards accidentally carried away into uncultivated parts *. * It is a pity that the author was not naturalift enough to determine the fpecies of oats and barley ; for the fpecies of barley, which are commonly culti¬ vated, are not known to grow wild in any country ; and the common oats we cultivate, only grow wild in ‘Juan Fernandez , as Linn reus obierves ; and which no doubt were fidt brought there by fome European fhip. F. From [ C ] From Marzamemi I went eight miles into the country to vilit Avola, a little well built town, where the fugar-plantations and fugar-houles are worth feeing. It is fitu- ated on a pretty high, but pleafant hillock, and is as regular a built place in a fmall compafs, as Turin is in a greater one. For¬ merly, before the Dutch employed their black Haves in' making fugar, at fo fmall an expence to themfelves, the people cultivated great quantities of fugar here, and at Melilli, and in other places along this coaft, Sup¬ plying the whole ifand with it. There is an impoft of an ounce of fiver, or thirty Neapolitan Carlini per Cantaro * upon all foreign fugars that are imported; but not¬ withstanding this, the Dutch can fell their JVeJl India fugar cheaper than the inhabi¬ tants ; becaufe here the people are obliged to pay the workmen at a very high rate, but the Dutch have the labour for little or nothing -f*. The fugar cane grows like the common * A Cantaro is a weight of IOO Rotoli , and equals 175 lb. Avoirdupoife , or } | hundred weight. An ounce at Napoli is equal to 17 dwts. 4 gr. Troy, or about 4 [hillings and 3d. a fterling. F. f Not for fo little or nothing, as the author thinks. The negro-flave mull: be bought, clad, and fed, is F 2 Subject [ 68 ] common reed, but does not come quite to that fize. They cut it in September , crufh or ftamp it in a mill, and then boil the juice out, and refine it in feveral caldrons, by different degrees of heat; this juice is then inlpilfated, and put into forms. The Sicilian fugar is fweeter than all other forts, but it can never be made fo white. I doubt whether the ancients knew the ufe of fugar, becaufe, as far as l know, there is no ac¬ count of it in any ancient author ; how¬ ever, Canne Ebofie , which the Sicilians call Canne Miele , and which fignify the fugar canes, feems to be of Greek origin. fubject to many difeafts, and at the leaft ill treatment he runs into the large woods, which are near the Surinam colonies, and meets his brethren deferters there, who are very numerous : this makes labour even in Suri¬ nam not quite fo cheap as is imagined, but the richnefs of the foil at Surinam makes the cultivation of fugar cheap ; and it mult be allowed, that the labour done by negro-llaves is not quite fo dear, as in countries where the labourer is a free man, aad muft be paid for his labour. This inftance of the fugar cultivated in Sicily^ Ghozzo, and Malta , however proves, that the fouthern provinces of North America , whofe climate is fimilar to that of thefe ifles, might one day be ufefully employed in the cultivation of fugar, and perhaps with, better fuccefs than in Jamaica , as the continent is infinitely more healthy than the iflands. F. On I [ 6 9 1 On the 26th of April , at nine o’clock in the morning, I failed into the vaft port of the city of Syracufe , fo celebrated and powerful in former times. At the entrance I fought for the caftle of PIcmmyrium, which lay oppofite Ortygia , or modern Syracufe, and together with this place defended the entrance of the large and extenfive harbour ; but I did not find the leaf veflige of it on the fpot where it formerly flood. Having a great idea of the magnificence of this powerful city, which confifled of five towns (and was therefore called UivrdmuXn) whofe walls extended 180 fladia in circumference*, I could not conceive from what I now faw, how it could ever have fiuch a name. I sought for the celebrated temples, the palaces of Hiero and Dionyjius , and all the famous edifices, but I fought in vain •, and faw nothing but a coafl, without any buildings, along this harbour, which re- fembles a lake or fea. Since all things are fubjeft to fuch vicifiitudes; fince cities fo powerful and great can fcarce preferve their * Strab. L. 6. p. 270. F 3 bare [ 7° ] bare names for but a few centuries, what mortal can flatter himfelf with having im¬ mortal fame in future ages ? If Homer had not exiiled, Achilles and Ulyjfes would have been forgotten; and if it had not been for Curtins , we fhould have known but little of Alexander. One happy day in this life is worth whole ages of fame after death, and one friend here is better than an hun¬ dred admirers of our pofterity 1 SVRACUSE formerly had two har¬ bours, which may ftill be feen. The firft is the Portus magnus, which is ftili called Porto maggiore by the natives, and of which .the entrance lies between modern Syracufe , and the ancient Plemmyrium. This entrance is about one-third of a mile in breadth ; Sicanio pr retent a fonu jacet infula contra Plemmyrium undojum ■, nomen dixere priores Ortygiam. Virg. ^Eneid. Lib. III. The ancients called the other harbour Portus minor , or Marmoreus , and it Hill preferves the name of Porto Piccolo. This port I [ 7i ] port lies north of Syracufe , and the former fouth of it. In the latter lay the whole fleet and naval power of the old town, and this harbour was, according to Diodo?*us, formed by Dionyjius at an immenfe expence, and with great magnificence ; he caufed it to be encompafled and paved with marble, and placed marble Fatues all round it, which Verves afterwards took and carried with him to Rome. At the bottom of the water in the harbour, here and there, flags of marble are feen, which prove in what manner it was built. One may form an idea of the extent of the greater port, by reflecting that naval engagements of more than one hundred fhips have happened in it, and that Virgil calls it Sicanius Sinus. It is indeed of a vaft fize, and in the broad- eft place meafures fix miles acrofs. In modern Syracufe , which is that part formerly called Ortygia or Infula„ the ca¬ thedral is worth notice, confining of Doric columns, like thofe which I have before mentioned : it is faid, but without fufli- cient grounds, that this church was the famous temple of Minerva in this city. F 4 There [ 7 2 1 There are thirty-four columns, as I have found in all fuch temples, where I could count them; their order and form is the fame with thofe at Pejli , Girgenti , &c. The Celia of this temple is ftill preferved, and they have cut pilafters out of its walls* but the columns they have joined together by walls, and by that means in a barbarous tafte formed one main, and two fecondary, nefs of a church. It is remarkable that all thefe columns have no bales, thofe excepted winch form the Pronaon and Pojlicon. This is the fecond temple, where I found the JL ancients had obferved a different order of architecture in the Celia, from that in the other parts of the building. In the greateft temple at Selinunte the columns are plain, but thofe of the Pronaon and Pojlicon are fluted. Here are likewife three other co¬ lumns to be feen at a houfe near the port; which are faid to be the remains of the temple of Diana. In Syracufe itfelf there are ftill the lament¬ able remains of the famous fountain of Are- thuja , whofe praifes all the poets have lung, and all the hiftorians repeated ^ which, ac¬ cording [ 73 ] cording to Strabo and Diodorus, was fo great, as to contain an immenfe quantity of fillies of an uncommon fize, and which was held in veneration as the tutelar nymph of Syracufe: at prefent it con lifts of a poor refervoir, where the water gullies pretty plentifully through two openings, but has a brackilh tafte, becaufe of a commu¬ nication with the fea. Thus the noble fountain, which formerly was held facred, now is ufed by the common people to walh their linen in. Extremum hunc Arethufa mihi concede laborem; Sic tibi, cum fludius fubterlabere Sicanos Doris amara fuam non intermifceat undam. Virg. Eclog. X. Thy facred fuccour Arethufa bring, To crown my labour : ’tis the laft I fmg.— So may thy filver ftreams beneath the tide. Unmix’d with briny feas, fecurely glide. Dryden. In the Porto grande is a fountain which fprings in the midft of the fait water, and is diftinguilhed from it, till it comes to the furface of the fea; this the Syracufans pretend was the river Alpheus . But there is ■ [ 74 ] I is nothing extraordinary in it, for we fbme- times find the like fprings in rivers, and in the Mare Piccolo in Parent urn, there is one of the fame nature. I will not fpeak any longer about this fable of Alpheus , as I find that Cluveriusy after many quotations and ample difeufiions, at lad gives vent to his anger in the following manner: Nngce funt, nugee Jane y atque immane putidijjimumque Gracia vaniloquentia figmentum . I am too fond of the Greeks to quarrel with them. In the church of St. Philip , under the ground, and in the foundations of the church itfe'lf, there is an ancient bath, in which there is nothing particular befides the flair- cafe, which is cut into the rock with fpiral windings in fuch a manner, that the fleps all run round a column hewn out of the rock, and hollow within, and have no other fupport. This appeared very extraordinary to me, as the ancients felaom ufed this way of building, their works always having marks of lolidity and fecurity. About a mile from Syracufe, in that part formerly called Neapolis , which was the [ 75 ] the newett; moft beautiful, and greateft part of the old town, and is now planted with vines and olive-trees, I faw the cele¬ brated Latomice, where the ear of Dionyfius (Orecchio di Dlonyfio) is cut in the rock. This place is a great grotto about thirty- palms high, and fifty palms long, in the figure of a Roman S ; it forms a very acute angle at the top like a wedge, and grows broader downwards. Its ftrudture naturally caufes fo flrong an echo, repeating even the foftett whifpered founds, that when a piece of paper is torn in pieces at one end of it, it may be plainly heard through the whole place. It is plain that this is cut into the rock on purpofe ; Dio¬ dorus and other authors affirm, that the prifons of Syracufe were in thefe Latomire, and that Dionyfius in particular made ule of them for that purpofe Cicero likev/ife accufes Verrcs of a fimilar tyranny in re¬ gard to thefe prifons. There are holes cut into the rock in feveral parts of this echo, for the purpofe of fattening the chains; at the top, in the very center of the echo, there is a little apartment hewn in the ftone, * and [ 7 6 ] and big enough for one perfon; this it feems was contrived for no other purpofe, than to dive into the thoughts of the prifoners, and is a monument of the higheft pitch of tyranny. The whole is well and artfully contrived, but it is a ridiculous opinion that none but Archimedes could make it; fince in many halls this fame echo happens from the accidental proportion of the build¬ ing, and without the intention of the ar¬ chitect. In another Latomia , which has been found in the garden of the Capuchin monaftery, in the dill riel of Acradina , there is a fimilar fort of building cut in the rock : but the top or roof of it is wanting, where the rock plainly appears to have been cleft afunder, whether by an earthquake, or by length of time, I cannot determine. In this Latomia , on a piece of a rock, fome Greek words were found engraved as it were with blunt iron, being probably a paffage of Sophocles or Euripides , which fome un¬ happy prifoner graved to alleviate his mif- fortunes ; but at prefent they are totally illegible. In that Latomia where the Orec- chio di Dionyjio is preferved, there is a very fmall bath, juft big enough for one perfon. It 4 ’ [ 77 1 It is furprifing, that in a place where fo many thoufand prifoners were inclofed, a- bath fhould be found for a lingle perfon. Perhaps a prifoner, who had fome money remaining, got it made at his own expence. The remains of an aquedud are Hill to be feen, which led the water into the Latof/iia , and which w T as neceffary for the fupport of fo great a number of people as it contained. In the middle of this Latomia, as well as in that of the Capuchins, there is an infulated piece of rock, the intention of which can¬ not be conceived. Some imagine, that it was the ufual habitation of the guards, but it feems to be too little for that purpofe. Somewhat above the Latomice is the great theatre of ancient Syracufe cut in the mountain. Though the Scena is now en¬ tirely destroyed, yet its extent, its noble appearance, being hewn in the live rock, and its mod; plealing fituation, excite the greateft furprize and veneration. With the greateft pleafure I fpent two days in examining it j it affords one of the moil pidurefque views in all Sicily , and I greatly regret that I could not get a good artift to draw [ 7 » ] draw it. The circumference of the feats is very great, confiding of three divifions or dories, in which the walks are fo broad, that a coach could go in them. It appears that this theatre is che olded that has been preferved, and that it was built in the jftrft ages of Syracufe. It is open every where j but at a certain distance you fee holes in each ftory, feemingly ferving to fallen fome pieces of cloth, which were ufed as pavilions. The number of Cradini , or ranges of feats, cannot now be determined ; partly becaufe they are not ail preferved, partly becaufe fome of them, and as it almoll feerns to me, a whole llory lies buried below the furface of the ground : the vifible {lories have eight rows of feats, each of the height of one -I palms. The height of one {lory above the other is live palms, the middle (lory is lefs than the upper and the lower. Four different flair-cafes on each fide, and accordingly eight in the whole theatre, led to the above-mentioned feats. An accurate drawing would here be of great ufe to make rnyfelf underflood 4 in [ 79 ] in defcribing thefe rows of feats. They are but half as high as one of the other fteps or Gradini , and formed as they gene¬ rally are in all amphitheatres; only it is pe¬ culiarly to be obferved, that clofe to them there are fome leffer fteps of half their height, and accordingly only one fourth part of the height of the Gradini. I can¬ not conceive to what purpofe they could be deftined. Count Gaetani, a very learn¬ ed man, well verfed in the hifiory of his native city, and perfectly well acquainted with the Greek language (having translated 'Theocritus into Italian verle with the greatest tafte and judgment) could not tell me any thing decisive concerning thefe fmali fteps. The Count has found two Greek words cut in the theatre with large letters. On the eaft tide BA2IAI2IEAX <$ 1 A 12 TI- AOS is cut in a Gradino in the fecond ftory, and Surrounded with a little margin. On the weft fide, among fome other letters, one can distinguish only the word A FAKOS. The Count employs the firft infcription to explain thofe ancient Syracitfan coins, which have the infcription B. . as belonging to this queen, of whom hidory does not give any [ So J any farther accounts. Without entering into a difcuflion.on the fubjeCt, I fliall only obferve, that the infeription upon the the¬ atre is too well preferved to be of fucli ancient date, and that the form of the cha¬ racters does not bear the marks of the firft ages of the Greeks . The other Greek word is fuppofed to be the name of the architect of this theatre. We can form no better idea of the en¬ trance to the theatre, than of the Scena r to me it leems probable, that as the theatre was cut in the rock, and every where open, the people likewife entered it on all lides, in the fame manner as one now goes down from the hill where "Tycho, was fituated, in order to get upon the uppermoft ftep of the theatre for which reafon I imagine, that the inhabitants of Neapolis had their feats in the lower ftory, and entered the theatre likewife below : thofe of Acradina had theirs in the middle or fecond ftory, into which they could immediately enter with¬ out pafting through any of the other ftories, and thofe of Tycho , being the higheft part of the £ a* J tke town, immediately took their feats at the top. An immenfe quantity of water mu ft have been ufed in this theatre j this appears from the confiderable volume of water* that is now led into it through an ancient aquedudt, and which drives two mills above, and one in the theatre, and rolls over the fteps with great impetuofity. Here and there you fee groups of different trees in the theatre, and nightingales, which are numerous in Sicily , likewife inhabit thefe groves 4 I repeat it with pleafure, that the view of this theatre is one of the mod: lingular, and at the fame time as beautiful as any in all Sicily. Up by the theatre goes the old road, which was cut in the rock, and led to Stycha. This road has tombs on both fides, exactly refembling thofe at Girgenti •, one among them has a mod beautiful Dork border, which would make a very noble chimney-piece. Befides thefe tombs, there are feveral tables cut in the rock on the Tides of this road ; they are of a quadran- G gular O [ 82 ] gular figure, but of different fizes, and placed without order or fymmetry. To what purpofe they ferved cannot well be determined; they were not for epitaphs, becaufe there are no letters upon them j nor could they be intended as ornaments for the road, being difpofed in fo diforderly a manner. Even with the furface, at fmall diftances If om each other, are great flones of twelve or more palms in length, which feem to be remains of the ancient walls. On the banks of the river Anapus, which empties itfelf into the greater harbour, are two great columns ftanding, and three lying, all of the ancient Doric archltedture ; they are the remains of the celebrated temple of the Olympian Jupiter , whither the Athenians fled, after having been defeated by the Syracufans, In the road leading from the city to AugnJ}a, you fee the bale of a pillar twelve palms high, and on each fide eight palms broad. On the top of it, is a piece of the column itfelf, which is fluted. This is laid to be a column eredted by Mar¬ cellas after his taking Syraaife. Others would [ 83 ] Would make a tomb of it, and endeavour to prove it from the hollows, which they look upon as niches , in which the XJrna Cineraria were placed ; but thefe hollows rather appear to have ferved as repofitories for ftatues, or other ornaments, near the column, on its bafe; for they are too fmall for niches, and their form does not feem to indicate a tomb. These are the remains of the great and famous city of Syracufe j if we confider how frequently it has been befieged, how often it has been almofl deftroyed, and how much the Romans , and efpecially Verges, have carried to Rome from hence, we fhall not be furprized to find neither ftatues, nor baflo-relievos, nor any other productions of the arts. The number of coins which have been, and are ftill daily found, is incre¬ dible, and molt of thefe coins are in filver. There are few cameos or intaglios, and I have not heard of any vafes being found. As a proof of the fertility of the Syracu - fan foil, I may mention the excellent Muf- catello wine, of which they cultivate above G 2 twelve [ *4 1 twelve different forts, white or red. It. grows in the plain on very low vines* not exceeding four palms in height, and are planted in great quantities. Here are olive-trees of an amazing height and big— nefs, which mu ft be above two hundred years old to have attained to fuch a fize : the oil which is made from their olives is remarkably good. They do not cultivate much corn here, as they can get it from the rich fields near Noto and Catania . There are likewife tobacco plantations near Syracufe. The prefent inhabitants of Syracufe are not without a good fhare of wit and un- derftanding, though modern times have not produced another Theocritus or Archi¬ medes there. The women in general are handfome, and enjoy more liberty than in- other towns of Sicily, becaufe the numerous garrifon of the king’s troops introduces foreign cuftoms and manners. I cannot fay any thing in particular of the new city, unlefs I fpeak of St. Lucia* The town is ill built, and little. 1 am told [ % I told there is an exceeding fine Cameo in thfe treafure of St. Lucia , which I could not get fight of, becaufe the priefls imagine^ that it is fpoiled merely by being looked upon. M. Nice o le, a French drawing- mafler, fays, he has been fortunate enough to fee and to draw it, and by his means we may perhaps find out whether it is really fo valuable as it is faid to be. I now left the wretched ruins of ancient Syracufe, and foon fet out from the modem city of that name. I flopped fome tim$ at Merilli , in order to vifit the fugar planta¬ tions there, which are as extenfive as.thofe at Avola ; however they boil no fugar here, the inhabitants felling the canes in pieces. From hence I reached the foot of mount Etna, and the tow r n of Catania, having already long before feen the fnowy jfummit of the mountains towering above the clouds. Catania is one of the fineft towns in Sicily , and when it is perfectly rebuilt, may perhaps furpafs Palermo and Mejjina j I fay when it is rebuilt, for fince the lafl earthquake. Anno 1693, which G 3 deflroyed [ 86 ] deflroyed and overturned the whole town, they have begun to build it again, perfectly regular, making long and broad ftreets. The houfes are all low, having only one ftory, to be better able to fuftain the earthquakes, which are fo frequent at the the foot of terrible Etna ; they are all built of the lava difgorged from this moun¬ tain, and the ftreets, like thofe of Naples , are paved with the fame materials. No country has fo much the appearance of defolation, or looks fo like a picture of the dreadful avenues to hell itfelf, as the environs of Catania; the whole coun¬ try is covered with lava, black fand, and afhes from the mountain. The lava has flowed far into the fea, and by the eruption of 1669, it has almofl: entirely dried up the harbour, and perfectly fur-> rounded the caftle. Vefuvius , with his eruptions, appears like a mere puppet fhew, in comparifon with Etna or like a petty lake to the raving ocean. Amidst the flreams of folid lava, which ibmetimes are higher than the greatefl; 3 houfes* [ 8 / ] houfes, there are moft fertile and charm¬ ing cultivated fpots. The corn of Ca¬ tania, its wine, fruit, and garden herbs, are diftinguifhed either for abundance, rich- nefs, or remarkable fize; none of them have a fulphureous tafte, like the pro¬ ductions of the foil of Vefuvius , becaufe mount Etna has little or no fulphur. The wine has a very agreeable bituminous tafte, like the wine of Cyprus; it is very ftrong, and will bear mixing with water, and is reckoned the beft table wine in Sicily. 1 The cathedral in Catania is the largeft and moft beautiful church in the whole ifiand ; it is not overcharged with abun¬ dance of ornaments, though that bad tafte has generally prevailed there ; it has a line cupola, and on the whole is a moft majeftic building. The church and convent of the yfefuits is richly and magnificently orna¬ mented, but not with any tafte. The Benedifline convent of S. Nicolo d'Afena is of a prodigious extent. The great number of friars is fcandalous, and their revenues are large, even to an excefs. They have begun to build a church, which, like all G 4 the [ 88 ] the undertakings of priefts, will cofl im-« menfe fums without being executed with the leaft tafte; and they actually conduCt the work fo ill, that one of the vaults is already fallen down, though the roof had not yet relied on it. A new organ has been made in the church, which is a matter- piece of art; there are above a hundred fets of flutes in it ^ a Catanefe , who projected, is ttill working to finifh it. The convent is a flupendous building, remarkably terrify¬ ing on account of its fize, and horrible bad tafte, Some letter modern churches, the Palazzo Senatorio, the Palazzo delF JJniverJita de Studiy and the Palazzo dell ’ Academia de Nobiliy have good fronts; and the worthy and truly venerable Prince Bif- cariy the principal and richeft citizen of Catania , of whom I fhall frequently fpeak in the fequel, makes it his particular care to re-eftablilh the good and genuine archi¬ tecture. He has brought it fo far, that in thofe flreets, which are ftill unfinished, all the houfes are to be built alike, with the fame kind of front, which is pure, without ornaments, and in the good ancient file. In the fquare at Catania there is an obelifk 3 of r 89 3 of granite, with hieroglyphic characters, placed on the back of an elephant made of the lava of Etna, and Handing on a balls of marble. The whole refembles the obe- lifk Alla Piazza della Minerva at Rome. So much of the vilible Catania. The ancient town, which is many feet under ground, • through the care of that amiable Prince Bifcari , his diligence, and the fums expended in the undertaking, is again brought to light. It is very natural, that no part of Old Catania remains above ground, becaufe it ha$ repeatedly undergone the fate of Her culaneum and Pompeji , The Prince ordered fome people to dig before the front of the cathedral, then led me down under ground the depth of a Hory and a half, and there fliewed me an ancient building of great pxtent, and good architecture, and in very good prefervation. It confifls of three fe- parate bodies, and nine arches, all built of fquare pieces or Hones of lava ; fome pieces pf Hucco are preferved here and there, which are of exceeding good workmanfhip ; the [ 9 ° ] the Prince has had them drawn, together with the proportions of this building in general, and all other antiquities of Catania , in order to make them all publicly known. I faw the ancient aquedudt of this place, and the water ftill runs through it. How¬ ever, all this could not convince me that there had been public baths, or 7 'hermce , upon this fpot, and much lefs that it had been the bath of a private houfe j for in thefe vaults none of thofe things have been found, which the ancients ufed in their baths, and as they are only divided by co¬ lumns, many people could not bathe in them without feeing each other; the build¬ ing befides is too fmall for a public, and too large for a private bath. I take it to be fome other ftrudture, deftined for fome particular purpofe, and which has been ftill greater than it now is; feveral pillars of it plainly appearing to have been thrown down and covered by the lava. The Prince then fhewed the ancient theatre, or rather its ruins. It is diffi¬ cult to find, though not buried under ground, becaufe it is filled with houfes and little [ 9 1 i little huts, fo that it is necefiary to pals through all thefe barracks, in order to form an idea of the plan. It is of vaft extent, even greater than that of Marcellas at Rome; for it is four hundred palms in diameter from one fide of the Gradini to another. It had three vaults above each other, forming three ftories, which were crowned by an Attic ftory, of which the veftiges.ftill re¬ main. The Scena muft have been entirely laid out with marble, a great quantity of it having been found ; the fix columns of granite which flood there, now adorn the front of the cathedral. The Prince of Bifcari is pofiefled of the bafe of one co¬ lumn of this theatre, which is very well preferved. Nothing remains of the Scena, but the wall which formed the front ; in it the three doors are plainly diftin- guifhable, which the ancients had in the Scena. The entrance to this theatre was probably on both fides, where the Scena begins, and where the Heps are left off, which is better feen in the well pre¬ ferved theatre at ‘Tavormina . You like wife fee a kind of Sperone, or great pillar, of which there is one on each fide of the theatre. [ 92 ] theatre, but I could not difcover the ufe thereof with certainty. I fufpeCt that the ftair-cafes leading to the upper ftories were in the walls, to prevent an ill effect in the ftruCture of the theatre. There ftill fome niches, fuch as feem to have been all round the outfide of the theatre, and it is plain that the people could walk on the outfide of it, as under a portico : the order of architecture can no longer be dis¬ cerned, becaufe no capitals or friezes have been difcovered. I could not afcertain of what form this theatre had been, whe¬ ther a regular femi-circle, or whether it has been more round, which is the diffe¬ rence between the Roman and the Greek theatres j but as it is the work of Greeks , they probably employed their architecture in it. In all the corridors you find conduits of water, which by this means led to every part of the theatre. What is moft remark¬ able here, is another, a leffer theatre, having however one hundred and twelve palms in diameter from one end of the Gradini to the other: its floor, or that of the or- chefira, is as high as the fecond ftory of the great theatre, becaufe it ftands on an elevated ground ; a vault, in which there was t 93 1 Was a broad and convenient iiair-cafe, united tbe two theatres. They are both built of lava ; but it is not eafily conceived to what purpofe thefe two theatres com¬ municated with each other; nor do I re-> member that Vitruvius fpeaks of this union, or that there is any where a monument exifting of a fimilar cafe. The little the¬ atre has no particular order of architecture, it is a mere Attico , and the fteps or Gra- dini confift of one ftory, retting on an ob¬ lique vault from top to bottom. In the Carmelite convent there is another building, which is likewife fuppofed to be an ancient bath. It is odtagonal, vaulted at top, and the walls meafure fixteen palms in thicknefs. It had three doors, and there were four windows placed obliquely in the walk, in order to receive the light j but it is remarkable that thefe four windows are all on one fide, or one half of the vault or circle j whereas, according to the rules of lymmetry, they ought to have been placed quite round it. From hence it may be inferred, that on the fide where there are no windows, fome other building belonging to this was placed, which intercepted all the [ 94 ] the light on that fide. This I am the mord ready to fuppofe, lince in this fquai® build¬ ing they have only found three doors. There are ftill fome fmall veftiges of the city wall, the circus, and the Nauma- chia in this neighbourhood j but thefe are rather ideal fuppofitions, than real remains of ancient Catania . In the garden of the Capuchins is an old tomb of mattoni or bricks t having two ftories, and in pretty good prefervation. It is round, and feems to have had a kind of pediment on one fide : the fecond ftory has a much fmaller circumference than the firft. In the fame garden you fee the ruins of an ancient pyramid, which, though fmall, was entirely built like the Egyptian ones ; for it plainly appears that the fepul- chral urn did not Hand in the middle, but on one fide. Not far from thence, in an hermitage called La Mecca , below the church, I faw an oblong fquare tomb, well preferved, and having on each of the Jhorter fides three great, and on each of the longer ones [ 95 ] ones a number of fmall niches, in which they have found earthen vefiels. The lize of the amphitheatre of the ancient town of Catania was fo well known to the Prince of Bifcari , that in my pre- lence he ordered the people to dig where he fuppofed it to be, and they a&ually found veftiges of it there. We traced the fecond ftory, and the gallery which fur- rounded it, together with feme fteps : but in a letter which I lately had from him, he gives me the following account of his farther difeoveries; he fays, that the whole amphitheatre is perfectly preferved under ground, and that he has walked quite round it j its figure is oval, like that of all other amphitheatres, and on one fide it leans on the mountain, but on the other Hands quite free, and is built of pieces of lava. Not far from the theatre is a little round temple of lava, and its cu¬ pola, which is likewife of lava, is well preferved. The Prince of Bifcari intends to publifh a fine and complete work, containing the defcription f 96 ] , defcription of all the antiquities preferved at Catania: many of the plates are already engraved* and mod; of the monuments care¬ fully meafured and delineated. This work is likely to be the mod; accurate one of the remaining antiquities, as the Prince has the direction wholly in his care, gets every thing meafured under his own eye, and intends making the defcriptions him- felf 4 There are two beautiful and rich col¬ lections at Catania , one of them belonging to the Benedidlines in their opulent convent, and the other in the polfedion of the Prince of Bifcari. In the mufeum of the Bene - didlines are above three hundred of the fined; earthen vafes to be found in Sicily $ beautiful both in regard to the form and the defign of the figures ; the former are infinitely varied, and in each of them you are druck with the excellent tade, and the noble fimplicity of the ancient Greeks* The figures are mod accurately drawn, and elegantly grouped, not one of them is bad. There is likewife a great number of idols of earthen ware and of bronze in this mufeum j t 97 ] iiitifeum ; alfo a quantity of utenfils ufed at facrifices, and for the common purpofes of life, but among them I obferved nothing particular $ and there are neither bufts nor ftatues* The collection of coins amounts to about a thoufand j the coins of Sicily are all contained in it, and many others of Magna Gracia, and of Greece itfelf. The cabinet of natural curiolities is very nu¬ merous in petrifactions and filhes ; the other parts are not very conliderable. The mufeum of Prince Bifcari is one of the molt complete and beautiful in Italy , and perhaps (without exaggeration) in the world. It contains bufts, ftatues, bafib relievos, vafes, bronzes, &c. His cabinet of curiolities relating to natural hiftory is very complete; he has likewife a, very cu¬ rious collection of various'mechanical in- ftruments. Among the ftatues, I muft remark a T’ronco of Bacchus above half the natural fize; it is as beautiful a one as I ever faw, and executed in the belt, high finished ele¬ gant Greek ftile. The body is naked to the H middle. E 98 J middle, admirably well wrought, a real mailer-piece of art, and a model of the moil perfect and beautiful production of nature. The drapery begins at the thighs, and is likewife very fine; the head, arms, and legs are wanting. There are two beautiful ftatues of Venus , and one of a mufe, all in the Greek manner. Among the bafts, one of Jupiter , and one of Ca~ racalla , are the moil beautiful. There is an immenfe collection of vales, they ex¬ ceed four hundred in number: many, nay almofl all of them, deferve to be drawn and defcribed ; for there are various forms among them, which are not found in Italy, and the fubjects of the figures feemed all to be taken from the Greek hiftory and mythology; the figures are exceedingly fine. The idols, Lucernce , ‘TeJerez, and other uteniils of chalk and earthen ware are in¬ numerable : there is a remarkable Silenus , quite naked, and covered all over with hairs like a wild bead: fome figures of mules and oilier females, a palm and a half high, are prodigioully fine, efpecially being worked in Greta, which is fo friable a fubftance. The'bronzes are innumerable, infinitely [ 99 ] infinitely varied, and of admirable work- manfhip ; I particularly diftinguifhed a little Mercury , an Apollo , a fmall buft of Julius Cafar , and fome little Venufes, all which were very beautiful. There is like- wife an amazing fine cafket of bronze, in which feveral heads of Medufa are wrought in relievo ; many of thefe bronzes have been found in the Herculaneum . The Prince likewife poflefifes fome ancient paintings found in the catacombs of St. Sebajliano at Rome; but the manner and defign are bad. The bronze vafes are very fine, of remark¬ able forms and fizes. Here are likewife fome pieces of ftatues in bronze, fuch as parts of drapery, hands, and feet, which have likewife their value. The utenfils for facrifices, bathing, and other purpofes, are in good prefervation, well chofen, and in great numbers. The bronze lucerne, or lamps, are exceeding fine ; one efpecially, which divides at pleafure into two, or unites into one. There are many valuable baffo relievos, but one in particular ap¬ pealed to be of very good Greek workman- fhip, and reprefents a very peculiar objedt : on one fide you fee a mofr admirable female PI 2 figure [ 100 J figure fitting, with her hand over an aftarp which hands in the middle, as it were folemnly affirming or fwearing fomething p and behind the altar is another figure look¬ ing at the other. The collection of natural- curiofities is exceedingly fine, and very numerous. The Frince has collected all he could in the various kingdoms of nature; all kinds of ihells, the moil beautiful corals, the fcarceft forts of fiffi, all forts of minerals, plants,. &c. &c. in a word, all the things belong¬ ing to this branch are here' gathered with fo much tafie and affiduitv, that it plainly appears to every beholder,, the noble colleCtor has fpared neither pains nor expences. The lafl: apartment of this vaft mufeum contains a number of various mathematical and me¬ chanical inflruments, and among them are two very large reflecting mirrors of Tc/jirn- haufen. You likewife find a collection of the fineft arms and cuiraffes of the middle ages, in fliort, all that is worth feeing and can be expeCted in a cabinet. I do not mention the infinite number of inferiptions in Greek and Latin, which are immured in j 2 every { SOI ] ■every apartment of this mufeum ; becaufc. Prince T’orremuzza of Palermo intends to mention and explain them all, in an account of the infcriptions of Sicily* which he is about to publifh ; which probably will turn out a very good work, as the author has already well defcribed the infcriptions at Palermo, and given a good hiftory of the ancient town of Alefa in Sicily, and as his knowledge of coins and of ancient hidory is very great. The Prince’s collection of coins amounts to 8000, and among them are 400 in gold, partly Roman, partly Greek and Sicilian : he has all the Roman confular coins, and the whole feries of emperors and cmprefles uninterrupted down to Michael Comnenas, together with all the Sicilian, and the fined Greek coins; he continues / his collection to the prefent times, and has all the coins of the Saracens, Normans, Spaniards, French, of ViBor Amadeus , and of the houfe of Aujlria, who have fuc- ceflively governed Sicily. In the court (Cortile) of his palace you fee an ancient little obeliik of Egyptian granite, with hieroglyphicks, wrought like that in the H 3 Piazza [ 102 ] Piazza at Catania , and equally fine and I have already fo often mentioned the Prince of Bifcari, that I hope you will allow me to attempt to defcribe his cha¬ racter, and his whole family. He well deferves fuch a defcription, for he is one of the few remarkable men, who know that they received the advantages of birth, fortune, and knowledge, not merely for themfelves, but for the advantage of their families, and the benefit of mankind in general : his company is agreeable and inftruCtive, and ferious without drynefs ; he decides by his arguments, while he only fesms to give his opinion ; he never boalls of the many advantages he poffeffes, and admires the merits of others, wherever he meets with them. He is humane to his fervants, and the father of his fubjeCts, endeavours to increafe their number, and to eafe their troubles as much as he can, and their happinefs is his chief care. The Princefs his fpoufe is the worthiefi: lady in Sicily the education of her children, the management of her family, and the hap- [ I0 3 ] pinefs of her hulband, are the' objects of her employment ; nor can her lively fpirit, or the diffipations of company, divert her from the execution of thefe duties. This happy couple therefore enjoy the confe- quences of fuch noble fentiments ; they have two fons and a daughter, who have had an excellent education, and are moll amiable characters, dividing their time be¬ tween their ftudies, and their duties to¬ wards their parents : they are well bred, well inltruCted, fpeak French exceedingly well, have a great talent for mulic, and other fine arts, and are adorned by a mu¬ tual affeCtion and fincerity. In Ihort, they are the pattern of a happy and bleffed family j they are almolt adored in Catania ; they are the fupport and comfort of the poor, keep company with the rich, and, if they deferve it, honour them with their friendlhip. I made an eight days flay with them, and in that time became their zealous and true admirer. This family alone, merits a tour into Sicily , and proves, that there are people in all parts of the world deferving of elleem and admiration. If the veneration in which I hold all in H 4 this [ i°4 ] this houfe did not command my filencc on their private life, I could mention many inftances of wifdom in the mother, and of an excellent heart in one of the fons, which occurred during my ftay at Catania. I cannot help exclaiming, that merely on account of the affe&ion I bear this happy family, and not for the fake of antiquities* I wifh once more to vifit Sicily and Catania. On the fir ft of May I began my journey Up mount Mtna , which the inhabitants now call Mongibdla ; and was defirous to fee as much of it as I could, although it was: covered with fnow, and the people would make me believe, that to reach its fummit was an impoffibility, Accordingly 1 fet. out with my fervant, and a guide, mounted on mules, and we had with us a pack-horfe* which carried the necefiary provifions for two days. Towards noon I arrived at St. Nicolo, twelve miles diftant from Catania ; where is the original convent of the Bene- diflines, who have now fuch fine buildings in Catania itfelf; here they ought to live in dull; and afhes, whereas they fquander their revenues away with great pomp and vanity. [ I°S ] vanity. As foon as you leave Catania , you begin to go upwards, though the mountain rifes but very gently. You pafs through the mod; beautiful fields, planted with vines or excellent fruit-trees, or fown with corn, till you come to NicoloJi y a village about ten miles diftant from Catania ; orange and lemon-trees are abundant, and all thofe kinds of fruit which are fcarce in warm countries, fuch as cherries, apples, pears, &c. are plentiful here. But the coun¬ try about Nicoloji itfelf, is quite covered with fand, which the mountain has thrown up at different times ; and you fee nothing fuc- ceed in this burnt foil, except mulberry- trees, which thrive admirably well, and have very good leaves. After I had dined in the convent of St. Nicola , I continued my journey. The road here begins to grow very bad, and difagreeable; and for a good way it confifls of nothing but congealed lava, which the Sicilians call Sciarra, and on which it is very tedious to travel. This lava proceeded here from the eruption in 1669, when it flowed even into the fea, and and wholly furrounded the caftle of Catania . The road leads very clofe to the hill from whence that eruption blued ; and to give you an idea of the circumference, and the vaft height of mount /Etna, let me inform you, that this hill (which is only one of the eruptions, and of which near a hun¬ dred can be counted about /Etna ) is as big as the whole Vefuvlus at Naples; at the fame time it is remarkable, that it bears a perfect refemblance tojihat moun¬ tain, there being properly two hills like the mounts Vefuvlus and *S 'omnia, landing clofe to each other, and of equal height. Here begins the foreft, of which I had often been told, as containing the finell' oaks; but I found this account, and the idea 1 had from hence formed to myfelf of it, entirely falfe ; for at the beginning I only found a few ever-green oaks which were far from fine, or tall; and advancing farther into the foreft, I faw nothing but hornbeams, and fuch like trees, all crooked and bent to the ground. Towards the other end of the wood, and higher up the * Quercus, Ilex, Linn. F. moun- [ I0 7 ] mountain, I at laft met with Tome oaks, but they could not be called fine, and were not remarkable for fize. This wood furrounds the whole mountain at this height; but it is not thick, and confifts, as I have already faid, of poor and inconfiderable trees. Having polled through it, I arrived at the eruption of the laid year 1766, of which the lava was fhill fmoking in fome parts : it flowed firft eaftward, and after a great part of it was cooled, it flopped the hot lava, and obliged it to run fouthward up hill; for which reafon it rofe to a great height, but took up little room. My guide fought for a hut, which formerly flood there, but had been taken away by the lava; for night being at hand, and we having ftill ten miles to climb to the fummit of the mountain, which here be¬ gins to grow fteep, and is covered with fnow, we were obliged to look out for a place where we might pafs the night under ' fhelter, and fafe from the rain, which fell pretty thick. A peafant of Nicoloji , named Blajio , with whofe help I afterwards climb¬ ed to the fummit of the mountain, after fearching fome time, found a grotto formed acci- 2 ' £ io8 ] accidentally by the lava itfelf. Here we made a great fire, and flayed till midnight, when the rain being over, and the flars and fnow giving fufficient light, I con¬ tinued to go upwards on my mule. Ema r nuel Ferra, the man who had accompanied me from Catania, fuffered fo much from the cold, and the fharp wind blowing over the fnow, that after going two miles, he faid he could not bear it any longer; the mules too could not Hand firm on the frozen fnow; I therefore fent them back with him, together with the fellow who took care of them % and I, with my fervant, who you know never leaves me, and the Nicoloji peafant, continued to mount toward the fummit on foot. Here we might fay. Hoc opus , hie labor ejl ; for we had eight miles of a very fteep mountain before us, were forced to tread on frozen and flippery fnow, and had a violent north wind right in our faces. My firength left me feveral times, and I was obliged to have recourfe to a bottle of Catanian wine, which is very ftrong. Having thus afeended for the fpace of fix miles, I arrived at a plain called j Piano di Formento , which is about three miles [ *°9 3 Miles in circumference. I believe it i& difficult to fay whence it got its name *, as I am fure no corn ever grew here fince the creation. From hence* are yet two miles of a fteep riling to the tower* com¬ monly called The Philofopher s Tower, fome remains of which were Hill vifible above the fnow, though it lay eight palms deep on the ground. That tower is round* and built of Hones and lime; and near it, under the fnow are faid to be fome pieces of marble* as I was affiired by the pealant, who had often been up here. This is the tower fuppofed to have been built by Empedocles, in order to explore the caufes that produced fuch terrible effects in this mountain ; into the gap of which he at laft threw himfelf* from a motion of defpair* on account of his bad fuccefs in this undertaking. But I mud; own that the v/hole ftory appears fabulous to me, and efpecially that the philofopher caufed the tower to be built, as its architecture carries no marks of thofe times : it is much more probable, that it was built by the Normans, as a place where * The Corn Plain* they t 110 ] they could keep a good look-out, and far- vey the whole ifland. This is the top of the mountain, which lies about fix miles in circumference, in the midlt of which is the crater or gap, from whence a conftant black frnoke rifes up. The crater coniifts of black fand, afhes, and pumice-ftones, and is two miles high : this part of our journey was the moll difagreeable, becaufe we were continually finking into the fand up to our knees, and were almoft quite /pent by the progrefs we had made. At I all, however, I afcended this highell fummit of the mountain, and was much furprized, when on the brink of the un¬ fathomable gap, to find that it was pretty broad, and that one can with convenience walk round it j ' whereas I had imagined that the path round it would be as narrow as it is upon mount Vefuvius. I threw Hones and fand down the precipice, but never heard them fall ; it appears to be abfolutely unfathomable ; a thick column of frnoke rofe (not at intervals, as upon Vefuvius , but) perpetually out of it, and we heard a rumbling, like the dafhing of the billows [ III ] billows of a tempeduous fea, agitated by a dorm, or like the boiling of a vaft melting furnace. The crater is not cir¬ cular, but rather bunched out, and lower on the ead fide towards Catania , as if a lava had flowed from it. It is rather difficult to come to the opening from that fide, becaufe the afcent there is deeper, and the fmoke comes jud againd you, as it iffues out of the gap at the lowed part. Here, on the fummit of one of the highed mountains in the world, I enjoyed the mod extendve and beautiful profpeft that can be imagined. I faw the fun rife behind the Apennine hills in Calabria y he fhone upon all the eadern coad of Sicily, and the fea which feparates the idand from Calabria. This latter province I faw very plain, and difcovered the whole coad as far as the gulph of 1’aranto. Catania , Augujla , and Syracufa on my rights laaior- mina , and the neighbourhood of MeJJina y on my left, feemed to lie at my feet. The different eruptions of the mountain, the wood, the excellent fields of this fertile idand, the innumerable towns and villages, the lake of Lent mi or Leontium , and many other f 112 ] other objects, afford a moil: enchanting and diveriified profpedt: below the fummit of the mountain, clouds hang in the air, and in them the fun formed the moil beautiful colours: one feems to command nature herfelf, and to be fuperior to the human race, when thus elevated above all that is mortal. O haplefs race, who, like pif- mires, contend for a ftraw in a confined {pace j what is a kingdom to the whole earth j what the earth to the vail: ocean, or that, to the .infinite world ! He alone can be called happy, who can freely choofe his place of abode on any fpot of this globe, and who can enjoy his life without trouble; whilft thoufands pafs their lives like Haves in golden chains 1 On the other fide, I faw the ihores of the whole ifland, the country I paffed through from Palermo, and the fhore from Palermo to Mejjina; I overlooked all the hills of Sicily , which are partly cul¬ tivated, partly covered with woods, and partly naked rocks. Here I had an oppor¬ tunity of pitying the wretched fituation of modern Sicily , in comparifon with what it was in former ages 5 many towns, and dif¬ ferent [ "3 ] ferent nations are deflroyed, immenfe riches are diffipated: the whole ifland can at pre- fent fcarce ffiew 1,200,000 inhabitants, the number which Syracufe alone formerly had. Many beautiful fpots, which ufed to pro¬ duce corn and fruits, are now deferted for want of labourers; many fpacious ports are without any fhips for want of trade, and many people want bread, whilfl the nobility and the monks are in poffeffion of all the lands ! The cold here on the fecond of May, was as violent as it is in "January on the higheft mountains of Germany and about feven o’clock in the morning, when I began to defcend the mountain, I was quite fliff with cold, and could hardly ftir, though I had not flayed at the top of it above three quarters of an hour. The peafant, who accompanied me, conilantly delired me to go down, becaufe he was afraid of being flarved to death by the cold. The air, however, is not fo fine and fubtle as to take away one’s breath, or to make breathing difficult, as has been afferted by travellers ; but this depends upon the flrength of the I lungs [ LI 4 3 lungs in different perfons. As I went down, I faw the eruption of 1763, which was the mofl dreadful in regard to the height of the lava; for it is as high as the greateft palaces in Rome , but for that very reafon has not fpread far ; where this ceafed, the eruption of 1766 began, and flowed on in the fame direction. The in¬ habitants of the villages, which are nearefl to the flope of the mountain, get their livelihood by carrying fnow to Catania and Bifpojioy a village on the fea-fhore, where the Maltefe barks come to take it in for their ifland. This fnow is kept all the fum- mer in the grottos of the mountain, and is carried down on affes, as it is wanted. The ifland of Malta pays a fixed fum annually for a certain quantity of this fnow; in the fame manner as, according to the conven¬ tion, it gets a certain number of ‘tomoli * of corn annually from Sicily, for a fixed and unalterable price, and free from all duties. I found my other companions fleeping in the grotto and after warming ourfelves * A Tomolo is equal to the 16th part of a Salma, which is very near a quarter of Englijh meafure. F. tho- [ "5 1 thoroughly by a good fire, we continued our journey downwards through the wood, hack towards Catania. I here felt feveral feafons in one day j for returning from the regions where the fevered winter has its conftant abode, I found the beginning of fpring in the wood, where the trees were budding, and the woodlarks and throfiles repeated their chearful notes; the lower I came, the milder I found the climate, and felt the approach of fummer, as we are ufed to find it in Germany and the north of Europe; for the fun (hone exceedingly hot, the fruits in the field were ripe, and the people reaping barley round Catania . I rewarded my honed peafant, and left him in the village, with a firm refolution to recommend him to all foreigners defirous of viliting /Etna, and to warn them againd the ufelefs guide from Catania. After taking fome refreshment at St. Nicolo , I returned to Catania about four in the after¬ noon. The lava of this Stupendous mountain is not fo various and fo beautiful as that of Vefuxius , of which there are above forty I 2 forts [ ii6 ] torts in Sir William Hamilton's collection Prince Bifcari , after a great deal of affiduity and many fearches, has collected only twelve forts, very little different from each other : the reafon of this probably is, that the lava of /Etna contains chiefly iron and fal ammoniac; and "very little fulphur, vitref- cible hones, or marble, which are the parts that produce the greateh variety by their different mixtures. The hones thrown up by the mountain are chiefly pumice-hones, iron-hones, and fand-hones : they find no fuch fine products of fulphur here at the brink of the crater, or at the mouths of the feveral eruptions, as have been found upon mount Vefuvius; it is only now and then that you meet with hones fpeckled with yellow dots : but fal ammoniac is very plentiful, and you can take it of a pale colour and quite pure at the openings of the eruptions ; a great quantity of it is in the poffefiion of Prince Bifcari . The cultivated fields at the foot of /Etna, are not fo enchanting and delightful as * And by his generofity thefe varieties of the lava are likewife now to be feen in the Britijh mufeum. F. " thofe [ "7 ] thofe near Vefuvius; the beautiful green of the vine, which the countryman in the laft- mentioned neighbourhood combines with the lofty poplar, “ Allis maritat po¬ pulist here keeps low on the ground, and never attempts to climb a tree ; yet thefe fields produce a greater variety of fruits than Portici and its environs. Here all kinds of fruit, and even dates on the palm-trees, fucceed and ripen the latter grow in bunches ten or twelve together; they flower in February , and are ripe in Augujl or Sep¬ tember. The palm, like the piftachio-tree, produces no fruit, unlefs a tree with the male flowers (which is exactly of the fame fpecies, but never bears any fruit) (lands near or at a fhort diftance from it : the clofer the fruit-bearing palm-trees are to it, the more fruit they bring. All kinds of fruit would fucceed at different heights on this mountain, if the inhabitants were more numerous, more induftrious, and better inftrudted in rural oeconomy. Bo- tanifls inform us, that the cinnamon and coffee-tree grow wild near mount /Etna; and they farther aflure us, that the rarefl aromatic plants are to be met with there, I 3 but t uS ] bat they are neither fought for nor culti¬ vated : the Prince of Bijcari alone gives himfelf the trouble to make fome ufe of this warm and burning foil; he has even forced nature herfelf, and made a garden in the midfl of the lava, or Sciarra , which furrounded the caftle, and flowed into the fea. It is however much to be regretted, that this undertaking is more agreeable than ufefulfor the Prince has led water into it, planted Indian figs, aloes, and a few trees, in the lava, but made no ufeful plantations. The inhabitants round /Etna have not that ferocity of manners, nor are they borridi afpedlu , as Fazellus defcribes them. I found good-natured, civil, and hondt people, fuch as are to be met with in all places where few flrangers refort, where men are not degenerated by the example of others, but live in the original, fimple ftaie of nature : they are well thaped, and the pure and ferene air of the mountain gives them livelinefs, joy, and contentment. The women are handfome, have very fair complexions, and fprightly eyes; the men are fun-burnt, but tall, healthy, and hu¬ mane ; i n 9 ] mane ; they are fincere, and willing to oblige, and the traveller finds the moft good-natured men in thefe well peopled villages. The produces of this mountain, efpe- cially the wines, are acrid and fiharp, and keep fomething uncultivated or wild in their tafte j I imagine this is the mere effect of bad culture in fo happy a climate ; for it is certain, that the wines, fruits, &c. which grow in the plain of Catania , have a more agreeable and much better flavour, though the culture fhould be fuppofed to be the fame ; the greater temperature or warmth of the air in the laft-mentioned place, probably contributes to meliorate its produ&s. Before I leave the town of Catania , I mull mention a very fine Cameo in the pofleflion of the Barone della Brnca. Count Gaetani at Syracnfe had given me fo high a defcription of it, telling me that it was worth all Catania , that I had a violent defire of feeing it. It is indeed a very beautiful Cameo , though the town of Ca- I 4 tania [ 120 ] tania is rather undervalued, when com¬ pared therewith. The ftone is an onyx, and represents Vulcan with two Cyclopes forging the arms of Mars , whilft Venus and Cupid look on with pleafure and fatif- fadtion, that they fall out fo well. The figures are exceedingly well drawn and executed; but as there is no name of the artift, the value is not quite fo great as Count Gaetani would make it. It muft be allowed that the ftone and the workman- jfhip are exquifite, and the figure of Venus is a mafter-piece in its kind. CATANIA is the only town in Sicily where they pradtife inoculation of the fmall pox j I was allured, that they had not taken it from books, but from fome Greeks, who palled through the town about twenty- five years ago. There is a furgeon in Ca¬ tania , named Don Raguleo, who is pecu¬ liarly Ikilful in this operation, and under¬ takes it with all the defired fuccefs. The Bilhop of Catania , of the family of Vintimiglia, likewife deferves to be men¬ tioned, with the praife which is juftly his due: [ 121 ] due : this worthy prelate has publicly put up in his library all the good books he could get, which oppofed the prejudices, or the narrow views of others of his rank and religion; and I was much furprized to fee even the works of Voltaire , Roujjeau, and Helvetius there. Don Leonardo Gambino , the profeffor of philofophy and mathematics at the univer- fity in Catania , is a very worthy man ; his great reading, his knowledge, and the method he takes to inftrud the youths in the modern fyftems of philofophy of New¬ ton and Leibnitz , gains him the thanks of all Sicily , and the veneration of all who know him. Between Catania and Laurominium, I went on fhore at Mafcoli , in order to viht a chefnut tree of prodigious height and thicknefs, of which feveral travellers had fpoken to me : this tree {lands about eight miles from the fea-fhore, towards mount JEtna y and really deferves the trouble of vifiting it; for its thicknefs is 204 Nea¬ politan Palmi y which I can now affirm with the 4 [ 122 ] the greateft certainty, having meafured it myfelf it is now quite hollow on account of its great age, and the bark, which with the little remaining wood conveys the fap to the branches, is burft into five pieces. In the hollow of this tree there is a fmall houfe, in which thofe who gather the chefnuts pafs the night; and near it is an oven where they dry the nuts. The inha¬ bitants of this neighbourhood call the tree, on account of its bulk, La Cajlagna di cento Cavalli and fome other trees of uncom¬ mon fize have likewife peculiar names ; one of them, which, on account of its figure, is called La Nave , The Ship , meafures twenty-four brafje or fathoms in circum¬ ference : feven other trees all of equal thick- nefs, placed in a row, are called The Seven Brothers , I Sette Frati. The above great chefnut tree, which is perhaps the thickeft tree in the whole world, has very low branches ; and it feems that the very rich foil in which thefe trees are placed, and a kind of earth of petrified wood, which pro¬ bably is the remnant of a forefi: that formerly ftood here, together produced fuch bulky trees, all which only grew to a prodigious 4 ihicknefs. [ 1 thicknefs, without attaining to a great height. I believe one might make a cal¬ culation of the age of the tree, by Hating how much it could grow, or afterwards decreafe, in a year : all the trees in this neighbourhood belong to St. Agnetha , the protedlrefs of Catania. This trad! is well worth feeing, not merely on account of the above natural curiofity, but likewife on account of its charming appearance, and the fertility of this fide of mount /Etna. You pafs through many pretty villages, fuch as la Sciarra , la Macchia , and St. Giovanni ; the fields are more beautiful than thofe round Catania 3 and produce the fineft wine, corn, oil, and fruit 3 the wine of Mafcoli is very agreeable, and of a red colour, which is extremely fcarce in Sicily. In this neigh¬ bourhood is no late eruption of Mina; the lava which is found hereabouts is very old, and therefore much better for build¬ ing, becaufe it grows harder and more pure by lying in the air for a long time. The Hreams of this ancient lava are tremendoufly great, and reach almoft to the fea 3 but the foil in the fields is very rich, and not mixed with fand and allies as about Catania , and is [ 124 ] is on that account amazingly fertile. The whole country is full of houfes inhabited by people, who are extremely good-na¬ tured and civil: as it rained pretty hard when I went up the mountain, they all invited me to go in with them. The' women are fair, and have the moil hand- fome Greek profiles ; they are ip rightly and good-natured, and it plainly appears that the jealoufy of the men does not intimidate them. They are all laborious, and I found them all employed fome way or other, efpecially in weaving linen. From hence I went to 'Taurominium ,' now called T ’avormina , where the moft remarkable monument of antiquity in the world is extant; I mean the theatre ther^, in which the whole Scena is preferved entire; a part, which is deftroyed in all other ancient theatres : 1 ’avormina is fituated on a hill about two miles high, from whence there is the moft charming profpedt towards MeJJina and Catania ; the air is extremely pure, and it is a moft pleafing fpot to fix a refidence. Above T*avormina is a little market town or village, on a ftill higher hill. / [ I2 S I hill, called Mola; and the road where the veffels ride at anchor, is called I Giardinu Besides the theatre, feveral other anti¬ quities are preferved at Tavormina , of which I fhall now fpeak, though d’ Orville has engraved and defcribed moft of them. Among them, the mod; remarkable are five refervoirs, alike in form and ftrucfiure, but of different fizes $ the lead: of them is in the bed: prefervation, confiding of two • ranges of vaults which fiand near each other, eight pilaflers which divide them from each other, and nine voltas or arches in each. In the volta, which is neared: the town, there are four windows: on the north fide towards the top is the hole through which the aquedud brought the water into the refervoir : in the narrow part of this refervoir where the water went out, I faw a great parallelopiped of done, with a round hole in it, through which the water pafied. In the mid ft of this final! part of the refervoir, the wall on each fide opens vertically, probably in order to give air, as I cannot otherwife imagine for what purpofe this opening could ferve in the two* [ ] two walls, which Hand oppofite each other. Thefe things cannot be well underftood without a drawing, and you will therefore be obliged to take d'Orville s plate to your affiffance. To the fouthward is an open¬ ing, and a little flair-cafe, by means of which one could defcend into the refervoir. The four other refervoirs are larger than this, but damaged, fo that I could not difcover any thing peculiar in them, only that their form has been alike : they are all built of done, and covered with a pe¬ culiar kind of gypfum, almoft like the Pifcina Mirabilio , but not fo hard. The Naumachia , is one of the five cif- terns, of which the middlemoft is the larged : eighteen arches or voltas of it are yet to be feen, . together with nineteen niches, which are placed alternately with the former j it plainly appears, that there have been more, but whether the building •has been iquare or oblong, is not now to be diftinguifhed. In each arch there are tubes of bricks, which probably conducted the water into the building. The niches are fquare, but I do not pretend to fay what ufe [ !27 ] ufc they were put to, nor whether this whole ftrudture has actually been a Nau- machia, or fome other public building, fuch as a bath, &c. The whole is built of bricks, of which many in the arches and niches are marked with Roma?i letters, a plain in¬ dication that this is no Greek monument. Out of town, towards Mejjina , you fee the foundations of an oblong fquare temple ftempts bijlungo) and of its wall, five palms broad, and covered with white marble. It appears to have been without a portico, and columns, and of a confiderable fize, and is faid to be the temple, which the inha¬ bitants of Naxos built to Apollo , when they fied to Taurominium. The church of S. Pancrazioy which {lands clofe by it, has likewife been a temple, and {till keeps its ancient walls, which are built of great white ftones, joined together without any mortar, and broken near T’aurominiumy whence the famous marble, which Hiero employed in his fhip, was likewife taken. This temple likewife forms a parallelogram. In the valley, which extends towards Mef- fina , there are two ancient fquare tombs, which [ 128 ] which have nothing remarkable, and there-* fore need no particular defcription. \ In the palace of St. Stefano there is a Greek infcription, very well preferved, and mentioned by d'Orville. The theatre Hands in a moft pleafant fituation, on a hill rifing above 'Tavormina , and has a very fine pro- fpe for it is formed in that manner* triangular* bent inwards* and of equal height with the doon The order is Corinthian ■: the Scena itfelf before the de¬ coration* only five palms in breadth, fo that I cannot conceive how the players could ftand and adt on fuch a narrow place. Behind the Scena there is more room* and it ends behind with columns of the Coring thian order, built of bricks. The theatre at Pompcji has the Scena formed in the fame manner, the back part of it having but lately been dug up. Below the podion or orcheftra, which likewife feems to be. very fmall in comparifon with the whole theatre* there is a volta or arch, which is half co¬ vered, and half open; this vault is fome- thing peculiar, and Vetruvius fays nothing of it. It has the figure of a Roman T, which appears to ftand againft the Scena , but feems to be inverted towards the fteps ; it extends below the Scena , is half co¬ vered, and half open, in fuch a manner* that the one half of the top of the T is K open. [ 1 3 ° 3 open, the other arched over. Towards that fide of the fteps, where the T appears breadth-ways in the orchedra, there are fome fquare holes in the arched or covered part of it, which, look into the orchedra. I will leave you to decide, to what ufe this lingular and hitherto unnoticed figure has been dedined, and lhall be glad to have your opinion on it, for I can find no account thereof in any author. Some imagine that it ferved to move the machines, but that thought is borrowed from our modern theatres ; it is likewife improbable, that it was the place of thofe who prompted the adtors, when they could not go on ; others fuppofe that the perfons dood here, who really fpoke, whild the adtors on the Scena did nothing but reprefent the adtions and attitudes j and this opinion does not appear quite fo unreafonable to me, efpecially as the three openings were jud oppodte the three doors of the Scena. But in that cafe, of what ufe were the four holes, which communicated with the orchedra ? To de¬ cide here would be great prefumption in .an apocryphal antiquary like mvfelf ^ I 3 therefore [ ‘ 3 1 ] therefore leave it to the great patriarch of antiquities. On each fide of the Scena is a great and a leffer room, vaulted at top, and built of bricks, which probably was made ufe of by the adtors: thefe rooms, together with the Scena , which is in the middle between them, form the whole front or breadth of the theatre, or the diameter of a regular femi-circle. On each fide of thefe rooms are the entrances to the theatre by the fides of the Scena a great entrance leads to the upper fteps, and there are fmaller fteps leading to the lower ones, and into the orcheftra. The entrances, the great and lelTer fteps, are all cut in the rock. The rooms on the fides of the Scena are divided from the fteps of the theatre. The fteps befides being cut in the rock, have the form of an exadt femi-circle; the other parts above them are built of bricks. Two of the ftories in the vaulted part of this building, were ornamented with columns, of which thirty-five bafes can be counted. There are like Wife ten vomitoria, five on K 2 each [ O 1 J each fide, by which the people defcended to the deps, after paffing through the cor¬ ridors in the vaults. It feems there were no deps in the building itfelf, and that it ferved merely to contain the corridors *, vomitoria, and decorations of the theatre; for you fee nothing on it but columns, with niches between them, which probably con¬ tained fhtues. The orchedra or podion is very .little, as 1 have already obferved, and the form of the theatre exadtly femi- circular; I am therefore dubious whether this building ought to be conlidered as a Greek theatre. At lead it mud have been altered by the Romans ; this is proved by the Corinthian order, by the bricks which are employed in the building, and its figure. I have tried the audibleneis of voice, and to my great furprize and fatisfadtion found, * The word tranfff ted corridors, is properly galleries or lobbies ; but as the firft is ufed in our theatres in a quite different fenfe, it was neceffary to fubftitute another, which would not be fubjeCt to miflead the reader ; the word lobby is more applicable for an avenue to a room, than that which leads to fuch avail opening as the theatres of the ancients were : we therefore pre* ferred the word corridor , well underftcod by archi¬ tects, and employed in French theatres nearly in the fame fenfe as here, p. that r 133 ] that on the ileps, or in the higheft part of the theatre, where the columns flood, every word can eafily be heard whicl\ is fpoken on the Scena, though pronounced in a low tone of voice. A peafant, who went with us, fpoke to us, and we underflood every fyllable, even when he whifpered. At prefent, however, you difcover none of the bronze vafes, of which Vitruvius lpeaks, nor the fpots where they could have been placed, but the propagation of the found is entirely owing to the flrudture of the building. In my opinion, this circumftance is infinitely more remarkable than the Orec- chio di Dionyfio in the Latomire at Syracufe , where the propagation of the leafl found is the natural effect of the tube-like figure of that grotto j for here, in a great femi-circle, the voice mufl be fpread into every di-r re&ion, and yet is heard equally well every where; which is a convincing proof of the architect's perfect knowledge of the proportion of all the lines in which the found could be directed. The 6elds round Tdavorinina are pleafant and well cultivated ; they produce good red wine, oil, and above all, a great quantity K 3 of [ 1 34 ] of filk, which is reared in all that tradl of country as far as Mejjina ; and from its in¬ come the inhabitants are able to purchafe as much corn as they want for their con- fumption, they not cultivating enough of it themfelves for that purpofe. The eye is delighted with a continued wood of olive and mulberry trees, and thefe hills are the prettied; I have feen in Sicily. The water along the fliores of the fea is fo clear, that you can fee every pebble at the bot¬ tom ; and in the night, when the moon with its pale light illuminated the fea, and the whole landfcape, when numbers of nightingales began their fong, and the fea with its fmooth furface refembled a polifhed mirrour, I enjoyed the fcene with heart¬ felt pleafure, whilfc a filent but pleafmg melancholy dole upon my mind. I reached Mefjbm in the morning, and there for the firil; time after I had left Pa¬ lermo, took up my lodgings at an inn. During the whole former part of my journey, I enjoyed the protection and hof- pitality of the inhabitants, being obliged to accept of their kind ohices, for want of r ' 4 public [ 05 ] public houfes. I fhould likewife have had an hofpitable reception at Mefjina^ but I preferred to flay in a very middling Lo- canda , or inn, on account of my eafe and liberty. The excellent fituation of MeJJtna , and its celebrated harbour, are known to have had no equal in the world. Nature here feems to have fhewn, that all her works are infinitely more perfect and admirable than the productions of art, though executed with ever fo much affiduity and trouble. A narrow neck of earth and fand, extend¬ ing in form of a femi-circle, makes the fiheft and fafeft harbour in the world, where a thoufand fhips can lie feeurely in all kinds of weather, and can come up to .the very houfes of the merchants. ME S SINA (formerly Mejfana and Zancle) is now much fallen from what it was in the ancient and middle ages of its exigence : the want of commerce, the oppreffion of the inhabitants by govern¬ ment iince the lafl rebellion ; the plague which raged here, even in this century, 1743, K 4 ail [ U 6 J all have contributed tq depopulate and weaken the town, Its inhabitants at pre» Pent amount to no more 25,000, though they might be equal to, if not more numerous than, thofe of Palermo. The cathedral is a middling fort of building, in which the prlpit of marble is ornamented with baffo relievos in a good tafle, by Ghagini x the bell Sicilian fculptor, The principal altar, is one of the heft pieces of figures and flowers in hard done, or what is commonly called Florentine work, becaufe it was in-? vented at Florence , and is ftill made there in the gallery. The altar is a mafler^piece in this manner, though upon the whole it is bad, and without tafte. The pulpit in the choir is painted with much care and great fpirit by a Sicilian , named Guagli- ati ; his competition is like Fintoret’s^ and he finifhes in a very good manner. In the treafure of the cathedral, are feyeral pieces of excellent workmanfhip in gold and filver, by Qinvara , who is fo famous at Rome. He was a native of Mejfina, and, without any other abidance than his own genius, hath brought his art to a great per¬ fection, Among [ 1 37 ] Among all the churches of MeJJina , that of St. Gregorio is in rather a better tafte than the reft; however, it is quite in the Nea- v folk an manner, with much gilding, and work in marbles of all poftible colours. There is a very fine copy of the beautiful St. Gregorio at Bologna. The Noviciate of the Jefuits is worth feeing on account of its fine iituation, and fome good paintings, but I could get nobody to tell me the names of the artifts. In the church of the The- atines are alfp fome good pieces by Sicilian painters. \ In the houfe of Prince Scalettas is a great eolledion of paintings j but many of them are copies, ftanding in the room of the originals, which have been fold. Some originals of Polidoro di Caravaggio , Spag>- nioletto , and Zioppo di Ganghi , are llill left; but the beft piece is the deling in the gal¬ lery* painted by the Chevalier Mejfmefe , who is perhaps the firft painter in Sicily. He has not the force and exprefiion of Morealefe , but with a very accurate and elegant defign he combines much grace in the compofition, and a pleafing execution. He * [ 138 ] He is the Sicilian Albano , and this cieling is one of the fineft pieces in Sicily. There are many ftatues in MeJJina , each of the fquares is adorned by an equeftrian or pedeftrian ftatue of one of its regents. There are alfo ftatues of Don Juan d’Auf- tria , of the King of Spain, and others ; but they are all fo bad, that one muft really be forry to fee the expences of the city, and the time of the artift, thrown away upon them. Some ftatues are alfo placed along the harbour. The people of MeJJina. fhew a Neptune chaining down Scylla and Charybdis in white marble, as a mafter- piece of art, from the fchool of Michael Angelo ; but this ftatue is one of the worft of them all. The citadel, which is fituated on the neck of land that includes the harbour, and is called Braccio di St. Ranieri, is very* ftrong, and well contrived. It requires only 4000 men to defend it, and is ftronge'r towards the town than towards the fea, becaufe Charles the lid. of Spam built it after the laft rebellion, in order to keep the town [ 139 1 town in awe for the future. That rebellion is well defcribed in a very rare manufcript, which I found in the library at Meflina, and which is entitled : Guerre Civili di Mejjina , di Fraizcefco Cafcio , Calabrefe. Clofe to the citadel is the famous Charybdis of the ancients, which, on account of their little nautical fkill, was looked upon as very dangerous and terrible, though the people now pafs over it without danger, in the fmalleft boats. The modern inhabi¬ tants of Mejjina call it II Garofalo , and it confifls in nothing but a vortex formed by the different directions of the tides and current, in the narrow channel of MtJJina . I paffed over it in a little boat, to convince myfelf of its infignificance. The water is only thirty palms deep, and the vortex of courfe cannot be fo dangerous as it has been defcribed. It is to be obferved like- wife, that if Virgil s defcription (Lib. III.) is net to be conlidered as a poetical one, the vortex muft in his time have been much greater and more terrible. There are no other antiquities in Mef- Jina y than a collection of coins in Prince [ H° 3 Sperlingas collection. M, Andrea Gallo, who has acquired a pretty good knowledge in antiquities, Chewed me an ancient baffo relievo, which appears to be of Roman workmanfhip, but on a mod; lingular fub- jeCt (this gentleman has deferibed and ex¬ plained it in a little differtation which I have gotten) it contains nine figures, and reprefents an Apotheofis. The perfon dei¬ fied lies on a fcaffold, and has one wing; a Handing figure at the other end of the baffo relievo, is making the other wing with a kind of hatchet. M. Andrea Gallo looks upon this as the folution of the term of the ancients. Sub AJiia dicavit , or pofuit , which is found in feveral tomb-flones, and other monuments, and as a hint at the ceremony of cutting out the wing with that inftrument. The other figures are all very clearly reprefen ted, and each has its particular fignificatiom Commerce, which could be extenfive at Mejjina, is totally dormant, and the ma¬ nufactures have neither workmen nor fale. Silk handkerchiefs, knit {lockings, and light filks of one colour. Hill fucceed very well however. [ 1+1 ] however, and are made in pretty large quan¬ tities. Silk is plenty here, and of the bell kind; but the King himfelf prevents the ex¬ portation of it, by laying a duty of 16 per cent, on it j and lince the city of Lyons in France has introduced the ufe of the ma¬ chine for twilling lilk, MeJJina mull fend its lilk raw and unfpun thither. The plague, which has raged here, has fwept away many workmen; but there are Hill fome who work in llulfs with gold and iilver. But work being infinitely dearer here than at Lyons y and the patterns being old before they come to MeJJina y it is ealily conceived, that the fale cannot be very extenlive. They likewife make carpets, which look like Lurkey carpets, and pleafed me very much. Some years ago the King eredled a com¬ pany at MeJJina trading to the Levant , and granted them exclulive privileges. Almoll all the inhabitants of Sicily brought their money to this new bank, and inconliderately expelled great advantages; I fay inconli¬ derately, for the company fent bullion to the Levant , and fold the goods in Sicily, by which [ *42 ] which means the funds were foon exhaufted, and ali Sicily was near being ruined. The Greeks , who know that country and its trade better, had formerly carried on a bartering trade with the products of Sicily and thofe of Greece , which was much more beneficial to the country. This company was therefore diffolved about a year ago. As the government purpofed, after the laft rebellion, to opprefs the city effectually, they loaded it with imports •, among other taxes then laid on, the city pays to the King per cent, for the bread it con- fumes ; for it gives 31 ‘Tarim for each Salma of corn, which in the good years is fold for about 60 Tarini. However, hread is not dearer at MeJJina than at Palermo , and 16 ounces fell for four Sicilian Gram in both thefe places j from whence the pro¬ digious profit of the Colonna F rument aria t or Annona , which is managed by the fenate at Palermo , can be calculated, and the bad tendency of this inftitution conceived. Here I concluded my tour round Sicily , and did not return to Palermo as I had intended. [ >43 3 intended, becaufe every body amired me, and all the voyagers affirmed, that there is nothing remarkable on this fide of Sicily . There is no town on the coaft, except 'Termini, and in that is very little to be feen. There are no antiquities on this fide, and cultivation is likewife negle&ed ; fo I concluded my progrefs through Sicily at MeJJina, and continued my travels to Reggio (Rhegium) Calabria, and the remaining parts of the kingdom of Naples, ' V . ■ • (Jv Before I leave this ifiand, I mult give you a fhort defcription of its inhabitants, of whom many things are daily told, which do them little honour, and infpire us with miftruft againft them. This nation, like all the people of warmer climates, is po- lifhed, of quick parts and great genius; but it likewife is charadterifed by that effe¬ minacy, voluptuoufnefs, and cunning, which is found to increafe in the more foutherly countries. They have amazing vivacity, but not the leafl phlegm, which is very neceflary in the cultivation of the arts, and in the execution of its works this de¬ ficiency appears in their painters, their fculptors. t 44 ] fculptors, and even their poets, who are’ numerous, and efpecially the Improvifatori, of whom you meet with fome among the common people. Thefe poets rather chufe to write down their firft thoughts, than to revife, polifh, or clear them of errors. It feems the temperature of air, which pro¬ duces that happy phlegm, is not to be met with here. An acrid fait affeCts the nerves of the natives> Umori falfi , are a common complaint all over Sicily t arifing chiefly from their diet, and partly from the Immoderate ufe of fugar. This irritation of the nerves makes them reftlefs and im¬ patient, and with their great degree of viva^ city, often caufes the moft violent actions $ they are therefore remarkable above all other nations for the violence of their jea- loufy and vindictive temper. This fame mixture of character, fometimes produces a degree of heroifm and ftoicifm, from which the greatefl benefits might arife, and I can mention fome anecdotes upon that fubjeCt : whilft the famous robber c FeJla!unga with his band infefted Sicily t his intimate friend Romano , who was as lieutenant* and next in rank to Tejla - lunga t [ HS ] iunga , was taken prifoner; his father was likewife in prifon for fome crimes, but they promifed him his liberty, if his fon would betray and deliver Pejlalunga into their hands : the fon’s ftruggle between filial love and folemn friendfhip, was very great; but his father prevailed on him to prefer the latter to the former, and not to prove his filial affedlion by a treachery. Pejla- lunga himfelf, though he was put to the moft violent tortures, did not betray any of his companions* The following, may ferve as an example of real love put to the fcefl. A Prince of one of the firfi: families in Palermo , had a fecret connexion with a fingle lady* who was his equal in rank; he married her afterwards, and two months after marriage fhe was delivered of a fon. From a motive of fhame, and to prevent becoming the talk of the town* he and his lady refolved to deny the child, and to truft its education to a peafant, as they had hopes of getting more children to fupply its place. This Hrcumftance was kept a fecret, till the mother on her death-bed, in hopes of dif- L burthen^ [ H 6 ] burthening her confidence, difcovered it t the youth was immediately feat for from the country, he ihewed more furprize than ]oy on being informed of his new rank, and immediately declared, that unlefs he could marry a handfome young country girl, with whom he was in love, he would not accept of it; this article being denied him, he willingly refigned his claims in favour of his brother, and lived moderately but happily with his dear country girl, in that ftation of life in which he had been brought up. What an excellent fubjeCt for a dramatic piece, and how worthy of em¬ ploying the pen of a Metajtafio , or Voltaire ! Now and then you meet with fome fimilar ilrokes in the characters of the mo¬ dern inhabitants of Sicily , to that of its ancient natives, though the many revolu¬ tions in the form of government, and the- change of mailers, have almoil obliterated the refemblance : there are many Greek lineaments in perfons of both fexes, efpe- cially on the fouth and eail coails, and you find many male and female beauties ; but more of the latter, which is quite the re- verfe 3 [ "47 ] verfe of the Neapolitan climate* which forms the men handfome, but is not fo favorable to the other fex; The Sicilian women love violently and faithfully, and prove that conftancy and faithful affedions are not banifhed from their fex. The great af- fedion of the natives to Grangers, and their hofpitality, is another remnant of the Greek manners : how much I have expe¬ rienced it, I have already mentioned to you feveral times ; I enjoyed it in all Sicily, and look upon it as my duty to offer up my thanks for it on every occafiOn. Like the Greek cities of old, each town in Sicily cherifhes a defire of being more ancient, greater, or more famous than the reft * Palermo and MeJJina are fighting for pre¬ cedence like Athens and Laccdcemon : Gir - genti and Syracufe ftrive againft each other, on account of the antiquities which are preferved there ; Mazzara and Sciacca are at variance, becaufe the one wants to be taken for the ancient Selinus, and the other for the Phermce Selinuntice. There is not one town, in which I did not find this defire of being preferred before the others. [ 148 j The former voluptuoufnefs and intem¬ perance in eating and drinking, is quite vanifhed j the people live as moderate as poffible, and drunkennefs with them is the greateft crime, which they deteft more than any other nation. They like their dilhes prepared with fugar and other fweets to excefs, fo that they cannot make a meal without fome fweet dilh or other. Their fruits, corn, game, and fifh, are excellent, and their wines could all be equally good, if they would prepare them with fuflicient induflry. There are many birds in Sicily which are not to be met with elfewhere, fuch as the Francolins , which are of the fize of a Grous, and have an excel¬ lent tafle ; wild peacocks, and others. In their cattle, you find 'T’heocritus s defcrip- tions anlwer exactly; the pictures of his eclogues are here actually reprefented before one’s eyes by nature, you lee the numerous goats feeding on the hills ; thofe vail fheep and wethers, on the belly of one of which Vlyjfes efcaped out of the cavern of Po¬ lyphemus the many flocks of dwarfifh red cattle ; in fine, the fhepherds ftill fing with emulation to gain the crook or the [ 149 1 the purfe, which is the prize of the beft performer. The temperature and happinefs of the climate allows them to pafs the whole year in the fields; their habitations are huts of ftraw built by themfelves; and their flocks are left day and night in the open air. The common people of Sicily have a particular drefs, which at firfl fight ap¬ peared to me to be very difproportionate to the climate : the men wear chequered caps, and no hats, which feem to be very ill contrived againfl the great heat; they have likewife always a number of Capotti, or furtout coats on, which have large hoods, like the drefs of the Capuchin friars. I have feen fome Sicilians, efpecially when on horfeback, with four of thefe coats on, which they occafionally pulled off as the weather required ; for in a country where the fun operates fo powerfully, and efpe¬ cially in an ifland, where the changes of wind from warm to cold are very frequent, people are apt to get cold, and danger¬ ous pleurifies, and therefore they avoid it as much as poflible by their drefs. The L 3 women [ t S° 3 women retain fomething of the Greek drefs* having veils round their heads, and broad bandages round the waift; but in the towns, they wear great black rain cloaks, after the Spanijh falhion. The nobility at Pa¬ lermo imitate the French faftftons, as doth all the reft of Europe . Assassinations are now not fo fre¬ quent as they ufed to be in Sicily , though fometimes jealoufy or revenge have fuel} violent effects. There was formerly a fixed price in Palermo and MeJJlna , for which a man could get another murdered ; it came to no more than io Oncie f or 12 Zecchini , but crimes of this kind are now feldom perpetrated, and it would coft a good deal more to bribe an aflafiin. As jealoufy is continually decreafing, and there are no political factions in the country, thefe atro¬ cious crimes are entirely in difufe : the ladies at Palermo enjoy great liberty, as they do in all Italy ; the men begin to be afhamed of their natural jealoufy; they are fond of foreigners, who fpend their time yery agreeably at Palermo . , A GREAT [ r 5i 1 A great deal of money has been carried into Sicily within thefe few years, fince it has begun to fell its corn abroad to great advantage, and the countryman, before all others, has gained much by this trade. All the neceffaries of life are cheap, which probably arifes from their great abundance, and the fmall number of inhabitants ; for they reckon only 1,200,000 individuals on the whole ifland, which is a mere nothing to its fize and former populoufnefs. To conclude : the climate, the foil, and the fruits of the country, are as perfect as ever; but the precious Greek liberty, po¬ pulation, power, magnificence, and good tafle, are now not to be met with as in former times, and the prefent inhabitants can only fay, Fuimus Froes. Equally true however is what Solinus fays ; “ §>uic- t( quid Sicilia gignit , five foli fcecunditatem y * c five hominum ingenia fpedies , proximum ejt “ Us, quce optima dicunturF Accept thefe few obfervations, my dear friend, as a teflimony of my affedtion, and L 4 continue [ *J2 ] continue to favour me with your friendfhip* I lhall ever remain, &c, LETTER II, C To Abbe WlNCKLEMAN. J Should not have ventured, my dear Sir, to have fent you annotations on my travels through the kingdom of Naples , if you had not defired to fee them, and if I did not forefee that your friendfhip will excufe, and your knowledge correct any inaccuracies that may have crept in. You will not find any thing falfe in regard to the fituation of places, or the circurnfiances I have noted down 3 but in my gueffes I have generally followed my firfl thoughts, without confulting other authors, not being able to carry any books with me on fo troublefome a journey, nor having any leL fure to reflect again on what I had feen. I continued my voyage from MeJJina to Reggio (Rheggium) in Calabria the 11 th of May, in the fame little vefiel (Spero - mraj which I had hitherto made ufe of, and [ *53 1 and arrived there in two hour’s time. The channel, or Pharo, is here twelve Italian miles broadin eroding it I had another opportunity of obferving the famous Cha- rybdisy and again experienced that it is neither deep nor dangerous, and that the vortex is not caufed by a precipice, but by the currents which fet into the ftrait from the north and the fouth ; and thefe currents not being equally ftrong, nor fetting at the fame time, they caufe a kind of ebb and flood, which changes every fix hours, of \vhich the failors take the advantage in eroding the channel, cutting through it with the greateft eafe without fails or oars. Jf now and then a great £hip is lod;, it arifes merely from the ignorance of the feamen, who enter the channel againft the current, and are then carried towards the fhore and wrecked. The remains of ancient Rheggium are few or none ; all I was able to find were fome old brick walls, which feemed to have be¬ longed to a temple, but they are fo much defaced, that one cannot fo much as dis¬ cover whether the temple was round or „ fquare; t 154 ] fquare : I faw feveral Greek and Roman in- fcriptions immured in feveral houfes in the fquare, fome of which are placed the wrong way. As Gualteri , Gruter , and d’Orville have mentioned them, and a canon at Reg¬ gio, named Don Giufeppe Morifano , intends to republilh them, together with fome other accounts of Reggio, I did not give myfelf the trouble to copy them, efpecially as they are half obliterated. At this canon’s houfe, I faw a manyfcript of the 16th century, containing many particular accounts, efpe¬ cially of the medium cevum, or middle ages. It is entitled : Rijlretto dell' Ijloria detle Cofe di Reggio , dell' Abbate Giovanni Angelo Spagnolio , Reggino, I in treated the canon to publith this manufcript, inftead of his defcription of the trifling remains of ancient Rheggium , becaufe it certainly contains more important accounts than the latter. The cathedral, which is the largeft church, is an old Gothic building, which has nothing remarkable, except its being built in a Hoping fltuation, fo that the floor and the cieling are at lead two palms lower at the entrance, than at the choir or other end [ I SS ] lend of the church. The reafon of this construction is not obvious to me, and I do not know whether any other Gothic builds ing of this nature exifts. The environs and the fituation of Reggio are very pleafant, and the fields finely planted with mulberry, orange and lemon trees, and vines. Moft of the Calabrian filk is raifed hereabouts; they fell one year with another 80,000 pounds of filk at Reggio, and would perhaps produce double that quantity, if the duties on it were not fo great as they are : they were laid on by the former Neapolitan , and afterwards Spanijh prime minister, the Marquis Gregori Squil- lace , who has by that means entirely hin¬ dered the manufacturing of filk, and Spoiled the trade. The owner of the trees mult pay the King a tax for the foil, and for the trees ; and when the filk is made, each pound pays five Carlini duty, and muft not be fold to any other place than Naples * there, the pound of filk is paid to the Utmoft with 25 Carlini , becaufe the mer¬ chants know that nobody is allowed to pur- chafe it befides themfelves, and accordingly, that [ J 5 6 ] fingle impofl amounts to 20 per cent, and if you add to it the tax on the foil, and that on the mulberry trees, the filk, which is the chief and befl produdfc of the king¬ dom of Naples, and which alone keeps down the balance of its paffive trade, pays 50 per cent, to the King before it is exported. Wine fucceeds extremely well about Reggio ; a private perfon there, who cul¬ tivates his vines with peculiar attention and induflry, and prepares his wines with the fame care, gave me feveral forts to tafle of, which perfectly came up to Burgundy, and red and white Mujcadine , though all made of the fame fort of grapes, only with different preparations. Having nothing more to obferve at Reggio, I continued my voyage to Gieraci , the place where the ancient and famous Locris formerly flood, and doubled the Capo di Spartivento , which is generally looked upon as dangerous, becaufe two oppofite winds, north and fouth, are re¬ quired, in order to pafs it. I eafily found the fpot where Locris flood, below Gieraci, which [ *57 3 * which is feated on a higher hill. After walking about a long while amidft the ruins of this ancient town, which were chiefly of bricks, and fome of free ftones, I difcovered nothing but the remains of fome tombs, of which one could juft fay, that they were really tombs, the reft are mafles of ftones; it is impoflible to difcover any thing of their figure, though I believe, that if they dug under thefe ruins, they would find fome pieces of columns and ftatues. I was much furprized to find fo many remains of bricks, and fo few of ftone, in a Greek town ; from whence I conclude, that it was totally deftroyed by an earthquake, or by the Romans , and after¬ wards built up again by them. From hence we failed to Capo di Stilo, where I went on fhore, in order to fee the Carthujian monaftery of St do, which lies four miles from the fea fhore, fituated on a mountain, and of which I had been told, that both the building and the library de- ferved to be feen ; but I found, that I had gone this road in vain, a circumftance which often happens to curious travellers, for the church 2 t 158 ] church and monaftery are large arid fpa- cious, but built in the word Gothic tafte; In the library, the fcarceft manufcriptSj I believe, were the privileges and donations, which the fuperftition and fanaticifm of the regents of Naples have given to thofe rich but idle drones. The environs are very pretty, and as they are poflefted by monksjt extremely well planted, elpecially with olive- trees. From hence I went to Melitbno^ the fhore to that place is well cultivated, and planted with olive-trees, which form the greateft part of the revenues of Calabria > though that country abounds likewife in wine and corn. A building of bricks, which had been defcribed to me as a Greek temple. Hands below Catanzaro , which, next to Cofenza * is the greateft city of Calabria , and the capital of Calabria Ultra . Its form how- 1 ever is fuch, that I look upon it rather as a Gothic or a Norman building ; for though it is a parallelogram, yet from the fquare towers at its corners, one teuft needs con¬ clude, that it could not be built by the Greeks, efpecially as the towers plainly ap¬ pear [ i $9 ] pear to be of equal antiquity with the reft of the building, and are not, as may per¬ haps be faid of the narrow, vaulted win¬ dows, built in later times. SQUILLACE is generally called the ancient Scyllacczum, probably becaufe there is fome fimilarity in the names, or elfe I know not why for here is no danger of fhipwreck fNavifragum Scyllacceum , Virg. ALneid. Lib. III.) I fiiould rather, on ac¬ count of its fite, look upon it as the an¬ cient Caulonia , becaufe Virgil fays, Caulonis Arces, and not Arx y and Squillace ftands on two hills, which are clofe to each other, and well reprefent the fituation of two caftles. This neighbourhood is charmingly cultivated, and the rich hand of the prefent polfeffor appears in the fields, which are all carefully planted. Not far from Squillace, below Simari, you fee three arches of an ancient aquedudt, which perhaps carried the water to Caulonia. Thefe arches are not made of bricks, but of great pieces of free ftone, from whence the age and magnificence of this aqueduct may be [ i6o ] be conceived. Below Cutro, quite clofe ta the fea, there is an ancient tomb built of bricks, which in its form perfectly refem- bles the tomb of C a cilia Metella at Rome. Its lower part is fqtiare, and the upper round. It is pretty well preferved, but has no infcription. Perhaps you will be fur- prized, that all thefe ancient monuments lie at the foot of the modern cities of Ca¬ labria. The reafon is, that all the towns in this province, on account of the infectious air which reigns throughout the whole fummer, are built on hills and mountains, where the air is generally purer; but this was not the cuftom with the ancients, be- caufe the great populoufnefs of the countty prevented the air becoming infectious, fa that this precaution would have been need- lefs at that time, I found the remains and ruins of a con- fiderable town upon Capo di Mezzo* which lies between Capo Rizzuto and Capo Co - lonne , three promontories lying very near each other. Thefe ruins confift of a little temple of an oblong quadrangular form,, with a niche for the ftatue^ of which ntM t is* 1 thing remains but the wall, about one palm high above the ground j it is fo little, that •I look upon it as a domejlic temple , dedicated to the Lares. Here is likewife a fquare refervoir of water built of bricks. Along the fhore are fome fubJlriiBions and tef- felated pavement, the remains of p daces. I do not pretend to fay what this town has has been ; Cluverius , in his Italia Antiqua, fays nothing of it. CAPO COLONNE is the Promonto - rium Lacinium near Croton, on which the famous temple of Juno Lacinia flood, whereof confiderable remains are Hill ex¬ tant. This temple was of the fame ancient Doric architecture as thofe of Pcejlum, Gir- genti, &c> It is 66 paces broad, and 132 long, as meafured by my own paces from, whence you may form an idea of its con¬ fiderable lize. On one fide, a part of the Wall of the Celia remains Handing, in which I obferved, as a very lingular circumfiance, that they were built up of Hones, and bricks alternately. The firH layer is of Hones feven palms and a half high, and the fe- cend, which I could not meafure on ac- M count [ l£>2 ] count of its height, conflHs of an Opits Reticulatum of bricks. It is plain, that this was done to make the walls light; but whether above this row of mattoni, there was again another of Hone, or whether it all conflfled of Opus Reticulatum , I am not able to determine, becaufe the wall is no farther preferved. It is probable, that all the red: was of bricks, becaufe they would have been cruflied down if any Hones had lain upon them, it is built towards the eaH like all the Greek temples, and its entrance was on the wed: dde. Only a dngle column at the farther hall is preferved, and that is, as already mentioned, of the Doric order, without a bafe. It is obfervable, that this column is very fmall, in proportion to the extent of the temple, and has 23 inflead of 21 flutes, which all other columns of this order have ; this I can aflert, becaufe I counted the flutes three or four times over. Four Heps led up to this temple, and as many led down from it. Another Angular circumftance is, that the Celia was four Heps lower than the reH of the temple $ each Hep was one and a half Neapolitan palms high. The [ i6 3 ] The floor of the Celia is covered with earth, which could eafily be cleared away, and its whole form difcovered, unlefs de- ftroyed before; for this foil has but lately been thrown on it, when digging up the fteps on the lides of the temple, not (as you might perhaps imagine) to fee or to difcover them, but to break them, and employ them at the new harbour of Cotrone. When I complained of this fa- crilege to the engineer of the harbour, he comforted me, faying, that there was enough to be feen at the Pojllcon , to make up for what was wanting in the reft of the temple. The fituation of this temple is the moil delightful that can be-imagined for fuch a building ; the promontory on which it ftands juts eight miles out into the fea, and on both fides you enjoy the profped: of the gulph, and a great extent of land : it is probable that the town of Croton ftood on this fpot, becaufe you here meet with con- fiderable and numerous remains of tombs and houfes, but all fo deflroyed, that no¬ thing can be diftinguifhed in them. M 2 Here [ 164 J Here* I fought for what is called Scuola di 'Pithagora, Phe School oj Pythagoras, of which I had often heard people fpeak a great deal, and of which the remains were laid to be confiderable at Cape Colonne ; but I found no veftige, and upon enquiring for them at Cotrone , I difcovered the miftake upon which that conjecture is founded. The people imagine, that the temple was much lefs than it really is, and have taken the wall of the Celia for a feparate building, which they apprehend was the Scuola di Pithagora, becaufe they know that Pytha¬ goras taught at Croton . It would be equally eafy to fhew the houfe of the wreftler Milo, becaufe he was a native of Croton. The modern Cotrone , which lies fix miles eaft of this Cape, on the gulph, is the uglieft town in Italy, and perhaps in the whole world. The badnefs of the air of this place depopulates it, and its inhabitants are only five thoufand in number ; the Capo Colonne is almofi: entirely unknown for the fame reafon, and refembles the Campagna di Roma. The King has ordered a new harbour to be made in this town, at which they have been working many years, and which [ i6 5 ] which has already coft 180,000 Neapolitan ducats, without having as yet any bottom or fafety; it is very plain, that the King has been milled in this particular. In Cotrone three Latin infcriptions on tomb- ftones are preferved, but contain nothing particular, two of them are in the caftle, and one before the church of S. Giufeppe; and I found them mentioned in a good book, written in the laft century, Della Calabria illuftrata , del Padre Cappucino Fiore 1691. On the 15th of May I went from Cotrone to Cape Alice , which lying juft oppofite to Barbary ., the pirates often land on, or hide themfelves behind it. A fpecies of the beft anchovies caught in the Mediter~ ranean get their name, Alici, from this Cape, being found there in great abun¬ dance. From hence the diftance is fhort to Cariatiy a bilhopric in Calabriay round .which they colled: the beft manna, and in the greateft quantity. The owners of the manna-trees are obliged to fell their manna to the King for a fixed price : the better fort, or what is commonly called in Can - M 3 nole> [ 166 ] note, for two Car Uni, and the worfe, or in Frafca, for eight Gram the pound. Thefe revenues are farmed for 32,000 ducats per annum. The greatefl quantity is collected about Cariati and Strongoli. Here begins the gulph of Farento (Sinus i Tarentinus) though Virgil extends it to Croton : » Hinc Sinus Herculei, Ji vera eft fama Farenti, Cernitur attollit fe diva Lacinia contra . I failed along the fhore to Corigliano, which is fituated on a hill about four miles from the fea, and landed near the road called Fhe Schiavonia, to vifit the Duke di Corig- liano, then redding on his eftates, and to obferve the fituation of Sybaris, which be¬ longed to him. CORIGLIANO is feated in the beft and hneft part of Calabria, and all its pro¬ ducts are excellent: here they make the greateft quantity of the beft oil in Calabria ; the wine of thefe parts is alfo the beft in the province, and has a tafle of fennel, which [ i fi 7 ] •which is very agreeable; they fow as much corn as they want, fo that they need not buy any; oranges and lemons are abundant, and of the beft fort; their cattle are excel¬ lent, and the Duke annually breeds 300 horfes ; the fheep give very good wool; all kinds of animals are numerous, and exceedingly good of their kind. They alfo colled; here vaft quantities of manna, tar, and pitch ; and raife fome filk. They dig up the Regolizia, or liquorice root here, of the juice of which the Duke has an annual clear income of 4000 ducats, after deduding an equal fum for the expences. The wood, which grows on the tops of the hills, is likewife fold; and the flax and hemp are exported. All kinds of fruit of the apple and pear kind, which are feldoni abundant or good in Italy, are plentiful here, and excellent in their kind ; and that nothing may be wanting, the fea in this neighbourhood is richer in fffh than any other part of the gulph of Tlarevtum , wh ich is fo famous on that very account. All the advantages of this excellent country are natural, and art has a very little fhare in M 4 them. [ 168 ] them, though the Duke has made home improvements. Let me briefly deferibe to you the pre¬ paration of Regolizia , or liquorice, as this fmall article turns to fo great account. The root is dug up between the months of No-~ member and ‘June , and in five years time it grows again on the fame lpot. It is cut in pieces, moiftened and crulhed in a mill $ being by this means formed into a mafs like dough, it is put into a great boiler, and boiled for eight hours - 3 during that time they pour water on it, it is then twice prefled, and the refinous juice fqueezed out, which mu ft then be boiled in another caU dron for twenty-four hours, to give \t the proper degree of toughnefs •, after that, it is cut into cakes or fquares, and packed in chefts with bay-leaves, for fale in England and Holland , CORIGLIANO is a neat town, con-s taining 8000 inhabitants, and the refidence of the Duke, when he is in the country. Its fituation is vaftly pleafant, and the pro- fpedts excellent. Three miles from hence, between ' ' ' ' [ > 6 9 ] between two rivers, which are ftill called Sibari and Crate , is the fpot where the town of Sybaris ftood, which was famous for its voluptuous inhabitants, and was deftroyed by the people of Croton. You will eafily imagine that a town, which has been deftroyed fo long, and then rebuilt on another fpot, can fhew but few remains, and I expected to fee no more than its bare fite. The two rivers Sibari and Crate join in one, before they difembogue into the fea, after flowing through a fine exten** five plain on which Sybaris ftood, This plain is now covered with woods and paftures, and is a moft unhealthy place in fummer, on account of marihes, which are left there from the inundations of the rivers. The air is thick and mild, becaufe t the country is bounded by the fea on the fouth, and by the high mountains of Calabria on the north. Thofe mountains are very high, and upon mount Bulling , the higheft of them, which has excellent paftures, and belongs to the Duke of Monte Leone , there was a great quantity of fnow in the middle of May. I was much furprized to find a Subterraneous aquedudt, which the people allured [ >7° 3 affured me came from Adriano , a place fourteen miles diftant : this aquedudt is very lingular, for it runs in feveral bendings, and pafles under the river Crate. The water flowed through tubes of bricks, of which I meafured a piece. The diameter is one palm two inches and a half ; the length of the piece two palms two inches; the circumference of the roof three palms ten inches, and the thicknefs of the mat - toni two Inches. The mattoni on the inflde are covered with a kind of gypfum, over which there is a coating of a black colour, but could not afcertain of what it confifted. Thefe tubes are inclofed, and covered with walls cf four palms high, the fame as the fubterraneous aqueduds at Rome. There are two tombs alio in the plain, one is round, the other fquare, and vaulted at top; they hand clofe to each other. Here and there you find ftrong walls, which may perhaps have been the walls of the city. On the road, they icld Prince St. Mauro , the Duke’s fon, and me, that there was a building under ground; we ordered the people to dig for it, and I fuppofe it was a tomb, becaufe we cut through a vault, within which [ I 7 I 1 which every thing was filled with earth, carried into it by the river. The heat of the day did not allow us to get any more earth cleared out, and I begged the Prince to get it done when he had more leifure ; when I returned to Naples he told me, that he had found it to be a fquare tomb, vaulted at top, of the fame form as that which is preferved above ground, but that it con¬ tained neither vafes, urns, nor any thing clfe. It is fuppofed, with much probability, that the Sybarites , after their town was defiroyed, built Thurium, upon the fpot where Terra Nuova now Hands. This little town lies four miles farther up the country on the mountain, and belongs to the Duke of Monte Leone. The conjecture, that was the place of Thurium, is founded on the ruins of an ancient town, and fome coins pf Thurium which were found there. After having feen thefe things, and being loaded with civilities by the Duke di Corigliano , I continued my voyage to Sfaranto* As we failed by, I faw the place of [ J 7 2 1 of the ancient Gra>,£ town of Heraclea be¬ low Pelicoro, which is built on a hill. You fee but foine few remains of ftone, which ferve merely to point out the fpot whereon the town was built. Nearer towards 'Ta¬ ranto there are fome ruined columns, faid to be the wretched remains of the ancient town of Metapontum: they are of the an¬ cient Doric order, and hand only half above ground ; the reft is deftroyed by time, or the barbarifm of the regents of thefe parts. On the 20th of May I arrived at Taranto (Tarentwn) . This city, formerly fo famous and powerful, which oppofed the forces of the Romans , and fupported Hannibal in Italy; which equipped fleets, and fet armies on foot , which carried arts and fciences, luxury and fenfual pleafures, to the higheft pitch 3 now conftfts of 16,000 inhabitants, part of whom are a petty nobility of very fcanty fortunes, or quite poor j and the reft a parcel of filhermen, who earn their daily bread by fifhing in the great harbour, now called Mare Piccolo . All other trades are exercifed by ftrangers, fuch as Neapo¬ litans, and others, and the country is tilled by [ I 73 ] by the Calabrefe. I know not whether I fhall call this, antique indolence, or modem lazinefs ? So much however is certain, that the mildnefs of the climate and of the air infpires idlenefs and voluptuoufnefs. The modem citizens of 'Taranto are much ad- didted to pleafure, and I have no where feen more contented or joyful countenances. They are well fhaped, their women really very handfome, and of Greek features. The common people are extremely civil, and at each houfe, in the fields or vineyards, the ftranger is invited to come in, and they willingly fhare all they have in the houfe with him, without requiring any confide - ration. The men are very jealous, and immediately hide the women, as foon as a ftranger enters their houfes. The populace fpend moft of their time in dancing and playing, which is the very reverfe of the Calabrefe , who are laborious, and preferve the unpolifhed manners of their anceftors, the Brutii: nay, the different character of thefe two nations immediately appears in their different pronunciations ; the Calabrefe pronounce every word harfh and rough, diftinguifh d and t, b and p , like the Tuf- i cans , [ 174 ] cans, and make many guttural founds; the T.’arentines, on the contrary, exprefs the vowels Hill more than the Neapolitans them- felves, fpeak every word very open, and their provincial dialed has many Greek words. The monuments of the ancient Taren -- turn con lift in a very few remains, which I vifited in the company of a 'Tarentme nobleman, named Don Cataldo Carducci, to whom I was recommended, and who was well acquainted with the antiquities of his native city. In a corn field, out of town, he fhewed me a round hole, vaulted at top, to and from which two canals were made, and which, as he imagines, ferved for the preparation of the now loft purple colour of the ancients : he fuppofes this, becaufe, as he allured me, the purple co¬ lour was found flicking to the wall, when it was firfl difcovered a few years ago and becaufe a hillock near it, towards the Mare Viccolo , which is properly the ancient har¬ bour, confifts entirely of the murex or fhells from which the purpura was prepared (like the hill ‘Tejlaccio at Rome, which confifts of [ >75 ] of broken pots) and which he thinks were thrown on a heap together out of this colour-manufattory. This hole is formed like a kettle, and it appears that the canal had a communication with another hole of a fimilar form, but which is now deftroyed. They dill catch great quantities of this murex Ihell here. In the convent of the Ccelejline friars they (hew the fpot on which the temple of Diana flood, and in the cadle they (hew the place formerly occupied by the temple of the Sun; but there are no other remains of it to be met with. In a vineyard they have found the ruins of the Thermae or public baths, being fome refervoirs and aquedudts : they meet with many pieces of marble in the earth hereabouts, and the keeper of the vineyard (hewed me a little Egyptian (latue of granite, two palms high ; but it was fo defaced, that it was not worth tny while to take it with me. Oppolite to this, in another vineyard, you fee the am¬ phitheatre, of which the walls, confiding of bricks in Opus reticulatum , is preferved, but the deps are dedroyed. This amphi^ ■ v theatre,, f 176 J theatre, like that in Syracufe afid other Greek towns, is very fmall in companion with the extent of the city, and the num¬ ber of its inhabitants, becaufe the Greeks were not fond of the bloody fpedtacles ex¬ hibited there, and the Romans erected thefe buildings for their own ufe in later times* There are fome vaults cut in the rock to¬ wards the fea, which here pafs for the temple of Neptune : but they are only Nym - phcea , or grotto’s, in which the people enjoyed the cool fea breezes* Don Cataldo told me, that a few years ago, feveral fine baffo relievos in bronze had been found on a hill, not far from hence, but that it is not known whither thefe pieces were carried ; he pretends that this was the place of the temple of Her - cules , from whence Fabius Maximus took the Hercules Farnefe , made by Glicon, and carried him to Rome * In the church della Trinket de Pellegrini\ they have a column of the ancient Dork order without a bafe : it meafures thirty-one palms and a half in circumference* The few [ T 77 ] few remains extant of the ancient city walls are remarkable, becaufe they do not confift of great pieces of flone, as the Greek walls generally do, but are built of fmall hones and mortar : I therefore fuppofe they were built in later ages. Among the numerous ancient tombs, I found none preferved, or particularly remarkable ; in them they meet with many urns, on which there are neither infcriptions nor baffo relievos. In the houfe Amato , there is a line but fmall vafe of alabafler. The river Galefus , fo much praifed by the ancients (Dulce pellitis ovibus Galeji jiumen, Horat. Lib. II. Od. VI.) is now a fmall brook, flowing into the Mare Piccolo (Little Sea) which is a kind of bay form¬ ed by the coaft behind modern Parajito, and divided into two parts by a neck of land projedting into it. The famous white fheep, which were formerly warned in the river Galefus, are now quite unufual here, and in their head you fee black fheep, becaufe they are not afredted by eating of a certain plant, which is in great plenty N about [ I about ‘Taranto , and which proves lethal to die white ones. The fituation of Taranto , even at pre- fent, is as lingular as pofiible, and from the fea fide it appears as if it were entirely furrounded with water 3 the country is well cultivated, and in the gardens are the fined: fruits and herbs 3 an excellent Mufcadine is made here, and the whole trabt abounds in the gifts of nature 3 even the fea gives its fhare, as a vad quantity of the befi: forts ©f filh, fhells, &c. are always caught in it. As I have fpoken of fhells, and parti¬ cularly mentioned the murex or purple diell,, I mud obferve on a very fingular one, which is called Lana Penna: this Ihell, which is near half a palm long, is taken in great abundance near Capo St. Vito, the fouthern point of the harbour of Tarentum 3. not- withdanding its fize, it gives but a finall quantity of that filk of which they knit dockings, gloves, and other things, and of one pound of the raw wool or filk, only three ounces remain after it is properly prepared, and forty or fifty fliells are re¬ quired [ '79 ] quired to give this fmall quantity. The filhermen fell a pound of the raw wool for 12 or 16 Carlini, a pair of gloves for 30, and a pair of ftockings for 100 or 120 Car¬ lini, or from 10 to 20 ducats : the prepa¬ ration is both laborious and ingenious, only the tips of the wool can be ufed, and the other half is thrown away ; they wafli it a number of times in cold water, and dry it in the air, till it is cleared of all impu¬ rities ; then they comb it on a fine wore card, and lafi: of all fpin it on fmall fpindles, and knit it. Many mix it with filk, by which the work gets more firmnefs, but lofes that foftnefs and warmth which it hath naturally. It is a matter of difpute among the Parentines whether this kind of wool, or the cotton which is fo univerfallv •/ cultivated, and of which they colledt a very fine fort, called Ventineila (fix threads of which are no thicker than one of the bell common cotton) was the ByJJ’us of the ancients ? There is a book which treats amply on that fubjedt, entitled Pomajide Vin- centiis, P innre Parenting. Their Ventineila is dearer than filk, becaufe the preparation, of it is a long laborious talk. The country N 2 produces [ I So ] produces a great quantity of cotton,, of which there is a great exportation ; but the land would reap much greater advantages from it, if it was all exported ready ma¬ nufactured, efpecially as it is fo well pre¬ pared at Taranto: for a Cantaro of raw cotton fells here for about 50 ducats, and brings in only four ducats profit-j but the fame quantity, when manufactured, gives eight ducats profit, accordingly in the laid cafes they gain 8 per cent, for the produCt itfelf, and 8 more for the manufacture. It is the happinefs of this province, that there is no impoft or tax on the cultivation of cotton, as there is on that of filk ; and for this reafon the province of Otranto is one of the richeft in the kingdom of Naples. As I failed all round the Mare Piccolo , I found near the mouth of the river Galefus , in the midft of the fait water, the famous- fpring, which is very flrong, and from which you can take the frefh water pure and unmixed, even in the middle of the fea; the inhabitants call it II Citrello, which fqems to be an old Greek word KY 0 PO 2 , like many others in their language. Belov/ the { 181 ] the church of St. Lada on the fhore of this bay I found a tombftone, on which an urn was wrought in relievo, but it had no infcription, nor any other remarkable qua¬ lity. It is very probable, that the befl part of the ancient town was built round this bay, becaufe they often find pieces of marble on its fhores. I met with a defcription of ' Tarentum , ^ written in the lad; century, and containing many curious particulars, irt Don Cataldo Cardura's pofleflion; it was very fcarce, en¬ titled De Ant.itpuitate et ’varici Tarentinorum fortund, libri odo, 'Joanne Juvene eorum dve audore. Neapolis. I fhould here fpeak of the Tarantula , its bite, effedl, and the reme¬ dies againfl it, efpecially as that fpider has its name from this town, and is found here¬ about in plenty, together with vipers, afpics, &c . But having through Apulia picked up intelligence of it, I fhall lay the particulars before you all in one view. On the 23d of May I continued my voyage to Gallipoliy and as we failed by, faw the river Taras , which is laid to have N 3 given [ i8* ] given Farentum its name. It cannot be decided whether Aulon (Amicus Aulon , fer¬ tile Baccho, minimum Falernis invidet uvis , Horat.) was a wind, a river, or only the country of this wine ; and I could not get any account of it. The name is entirely unknown here, whereas Faras and Galefo are known to every one at Far ant o , per¬ haps it may be a hill, like the Mons Fa- Icrnus , though all the vines of that neigh¬ bourhood are now cultivated in the plain. GALLIPOLI is 60 miles diflant from Far ant o, and lies almoft at the S. E. extre¬ mity of Italy: it is a little town, containing only 8000 inhabitants, who are however all in affluent circumflances, and it is pretty well built; like Farant0 and Syracufe it is cut off from the land, and only joined to it by a bridge. This little town carries on the greateft trade for oil in all Italy , that article Exceeding well in the province of Otranto , and being very plentiful : corn, wine, and fruits likewife grow in fiifficient quantity in the environs to fupply the town, and cotton is here plentifully cultivated and manufactured into muflins, &c. The oil, according [ ■% ] according to its prefent price, pays a duty of 40 per cent, for the exportation, becaufe a quantity, which is fold for 12 or 13 Car- Uni, pays 5 to the King. The whole town, which Hands on a rock, is undermined, and the vaults filed with oil, becaufe it has been found that this rock is of fuch a nature, in fummer efpecially, as to caufe' a fermentation in the oil, which clears it, and makes it better, but caufes a mod; in¬ tolerable heat. In 1766, they exported from Gallipoli 1395 lad: * of oil to other towns of the kingdom of Naples, and 17*323 out of the kingdom, together with 243 Cantari fpun cotton, and 247 Cantari ditto, manufactured in various ways; from whence you may conceive, that the trade of this port, at one end of the world, is really greater than we are apt to imagine. I accidentally picked up a very particular piece of intelligence here, of which I knew nothing before. They * To one Lafl they reckon 11 Salma ; but a Salma holds about 40 gallons wine meafure, accordingly each laft is 440 gallons ; 1395 lafts make 613,800 gallons ; and 17,323 lafts := 7,622,120 gallons. F. N 4 fhewed [ 18 4 ] fliewed me feveral good paintings in the cathedral, laid to be done by a nobleman of Gallipoli named Coppola , whole family fill! exifts. I thought I difcovered the whole manner of the French Coypel in th em, and found the pieces very good : in each piece he has altered his ftile, that which reprefents the wonder of St. Francis d'AJJifi, is painted in the dark and noble manner of Guercino ; in the martyrdom of St. Agatha you fee all the enthufiafm and fire oi: compofition of Fintoret ; and in the afcenf on of the Virgin Mary he has happily imitated the foft and pleating ftile of Albino. In the houfes of his relations and heirs there are many of his works, amongft which I particularly obferved a Venus in the ftile of Paul VerGnefe •, a battle in the manner of Le Brun ; and feveral of his fketches, and efpeeially thofe in the Galerie of the Palais Royal of the Duke of Orleans. Upon enquiring after the hiftory of his life, the now living Count Coppola told me, that his anceftor, when a youth, travelled to France , and flayed there near twenty years, leaving many of his works with his name to them, but altered from Coppola [ >85 ] Coppola into Coypel , in order to make it more French : that on his return from France he ftudied and imitated the Ita¬ lian mafters, for which reafon his works at Gallipoli by much furpafs thofe he has left in France : he died towards the clofe of the laid century. Befides his paintings, there are many pretty pieces at Gallipoli, which I did not expedt, as fo few good paintings are found in Calabria, Apulia, and the whole kingdom of Naples. In the cathedral are two pieces by Catalano , another artift of Gallipoli, who has happily copied the manner of Far?nigiano : the ceiling and the choir of this church are done by a Neapolitan named Malinconico , and the com- pofition is not without merit ; but the de- fign and colorit are bad and falfe. In the church of S. Francefco, there is a pidture of S. Francis, faid to be done by Fitian ; but it rather feems to be a copy after one of his pieces. As I did not think I had devotion enough to venerate the Madonna de Finibus Ferrce at Leucca, I refolved to continue my journey to Naples by land, having failed a whole month * ( 186 ] month (from the 23d of April to the 23d of May) from Malta hither in the fame Speronara : I therefore fatisfied my feven failors, and difmifled them at Gallipoli, though I fhould have been glad to have gone farther with fuch honed: and obliging fellows, who are the moll experienced ma¬ riners in fuch little veflels. A certain proof of their good character is, that on the whole voyage, not the lead: difpute arofe between me and them, or among them- felves, except once when one of them carrying me on fhore, becaufe the veflel could not come near enough, dropt me into the water to my middle, immediately all the others were going to fall upon him, fo that I had enough to do to quiet them. The attention of tliefe people to travellers is beyond defcription, and I would not hefitate to trull: a child alone with them, and let them take care of it. In the mild- nefs of their manners, and in their features, the flat nofe, thick eyebrows and lips, fhort ftature, and their beards, I obferved the Arabian nature, and the vaunted fidelity of that nationo After giving them 40 Oncie di [ i8 7 1 di Napoli * for a voyage of fix hundred miles, and a month’s lofs of time, they went home overjoyed, and very rich. , I now continued my journey on horfe- back towards Otranto (Hydruntum) which lies 36 miles from Gallipoli , on the Adriatic fea, the eaftern fide of Italy. About half way, where the horfes are fed, I found another famous faint, called Madonna di Scarzzachia, to which the people flock from diftant parts, and where ten or twelve rich priefts mifapply their alms. I cannot conceive what could give occafion to ered: fo many Sandluaries, in a province fo little in connexion with other countries, unlefs it were the numerous pilgrimages to Pa- lejtine and pferufalem in pafl: ages, when the pilgrims generally took their way through thefe parts. Six miles before you come to Otranto , you meet with many plain remains of the old paved road, which the Romans had made from Parentum to Hydruntum , as a * About twenty guineas. F. con- [ 18 8 ] connexion between the two arms of the lea. Like the Via Appia , and all the other roads made by the Romans , it is paved with large irregular ftones, and on both Tides there are many ruins of ancient tombs ; I found but one preferved, of a fquare form, and having another ftory of ftones above the vault: there are others of va¬ rious forms, round, fquare, and oblong, but they are destroyed, and have no in- fcriptions. The country between Otranto and Gallipoli is richly planted with olive- trees ; the fine paftures, and the fheep and wool of this part, are famous, efpecially as the grafs grows on a very dry foil. The en¬ virons of Otranto are very pleafant, abound¬ ing with orchards and vineyards j but the town itfelf is fmall, and contains only 3000 inhabitants. The mountains of Albania , which are feparated from Otranto by a ftrait of 60 miles, and are perpetually covered with ftraw, appear quite plain : Acroceraunice horridos monies; ----— vicina Ceraunia juxta Unde iter Italian, curfufque brevijjimus undis . Virg. TEneid. Lib. III. I muft [ 189 ] I muft own my defire was great, to go over to Greece , and had I the neceffary recommendations, and a fufficient fum of money with me, I fhould certainly have continued my voyage from Otranto on that fide. The firait is fo eafily eroded with a good wind, that the Alba?iians in fummer bring fnow to Italy, and unload it upon the uninhabited Ihore, from whence the people of Otranto fetch it away, and lay down the money in its ftead ; the Albanians take up the money after the others are gone, and fail home. They are obliged to ufe this precaution on account of the plague and the quarantine. The harbour of Otranto is middling, but better than I imagined. The cathedral is a great Gothic building, lupported by columns of granite, and of different forts of marble. Below the choir is a fubterraneous chapel, which reds on leffer but beautiful columns of different marbles, fuch as Giallo Antico , Pavonazzo, &c. Some of them have fine capitals, and I obferved two which had birds at the four corners, that anfwer the defeription of har¬ pies, and have heads almoft like owls. Near the town wall (lands a fquare tower, built t !9° ] built of dones without mortar, which feems to be a work of the Romans . From Otranto I hill travelled on horfe- back to Lecce , about 30 miles didant, be- caufe the roads are not very padable fot carriages. The continuation of the Via Appia from Brindift to Otranto plainly ap¬ pears in the ruins along the road, and in dedroyed tombs, which are feen on both fides. Mart anna is a pretty village half way, confiding, like many other villages around, merely of Greeks , who partly have kept their drefs, and all preferve their language. In the neighbourhood of Mar - tanna they find many coins and gems, but mod; of them from the times of the Ro¬ mans. All the villages between Otranto and Lecce are the fined; in Italy , and all the houfes and churches are built of a white done, like that of Malta, but thefe builds ings are in a wretched tade : the whole country is planted like a continued garden. The fame evening I arrived at Lecce, which next to Naples is the fined and greated city in the kingdom ; for although its inhabi¬ tants are only 15,000 in number, yet it is 4 large [ ! 9 » ] large enough to hold 80,000. The ftreets are broad and well paved, and the houfes and churches built of white done, which is found hereabouts, and is quite foft when broken, fo that they make ornaments of it at Lecce , as in wax ; but by time, and being expofed to the air, it becomes as hard as the Lravertino. The architecture is in a molt wretched Gothic tafte, and the in¬ numerable little crouded ornaments in it are intolerable. The cathedral, and the churches of the "JefuitSy the < Theatines y the Carmelites , and the Ccelejlines , are the belt among the great number at Lecce. In the cathedral are twcr paintings by Coppola of Gallipoli , but much inferior to thofe at the laft-mentioned place. The fronts of the Lheatine and Jefuits churches are the bell, and have the feweft ornaments. In the church of S. Matthia there is a fine piece by a painter of Lecce r named Verio y who is older than Coppolas his manner is good, but not fo agreeable as Coppola' s, but his defign is more accu¬ rate ; he has like wife made his fortune in France , [ 192 ] France, and there are many good pieces of his in the palaces of the nobility at Lecce. The products and the fertility of the foil, combined with the indullry and inge¬ nuity of the inhabitants, might render this province one of the richeft of the kingdom, and one of the fined: in the world, if the finances were not on fo wretched a plan as they are. They make a great quantity of a common kind of lace at Lecce , from the flax which is cultivated in its environs. They likewife make a fort of fnuff, not inferior to the lhuff of Seville, from the tobacco which is cultivated on the Capo di St. Maria, in the fandy foil there ; but it muff be eight years old before it is good. The preparation is very eafy and Ample : they prepare it, if to be very good, of the extremities of the plant, only by grinding the leaves, then lifting the powder through mufiin, and keeping it in bottles, in which it ferments,, and grows better of itfelf. Many mix a little Fijtachio oil with it, which makes it fooner fit for life, but gives it a fixange fmell. The befr fort of this fnuff cofts 20 Carlini. Each owner of land V [ ' 9 .-! ] land can have only a certain number of tobacco plants, for each of which-finely he pays a tax to the King : any fuperilu- merary plants are contraband, and are de- ftroyed when the vifitors come, who are appointed by the perfons that have farmed the revenue of the duty on tobacco. This article of tobacco, with the flax, hemp, cotton, and oil, which produces are abun¬ dant here, might be exported with great advantage to the country, if this were not prevented by the large impofts. I can fay nothing concerning any curio- flties or men remarkable at Lecce, and I mu ft own that there is not a town or village in Sicily, or the whole kingdom of Na¬ ples, that I have viftted, where I found fo few, perfons that had any knowledge, or middling capacities owing, as I imagine, to the great number of idle, proud, and indigent nobility. The women are ex¬ tremely handlome, without valuing them- l'elves upon that advantage; I alfo found them endowed with a much greater ftiare of understanding than falls to the lo<" pf the men; at leaft they have a talent for O mufic, * L *94 1 fnufic, a line voice, and dance with a grace. I do not look upon this dulnefs of the men at Lecce , as the etfed: of the climate, be— caufe at Bari where the climate is the fame, and which is only 6o miles diflant from it, I found lively geniufes : it mull however be allowed, that the air at Lecce, which is 8 miles off the fea,- is heavier and thicker than at Bari. In the houfe of the family of Palmyri there are fome medals, and paintings of little value ; their poffeffo-r has written a book on tadlics, which is unknown to me ; he is the only inhabitant of Lecce that ferved in the Neapolitan army. In the fquare at Lecce there is a column: of white marble, brought hither from Brindifi. I lhall there defcribe the fellow to it, which is better preferved than this for this has a new capital, and is fo much damaged by fire, that the remains are only held together by pieces of iron. I fhall not enter into the difpute, whether or no the ancient town of Lupatia flood on the fpot where Lecce now Hands - 3 there are no vefliges. [ 195 ] Veftiges of it, except that they have found fome Campanian vafes. From Lecce to Brindiji are 24 miles, all planted with olive-trees. About half way to St. Pietro della Lama , you every where meet with remains of the ancient road, and dedroyed tombs. BRINDISI, or Brnndujiiim , a town fo famous in the times of the ancient Ro¬ mans, where the greeted: fleets were equip¬ ped, and the moil important expeditions undertaken, which had one of the fined: ports in Italy, and by its navigation kept open a communication between Italy and Greece, and the whole eafl, and which on thefe accounts naturally was a confiderable and populous place, is now a little un¬ healthy town, containing 9000 fouls 3 and its harbour fit only for fifhing barks, fo that you can fcarce didinguiih the form and extent of the ancient port. The fined: and only preferved monument of ancient Brundujium , is a column of white marble, of the Roman or Compofite order, danding on the fide of the port, near another of the O 2 fame [ 5 9 6 1 fame kind, of which the pededal remains, but the fird; is at Lecce. This column is fifty-feven palms and a half high, and its diameter is five palms: the capital is orna¬ mented at the four corners by four fea-gods, between which, in the middle of each fide, is reprefen ted a deity with its attributes; thefe w r ere a 'Jupiter, an Hercules, a Neptune,. and a Pluto. From the place of thefe co¬ lumns one fhould apprehend they ferved as a Pharo or lanthorn to direct people at fea, efpecially confidering that there are no traces of any greater building here. It is pofiible that a beam reded acrofs on the two columns, and feveral lanthorns were fixed on it; and that this might be intended to reprefent the end of Italy, in imitation of Hercules, who placed two columns at the end of that part of the world which was known to him. The church of St. Sepule re is fuppofed to be an ancient round temple ; and this is not improbable, fince it is built, up of dones, without mortar. However, it is certainly not a building from the bed ages of architecture, for the form is not circular, and. L 1 97 1 and it has a portico at the entrance, which is dilHndt from the whole building by another femicircle, which produces a very difagree- able irregularity. The bad tafte of the letter ages appears in the ornaments on the old door, which is now clofed up. The building is vaulted, and on the infide fup- ported by marble columns. An antiquary of this place flrongly allured me, that Vir¬ gil on his return from Greece, died in a fmall houfe near thefe columns which he faid he had read in fome author or other, whom I do not recolledt. Clofe to the gate, which lies towards Naples , you fee the veftiges of a brick vault, which feems to have been a refervoir of water. This, together with fome infcriptions, all men¬ tioned by Gruter, and by Pratilli in his Via Appia (a book I have found pretty exadt) and going to be republilhed by a Dilettante in antiquities at Brindiji, is all that remains of the ancient Brundi/Jium. The prefent lituation of the harbour is, as I have faid, wretched and ufelefs ; and I cannot avoid faying, that though it is very fafe, and has been of a conliderable O 3 fize. [ >98 ] fize, yet it never could equal the harbours of Larento, Syracufe, Augujla, and Mejjina , It may likewife be fuppofed, that the an¬ cient town was no more than three miles in circuit, the fame as the modern one, becaufe clofe to the walls there are tombs every where, which the Romans, as is well known, always had without the walls. This town alw r ays, and efpecially under the German emperors (chiefly under Fre¬ deric II.) enjoyed great privileges beyond any other towns in the kingdom, as a free port, but now has loft mod of them again : it has however preferved that of paying a tax of only 21 Carlini for each houfe, when all the other towns pay 42 Carlini. The foil round the town is very good, and pro¬ duces excellent wine, and oil in great abun¬ dance. At Brindiji I found two men, who had home knowledge of antiquities ; Don Paf- quals RoJJi , curate at the cathedral, and Don Ortenjio Leo, a private gentleman. They both have a pretty collection of coins, and the latter a number of gems, among which t 199 ] which there are fome very fearce ones, of good workmanfrjip ; efpecially an onyx In¬ taglio , on which is reprefented a dying, wounded warrior, writing on a fhield, like that figure of'the dying Spartan (who pro¬ claims the victory by writing with his own blood on the fhield) on a {tone in the late Mufceum Stojchianum. The workmanfhip of this flone in Brindifi is very fine, and I have in vain employed every felicitation to engage Leo to difpofe of it to me. A coufin of his has written a curious differ- tation, with an account of the life of M. Pacuvius , who was a relation of Ennius , and a native of Brundujium , and is faid to have painted the Foro Boario at Rome. I likewife faw a manufcript in his poffefiion, intitled Mejfapographia di Epipbanio Ferdi- nando, containing many curious obierva- tions concerning the ancient MeJJ'apia , and I am in hopes of his publifhing it. The air here is unhealthy all the year round, but in fummer it is the worff in Italy ; and the garrifon, which is changed once in three years, always leaves half of its men behind. O 4 Allow [ 200 ] Allow me briefly to remark on the word Eriudijl , which in the pme t Lufcan dialed: lig-mfles drinking of heait is : I afked O o the above-mentioned Don Ortenjio Leo , whether he could not explain the et^ mology of this word, fmceall common explanations deduced from the excellence and abundance of the wine, or the cuftom of drinking hard at Brindlfi , or from a company of witty people, who lived here in the pre¬ ceding century, and introduced the cuftom of making a rh;me all improvifo to each glafs, did not iatisfy me. His explication, though it goes far into antiquity, appears to me to be the moil natural. He fays, other parts of Italy produce as great quan¬ tities, and of as good wine, as this neigh¬ bourhood ; the natives of Brlndji are not peculiarly addidted to drinking, and the beaux efprits of this place have never been the pat erns of thofe of all Italy : he there¬ fore believes, that on account of the fre¬ quent voyages of the Homans from Brun- dujium into Greece , that port was the place whither their relations and friends accom¬ panied the travellers, and again met them on their return 5 where they accordingly made [ 201 ] made their vows, uttered their wifhes, took their farewel, find hrft beheld them again : from hence he fuppofes that the word Brin- diji took its origin, which afterwards was commonly ufed in all kinds of willies, and is brought down to our times, becaufe we are ufed to wifh when we drink. From Brindiji I went to OJluni, a little town with 4000 inhabitants ; it is fituated on a high hill, and has a fine profpect. On the road to it, I met here and there with remains of the Via 'Trajana or Mili¬ tarist and found fome ruined tombs of bricks. From OJluni the road leads to Monopoli , through woods of olive-trees, and about fix miles from MonGpoli near the fea, you find the ruins of the town of Egnatia: Dehinc Gnatia tympbis , &c. Horace. You flill fee the old walls a few palms above ground, built of great free jftones, without mortar ; an ancient tomb ; a fubterraneous water refervoir, which may have ferved as a bath, andvappears to have been orna¬ mented with flucco and another fquare fubter- [ 202 ] fubterraneous building, which has open¬ ings at the four corners, perhaps to give it light and air, and which I likewife look upon as a refervoir of water, thefe ftrudhires being very neceflary in this plain, where you feldom find good fprings, but muft be contented with rain water. Pratilli, in his Defcrizione della Via Apf ia, has engraved the plan of this town after his own fancy; for it is impofiible to diflinguifh whether it was of fo regular a figure as he would have it, fince the walls are not every where pre¬ ferred. MONOPOLI is a town which con- tains 10,000 inhabitants, and it is the ug- liefl of the many which lie along the Adri¬ atic. One cannot eafily form an idea of it, without going into it, for its environs are very fine, planted with orange and lemon-trees, and the road or harbour is very pleafant. They make a good deal of cotton and linen fluffs here. From hence I continued my journey, and pafied through Polignano and Mola> two pretty little towns, and arrived at Bari , the [ 203 ] the capital of the province of the fame name. The fite and the environs of this cjty are vaftly pleafant and fertile, corn, wine, oil, and fifh are in the greateft abun¬ dance there f Pifcojique mceniaBari. HoraceJ. Befides this there is nothing remarkable in it, unlefs one can be edified and ftrength- ened by the miraculous water, named Manna, which exudes through the bones, from the body of S. Nicolas di Bari, a faint who died in the fourth century. This faint is buried under the altar of a lubterraneous chapel in a great church, which has 120 Canonici, and is poffeifed of vafi: treafures, of which the King of Naples is treafurer, and it is feared will in time become the poffelfor. To fee this miracle, you mull put your head through a little hole below the altar, where, by means of a little wax light, at about eight or ten palms perpen¬ dicular depth you obferve fome bones fwimming in the • water, called Manna, •which is given to all believers as a re- ftorative for foul and body. Now the wonder confifts in this, that the water never decreafes, and above ground, in bottles, or veffels, where the air has accefs, never becomes I 204 ] becomes putrid. I likewife put my head into the hole, where, upon hearing the noife occafioned by a fuppiy of water con- flan tly coming through a final 1 pipe, I was immediately convinced of the miracle ! In this church there are fome good paintings of Caravaggio ; another piece of his is at St. Chiara. The harbour of Bari is new and very indifferent. Tee ancient town of Barum appears to have flood on the fame fpot where Bari now is, becaufe they have found many tombs in its environs, with fepulchral urns, and efpecially fine Campanian vafes. I faw fome of them of the finefl form, and with figures of the heft defign, at canon Pe- druzzds, there are two with the exploits of Hercules on them, for which he afks 100 Oncie or 300 Ducati apiece *. The nobility of this city have many rights and privileges ; they alone fuppiy it by a monopoly, with corn, wine, and oil, and thus they are the lords of the people, and have confiderable revenues : this ad- * About fifty guineas. F. vantage [ 20 5 I. vantage is the more valuable, as the num¬ ber of noble families at Bari does not ex¬ ceed ten. The King however has for the benefit of the people given the Governatore Reale the infpeCtion over thefe tranfaCtions ; but whether the town has any advantage from it, I will not decide. The inhabi¬ tants are about 30,000 in number. I have already at Lecce obferved the difference between the ingenuity of the people of Bari , and the dulnefs of thofe of Lecce. The people here are very in- duftrious ; they grind good glaffes, and manufacture linens and cottons. They alfo prepare a dies from the Caput mortuum of wine, which are employed in making of foap, and a green colour, and are exported to Sicily in great quantities. A11 exceeding good Mufcadine like wife grows near Bari. From hence, the road to Barletta is very pleafant and fine, and much refembles that from Geneva to Laufanne in Switzerland. Every four miles you come to a pretty little town, and the country is very well culti¬ vated. Giovanezzo and Molfetta are de¬ lightfully fituated^ and in Bifceglie 3 the an¬ cient [ 2 o6 ] cient Vlgilue, there are home antiquities worthy of obfervation. The country upon the whole is well cultivated, and produces' wine and oil. Before you reach Bifcegtie, near the? town is an ancient bath, in good prefer- vation ; every part of it is ancient, except a fmall vault of done. You mount by fix fteps, and round it under the water there are two fteps to fit on. It is fquare, and has two fbones. There is a hole in a done through which the water flowed out of the upper bath into the lower. Though there is nothing particular in its drubture, yet it is worth notice on account of its good pre- fervation, and the white dones which make it look quite new fo that I never found an ancient monument with fo modern an appearance. Almod all the old walls of Vigiiicc are preferred, and confid of bricks. The number of old tombs of 'Tophus , or of bricks, is incredible; but they are all in ruins, and thofe which I infpedted more clofely were very fmall, and of a very or¬ dinary drudture. From thefe monuments, we muff conclude that the town was more populous [ zo 7 1 populous than is generally believed. Near the town walls, but in the town, there is an ancient building, which I at firft took to be a tomb, becaufe there were niches in its walls ; but conlidering it clofer, and finding round holes in the niches, into which a round body could fit, and recol¬ lecting that the ancients never allowed of tombs within the walls, I took it to be a Celia Vinaria , in the niches of which they placed their wine vefiels, which have points towards the bottom, fit to fill the little holes in the niches. It would be worth while to have this monument of antiquity drawn ; but I found nobody at Bifceglie that was able to undertake this talk. The modern town of Bifcegiie is very little, but well built, and has handfome palaces in a good tafte. From hence to Trani are fix miles; you always find ancient tombs, and ruins of the old Via militarise or 1 *raj an a. Trani is a fweet, pretty, agreeable, and well built little town, having regular llreets and fine houfes. There are likewife ruins between this [ 208 ] this and Barletta of the ancient, road, and of tombs, but all in bad prefervation. BARL E 'BT'A is a very fine town, of a middling fize, but almoft 1 without inha¬ bitants : there are fome fine churches in it, and in that of della Ajjiinzione are two good paintings, one of Solimena , in good pre¬ fervation, and one of the bed; pieces of that painter ; the other, Chrift on the crofs, with Mary and John, in the tafte of Guido, appears to me to be a work of Cop¬ pola at Gallipoli. In the market-place of Barletta , there is a bronze ftatue of cp- lolTal fize, but of bad workmanship, and feemingly in the Roman manner : I ima¬ gine it is to reprefent 'Julius Coe far; they have now put an iron crucifix in its hands, probably to make a Conjlantine of it. About eight miles farther in the coun¬ try from Barletta, you come to Cannae . This town was built on two hills, between which the road now leads; this is probably the reafon for which the Romans called the town Cannae , and not Canna. On the hill at the right hand, I found a column with [ 2°9 ] with an infcription, which is defaced, and not legible; many ruined tombs, a broken column of black fpeckled granite, and a tomb-ftone with an infcription ; on this Hone I difcovered the true figure of the fafces, as they were fhaped in the moll ancient times j they are placed on both fides of the infcription as ornaments ; they have no hatchet, and at the top of them one flick projects about two inches beyond the others, which are not tied together witfr bay leaves, but with a narrow fillet, which feems to reprefent a thong. I faw alfo the remains of a fmall houfe, and of a temple built of mortar and Hones, half of the vaulted cieling is preferved. On the oppofite hill you fee another column with an infcription, which is entirely de¬ faced. At the foot of the hill is an ancient Nymphaum of fquare Hones in good pre¬ fer vation, with a pure and plentiful foun¬ tain, which empties itfelf into feveral re- fervoirs. Round the hill you fee the re¬ mains of the ancient town walls. Beyond Ofanto (Aufidus) is the famous field of battle where Hannibal defeated P 'Teren- [ 210 ] Terentius Varro ; it is to this day called Campo di Sangue , The Bloody Field, by the inhabitants. The river was low when I faw it, and flowed through marfhes for a confiderable tradt; it is likely that in violent rains its bulk is much increafed. The field of battle is a great plain, which is at pre- fent fown with barley : they to this day find old arms, rings, and other antiquities hereabouts. Salpe lies ten miles from this plain towards the Adriatic , and the Romans fled to this town. The fituation of the field of battle proves the bravery of the Funic hero; for a perfect plain, like this, cannot be more advantageous to one party than to the other *. * In this remark our author feems to be miflaken ; the field of battle is rather a proof of the great advan¬ tage Hannibal had over the Romans , his cavalry was certainiy more numerous than that of his enemies, he muft therefore have had a great fuperiority over them : but it was not by his bravery alone that he conquered at Cannes. The fiercenefs of the Ro?nan conful offering him battle in this plain, determined him, as a great and fkilful general, not to decline fo fine an oppor- portunity, where his cavalry could a£t to fo great advantage. All this appears inconteftably from Livy , 1. xxii. c. 44. F. Six [ ] Six miles from hence, Canofa lies on a pretty high hill. Before you come into the town over the Ponte di Canofa (a bridge built over the river Ofanto ) you fee in the field two fepulchres of bricks,-one of which is vaulted at top, and the other built high like a tower. Nearer to the town is a triumphal arch of bricks, which has two pilafters on each fide of the arch, and on the top of which lie fome large ftones ; it appears to have been of a good architec¬ ture. On the other fide of the town, there is another arch of the fame architecture, but rather larger than this, through which the Via aippia led to Rubbice t or Rubi, now called Ruvo. you will from hence agree with me, that the prejudice of cuflom, and the power of imagination, almofi: wholly fupply the place of truth and reality. As we do not find any account of the T'aran- tula in any ancient author, fuch as Pliny* who takes particular care to mention every fingular phenomenon in nature, that was known in his time, we may fuppofe the ancients to have been wholly unacquainted with it j and as this great fpider is found like wife in Sicily* the fouthern parts of Spain , and France , and even in Calabria, where its bite, and the method of curing it, are wholly unknown, it is rational to believe. [ 220 ] Believe, that all is pure grimace, and the effed of imagination *. From Canofa , I travelled over th t Ponte di Canofa to Cerignola , which with its eftates Belongs to the French Count d'Egmont. In and about this place you find feveral ancient tombs, Roman infcriptions, and one fluted column of marble. Another column is almoft entirely buried under ground, and juft fo much is to be read of the infcription, that it was in honour of 'Trajan the reft is illegible. I therefore fuppofe that the Via Appia led through this part, becaufe in all thefe places you find triumphal arches, and other figns of the veneration of the Roman people for this emperor, on his return from the Dad . ARDONA is a farm that makes part of the noble eftates which the fefirit con-* * To the arguments produced by oar author, we may add another, viz. that it has been obferved, the dancing people never chufe to take this laborious ex- ercife when they are by thernfelves, and only fall a dancing when feme foreigner or man of rank is at hand ; for it is cuftomary to colledf alms for the ufe of the FarantuiatOy fo that the hopes to be well paid for their trouble, prompt them to (o fatiguing anexercife. F. vent. [ 221 ] vent dell' Or to in Apulia poftefies. This farm is of a vaft extent, and the tilling of its fields requires 200 oxen. In this part of Apulia the corn {hoots up to a prodigious height j I faw ripe oats on the 5th of June , the ftalks were twelve palms high; and barley and wheat began to ripen. Thefe three kinds of corn are indeed the only ones that were originally known in thefe parts, the reft have but lately been introduced from other countries; thus for example, the emperor Charles the Vth firft com¬ manded rye to be Town, for which reafon it is called Grano Germano; they only cul¬ tivate it in the mountainous and more fterile parts of the country. ART) ON A may poflibly have had its name from the ancient town of Hordionia , the ruins of which are found here. As the remains of its caftle on a little hill, on which the veftiges of the gate are ftill to be feen. Some few remains of a little temple, and of fome brick houfes are alfo to be met with. In the plain are greater ruins of bricks, and among the reft a ciftern or refervoir of water in the ground, of [ 222 ] of the figure of a truncated cone, the only one of that form I ever faw. Farther on, I faw an oblong quadrangular building of mortar and fmall ftones, in which are fqtiare compartments of mattoni (bricks) or of ftone in Opus reticulatum. This building is vaulted at top, and perfectly refembles a tomb; but as it ftands clofe to a fine temple, I rather take it to be a bath. The temple is built of fmall ftones and mortar ; it is of an oblong quadrangular figure, and has a niche at the end ; its walls both within and without are ornamented with Opus reticulatum , and brick work, laid out in different compartments. It is upon the whole pretty well preferved, but the door is wanting, and the order of architecture is not to be diftinguifhed ;• for you fee no re¬ mains of the cornice and frieze.—Farther on is a wall of ftones combined with mor¬ tar, and infenfibly forming a bend: it is ill built, and I cannot believe that it be¬ longed to any confiderable or public build¬ ing, though it appears to be of an ancient date. Near it I faw an oval fpace, lower than the reft of the ground, and which may have been the place of the amphi- 6 theatre: / f 22 3 ] theatre: clofe to it dands a peculiar build¬ ing, confiding of two vaulted conduits or walks by each other ; each of them is ten yards wide, and forty yards long : the fecond dory is above ground, but the fird is fubterraneous, and I found it out by a hole, which is in the floor of the former : I know not whether thefe vaults are to be look¬ ed upon as avenues in the ThermcZ) or public baths, or in fome other building; fo much is certain, that they mud be confidered as parts of a great building. It plainly ap¬ pears from the remains of this town, that it was by no means built in the Greek tade; for you find nothing but walls of fmall dones, mortar, and bricks, ornamented with Opus reticulatum both in bricks and in done, indead of the noble works of the Greeks , who raifed vad drudtures of great dones without any mortar. From hence I came to Ponte d'i Bovina , and here ends Apulia , fo famous for its fertility and abundance ; it is true you now meet with vad corn fields in it, but great tradts of land are uncultivated, and for want [ 22 4 ] want of inhabitants ferve as paftures to buffalos and oxen. BO VINO lies in the Apennine moun¬ tains, and is quite furrounded with woods. I found the weather colder here on the 6th of June, when I travelled from hence td ArianOy than it is at Rome in December; which proves how much the great height above the level of the fea contributes to increafe the degree of cold; a violent north¬ erly wind made me believe I was tranfplant- ed into Siberia. The ground is very ill cultivated, or rather lies quite defolate, covered with fhrubs and bullies. Towards Ariano it is fomewhat better, and you fee fields and vineyards in that neighbourhood, becaufe there you begin td defcend, though Ariano itfelf is fituated on a high hill. This town is of a confiderable extent, and con¬ tains almofl 14,000 inhabitants; but it is very ugly, and wretchedly built; its in¬ habitants bear a very bad character, and are looked upon as the principal robbers who infeft thefe parts. In the environs of this town they find many tombs with earthen veffels in them of Campanian form. I faw one [ 22 5 ] one of the fepulchres near the road from Bovino to Ariano ; it was cut in the rock, and confided of feveral clofets with niches, but the vafes were already taken away. • Between Ariano , and the two villages of Mirabello and Carbonella , through which the road lies to Avellino, the country has a very pleafant and fertile afpebt. The eye is delighted by fine hills covered with corn, vines, and olive-trees, after leaving the ruder fcenes of the Apennines. The whole country is full of populous villages, and you fee houfes on all fides to a great didance. The inhabitants are polite and free in their intercourfe; and I was furprized to find, contrary to the cudom of all the red of Italy , that the girls worked in the field, without their mothers j they are handlome, and of. a fine healthy complexion, which is the natural effedt of the pure and ferene air of the hills they inhabit. On one fide of Avellino , and on a high hill, is fituated the famous rich Carthufian convent of Monte Vergine; its revenues are immenfe, and the whole country about cl Avellino [ 226 ] Avellino belongs to it. This country is almoft entirely planted with walnut-trees, which have a prodigious fale at Naples on account of the cabinet-work made of the wood; you fee whole fields covered with thefe trees, and the foil is faid to be peculiarly adapted for them. Avellino has been long famous for its abundance of hazel-nuts. I therefore think it very pro¬ bable, that the Latin name of Nux Avel- lana was given to the hazel-nut by the 'Romans from the town of Avellinum . AVELLINO is very well fituated, of confiderable fize, but not very populous j for it confids only of 7000 fouls. The environs are admirably fine, and without the gate towards Naples there is a row of chefnut-trees, their equals I never faw. Near this town I found fome old tombs, which do not deferve to be noticed, as they are now dellroyed. In the town itfelf is nothing remarkable : there are fome an¬ tique buds of middling workmanfhip on the corn magazine (Palazzo dAbondanza) thofe of Nero and Caracalla appear to be £he bed* From. [ Z2 7 ] From hence I had only thirty miles to Naples , and the road lay through fertile fields planted with vines, olive-trees, corn, and all kinds of garden fruits. I with plea- fure approached the happy Campania , where nature fhowers down her choicell bleffings; and though I had travelled through fine provinces, yet you cannot imagine, how great was my joy, when I again viewed this country, and beheld the beautiful Terra de Lavoro. The populoufnefs, the cultivation, the abundance of provifions, the fight of contented people, all are proofs of the hap- pinefs of this country; and how much more happily could the people live, if a wife government would contribute to their welfare ! Omnium non mcdo Italics, fed toto orbe t err arum , pulcherrima Campania plaga ejl. Nihil mollius cash ; denique bis Jloribus nernat. Nihil uberius Jolo ideo Liberi Ce- rerifque cert amen dicitur. Nihil hoj'pii alius man, &c. &c. Flor. Lib. I. Cap. XVI. The 8 th of June I returned to Naples , after fpending three months in travelling through countries where few accommo¬ dations are to be met with, on account of Q^2 the [ 220 J the few travellers that pafs through them: but thefe difficulties 1 eafily forgot, and they were well compenfated by the beau¬ ties of nature, the noble remains' of Greek architecture, and the ddtruCtion of thofe prejudices, which commonly fubfift againffi thefe countries and their inhabitants, and of which 1 have convinced myfeif that they are without any foundation. I here conclude my few obfervations oft thefe provinces of the kingdom of Naples , which of old formed feparate kingdoms and powerful republics. Now not even the fhadow of their ancient grandeur is left. Power, commerce, naval and mili¬ tary fciences, and the improvement of hu¬ man underftanding, all feem to go north¬ ward. In time, the Europeans will be ob¬ liged to look for protection, education,, manners, and the cultivation of the intel¬ lectual powers in America. Nature always maintains her rights, and the inhabitants of thefe countries are hill influenced in the fame manner as they ufed to be* by the- climate. 1 have found this to be the cafe* though other circumftances rather ferve to deltroy [ 229 ] deftroy that originality, and I have taken notice of it in feveral parts of thefe letters ; I venture to tell you this, my dear friend, becaufe I know your fentiments upon this .head are the fame with mine. Naturam expellas furca, tamen ufque recurret. Hor. I wish I could have fatisfied your curi- ofiiy in every point 3 you will eufily con¬ ceive how great my pleafure would be in that cafe, but many material circum- ftances may have efcaped me, efpecially as I was obliged to hurry my journey, on account of the noxious fummer-air, and as the opportunities of receiving informa¬ tion, fo neceffary to a traveller, are very rare in Calabria and Apulia : thus I found nobody at Croton , who could alhft me in meafuring any part of the temple 3 but at Tbaranto again, and at Brindiji, I was much more lucky, as I met with two polite men well verfed in the antiquities of their native towns. These confederations will, I hope, in¬ cline you to excufe my imperfedl accounts Qs. 3 the [ 2 3° ] the more readily, as you exprefly defired to fee them. May you long live happy and contented, continue your friendfhip to me, and keep your promife ! I expedt you at —. - in a few days. FINIS. A JOURNEY THROUGH E G T P T. A JOURNEY THROUGH e g r p r, CONTAINING An Account of all the remarkable Circumftances obfervable in that Country, efpecialiy in regard to its Natural History. By M. GRANGER. Tranllated from the French, b Y JOHN REINHOLD FORSTER, F. R. S. PREFACE T O GRANGER’S journey INTO E G r P 7*. T HE real name of our author is Tourtechot : fome reafons unknown to us obliged him to take that of Granger. He was born at Dijon in France , and had acquired fome fame in his profefiion of a fur- geon. He was called to Marfeilles and Toulon in the year 1721, when the plague ravaged thefe cities ; and by his indefatigable zeal, he merited univerfal applaufe. * The Spanijh friars of the order of the Trinity for releafing captives among ' P R E F A C E. among the muffulmen, hearing of the great abilities of our author, engaged him as firft furgeon in their hofpital at ‘Tunis. After a three years flay, he was willing to return in 1724 to France, but Mr. Pig 720n the French conful at Tunis , who was his friend, and knew his merit, prevailed upon him to make a longer flay. The friends and relations of Mr. Granger wrote him word in the year 1728, that there were hopes of his getting to be a furgeon or a regiment in France. He returned to his na¬ tive country againft the reprefen- tations of his friend Pignon y and when he reached Paris , he found the place had been given to another. He flayed fome time in the capital of France , and iludied natural his¬ tory with unremitted ardour. When PREFACE. When Mr. Pig?20?i was appointed conful at Cairo , he propofed to our author to go with him to Egypt ; with this propofal he readily com¬ plied, and ftayed with his friend in that country till 1732, which he fearched from one end to the other ; always colle&ing plants, minerals, animals, and the various antiqui¬ ties he could pick up. He then returned with Mr. Pignon to France , and foon after again accompanied his friend to Mecellata , a part of Cyrenaica ; from whence he pafTed over to Candid^ and then returned to Egypt . Cyprus , Caramdnia , Pa- lejiine and Syria were then fearched by this able traveller. From Aleppo he undertook a journey into Perfea • and on his return, he died two jour¬ neys before he reached BaJJora . His PREFACE. His travels difplay the man of abilities, application, and genius, he was not eaffiy carried aftray by pre¬ judices ; and often, by the happy application of what he had read in the ancient daffies, found out the true and difputed fituation of an¬ cient towns. This journey through Egypt, which is the only one of his that was publiffied, is a farther proof of this affertion, though it is not without fome imperfections, which are the ftamp of all human works. I have endeavoured, as far as in my power, to remedy thefe inaccuracies by additional notes to fuch paffages as I thought could be improved upon. London, June 8, 1772. J. R. F. CONTENTS. Chap. I. VITUATION of Egypt— Qualities of the country — Overflowing of the Nile, its caufles and effects—Quality of the air. Chap. II. M. Grangers arrival at Cairo •—His journey into Upper Egypt— Sepul¬ chral caverns near Girge— Ruins of the towns of Oxyrynchus and Tentyris— 'Temple of Ills. Chap. III. Ruins of Thebes, and of the temple at Hermonthis— Remains of ancient monuments in thofe parts ——Syene and Apollinopolis. Chap. IV. Journey into the diflridl c/’The~ bais—Akmin, or the ancient Panopolis— - The ferpent at Eridy— Convent of S. Se- nodius. Chap. V. Trees, herbs, and minerals, in Thebais— Convents of S. Anthony and S. Paul. Chap. VI. Ruins of the cities o/'Lycopolis end Antinopolis- Colwnn of Emperor Alexander Severus— Triumphal arch. Chap. CONTENTS. Chap. VII. Defcription of Cairo. Chap. VIII. Defcription of the diftrici of Fayoum —The cajlle of Caron—JofephV canal—Lake Moeris. Chap. IX. LakeNtdebi,from whence they bring the Natrum —Lake without water. —Pretended petrifactions—Convent of S, Macarius. Chap. X. Defcription of the town of Suez. Chap. XI. Lhe town of Man fur a —Chapel of Latone — Lake Menflet —Fifhery Gn this lake —Damiata—Rofetta. Chap. XII. Defcription of Alexandria— Lake Mareotis— Lower of /A? Arabians. Chap. XIII. Of the political confitution of Egypt. Chap. XIV. Of the quadrupeds, birds,fif:, and plants of Egypt. Chap. XV. Of the mouths of the Nile, its canals, and ijlands. Chap. XVI. Of Sal Ammoniac prepared by art. Chap. XVII. Of the Egyptian common method of hatching chickens, ducks, and gcefe. i GRANGER’S journey INTO EGYPT : CHAP. I. Situation of Egypt—Qualities of the country •—Overflowings of the Nile, its cavfes and ef t els—Qualities of the air. W H E N I arrived in Egypt , I ex¬ pected to find a line healthy and fertile country, it being fo much extolled by ail ranks of writers s inftead of that, I faw nothing which came up to their deferiptions, and am therefore inclined to believe that fome of them have not had fufficient judgment, and the reft have been milled fo far as to relate untruths, by a ftrong delire of telling miracles. The R common [ 2 4 2 ] common prejudices in regard to the advan¬ tages of Egypt over other countries, are fo great, that my narrative ftands a chance of being difbelieved, becaufe it contains no¬ thing but naked truths. Under the name of Egypt, we muff comprehend only a narrow piece of land, divided in two by the Nile, inclofed with high mountains on the eaft and weft fide, beginning at the Cataraffis, and ending near Cairo ; together with what is com¬ monly called the Delta , which is formed., by the two branches of the Nile, that fe- parate about nine EngUJh miles * below Cairo , one emptying itfelf into the fea near Rofetta, the other at Damiata. The length of Egypt from north to fouth, is about 600 miles; the breadth in the Delta is 120 ; but in the middle of the other part, only 21 miles ; and it decreafes continually to the cataradts, where the two ridges of mountains join. * The author makes ofe of the French leagues of 2500 toifes, of which 23 make a degree^ each of thefe leagues anfwers almoft exactly to three Britijh ftatute miles, 651 and a half to a degree. F. EGTPT t 2 43 ] EG TP 7 * being fo fmall apiece of land, it is not eafily conceived how it can main¬ tain that vaft number of inhabitants, which all writers attribute to it. To give the colour of truth to their affertions, they have faid that there were feveral crops in one year, and that the fheep went with young annually, more than oncej. It is certain, that they at prefent till as much land in Egypt , as they did of old, and leave no fpot uncultivated, which can be made ufe of; but it is likewife pad: a doubt, that if the inhabitants, who at prefent are melted down to a very fmall number, in compa¬ nion with what they are faid to have been formerly, fhould live upon nothing but wheat bread, there would hardly grow enough in all Egypt to feed them, though the crops were ever fo rich. There is as little truth in the account of the fheep bringing forth more than once, as there is in that of the land having feveral crops in a year *. Some: * The author looks upon the teftimcnies of the ancients in an unfavourable light 3 and perhaps has entirely forgotten, that there were formerly a great many parts of Egypt, arable land, and well cultivated, R 2 which [ 244 J Some travellers, who, on their voyage from Damiata or Rofetta to Cairo , have from their barge feen the people make furrows in the land, in which they planted gourd, melon, or cucumber feeds in March or which at prefent are covered with fancfs; all the en¬ virons of Memphis , near the village of Monf \ are now a fandy defert, and the ancient dallies defcribe this very fpot as agreeable and fertile. Befides this, there were even large trafts of land in the defarts on both fides the river, that formerly were made fertile by the water of the Nile, canduded thither by aqueduds, which now are deffroyed and negleded. The decay of the country began with the firlt conqueft by Cam- hyfes , 525 years before Chrill. In the reign of the firft Ptolemies it recovered in fome meafure, but under the laft princes of that family it was far from being fo well managed as under their old kings. The Romans entirely oppreffed Egypt ; the Prrefecii Augvjlales , by their avarice, certainly did not encourage population and agriculture ; the frequent revolutions in the Roman empire, and the often barbarous and fuperlatively cruel treatment of the adherents of the candidates to the Imperial throne,, depopulated whole cities and pro\ inces. Neither did the tumults caufed by the feditious friars, the madnefs of running into the deferts, and filling them with innumerable monafteries, contribute to the population or the better culture of Egypt. The Sara¬ cens , the Mamalucks , and the Turks by their oppref- fions, by the introduced precarious tenure of the lands, by then polygamy, and the frequent feditions, gave the lafi ftroke to the languishing agriculture, and the decreaie of p puiation. F. Wjurill I r 2 45 ] April ; have midaken thofe feeds for corn, -and have faid that the foil in Egypt an¬ nually produced two crops, and that it was fo rich, they were obliged to mix fand with it, in order to diminifh its luxuriancy. If thefe travellers had taken the trouble to examine the fubjedl more attentively, they would foon have found out, what kinds of feeds the people fowed; they would have difcovered, that they only make ufe of fand clofe to the banks of the Nile, and no far¬ ther tip the country, becaufe the foil is more clayey, and more hardened by the heat of the fun in this part, fo that the grains can by no means vegetate or pierce through it j that for this reafon, till the fhoots have acquired more drength, and till the earth is foftened by repeatedly wa¬ tering it, they make a bed confiding g£ equal parts of fand and pigeons dung, in which the feeds -can flrike root; for with¬ out this dung they can expedt no fruits. They fow the corn in Egypt in the month of pfanuary, after the foil is well foaked by the waters of the Nile, and in Upper Egypt they pluck it up in April, but in Lower Egypt in May. I.choofe the phrafe, “ they R 3 “ pluck [ 2 4 * ] “ pluck it up,” inftead of faying, ] another, in which there are four rows of columns, eight in each; they are all twen¬ ty-one feet in circumference. From hence, paffing over many heaps of ruins, I came to another building, of which only three rooms can be entered, the reft being filled with fand. There are many figures in baflo relievo, and abun¬ dance of hieroglyphics. From thence you defcend to the remains of a fine elevated road of free ftone, and go on it to a caftle, which lies above a mile off "Luxor . The -caftle is entered through an avenue, or¬ namented with figures of the Sphinx and other animals. There are forty-five on each fide, but fo disfigured, that they can¬ not be diftinguifiied ; there you alfo foe two fine heads feparated from their bodies ; the one is an elephant’s, the other a horfe’s head. The avenue leads to a gate, which is ftill in very good condition; it is feventy feet high, fifty-two feet wide, and forty- one feet thick. There were three more gates like this, but neither fo high nor fo wide, with figures of animals on both fides, but not of the lame length as the preceding x one. [ 2 ? 2 ] ■oife. Thefe four gates fronted the four cardinal points, and led to a palace of which nothing but a beautiful hall remains. Six rows of twenty-eight columns each, fupport a part of the ceiling ; their.capitals, which are of a mixed order, are well wrought. The columns are not all of an equal thicknefs, twelve of the middlemofl are thirty-one feet in circumference, the others twenty-eight. They confifl of fe¬ deral pieces, and are covered with hiero¬ glyphic figures and characters. Above this laloon, .you find two rooms feparated by a partition wall, in form of a baluftrade. Near the faloon, you fee two coloffai flatues of red granite f they have fwords by their fides, and are covered from top to .bottom with hieroglyphs. From the e a hern gate you perceiv-',three pbelifks of red granite, two of which are handing, but the third is fallen and broken in feveral places. Thefe obelifks are fifty feet high, and feven feet broad. About twenty-four yards eaflward, I found a fine marble fountain, two hundred and fifty feet in circuit, which has water all the year. A- little [ 2 73 ] ' A little higher are the ruins of a palace, confiding in a faloon. There are four rows of fix columns in it, fupporting a ceiling, above which are four rooms, ornamented with figures and characters in hieroglyphics. Round this palace is a number of columns fallen on the ground, and many of them broken in feveral pieces. The tombs of the kings of Thebes are about four miles and half from hence : they are hewn in the rock, painted, and full of figures in baffo relievo. The Arabs fome- times find fepulchral urns in thofe tombs, containing a fubdance of a grey colour, which I have feen. ' This powder they pre- ferve carefully, and think it has the quality of converting other metals into gold. About three miles from Luxor lies the vil¬ lage c r Karnac , and a mile and a half from thence, near the mountains, are the ruins of a palace confiding of twenty-eight columns, and fome pieces of the ceiling, which they fupported. The fore part of this palace reds on eight thick quadrangular pillars, hewn at the top in the form of a bud, four of them reprefent men; and T the [ *74 1 the other four, women. In thefe ruins are’ a thigh, leg, and foot of beautiful marble ? this piece is eight feet long, and may per¬ haps be part of the famous ftatue of Mem- non In the mountain are many fepulchral caverns of two ftories high; thofe m the firft ftory are hewn in rock ftone, and their ceilings reft on two thick quadrangular pillars, which with the reft of the cavern are all covered with hieroglyphs thofe in the upper ftory are cut in fand ftone, and narrower than the lower ones, A blue cornice goes quite round them, and they are white wafhed with gypfum, on which are painted feveral figures of faints ; at the end of thefe caverns is a hollow or niche made in the wall, in which a fmall ftatue might * The author is wrong as to this pretended fta¬ tue of Memnorij for the coioiial figure, on whofe legs the late Bilhop Pococke and Capt. Norden difeovered fa many inscriptions, engraved by the votaries of this divinity in the firft and fecond centuries of the Chriftian sera, is proved inconteftably to be the celebrated figure of Memnon , and which was demolifhed by Cambyfes. The late °rof. JaLlonf:! has given upon that lubjecSt, his excellent Syntagma, de Mernnone Grceiorurn et sEgypti- orum. Francfurt, 4to. F. r 275 } l)e placed, and it is from thence conjectured, that fome Chriftian hermits, full of horror at Paganifm, loathing to dwell in the lower caverns, made the upper ones. At a fhort diftance due eaft of this palace, are two coloffal ftatues on pedeftals, in a bent attitude, as if they were going to fit down. They are fixty feet high, their heads and arms have been broken by the Arabs thefe people call one of thefe flatues Chiama, the other Tama *} and it appears from the breafts of the latter, that it is meant to reprefent a woman. About a mile fouth weft of Karnac are the ruins of Medinat Habit , i. e. the town of Habit, built by the Arabians . Here are the remains of a magnificent palace, whofe entrance lay to the eaftward. At firft you enter a court, one hundred and fixty-two feet broad, and eighty-one feet long. The front of the palace is one hundred and eighty feet wide, and thirty- fix feet high ; on each fide is a column in * Thefe two flatues are likewife mentioned by Va- nolet , in his Nouvelle Relation en forme de Journal d’un Voyage en Egypte 1677. p, 411. T 2 granite. [ 2 7 6 1 granite, of the Corinthian order * ; tho gate is ten feet thick, eighteen feet high, and eight feet wide. Out of this gate, you enter another court, fifty-fix feet fquare, and out of this into another, which like the others is filled with broken pieces of columns. On the fides are feveral decayed rooms, in which the walls are covered with figures of men and women, and with hie- roglyphs : behind this court are two gates, a greater and a lefier ; the latter leads to five dark rooms, half full of fand, in one of which is a tomb of red granite, feven feet long, three broad, and three and a half high : the great gate opens into a court filled with broken columns, and other rubbilh. From hence one perceives the front of a peculiar building, one hundred and eighty feet broad, and one hundred and feventy feet high. The gate in the middle is thirty feet thick, twenty feet high, and * When our author mentions the Corinthian order, in the ancient Egyptian buildings, it muft not be taken in too literal a fenfe : he means only, that fome of the parts have a diftant relation to thcfe of the Corinthian order; whofoever has feen the remains of the Egyptian temples, as reprefented by Bilhop Pococke , Norden, and Woody will never doubt a moment in [ 28 3 3 In this town, and it will foon be wholly forgotten, unlefs the Nile, which has already carried away part of it, alters its courfe. From Girge I went by land to Elme- nichie , which is built on the ruins of an. ancient town. There are no ancient mo¬ numents, except a few broken columns, and the remains of a fine dyke of free hones. The fame evening I arrived at Akinin, a great village handing on the ruins of the ancient Panopolis , and partly built of the pieces of granite, that once formed its hately edifices. The hreets are all in ftrait lines, and between Cairo and the cataradls there is not a fingle place built of hones, and with any regularity, like this. How greatly fallen is this country from its an¬ cient hate ! Theban, once the pride of the world, is now full of huts built up of hraw, and cemented by mud 1 ■\ This province extends one hundred and eighty miles from Girge to the catarads : it is fertile in corn and fugar, but they cannot make ufe of all the land, becaufe the torrents which pour down from the moun-? [ 284 ] mountains, bury a great part of it in fand. The commander, who is a Bey from Cairo , and has formerly been a Bafhaw, has no¬ thing to command there. The Arabs , who are the mafters of Upper Egypt , are fo nu¬ merous, fo well provided with money, and fo much united among themfelves, when they are to fight the troops fent from Cairo , that the latter never venture to attack them. Thofe Arabs , who are obliged to fend their goods for fale to Cairo , pay the Grand Signior a regular tax for their land ; thofe who are not under the fame circumftances pay nothing. When the Bey of Girge has fomething to tell the chiefs of the Arabs in private from the Divan at Cairo , he fends them word that they are to come to him. They immediately fend one of their number with two thoufand horfemen to a certain place defined for thofe interviews; thefe troops form a ring round him, into which the Bey comes with a train of only twelve per- fons, and after the interview is over, each returns to his home. [ ) At Girge and at Akmin there are mif- fionaries of the order of S. Francis , main¬ tained by the Congregatio de Propaganda, in order to convert the numerous Copies of thofe places. At Akmin are the remains of two temples, confining of ftones twenty feet long, and ten feet broad. They are painted, and full of hieroglyphs. On one ftone there is a Greek infcription of four lines, of which the firft and lad; are almoft totally, and the others partly defaced. The fterile women at Akmin make water on this ftone, hoping to recover their fertility by that means. From Akmin I wont to Gau , which is' twenty-one miles distant ; the Nile has already carried away the fourth part of this great village, which lies on the eaftern fhore. About half way, you find fcattered coffins cut in ftone, which the travellers make ufe of as troughs or cifterns to water their horfes at; and a coloffal ftatue of rock ffone, which is fo disfigured, that it does not deferve to be drawn. At the foot of the mountain are many quarries, which are looked upon as grottoes. The ftones are white, and have a fine poliffi. I In [ 286 j In the village Gau t fourteen columns arc; Hill preferved Handing, and full of hiero¬ glyphic figures. There are alfo the remains of a dyke made of free Hone, and a wall which when the Nile is low, appears even with the water’s edge : from hence it may be conjedtured, that there was a bridge at this place formerly About two miles north of this village you meet with many caverns or quarries 5 fome quite full of fand, fome half decayed, and fome in a pretty good condition. I faw feveral very lpacious, and one in particu¬ lar appeared to me bigger than the pa¬ lace of Sonbife . You enter into it through feven irregular gates ; it is not equally wide every where, its height is twenty feet, and the vault is fupported by eighteen pillars very irregularly placed. A part of the vault is fallen down, and they have cut a Hone twenty feet long, and twelve broad out of * Or perhaps a key, beeaufe a bridge over the Nile Would be fuch a curiofity, as could not have efcaped the notice of the ancient writers, who have often ob-> ferved other buildings of lefs importance. F, the [ 2 «7 ] the ruins, but have not removed it, pro¬ bably on account of its weight. About feven or eight miles from Gau, on the eaft fide of the Nile, lies the village of Eridy , where a Sheik of the fame name refides. It is famous throughout Egypt on account of a fnake, of which they relate miraculous ftories, and which many people believe to be the devil, banifhed into the mountains of Upper Egypt by the angel Raphael to prevent his ftrangling young Tobias, as he had done with the fix former hulbands which his bride had married. The Sheik keeps this ferpent in his poflef- lion, as his predecelfors have done before him time immemorial. It is two feet long, and about an inch thick, the Ikin is fmooth and reddiih; it plays with thofe who take it in their hands, without doing them the leafi: harm, and twines round their arms and legs. It is fingular, that it likes wo¬ men more than men, and when it fees a woman will creep up to her neck, get into the bofom, and from thence under the fhift. They allow it this liberty, as it is believed to be an angel. In honour of this ferpent, x they [ 2^8 ] they hold an annual feftival. The peopla on this occahon meet here from fixty miles round, and they flock in fuch numbers, and give fo many alms, that above fixty oxen and two hundred fheep are killed to give them a meal. They relate many fables of this fnake, which is perfectly well taught to do its part. I was told that the Sheik could cut it in pieces at night, and be fure to find it whole and found the next morning. From curiofity I afked him whe¬ ther it was true that he could do fo, and on his anfwering in the affirmative, I offered him ten Zeechini to perform this miracle before me, but with this condition, that I fhould keep the pieces of the fnake till they united again ; and that if this did not happen at the proper time, I fhould not be obliged to pay him. But he would not agree to it, and his excufe was, that the angel (for thus he called the ferpent) would be provoked by fuch a bargain. In the mountains near Eridy are ten or twelve fepulchral caverns. There are alfo many heaps of ruins, which according to the report of the Copies are the remains of [ 2^9 ] of the ancient town of Irzy* Twelve miles from thence, at the foot of the moun¬ tain which lies eaft of Akmin , you find the monaftery of S. Senodius , built near the ruins of an ancient town, fuppofed to be 'Adribe. This monaftery lies clofe to a deep ditch, that receives its water from two canals, and which keeps very well in it all they ear round. Th-is, and the two monafteries of St. Anthony and St. Paul, are the cleanlieft in all Upper Egypt. This of St. Senodius is built of free-done, and of an oblong qua¬ drangular; it is one hundred and thirty feet long, one hundred and twenty feet broad, and fifty feet high, and has a cornice which goes quite round it. Its greated fides have two rows of one and twenty windows each, all clofed up; on the other fides there are only nine windows in each row ; five doors on the weft fide were the entrance to it, but now they are all clofed up, and you go into the monaftery through a little double door on the fouth fide, whofe leaves are covered with iron plates. The church is quite decayed, there are dill fourteen columns in U it, [ 2 9 ° ] it, fonie of .{lone, the reft of bricks, co¬ hered with gypfum, and which fupport the ceding. The choir, which is preferred, contains three altars, but hath nothing re¬ markable. Only three monks inhabit this convent, and they have very wretched ha¬ bitations. There is likewife a deep and wide well in it, of bricks, whofe water rifes and falls like the Nik, though the con¬ vent is above three miles from the river. However, this rifing and falling of the well, which the monks and the Copies look upon as a miracle wrought by Diofcorus, whilft he flaid in this monaftery, arifes from a communication with the canal, which, as I have already obferved, gets its water from the Nik, and fo provides this well with it. Having dined with thefe friars, I returned to Akmin , which is only four or five miles diflant from the convent. . CHAP. [ 29i ] CHAP. V. *Trees, herbs, and minerals in Thebais — Con* •vents of St. Anthony and St. Pauh i^OME Arabs at Abnin having allured me, that at three days journey beyond the eaftern mountains, I fhould find woods and fcarce plants, I fet out on the 29th of March in fearch of them. I took two Arabs and two camels with me, and in the evening arrived at a Coptic convent called j Deir Habubakome, where I pafied the night. On the 30th, after climbing up the mountain, which is very fteep, and in which there are feveral quarries of marble of different colours, we proceeded to the north-eafi: through ftony plains and the beds of torrents, and flopped in a torrent at five o’clock in the evening, which the Arabs call the torrent of the Camel. The 31ft we fet out by break of day, and always went on in the fame direction. In the evening we came to a torrent called U 2 Berkene , f 292 ] Berkene, and paffed the night there under fome Sial trees. On the road I found much chalk, but no plants. The firft of April we went two hours eaftward, and defcended into a vaft tor¬ rent, lhut up with high and fteep moun¬ tains, called Macanaeb Bibe by the Arabs. This vale is broader than the Rhone , and the torrent in it falls into the Nile below Girge *. In this vale you find a few Sial trees, fome mugwort or Artemijia> and fome wild forrel, which is the food of antelopes. From hence we continued our journey north-eaft, and afterwards north, till the night fet in, which we paffed in another torrent not fo broad as the preced¬ ing ; it is called el Bume , and we here found a quarry of red marble, and another of gypfum. On the fecond we went northward for three hours, and then north-weft for the * According to M. DAnvilles map of Egypt , it joins the Nile oppofite Siut of Ofiot, which he thinks ftands on the fpot where the ancient town of Lyco- polis formerly was. F. fame 4 [ 2 93 ] fame fpace of time. We defcended about noon into a great torrent, called Macane el Siuti by the Arabs; in which we found fome herbage, and a peculiar fort of Broom • (Genifla). We flopped here to let our camels graze ; and, in the mean while, I colledted a mineral fait, which only differs from plumofe Alum in its more faline tafle, and fibres, which can eafily be feparated. We made ufe of it to fait the flefh of a wild goat, which we fhot this morning. This fait is with difficulty diffolved in cold water, which gives it a white colour; it has a refrefhing quality, and is a good re¬ medy againfl inflammations in the throat. It is generated from a white liquid, which looks like milk, has fome aluminous qua¬ lity, and is found in the crevices and chinks of the rock. After the camels had grazed, we con¬ tinued our journey in this valley, and did not come out of it till the 4th; when we climbed up the mountains lying to the Dorth-eafl. At noon we arrived on a plain U 3 called C 2 94 ] called Karrubi , filled with pebbles, of which they make fnuff-boxes and handles for knives. On the eafi fide of this plain you fee a long ridge of mountains, having various names, and forming in the middle a moun¬ tain like a round roof, which the Arabs call Gcbel Due an ., i. e„ the Tobacco moun¬ tain. Behind this mountain, appears the fummit of another, called Gcbel ez Zeit , or the mountain of oil, becaufe they find a great deal of Petroleum or Mountain Oil there. We left this plain at break of day, when we defeended into the valley el Kauris which extends to the Red Sea , The next morning being the 5th of April , we proceeded north, and continued going on in that direction the whole day, leaving the Tobacco mountain on the right. We got many pieces of porphyry, fome of them finer than the red:, and fulphur fublimated by fubterraneous fires, covering the furface of the ground and the pebbles; [ 295 ] we likewife faw fome pieces of granite. We defcended into the torrent Habahal , and there patted the night, . The 6 th we went on northward, and after eroding a little plain covered with fulphur, the fmell of which is very difa- greeable, we arrived at two o’clock in the afternoon at the torrent I’arfe , which ex¬ tends to the village of Charrone on the eattern fhore of the Nile. The remaining part of the day we continued our journey eaftward; and there being more Sial- trees *, broom, and other plants in this torrent, * The deferts in the neighbourhood of Egypt are fometimes in low places covered with plants, which commonly are called Acaciee : Shard , in the Nouveaux Memoires des MiJJions, Tom. v. p. 220. mentions four different fpecies of it, viz. i. the Sant or Sant ; 2. the Seijjdban or Sejban ; 3. the Sial ; and 4. the Setter,\\ Thefe plants belong, according to Dr. Linmetis'i\ fyf- tem, to the Mlmofa and the Mfchynomene ; for the Sial feems to be the Mlmofa Nilotica , Linn, and the SciJJa- ban or Sejban is the Mfchynomene Sejban. What the other /Egyptian Acacias are, is not fo eafily to be deter¬ mined, and will remain unknown till an able natu- ralilt, well acquainted with all the branches of claffical learning, and a competent knowledge of the modern U 4 ealtern [ 296 j torrent, than in the preceding ones, my guides gave me joy to my arrival j they told me this was the place they had promifed to bring me to, and required a reward. This addrefs furprifed me, but it was too late to repent; I was obliged to content myfelf with what I had feen, as I could not get any thing better. After collecting fome plants here, and filling four leather budgets with bad water, there being no better to be had, I pro¬ ceeded to the convent of St .Anthony, at the foot of mount Kobzim, and arrived there on the 9 th, at ten o’clock in the morning. For two days I travelled on ex- cefiive rugged mountains, and croffed the famous plain of Chariots , or of Arab an, to eaftern languages vifits Egypt , and re-examines all the /Egyptian plants. It would be a very laudable and ufe- ful undertaking, if a gentleman qualified in the man¬ ner pointed cut, and with a fkill of drawing, or ac¬ companied by draughtfmen, made a claffical journey relative to natural hiftory through Greece , Afia minor, Syria , and Egypt: for this would be the only means to afcertain what the ancients meant by their names of plants ; as many of thefe names are ftiil preferved in the modern Greeks Arabic , and Syriac languages. F. the [ 297 ] the northward of which you fee only the mountains of AJkar , where are the ruins of three monafteries, called Deir Berdet, Deir Bakite , and Deir Anna . Having reded a little before the con¬ vent, I perceived a monk in the window, and I informed him of the reafons that brought me hither. After the fuperior was acquainted with this, they called to me from a trap door at the top of the convent, and I faw them letting down a rope for me to fallen round my middle. I was by this means drawn up and taken into the mo- naftery, had a cell affigned to me, and was treated like a monk ; that is, I received a portion of lentils and bad bread every morning and evening. This monaftery is a fquare building, confiding of twenty-eight cells, an ugly dining-hall, a mill, an oven, and a kitchen, befides two very filthy, littlie, and dark churches. Each of them is thirty feet long, and fixteen feet broad. There are fome r =$3 ] fome bad paintings on the walls, now quite black from the fumes of incenfe. One of thefe churches is confecrated to St. Peter and PauU the other to-St. Anthony . They are connected by a covered -walk, above which there is a little fleeple with a bell. Between the churches and the kitchen is a fquare tower, in which they have built a chapel. You go to this tower over a draw-bridge, reding on an adjacent high piece of ground. Here they keep the fa- cred veffels, their provisions, their books, and all that they hold valuable : this like- wife is their refuge when they are attacked by the Arabs. There is a garden dole to the cells, which is about two hundred and fixty yards long and one hundred and twenty broad. In it they cultivate dates, olives, St. John’s bread, peaches, apricots, and vines, befides many kitchen herbs. They likewife make wine, of which the monks drink on the four principal feftivals in the year. The [ 299 ] The water of three very clear fprings is concluded from the mountains into the garden, by means of three fubterraneous vaults. This water is their common drink, and is alfo employed to water the garden, in which is built a chapel confecrated to the hermit Marcus, containing two altars, one of which is deflined for European priefts. The whole fraternity confifts of twen¬ ty-five friars, twelve of which are priefts, and the reft lay-brothers. They wear a white woollen fliirt, a brown woollen, gown, and a fur coat of black ferge with wide fieeves, a black calot which fits very clofe to the head, a purple coloured worfted cap, furrounded by a blue and white ftriped turban, a leather girdle, and red or black fhoes. They have no ftockings, and never uncover their heads. Besides the vows of chaftity, obedi¬ ence, and poverty, they like wife make that of never eating any fiefh meat in the con¬ vent, but falling all the year except Satur¬ days, Sundays, and Eajier . They fing their fervice » [ 3°° ] fervice (landing, and leaning on a (lick called Taut, which is formed like a T. At midnight they go into the church, Deep in their clothes on mats of draw, and be¬ fore they go to reft, proftrate themfelves a hundred and fifty times on the ground, with extended arms. At each proftration, which they call a penitence, they make the fign of the crofs. Six of thefe friars wear the AJkim * or angelic drefs : it is made of very foft leather, and like a Pallium; but be- caufe this drefs obliges thofe that wear it to much greater aufterities, (in particular they muft at leaft make three hundred proftrations every evening before they go to bed) the abbot never gives it to any but whom he fuppofes capable of undergoing fuch hardships. Thefe monks are very fu- perftitious and ignorant. I know not whe¬ ther they ftridtly adhere to the rules of * The word AJkim is corrupted from the Greek which is commonly given to this kind of drefs in the oriental churches, to which they prefix the Arabic ar¬ ticle al or el, and contract it at laffc into AJkim. F. which [ 3 ot 1 which they promife the obfervance, on be¬ ing admitted as members of the order; but fo much I know, that moft of them wafte their time in fearch of the philofo- pher’s hone, or writing bills which they pretend will cure the fick. They get their provifions from the village of Bujhe on the weftern £hore of the Nile. The ioth I went from hence to the mo- naftery of St. Paul, going on north-eafl, and eroded the plain of Chariots or Aral an, having mount Kolzim on my right, and the Red Sea before me. The plain is inter¬ fered by a vaft number of torrents. There are alfo many places where they find earths and ochres of red, green, brown, and yel¬ low colour. At the foot of mount Kolzim I faw three quarries, in which a good red, yellow, and black marble, breaks; and at a little diftance from this, one where is a good granite. Thefe quarries fupplied the old Egyptians with the beautiful marbles, which ornamented their buildings. About L 3° 2 ] About four miles from thence, is a path acrofs the mountains, called Akabe by the Arabians . People can, by going this path on foot, come from the convent of St. Anthony to that of St. Paul in lefs than eight hours time ; but thofe who travel on horfeback are obliged to make a great cir¬ cuit. After leaving the plain of Chariots , I came very near the Red Sea , I faw the mountains Horeb and Sinai, which appear¬ ed to be only forty-five miles diftant. The fea-fhore is covered with fhells of various kinds; there are alfo many kinds of corals and madrepores, and their branches are full of petrified fheUs. After I had examined the petrifa&ions, I pafied near the Red Sea through a very fatiguing fandy part, and went to mount Knlzim, arriving on the 11 th at noon in St. Paul' s convent, which the Coptes call the ‘Tyger convent, becaufe they imagine that thefe animals made the tomb of the faint. t 3° 3 ] faint. St. Jerom attributes this kind office to two lions. This convent lies on mount Kolzim, on¬ ly feven or eight miles from the Red Sea. The friars took me in here, and treated me much in the fame manner as at the con¬ vent of St. Anthony. The chief building is a quadrangle, but much lefs than that of the other monaflery. The church (of which the cavern where St. Raid did pe¬ nance makes a part) is thirty-two feet long and fourteen feet broad, and is very light. The walls feem to have been but lately re¬ paired ; there are fome hiflories of faints painted on them, and that of the tygers was not forgotten. On the wall of the altar are the remains of a Greek infeription. The garden is planted with many fruit- trees, and likewife vines ; and the friars plant as many kitchen herbs here as at St. Anthony. About forty yards from the mo- nailery, is a rock which fupplies it with a large fountain of water, for the friars drink, •and watering their garden. The monks [are [ 3°4 ] are fourteen in number; among them are five priefts, two of which wear the angelic drefs, the reft are lay-brothers. The 20th at noon I took leave of thefe friars. I had but little pleafure from what I faw with them, there being nothing that could attract the curious, and ftill lefs the devout. I crolfed terrible mountains, on which I faw nothing but marble and gra¬ nite of different colours; I defcended into many vallies, and climbed up many moun¬ tains, and after a very fatiguing journey of eight days I arrived at Akmin on the 20th, where I repofed fome little time in order to recover from the fatigue. CHAP. VI. Ruins of the Cities of Lycopolis and Anti- noopolis —Column of Emperor Alexander Severus —Triumphal Arch . /N T A HE 25th I continued my journey to- **■ wards Siut, a great town about ninety miles difiant from Akmin . It lies on the weft [ 3°5 ] weft fide of the Nile, and is built on the ruins of Lycopolis . On the adjacent moun¬ tains one fees the Stable-Grotto, which is a quarry fomewhat lefs than that near Gau. Between this place and the moun¬ tains, is a canal filled with water from the Nile. The Arabs in the neighbourhood fay, this water has the extraordinary qua¬ lity of reftoring loft virginity. The 29th I travelled from Slut to Man* felut , which lies fifteen miles lower on the Nile. This town, which is the residence of the governor of the province, is one of the moft confiderable trading places in Egypt, on account of the linen manufac¬ tures there. I did not ftop here long, be- caufe there was nothing curious to be feen. Six miles from Manfelut , are about fifty caverns in a mountain, which forms a con¬ fiderable promontory on the eaftern fhore of the river; fome of them are choaked up with fand, and the reft are fallen in. X The [ 3°6 ] The i ft of May I came to Sheikh Ah - bade , fituated on the eaftern fhore of the Nile , and built on the ruins of Antinopolis. The firft thing that ftruck me as I entered from the fouth fide, was a fine gate, of which the front is almoft entirely ftanding, and behind it are four pillars, together with as many columns and their capitals, the flifts being fluted, Pafiing through this gate, you enter into an avenue with a hun¬ dred and thirty pilafters on each fide, but which are all in very bad prefervation. At the end of this avenue ftands the column of Alexander Sever us the Roman Emperor > the full, which is built of five pieces of ftone, is thirty-two feet long, and has a proportionable diameter* The firft piece and the capital is ornamented with foliage $ the pedeftal is fquare, twelve feet high and five feet broad. There is a Greek inferip- tion on one fide, but the greateft part of it is defaced. Near this column, you find the pedeftal of another, with an infeription. About a hundred yards farther you fee a triumphal arch, which is ftill entire. The fronts [ 3 °7 ] fronts were forty-eight feet, and the fides twenty-four feet long. It has three gates, the middle one, which is the largeft, is fixteen feet wide, and thirty feet highi the other two are each feven feet wide, and twenty high. Above each gate is a fquare window, which is four feet narrower than the gates. A winding flair-cafe of fifty fleps, pradlifed in the wall, leads to the flat roof of this arch. Opposite each of the four fides of this triumphal arch, was a colonnade or range of pillars of red granite, of which nothing remain but fome broken pieces. This building was eredted in the times when the Romans poffeffed Egypt, and is doubtlefs compofed of the remains of other more ancient ones. This may be conjedtured from the number of broken columns which lie on the ground hereabouts. Fifty are flill Handing on both fides. Near this town, at the foot of the mountain, is a wretched Coptic monaftery X 2 con- [ ] confecrated to St. John, furnamed c Thd Little. I found four fuperannuated monks in it, who could hardly fpeak. Near this convent are three fepulchral caverns cut in the rock, and there are about fifteen other caverns, which have been inhabited by hermits ; in the latter are erodes, and the figures of many faints, fome painted, fome cut in the rock. About fifteen miles from this village, down the Nile, is another called Beni- Hafan, which lies on the eaftern fhore. On the mountain near it you fee eighty ca¬ verns of two flories each, of which it is moil likely fome were made ufe of by the heathens, and others by Chriftians this may be inferred from the figures of ani¬ mals and the hieroglyphs found in the for¬ mer, and from the figures of faints in the latter. Four or five miles from this village are ruins of an ancient building, confiding of broken columns of granite fcattered about. ■« The [ 3°9 ] The 4th I arrived at Minie , a village on the weft fide of the Nile, famous for the jars which are made there; thefe jars are very proper to cool the water on account of the porous texture of the clay they are made of. CHAP. VII. Description of Grand Cairo. T SET out from Minie towards Cairo on the 5th of May, and arrived there on the 1 ith. On the road I found a fine py¬ ramid at Benifuef, which is like that at Girge. The Arabs fay that Jofeph the fon of Jacob built it. Fifteen miles lower on the weft fide, . are two more made in form of a hat. And about nine miles farther you come to Sacarra , where thirteen large, and a great number of little pyramids ftand, of the latter of which the greater part are fallen in ruins. On my arrival at Cairo, I found that the plague raged there with great violence, X 2 and [ 3 '° ] and was therefore obliged to live three days by myfelf, and to change every part of my drefs before I could be admitted into the Conful’s houfe. Cairo, or Grand Cairo , which the Ara- bians call Mefr , was built under the name of Fojibah by AmrU Ebn el As , the gene¬ ral of the fecond Khalif Omar, and rebuilt in 971, by the name of Kahera, i. e. the Victorious, by Giauhar the general of Mocz- leddinellahi 3 it confifls of three cities, built at different times, and afterwards confoli- dated into one. The moft ancient among them is that which is now called Old Cairo , built on the ruins of that city which king Cambyfes founded on the fpot, where the Egyptian town of Cette * formerly flood, and which he called Babylon . * The ancient Latopolis was certainly on the weft fide of the river, about twenty Roman miles north of Memphis, confequently Lette, by which Granger means Laton , could not be on the fpot where Babylon was fi- tuated. The laft mentioned place is fouth of Old Cairo, and is at prefent called Baboul. F. In [ 3 11 1 In 640 of the Chriflian aera, Amru Ebn el As befieged Babylon , and took it, and leaving his tent before the town in or¬ der to purfue his victories, the Arabians built up a new town, which they named Fojlhaby or the tent. In the year 968, Moezleddinellahi , an Arabian Prince, fettled in Africa , pretend¬ ing to be defcended of All, the fon-in-law of Mahomed , and being the fir ft Khalif of the branch of Fatimites fent his general Giauhar to Egypt , in order to conquer that country. He having taken the city of Fojlhaby received orders to build a new city, under a certain conftellation pointed out to him. Giauhar having commanded the people to dig up the ground to make * He was indeed the firft that affirmed the name of Khalif becaufe he took Egypt from the Kha/ifs of Bag¬ dad ; but his predeceffors had already long reigned in Barbary ; they derived the name of Fatimites from Fa- tbna , Mahojned’s daughter, who was married to the Khalif Aliy from whom they pretended to be defcend- (ed. F. X 4 the t 3 12 J the foundations, ordered ropes to be ex¬ tended quite round them, to which many little bells were fattened at certain dif- ttances from each other, that the work¬ men who had the materials in readinefs, might all lay the foundations at once, as foon as the aftrologer, who was obferving the ttars, fhould pull the ropes, and by that means give the fignal. Now it hap¬ pened that fome crows fettled on the ropes,, and by that means made all the bells jingle. The workmen taking this for the proper fignal, immediately made ufe of the mate¬ rials with fuch alacrity, that the founda¬ tions were alrnoft all laid before the real circumttances were known that fet them at work. It was obferved that the planet Mars was then vifible, which feemed to fignify that the new city would be perpe¬ tually involved in wars. But Giauhar , who wanted to turn this prognoftic to ad¬ vantage, caught hold of the name Kaher , vittoriousy which is an Arabian attribute of Mars, and in conference named the city © r 3 1 3 ] city The Victorious, Kahira *. In the year 973 the city was completely built. After SaJaheddin had taken the king¬ dom of Egypt from the laft Khalif of the branch of Fatimites, he began about the year 1190 to inclofe the three cities in one common wall, which was to be 26000 Arabian ells in circumference but his death prevented the compleating of the work, the wall is yet handing. BULAK is one of the fuburbs of Cairo , on the fhores of the Nile, built by degrees for the convenience of trade. It is fup- pofed from feveral ruins of houfes and mofques in the neighbourhood of Cairo, that it has formerly had more fuburbs. * This origin of the name of Kahira is fo much like a fable, that it wants no refutation. The plain where¬ on Kahir'e was built, belonged to the nomus Heliopoli- tes , which in the ancient Egyptian language is called Kahi-re, the land of the Sun and this I fufpedt to have given firft of all that name to the city built on the HAia The Saracens changed it into Kahirah , on Recount of the ominous fignification this word gives to it in Arabic , and the Franks reliding in Egypt call it Cairo. F. I This [ 3H J This capital of Egypt is about eight miles in circumference, not including Bulak or Old Cairo. It lies on the eaftern fhore of the Nile in 49 0 of eafl longitude, and 29° 50’north latitude*. Its inhabitants are more numerous than thofe of Paris , though the houfes are not fo many. They reckon feven hundred and twenty mofques in it, with minarets and priefls to them, four hundred and thirty which are without both, and feventy public baths. There is likewife a fchool called the mofque of flowers, in which they teach the fundamental principles of the Mahometan religion, fomething of philofophy, aftro- nomy, aflrology, and hiftory. This is the feat of the chiefs of the four feds in the law, EJhefaiy Maieki , Abali , and Hanefi, all which have equal rank and authority in the town. This fchool is kept at the ex- * The great geographer M. D'Anville more accu¬ rately places it in 49 0 4' eaft longitude from Ferro , and 30° 2' north latitude, which was obferved by Mr. Lieutaudy an able aftronomer. F. [ 3’5 1 pence of the Grand Signior, and l'ikewife fupported by the benefactions and legacies of private individuals, from which alfo the above chiefs have their income. Among the many feCts in the Mahometan religion, thefe four are looked upon as orthodox, and you may belong to any one of them without aCting contrary to the Mahometan tenets A canal paffes through the city, which Ttolemceus calls Thraj anus Amnis -f-, but Quintas * As eftablifhed among the Turks: for the Perfians are Alides , and allow a greater latitude in their religious principles. + The canal is mentioned by no other writer than Ptolemy , who calls it Trajanus amnis, which mull be thus underftood, that the emperor Hadrian ordered the old canal to be cleaned, and to be called after his adoptive father Trajanus. There is however no autho¬ rity of any writer, that Hadrian did clean the canal, all is built on the bare name of Ptolemy \ and on the fuppofition that Hadrian who built many towns and temples in Egypt , might have likewife done this. It is therefore as probable, that this canal was called Trajanus from the town of Troja, mentioned by Dio¬ dorus and Stephanus Strabo , as being oppofite Mem¬ phis , where now the village of Tourah is fituated, which was thus called from Tuoi-^, or the hill of the Sun, becaufe it lay in the Heliopolitic nomus, or nomus of the t 3 16 ] Quintus Curtins , Oxius } and the Turks, Marakerni, i. e. paved with marble; it comes out of the Nile clofe to Old Cairo. It has water during three months only, and after that time is a mere dirty ditch. It forms feven or eight little ponds in the city and its environs, waters the adjacent fields, and communicates with the Lake of Pilgrims , about nine miles from Cairo. The directs of this town are narrow, crooked, without pavement, and full of dud; however, to obviate thefe difagreea- ble circumdances, they are fwept and fprinkled with water every day before the houfes of perfons of note. All the houfes have many dories and bat roofs ; they are built of brick, and the windows -which look into the dreet are fecured with iron rails and curtains, in order to prevent the women from being feen, the Sun; and that the canal which pafled near this town, and communicated with that of Heliopolis , was called Trojanus: for there was likewife, according to Stepha¬ nas Ethnicographus , a hill called TgUixov which tQ this very day has the Arabian name Dycbel Tour a. F. The [ 3i7 1 The outfides of the houfes have nothing fine, and the magnificence of the palaces of the great confifts of fome halls paved with marble. There is but one public place or fquare in the whole town, and • that lies before the caftle ; there are no trees, nor fountains, nor other ornaments in it. The caftle is large, but quite irregular, and not very ftrong. It may be command¬ ed from the eaftern mountains, and the guard in it is given to janizaries and Arabs. The bafha has his refidence here, but he is by no means the .commander; for the loldiers drjve him out of it whenever they pleafe. A An aquedudt of three hundred and twen¬ ty arches carries the water of the Nile into the caftle. This aquedudt has been repaired by the Mahometan princes, and was built of ftones, which are cut as fharp as diamonds *. * This aqueduct was built by the Saracens , as may be feen from an Arabic infcriptioH which is on the aquedudt. F. In [ 3-8 ] In the cattle is a particular kind of a well, commonly called Jofepb's Well, but by the Arabians the Snail Well, becaufe it defcends in a fpiral line. It is a fquare, which within is ttxteen feet wide, and twenty-four feet long. The depth is two hundred and ttxty-four feet, but it has two fhafts that are not perpendicularly above one another ; the firtt is one hundred and forty-eight feet long, the other a hundred and ttxteen. The water is drawn up by means of a double wheel, and a double range of earthen jars. The oxen made ufe of to turn the wheel, go up to the firtt (haft, by a path which is cut in the rock quite round the well from top to bottom. The water of this well can only be drank at the time of the inun¬ dation ; after that time it is brackifh, like all other wells in the town. They count feven or eight thoufand Jews , twenty thoufand Copies , and but few Greeks , Armenians , and Maronites at Cairo. There are houfes for the reception of mif- fionaries, who do very little. Thefe mif- ttonaries t 3 1 9 ] ftonaries are Francifcan friars, another kind of Francifcans of ftricter rules *, Capuchin friars, and Jefuits. The Coptes and Greeks have likewife their patriarchs here, and both of them have the title of patriarchs of Alexandria. CHAP. VIII. Description of Fayoum— Fhe Caftle Caron. Jofeph’s Canal—Lake Moeris. *TpH E plague having fubfided at Cairo' 9 A or rather the ravages it made being Ibmewhat lefs conliderable, I fet out on the 27 th of fune for the province of Fayoum > which is the lead: of the twenty-four, into which modem Egypt is divided, and lies fifty miles weft fouth-weft of Cairo. The capital, from which the province has its name, is built on the ruins of the ancient town of Arfnoe , in the fame manner as that was eredted on the remains of Croco - dilopolis . * Or dims S. Francifci Jlricliores obfervanticc ; they go with naked feet, having only a large piece of wood tied under their foies. F. I This f 32° J This province, from north to fouth* meafures twenty-one, and from eaft to weft twenty-four miles. It appears formerly to have been larger, and that nothing but the negledt of keeping the canals in proper re¬ pair could have obliged the inhabitants to abandon fome parts of it; and thefe not being now cultivated, are at prefent quite buried in fand. This province fo famous with the an¬ cients, and formerly fo well peopled, con¬ tains only fixty-one villages. The lake of King Mendes or Mar on, and according to fome Lake Moeris , is fituated in it; it like— wife contains the lake of Crocodiles , on the banks of which Menes found one of thefe animals, which took him on its back, and carried him to the oppofite fhore, when he was purfued by his own dogs; alfo three ruined labyrinths, of which one is called the labyrinth of Mendes, the other that of Menes, and the third that of the twelve princes. In this province one ftill fees the pyramids of Menes and AJichis, and t 3 21 ] &nd a palace which the Arabians call the caftle Caron , and which all travellers have taken for the labyrinth of Moeris. This caftle lies three miles weft fouth- ' weft of the lake Mendes . It is ninety-five feet Ipng, fixty feet broad, and about fe- venty feet high. The whole length of this building is taken up by four halls of diffe¬ rent fizes, and a room which is twelve feet long. To the right and left of thefe halls, are fome little clofets. I faw them all, and in order to get out again I had no oc- cafion for the affiftance which Ariadne lent Lhefeus . In the firlt of thofe halls is a ffair-cafe leading to another apartment be¬ low, but one cannot go into if, be- caufe it is quite full of earth. It appears from the admeafurements of this building, that in all probability it cannot be a laby¬ rinth ; and notwithftanding what feveral travellers, and efpecially Paul Lucas, fay of it, its principal walls are yet entire, and by no means decayed ; the ftones and rub- bifh of which thefe gentlemen fpeak, ar® Y fallen [ 3 2 * I fallen from the front of this palace, which is in a very bad condition. There can be no doubt of Paul Lucas having feen this building, which he places at the fouth end of lake Moeris , and I faw his name engraven on one of the columns, but he is certainly wrong when he fays, that J the* columns and ftones of this building are all of a hard marble; for they confift, as Pliny likewife obferves, of a foft white ftone. It cannot be a matter of iurprize that there is no wood employed in this building; for from all other extant ancient buildings, it is conjedtured that the Egyp¬ tians never made ufe of any About a mile and half, or a little. ' farther, from this pretended labyrinth, there are heaps of ruins of more than fix * Paul Lucas, was a traveller highly deferving credit on account of his veracity ; he wrote not his travels, but found fome learned men in Francs , who mixed a great deal of learning from their own ftore, with more guefi’es than they fhould have ventured into his plain narrative, and thus often opinions are now afcribed to Paul Lucas , that really were Mr. Fourmsnfs , or bev lodging to the other editor of his travels. F. hundred [ 3 2 3 ] hundred or even a thoufand yards in circum¬ ference, among which many broken marble columns and other fine flones are found. Thefe ruins might with greater reafon be confidered as the ruins of King Mendes s labyrinth. However, I do not look upon this as certain, for all the buildings in Egypt of which the ancients mention any thing, are fo disfigured, that one can fcarce guefs at the place where they flood. New towns have been built on the ruins of the old ones ; their names and fituations have been altered ; every traveller endeavours to bring this chaos in order, and the lafl al¬ ways attempts to prove that the others have been miflaken. I, for my own part, fhall always aflert it as a certainty, that the flones and ruins of the ancient edifices in Egypt are really as beautiful as the accounts of both ancient and modem travellers evince * The * Had the greater part of travellers who have exa¬ mined Egypt , known fomething more of the Arabic and Coptic languages : had they impartially and critically Y 2 compared [ 3H J The lake Mendcs lies four miles off the town of Fay own to the well north- weff* and extends far into Libya. When it is full, i. e. a t the time when the Nile in- creafes, it is twenty-one miles long, and' nine miles broad ; at this time its water was drinkable, but at all other periods it is very briny. They make all the fait from it, which is wanted for falting the ffh, which are very plentiful in this pro¬ vince ; but this fait makes the water unfit for watering the fields. The lake is fur- rounded on all fides by mountains, except towards Libya , and the land round it lies fo high, that it would be impofiible to let the water rife upon it. This plainly proves compared the accounts of the claffic writers with the fttuation of the ruins now exifting, had they examined the feveral catalogues ofepifcopal fees, as publilhed by Beveridge , Pococke , and VanJJcb , and, in fhort, made themfelves acquainted with all the information that could b :: colledfed from ancient and modern writers, E- gypt would not have been fo long a terra Incognita . The only good writer onf its geography, is the famous French geographer D’Jnvlllc ; to whom one may almoft every where truft, for he has been milled but in a few paf- fages by his too haffy countrymen- F. that [ 3 2 S ] that thofe have been miftaken who take this to be the lake Moeris : it may be faid, in this cafe, as in many others, that the authors who mention it have copied from each other, and that the travellers who have been upon the fpot, have not taken the trouble to examine the fubjedt more minutely *. In the midil of this lake, about three miles off the northern flhore, there lies an ifland which is fix miles in circumference, and on which one can fee fome heaps of ruins, which are faid to be a remainder of the pyramids of King Mendes and his Queen. The people hill find fubterrane- ous apartments and fome remains of ancient buildings in it. * All that King Moeris did, I believe, was to open the communication with the Nile, and cut a canal through part of the rock near the place called at prefent Hauara. The prefent lake Moeris was juft fuch a deep chafm, as the Bahar-Bella-me , which is fituated beyond the defart of St. Macarius , or as it was for¬ merly called the defart of Seethe, this was filled by the water, and the many canals which divided the fine p^in to the fouth and fouth-eaft of the lake, rendered it, nee this ufeful undertaking, fertile. The new formed lake became filled with fifh, and the whole country the molt agreeable fpot in all Egypt. F. y 3 JOSEPH'S J [ 3 26 ] JOSEPH .'s canal is a hundred and twenty miles long it begins at Meliavi, which was formerly called Hermopolis *, and runs twelve miles weft ward; it then runs due north till to the province of Fay - oum. Its greateft breadth does no't exceed one mile ; in Fayown it divides into two ca¬ nals, and each of thefe into feveral others, which ferve to water the fields. They af¬ terwards fall into the lake Mendes , two excepted, one of which forms the little lake of Al Garak , whofe water is good to drink all the year, and the other forms the lake of Crocodiles , in which there is a little lile inhabited by fome Arabs; you can only come to it by a very narrow dyke. JOSEPH'S Canal\ as it is called by the common people, who afcribe all that * Hermopolis Magna wasfituated rather a little lower on the Nile, where the village of Afomune’tn now ftands, which really is the ancient name of Hermopolis , for one of the Hermopoles was rebuilt by the Romans near Alex¬ andria , and is therefore called IJhmin-irro?nani ; the other was rebuilt by the Greeks , and therefore called JJhmin-ou-einin } which is our AJhmunein. F. is [ 3 2 7 J is beautiful in Egypt to this minifter, bears the name of the canal of Fanis with the geographers j it ceafes to have water as foon as the Nile is fallen. However, as . many torrents and fprings from the moun¬ tains of Libya fall into it in winter, it has water longer than any of the other canals. King Moeris , in order to water the pro¬ vince of Fayoum , v/here he redded, and which in his time, as it is at prefent, was. the garden of Egypt , on account of the abundance of fruit-trees, the many vine¬ yards, and the immenfe number of rofes planted there, and likewife in order to fup- ply the neighbourhood of Memphis with water, caufed a canal to be dug, which could hold as much water as was required for the above purpofe. This Canal , which ought to be called the Lake of Moeris , re¬ ceived its water through another canal be¬ ginning at Cynopolis *, and ending at Hera- * The fituation of Cynopolis is ftill fomewhat uncer¬ tain, yet it is beyond a doubt that it lay a whole de- Y 4 gree. [ 3*3 1 cleopolis, where the lake begins. The lake is feventy-five miles long, and three broad; it runs between the Nile and Jofepf/s Canal , and parallel to both. It had many fluices which fupplied Jofeph’s Canal, and the in¬ termediate fields between that and the Nile, with water. At the north end of the lake there was a great fluice, by means of which the fields round Sacara and Memphis were watered, and the canal is ftill extant which led the water thither; it is the fame of which the Greek poets have made Acheron, and at lafl empties itfelf into the lake Ma - reotis, after getting a frefh fupply from the Nile by a little canal at Nilopolis. After rambling for a fortnight toge¬ ther through the defart of Ray an, in which I had been told I fhould find petrified fheep, which proved to be mere crags, bearing gree, if not more, higher up in the country, M. D’Anville places it near the ether end of this canal, which our author perfifts in calling Lake Moeris ; 1 apprehend it lay upon Jofeph’s canal, ftill higher up, between the modern villages of Hoar and Kafr. There was alfo another Cynopolis , but that lay very low in the Delta , and cannot be confounded with this. F, fome [ 3 2 9 ] {bme refemblance to fheep at a diftance; and paffing through every place in the pro¬ vince of Fayoum , I returned to its capital along the lake Moeris. As I took up my night’s lodging at the caftle Caron, four Arabs came to me, each of them provided -with a fack; they hoped to fill thefe facks with gold, which every body faid I fhould dig up in the caftle ; for fame had fpread in the country, that I was a celebrated ne¬ cromancer. A little before day-break four other Arabs arrived, who had taken care not to come without their facks. I was awakened at their arrival, and the eight Arabs told me I fhould make hafte to dis¬ cover the treafure I was in fearch of, as a longer delay would diminifh both their and my fhare of it, becaufe a whole troop of Arabs were expected to come. I could have wifhed they had let me fleep a little longer; but being thus prevented by their ignorant avidity, I got on horfeback and haftened to Fayoum , where I arrived the 18th of Augujl at eleven o’clock in the fnorning, in company with my Arabian treafure [ 33° 1 treafure hunters. They immediately ac~ cufed me of forcery before the Cady, and informed him that I had a little box con¬ taining a wheel, by means of which I at¬ tracted every treafure. The Cady , to whom I ffiewed this pretended wheel, which was. no more than a little compafs-box, imme¬ diately acquitted me, and fent away my accufers. The town of Fayoum is the feat of a Kajhef, who is the governor, of an Aga of the Janizaries, and of another who com¬ mands the Arabs. The governor has two hundred foldiers under his command. The inhabitants are Arabs and Copies , and the latter are almoft all of them linen weavers. Some F'urkijh and Greek merchants likewife refide here, and alfb a Coptic bifhop. The Francifcans of the Holy Land keep one hngle friar here in a houle, which they have hired for the purpofe. This friar, who generally goes to Fayonm only for the change of air, affumes the name of miffio¬ nary , there are however no Roman Catho¬ lics in the province. I RE- [ 33 1 1 I returned from Fayoum to Cairo af¬ ter feeing the pyramids at Aurra, or Hau- ara , many broken obelifks difperfed in the fields, and the ruins of feveral buildings, of which nothing remains worth defcribing. I fhall fay nothing of the inconveniencies and fatigues I fuffered on this journey, as that will be of little conference to the reader. CHAP. IX. Lake Nedebe from 'whence the Natrum is brought,—Lake 'without Water. — Pre¬ tended, Petrifaffion.—Convent of St. Ma¬ carius. / Tp W O days after my return to Cairo , the 21ft of Anguff I fet out for Fer¬ rant, a place about forty-two miles diftant, fituated on that branch of the Nile which goes to Rofetta. It was my intention to vilit the defert and the convent of St. Ma¬ carius , the lake whence the Natrum is taken, and the lake without water, in which, according to the accounts of all travellers. [ 3J2 ] travellers, I expedted to find petrified fifips. The governor of 'Terrane, to whom I deli¬ vered a letter from the Bey, ordered Arabs to be fent for, who had been at the places whither I wanted to go; many of them offered, and three were chofen to be my companions. We joined a drove of camels that were going to the defert of Scete to be loaden with Natrum, and fet out on the 25th of Auguji at five o’clock in the evening. On our road we found the ruins of feveral ancient towns. Wepaffed through a long fandy plain, interfered by many torrents. At feven o’clock in the morning we were near a lake, from whence they get the Natrum in fummer. In win¬ ter, this lake which is called Sete, unites with another named Nedebe y from whence they take the Natrum in that feafon; and both lakes at that time form only one, which is about twenty-four miles long, and two miles broad. The fait had form¬ ed a cruft over the whole lake Set/, which bore us and our camels. After we had palTed over, we left the caravan and went through [ 333 ] through Tome fields full of fand, to a Cop~ tic monaftery, where we pafied the reft of the day. The monks in this monaftery told me, that the petrified fhips were only half a day’s journey diftant, and at the fame time {hewed me a ftone, which they pretended was a piece of the maft of a fhip. The ftone perfectly refembled wood, but it did not appear that it had ever been wood, and much lefs a piece of a maft. The next day about two o’clock in the morning, I fet out in order to fee thefe petrified veftels. After crofting many fandy fields and torrents, with much trouble and fatigue, I at laft came to a mountain, from whence my Arabs brought me a ftone, which had fome refemblance of oak wood. This made me difmount from my camel to go and view thefe pretended petrifactions on the fpot. I faw many little {harp points projecting from the rock, which .looked much like wood. I beat feveral of them down 2 [ 334 ] down with a hatchet, and found one which perfe&ly reprefented a joint of the back¬ bone of fome animal. This kind of done is very heavy, and a little farther they find it of various colours. At lad we came to the Lake without Water , which is nothing but a number of torrents united into one, and dry all the fummer. At a didance I faw fome fmall pieces of done dand out above the fand, afid thefe are looked upon as petrified fhips and animals by the people here; at a didance they indeed bear fome refemblance to the mentioned objects ; but when you come near them, they are nothing but point¬ ed rocks buried in the fand, and looking like wood. It is very difficult to beat off any piece of them. Some pieces of done ar^ found here fcattered about, four or five feet long, and fix inches thick, and thefe are taken for pieces of mads. After I had feen thefe dones, which are a mere Lufus Natures, arifing from the mixture [ 335 ] mixture of different earths, I returned the fame day to the monaftery from whence I fet out in the morning. The monks told me, that the Arabians who formerly arrived in fhips in this lake or fea without water, had vexed the hermits there very much, and that St. Ephraim y who was then abbot of the monaftery, had prayed to the Lord to dry up the fea. God not only granted this, but likewife changed the fhips of thefe Arabians into ftone. There is nothing in this monaftery which deferves a defcrip- tion; it is called Deir Labiat. The next day I returned to the lake of Natrum , and arrived about nine o’clock in the morning. This lake is filled by the rain, which begins to fall in December , and ceafes in February . The water leaves the fait behind, with which it is impregnated by coming down the mountains and thro* the fandy plains ; it then filters through an undtuous clayey ground, and paffes through fubterraneous channels into feveral wells, where it becomes drinkable. Round this lake [ 33 6 I lake you fee wild oxen, antelopes, hares* and rabbets, which are attradled by the furrounding reeds and bufhes. Besides the Natrum, which is taken up from the bottom of the lake with iron crows, in pieces of twelve or fifteen pounds weight; there are five other fpecies of fait in it, which are continually replaced by thofe which the rains carry into the lake. The people put dry plants, old rags, bones, &c. in the place of the fait, and therefore many have imagined that by length of time the water in the lake changed thefe things. into fait; but I convinced myfelf of the contrary, having feen many pieces of cloth, linen and bones inclofed in the fait, as they had been thrown in the preceding year. This Natrum belongs to the Grand Seig¬ nior ; the Bafha of Cairo farms it to the richeft Bey, who generally gives the Grand Seignior fifteen thoufand hundred weight for it. The inhabitants of five villages be¬ longing to ‘Terrant'y are employed entirely in [ 337 ] in taking out the fait, and carrying it away. Ten foldiers and twenty faithful Arabs guard it, but fome of it is Stolen now and then, notwithstanding their care. When the thieves are taken, they are carried before the governor, who may order them to be beheaded ; but he generally contents him- felf with confifcating the fait for his own benefit, and fining the thief in twopiafires for his own perfon, and one piaftre for every camel load of fait he Steals. From this lake I went to the monaltery of St. Macarius , palling due fouth-eall through the fand along another lake cover¬ ed with fait. On the road we found three deferted glafs-houfes*. About one o’clock at night we arrived at the monastery, and were pretty well received by the monks, who are poor, ignorant, and wretchedly- lodged. They would not permit me to go into their library, though I begged them very much; the monks in the Syrian con¬ vent whither I went the next day, refufed me the fame requelt. Thefe monafteries Z are are [ 33 8 ] decaying; the books and manufcripts in their libraries are eaten by the duft, and yet the good friars, rather than fell them for a very high price, chufe to let them be fpoiled, and make no kind of ufe of them. The patriarch who lives at Cairo reprefen ted to them, that they could rebuild their churches and cells with the money which thefe books would fetch, but they anfwered him, they would rather be buried in the ruins, than agree to that. I left thefe m on after ies and went back to Fefrane, and a few hours after my arri¬ val, the French Conful at Cairo , Mr. Pig- *non likewife landed there. He returned from Bekiers, where he had been to viftt the commanders of two men of war, which the French Kin? had fent to the trading towns in the Levant. I went on board M. Pignon s veftel, and arrived at Cairo with a petechial fever, which I had gotten two days before I fet out from Ferrane. CHAP. [ 339 3 CHAP. X. Defcription of the 'Town of Suez. ^pHE 17th of September l fet out for Suez, though not yet perfectly re¬ covered, in company with Shardibi , an intimate friend of M. Pig non. He was an officer of the Janizaries, and perhaps the richeft private perfon in the whole Ottoman empire. He went to Suez to difpatch fe- veral of the fhips to Jedda , I went about three miles beyond Heliopolis, where he was to join me, and arrived there at the be¬ ginning of the nighta moment afterwards the found of drums, kettle-drums, and fifes announced the arrival of Shardibi . Soon after we fat down on our heels to dinner j above fifty diihes were ferved up, containing rice and flefh boiled or roafted, and prepared with a fpicy fauce, feme milk of almonds with fugar, other meats pre¬ pared of milk, and many fruits; the latter were placed one upon another, and formed 7 Z a pretty [ 34 ° ] a pretty pyramid. Our meal lafted a quar¬ ter of an hour, and the Haves of Shardibi then took our places. We were afterwards ferved with coffee and fherbet, and a pipe of tobacco, and in about half an hour after each of us w r ent to bed. SHARAIBI (pent the morning in fet¬ tling matters with fome people from Cairo for that purpofe; we then dined about three quarters paft ten, and at noon con¬ tinued our journey. We were thirty-eight men on horfeback, and eighteen Haves mounted on dromedaries, laden with water and refreshments. Thefe were followed by an hundred and eighty-one camels, twenty of which carried eight thoufand Seville piaftres each, and the reft were loaded with merchandizes. Thofe which carried the money went firfl:, and were adorned v/ith bufhes of feathers and other orna¬ ments, the kettle-drums beating before them. Having gone about a mile and a O O half, four hundred other camels with corn and flour joined us. But as our horfes ran r 3 41 ] ran much fafter, we went before and waited for the caravan at the Lake of Pilgrims/m an airy fummer-houfe, refting on fixteen pillars which formed a fquare hall; in the * middle of it was a fine fpring of frefh wa¬ ter, which runs into a watering-place for the cattle, built round the houfe. As foon as the camels were arrived, we proceeded on our journey. At the coming on of night we pafled through a defile, on both fides furrounded by mountains. The Arabs generally watch this pafs, when they intend to attack the caravan going to or coming from Mecca. At nine in the evening we flopped in order to fup, and at two o’clock in the night we placed a guard or look out on the hermitage. I obferved as every body was going to reft, that the camels being unloaded by their drivers, were differed to walk about in the fand. I defired to know the reafon of this, and was told, that with¬ out this precaution thefe animals were apt to get tumours in the joints of their feet. We ftaid here till noon, and went on after dinner, till nine in the evening, Z 3 when [ 34 * } Vmen we Cupped. At two o’clock the next morning we broke up again, pafied by a caftle called Agirud garrifcned by Jani¬ zaries, and by two other houfes ; and at feven o’clock in the morning we arrived at Suez* The town of Suez is very final! ; it is fituated on a peninfula at the extremity of the Red Sea 3 to the foiith-eaft of Cairo t from which it is only fixty-three miles dif- tant. It is the ftaple of all the goods which arc brought to and from Jedda. The transport between thefe two places is effect¬ ed by fhlps belonging to private perfons at Cairo . Formerly fome (hips ufed to come from India to Suez, but the extortions to which they were obliged to fubmit, pre¬ vented their returning any more. There is a governor at Suez , who is (tiled the Capitan , together with a garrifon of three hundred men, one half Janizaries, the other Azabs ; they have a commander who is called the Sardar «, [ 343 i All the buildings in this town, the' long mole, and almoft all the warehoufes along the harbour, are built of a fine free¬ fone of a peculiar and remarkable kind, o confifting of a vaft quantity of fhells, fo clofely united by nature, as to be infeparable. All the inhabitants of Suez , fixty Greek families excepted, are Turks. They get all the necefiaries of life, and even pot¬ herbs, from Cairo; for the country, for about fixty miles round, does not produce any thing. Water is very fcarce, efpecially when the neighbouring Arabs are at war with each other. Befides this circum- fance, they are obliged to bring it from a place nine miles off, and it cofts above two-pence a pailful, though brackifh. The harbour lies north and fouth, is not large, and has very little water ; when the tide is ebbed out, there is not ^above five feet water. As this harbour is only fit for finall vefiels, the larger ones which are employed in bringing goods to ‘Jedda and other ports, anchor in another Z 4 harbour, i 344 j harbour, which is about four miles and a half off the town. Thefe fhips are built much like our Bilanders , and will carry from one hundred and eighty to two hun¬ dred and fifty tun Some of them are bored for thirty guns, but never mount more than two, and thefe are the bed; arm¬ ed ; for mod of them have only two pe- dereroes. They diredt the £hip by means of a pole ftrongly faftened to the rudder, on the outilde, and placed in an inclined iituation, not quite horizontally j at the end is faftened a rope, which paftes on both ftdes through blocks faftened to two thick tranfverfe pieces of wood, which are nailed to the two ends of a long and thick beam placed abaft. The rope being put through the blocks, is hung or faftened on a peg which Hands on that part of the item where the helmf-man is. On each board three men are placed, who muft ne¬ ver leave this rope whilft the veftel is under fail, and muft alter the direction of the * A Bilander is a final 1 merchant-lhip with only two ftiafts. Falconer's Marine Dirt. F. - helrn [ 345 ] helm when required, by drawing at the rope. Thefe veffels are very ill provided with good failing tackle and trimmings, and have no barrels to keep their ftore of water in. The firffc they can fpare, be- caufe they never fail without a fair wind, and always keep along the fhore ; as for barrels, they lupply their place by ciderns in the dern of the fhip. Some of thefe veffels have only four ciderns, but they hold water enough for the whole voyage : if it is a very long voyage, they mud be larger, as there are fometimes feven or eight hun¬ dred perfons on board, partly failors and partly paffengers. The harbour in which they lie at anchor near Suez is from five to eight fathom deep ; they are fheltered there from the ead wind by the mountains of Ettaga , and when they are forced to drive by another wind, they run afliore on the neighbouring fandy beach without differ - ing any damage. I counted above fifteen of thefe veffels whic 7 v were ready to fail for Jedda. They are all built at Suez; the materials [ 346 ] materials are generally brought from Cairo .f though they fil'd get them from T’urky. About three miles out of town, there is an old ditch or canal almoft entirely choak- ed up, pafiing from fouth to north through a marfh, and feems to have extended for above three miles farther northward in the fand. This is perhaps a piece of the canal which was dug to confine the two Teas, ' The town of Suez is very ill fortified, and it is well that there is no enemy to be expected in that quarter. There are twen¬ ty-two cannons and three culverins, but in fo wretched a condition that I hardly be¬ lieve they could be made ufe of. The fea is not very full of fifh near Suez , and all the fifii which are caught there have a bad tade, and are hard to be digeded. The water of the Red Sea is not fo fait as that of r e Mediterranean and of the ocean ; I thought fo when I vifited the monaderies of St. Anthony and St. Paul, and_ C 347 1 and I was confirmed in my opinion when I came to Suez, which is eighteen miles nearer to Arabia. It likewife appeared to me, that the water tailed lefs briny at the tide of ebb, than during the flood. Many mother-of-pearl fihells are caught near Suez, and eaten inftead of oyfters at Cairo * but they and feveral other forts of Ihell-fifti have a very bad tafle. After rambling through the fields on the eaft and weft fide of Suez , I made a Ihort five days voyage to fome of the ifles in the Red Sea, for there are vaft numbers of them befides the rocks, which lie two or three feet under water. Thefe iflands are of a red colour, and full of corals of the fame hue, which have probably given occafion to call this gulph the Red Sea. Having feen every thing which could fatisfy my curiofity in thefe iflands, I land¬ ed on the weftern fliore about twelve miles from Suez. I faw; two wells there, one with warm, the other with cold water, 1 which [ 34S ] which the Arabs call the eyes of Mofes *. A little farther from this place is the fpot (according to the report of the common people) where the Ifraelites eroded the Red Sea. It is called the Sea ef Pharaoh and Mofes. I find no difficulty in believ¬ ing this, firff, becaufe the fea is not wide in this part, and fecondly, on account of the two points of the mountains, one on the north, the other on the fouth fide, which may perhaps be thofe mentioned in holy writ by the names of Baalzephon and Magdalon . As I could fee nothing elfe at Suez or the Red Sea , and Sharaibi had fettled his affairs, we fet out again for Cairo , and ar¬ rived there the 22d of October , after a jour¬ ney of twenty-lix-days. * The Arabic name of thefe wells is Ein Moufch. F. CHAP. [ 349 ] CHAP. XI. The Town of Manfura .—Chapel of La- tona .—Lake Menflet; Fijhery in this Lake. —Damiata.—Rofetta. / Tp H E 19th of January I fet out from Cairo to Damiata, and went on fhore feveral times to collect plants. I faw the ruins of many ancient towns, both in the Delta and in the land of Gofen, which the Arabs call Sharkia, or the eaflern pro¬ vince. I flopped a few days at Manfura , which dignifies the Victorious, a name occa- fioned by the defeat of Louis the Holy, in which his brother Count d’ Artois was kill¬ ed. This town carries on a large trade, and a great deal of fal ammoniac is made here. The inhabitants are very civil, and efpecially the Janizaries and Azabs, of whom here are great numbers, attracted by the fertility of the foil, and the happy tempe¬ rature of the climate. The commerce of Manfura confifls in linen, flax, leather, wax, rice, and fal ammoniac, ^bout 3 twelve [ 35° 1 twelve miles ead of Manfura you fee tho ruins of T’hmuis and But a In the latter, you diil find the chapel of Latona, where the mod; famous Egyptian oracle was. This chapel was in a temple, which is en¬ tirely dedroyed at prefent ; it is built of a fingle granite done, and reds on a founda¬ tion, which likewife confids of a fingle done. Its height is thirty-two feet, its breadth fixteen, and its length twelve. The roof which makes part of the fame done, is cut into faces with the angles as fharp as in a diamond, and is four feet thick. To the right and left of this cha- pel you fee fome foundations refembling thofe of a chapel, and here and there you find pieces of two others. From hence we * The town of Butus mentioned by the ancient; writers, was rather contiguous to the lake of Butus y or as it is now called, the lake of Berellos, or Brullos , The two fecella, each of one fingle ftone are not a fuf-* ficient proof, for to conclude from thence, that this was the town of Butus ; for Herodotus mentions only one, and here are two or more, which rather proves that it was common in Egypt to make froall temples out of one ftone. F. 3 may [ 35’ 1 may conjecture, that they were facred to Diana and Apollo. Between But a and Manfura you find many ruins of ancient ci¬ ties, and fome broken pieces of columns of a beautiful black marble. Six miles weft of Manfura you find a heap of great ftones of granite and marble, and among them many pieces of columns. This heap of rubbifh is three hundred and thirty yards in circuit, and it was the place of the temple of Ifs. The Arabs call it the houfe of ftone, on account of the vaft quantity of ftones which are to be met with there. Having feen all that was in and about Manfura , I fet out from thence for Men- fet* y going down a canal which begins at * Sicard calls this tov/n Menfale ; it is probable that this was the ancient city of Mendes ; and as there was near the fea another place called Tar i eke a: MendefuSy mentioned by Stephanas Ahnicographus, voce the city of Mendes , that lay higher up inland was called Mendes-cite, the higher Mendes , which the Sa¬ racens gradually corrupted into Mendfali or Menzale. F. Manfura , [ 35 2 ] Manfura, and ends about three quarters of a mile above Menjlet . This canal, on which forty-one villages are fituated on both fides, divides into five branches. Four of them only run into the fields, but the fifth unites with another, and empties itfelf in a lake near Pelujium. Menjlet lies thirty-three miles off Manfura; its inha¬ bitants and thofe of fixty neighbouring villages, fow nothing but rice ; and though the crops are generally rich, yet thefe poor people are fo opprefled by the pofleflors of the villages, that they have hardly fo much remaining as will lafl for half a year. About a mile eafl: of Menfet begins the lake, which is fometimes called Lake Men- Jlet, fometimes Lanisy and fometimes Be - heir a. It is fixty-fix miles long, and its greateft breadth twenty-four. When the Nile rifes, this lake overflows, and forms as it were three great rivers, which empty into the fea; thefe mouths are called the mouths of Mendesy Lanis, and Pelufum, and they dry up fome time after the inun¬ dation. [ 353 ] dation. This lake, which is the large# in all Egypt, begins dole to Damiata , and ends a little above Pehijium. It extends almoft eaft and weft, and is feparated from the fea by a Tandy neck of land only a mile and half broad. There is a very plentiful fifhery, which is farmed for forty thoufand piaftres annually. They fait the filh in a number of little iflands in the lake, and the Bottarga * is likewife made there. The greateft part of thefe lalted filli are conlumed by the Syri¬ ans and the Arabs in Libya . They have various methods of catching the filh, but the molt curious and finguiar is that with a bird. When the filhermen have fet up their long nets, which they draw quite round, they let two tame peli¬ cans fwim in the lake, having faftened a thread to their eye-lids, by means of which they can tie up their eyes during the whole fifhery. The filhermen are obliged to take * The pickled roe of filh ; a dilh which caufes great thirft. A a this [ 354 I this precaution, in order to prevent the birds from eating too many filh. The pelican having a flrong fcent, purfues the hill around him, and the people on its fides- prevent them from going off tideways, fo they are driven into the nets. ' The dolphins which are very numerous in this lake, efpecially in the Mendejicin mouth, purfue the fifli and oblige them to take refuge in little ponds full of reeds as foon as they are got into thefe ponds,, they cannot efcape, becaufe the filhermen fhut up the entrance into the lake with nets. The filhermen who reap fo great an advantage from thefe purfuits of the dol¬ phin, almoft look upon it as a miracle, andr they are ignorant enough to take the dol¬ phins to be fome good fpirits, lent on pur- pofe to do them this fervice. After fpending four days in vifiting. this lake, I went to Damiata. This city is one of the finefc and largelt in Egypt after Cairo , and it is one of the principal trading. f 355 ] trading towns. Almoft all the Greeks fet¬ tled here, being four hundred families, are merchants. The French are now much better received here on their arrival, than th£y formerly ufed to be. This town is covered on the fea fide by two quadrangular caftles in a very bad date of defence. The One lies on the eaft and the other on the weft iide of that mouth of the Nile which is called the Phatmetic *. The Greeks fay, that the eafterly one was built by Louis the Holy. After I had feen Hamiat and its environs, I went to Rofetta; I was twenty days on the road, which I fpent in collecting plants. RO SELLA y which fome writers have miftaken for Mete His, is twenty-feven miles * This mouth of the Nile was thus called from the town of Patmetos , or Phatmctos y which in another manner of compounding the original words, formed the name of Tamiatis, or Damiat , and which the Greeks called becaufe it was on every f ie furround- ed by water ; the Coptic or Egyptian name Patmetos or Tamiatis , fignify nearly the fame thing, vz. Quantity of water. A a 2 diftant [ 35<> ] diftant from that place. It lies oil the? weftern fi'iore of the Nile, and is the belt trading town in Egypt next to Damiata. Its principal trade confifls in flax, cottons, linens, rice, leather, and wax. Th t French have feven houfes and a vice confal here. It has a garrifon like all other towns on the boundary, compofed of the feven different corps of troops in this country. About a mile and half out of town there is a caflle, and a little nearer to the lea is another, whofe walls, ordnance, and garrifon are in a wretched condition. Somewhat below this fecond caftle, the Nile fplits again into two branches, one turning eafr, the other weft, and forming what is called a Bogaz, or bar in their mouth, which is known by the name of the Canopic *; this bar is very dangerous to pafs over, as foon as'the * The OJlium Canopieum of the Nile is above thirty- fix miles diftant from that of Rofetta , and lies much nearer Alexandria ; the mouth at Rofetta was called the Bolbytinwn , and this is die Greek tranflation of the an¬ cient Coptic name Rofat , viz. <-0^3 Bo? Opium S ter cor is. F. fea ' [ 357 ] fea is in the lead agitated by a northerly wind. On the road from Rofetta to Alexandria, is a great canal of the Nile, which is eroded in boats in winter, but is dry in dimmer. *Six miles from it you fee Bekier ~j~, which is taken to be the ancient town of Canopus All the road from Bekier to Alexandria is full of ruins. CHAP. XII. Dejcription c/"Alexandria.— Lake Mareotis. —‘Tower of the Arabs. LEXANDRIA, which in the times of the Btolomies and Romans, was the capital of Egypt, and had many * This is the branch which forms the Canopic mouth, ■which our author himfelf confirms by placing the town of Canopus only fix miles from it, on the fpot where Bekier , or Abukir now hands. f Bekier is not Canopus , for that was higher pp the river, but it was Tlapofiris , or the Promontory of Oftris . F„ A a 3 mag- E 3S« 1 magnificent temples and palaces, has now long been buried in its own ruins. Some great towers and walls remain {landing, but are already much decayed, and their architecture being neither Greek nor Roman , we muft infer that they were built by the Saracens. However, the commerce of Alex- andria is in a very flourifhing condition on account of its double harbour. The old port is dehined for the fhips of the Grand Seignior, and the new one is open to European vehels. The column commonly called Pompey s, and an obelifk which hill ilands upright, befides another which is fallei down, are now the only things that deferve attention in Alexandria . That part of the town, which is fituated on the old harbour, and extends to the new one, is built upon the fpot where Racoiis formerly hooch South ward of the new harbour you fee a promontory, which the ancients nam¬ ed Pojidium , on account of a temple there¬ on, confecrated to Neptune . Mark An- tony lengthened this promontory by a fine mole, at the end of which he built his Ai- monmm% f 359 3 moriium , of which the magnificent remains ■can ftill be feen during a calm, this build¬ ing and the greateft part of the mole being ■buried under the waves. The citterns of Alexandria have been preferved better than any other ancient buildings. They are an¬ nually filled with water from the Nile by means of the canal of Cleopatra, which leads it to them, and begins about fix miles •from Rofetta . Alexandria has no other Supplies of water than thefe ; and there¬ fore when thefe fail by the Nile s great de- creafe, the inhabitants muft fend for water to Rofetta,. The number of inhabitants at Alexan- ■dria amounts to fourteen or fifteen thou¬ sand ; they are all Strong, but Short, very rebellious, and rogues in the higheft de¬ gree. The French and Englijh at Alexan¬ dria carry on a considerable trade, and be- lides them there are many Greek merchants and “Jews. Some Venetian merchants come thither every year under French protection. The A a 4 [ 36 ° ] The old churches of St. Mark and St. Catharine are much decayed. In the latter the Greeks , and in the former the Coptes perform their worfhip. The Francifcans of the Holy Land have a houfe here for the reception of their friars, and perform fer- vice in the French chapel as they do in other parts of Egypt. The environs of Alexandria are very low; the only mark by which the bailors can know the coaft, is the tower of the Ara¬ bians which lies thirty-fix miles to the weftward of the town, and the column of a Pcmpey. This circumftance often forces {hips bound to Alexandria to go to Cyprus or to Syria , when the weather is foggy. There are neither woods nor pastures to a great diftance round the town. The land is covered with land, and fome few date- palms grow on it with difficulty. It is really a matter of furprize, that this fpot fhould be chofen for fo great a capital to be built upon, where it is fo difficult of ficcefs to fhips, and fo deflitute of wood, water. v [ 3 6j 1 water, and all other necefiaries of life. But it is much more to be wondered at, that the Ptolomies fpent fuch immenfe fums to populate this place, and to colled; there the greateft abundance of all things that could be had in the world! South of Alexandria is the lake Mareo- tis, which is thirty miles long from eaft to weft, and twelve miles broad. It receives its water out of the Nile at the time of its overflowing, and is dry above four or five months in the year. At the weft end of this lake you fee the tower of the Arabs y which the natives call the caftle Abuzir *; it is indeed a fquare caftle, eighty feet high, and its fronts are each two hundred and fifty feet broad. It is built of fine free-ftone, and the walls are fourteen feet thick. About three quarters of a mile off this caftle is another tower, which is fquare at top and * This is the fecond Tapofiris mentioned by Strabo y Plutarch , Apuleius , Stephanas Ethnicographus , Procopius y and Suidas. F. round I [ 3 62 J found below ; and fix miles from thence there is another to the weftward, on the walls of which are the remains of an Ara¬ bic infcription. All thefe buildings are falling to ruins. After I had travelled through ail E- gypt i rom north to fouth, and from eaft to weft, I returned to Cairo , and arrived there the 8th of March : having nothing farther to enquire into refpedting the plants, fift), quadrupeds, minerals, and merchandizes, I now endeavoured to get a knowledge of the political conftitution of the kingdom. CHAP. XIIL Of the political Coiijiitution of Egypt, pp H E c Turkijh Emperor, Sultan Selim „ took Egypt in 1517 from fhoman Bey, the laft of the Mamluck Sultans. The Grand Seignior governs it by a Bafha, twen¬ ty-four Beys, and feven corps of different troops, without the confent of which the Bafha v. [ -3 6 3 ] Bafha can do nothing. He begins his vice- royfhip with the month of September , which is the firft in the Coptic calendar, and the Grand Seignior fends his order every year towards that time, by virtue of which he is either confirmed in his poft, or difmiffed from it. His refidence is in the caftle of Cairo, and he holds a Divan or privy council three times a week, viz. Sundays , Tuefdays, and < Thurfdays , at which the Beys and the Agas of the above-mentioned troops affift. Though the number of Beys is fixed at four and twenty, yet it is never complete; the Bafha, who has a right to appoint them, turns the falary of thofe that are wanting to his own account. This falary is five hundred afpers, or about fifteen {hillings fterling per day ; and in cafe they have made fome campaigns for the good of the country, it is double that fum. If one has a mind to be made a Bey , he mufl pay twenty or twenty-five purfes of two or three hundred crowns each. Two [ J 6 4 ] Two of the corps of troops ferve on foot, the 'Janizaries and Azabs. The reft are on horfeback, and are called Jumelis , TSufek- gis, Sheriff as, Mettefarracas, and Shaous. The Janizaries are faid to form a body of twelve thoufand, the Azabs one of eight thoufand, and the horfe confift of twenty thoufand men, accordingly the whole foldiery together amount to forty thoufand men but above half of the num¬ ber are always wanting, and the officers embezzle their pay. The foot foldiers form the garrifcn in the caftle and city of Cairo the Mettefar¬ racas hold the other caftles, fuch as Alex¬ andria, Rojctta, &c. The Jumelis , TSufek- gis, and Sherakfas , are distributed through¬ out the kingdom, to ferve the Beys and Governors of provinces. The Shaous are employed to keep a watchful eye over the changeable revenues of the Grand Seig¬ nior. The whole kingdom is divided into Ca- fleeflis, or provinces. The governors are ftiled [ 3 6 5 1 /tiled Cajhefs, and the poflefibrs of villages Meltezens. All thefe Cajhefs and Meltezens are obliged to obey the commands of the Divan and Bafha at Cairo. Each Me It ezen or owner of a village muft either have fold or given his right to another forty days before his death. If this has not been done, the tvhole falls into the Grand Seignor’s hands, in confequence of his right of confifcating all the pofiefiions of deceafed perfons in hia fervice. About three thoufand villages and twelve thoufand mofques with Minarets are counted in the whole kingdom. There are but few great towns in the whole country ; Cairo, Rofetta, Alexandria, Da - miata, Mahalem, and Girge, are the mofl conliderable. EGTPT brings a revenue of ten thou¬ fand purfes, or fix hundred and twenty- five thoufand pounds fterling to the Grand Seignior’s treafure, befides which he gets * Minarets are fteeples without bells, from which the people are called to prayers. two ( 3 66 1 two hundred and ninety-fix thoufand feven hundred meafures of corn, two thirds in wheat, and the other third in barley and legumens. The meafure weighs two hun¬ dred and fifty pounds of thirty-two ounces each. Of the above ten thoufand purfes, the Grand Seignior gets only twelve hun¬ dred ; for the reft go in pay to the foldiers and towards fupporting Mecca. He gets likewife twelve hundred quintals and feven hundred meafures of lentils. Befides thefe revenues which are paid from the culti¬ vated lands, the Grand Seignior has ma¬ ny duties and other imports, which the Balha farms for one thoufand four hundred and fifty purfes, but he accounts for eight hundred only. The Bafha has no other power or liberty in Egypt beyond this which relates to the revenues. The Beys are pofTeffed of all the troops and the poweiy and there is always one among them who takes fome advantage above the others, and by that means raifes their jealoufy; but he only keeps in this filiation till his enemies have formed a ftronger party than his own. The [ 3 6 7 I The Government of thofe who thus efe- vate themfelves above the reft, is fhort, and their end tragical. When any intef- tine wars arife, the Baftia grows rich, partly becaufe the difunion among the troops throws a part of the power back into his hands, and partly becaufe a confiderable fliare of the eftates of thofe who are killed in battle, ' or are afterwards proclaimed enemies of the ftate, becomes his pro-* petty. The government of Egypt thus chiefly depending on the troops, the Cadys or Judges have but little to do. The deci- fton of all law-fuits is left to the Beys of other officers of the troops who command in each town, and they always pronounce in favour of him who pays moft. Notwithstanding Egypt is fubjedt to the Grand Seignior, yet we may fay it properly belongs to'their Mamlucks or flaves* moft of whom are Georgians or Circajjians . The Turks who carry on the trade with, thefe. [ 3&S ] thefe Haves, force them to abjure their re* ligion before they bring them into Egypt. All the Beys, and efpecially all the officers of the troops are Renegadoes , and it is ra¬ ther extraordinary to fee a Turk raifed to any great military poll;. They go into the fervice of the renegadoes, who partly to get rid of the expence of feeding them, ob¬ tain for them the pay of a janizary or of a horfeman; in one word all the feven corps of troops confift merely of thq life¬ guard of thefe renegadoes. There are Thayas of the Janizaries who have a guard of four hundred men about them, belides thofe whom they keep in their village. The renegadoes inherit equal ffiares of their matter's eftates, with the children; and it has been obferved that the latter being brought up to a voluptuous life, foon fpend their inheritance, and are reduced to fuch wretched circumftances as to have recourfe to thefe their own Haves, and beg of them for lubfiftence, or even to ferve them. It may juftly be faid, that there is no country be Tides . [ 3 6 9 ] befides Egypt where fuch vaft changes happen in families. CHAP. XIV. Of the Animals , Birds , Fiji:, and Plants , in Egypt. I. Of Quadrupeds and Reptiles. 77 G TP T contains fome antelopes, wild oxen, chancoos, tygers *, hyenas, wolves, foxes, wild boars, hares, came- leons, ichneumons, or Pharaoh’s rats, fome river horfes or hippopotames, and a vaft number of crocodiles. II. Of Birds. The birds arc the oftrich, the ibis, or Egyptian ftork, the goofe of the Nile, the rice hen, the fakfak or wren, the flamingo, the water-hen with long legs, the curlew with the bill bent upwards, the herons, the fpoonbill, the pelican, ducks of various forts, as the teal, the macreufe or black * i. e. Panthers, not ftriped tygers. F. B b duek, [ 37° ] duck, &c. the little fnipe, the grey lap¬ wing, the corvorant, the diver, the qua- tha a fpecies of partridges,, the eagle, the Iparrow-hawk, the kite, and the vulture. In the defert of St. Anthony there are partridges, but in other places they are rarely or never met with. There are fome fnipes round Cairo, but nothing is more common than turtle-doves, which are very tame here. At the proper feafon, the quails are alfo plentiful. Upper Egypt is full of ftorks in winter, which come from northern countries, and only pafs the cold months there *. * It is probable that thefe aquatic birds.at certain fea- fons remove to marfhes and places full of reeds,where they feed and|breed; and that afterwards when the water of the river decreafes, they fpread over all Egypt on account of the plenty of food, and this change of ftation has been looked upon as a migration, greater attention to natural hiflory, and a mind free of prejudices, will en? able us to make more accurate obfervatjons. F. Ill, Of t 37 1 ] III. Of Fifli. i ... L , .J . J f . .. 1 . ^ All the fifh in the Nile have a bad tafte : however there are. four forts which are tolerable from October to February ; they are the phagrus, the lepidotus, oxyrhyn- chus, and the latus. The others are called the bayat, fhilen, fhailboe, ebis, bolti, faboga, tirfe, burry, eel, and other little fifh which are eaten by the greater. IV. Of Plants. The fcarce plants are the reed, on which one may write *, the cafiia-tree, four fpe- cies of acacias, the fycomore or wild fig- tree, the wild date palm, the napeka-j-, the lafiaf which looks like the willow, the barnuf, the al henna, with which the wo¬ men dye their hands red, the faffeira, the alfelaje, which taftes like origanum, the abelafis which refembles truffles?;- and taftes like chefnuts, the melukie a fpecies of Mercury : the Colquas , or colocafia, a fpe- * Papyrus, Cyperus Papyrus , Linn. f Rhamnus Lotus, Linn. B b 2 cies [ 372 ] dies of Egyptian arum, the lotus a fpecies of nymphea, or water lily, the abdelaovi, the herkh, feveral forts of melons, the achar, a fpecies of thorny and gummy fpurge *, a fpecies of coloquints, a plant refembling rofemary, abbas a wild fpecies of acacia, the fimka, or wild reddifii, &c. Besides the above plants, there are alfo in Egypt) pomegranate, orange, lemon, apricot, fig, apple, pear, olive, mulberry, and date-trees, vines, callafs which bear the fruit called Ban -f*, tamarilk wood, water¬ melons, common melons, cucumbers, &c» There are neither almond nor walnut-trees in Egypt- y the fenna leaves which are brought from thence to Europe , come out oijsfubia^ C U AP, ■* Euphorbia, f The Callaf is the Salix ^gyplica^ Linn, | The reader will plainly fee, that the little which the learned world knows of the natural hiftory of Egypt) is quite infuffieient to explain the names which our author gives, fcientifically ; here and there a filh, an animal or a plant more known than thereii might have been referred to Linnaus , but the greater part of ths E 373 3 ' * • ' ' i > . * ‘ •' » ‘‘ 4 * J* CHAP. XV. Of the Mouths of the Nile, the Canals, and the Illands. ’The Mouths of the Nile. '“Tp H E feven openings of this great ri¬ ver into the fea, of which the ancients have faid fo much, and on account of which they have named it S' eptemgeminus > or Septemfluus , are ftill extant, though the branches belonging to them are not fo full as they were formerly, and have not water all the year round. PTOLEMT adds two other mouths to thefe chief ones, and calls them fpurious; they are Pineptimi and Diolcos. Pliny men- the names which the author enumerates, are unknown to the naturalifts in Europe , and prove that Egypt well deferves another Hajjelquiji fetting about it to defcribe the productions of nature there. In the mean while I muft refer the reader to that learned traveller’s writings, as the only ufeful book hitherto publifhed in regard to the natural hiftory of that country. F. B b 3 tions [ 374 3 tlons four of them, and Diodorus and Strabo fay there were many. The feven principal mouths of the Nile were, i. the OJlium PcTufiacum ; 2. the 'Taniticum 3. the Mendefium ; 4. the Pleat - me tic wit j 5. the Sebenniticum ; 6. the Bol- bitinum ; 7. the Canopicum . The Pciuftan mouth, which is the firffc and moil eailerly, was the key to Egypt on the fide of Palestine , It is now called 'Thine , which fignifies mud in Arabic : In the Greek it is called Pelos and Pelujion .. The Tanitic mouth lies, oppoiite the town of Tanisy now called San, from whence it has its name. The Mendefian mouth has its name from the town of Mendes : The Arabs call it Dike, and the Provencals or failors from Provence, Pefquiere. The Phatmetic mouth, which Herodotus calls Bucolic on, is the Bogaz at Damiata , which is formed by the branch of the Nile of that name. The Se benny tic mouth is at Brulos or Berelos, and has. its name from Sebennytus, now ;[ 375 ] now called *S 'ammanul. The. Bolby tine mouth is the Bogaz at Rofetta, formed by the branch of the river of that name. The Canopic mouth is between Rofetta and Be - her it is now called Amadie. The fpu- rious mouth called Diolcos , lies between Brulos and Damiata. The other which is called Pineptimi, was between Rofetta and Brulos *. Of the Canals. The Nile diftinguilhes itfelf from other rivers by continually fpreading and com¬ municating its waters to more than ninety great canals, and many leffer ones through the whole length of the kingdom, i. e. from Affuan to the Mediterranean , inftead of receiving fupplies from other brooks and llreams. There are about forty canals in Upper and Middle Egypt , thirteen in the eaftern part, eleven in the weftern pro- * It was likewife between Damiata and Brulos , but neater the laft place than Diolcos , where Turer in his ItineraryJfound Penteniti. F. B b 4 vinces. [ 37 6 ] vinces, and twenty-eight in the Delta. All thefe canals have only water for three or four months together, which is as long as the Nile is high, for as foon as it begins to fall, its branches and fubdivifions gradually dry up, fome fooner and others later. Of the Iflands. The Nile in its whole length (meaning that part contained in Egypt ) from Affuan to the fouthern point of the Delta f con¬ tains one hundred and fifty iflands; twenty in the branch which goes to Damiata , and thirty in that which goes to Rofetta. The famous ifle of Moeroe , now called Sai, is ntuated in Nubia. CHAP. XVI. Of Sal Ammoniac prepared by Art . J T is to be admired that travellers, and even the moft modern ones, have given fwch ill founded accounts of the prepara- toia [ 377 ] tion of fal ammoniac j it is falfe that fea- falt or the urine of camels conftitute any part of it, for it is made of common foot, without any addition. Thofe chimnies in which nothing but cow dung is burnt, give the bed: foot, and they generally can make fix pounds of fal ammoniac from twenty-fix pounds of foot. The chemical procefs by which this fait is made, is very eafy, if the proper degree of fire is given, and fifty, or at the ut- moft, fifty-two hours are fufficient to com¬ plete the operation. The velfel in which the foot is put, is a kind of recipients, of a very thin glafs, having a neck fifteen or lixteen lines long, and one inch in diame¬ ter. It is of various dimenfions; the leafl holds twelve pounds of foot, and the largefl fifty. Only three quarters of it is filled with foot, in order that this fubflance may have air when it is brought to fufion. The I 378 1 The oven or furnace on which this-re¬ cipient is placed, confifts of four walls, which are placed fo as to form a fquare; thofe in front are ten feet, and thofe on the lides nine feet broad,. The height is the fame in all, of five feet, and the thick- nefs fifteen inches. In the fquare which is formed by thefe four walls, three arcjies are made of the whole length of the fquare, they are ten inches afunder, and twelve inches thick; but their height is three feet eight inches. The opening of the oven is oval, and in the middle of one of the front walls : it is two feet four inches high, and fixteen inches broad. The recipient is placed between the arches in the oven, which form a kind of grate. There are four recipients on each arch, and accordingly fixteen in ail, and they are about fix inches afunder; fome pieces of bricks and a little earth arc laid round them, but the upper part ©f the veffel is left uncovered to within x four [ 379 ] four inches, and the lower part within fix; in order to give the fire room to pene¬ trate every where, and heat the veffels as well above as below. All being thus far prepared, the peo¬ ple firfl make a fire of flraw only, and continue it for an hour. Then they throw cow-dung into it, formed in fquare cakes ; thefe increafe the fire to the double of its former violence. They let it burn for fifteen hours, and increafe it during fif¬ teen other hours confiderably. It is after¬ wards gradually diminifhed, taking care however to keep up its firfl degree of heat. When the fubflance in the veffels is tho¬ roughly heated, i. e. when it has been ex- pofed to the fire fix or feven hours, there iffues forth a thick flinking fmoke during fifteen hours. Four hours afterwards the fait is feen rifing in white flowers, and fet¬ tles on the neck of the glafs* Thofe who attend the procefs mufl from time to time thrufl a fharp iron down the neck of thefe [ 3 *> 3 thefe veflel, to open a free pafTages for the blue vapours which arc continually riling out of the vefiels, and do not ceafe till the procefs is ended CHAP. XVII. Of the Egyptian common Method of batch¬ ing Chickens , Ducks, and Geefe. AC CORDING to the accounts in Diodorus Siculus, the artificial method of hatching chickens, &c. is of a very ancient date. The Egyptians he fays alone knew this lecret, and we now know of no other nation befides them where it is in ufe 'f. The inhabitants of a village in the Delta, fixty miles diftant from Cairo, called Berme , are in polfeflion of this fecret; the * Hajfelquiji , in his travels, and Sicard, in the Noti- veaux Memoirci des Mijjions , give each a peculiar ac¬ count of the method of making fal ammoniac, fo that we row are pretty well informed of it. F. * Except the Chinefe. See OJbeck\ Voyage, Vol. II. p. 3x1, 312. which may in fome manner ferve as an argument, that the Chinefe are an Egyptian colony. F. parents [ 3*1 3 parents teach it their children and keep it from ftrangers. The owners of ovens for hatching chickens are obliged to have re- courfe to one or two inhabitants of Berme , who are well paid for their trouble. The ovens have two ftories, and confift of twenty-eight little cells, (fome have more, fome lefs) into which the eggs are laid. Round thefe cells there is a hollow fix inches broad, and about an inch and half deep ; into this hollow they put the fire, by means of which the oven is heated. Thefe hollows in the lower range of cells are at the top, fo that the fire in them ferves to heat both flories. The floor which divides the upper from the lower cells, is made of reeds, covered with cow- dung j but the walls are of bricks burnt in the fire, and not by the fun, as Wanjleb relates. The eggs are put in the lowefl cells upon a mat, fo that one lies clofe to the other. [ 38 ^ ] other, leaving a vacant fpaee in the mid¬ dle. The fire is made of cakes of cow- dung, hut they are ,not put in the oven till they are already turned into coal. The infpedtor of the oven defcends every day to the place where the eggs lie, by an air-hole which leads from the upper to the lower cells. He gets upon the vacant Ipot in the middle, and takes away the eggs which lay exactly under the cavity or hollow in which the fire is, replacing < them by thofe that were ntore diftant from it, by that means endeavouring to pro¬ cure each the fame degree of warmth. The eighth day he defcends again* and looks at the eggs by candle-light, in order to throw away thofe which are not im¬ pregnated. This being done, he gives them fire for the lafl time. Six days after, he puts one half of the eggs into the upper cells, and opens or fhuts up fuch cells according to the tem¬ perature of the air; that is, he increafes or I '[ 3«3 ] or diminishes the heat by giving the cells lefs or more air. On the twenty-firfl day the operation is concluded, and all the chickens are leen running about in the cells. F I N I S. I « ft j\ ' % . t