UC-NRLF $B 557 171 ^,.^^^uw^i^ ^^ A TOUR SICILY AND MALTA, BY P. BRYDONE, F.R.S. WITH A BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIB, AND NOTES, PREPARED FOR THE PRESENT EDITION. EDINBURGH: PUBLISHED BY WILLIAM AND ROBERT CHAMBERS. 1840. t' Edinburgh : Printed bv W. and R. Chambers, 19, Waterloo Place. BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OF MR BRYDONE. The authorof this work was bom in the year 1743, at Coldingham, in Berwickshire, of which parish his father was the established minister. Of his education no particulars are known, except that it was a complete course at one of the universities, and that Mr Brydone added to it an extensive acquaintance with natural science, particularly in the then almost new department of elec- tricity. It has been stated that the first wishes of Mr Brydone respecting a profession pointed to the army ; but we are not in- formed of the circumstances which induced him to adopt another career. Jn 1767, we find him accepting the situation of travelling tutor to Mr William Beckford, of Somerly in Suffolk, whom he accordingly accompanied, during that and the succeeding year, in a tour of Switzerland and Italy. Having completed this engagement, he entered into another with Mr FuUarton , afterwards well known to the public as Colonel Fullarton, of FuUarton in the county of Ayr, a gentleman then only in his seventeenth year, but who, in the words of Robert Burns, became " a foreign ambassador almost as soon as he was a man, and a leader of armies as soon as he was a soldier, and that with an eclat unknown to the usual minions of a court." Colonel Fullarton distinguished himself, we believe, in the command of a large body of troops in India, and in a late period of life was governor of Trinidad. The poet just quoted makes honourable mention of him, with a reference to his connexion with Mr Brydone, in his " Vision : " Brydone's brave ward I well could spy. Beneath old Scotia's smiling eye ; Who call'd on Fame, low standing by, To hand him on, Where many a patriot name on high. And hero shone. It was in the course of his travels with Mr FuUarton that he wrote the letters constituting the present work, these being ad- dressed to his former pupil Mr Beckford. The series commences at Naples in May 1770, and, after an excursion through Sicily and Malta, terminates at the same place on the 1st of August — the journey having thus occupied two months and a half. The party included a third gentleman of the name of Glover. The letters were published in 1773, under the title of " A Tour through Sicily and Malta,"* and from the first the work at- tracted considerable attention. ' These islands were then nearly unknown to the British public ; the singular physical phenomena presented by Mount jEtna in the one island, and the extraordi- nary society formed by the Knights of St John in the other, were calculated to make a strong impression : into all, there was, in Mr Brydone's narrative, a vivacity and playfulness in the highest degree captivating. The less superficial class of readers found a further value in this little work, in the scientific speculations in- troduced into it, particularly those respecting meteorology and electricity. Some of Mr Brydone's views in the latter science went much beyond»his age, and the tendency of the subsequent progress of the science has been to justify the boldness with which he advanced them. Soon after the publication of his book, Mr Brydone was elected a fellow of the Royal Society, to whose transactions he contri- buted some valuable papers on electricity. He also became a fellow of the Antiquarian Society, and of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. His literary and philosophical merits were at a sub- sequent time (December 1779) acknowledged by the government * In two volumes ; Cadell, London ; price 12s.— Ge»W«nan'« Magazine /or May 1773. appointment of accomptant and comptroller-general of stamp- duties, which, we presume, was a sinecure. Mr Brydone was married, April 4, 1785, to Miss Robertson, eldest daughter of the excellent author of the History of Charles V., and of America. He spent the latter part of his life in elegant retirement at Lennel House, near Coldstream in Berwickshire, a modern mansion reared on the site of an ancient convent. Sir Walter Scott, who often visited Mr Brydone at this place, takes occasion in " Mar- mion," when alluding to the convent as the resting-place of his hero the night before the battle of Flodden, to express his high sense of the agreeable social qualifications of the venerable tra- veller : Where LenneVs convent closed their march. There now is left but one frail arch ; Yet mourn thou not its cells— Our time a fair exchange has made ; Hard by, in hospitable shade, A reverend pilgrim dwells. Well worth the whole Bernardine brood. That e'er wore sandal, frock, or hood. Here Mr Brydone died, at an advanced age, June 19, 1818. Of his children, one is the present Countess of Minto, and another the wife of Admiral Sir Charles Adam of Barns, K.C.B. The present edition of Mr Brydone's work has received such additions in the shape of notes as seemed necessary to bring the information forward to a late date ; and, as usual in this series of reprints, all the classical quotations have been translated into English. ADVERTISEMENT. [by the author.] Had there been any book in our language on the subject of the following letters, they never should have seen the light The author wrote them for the amusement of his friends, and as an assistance to his memory ; and if it will in any degree apologise for their imperfections, he can with truth declare that they never were intended for publication ; nor, indeed, was that idea sug- gested to him till long after they were written. One principal motive, he will own, was the desire of giving to the world, and perhaps of transmitting to posterity, a monument of his friend- ship with the gentleman to whom they are addressed. When Mr Foster's translation of Baron Riedesel's book first appeared, these letters were already in- the press, and the author apprehended an anticipation of his subject ; however, on perusal, he had the satisfaction to find that the two works did not much interfere. In transcribing them for the press, he found it necessary both to retrench and to amplify ; by which the ease of the epistolary style has probably suftered, and some of the letters have been extended much beyond their original length. He now presents them to the public with the greatest difii dence ; hoping that some allowance will be made for the very inconve- nient circumstances, little favourable to order or precision, in which many of them were written : but he would not venture to new-model them, apprehending that what they might gain in form and expression they would probably lose in ease and simpli- city, and well knowing that the original impressions are much better described at the moment they are felt than from the most exact recollection. i\tili-i8563 CONTENTS. Page Italy— Naples, 5 Voyage to Sicily, 7 Sicily— Messina, 11 Sicilian Banditti— Fata Morgana, . - . . 13 Ruins of Taurominmn, 17 Ascent of Mount jEtna, ...... 18 Lavas around ^tna, 21 Catania— Catholic Superstitions, .... 22 Regions of -lEtna— Eruptions, 24 Summit of jEtna, 27 Height of ^tna— Electricity— Natural Productions, - 31 Voyage to Syracuse— Ruins of the City, ... 37 Voyage to Malta, 41 Arrival in Malta, 43 Malta— Fortress of ValctU, 44 Melita— Knights of St John— Duelling, ... 46 Return to SicUy, 48 Remains of Agrigentimi, 49 Ancient Greatness of Agrigen turn, - - - - 50 SicUian Epicures— Journey to Palermo- Spanish Tyranny, 52 Palermo— A French Landlady, 55 Page The Marino— Conversaziones, 56 Manners of the Sicilians, 58 Sculpture Extraordinary, 5i) Singular Cemetery in Palermo— Value of a Carriage, - 60 A Comet— Astronomical Speculations, - - - - 62 Chm-chesof Palermo— Preparations for a Festival, ■ (So St Rosolia— Superstition and Infidelity, - " - - - 67 The Sirocco— Female Liberty, (i8 Festival of St Rosolia, 70 Antiquities of Sicily, 73 St Rosolia's Cave— Antiquities Continued, - . - 75 Sicilian Fisheries— Government, .... 76 Equipages of the Nobility, 79 Ancient Superstitions— Female Beauty, ... 80 The Opera at Palermo, 81 Natural Productions of Sicily, 83 Return to Naples— Conclusion, 85 Appendix. Mount ^tna, 85 . Malta, - 87 TOUR THROUGH SICILY AND MALTA. ITALY—NAPLES. Dear Beckford, Naples, May 14, 1770. I REMEMBER to havG heard you regret that in all your peregrinations through Europe, you had ever ne- glected the island of Sicily, and had spent much of your time in running over the old beaten track, and in examining the threadbare subjects of Italy and France, when probably there were a variety of objects not less interesting, that still lay buried in oblivion in that celebrated island. We intend to profit from this hint of yours. Fullarton* has been urging me to it with all that ardour which a new prospect of acquiring know- ledge ever inspires in him; and Glover, your old acquamtance, has promised to accompany us. The Italians represent it as impossible, as there are no inns in the island, and' many of the roads are over dangerous precipices, or through bogs and forests, infested with the most resolute and daring banditti in Europe. ' However, all these considerations, formid- able as they may appear, did not deter Mr Hamilton,! his lady, and Lord Fortrose.J They made this Expe- dition last summer, and retiuned so much delighted with it, that they have animated us with the strongest desire of enjoying the same pleasure. Our first plan was to go by land to Kegium, and from thence cross over to Messina ; but on making exact inquiry with regard to the state of the country and method of travelling, we find that the danger from the banditti in Calabria and Apulia is so great, the accommodation so wretched, and inconveniences of every kind so numerous, without any consideration whatever to throw into the opposite scale, that we soon relinquished that scheme, and in spite of aU the terrors of Scylla and Charybdis, and the more real terrors of sea-sickness (the most formidable monster of the three), we have determined to go by water ; and that no time may be lost, we have already taken our passage on board an English ship, which is ready to sail with the first fair wind. Now, as this little expedition has never been consi- dered as any part of the grand tour, and as it will probably present many objects worthy of your atten- tion, not mentioned in any of our books of travels, I flatter myself that a short account of these will not be unacceptable to you, and may in some degree make up for your having neglected to visit them. You may * [The young gentleman whose travelling preceptor Mr Bry- done at this time was. See Biographical Memoir.] t [Afterwards Sir William Hamilton, K.B., ambassador of the British government at Naples from 17(>4 to 1800, and autlior of several philosophical and archaiological works. Sir William's second marriage with an obscure female, who afterwards became connected in a disgraceful manner with Lord Nelson, made much noise. He died in April 1803, in the 72d year of his age.] X [Kenneth Mackenzie, grandson of William fifth Earl of Sea- forth, who was attainted in 1716. Mr Mackenzie was elevated to an Irish peerage in 1766 as Viscount Fortrose, to which title that of Earl of Seaforth was added in 1771. He raised the 78th (Highland) regiment, and died in 1781.] therefore expect to hear of me from every town where we stop ; and when I meet with any thing deserving of notice, I shall attempt to describe it in as few words as possible. We have been waiting with impatience for a fair wind, but at present there is little prospect of it. The weather is exceedingly rough, and not a ship has been able to get out of the harbour for up- wards of three weeks past. This climate is by no means what we expected to find it ; and the serene sky of Italy, so much boasted of by our travelled gentlemen, does not altogether deserve the great eulo- giums bestowed upon it. It is now the middle of May, and we have not as yet had any continuance of what may be called fine weather. It has indeed been abundantly warm, but seldom a day has passed with- out sudden storms of wind and rain, which render walking out here to the fuU as dangerous to our inva- lids as it is in England. I am persuaded that our physicians are under some mistake with regard to this climate. It is certainly one of the warmest in Italy ; but it is as certainly one of the most inconstant, and, from what we have ob- served, disagrees with the greater part of our vale- tudinarians, but more particularly with the gouty people, who have all found themselves better at Kome, which, though much colder in winter, is I beheve a healthier climate. Naples, to be sure, is more eligible in siunmer, as the air is constantly refreshed by the sea-breeze when Rome is often scorched by the most insupportable heat. Last summer Fahrenheit's ther- mometer never rose higher at Naples than seventy- six ; at Rome it was eighty -nine. The difference is often still more considerable. In winter it is not less remarkable. Here our greatest degree of cold was in the end of January ; the thermometer stood at thirty- six ; at Rome it feU to twenty-seven : so that the dis- tance between the two extremes of heat and cold last year at Naples was only forty degrees ; whereas at Rome it was no less than sixty-two. Yet by all ac- counts their winter was much more agreeable and healthy than ours, for they had clear frosty weather while we were deluged with rains, accompanied with very high wind. The people here assure us that in some seasons it has rained every day for six or seven weeks. But the most disagreeable part of the Neapo- litan climate is the sirocco or south-east wind, which is very common at this season. It is infinitely more relaxing, and gives the vapours in a much higher degree, than the worst of our rainy Novembers. It has now blown for these seven days without inter- mission, and has indeed blown away all our gaiety and spirits ; and if it continues much longer, I do not know what may be the consequence. It gives a degree of lassitude both to the body and mind that renders them absolutely incapable of performing their usual functions. It is not perhaps surprising that it should produce these effects on a phlegmatic EngMsh consti- tution, but we have just now an instance that all the mercury of France must sink under the load of this horrid leaden atmosphere. A smart Parisian marquis came hei-e about ten days ago ; he was so full of ani- BRYDONE'S TOUR mal spirits that the people thought him mad. He never remained a moment in the same place, but at their grave conversations used to skip from room to room with such amazing elasticity that the Italians swore he had got springs in his shoes. I met him this morning walking with the step of a philosopher, a smelling-bottle in his hand, and all his vivacity extinguished. I asked him what was the matter? " Ah, my dear sir," said he, " I am ennuied to death. If this execrable wind continues, in two hours more I shall hang myself ! " The natives themselves do not suffer less than strangers; and all nature seems to languish dm-ing this abominable wind. A Neapolitan lover avoids his mistress with the utmost care in the time of the sirocco, and the indolence it inspires is almost suffi- cient to extinguish every passion. AH works of genius are laid aside during its continuance; and when any thing very flat or insipid is produced, the strongest phrase of disapprobation they can bestow is, " Era scritto in tempo del sirocco" — that it was written in the time of the sirocco. I shall make no apology for this letter; and whenever I happen to tire you, be kind enough to remember (pray do) that it is not me you are to blame, but the sirocco wind. This will put me much at my ease, and will save us a world of time and apologies. I have been endeavouring to get some accoimt of the cause of this very singular quality of the sirocco ; but the people here seldom think of accounting for any thing, and I do not find, notwithstanding its remark- able effects, that it has ever yet been an object of inquiry amongst them. I have not observed that the sirocco makes any re- markable change in the barometer. When it first set in, the mercury fell about a line and a half, and has continued much about the same height ever since ; but the thermometer was at forty-three the morning it began, and rose almost immediately to sixty-five ; and for these two days past it has been at seventy and seventy -one. However, it is certainly not the warmth of this wind that renders it so oppressive to the spirits ; it is rather the want of that genial quality, which is so enhvening, and Avhich ever renders the western breeze so agreeable : the spring and elasticity of the air seems to be lost, and that active principle which animates all nature appears to be dead. This principle we have sometimes supposed to be nothing else than the subtle electric fluid that the air usually contains; and indeed we have found that during this wind it appears to be almost annihilated, or at least its acti- vity exceedingly reduced. Yesterday and to-day we have been attempting to make some electrical experi- ments, but I never before found the air so imfavour- able for them. Sea-bathing we have found to be the best antidote against the effects of the sirocco ; and this we certainly enjoy in great perfection. Lord Fortrose, who is the soul of our colony here, has provided a large commo- dious boat for this purpose. We meet every morning at eight o'clock, and row about half a mile out to sea, where we strip and plunge into the water ; were it not for this, we should all have been as bad as the French marquis. My lord has ten watermen, who are in reality a sort of amphibious animals, as they live one-half of the summer in the sea. Three or four of these gene- rally go in with us, to pick up stragglers, and secure us from all accidents. They dive with ease to the depth of forty, and sometimes of fifty feet, and bring up quan- tities of excellent sheU-fish, during the summer months ; but so great is their devotion, that every time they go down they make the sign of the cross, and mutter an Ave Maria, without which they should certainly be drowned, and were not a little scandalised at us for omitting this ceremony. To accustom us to swimming in all circumstances, my lord has provided a suit of clothes, which we wear by turns ; and from a very short practice, we have found it almost as commodious to swim vrith as without them ; we have likewise learned to strip in the water, and find it no very difficult mat- ter : and I am fully persuaded, from being accustomed to this kind of exercise, that in case of shipwreck we should have greatly the advantage over those who had never practised it ; for it is by the embarrassment from the clothes, and the agitation that people are thrown into, from finding themselves in a situation they had never experienced before, that so many lives are lost in the water. After bathing, we have an English breakfast at his lordship's, and after breakfast a delightful little con- cert, which lasts for an hour and a half. Barbella, the sweetest fiddle in Italy, leads our little band. This party, I think, constitutes one principal part of the pleasure we enjoy at Naples. We have likewise some very agreeable society amongst ourselves, though we cannot boast much of that with the inhabitants. There are, to be sure, many good people among them ; but in general, there is so very little analogy betwixt an English and a Neapolitan mind, that the true social harmony, that great sweetener of human life, can sel- dom be produced. In lieu of this (the exchange, you will say, is but a bad one), the country round Naples abounds so muCh in every thing that is curious, both in art and nature, and affords so ample a field of specu- lation for the naturaUst and antiquary, that a person of any curiosity may spend some months here very agreeably, and not without profit. Besides the discoveries of Herculaneum and Pompeii, which of themselves afford a great fund of entertain- ment, the whole coast that surrounds this beautiful bay, particularly that near Puzzoli, Cuma, Micenum, and Baia, is covered with innumerable monuments of Roman magnificence. But, alas ! how are the mighty fallen ! This delightful coast, once the garden of all Italy, and inhabited only by the rich, the gay, and luxmious, is now abandoned to the poorest and most miserable of mortals. Perhaps there is no spot on the globe that has undergone so thorough a change, or that can exhibit so striking a picture of the vanity of human grandeur. Those very walls that once lodged a Caesar, a Lucullus, an Anthony, the richest and most voluptu- ous of mankind, are now occupied by the very meanest and most indigent wretches on earth, who are actually starving for want in those very apartments that were the scenes of the greatest luxury. There, we are told, suppers were frequently given that cost £50,000, and some that even amounted to double that sum. The luxury, indeed, of Baia was so great, that it be- came a proverb, even amongst the luxurious Romans themselves ; and at Rome, we often find them upbraid- ing with effeminacy and epicurism those who spent much of their time in this scene of delights ; Clodius throws it in Cicero's teeth more than once ; and that orator's having purchased a villa here, hurt him not a little in the opinion of the graver and more austere part of the senate. The walls of these palaces still re- main, and the poor peasants, in some places, have buUt up their miserable huts within them ; but at present there is not one gentleman or man of fashion residing in any part of this coimtry ; the former state of which, compared with the present, certainly makes the most striking contrast imaginable. Yesterday we rode over the greater part of it, a- shooting porcupines, a new species of diversion, which I had never heard of before. We killed several of these animals on the Monte Bar- baro, the place that formerly produced the Falernian wine, but now a barren waste. I don't know if you are acquainted with this kind of sport. To me, I own, its novelty was its greatest merit ; and I would not at any time give a day of partridge for a month of porcupine shooting. Neither, indeed, is the flesh of these animals the most dehcious in the world, though to-day most of us have dined upon it. It is extremely luscious, and soon palls upon the appetite. We are now going to lay in our sea store, as there is some probability that we shall sail in a day or two. — THROUGH SICILY AND MALTA. 7^ Farewell ; you shall hear from me again at Messina, if we are not swallowed up by Charybdis. VOYAGE TO SICILY. On board the Charming Molly, off the Island of Capri, May 15. We have now begun our expedition with every auspi- cious omen. This morning the melancholy sirocco left us ; and in place of it we have gotten a fine brisk tra- montane (or north wind), which in a few hours blew away all our vapovu-s, and made us wonder how much the happiness of mankind depends on a blast of wind. After eating a hearty dinner with many of our friends at Mr Walter's, and drinking plentifully of his excel- lent Burgundy, we took leave in the highest spirits. Had the sirocco blown as yesterday, we should pro- bably have been in tears ; and not one of us would have suspected that we were crying only because the wind was in the south. We are not apt to suppose it ; but probably a great part of our pleasures and pains de- pend upon such trivial causes, though always ascribed to something else; few people being willing to own themselves like a weathercock, affected by every blast. Indeed, we should have naturally imputed it to the grief of parting with that excellent family whom you know so well, which no person could ever leave with- out regret, or see without pleasm-e ; but the agreeable prospect of soon meeting again (probably better quali- fied to amuse and entertain them) absorbed all melan- choly thoughts, and even added to that alacrity which the deUghtful tour before us had already inspired. We sailed at five ; and, after firing our farewell signals to our friends on shore (whom we discovered with our glasses at some miles' distance), we soon found ourselves in the middle of the Bay of Naples, surroimded by the most beautiful scenery in the world. It fell calm for an hour, on purpose to give us time to contemplate all its beauties. The bay is of a circular figiu-e, in most places up- wards of twenty miles in diameter ; so that, including all its breaks and inequaUties, the circumference is considerably more than sixty miles. The whole of this space is so wonderfully, diversified by aU the riches both of art and nature, that there is scarce an object wanting to render the scene complete ; and it is hard to say whether the view is more pleasing from the singularity of many of these objects, or from the incredible variety of the whole. You see an amazing mixture of the ancient and modern ; some rising to fame, and some sinking to ruin. Palaces reared over the tops of other palaces, and ancient magnificence trampled under foot by modern folly. Mountains and islands that were celebrated for their fertility changed into barren wastes, and barren wastes into fertile fields and rich vineyards. Mountains sunk into plains, and plains swelled into mountains. Lakes drunk up by volcanoes, and extinguished volcanoes turned into lakes. The earth stiU smoking in many places, and in others throwing out flame. In short, nature seems to have formed this coast in her most capricious mood, for every object is a lusus natures. She never seems to have gone seriously to work, but to have devoted this spot to the most unlimited indulgence of caprice and frolic. The bay is shut out from the Mediterranean by the island of Capri, so famous for the abode of Augustus, and afterwards so infamous for that of Tiberius. A little to the west lie those of Ischia, Prosida, and Nisida; the celebrated promontory of Micseum, where JEneas landed ; the classic fields of Baia, Cuma, and Puzzoli, with all the variety of scenery that formed both the Tartarus and Elysium of the ancients ; the Camphi Phlegrei, or burning plains, where Jupiter overcame the giants ; the Monte Novo, formed of late years by the fii'e; the Monte Barbaro; the picturesque city of Puzzoli, with the Solfaterra smoking above it; the beautiful promontory of Pausillippe, exhibiting the finest scenery that can be imagined; the great and opulent city of Naples, with its three castles, its harbour fu}l of ships from every nation, its palaces, churches, and convents innumerable ; the rich coun- try from thence to Portici, covered with noble houses and gardens, and appearing only a continuation of the city ; the palace of the king, with many others sur- rounding it, all built over the roofs of those of Hercu- laneum, buried near 100 feet by the eruptions of Vesuvius ; the black fields of lava that have run from that mountain, intermixed with gardens, vineyards, and orchards ; Vesuvius itself, in the background of the scene, discharging volumes of fire and smoke, and forming a broad track in the air over our heads, ex- tending, without being broken or dissipated, to the utmost verge of the horizon ; a variety of beautiful towns and villages round the base of the mountain, thoughtless of the impending ruin that daily threatens them. Some of these are reared over the very roofs of Pompeii and Stabia, where Pliny perished ; and with their foundations have pierced through the sacred abodes of the ancient Romans, thousands of whom lie buried here, the victims of this inexorable mountain. Next follows the extensive and roman- tic coast of Castello Mare, Son-entum, and Mola, di- versified with every picturesque object in nature. It was the study of this wild and beautiful country that formed our greatest landscape painters. This was the school of Poussin and Salvator Rosa, but more particu- larly of the last, who composed many of his most cele- brated pieces from the bold craggy rocks that sur- round this coast ; and no doubt it was from the daUy contemplation of these romantic objects that they stored their minds with that variety of ideas they have commtmicated to the world with such elegance in their works. Now, should I tell you that this extensive coast, this prodigious variety of mountains, valleys, promon- tories, and islands, covered with an everlasting ver- dm-e, and loaded with the richest fruits, is all the produce of subterraneous fire, it would require, I am afraid, too great a stretch of faith to believe me ; 3'^et the fact is certain, and can only be doubted by those who have wanted time or curiosity to examine it. It is strange, you will say, that natm-e should make use of the same agent to create as to destroy ; and that what has only been looked upon as the consumer of countries, is in fact the very power that produces them. Indeed, this part of our earth seems already to have undergone the sentence pronounced upon the whole of it ; but, hke the phoenix, has arisen again from its own ashes, in much greater beauty and splendour than before it was consumed. The traces of these dreadful conflagrations are still conspicuous in every corner ; they have been violent in their ope- rations, but in the.end have proved salutary in their effects. The fire in many places is not extinguished, but Vesuvius is now the only spot where it rages with any degree of activity. Mr Hamilton, our minister here, who is no less dis- tinguished in the learned than in the polite world, has lately examined it with a truly philosophic eye, and this is the result of aU his observations ; however, at present I only sit down to give you an account of the prospect of this singular country, and not to write its natural history, which would lead me into too vast a field. I shall reserve that curious subject till otir return, when I shall have more leisure to make you acquainted with it. I beg, therefore, you would at least suspend your judgment for the present, and do not condemn me before I am heard. ' After contemplating this dehghtful prospect till stmset, the wind sprang up again, and we have now almost reached Capri, thirty miles distant from Naples, We have just spoken with an English ship. They teU. us that the Marquis of Carmaxthen, Lord Fortrose, BRYDONE'S TOUR and Mr Hamilton, observing the calm, took a boat to make us a visit ; but unfortunately mistaking their vessel for ours, we have had the mortification to miss them. The night is very dark, and Mount Vesuvius is ilaming at a dreadful rate ; we can observe the red- hot stones thrown to a vast height in the air, and, after their fall, rolling down the side of the moun- tain. Our ship is going so smooth, that we are scarce sensible of the motion ; and if this wind continue, before to-morrow night we shall be in sight of Sicily. Adieu. The captain is making a bowl of grog, and promises us a happy voyage. l&th. — AU wrong; sick to death; execrable sirocco wind, and directly contrary ; vile heaving waves. A plague of all sea voyages ; that author was surely right, who said that " land voyages" were much to be preferred. nth, in the morning. — For these twenty-four hours past we have been groaning to one another from our beds ; execrating the waves, and wishing that we had rather been at the mercy of all the banditti of Cala- bria. "We are now beginning to change our tune. The sirocco is gone, and the wind is considerably fallen ; however, we are still three woful figures. Our ser- vants, too, are as sick and as helpless as we. The cap- tain says that Philip, our Sicilian man, was frightened out of his wits, and has been praying to St Januarius with all his might. He now thinks he has heard him, and imputes the change of the weather entirely to his interest with his saint. 1 7 th, three o^ clock. — Weather pleasant and favourable. A fine breeze since ten ; have just come in sight of Strombolo. Our pilot says it is near twenty leagues off. We have likewise a few of the mountains of Cala- bria, but at a very great distance. Ship steady ; and sea-sickness almost gone. Eleven at night. — The weather is now fine, and we are all well. After spying Strombolo, by degrees we came in sight of the rest of the Lipari islands, and part of the coast of Sicily. These islands are very picturesque, and several of them still emit smoke, particularly Volcano and Volcanello ; but none of them, for some ages past, except Strombolo, have made any eruptions of fire. We are just now lying within three miles of that curious island, and can see its operations distinctly. It appears to be a volcano of a very diffe- rent nature from Vesuvius, the explosions of which succeed one another with some degree of regularity, and have no great variety of duration. Now, I have been observing Strombolo ever since it fell dark, with a good deal of pleasure, but not without some degree of perplexity, as I cannot account for its variety. Some- times its explosions resemble those of Vesuvius, and the light seems only to be occasioned by the quantity of fiery stones thrown into the air ; and as soon as these have fallen down, it appears to be extinguished, tiU another explosion causes a fresh illumination ; this I have always observed to be the case with Vesuvius, except when the lava has risen to the summit of the mountain, and continued without variety to illuminate the air around it. The light from Strombolo evidently depends on some other cause. Sometimes a clear red flame issues from the crater of the mountain, and continues to blaze without interruption for near the space of half an hour. The fire is of a different colour from the explosions of stones, and is evidently pro- duced from a different cause. It would seem as if some inflammable substance were suddenly kindled up in the bowels of the moimtain. It is attended with no noise or explosion that we are sensible of It has now ftillen calm, and we shall probably have an opportu- nity of examining this volcano more minutely to- morrow. We were told at Naples that it had lately made a violent eruption, and had begun to form a new island at some little distance from the old; which piece of inteUigence was one of our great inducements to this expedition. We think we have discovered this island, as we have observed several times the appear- ance of a small flame arising out of the sea, a little to the south-west of Strombolo, and suppose it must have issued from this new island ; but it is possible this light may come from the lower part of the island of Strombolo itself We shall see to-morrow. \mh. — We are stiU off" Strombolo, but unfortunately at present it intercepts the view of that spot from whence we observed the flame to arise, and Ave can see no appearance of any new island, nor indeed of any lava that has of late sprung from the old one. We have a distinct view of the crater of Strombolo, which seems to be different from Vesuvius, and all the old volcanoes that surround Naples. Of these, the craters are without exception in the centre, and form the highest part of the mountain. That of Strombolo is on its side, and not within 200 yards of its summit. From the crater to the sea, the island is entirely com- posed of the same sort of ashes and burnt matter as the conical part of Vesuvius ; and the quantity of this matter is perpetually increasing, from the uninter- rupted discharge from the mountain ; for of all the volcanoes we read of, Strombolo seems to be the only one that burns without ceasing. Etna and Vesuvius often lie quiet for many months, even years, without the least appearance of fire, but Strombolo is ever at work, and for ages past has been looked upon as the great lighthouse of these seas. It is truly wonderful how such a constant and im- mense fire is maintained, for thousands of years, in the midst of the ocean ! That of the other Lipari islands seems now almost extinct, and the force of the whole to be concentered in Strombolo, which acts as one great vent to them aU. We still observe Volcano and Volcanello throwing out volumes of smoke, but during the whole night we could not perceive the least spark of fire from either of them. It is probable that Strombolo, as well as all the rest of these islands, is originally the work of subterraneous fire. The matter of which they are composed in a manner demonstrates this ; and many of the Sicilian authors confirm it. There are now eleven of them in all, and none of the ancients mention more than seven. Fazello, one of the best Sicilian authors, gives an ac- count of the production of Volcano, now one of the most considerable of these islands. He says it hap- pened in the early time of the republic, and is recorded by Eusebius, Pliny, and others. He adds, that even in his time, in the beginning of the sixteenth century, it stiU discharged quantities of fire and of pumice-stones ; but that in the preceding century, in the year 1444, on the 5th of February, there had been a very great erup- tion of this island, which shook aU Sicily, and alarmed the coast of Italy as far as Naples. He says the sea boiled all around the island, and rocks of a vast size were discharged from the crater ; that fire and smoke in many places pierced through the waves, and that the navigation amongst these islands was totally changed, rocks appearing where it was formerly deep water ; and many of the straits and shallows were entirely filled up. He observes, that Aristotle, in his book on meteors, takes notice of a very early eruption of this island, by which not only the coast of Sicily, but hkewise many cities in Italy, were covered with ashes. It has probably been that very eruption which formed the island. He describes Strombolo to have been, in his time, pretty much the same as at this day, only that it then pro- duced a great quantity of cotton, which is not now the case. The greater part of it appears to be barren. On the north side there are a few vmeyards, but they are very meagre ; opposite to these, there is a rock at some distance from land ; it seems to be entirely of lava, and is not less than fiJFty or sixty feet above the water. The whole island of Strombolo is a mountain that rises suddenly from the sea ; it is about ten miles roimd, and is not of the exact conical form supposed common to aU volcanoes. We were determined to have landed THROUGH SICILY AND MALTA. on the island, and to have attempted to examine the volcano; but oiir Sicilian pilot assures us that the crater is not only inaccessible (which indeed I owai it appears to be), but that we shall likewise be obliged to perform a quarantine of forty-eight hours at Messina ; and that, besides, we should run a great risk of being attacked by the natives, who are little better than savages, and always on the alarm against the Turks. On weighing these reasons, and putting the question, it was carried to proceed on our voyage. I own it is with much regret that I leave this curious island without being better acquainted with it. I have been looking with a good glass aU round, but can see no marks of the eruption we heard so much of at Naples ; indeed, the south-west part, where we saw the appear- ance of fire, is still hid from us by the interposition of the island, and if there has been an eruption, it was certainly on that side : it is probable we shall never be able to learn whether there has been one or not, or at least to make ourselves masters of any of the particulars relating to it ; for events of that kind do not make such a noise in this ignorant and indolent country, as the blowing of an aloe or a gooseberry bush at Christmas does in England. Strombolo rises to a great height, our pilot says higher than Vesuvius ; but I think he is mistaken. Both the captain and he agree, that in clear weather it is discoverable at the distance of twenty-five leagues, and that at night its flames are to be seen much farther ; so that its visible horizon cannot be less than 500 miles, -which will require a very considerable elevation. The revenue these islands bring to the King of Naples is by no means inconsiderable. They produce great quantities of alum, sulphur, nitre, cinnabar, and most sorts of fruits, particularly raisins, currants, and figs, in great perfection ; some of their wines are likewise much esteemed, particularly the Malvasia, well known all over Europe. The island of Lipari, from which aU the rest take their name, is by much the largest as well as the most fertile. By the description of Aristotle, it appears that it was in his time what Strombolo is in ours, considered by sailors as a lighthouse, as its fires were never extin- guished. It has not suffered from subterraneous fires for many ages past, though it every where bears the marks of its former state. This is the island supposed by Virgil, who is one of our travelling companions, to be the habitation of iEolus, but indeed all of them were formerly called iEolian. As they were full of vast caverns, roaring with internal fires, the poets feigned that iEolus kept the winds prisoners here, and let them out at his pleasure. This allegorical fiction is of great use both to Virgil and Homer, when they want to make a storm, and forms no inconsider- able part of their machinery. A goddess has nothing to do but to take a flight to the Lipari islands, and iEolus, who was the very pink of courtesy, has always a storm ready at her command. Homer, indeed, departing sadly from his usual dig- nity, supposes that iEolus kept the winds here, each tied up in their respective bags ; and when any parti- cular wind was demanded, he made them a present of a bagful of it, to use at discretion. Some of the an- cient historians (Diodorus, I think) says that this fable took its rise from a wise king named ^olus, who, from observing the smoke of these burning islands, and other phenomena attending them, had learned to foretell the weather ; and from thence was said to have the com- mand of the winds. The forge of Vtdcan, too, has been supposed by the poets to be placed in Hiera, one of these islands.* VirgU * Amid the Hesperian and Sicilian flood, All black with smoke, a rocky island stood — The dark Vulcanian land, the region of the god. Here the grim Cyclops ply in vaults profound, The huge iEolian forge that thimders round : Th' eternal anvils ring the dimgeon o'er ; From side to side the fiery caverns roar— &c. sends him here to make the celestial armour for ^neas, and gives a noble description of this gloomy habita- tion, where he found the Cyclops busy forging a thun- derbolt for Jupiter, the account of which is very sin- gular.* This island is now called Volcano, the same that is recorded to have been produced by fire in the time of the republic. So that Virgil commits here a very great anachronism, in sending Vulcan to a place which at that time did not exist, nor for many ages after. But this bold poetical license he amply repays us for by the fine description he gives of it. These islands, he says, were called Volcanian as well as ^olian: Volcani domus, et Volcania nomine tellus. [Vulcan's the land, from him Vulcanian named.] So that the change of the name from Hiera to Volcano was a very natural one. This is the island that Pliny calls Terasia ; and both Strabo and he gave an account of its productions. I9th. — Found ourselves within half a mile of the coast of Sicily, which is low but finely variegated. The opposite coast of Calabria is very high, and the mountains are covered with the finest verdure. It was almost a dead calm, our ship scarce moving half a mile in an hour, so that we had time to get a com- plete view of the famous rock of ScyUa, on the Cala- brian side. Cape Pylorus on the Sicilian, and the cele- brated Straits of the Faro that run between them. Whilst we were still some miles distant from the entry of the straits, we heard the roaring of the current, like the noise of some large impetuous river confined between narrow banks. This increased in proportion as we advanced, till we saw the water in many places raised to a considerable height, and forming large eddies, or whirlpools. The sea in every other place was as smooth as glass. Our old pilot told us that he had often seen ships caught in these eddies, and whirled about with great rapidity, without obeying the helm in the smallest degree. When the weather is calm, there is little danger ; but when the waves meet with this violent current, it makes a dreadful sea. He says that there were five ships wrecked in this spot last winter. We observed that the current set exactly for the rock of ScyUa, and would infallibly have car- ried any thing thrown into it against that point ; so that it was not without reason the ancients have painted it as an object of such terror. It is about a mile from the entry of the Faro, and forms a small promontory, which runs a little out to sea, and meets the whole force of the waters, as they come out of tlie narrowest part of the straits. The head of this promontory is the famous Scylla. It must be owned that it does noc altogether come up to the formidable description that Homer gives of it ; the reading of which (like that of Shakspeare's CUff) almost makes one's head giddy. Neither is the passage so wondrous narrow and difB- cult as he makes it. Indeed, it is probable that the breadth of it is greatly increased since his time by the violent impetuosity of the current. And this violence, too, must have always diminished in proportion as the breadth of the channel increased. s Our pilot says there are many small rocks that show their heads near the base of the large ones. These are probably the dogs that are described as howling round the monster ScyUa. There are hkewise many caverns that add greatly to the noise of the water, and tend still to increase the horror of the scene. The rock is near 200 feet high. There is a kind of castle or fort built on its summit, and the town of Scylla or Sciglio, contaming 300 or 400 inhabitants, stands on its south side, and gives the title of prince to a Calabrese family. * Beneath their hands, tremendous to sur\'ey ! Half rough, half formed, the ilreadful engine laj'. Three points of rain, three forks of hail conspire. Three anned with wind, and three were barb'd with &'e ; The mass they temper'd thick with livid rays. Fear, wrath, and terror, and the lightning's blaze.— Pitt. 16 toYDONE'S TOUR As the current was directly against us, we were obliged to lie-to for some hours till it turned. The motion of the water ceased for some time, but in a few minutes it began in the opposite direction, though not with such violence. We lay just opposite to Cape Pylorus, where the lighthouse is now buUt. It is said to have been thus named by Hannibal, in recompense to Pelorus his pilot, for having put him to death on this spot, on a false suspicion of his wanting to betray him ; for seeing himself landlocked on all sides, he thought there was no escaping, and that Pelorus had been bribed to deliver him up ; but as soon as he dis- covered the straits, he repented of his rashness, and some years afterwards erected a statue here, in atone- ment to the manes of Pelorus. Pomponius Mela tells this story, from whence he draws two very wise infe- rences : that Hannibal must have been extremely pas- sionate, and that he knew nothing at all of geography. Others deny this authority, and say it was named Pe- lorus from Ulysses' pilot, who was drowned near to this place ; but there can be no sort of foundation for this conjecture, for Ulysses' whole crew were drowned at the same time, and he himself was driven through these straits mounted on the broken mast of his ship. It is, like most disputes among antiquaries, a matter of mighty little consequence, and I leave you at full liberty to choose which of the two accounts you please. From hence we had an opportunity of observing a pretty large portion of Calabria, which formerly con- stituted a considerable part of that celebrated country known by the name of Great Greece, and looked upon as one of the most fertile in the empire. These beau- tiful hills and mountains are covered with trees and brushwood to the very summit, and appear pretty much in the same state as some of the wilds of Ame- rica that are just beginning to be cultivated.- Some little spots where the woods are cleared away, just serve to show the natural fertility of the soil, and what this country might soon be brought to, were industry and population encouraged ; but it still re- mains a good deal in the same situation as when the barbarous nations left it ; and I believe it is hard to say whether their tyranny or that of Spain has been the most oppressive. After the invasion of those na- tions, and during the time of the dark and barbarous ages, this country (like many others), from the highest state of culture and civihsation, became a wild and barren wilderness, overgrown with thickets and fo- rests ; and, indeed, since the revival of arts and agri- culture, perhaps of all Europe this is the country 'that has profited the least — retaining still, both in the wildness of its fields and ferocity of its inhabitants, more of the Gothic barbarity than is to be met with any where else. Some of these forests are of a vast extent, and absolutely impenetrable, and no doubt conceal in their thickets many valuable monuments of ancient magnificence. Of this, indeed, we have a very recent proof in the discovery of Psestum, a Grecian city, that had not been heard of for many ages ; till of late some of its lofty temples were seen peeping over the tops of the woods, upbraiding man- kind for their shameful neglect, and calling upon them to bring it once more to light. Accordingly, curiosity, and the hopes of gain, a still more powerful motive, soon opened a passage, and exposed to view these valuable and respectable relics. But here it would be out of place to give you an accoimt of them ; I shall reserve that till my retm-n. As soon as our ship entered the current, we were carried along with great velocity towards Messina, which is twelve miles from the entry of the straits.* However, as the passage widens in proportion as you advance, the current of consequence becomes less ra- * [These straits, it is said, were for the first time passed by a modern fleet, when Nelson, after visiting Naples, advanced to the coast of Egypt in pursuit of Bonaparte, in 1798.] pid. At Messina, it is four miles broad. At the moutll of the straits, betwixt the promontories of Pelorus in Sicily and the Coda de Volpe (or the Fox's Tail) in Calabria, it appears scarcely to be a mile. Most of the ancient writers are of opinion that Sicily was formerly joined to the continent in this spot, and that the sepa- ration must have been made by some violent convul- sion of the earth. If this is true, which indeed does not appear improbable, it must have happened far beyond the reach of all historians, as none of them, at least that I have seen, pretend any thing but conjec- ture for the foundation of their opinion.* Indeed, Claudian (were credit to be given to poets) says posi- tively, Trinacria quondam Italia pars una fuit. [Trinacria (Sicily) was once a part of Italy.] And Virgil, too, in thia third .^neid, teUs the same story : Hsx loca vi quondam, et vasta convulsa ruina, &c. [The Italian shore, And fair Sicilia's coast, were one, before An earthquake caused the flaw.— Dryciew'* Virgil.^ Pliny, Strabo, Diodorus, and many others, both his- torians and philosophers, are of the same sentiments, and pretend that the strata on the opposite sides of the strait perfectly correspond ; like the white rocks near Dover and Boulogne, which have given rise to an opinion of the same kind. However, the similarity in that case is much more striking, to the eye at least, than in this. The approach to Messina is the finest that can be imagined ; it is not so grand as that of Naples, but it is much more beautiful, and the quay exceeds any thing I have ever yet seen, even in Holland. It is built in the form of a crescent, and is surroimded by a range of magnificent buildings, four storeys high, and exactly uniform, for the space of an Italian milcf * [Sicily, anciently called Trinacria, is the largest and most populous island in the Mediterranean, being 180 miles in length by 130 in breadth, and containing, according to a late census, 1,787,771 inhabitants. The country is beautifully diversified by hill and vale, is fertile, and possesses an agreeable climate ; but owing to the rudeness, indolence, and licentiousness of the in- habitants, the want of an enlightened government, and the consequent absence of aU the social institutions which favour industry, the island has a very humble place in the commerce of Europe. It is, nevertheless, considered as improving. The exports, which consist of com, hemp, oil, wine, sulphur, silk, &c., and the imports, which are chiefly of manufactured articles, respectively amount only to about a quarter of a million of British money. The Greek colonies of Syracuse, Agrigentum, and Mes- sina, particularly the first, cast a great lustre on ancient Sicilian history, on account of their flourishing commerce, their advance in the arts, and their military achievements. After passing through the hands of many masters, the island was conquered, or rather regained, by Spain, in 1733. In 1759, it was, in union with Naples, placed under the government of Ferdinand, third son of Charles III. of Spain, the title of the imited states being the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. Ferdinand II., grandson of Ferdinand I. , is the present monarch , and the affairs of Sicily are now administered by ft council of eight, appointed by the king, and who remain constantly at his residence ; the affairs of Naples being in like manner administered by a council of sixteen, and the two councils uniting to deliberate on affairs concerning both countries. The nobility of Sicily consists of six dukes, 217 princes, 217 marquisses, 2000 barons, and the same number of an order called gentlemen ; and the island contains 1117 convents, giving accommodation and support to 30,000 monks and 30,000 nuns. In all, there are 300,000 persons, or a sixth of the whole popula- tion, who either are ecclesiastics, or live upon ecclesiastical re- venues. The enormous amount of the non-productive classes, in a country where there is no mercantile or middle class, neces- sarUy depresses the condition of the working population, who, in such circumstances, become little superior to the beasts of biurden which man calls in to aid him in his labours.] t [The whole of this splendid line of palaces, usually called the Palazzata, was destroyed by the earthquake of 1783, when most of the inhabitants were buried in the ruins. "When the rebuild- ing had proceeded to the iirst storey, government interfered to THilOtTGH SICILY AND MALTA. 11 The street betwixt these and the sea is about 100 feet wide, and forms one of the most delightful walks in the world. It enjoys the freest air, and commands the most beautiful prospect ; it is only exposed to the morning sun, being shaded all the rest of the day by these buildings. It is besides constantly refreshed by the cooling breeze from the straits ; for the current of the water produces likewise a current in the air, that renders this one of the coolest habitations in Sicily. We cast anchor about four this afternoon, near the centre of this enchanted semicircle, the beauty of which greatly delighted us ; but our pleasure was soon in- terrupted by a discovery that the name of one of our servants had been omitted in oxu- bills of health, and an assurance from the captain that if he were disco- vered, we should certainly be obliged to perform a long quarantine. Whilst we were deliberating upon this weighty matter, we observed a boat with the people of the health-office approaching us. We had just time to get him wrapped up in a hammock, and shut down below the hatches, with orders not to stir in case of a search, and not to appear again above deck till he should be called. The poor feUow was obliged to keep in his hole till it was dark, as our consul, and some people of the health-office, stayed on board much longer than we could have wished ; and we are still obliged to conceal him, for if he be dis- covered we shall probably get into a very bad scrape. They are particularly strict here in this respect, and indeed they have great reason to be so, since this beautiful city was almost depopulated by the plague in the year 1743, when upwards of 70,000 people are said to have died in it and its district in the space of a few months. We have now got on shore, and are lodged in the most wretched of inns, although said to be a first-rate one for Sicily ; but we are contented, for surely after bad ship-accommodation and sea-sickness, any house will appear a palace, and any bit of dry land a paradise. I sliall send this off by the post, which goes to-mor- row for Naples, and shall continue from day to day to give you some account of our transactions : trifling as they are, there will probably be something new, and it will add greatly to the pleasure of our expedition to think that it has contributed to your entertainment. Adieu, Ever yoiu-s, &c. SICILY.-MESSINA. Messina, May 20. The harbour of Messina is formed by a small promon- tory or neck of land that runs off from the east end of the city, and separates that beautiful basin from the rest of the straits. The shape of this promontory is that of a reaping-hook, the curvature of which forms the harbour, and secures it from all winds. From the striking resemblance of its form, the Greeks, who never gave a name that did not either describe the object or express some of its most remarkable properties, called this place Zankle, or the sickle, and feigned that the sickle of Saturn fell on this spot and gave it its form. But the Latins, who were not quite so fond of fable, changed its name to Messina (from niessis, a harvest), because of the great fertility of its fields. It is cer- tainly one of the safest harbours in the Avorld after ships have got in, but it is likewise one of the most difflcxilt of access. The celebrated gulf or whirlpool of Charybdis lies near to its entry, and often occasions such an intestine and irregular motion in the water, prevent their further progress, on the ground that edifices higher than one storey in such a situation were dangerous. The Palaz- zata now, therefore, consists of a row of low buildings, with docked pillars and pilasters, and the other parts of the architec- tural design in general broken short, and covered ia many ia- Btances by projecting tilework of mean appparance.] that the helm loses most of its power, and ships have great difficulty to get in, even with the fairest wind that can blow. This whirlpool, I think, is probably formed by the small promontory I have mentioned, which contracting the straits in this spot, must neces- sarily increase the velocity of the current; but no doubt other causes of which we are ignorant concur, for this wUl by no means account for all the appearances which it has produced. The great noise occasioned by the tumultuous motion of the waters in this place, made the ancients liken it to a voracious sea- monster perpetually roaring for its prey ; and it has been repre- sented by their authors as the most tremendous pas- sage in the world. Aristotle gives a long and formi- dable description of it in his 125th chapter De Admi- randis, which I find translated in an old Sicilian book I have got here. It begins, " Adeo profundum, hor- ridumque spectaculum," &c. ; but it is too long to transcribe. It is likewise described by Homer,* 12th of the Odyssey ; Virgil,f 3d jEneid ; Lucretius, Ovid, Sallust, Seneca, as also by many of the old Italian and Sicihan poets, who aU speak of it in terms of horror, and represent it as an object that inspired terror even when looked on at a distance. It certainly is not now so formidable, and very probably the violence of this motion, continued for so many ages, has by degrees worn smooth the rugged rocks and jutting shelves that may have intercepted and confined the waters. The breadth of the straits, too, in this place, I make no doubt is considerably enlarged. Indeed, from the nature of things it must be so ; the perpetual friction occasioned by the ctirrent must wear away the bank on each side, and enlarge the bed of the water. The vessels in this passage were obliged to go as near as possible to the coast of Calabria, in order to avoid the suction occasioned by the whirling of the waters in this vortex ;J by which means, when they came to the narrowest and most rapid part of the straits, betwixt Cape Pylorus and Scylla, they were in great danger of being carried upon that rock. From whence the proverb still applied to those who in attempting to avoid one evil fall into another — • Incidit in Seyllam, cupiens vitare Charybdim. [Who flies Charybdis, upon Scylla strikes.] There is a fine fountain of white marble on the quay, * Dire Scylla there a scene of horror forms, And here Charybdis fills the deep with storms ; When the tide rushes from her rumbling caves, The rough rock roars, tumultuous boil the waves— They toss, they foam, a wild confusion raise, Like waters bubbling o'er the fiery blaze ; Eternal mists obscure the afirial plain. And high above the rock she spouts the main. When in her gulfs the rushing sea subsides, She drains the ocean with her refluent tides. The rock rebellows with a thundering sound ; Deep, wond'rous deep, below appears the ground.— Pope. t That realm of old, a ruin huge, was rent In length of ages from the continent. With force convulsive burst the isle away ; Through the dread opening broke the thundering sea. At once the thundering sea Sicilia tore. And sunder'd from the fair Hesperian shore ; And still the neighbouring coasts and towns divides With scanty channels and contracted tides. Fierce to the right tremendous Scylla roars, Charybdis on the left the flood devours : Thrice swallow'd in her womb subsides the sea. Deep, deep as hell, and thrice she spouts away. From her black bellowing gulfs disgorged on high. Waves after waves that dash against the sky.— Pitt. % [In reality, Charybdis is not a vortex of the ordinary nature, and does not endanger vessels by suction. It is said rather to have a centrifugal or repelling force. The danger seems to arise chiefly from the tumultuous movements of the water, which often breaks into three, four, or more whirling centres, amidst which all com- mon expedients for guiding or managing vessels are in vain. Jho Sicilian government retains a body of pilots, for th6 express pur- pose of guiding vessels safely in this dangerous place.J 12 BRYDONE'S TOUR. representing Neptune holding ScyUa and Charybdis chained, under the emblematical figures of two sea- monsters, as represented by the poets. The little neck of land, forming the harbour of Mes- sina, is strongly fortified. The citadel, which is indeed a very fine work, is built on that part which connects it with the mainland. The farthermost point, which runs out to sea, is defended by foirr small forts, which command the entry into the harbour. Betwixt these he the lazaret, and a lighthouse to warn sailors of their approach to Charybdis, as that other on Cape Pylorus is intended to give them notice of Scylla. It is probably from these hghthouses (by the Greeks called pharoi) that the whole of this celebrated strait has been denominated the Faro of Messina. There are a number of galleys and galliots in this beautiful harbour, which still add greatly to its beauty. Three of these sailed this morning, in order to cruise round the island, and to protect it from the sudden invasions of the barbarians, who are often very trouble- some on the south coast. These vessels made a very picturesque appearance as they went out of the harbour ; their oars moving aU together with the greatest regu- larity. I think there are nine or ten men to each oar ; and," indeed, it appears to be the hardest work you can imagine. They all rise every stroke of the oar, and when they puU, they almost throw themselves on their backs, and seem to exert their utmost force. These wretches are chained to their oars, and sleep every night on the bare benches, without any thing to throw over them. Yet, what is strange, notwith- standing all the misery they siifFer, I am told there was never known an instance- of any of them putting themselves to death. They often, indeed, confer that favour upon one another, but it is only in their quar- rels, and by no means out of kindness. In a company of English in the same circumstances, promotion would probably go on much faster, as there would be no want of vacancies, provided only ropes and knives were to be had. We intended this morning to have paid our respects to the Prince of VUla Franca, the governor, and to have deUvered our letters ; but he is gone to his coun- try-house, and as there are no carriages to be had, we are obliged to wait his arrival in town, which will probably be to-morrow or next day. We are still under a good deal of uneasiness about our servant, and are obliged to conceal him carefully from the people of the health-oflice, who seem to haunt us, as we have met them this morning in all our walks. Were he to be discovered, perhaps some of us might have the pleasure of making a httle voyage on board one of those galleys for our amusement. Indeed, the captain of the ship, poor fellow, would nm the greatest risk, who is obliged to answer for every person on board. We shall leave this place as soon as possible ; for I do not beUeve there is much more to be seen about it. 2(ith, at night. — After dinner, our depute-consul (a Sicilian) carried us to several convents, where we were receivedby the nuns with great pohteness and affability. We conversed with them for some hours through the grate, and found some of them by no means deficient either in point of knowledge or sprighthness ; but none of them had sincerity enough (which we met ^vith in Portugal more than once) to acknowledge the unhappi- ness of their situation. AU pretended to be happy and contented, and declared they would not change their prison for the most brilliant situation in life. However, some of them had a soft melancholy in their counte- nances, that gave the lie to their words ; and I am persuaded, in a tete-a-tete, and on a more intimate ac- quaintance, they would have told a very different story. Several of them are extremely handsome, but, indeed, I think they always appear so ; and I am very certain, from frequent experience, that there is no artificial ornament, or studied embellishment whatever, that can produce half so strong an effect, as the modest and simple attire of a pretty young nun, placed behind a double iron grate. To see an amiable, unaffected, and unadorned person, that might have been an honour and an ornament to society, make a voluntary resignation of her charms, and give up the world and all its pleasures, for a Ufe of fasting and mortification, it cannot fail to move our pity ; And pity melts the mind to love. There is another consideration which tends much to increase these feelings ; that is, our total incapacity ever to alter her situation. The pleasure of relieving an object in distress is the only refuge we have against the pain which the seeing of that object occasions ; but here this is utterly denied us, and we feel with sorrow that pity is all we can bestow. From these, and the Hke reflections, a man generally feels himself in bad spirits after conversing with amiable nuns. Indeed, it is hardly possible, without a heavy heart, to leave the grate, that inexorable and impene- trable barrier. At last we took oiu" leave, expressing our happiness in being admitted so near them, but at the same time deploring our misery at seeing them for ever removed at so immeasurable a distance from us. They were much pleased with our visit, and begged we would repeat it every day during our stay at Messina ; but this might prove dangerous. On leaving the convent, we observed a great con- course of people on the top of a high hill, at some dis- tance from the city. The consul told us it was the celebration of a great festival in honour of St Francis, and was worth our going to see. Accordingly, we arrived just as the saint made his appearance. He was carried through the crowd with vast ceremony, and received the homage of the people with a becoming dignity ; after which he was again lodged in his chapel, where he performs a number of miracles every day, to all those who have abundance of money and abundance of faith. His ministers, however, are only a set of poor greasy capuchins, who, indeed, do not seem to have enriched themselves in his service. In general, he is but a shabby master, if one may judge by the tattered clothes of his servants ; and St Benedict, who does not pretend to half his sanctity, beats him all to nothing. The people continued to dance in soft Sicilian measures till after sunset, when they retired. Many of the country girls are extremely handsome, and dance with a good grace. The young fellows were all in their Sunday's clothes, and made a good appearance. The assembly room was a fine green plain on the top of the hiU. It pleased us very much, and put us in mind of some of Theocritus's descriptions of the Sicilian pleasures. But Theocritus, if he could have raised up his head, would probably have been a good deal puzzled what to make of the shabby figiure of St Francis, marching through amongst them with such majesty and solemnity. Another part of the ceremony, too, would have greatly alarmed him, as indeed it did us. The whole court before the church was surrounded with a triple row of small iron cannon, about six inches long ; these were charged to the muzzle, and rammed very hai'd ; after which they were set close to each other, and a train laid, that completed the communi- cation through the whole number, which must have exceeded 2000. Fire was set to the train, and in two or three minutes the whole was discharged by a run- ning fire, the reports following one another so quick, that it was impossible for the ear to individualise them. The effect was very grand ; but it would have been nothing without the fine echo from the high mountains on each side of the straits, which prolonged the sound for some considerable time after the firing was finished. The view from the top of this hill is beautiful beyond description. The straits appear like a vast majestic river flowing slowly betwixt two ridges of mountains, and opening by degrees from its narrowest point, till it swells to the size of an ocean ; its banks, at the same time, adorned with rich corn-fields, vineyards, orch- THROUGH SICHiY AND MALTA. 13 ards, towns, villages, and churches. The prospect is terminated on each side by the tops of high mountains covered with wood. We observed in our walks to-day many of the flowers that are much esteemed in our gardens, and others, too, that we are not acquainted with. Larkspur, flos Adonis, Venus's looking-glass, hawksweed, and very fine lupins, grow wild over all these mountains. They have likewise a variety of flowering shrubs ; particu- larly one in great plenty, which I do not recoUect ever to have seen before : it bears a beautiful round fruit of a bright shining yellow. They call it il porno doro, or golden apple. All the fields about Messina are covered with the richest white clover, intermixed with a variety of aromatic plants, whiph perfume the air, and render their walks exceedingly deUghtful. But what is remarkable, we were most sensible of this per- 'fume when walking on the harbour, which is at the greatest distance from these fields. I mentioned this pecToliarity to a Messinese gentleman, who tells me, that the salt produced here by the heat of the sun, emits a grateful odour, something like violets, and it is that probably which perfumes the sea-shore. On consulting Fazzello De rebus Siculis, I find he takes notice of the same singularity, and likewise observes, that the water of the straits has a viscous or glutinous quality, which by degrees cements the sand and gravel together, and at last consoUdates them to the sohdity of rock. There are fine shady walks on all sides of Messina ; some of these run along the sea-shore, and are for ever fanned by the coohng breeze from the straits. The houses are large, and most of the articles of life are cheap and in plenty, particularly fish, which are reckoned better here than any where else in the Medi- terranean. The hire of lodgings is next to nothing ; almost one-half of that noble range of buildings I have described being absolutely uninhabited since the deso- lation of 1743 ; so that the proprietors are glad to get tenants on any terms. It now occurs to me that from all these considerations, there is no place I have seen so admirably calculated for the residence of that flock of valetudinarians, which every autumn leave our country with the swallows in search of warm climates. I have been inquiring with regard to their winter sea- son, and find all agree that in general it is much preferable to that of Naples. They allow they have sometimes heavy rain for two or three weeks, but it never lasts longer ; and besides, they have always some fair hours every day, when people can go out for exer- cise ; for the moment the rain is over the walks are dry, the soil being a light gravel. The advantages of Messina over Naples in other respects, I think, are considerable. At Naples there are no walks ; and the truth is, they have no occasion for them, no more indeed than they have for legs ; for you know as well as I, that walking there is little less infamous thah stealing ; and any person that makes use of his limbs is looked upon as a blackguard, and despised by all good company. The rides, too, are all at a great distance, and you are obhged to go some miles on streets and pavement before you get into the coimtry ; besides passing the vile grotto of PausiUippe, where you are in danger of being bUnded and stifled with dust. There are seldom any piiblic cUversions here ; the attending of which at Naples, and comply- ing with their bad hours, does often mere than coim- teract all the benefit obtained from the climate. That detestable practice of gaming, too, is by no means so prevalent here ; which, from the anxiety it occasions to the mind, and lassitude to the body, must be death to all liectic people, weak breasts, or dehcate nerves. I could say much more on this subject, but as I have many of these circumstances only from the report of the inhabitants, it makes me more diffident than if I had known them from my own experience. We foimd our banker, Mr M , a very sensible man, and spent some hours with him, both this morn- ing and evening, very agreeably. He has given us some account of the poUce of the country, the most singular, perhaps, of any in the world ; to such a de- gree, indeed, tliat I shall not venture to tell it you till I have talked it over with some other people, to see if the accounts agree ; though, fi-om the character that gentleman bears, both here and at Naples, he is as good authority as any in the island. The Prince of Villa Franca is arrived, so that we shall probably have our audience to-morrow morning. Adieu. We are just going to sup upon steaks made of the pesce spada, or sword-fish, which are caught in great plenty in these seas. The sword of this one is upwards of four feet long, and a formidable weapon it is — not unlike a Highland broad-sword. This fish, when cut, bears a perfect resemblance to flesh — so much, that none of us doubted it was beef-steaks they Avere dressing for us, and expressed our surprise at findingi;hat dish in Sicily. Good night. SICILIAN BANDITTI—FATA MORGANA. 2lst. — We are just returned from the prince's. He received us poUtely, but with a good deal of state. He offered us the use of his carriages, as there are none to be hired, and in the usual style desired to know in what he could be of service to us. We told him (with an apology for our abrupt departure) that we were obhged to set off" to-morrow, and begged his protection on our journey. He replied, that he would give orders for guards to attend us, that should be answerable for every thing ; that we need give ourselves no further trouble ; that whatever number of mules we had occa- sion for should be ready at the door of the inn, at any hour we should think proper to appoint : he added, that we might entirely rely on those guards, who were people of the most determined resolution, as well as of the most approved fidehty, and would not fail to chastise on the spot any person who should presume to impose upon us. Now, who do you think these trusty guards are composed of? Why, of the most daring, and most hardened viUains, perhaps, that are to be met with upon earth, who, in any other country, would have been broken upon the wheel or hung in chains, but are here pubhcly protected, and universally feared and respected. It was this part of the police of Sicily that I was afraid to give you an account of: but I have now conversed with the prince's people on the subject, and they have confirmed every circumstance Mr M. made me acquainted with. He told me, that in this east part of the island, called Val Demoni (from the devils that are supposed to inhabit Moimt iEtna), it has ever been foimd im- practicable to extirpate the banditti; there being numberless caverns and subterraneous passages in that mountain, where no troops could possibly pursue them : that besides, as they are known to be perfectly deter- mined and resolute, never failing to take a dreadful revenge on all who have offended them, the Prince of Villa Franca has embraced it, not only as the safest, but likewise as the wisest and most politic scheme, to become their declared patron and protector. And such of them as think proper to leave their moimtains and forests, though perhaps only for a time, are sure to meet with good encouragement and security in his service ; they enjoy the most imbounded confidence, which in no instance they have ever yet been found to make an improper or dishonest use of. They are clothed in the prince's livery, yellow and green, with silver lace, and wear likewise a badge of their honour- able order, which entitles them to universal fear and respect from the people. I have just been interrupted by an upper servant of the prince's, who, both by his looks and language, seems to be of the same worthy fraternity. He tells 14 BRYDONE'S TOUR me that he has ordered our muleteers, at their peril, to be ready by daybreak, but that we need not go till we think proper ; for it is their business to attend on nostri excellmzL He says he has likewise ordered two of the most desperate fellows in the whole island to accompany us ; adding, in a sort of whisper, that we need be under no apprehension, for if any person should presume to impose upon us to the value of a single baiocc,* they would certainly put them to death. I gave him an ounce,] which I knew was what he ex- pected ; on which he redoubled his bows and his ex- cellenzis, and declared we were the most honorabili signori he had ever met with, and that if we pleased, he himself should have the honour of attending us, and would chastise any person that should dare to take the wall of us, or injure us in the smallest trifle. We thanked him for his zeal, showing him we had swords of our own. On which, bowing respectfully, he re- tired. I can now, with more assurance, give you some ac- count of the conversation I had with Signer M., Avho, as I said, appears to be a very intelligent man, and has resided here for these many years. He says, that in some circumstances these banditti are the most respectable people of the island, and have by much the highest and most romantic notions of what they call their point of honour ; that, however criminal they may be with regard to society in general, yet, with respect to one another, and to every person to whom they have once professed it, they have ever maintained the most unshaken fidelity. The magis- trates have often been obliged to protect them, and even pay them court, as they are known to be per- fectly determined and desperate ; and so extremely vindictive, that they will certainly put any person to death who has ever given them just cause of provoca- tion. On the other hand, it never was known that any person who had put himself under their protec- tion, and showed that he had confidence in them, had cause to repent of it, or was injured by any of them in the most minute trifle ; but, on the contrary, they will protect him from impositions of every kind, and scorn to go halves with the landlord, like most other conductors and travelling servants, and will defend him with their lives if there is occasion. That those of their number who have thus enlisted themselves in the service of society, are known and respected by the other banditti all over the island, and the persons of those they accompany are ever held sacred. For these reasons, most traveUers choose to hire a couple of them from town to town, and may thus travel over the whole island in safety. To illustrate their cha- racter the more, he added two stories, which hap- pened but a few days ago, and are still in every body's mouth. A number of people were foimd digging in a place where some treasure was supposed to have been hid during the plague : as this had been forbid under the most severe penalties, they were immediately carried to prison, and expected to have been treated without mercy ; but luckily for the others, one of these heroes happened to be of the number. He wrote to the Prince of Villa Franca, and made use of such powerful argu- ments in their favour, that they Avere all immediately set at liberty. This will serve to show their consequence with the civil power ; the other story will give you a strong idea of their barbarous ferocity, and the horrid mix- ture of stubborn vice and virtue (if I may call it by that name) that seems to direct their actions. I should have mentioned that they have a practice of borrow- ing money from the coimtry people, who never dare refuse them ; and if they promise to pay it, they have ever been foimd punctual and exact, both as to the time and the siun ; and would much rather rob and murder an innocent person, than fail of payment at * A small coin. t About eleven shillings. the day appointed; and this they have often been obliged to do, only in order, as they say, to fulfil their engagements, and to save their honour. It happened within this fortnight that the brother of one of these heroic banditti having occasion for money, and not knowing how to procure it, deter- mined to make use of his brother's name and autho- rity, an artifice which he thought could not easily be discovered ; accordingly, he went to a country priest, and told him his brother had occasion for twenty ducats, which he desired he would immediately lend him. The priest assured him that he had not then so large a sum, but that if he would return in a few days, it should be ready for him. The other replied, that he was afraid to return to his brother with this answer, and desired that he would by all means take care to keep out of his way, at least till such time as he had pacified him, otherwise he could not be an- swerable for the consequences. As bad fortune would have it, the very next day the priest and the robber met in a narrow road ; the former fell a-trembling as the latter approached, and at last dropped on his knees to beg for mercy. The robber, astonished at his behaviour, desired to know the cause of it. The trembling priest answered, " // denaro, il denaro — the money, the money ; but send your brother to-morrow, and you shall have it." The haughty robber assured him that he disdained taking money of a poor priest; adding, that if any of his brothers had been low enough to make such a demand, he himself was ready to advance the sum. The priest then acquainted him with the visit he had received the preceding night from his brother by his order, assuring him, that if he had been master of the sum, he should immediately have supphed it. " Well," says the robber, " I will now convince you whether my brother or I are most to be beUeved ; you shall go with me to his house, which is but a few miles distant." On their arrival before the door, the robber called on his brother, who, never suspecting the discovery, immediately came to the balcony ; but on perceiving the priest, he began to make excuses for his conduct. The robber told him there was no excuse to be made ; that he only desired to know the fact, whether he had gone to borrow money of that priest in his name or not ? On his owning he had, the robber with deliberate coolness lifted his blunderbuss to his shoulder, and shot him dead ; and, turning to the astonished priest, " You will now be persuaded," said he, " that I had no in- tention of robbing you at least." You may now judge how happy we must be in the company of our guards. I don't know but this very hero may be one of them, as we are assured they are two of the most intrepid and resolute fellows in the island. I will not close this letter till I give you some account of our journey. In the mean time, adieu. We are going to take a look of the churches and pub- lic buildings : but with these I shall trouble you very little. 21s^, at night. — ^We have been well entertained, both from what we have seen and heard. We used to admire the dexterity of some of the divers at Naples, when they went to the depth of forty-eight or fifty feet, and could not conceive how a man could remain three minutes under water without drawing' breath ; but these are nothing to the feats of one Colas, a native of this place, who is said to have lived for seve- ral days in the sea, without coming to land, and from thence got the siu-name of Pesce, or the fish. Some of the SicUian authors afllrm that he caught fish merely by his agility in the water ; and the credulous Kir- cher asserts that he could walk across the straits at the bottom of the sea. Be that as it will, he was so much celebrated for swimming and diving, that one of their kings (Frederick) came on purpose to see him perform ; which royal visit proved fatal to poor Pesce ; for the king, after admiring his wonderful force and agility, had the cruelty to propose his diving near the THROUGH SICn.Y AND MALTA. IS gulf of Charybdis ; and to tempt him the more, threw in a large golden cup, which was to be his prize, should he bring it up. Pesce made two attempts, and astonished the spectators by the time he remained tmder water ; but in the third it is thought he was caught by the whirlpool, as he never appeared more ; and his body is said to have been found some time afterwards near Taurominum (about thirty miles dis- tant) — it having been observed that what is swal- lowed up by Charybdis is carried south by the cur- rent, and thrown out upon that coast. On the con- trary, nothing wrecked here was ever carried through the straits, or thrown out on the north side of SicUy, unless we believe what Homer says of the ship of Ulysses. We have been again to take a view of the straits at this famous whirlpool, and are more and more con- vinced that it must be infinitely diminished ; indeed, in comparison of what it was, almost reduced to no- thing. The sea appeared to have no extraordinary motion there, and ships and boats seemed to pass it with ease. When we compare this its present state with the formidable description of so many ancient authors, poets, historians, and philosophers, it ap- pears indeed not improbable that this island has been torn from the continent by some violent convulsion, and that near to this spot huge caverns have been opened, which, drinking in the waters in one course of the current, and throwing them out in the other, may perhaps in some measure account for the phe- nomena of Charybdis. I find it described both by Homer and Virgil, as alternately swallowing up and throwing out every object that approached it.* Now, is it not probable that these caverns in process of time have been in a great measure filled up by the immense quantities of rocks, .sand, gravel, &c., that were per- petually carried in by the force of the current ? I own I am not quite satisfied with this solution, but at pre- sent I cannot think of a better. The fact, however, is certam, that it must have been a dreadful object even in Virgil's time, else he never would have made ^neas and his fleet perceive its efiects at so great a distance, and immediately run out to sea to avoid it ; nor would he have made Helenus at such pains to caution him against that dangerous gulf, and advise him rather to make the whole tour of Sicily than attempt to pass it. Indeed, it is so often mentioned both in the voyage of jEneas and Ulysses, and always in such frightful terms, that we cannot doubt of its having been a very terrible object.f * Dextrum Scylla latus, Isvum implacata Charybdis Obsidet, atque imo barathri ter gurgite vastos Sorbet in abruptum fluctus, rursusque sub auras Erigit altemos, et sidera verberat unda, [Far on the right her dogs foul Scylla hides ; Charybdis roaring on the left presides. And in her greedy whirlpool sucks the tides ; Then spouts them from below : with fury driven, The waves mount up, and wash the face of heaven. Dryden.] t Seneca gives this account of it in a' letter to Lucillus :— " Scyllam saxum esse, et quidem terribile navigantibus optime scio ; Charybdis an respondeat fabulis perscribi mihi desidero, fac nos certiores, utrum uno tantum vento agatur in vortices, an omnis tempestas, ac mare illud contorqueat, et an vermn sit quidquid illo freti turbine abreptum est," &c. [" That Scylla is a rock, and one terrible to navigators, I know very well ; I wish you, however, to write and tell me if Charyb- dis agrees with the poetical accoimts of it. Inform me whether the whirlpool is dangerous under one wind alone, or whether every tempest has the power of disturbing that sea ; and if every thing absorbed in that ya\vning pool of the straits," &c.] And the following is a translation from Strabo : — " Anteurbem Paululum in trajectu Charybdis ostenditur : profundum quidem immensum : quo inundationes freti : minim in modum navigia detrahunt : magnas per circumductiones, et vortices precipitata, quibus absorptis, ac dissolutis ; naufragiorum fragmenta ad Tau- romitanum littus attrahuntur," &c. [" Before the town of Paululum, in the strait, Cliai-ybdis is After seeing the beautiful harbour of Messina, we have found nothing much worthy of notice in the city. Some of the churches are handsome, and there are a few tolerable paintings. One ceremony, from the ac- count they give of it, I shoidd like much to have seen — ^the celebration of the feast of the Vara. It appears, indeed, to be a very singular exhibition, and I am heartily sorry it does not happen at this season. lu order to the more dignified appearance of the Virgin Mary on this occasion, they have invented a very cu- rious machine, which I am told represents heaven, or at least a part of it. It is of a huge size, and moves through the street with vast pomp and ceremony. In the centre is the principal figure, which represents the Virgin ; and a httle higher, there are three others to denote the Trinity. Bound these there are a number of ^heels, said to be of a very curious construction. Every wheel contains a legion of angels, according to their different degrees of precedency — seraphim, che- rubim, and powers. These are represented by a great number of beautiful little children, all glittering in clothes of gold and silver tissue, with wings of painted feathers fixed to their shoulders. When the machine is set in motion, all these wheels move round, and the different choirs of angels continue in a constant flutter, singing hallelujahs round the Trinity and the Virgin during the whole of the procession, and are said to make a most beautiful appearance. This is aU I could learn of this singular show, neither were we admitted to see the machine ; conscious, I suppose, of the ridi- cide of which it is susceptible, they did not choose to unveil so sacred an object to the eyes of heretics. This island has ever been famous for the celebration of its feasts, even in ancient as well as modern times. They spare no expense; and as they have a large share both of superstition and invention, they never fail to produce something either very fine or very ridiculous. The feast of St Rosolia at Palermo is said to be the finest show in Europe, and costs that city every year a large sum. They assure us there is more taste and magnificence displayed in it, than in any thing of the kind in Italy ; and advise us by all means to attend it, as it happens some time near the middle of summer, when we shall probably be in that end of the island. If you please, we shall now take leave of Messina : * I did not expect to make so much out of it. But it would not be fair neither, without at least putting you in mind of the grea* veneration it has ever been held in by the rest of Sicily, for.the assistance it gave to Count Rugiero in freeing the island from the yoke of the Saracens ; in consideration of which, great privi- leges were granted it by the succeeding kings ; some of which are said stiU to remain. It was here that the Normans landed ; and this city, by the policy of some of its own inliabitants, was the first conquest they made : after which their victorious arms were soon pointed out— truly a profound gulf ; whence the currents of the frith, so prodigiously destructive to ships ; these being sucked in by sweeping whirlpools, and often engulfed and wrecked, their fragments passing to the Tauromitan shore," &c.] " Est igitur Charybdis (says Sallust) mare periculosum nautis; quod contrariis fluctuum cursibus, coUisionem facit, et rapta, quoque absorbet." [" Therefore is Charybdis a point of the sea perilous to vessels, hurrying them into collision by the conflicting courses of its waves, and often swallowing them up when it has drawn them to it."] « But these are moderate indeed when compared to the descrip- tions of the poets. * [At the time of Mr Brydone's visit, Messina was in a very poor state, and the number of its inhabitants was not above 25,000. A few years later (1783) , it was brought still lower in con- sequence of an earthquake of unusual violence, which destroyed half the buildings in the city. Since then it has revived. Its being a station of British troops during the last war, tended greatly to improve its condition. Its commerce is now consider- able, and the inhabitants are now probably four times more nu- merouti than in 1770.] 16 BRYDONE'S TOUR extended over the whole island, and a final period put to the Saracen tyranny. Count Eugiero fixed the seat of government at Palermo, and put the political sys- tem of the island upon a solid basis, of which the form (and the form alone) still remains to this day. He divided the whole island into three parts ; one he gave to his officers, another to the church, and a third he reserved for himself. Of these three branches he com- posed his parliament, that respectable body, of which the skeleton only now exists ; for it has long ago lost all its blood, nerves, and animal spirits ; and for many ages past has been reduced to a perfect caput mortuum. The superstitious tyranny of Spain has not only de- stroyed the nation^ spirit of its own inhabitants, but likewise that of every other country which has fallen under its power. Adieu. Ever yours. P. S. — Apropos ! There is one thing I had almost forgot, and I never should have forgiven myself. Do you know the most extraordinary phenomenon in the world is often observed near to this place ? I laughed at it at first as you will do, but I am now convinced of its reality ; and I am persuaded, too, that if ever it had been thoroughly examined by a philosophical eye, the natural cause must long ago have been assigned. It has often been remarked, both by the ancients and moderns, that in the heat of summer, after the sea and air have been much agitated by the winds, and a perfect calm succeeds, there appears, about the time of dawn, in that part of the heavens over the straits, a great variety of singular forms, some at rest, and some moving aboiit with great velocity. These forms, in proportion as the light increases, seem to become more aerial, tUl at last, some time before sunrise, they entirely disappear. The Sicilians represent this as the most beautiful sight in nature : Leanti, one of their latest and best writers, came here on purpose to see it. He says the heavens appeared crowded with a variety of objects : he mentions palaces, woods, gardens, &c., besides the figures of men and other animals that appear in motion amongst them. No doubt, the imagination must be greatly aiding in forming this aerial creation ; but as so many of their authors, both ancient and modern, agree in the fact, and give an account of it from their own observation, there certainly must be some foun- dation for the story. There is one Giardini, a Jesuit, who has lately written a treatise on this phenomenon, but I have not been able to find it : the celebrated Messinese Gallo has likewise published something on this singular subject ; if I can procure either of them in the island, you shall have a more perfect account of it. The common people, according to custom, give the whole merit to the devil; and indeed it is by much the shortest and easiest way of accounting for it. Those who pretend to be philosophers, and refuse him this honour, are greatly puzzled what to make of it. They think it may be owing to some uncommon refraction or reflection of the rays, from the water of the straits, which, as it is at that time carried about in a variety of eddies and vortices, must consequently, say they, make a variety of appearances on any medium where it is reflected. This, I think, is nonsense, or at least very near it ; and tiU they can say more to the purpose, I think they had much better have left it in the hands of the old gentleman. I suspect it is some- thing of the nature of our aurora borealis, and, like many of the great phenomena of nature, depends upon electrical causes ; which, in future ages, I have little doubt, will be found to be as powerful an agent in re- gulating the universe, as gravity is in this age, or as the subtle fluid was in the last. The electrical fluid, in this country of volcanoes, is probably produced in a much greater quantity than in any other. The air, strongly impregnated with this matter, and confined betwixt two ridges of moun- tains — at the same time exceedingly agitated from below by the violence of the current, and the impe- tuous whirling of the waters — may it not be supposed to produce a variety of appearances ? And may not the lively Sicilian imaginations, animated by a belief in demons, and all the wild offspring of superstition, give these appearances as great a variety of forms ? Eemember, I do not say it is so ; and hope yet to have it in my power to give you a better account of this matter. * However, if you should suppose me in this story, or in any future one I may teU you, to be in- clined to the fabulous, you wiU please to remember that I am now in the country of fable ; this island having given rise to more, perhaps, except Greece, than all the world beside. You have, therefore, only to suppose that these regions are stiU contagious ; and call to mind that Mount ^tna has ever been the great mother of monsters and chimeras, both in the ancient and modern world. However, I shall, if possible, keep free of the infection, and entertain you only with such subjects as fall under my own observation. But, in- deed, from what I have already heard of that wonder- ful mountain, the most moderate account of it would appear highly fabulous to all such as are unacquainted with objects of this kind. Adieu. We think of set- ting off" to-morrow by daybreak. I am sorry it has not been a storm, that we might have had a chance of seeing Pandemonium reared over our heads, and all the devils at work around it. I shall leave this to be sent by the first post, and shall write you again from Catania, if we escape un- hurt from ah. the perils of iEtna. Adieu. * [The phenomena here described so dubiously are now ac- knowledged as natural, and are described in science by the temi Fata Morgana. To the best of our knowledge, they occur no- where but in the Straits of Messina. The following philosophical account of them is given in the Conversations Lexicon, from the Astronomic Physique of M. Biot :— " AVhen the rising sun shines from that point whence its incident ray forms an angle of forty, five degrees, on the sea of Reggio, and the bright surface of the water in the bay is not disturbed either by wind or current — when the tide is at its height, and the waters are pressed up by the currents to a great elevation in the middle of the channel ; the spectator being placed on an eminence, with his back to the sun, and his face to the sea, the mountains of Messina rising like a wall behind it, and forming the background of the picture— on a sudden there appear in the water, as in a catoptric theatre, various multiplied objects— numberless series of pilasters, arches, castles, well delineated regular columns, lofty towers, superb palaces, with balconies and windows, extended alleys of trees, delightful plains, with herds and flocks, armies of men on foot, on horseback, and many other things, in their natural colours and proper actions, passing rapidly in succession along the surface of the sea, during the whole of the short period of time while the above-mentioned causes remain. The objects are proved, by ac- curate observations of the coast of Reggio, to be derived from objects on shore. If, in addition to the circumstances already described, the atmosphere be highly impregnated with vapour and dense exhalations, not previously dispersed by the action of the wind and waves, or rarefied by the sun, it then happens that, in this vapour, as in a curtain extended along the channel to the height of above forty palms and nearly do^vn to the sea, the ob- server will behold the scene of the same objects not only reflected on the surface of the sea, but likewise in the air, though not so distinctly or well defined. Lastly, if the air be slightly hazy and opaque, and at the same time dewy, and adapted to form the iris, then the above-mentioned objects will appear only at the surface of the sea, as in the first case, but all vividly coloured or fringed with red, green, blue, or other prismatic colours." It will be observed from this account that the optical principle of reflection is alone concerned in the phenomena, and that Mr Brydone is wrong in his surmise of an electrical cause. Another class of phenomena, which pass under the name of mirage, and by which distant objects are brought into view on the verge of the horizon, are produced by refraction, in consequence of a differ- ence of density (the result of heat) in two strata of the atmo- sphere—being thus identical with the common wonder of water poured into a bowl to make a shilling at the bottom rise into ob- servation. Mirage often takes place in great sandy plains in tropical countries, as Persia, Egypt, and Mexico.] THROUGH SICILY AND MALTA. 17 RTJINS OF TAUROMINUM. Giardini, near Taurominum, May 22. We have had a delightful journey, and if all Sicily be but as agreeable, we shall not repent of our expedition. We left Messina early this morning, with six mules for ourselves and servants, and two for our baggage. This train, I assure you, makes no eontemptible ap- pearance; particularly when you call to mind our front and rear guard, by far the most conspicuous part of it. These are two great drawcansir figures, armed cap-a-pie, with a broad hanger, two enormous pistols, and a long arquebuss : this they kept cocked and ready for action in all suspicious places ; where they recounted abundance of wonderful stories of rob- beries and murders, some of them with such very minute circumstances, that I am fully persuaded they themselves were the principal actors. However, I look upon our situation as perfectly secure ; they pay us great respect, and take the utmost pains that we shall not be imposed upon. Indeed, I think they im- pose upon every body except us ; for they tax the bills according to their pleasure ; and such cheap ones I never paid before. To-day's dinner for eleven men, (our three muleteers included), and feeding for ten mules and horses, did not amount to half-a-guinea ; and although we pay them high (an ounce a-day each), yet I am persuaded they save .us at least one- half of it on our bills. They entertained us with some of their feats, and make no scruple of owning their having put several people to death ; but add, " Mas tutti, tutti honorabilmente" — that is to say, they did not do it in a dastardly manner, nor without just provo- cation. The sea-coast of SicUy is very rich ; the sides of some of the mountains are highly cultivated, and pre- sent the most agreeable aspect that can be imagined — com, wine, oil, and silk, all mixed together, and in the greatest abundance. However, the cultivated part is but small in proportion to what is lying waste, and only serves to show the great fertility of this island, were it peopled and in industrious hands. The sides of the road are covered with a variety of flowers and of flowering shrubs, some of them exceedingly beau- tiful. The enclosm-es are many of them fenced with hedges of the Indian fig, or pricldy pear, as in Spain and Portugal ; and our guides assm-e us, that in many of the parched ravines round ^tna, there are plenty of trees which produce both cinnamon and pepper ; not so strong, they allow, as those of the spice islands, but which are sold to the merchants at a low price, by a set of banditti who dress themselves like hermits. These spices are mixed with the true pepper and cin- namon from the Indies, and sent over aU Europe. The road from Messina to this place is extremely romantic. It lies the whole way along the coast, and commands the view of Calabria, and the south part of the straits, covered with chebecs, galleys, gaUiots, and a quantity of fishing-boats. The view on the right hand is confined by high mountains, on the very sum- mits of which they have built several considerable towns and villages, which, with their churches and steeples, make a very picturesque appearance. They have chosen this elevated situation, I suppose, with a double view — to protect them both from their enemies, and from the violent heat of the climate. This fore- noon we found it excessive, but had the finest swim- ming in the world before dinner, which kept us cool and fresh for all the rest of the day. We have besides provided om-selves with umbrellas, without which, at this season, travelling would be impracticable. Betwixt this place and Messina, a little to the right, lie the mountains formerly called the Nebrodes ; and likewise the mountain of Neptune, which is reckoned the highest of that chain. It is celebrated for a gulf or crater on its summit, from whence, at particular times, there issues an exceeding cold wind, with such violence that it is difficult to approach it. I was sorry to pass this singiilar mountain, but it would have delayed us a day or two to visit it, and we are hasten- ing with impatience to a much greater object : it is now named // monte Scuderio, and is said to be so high that the Adriatic can be seen from its summit. From the description they give of it, it appears evi- dently to be an old volcano. The Nisso takes its rise from this mountain — a river renowned in antiquity for the gold found in its channel, for which reason it was by the Greeks called Chrysothoas. It is said that the remains of the ancient gold mines are still to be seen near the source of this river ; but the modem masters of Sicily have never been enterprising enough to ex- plore them. It was on this charming coast where the flocks of Apollo were kept by his daughters, Phaethusa and Lampetie ; the seizing of which, by Ulysses' com- panions, proved the cause of their deaths, and of all his subsequent misfortunes. The mountain of Tau- romina is very liigh and steep, and the road up to it is exceedingly rugged. This once famous city is now reduced to an insig- nificant borough ; yet even these small remains give a high idea of its former magnificence. The theatre, I think, is accounted the largest in the world. It ap- pears to me greatly superior to that of Adrian's villa near Rome. It is entire enough to give a very toler- able idea of the Roman theatre, and indeed astonishes by its vastness ; nor can I perceive how any voice would extend through the prodigious number of peo- ple it must have contained. I paced about one quarter of.it, over the boxes that were intended for the women, which is not near the outward circle of all ; the rest is so broken that I could get no farther. It measured about 120 ordinary steps, so that you may conceive the greatness of the whole. The seats front Moimt ^tna, which makes a- glorious appearance from this place, and no doubt has often diverted their attention from the scene. It arises from an immense base, and mounts equally on all sides to its summit. It is just now throwing out volumes of white smoke, which do not rise in the air, but seem to roU down the side of the mountain like a vast torrent. The ascent of JFArva, on each side is computed at about 30 miles, and the cir- cumference of its base at 150. I think it does not appear to be so much ; but I shall probably be enabled to give you a fuller account of it afterwards. After admiring the great theatre of Taurominum, we went to examine the Naumachia, and the reser- voirs for supplying it with water. About 1.50 paces of one side of the wall of the Naumachia remains ; but as this is not complete, there is no judging of its ori- ginal dimensions. This is supposed to have been a large square, enclosed with strong walls, and capable of being filled with water on occasion, intended for the exhibition of sea-fights and aU naval exercises. There were four reservoirs for supplying tliis with water. All are upon the same grand scale. One of these is almost entire; it is supported by a great number of strong pillars in the same manner as those of Titus's baths at Rome, and several others you may have seen in Italy. I wovdd dweU longer on objects of this kind, but I am persuaded descriptions can give but a very imperfect idea of them ; and to mark out the precise dimensions with a mathematical exactness, where there is nothing very remarkable, must surely be but a dry work, both to the writer and reader. I shall therefore content myself (I hope it will content you too) with endeavouring to commmiicate, as entire as possible, the same impression I myself shall receive, without descending too much to particulars, or fatigu- ing myself or you with the mensuration of antique walls, merely because they are such, except where there is indeed something both striking and different from what has already been described in Italy. I own I despair of success ; few things I beheve in writing being more difficult than thus s'smparer de V imagination— \fi seize, to make ourselves masters of 18 BRYDONE'S TOUR the reader's imagination, to carry it along with us through every scene, and make it in a manner con- genial with oiu: own — every prospect opening upon him with the same light, and arismg in the same colours, and at the same instant, too, as upon us ; for where descriptions fail m this, the pleasure of reading tliem must be very trivial. Now, perhaps, this same journal style is the most favourable of any to produce these effects. It is at least the most agreeable to the writer, who never has his subject to seek, but needs only recoUect what has passed since he has laid down the pen, and travel the day over again ; and if he travels it to good pm-pose, it ought to be equally agreeable to the reader, too, who thereby becomes one of the party, and bears a share in all the pleasures of the journey, without suflFering from the fatigues of it. One of my great difficulties, I see, will be the find- ing proper places to write in, for the inns are alto- gether execrable, and there is no such thing as get- ting a room to one's self. I am just now writing on the end of a barrel, which I chose rather than the table, as it is farther removed from noise. I must therefore entreat you, once for all, to excuse incorrect- ness and want of method. How can one be methodical upon a barrel ? It has ever been the most declared enemy to method. You might as well expect a sermon from Bacchus, or a coherent speech from oiu- friend Lord after he has finished the third bottle. You will be pleased, then, just to take things as they occur. Were I obliged to be strictly methodical, I should have no pleasure in writing you these letters ; and then, if my position is just, you coiild have no pleasure in reading them. Our guards have procured us beds, though not in the town of Taurominum, but in Giardini, a village at the foot of the mountain on which it stands. The people are extremely attentive, and have procured us an excellent supper and good wine, which now waits — but shall wait no longer. Adieu. To-morrow we intend to climb Mount ^Ana on this (its east) side, if we find it practicable. Ever yours. ASCENT OP MOUNT iETNA. Catania, May 24. I AM already almost two days in arrears. Yesterday we were so much fatigued with the abominable roads of Mount iEtna, that I was not able to wield a pen ; and to-day, I assure you, has by no means been a day of rest : however, I must not delay any longer, other- wise I shall never be able to make up my lee way. I am afraid you will suffer more from tlae fatigues of the journey than I at first apprehended. We left Giardini at five o'clock. About half a mUe farther the first region of Mount -ZEtna begins, and here they have set up the statue of a saint, for having prevented the lava Irom running up the mountain of Taurominum, and destroying the adjacent country; which the people think it certainly must have done, had it not been for this kind interposition ; but he very wisely, as well as humanely, conducted it down a low valley to the sea. We left the Catania road on the left, and began to ascend the mountain in order to visit the celebrated tree, known by the name of II Castagno de Cento Ca- valli (the cheotnut-tree of a hundred horse), which, for some centuries past, has been looked upon as one of the greatest wonders of M%n&. We had likewise pro- posed, if possible, to gain the summit of the momitain by this side, and to descend by the side of Catania ; but we were soon convinced of the impossibihty of this, and obliged, with a good deal of reluctance, to relinquish this part of our scheme. As we advanced In the first region of iEtna, we observed that there had been eruptions of fire all over this country at a great distance from the summit, or principal crater of the mountain. On our road to the vUlagc of Piedmonte, I took notice of several very considerable craters, and stones of a large size scat- tered all around, that had been discharged from them. These stones are precisely such as are thrown out of the crater of Mount Vesuvius ; and indeed the lava, too, seems to be of the same nature, though rather more porous. The distance from Giardini to Piedmonte is only ten miles ; but as the road is exceedingly rough and difficult, we took near four hours to travel it. The barometer, which at Giardini (on the sea-side) stood at 29 inches 10 lines, had now fallen to 27 inches 3 hues. Fahrenheit's thermometer (made by Mr Adams in London) stood at 73 degrees. We found the people extremely inquisitive to know our errand, wliich, when we told, many of them offered to accompany vis. Of these we chose two ; and after drinking our tea, which was matter of great speculation to the inhabi- tants, who had never before seen a breakfast of this kind, we began to climb the mountain. We were directed for five or six miles of our road by an aqueduct, which the Prince of Palagonia has made at a great expense, to supply Piedmonte with water. After we left the aqueduct, the ascent became a good deal more rapid, till we arrived at the begin- ning of the second region, called by the natives La Regione Sylvoso, or the woody region, because it is composed of one vast forest that extends all around the mountain. Part of this was destroyed by a very singular event, not later than the year 1755. During an eruption of the volcano, an immense torrent of boiling water issued, as is imagined, from the great crater of the mountain, and in an instant poured down to its base, overwhelming and ruining every thing it met with in its course. Our conductors showed us the traces of the torrent, which are still very visible, but are now beginning to recover verdure and vegetation, which for some time appeared to have been lost. The track it has left seems to be about a mile and a half broad, and in some places still more. The common opinion, I find, is, that this water was raised by the power of suction, through some com- munication betwixt the volcano and the sea, the ab- surdity of which is too glaring to need a refutation. The power of suction alone, even supposing a perfect vacuum, could never raise water to more than thirty- three or thirty -four feet, which is equal to the M^eight of a column of air the whole height of the atmo- sphere. But this circiunstance, I should imagine, might be easily enough accounted for, either by a stream of lava falling suddenly into one of the valleys of snow that occupy the higher regions of the moimtain, and melting it down ; or, what I think is still more pro- bable, that the melted snow smks into vast caverns ^and reservoirs in the mountain, where it is lodged for some time, tiU the excessive heat of the lava below bursts the sides of these caverns, and produces tlais phenomenon, which has been matter of great specula- tion to the Sicilian philosophers, and has employed the pens of several of them. The same thing happened in an eruption of Vesuvius last century, and in an instant swept away about five hundred people, who were marching in procession at the foot of the moun- tain to implore the mediation of St Januarius. Near to this place we passed through some beauti- ful woods of cork and. evergreen oak, growing abso- lutely out of the lava, the soil having as yet hardly filled the crevices of that porous substance ; and, not a great way farther, I observed several little moun- tains that seemed to have been formed by a late erup- tion. I dismounted from my mule, and climbed to the top of them all. They are seven in number, every one of them with a regular cup or crater on the top ; and in some the great gulf or (as they call it) Vora- gine, that had discharged the burnt matter of which these little mountains are formed, is still open. I tumbled stones down into these gulfs, and heard the THROUGH SICn.Y AND MALTA. 19 noise for a long time after. All the fields round, to a considerable distance, are covered with large burnt stones discliarged from these little volcanoes. Erom this place it is not less than five or six miles to the great chestnut-trees, through forests growing out of the lava, in several places almost impassable. Of these trees, there are many of an enormous size ; but the Castagno de Cento CavaUi is by much the most celebrated. I have even foimd it marked in an old map of Sicily, published near a hundred years ago ; and in all the maps of ^tna and its environs it makes a very conspicuous figure. I own I was by no means struck with its appearance, as it does not seem to be one tree, but a bush of five large trees growing together. We complained to our guides of the impo- sition, when they unanimously assured us, that by the universal tradition and even testimony of the country, aU these were once united in one stem ; that their grandfathers remembered this when it was looked upon as the glory of the forest, and visited from all quarters ; that for many years past it had been reduced to the venerable ruin we beheld. We began to examine it with more attention, and found there was indeed an appearance as if these five trees had really been once imited in one. The opening in the middle is at present prodigious, and it does indeed require faith to believe that so vast a space was once occupied by solid timber. But there is no appearance of bark on the inside of any of the stumps, nor on the sides that are opposite to one another. Mr Glover and I measured it separately, and brought it exactly to the same size, namely, 204 feet round. If this was once united in one solid stem, it must with justice, indeed, have been looked upon as a very wonderful phenomenon in the vegetable world, and was deser- vedly styled the glory of the forest. I have since been told by the Canonico Recupero, an ingenious ecclesiastic of this place, that he was at the expense of carrying up peasants with tools to dig round the Castagno de Cento CavaUi ; and he assures me, upon his honour, that he fomid all these stems united below ground in one root. I alleged that so extraordinary an object must have been mentioned by many of their writers. He told me that it had, and produced several examples — Philateo, Carrera, and some others. Carrera begs to be excused from telling its dimensions, but says he is sure there was wood enough in that one tree to build a large palace. Their poet Bagolini, too, has celebrated a tree of the same kind, perhaps the same tree ; * and Massa, one of their most esteemed authors, says he has seen solid oaks upwards of forty feet round, but adds, that the size of the chestnut-trees was beyond belief, the hollow of one of which, he says, contained 300 sheep, and thirty people on horseback had often been in it at a time. I shall not pretend to say that this is the same tree he means, or whether it ever was one tree or not. There are many others that are well deserving the curiositj' of travellers. One of these, about a mile and a half higher on the mountain, is called II Castagno del Galea ; it rises from one solid stem to a considerable height, after which it branches out, and is a much finer object than the other. I measured it about two feet from the groimd, and found it seventy-six feet rovmd. There is a third called II Castagno del Nave, that is pretty nearly of the same size. AU these grow^ on a thick rich soil, formed originaUy, I believe, of ashes throAvn out by the moimtain. The cUmate here is much more temperate than in * Supremos inter montes monstroslor omni Slonstrosi faetum stipitis ^Etna dedit Castaneam genuit, cujus modo concava cortex Turmam equitum haud parvam eontinet, atque greges, &c. [Of lofty mounts by far the loftiest, Prodigious iEtna bore a wondrous tree — A chestnut— whose vast hollow may contain A well-sized band of horse, or flocks, or herds, &c.] the first region of iEtna, where the excessive heats must ever prevent a very luxuriant vegetation. I found the barometer had now fallen to 26 degrees 5^ lines, which announces an elevation of very near four thousand feet, equivalent, in the opinion of some of the French academicians, to eighteen or twenty de- grees of latitude in the formation of a climate. The vast quantity of nitre contained in the ashes of iEtna, probably contributes greatly to increase the luxuriance of this vegetation ; and the air, too, strongly impregnated with it from the smoke of the volcano, must create a constant supply of this salt, termed by some, not without reason, the food of vegetables. There is the ruins of a house in the inside of the great chestnut-tree, which had been bmlt for holding the fruit it bears, which is still considerable ; here we dined with exceUent appetite, and being convinced that it was in vain to attempt getting to the top of the mountain on that side, we began to descend ; and after a very fatiguing journey over old lavas, now become fertUe fields and rich vineyards, we arrived about sunset at Jaci Reale, where, with no smaU diffi- culty, we at last got lodging in a convent of Domini- cans. The last lava we crossed before our arrival there is of a vast extent. I thought we never should have had done with it ; it certainly is not less than six or seven mUes broad, and appears in many places to be of an enormous depth. When we came near the sea, I was desirous to see what form it had assumed in meeting with the water. I went to examine it, and found it had driven back the waves for upwards of a mile, and had formed a large black high promontory, where before it was deep water. TMs lava, I imagined, from its barren- ness, for it is as yet covered with a very scanty soU, had run from the mountain only a few ages ago ; but was surprised to be informed by Signior Recupero, the historiographer of iEtna, that this very lava is men- tioned by Diodorus Siculus to have burst from ^tna in the time of the second Punic war, when Syracuse was besieged by the Romans. A detachment was sent from Taurominum to the relief of the besieged. Tliey were stopped on their march by this stream of lava, which having reached the sea before their arrival at the foot of the mountain, had cut off their passage j and obliged them to return by the back of ^tna, up- wards of one himdred miles about. His authority for this, he tells me, was taken from inscriptions on Ro- man monmnents found on this lava, and that it was likewise weU ascertained by many of the old SiciUan authors. Now, as this is about two thousand years ago, one would haA-e imagined, if lavas have a regular pro- gress in becoming fertile fields, that this must long ago have become at least arable ; this, however, is not the case ; and it is as yet only covered with a very scanty vegetation, and incapable of producing either corn or vines. There are indeed pretty large trees growing in the crevices, which are full of a rich earth ; but in alljirobabiUty it will be some hundred years yet before there is enough of it to render tliis land of any use to the proprietors. It is curious to consider, that the surface of this black and barren matter, in process of time, becomes one of the most fertile soils upon earth. But what must be the time to bring it to its utmost perfection, when after two thousand years it is still in most places but a barren rock ? Its progress is possibly as foUows : — The lava, being a very porous substance, easUy catches the dust that is carried about by the wind, which at first, I observe, only yields a kind of moss : this rotting, and by degrees increasing the soU, some small meagre vegetables are next produced, which, rotting in their turn, are likewise converted into soil But this progress, I suppose, is often greatly accele- rated by showers of ashes from the mountain, as I have observed in some places the richest soU, to the depth of five or six feet and upwards ; and stUl below 20 BRYDONE'S TOUR that, nothing but rocks of lava. It is in these spots that the trees arrive at such an immense size. Their roots shoot into the crevices of the lava, and lay such hold of it, that there is no instance of the winds tear- ing them up, though there are many of its breaking off their largest branches. A branch of one of the great chestnut-trees, where we passed yesterday, has fiillen across a deep gully, and formed a very commo- dious bridge over the rivulet below. The people say it Avas done by St Agatha, the guardian saint of the mountain, who has the superintendence of all its ope- rations. In the lowest part of the first region of MtnsL, the harvest is almost over ; but in the upper parts of the same region, near tlie confines of the Regione Sylvosa, it wiU not begin for several weeks. The reapers, as Ave went along, abused us from aU quarters, and more excellent blackguards I have never met with ; but, indeed, our guides were a full match for them. They began as soon as we were within hearing, and did not finish till we were got without reach of their voices, which they extended as much as they could. As it Avas all Sicilian, Ave could make very little of it, but by the interpretation of our gtiides ; however, we could not help admiring the vo- lubility and natural elocution with which they spoke. This custom is as old as the time of the Romans, and probably much older, as it is mentioned by Horace and others of their authors. It is still in vogue here as much as ever ; the masters encourage it ; they think its gives them spirits, and makes the work go on more cheerfully ; and I believe they are right, for it is amaz- ing what pleasure they seemed to take in it, and what laughing and merriment it occasioned. I forgot to mention that we passed the source of the famous cold riyer {II fiume freddo). This is the river so celebrated by the poets in the fable of Acis and Galatea.* It was here that Acis was supposed to have been killed by Polyphemus, and the gods out of compassion converted him into this river, which, as still retaining the terror inspired by the dreadful voice of the Cyclops, runs with great rapidity, and about a mile from its source throAvs itself into the sea. It rises at once out of the earth a large stream. Its water is remai-kably pure, and so extremely cold, that it is reckoned dangerous to drink it ; but I am told it has likewise a poisonous quaUty, which proceeds from its being impregnated with vitriol to such a degree, that cattle have often been killed by it. It never freezes ; but, what is remarkable, it is said often to con- tract a degree of cold greater than that of ice. These particulars I was informed of by the priests at Aci ; which place, anciently called Aci Aquileia, and several others near it, Aci Castello, Aci Terra, &c., take their names from the imfortunate shepherd Acis. A little to the east of the river Acis is the mouth of the river Alcantara, one of the most considerable in the island. It takes its rise on the north side of Mount iEtna, and marks out the boundary of |^e moimtain for about sixty miles. Its course has been stopped in many places by the eruptions of the vol- cano ; so that, strictly speaking, the skirts of JEtna extend much beyond it, though it has generally been considered as the boimdary. We passed it on our way * [Acis, according to heathen fable, Avas the son of Faunus and the nymph Symiethis. He fell in love with Galatea, and had for his rival Polyphemus, who cnished him with a stone. See Ovid's Metamorphoses, xiii. The local memorials of this story, enume- rated in the text, are very curious : probably, while they seem to an unenlightened mind to establish the veracity of the entire fable, they are only the result of the poetical fictions built upon tliat fable, or the slight foundation which it maj' have had in fact, the jjopular mind being always ready to find a place for any incident, however imaginary, which becomes familiarly known. Already the incidents of the Lady of the Lake are all realised, in connexion with certain spots, by the peasantry around Loch Katrine.] to Piedmonte, over a large bridge built entirely of lava ; and near to this the bed of the river is con- tinued for a great way, through one of the most re- markable, and probably one of the most ancient lavas that ever ran from iEtna. In many places the cur- rent of the river, which is extremely rapid, has worn down the solid lava to the depth of fifty or sixty feet. Recupero, the gentleman I have mentioned, who is engaged in writing the natural history of iEtna, tells me he has examined this lava with great attention, and he thinks that its course, including all its wind- ings, is not less than forty miles. It issued from a mountain on the north side of J3tna, and finding some valleys that lay to the east, it took its course that way, interrupting the Alcantara in many places, and at last arrived at the sea, not far from the mouth of that river. The city of Jaci, or Aci, and indeed all the towns on this coast, are founded on immense rocks of lava, heaped one above another, in some places to an amaz- ing height ; for it appears that these flaming torrents, as soon as they arrived at the sea, Avere hardened into rock, which not yielding any longer to the pressure of the liquid fire behind, the melted matter continuing to accumulate, formed a dam of fire, which in a short time run over the solid front, pouring a second torrent into the ocean; this was immediately consolidated, and succeeded by a third, and so on. Many of the places on the coast still retain their ancient names ; but the properties ascribed to them by the ancients are now no more. The river Acis, which is now so poisonous, was of old celebrated for the sweetness and salubrity of its Avaters ; * which Theo- critus says were ever held sacred by the Sicilian shepherds. We were surprised to find that so many places re- tained the name of this swain, who, I imagined, had never existed but in the imagination of the poets : but the SicUian authors say, that Acis was the name of a king who reigned in this part of the island in the time of the most remote antiquity, in confirmation of which, Massa gives the translation of an inscription found near Aci CasteUo.f He is said to have been slain in a fit of jealousy by Polyphemus, one the giants of Mtna, whiclt gave rise to the fable. AnguUlara, a Sicilian poet, in relating this story, gives a tremendous idea of the voice of Polyphemus : the passage has been greatly admired. Tremo per troppo horrore jEtna ; c Tifeo Fece maggior la fiamma useir del monte ; E Pacchino, e Peloro, e Lilibeo Quasi attuffar nel mar I'altera fronte ; Cadde il martel di man nel monte Etneaeo, All Ke di Lenno, a Sterope, e a Bronte ; Fugir flere et augei di lor ricetto E si strinse ogni madre il figlio al Pctto4 * Quique per jEtnsEOS Acis petit sequora fines, Et dulci gratum Nereida perluit unda.— 5)7. Ital. [Acis through ^Etna's bounds that seeks the ocean-waves, And with its waters sweet the grateful Nereid laves.] t Di-^ OaniX., SATUBNI^, ^TN.S.E DEORUM, MARTI, FILIvE, UXORI, IN PORTU SEPULCHRUM, TBMPLUM, ET ABCEM ACIS, FAUNI FILIUS, PICI NBPOS, SATURNI PRONEPOS, 1/ATINI FKATER. [Pew scholars would probably agree in the interpretation of this inscription, which Ave therefore leave unattempted, begging the reader to console himself with the reflection that it is but a silly forgery of comparatively late times, got up by some Sicilian with the iEneid before him, for the patriotic purpose of making out Acis to be the " great-grandson of Saturn."] X [The parallel passage in Virgil will give nearly the sense of the Sicilian verses, and is as follows:— And now the goddess, exercised ia ill, ♦ * * THROUGH SICILY AND MALTA. 21 , You will observe, however, that the Sicilian poet cannot in justice claim the entire merit of these lines, as they are evidently borrowed from Virgil's descrip- tion of the soimd of the Tury Alecto's horn, in the 7th JEneid. The last line, perhaps the most beautiful of the whole, is almost word for word : — Et trepid£D matres pressere ad pectora natos. [And frighted mothers closely clasped their young.] It has been observed, too, by some critics, that even this description of Virgil is not his own, but copied from the account that ApoUonius Khodius gives of the roaring of the dragon that guarded the golden fleece ; so that you see there is nothing new imder the sun. Ehodius probably stole it from somebody else, and so on. Poets have ever been the greatest of all thieves ; and happy it is that poetical theft is no felony, other- wise, I am afraid, Parnassus would have been but thinlv peopled. Farewell : to-morrow I shall endeavour to bring you up with us ; for at present you wiU please to observe, tliat you have got no farther than the city of Jaci, and have still many extinguished volcanoes to pass before your arrival here. Ever yours, &c. LAVAS ABOUND JETNA, Catania, May 25. The road from Jaci to this city is entirely over lava, and consequently very fatiguing and troublesome. Within a few mUes of that place, we counted eight mountains formed by eruption, with every one its crater, from whence the burnt matter was discharged. Some of these are very high, and of a great compass. It appears evidently that the eruptions of Mount JEtna have formed the whole of the coast, and in many places have driven back the sea for several miles from its ancient boundary. The account the Sicihan authors give of the conflict betwixt these two adverse elements is tridy tremendous ; and in relating it, they seem to have been shaken with horror. Conceive the front of a torrent of fire, ten mUes in breadth, and heaped up to an enormous height, rolling down the mountain, and pouring its flames into the ocean. The noise, they assure us, is infinitely more dreadful than the loudest thunder, and is heard through the whole country to an immense distance. The water seemed to retire and diminish before the fire, and to confess its superi- ority, yielding up its possessions, and contracting its banks, to make room for its imperious master, who commands it — "Thus far shalt thou come, and no farther." The clouds of salt vapour darken the face of the sun, covering up this scene under a veil of horror and of night, and laying waste every field and vineyard in these regions of the island. The whole fish on the coast are destroyed, the colour of the sea itself is changed, and the transparency of its waters lost for many months. There are three rocks of lava at some little distance from shore, which Pliny takes frequent notice of, and calls them the Three Cyclops. It is pretty singular that they are still distinguished by the same name. The fate of Catania has been very remarkable, and will ever appear fabulous. It is situated immediately at the foot of this great volcano, and has been several times destroyed by it. That, indeed, is not extraor- dinary ; it would have been much more so had it es- Ascends the roof, and to her crooked horn * * * Adds all her breath. The rocks and woods around. And mountains, tremble at the infernal sound. The sacred lake of Trivia from afar, The Veline fountains, and sulphureous Nar, Shake at the baleful blast, the signal of the war. Young mothers wildly stare, with fear possest, And strain their helpless infants to their breast.] caped ; but what I am going to relate is a singularity that probably never happened to any city but itself. It was always in great want of a port, till by an erup- tion in the sixteentli century, and, no doubt, by the interposition of St Agatha, what was denied them by nature they received from the generosity of the moim- tain. A stream of lava, running into the sea, formed a mole which no expense could have furnished them. This lasted for some time a safe and commodious har- bour, till at last, by a subsequent eruption, it was en- tirely fiUed up and demolished ; so that probably the poor saint had smik much in her credit, for, at this unfortunate period, her miraculous veil, looked upon as the greatest treasure of Catania, and esteemed an infallible remedy against earthquakes and volcanoes, seems to have lost its virtue. The torrent burst over the walls, sweeping away the images of every saint that was placed there to oppose it, and, laying waste great part of this beautiful city, poured into the sea. However, the people say that at that time they had given their saint very just provocation, but that she has long ago been reconciled to them, and has pro- mised never to suffer the mountain to get the better of them for the future. Many of them are so thoroughly convinced of this (for they are extremely superstitious), that I reaUy beheve if the lava were at their walls they would not be at the pains to remove their effects. Neither is it the veil of St Agatha alone that they think possessed of this wonderful dominion over the mountain, but every thing that has touched that piece of sacred attire they suppose is impregnated in a lesser degree with the same miraculous properties. Thus there are a number of little bits of cotton and linen fixed to the veil, which, after being blessed by the bishop, are supposed to acquire power enough to save any person's house or garden ; and wherever this expe- dient has failed, it is always ascribed to the want of faith of the person, not any want of efiicacy in the veil. However, they tell you many stories of these bits of cotton being fixed to the walls of houses and vine- yards, and preserving them entirely from the confla- gration. On our arrival at Catania, we were amazed to find that in so noble and beautiful a city there was no such thing as an inn. Our guides, indeed, con- ducted us to a house they called such ; but it was so wretchedly mean and dirty, that we were obliged to look out for other lodgings ; and by the assistance of the Canonico Ilecupero, for whom we had letters, we soon found ourselves comfortably lodged in a convent. The Prince of Biscaris (the governor of the place) a person of very great merit and distinction, returned our visit this forenoon, and made us the most obhging offers. Signior Kecupero, who obhgingly engages to be our Cicerone, has shown us some curious remains of anti- quity; but they have been all so shaken and shattered by the mountain, that hardly any thing is to be foimd entire. Near to a vault, which is now thirty feet below ground, and has probably been a burial-place, tliere is a draw-weU, where there are several strata of lavas, with earth to a considerable thickness over the sur- face of each stratum. Eecupero has made use of this as an argument to prove the great antiquity of the eruptions of this mountain. Por, as it requires two thousand years or, upwards to form a scanty soil on the siu-fiice of a lava, there must have been more than that space of time betwixt each of the eruptions which have formed these strata. But what shall we say of a pit they sunk near to Jaci, of a great depth ? They pierced through seven distinct lavas, one under the other, the surfaces of which were parallel, and most of them covered with a thick bed of rich earth. Now, says he, the eruption which formed the lowest of these lavas, if we may be allowed to reason from analogy, must have flowed from the moimtain at least 14,000 years ago. 22 BRYDONE'S TOUR EeCTipero tells me he is exceedingly embarrassed by these discoveries in writing the history of the mountain ; that Moses hangs like a dead weight upon him, and blunts all his zeal for inquiry ; for that really he has not the conscience to make his moun- tain so young as that prophet makes the world. What do you think of these sentiments from a Koman Ca- tholic di\ine ? The bishop, who is strenuously ortho- dox — for it is an excellent see — ^has already warned him to be upon his guard, and not to pretend to be a better natural historian than Moses, nor to presume to urge any thing that may in the smallest degree be deemed contradictory to his sacred authority.* Adieu. Ever yours. CATANIA.-CATHOLIC SUPERSTITIOXS. Catania, May 26. This morning we went to see the house and museum of the Prince of Biscaris, which, in antiques, is infe- rior to none I have ever seen, except that of the King of Naples at Portici. What adds greatly to the value of these is, that the prince himself has had the satis- faction of seeing the most of them brought to hght. He has dug them out of the ruins of the ancient theatre of Catania at an incredible expense; but, happil}'', his pains have been amply repaid by the number and variety of curious objects he has disco- vered. It would be endless to enter into an enume- ration of them ; even dmring our short stay, we had the satisfaction of seeing part of a rich Corinthian cornice, and several pieces of statues, produced again to the light, after lying for so many ages in darkness and oblivion. His collection of medals, cameos, and intaglios, is likewise very princely, and so are the articles in natural history ; but the polite and amiable behaviour of the owner gives more pleasure than all his curiosities. He did not ostentatiously, hke the Prince of ViUa Pranca, teU us that his house and carriages were at our command; but without any hint being given of it, we found his coach waiting at our door ; and we shall probably be obliged to make use of it during our stay. His family consists of the princess his wife, a son, and a daughter, who seem to emulate each other in benignity. They put me in mind of some happy families I have seen in our own country, but resemble nothing we have met with on the continent. He is just now building a curious villa on a promontory formed by the lava of 1669. The spot where the house stands was formerly at least fifty feet deep of \rater, and the height of the lava above the present level of the sea is not less than fifty more. This afternoon I walked out alone to examine the capricious forms and singular appearances that this * [This passage has been the subject of much severe comment That Mr Brydone, in putting into a whimsical light many of the religious superstitions of the countries through which he travelled, was incautious respecting the essential things of religion, is very evident : it was an error into which a young man of sprightly talents and thorough devotion to natural science was then very apt to fall. The passage also shows incautiousness in point of science. It was pointed out in Dodsley's Annual Register (xviii. p. 134), that there must be great differences in the rapidity of the growth of soil above lava in different places ; that, in a low place like that spoken of in the text, the washing effect of rains would be apt to create a stratum of earth in a comparatively short time; and that Mr Brydone himself admits, in the passage respecting Mel Passi, that a lava surface was " soon" made fer- tile by a shower of ashes from the volcano. We are fortunately not called upon to argue the question seriously, as geological inquiries of a more profound nature have now established the age of the world as much beyond what the above circumstances in their greatest latitude would infer, while it is alike clearly shown that the supposition of its age being about 6000 years is nowhere dii-cctly aftii-med by Moses.] destructive branch has assumed in laying waste the country. I had not gone far when I spied a magni- ficent building at some distance, which seemed to stand on the highest part of it. My curiosity led me on, as I had heard no mention of any palace on this side of the city. On entering the great gate, my surprise was a good deal increased on observing a facade al- most equal to that of Versailles, a noble staircase of white marble, and every thing that announced a royal magnificence. I had never heard that the kings of Sicily had a palace at Catania, and yet I could no€ account for what I saw in any other way. I thought the vast front before me had been the whole of the palace ; but conceive my amazement, when, on turn- ing the corner, I found another front of equal great- ness, and discovered that what I had seen was only one side of a square. I was no longer in doubt, well knowing that the church alone could be mistress of such magnificence. I hastened home to communicate this discovery to my friends, when I found the Canonico Recupero already ' with them. He abused us exceedingly for presuming to go out without our Cicerone, and declared he had never been so much disappointed in his life, as he had come on purpose to carry us there, and to enjoy our sm-prise and astonishment. He then told us that it was no other than a convent of fat Benedictine monks, who were determined to make sure of a paradise, at least in this world, if not in the other. He added that they were worth about £15,000 a -year — an immense sum, indeed, for this country. We went with Recupero to pay our respects to these sons of humility, temperance, and mortifica- tion ; and we must own they received and entertained us with great civility and politeness, and even with- out ostentation. Their museum is little inferior to that of the Prince of Biscaris, and the apartments that contain it are much more magnificent. But their garden is the greatest curiosity ; although it be formed on the rugged and barren surface of the lava, it has a variety and a neatness seldom to be met with. The walks are broad, and paved with flints ; and the trees and hedges (which, by the bye, are in a bad state, and cut into a number of ridiculous shapes) thrive exceed- ingly. The whole soil must have been brought from a great distance, as the surface of this lava (only 150 years old) is as hard and bare as a piece of iron. The church belonging to this convent, if finished, would be one of the finest in Europe ; but as it is founded on the surface of the porous and brittle lava, part of the foundation has given way to the pressure of so huge a fabric ; and several of the large arches that were in- tended to form the different chapels, have already fallen down. Only the west limb of the cross (not a fifth of the whole) is finished, and even this alone makes a very fine church. Here they have the finest organ I ever heard, even superior, I think, to that at Haerlem. We went next to examine where the laA^a had scaled the walls of Catania. It must have been a noble sight. The walls are sixty-four palms high (near sixty feet), and of great strength, otherwise they must have been borne down by the force of the flaming matter which rose over this height, and seems to have mounted con- siderably above the top of the wall before it made its entry ; at last it came down, sweeping before it every saint in the calendar, who were drawn up in order of battle on purpose to oppose its passage, and marching on in triumph, annihilated, in a manner, every object that dared to oppose it. Amongst otlicr things, it covered up some fine fountains, one of which was so much esteemed, that they have at a great expense pierced through the lava, and have now recovered their favourite spring. This excavation is a very curious work, and worthy of the attention of travellers. Catania is looked upon as one of the most ancient cities in the island, or indeed in the world. Their legends bear, that it was founded by the Cyclops, or THROUGH SICILY AND MALTA. 23 giants of ^tna, supposed to have been the first inha- bitants of Sicily after the Deluge ; and some of the Sicilian writers pretend that it was built by Deucalion and Pyrrha as soon as the waters subsided, and they had got down again to the foot of the mountain. Its ancient name was Catetna, or the city of JEtna. It is now reckoned the third city in the kingdom, though, since Messina was destroyed by the plague, it may well be considered as the second. It contains up- wards of thirty thousand inhabitants, has a xmiversity, the only one in the island, and a bishopric. The bishop's revenues are considerable, and arise principally from the sale of the snow on Mount iEtna, one small por- tion of which, lying on the north of the mountain, is said to bring him in upwards of £1000 a-year; for ^tna furnishes snow and ice not only to the whole island of Sicily, but likewise to Malta, and a great part of Italy, and makes a very considerable branch of commerce; for even the peasants in these hot countries regale themselves with ices during the sum- mer heats, and there is no entertainment given by the nobihty of which these do not always make a principal part : a famine of snow, they themselves say, would be more grievous than a famine of either com or wine. It is a common observation amongst them, that without the snows of Moupt ^tna their island could not be inhabited, so essential has this article of luxury become to them. But ^tna not only keeps them cool in summer, but likewise keeps them warm in winter ; the fuel for the greatest part of the island being carried from the immense and inexhaustible forests of this volcano, and constitutes, too, a very large branch of commerce. But this amazmg moun- tain perpetually carries me away from my subject : I was speaking of this city. What of it was spared by the eruption of 1669, was totally ruined by the fatal earthquake in 1693, when the greater part of its inha- bitants were buried under the walls of their houses and churches. Yet, after such repeated and such dismal disasters, so strange is their infatuation, that they could never be prevailed upon to change its situation. The whole city was soon rebuilt, after a new and ele- gant plan, and is now much handsomer than ever. There is scarce any doubt that in some future com- motion of the mountain, it will be again laid in ashes. But at present they are in perfect security ; the Vir- gin and St Agatha have both engaged to protect them ; and under their banner they hold iEtna, with all the "devils it contains, at defiance. There are many remains of antiquity in this city, biit indeed most of them are in a very ruinous state. One of the most remarkable is an elephant of lava, with an obelisk of Egyptian granite on his back. There are Ukewise considerable remains of a great theatre, besides the one belonging to the Prince of Biscaris ; a large bath almost entire; the ruins of the great aqueduct, eighteen miles long; the ruins of several temples, one of Ceres, another of Vulcan ; the church called Bocca di Fuoco was likewise a temple. But the most entire of all is a small rotundo, which, as well as the Pantheon at Kome, and some others to be met with in Italy, in my opinion demonstrates that form to be the most diu-able of any. It has now been purged and purified from all the infection contracted from heathen rites, and is become a Christian church, dedicated to the blessed Virgin, who has long been constituted imiversal legatee and executrix to all the ancient goddesses, celestial, terres- trial, and infernal ; and, indeed, little more than the names are changed, the things continuing pretty much the same as ever. The Catholics themselves do not attend to it, but it is not a Mttle curious to consider, how small is the deviation in almost every article of their present rites from those of the ancients. I have somewhere seen an observation, which seems to be a just one, that during the long reign of heathenism, superstition had altogether exhausted her talent for invention, so that when a superstitious spirit seized Christians, they were imder the necessity of borrow- ing from their predecessors, and imitating some part of their idolatry. This appears to be strictly the case. I took notice of it to Signior Recupero, who is not the most zealous sectary in the world, and who frankly owiied the truth of the observation. In some places the very same images still remain : they have only christened them ; and what was Venus or Proserpine, is now Mary Magdalene or the Virgin. The same ceremonies are daily performed before these images, in the same language, and nearly in the same manner. The saints are perpetuaUy coming down in person, and working miracles, as the heathen gods did of old. The walls of the temples are covered with the vows of pilgrims, as they were formerly. The holy water, which was held in such detestation by the first Christians, is again revered, and sprinkled about with the same devotion as in the time of Paganism. The same incense is burnt, by priests arrayed in the same manner, with the same grimaces and genuflexions, before the same images, and in the same temples, too. In short, so nearly do the rites coincide, that were the Pagan high-priest to come back, and re-assume his functions, he would only have to learn a few new names, to get the Mass, the Paters, and the Aves by heart, which would be much easier to him, as they are in a language he understands, but which his mo- dem successors are often ignorant of. Some things, to be sirre, would puzzle him ; and he would swear that all the mysteries of Eleusis were nothing to the amazing mystery of transubstantiation, the only one that ever attempted to set both our imderstanding and our senses at defiance, and baffles equally all the facul- ties both of the soul and body. He would likewise be a good deal at a loss to account for the strange meta- morphosis of some of his old friends. That (he would say) I can well remember, was the statue of Venus Meretrix, and was only worshipped by the loose and voluptuous. She seems to be wonderfully improved since you made her a Christian, for I find she is now become the great protectress of chastity and of virtue. Juno, too, who was so implacable and so revengeful, you have softened doAvn into a very moderate sort of deity, for I observe you address her with as little fear or ceremony as any of the rest of them ; I wish you would make the Furies Christians, too, for surely they would be much the better for it. But observing the figure of St Anthony, he would exclaim with asto- nishment. But what do I behold ! — Jupiter, the sove- reign of gods and men, with a ragged cloak over his shoulders ! What a humiliating spectacle ! Well do I remember with what awe we bent before that once respectable image. But what has become of the thun- derbolt, which he held in his hand to chastise the world, and what is that he has got in its place ? His con- ductor would tell him that it was only a piece of rope, with knots upon it, to chastise himself; adding, that he was now doing penance for his long usurpation, and that the thunder had long ago been put into better hands. However, he would soon find, that even these saints sometimes change their names, according to the enthusiastic caprice of the people ; and from this ver- satihty, he would still be in hopes, in process of time, to see his friend Jupiter re-assume his bolt and his dignity. Do you remember old Huet — the greatest of all ori- ginals ? One day, as he passed the statue of Jupiter in the capitol, he pulled off his hat, and made him a bow. A Jacobite gentleman who observed it, asked him why he paid so much respect to that old gentle- man. " For the same reason," replied Huet, " that you pay so much to the Pretender. Besides," added he, " I think there is rather a greater probability that his turn will come round again than that of your hero ; I shall therefore endeavour to keep well with him, and hope he will never forget that I took notice of him in the time of his adversity." Indeed, within the course of my own observation, I 24 BRYDONE'S TOUR can recollect some of the most capital saints in the calendar who have been disgraced by the people, and new names given to their statues. When we were in Portugal last war, the people of Castel Branco were so enraged at St Antonio, for allowing the Spaniards to plunder their town, contrary, as they affirmed, to his express agreement with them, that they broke many of his statues to pieces ; and one that had been more revered than the rest, they took the head off, and clapped on one of St Francis in its place, whose name the statue ever after retained. Even the great St Januarius himself, I am told, was in imminent danger during the last famine at Naples. A Swiss gentleman assured me, that he had heard them load him with abuse and invective ; and declare point-blank, that if he did not procure them corn by such a time, he should no longer be their saint. However, such instances are but rare ; and, in general, the poor Catholics are fully indemnified for these sudden fits of passion and resentment, by the full persuasion of the immediate presence and protection of their beloved patrons. I have observed with pleasure that glow of grati- tude and affection that has animated their counte- nances ; and am persuaded that the warmth of the enthusiastic devotion they often feel before their favou- rite saints, particulai'ly their female ones, must have something extremely delightful in it ; resembling, per- haps, the pure and delicate sensations of the most respectful love. I own I have sometimes envied them their feelings, and in my heart c\u:sed the pride of reason and philosophy, with all its cool and tasteless triiunphs, that lulls into a kind of stoical apathy these most exquisite sensations of the soul. Who would not choose to be deceived, when the deception raises in him these delicious passions, that are so worthy of the human heart, and for which, of all others, it seems to be the most fitted ? But if once you have steeled it over with the hard and impenetrable temper of philo- sophy, these fine-spun threads of weakness and affec- tion that were so pliable, and so easily tied, become hard and inflexible, and for ever lose that delicate tone of sensibility that puts them into a kind of unison and vibration with every object around us ; for what has been so truly said of one part of our species, may almost with equal justice be applied to the whole — That to their weakness half their charms we owe. I remember Dr Tissot told me, he had a patient that actually died of love for Christ ; and when in the last extremity, seemed stiU to enjoy the greatest happiness ; calling upon him with all the fondness of the most enthusiastic passion. And from what I have often observed before the statues of the Virgin and St Aga- tha, I am persuaded they have many inamoratos that would willingly lay down their Uves for them. Now, pray, don't you think too, that this personal kind of worship is much better adapted to the capaci- ties of the vulgar than the more pure and sublime modes of it, which would only distract and confound their simple understandings, unaccustomed to specu- lation, and that certainly require something gross and material, some object of sense, to fix their atten- tion ? This even seems to have been the opinion of some of the sacred writers, who often represent God tmder some material form. Were you to attempt to give a country fellow an idea of the Deity — were you to tell him of a being that is immaterial, and yet whose essence penetrates all matter — who has existed from all eternity, and whose extension is equally boundless with his duration — who fills and pervades millions of worlds, and animates every object they contain — and who, in the sublime language of our poet, Though changed through all, is yet in all the same, Great in the eartli as in the ethereal frame ; Warms in tlie sun, refreshes in the breeze, Glows in the stars, and blossoms in the trees ; Lives through all life, extends through all extent ; Spreads undivided, opei-ates unspent. To him no high, no low, no great, no small ; He fills, he bounds, connects, and equals aU. Now, what do you imagine he Avould think of such a being? I am afraid his understanding would be so bewildered that he could not think at all. But set up before him the figure of a fine woman, with a beautiful child in her arms, the most interesting object in nature, and tell him she can prociu'e him every thing he wants, he knows perfectly well what he is about, feels himself animated by the object, and prays to her with all his might. Adieu. We are going to be very busy, and are preparing every thing for one of the greatest objects of our expedition, the examination of Mount iEtna. Indeed, we have received but bad encouragement, and are beginning to doubt of the possibility of success. Recupero tells us that the season is not far enough advanced yet, by some months, and that he does not think it will be possible to get near the summit of the mountain. The last winter, he says, was so uncom- monly severe, that the circle of snow extended much nearer the foot of the moimtain than usual; that, although this circle is now greatly contracted, it still extends nine or ten mUes below the crater. He ad- vises us to return tlTis way ui the month of August ; and, if possible, make ^tna the last part of our ex- pedition. It we do not succeed to-morrow, we shall probably follow his advice ; but we are all determined to make a bold push for it. The weather is the most favourable that can be imagined ; here is a delightful evening, and by the star-light we can observe the smoke rolling down the side of the mountain like a vast torrent. Itecupero says this is a sure indication of the violence of the cold in these exalted regions of the atmosphere, which condenses the vapour, and makes it fall down the moment it issues out of the crater. He advises us, by all means, to provide plenty of liquors, warm fur cloaks, and hatchets to cut wood, as we shall probably be obliged to pass the night in the open air, in a climate, he assures us, as cold as that of Greenland. It is very singular if this be true, for at present we are melting with heat, in thin suits of taffeta. Adieu. You shall know it aU on our re- turn, if we do not share the fate of Emxiedocles. Ever yours. REGIONS OP ^TNA.-ERUPTIONS. Catania, May 29. On the 27th, by daybreak, we set off to visit Momit -Sitna, that venerable and respectable father of moun- tains. His base and his immense declivities are covered over with a numerous progeny of his own, for every great eruption produces a new motmtain ; and, perliaps, by the number of these, better than by any other method, the number of eruptions, and the age of iEtna itself, might be ascertained. The whole mountain is divided into three distinct regions, called La Regione Culta or Piedmontcse, the fertile region ; La Regione Sylvosa or Nemorosa, the woody region ; and La Regione Deserta or Scoperta, the barren region. These three are as different, both in climate and productions, as the three zones of the earth ; and per- haps, with equal propriety, might have been styled the torrid, the temperate, and the frigid zone. The first region surrounds the foot of the mountain, and con- stitutes the most fertile country in the world on all sides of it, to the extent of about fourteen or fifteen miles, where the woody region begins. It is composed almost entirely of lava, which, after a number of ages, is at last converted into the most fertile of all soils. At Nicolosi, which is twelve miles up the mountain, we found the barometer at 27 degrees 1^- lines ; at THROUGH SICILY AND MALTA. 25 Catania it stood at 29 degrees 8^ lines : although the former elevation is not very great, probably not ex- ceeding three thousand feet, yet the climate was totally changed. At Catania the harvest was entirely over, and the heats were insupportable ; here they were mo- derate, and in many places the corn is as yet green. The road for these twelve miles is the worst I ever travelled ; entirely over old lavas and the mouths of extinguished volcanoes, now converted into corn-fields, vineyards, and orchards. The fruit of this region is reckoned the finest in Sicily, particularly the figs, of which they have a great variety. One of these, of a very large size, esteemed superior in flavoxu: to aU the rest, they pre- tend is peculiar to iEtna. The lavas, which, as I have already said, form this region of the mountain, take their rise from an infinite number of the most beautiful little mountains on earth, which are every where scattered on the immense de- cUvity of ^tna. These are all of a regular figure ; either that of a cone, or a semisphere ; and all but a very few are covered with beautiful trees, and the richest verdure : every eruption generally forms one of these mountains. As the great crater of JEtna itself is raised to such an enormous height above the lower regions of the mountain, it is not possible that the internal fire, raging for a vent, even round the base, and no doubt vastly below it, should be carried to the height of twelve or thirteen thousand feet, for probably so high is the summit of ^tna. It has there- fore generally happened, that after shaking the moun- tain and its neighbourhood for some time, it at last bursts open its side, and this is called an eruption. At first it only sends forth a thick smoke and showers of ashes, that lay waste the adjacent country ; these are soon followed by red-hot stones and rocks of a great size, throAvn to an immense height in the air. The fall of these stones, together with the quantities of ashes discharged at the same time, at last form the spherical and conical mountains I have mentioned. Sometimes this process is finished in the course of a few days, sometimes it lasts for months, which was the case in the great eruption 1669. In that case, the mountain formed is of a great size ; some of them are not less than seven or eight miles round, and upwards of one thousand feet in perpendicular height ; others are not more than two or three miles roimd, and three or four hundred feet high. After the new mountain is formed, the lava gene- rally bursts out from its lower side, and bearing every thing before it, is for the most part terminated by the sea. This is the common progress of an eruption ; however, it sometimes happens, though rarely, that the lava bursts at once from the side of the mountain without all these attending circumstances ; and this is commonly the case with the eruptions of Vesuvius, where the elevation being so much smaller, the melted matter is generally carried up into the crater of the mountain, which then exhibits the phenomena I have described; discharging showers of stones and ashes from the mouth of the volcano without forming any new mountain, but only adding considerably to the height of the old one, till at last the lava, rising near the summit, bursts the side of the crater, and the eruption is declared. This has literally been the case with two eruptions I have been an attentive witness of in that mountain ; but ^tna is upon a much larger scale, and one crater is not enough to give vent to such oceans of liquid fire. llecupero assm^es me he saw in an eruption of that mountain, large rocks of fire discharged to the height of some thousand feet, with a noise much more ter- rible than that of thunder. He measured from the time of their greatest elevation till they reached the ground, and found they took twenty-one seconds to descend ; which, according to the rule of the spaces, being as the squares of the times, amounts, I think, to upwards of seven thousand feet— a most astonisli- ing height surely, and requiring a force of projection beyond what we have any conception of. I measizred the height of the explosions of Vesuvius by the same rule, and never observed any of the stones thrown from it to take more than nine seconds to descend, which shows they had risen to little more than twelve hundred feet. Our landlord at Nicolosi gave us an account of the singular fate of the beautiful country near Hybla, at no great distance from hence. It was so celebrated for its fertility, and particularly for its honey, that it was called Mel Passi, till it was overwhelmed by the lava of iEtna ; and having then become totally barren, by a kind" of pun, its name was changed to Mai Passi. In a second eruption, by a shower of ashes from the mountain, it soon re-assumed its ancient beauty and fertility, and for many years was called Bel Passi. Last of all, in the unfortunate era of 1669, it was again laid under an ocean of fire, and reduced to the most wretched sterility, since wliich time it is known again by its second appellation of Mai Passi. However, the lava in its course over this beautiful country, has left several little islands or hillocks, just enough to show what it formerly was. These make a singular appear- ance, in all the bloom of the most luxuriant vegetation, surrounded and rendered almost inaccessible by large fields of black and rugged lava. The mountain from whence the first eruption issued that covered Mel Passi, is known by the name of Monpelieri : I was struck with its beautiful appearance at a distance, and could not resist the desire I had of examining it mi- nutely, as well as of observing the effects of the two eruptions that overwhelmed this celebrated country. Monpelieri is rather of a spherical than a conical shape, and does not rise in perpendicular height above three hundred feet, but it is so perfectly regular on every side, and so richly overspread with fruits and flowers, that I could not leave so heavenly a spot without the greatest regret. Its cup or crater is large in proportion to the mountain, and is as exactly hol- lowed out as the best made bowl. I walked quite round its outward edge, and think the circumference must be somewhat more than a mile. This mountain was formed by the first eruption that destroyed the country of Mel Passi, and is of a very old date. It buried a great number of vil- lages and country houses, and particularly two noble churches, which are more regretted than all the rest, on account of three statues, reckoned at that time the most perfect in the island. They have attempted, but in vain, to recover them, as the spot where the churches stood could never be justly ascertained. Indeed, it is impossible it shoidd ; for these churches were built of lava, which it is well known is imme- diately melted when it comes into contact with a tor- rent of new erupted matter ; and Massa says, that in some eruptions of ^tna, the lava has poured down with such a sudden impetuosity, that, in the course of a few hours, churches, palaces, and villages, have been entirely melted down, and the whole run off in fusion, without leaving the least mark of their former existence. But if the lava has had any considerable time to cool, this singular eflTect never happens. The great eruption of 1 669, after shaking the whole country around for four months, and forming a very large mountain of stones and ashes, burst out about a mUe above Monpelieri, and descending like a tor- rent, bore directly against the middle of that moun- tain, and (they pretend) perforated it from side to side ; this, however, I doubt, as it must have broken the regular form of the mountain, which is not the case. But certain it is that it pierced it to a great depth. The lava then divided into two branches, and surrounding this moimtain, joined again on its south side; and laying waste the whole country betwixt that and Catania, scaled the walls of that city, and poured its flaming torrent into the ocean. In its way, it is said to have destroyed the possessions of near 26 BRYBONE'S TOUR thirty thousand people, and reduced them to beggary. It formed several hills where there were formerly val- leys, and filled up a large lake, of which there is not now the least vestige to be seen. As the events of this eruption are better known than any other, they tell a great many singular stories of it, one of which, however incredible it may appear, is well ascertained. A vineyard, belonging to a con- vent of Jesuits, lay directly on its way. This vine- yard was formed on an ancient lava, probably a thin one, with a number of caverns and crevices imder it. The liquid lava entering into these caverns, soon filled them up, and by degrees bore up the vineyard ; and the Jesuits, who every moment expected to see it buried, beheld with amazement the whole field begin to move off". It was carried on the surface of the lava to a considerable distance, and though the greater part was destroyed, yet some of it remains to this day. We went to examine the mouth from whence this dreadful torrent issued, and were surprised to find it only a small hole, of about three or four yards dia- meter. Tlae mountain from whence it sprung, I think, is little less than the conical part of Vesuvius. There is a vast cavern on the opposite side of it, where people go to shoot wild pigeons, which breed there in great abundance. The innermost parts of this cavern are so very dismal and gloomy, that our land- lord told us some people had lost their senses from having advanced too far, imagining they saw devils and the spirits of the damned; for it is still very generally believed here that ^ytna is the mouth of hell. We found a degree of wildness and ferocity in the inhabitants of this mountain that I have not observed any where else. It put me in mind of an observation the Padre della Torre (the historiographer of Mount Vesuvius) told me he had often made in the confines of Naples — that in the places where the air is most impregnated with sulphur and hot exhalations, the people were always most wicked and vicious. What- ever truth there may be in the observation, the people about Nicolosi at least seem to confirm it. The whole village flocked round us, and the women, in particular, abused us exceedingly, the cause of which we at last found was, that Fullarton's blooming complexion and white skin had made them take him for one of their own sex. They made a great clamour, and it was with difficulty we could appease them. The person whom Recupero had appointed to accompany us, known by the name of the Cyclops (the man in the island that is best acquainted Ai-ith Mount Mtna,), was ordered by them not to go with us ; and if we had not at last obtained their consent by soothing and flattery, the best method with women, he durst not have disobeyed tliem. At first we had been obliged to shut the gate of the court, they were so very noisy and tumultuous ; but when our landlord (a priest), for whom we. had letters from Catania, assured them that we were Christians, and came with no bad intentions, they be- came more moderate, and we ventured out amongst them. This confidence soon acquired theirs ; and in a short time we became good friends, and had a great deal of conversation. It was with much difficulty I could persuade them that we were not come to search for hidden treasures, a great quantity of which they believe is to be found in Monpelieri; and when I went to that mountain they were then fuUy convinced that this was our in- tention. Two of the men followed me, and kept a close eye on every step that I took ; and when I lifted any bit of lava or pimiice, they came rmming up, thinking it was something very precious ; but when they observed they were only bits of stone, and that I put them into my pocket, they laughed heartily, talking to one another in their moimtain jargon, which is unintelligible even to Italians. However, as most of them speak Italian so as to be understood, they asked me what I was going to make of these bits of stone? I told them they were of great value in om* country ; that the people there had a way of making gold of them : at this they both seemed exceedingly surprised, and spoke again in their own tongue. How- ever, I found they did not believe me ; one of them told me if that had been true I certainly would not have been so ready in telling it ; but, said he, if it is so, we will serve you for ever if you will teach us that art, for then we shall be the richest people on earth. I assured them that I had not yet learned it myself, and that it was a secret known only to very few. They were likewise a good deal surprised to see me pull out of my pocket a magnetical needle and a small electrometer, which I had prepared at Catania to ex- amine the electrical state of the air ; and I was at first afraid they should have taken me for a conjuror (which you know already happened among the Apen- nines), but luckily that idea did not strike them. On our way back to Nicolosi we were joined by three or four more, with their wives. I began to be a little afraid of myself, lest they should insist on know- ing the secret. However, I took out my bits of lava, and told them they were at their service, if they had any occasion for them. But they refused them, say- ing, they wished to the Virgin and St Agatha, that I could take away the whole of it, as it had ruined the finest country in all Sicily. One fellow, who assumed an air of superior wisdom and dignity to the rest, made them form a circle round him, and began to interrogate me with great gravity and composure. It was with difficulty I could keep my countenance ; but as I was alone with them, at some distance from the village, I was afraid of offend- ing. He desired me to answer him with truth and precision, what were the real motives of our coming so fatiguing and disagreeable a journey. I told him, on my word, that we had no other motive but curio- sity to examine Mount JEtna. On which, laughing to one another with great contempt, " Un bel ragione questo, non e vero ?" said they — (A very pretty reason, truly.) The old fellow then asked me what country we were of. I told him we were Inglese. " E dov' e loropaese?" said he — (Whereabouts does their country lie ?) I told him it was a great way off", on the other side of the world. "Da vero," said the fellow ; e cre- dono in Christo quelli Inglese?" — [Do these English believe in Christ ?] I told him, laughing, that they did. " Ah ! " said he, shaking his he