Presently one of my companions was seized with a friendly feeling towards them, and cutting one in half, placed it on his plate. I most gravely followed his example with the remaining piece, that I might not be deceived by external appearances. After thus philosophically eating my turnip, I was desirous of having some tea, but this is a beverage so very rarely used in Sicily, that I found it impossible to procure it. After a great deal of trouble, however, I managed to get some wretched coffee, for which a lad had been sent half over the town, and this, such as it was, was served to us without sugar in cups as big as thimbles. I now discovered that one of my companions was an amber merchant, who was proceeding to Messina with a quantity of beautiful trinkets, manufactured from this substance in Catania. He amused us after supper with a display of his treasures, amongst which were some superb brooches and necklaces. Our barefooted hostess again entered the apartment, and, having furnished the beds with clean linen, and lit the small shrine to the Virgin which stood at one end of the room, she left us with a good-natured "buona sera." In joining a native" table d'hôte" in this manner, I was astonished to find so great a diininution of my expenditure. I found that for a supper and bed, which, had I been alone, would have cost me nearly half a dollar, I now paid only 83d. This mode of living is the only one which can give the traveller a good opportunity of observing Sicilian manners in their primitive state, as I found that when Englishmen visit the larger cities where they "put up" at the chief hotels, every pains is taken to wait upon them in the fashion of their own country, and thus it happens, that instead of their being surprised and pleased with novelty of custom, they only see repeated in a very imperfect manner what they find at home every day of their lives. At sunrise we again started on our journey, one only of our party remaining at Giarra; his place in the vehicle was supplied by an elderly gentleman, accompanied by a young lady who appeared to be his daughter. They kept the diligence waiting nearly half-an-hour, when they very leisurely seated themselves, and having given their friends a farewell embrace, they made the signal of our departure from Giarra. The morning was a charming one, and our road lay through a most romantic and fertile country, commanding fine views of Etna, whose unclouded summit arose clear and distinct in the brilliancy of an early dawn. The town of Catabiano, perched like an eagle's eyrie, on the summit of a lofty rock, formed a picturesque object on our route just after passing Giarra, and afterwards we came in sight of the mountain of Taormina which is also city-crowned, with the village of Mola overhanging it from a still loftier peak. Taormina, now an impoverished place, was once the magnificent. city of Taurominium, built by a Roman colony who settled there. It contains many vestiges and remains of its former splendour particularly the theatre, which is considered, in its present state, to be the most perfect Roman ruin in Sicily. We were, at this part of our route, among the mountains of the Val di Demone, which occupy

the north-eastern portion of the island. The whole country to the north of Etna consists of steep and rugged hills and mountains, forming part of a chain called the Nebrodes. Of these, the Monte Scuderi is the most remarkable: on its summit is the ruin of an old building said to have been erected in the middle ages; but the story of an exceedingly cold wind blowing out of the crater, which Brydone relates, seems to have no foundation whatever in fact. Brydone was most probably misinformed by the inhabitants, who, in those days, were much less acquainted with the motives of travellers in making inquiries than they at present are. These mountains are very fertile, and abound in olive and mulberry trees, whilst the steeps, which stretch down abruptly towards the sea, are cultivated by the inhabitants, and groves of oranges, lemons, and bergamots are interspersed among the cottages that enliven the shore. The fruit on the trees was yet green, but when fully ripened, it must present a charming and beautiful appearance. When the lemons have been swelled out to their full size by the rains, they are plucked in the green state, and shipped at Messina, and it is during their voyage that they acquire the yellow colour which we see them have in this country. Most of the lemons for exportation are grown in the mountain fiumaras around Messina; numbers are also grown near Giarra, and are exported from Catania to Malta and other places. These mountains are also famous for the grapes they produce, and even as far back as the age of the elder Dionysius, the red wine of Taurominium was highly esteemed. At the time of my visit, the vintage was nearly over, though occasionally I saw a vine-press teeming with the purple juice of the grapes, as they were thrown in in baskets full, fresh gathered from the vineyard. We met troops of peasants with large baskets on their heads, piled up with tempting clusters, of which they would sell us as many as we could eat for a baiocchi (about a penny.) We halted a short time at the foot of the mountain of Taormina, where I noticed that the peasants were generally a handsomer race than those of southern Sicily, and I found this generally to be the case, as we proceeded farther northwards. In Messina, for instance, there is much more personal beauty than at Syracuse, though this circumstance may, in some measure, be accounted for by the latter place being so very unhealthy, whilst the former is famed for its salubrity, delightful climate, and the bracing air of the straits.

Both the men and women of Sicily wear remarkably large rings in their ears; some which I have seen worn by the women are above two inches in diameter, and of solid gold. The possession of a pair of these rings is an important desideratum with the poorest peasant, and many a more useful and necessary article is dispensed with to become the owner of what they consider so great an ornament. The ear-rings of the men are smaller, and seldom exceed an inch across, whilst all are made of a circular shape, and quite plain. It is also no uncommon thing to see a barefooted female

cottager with her fingers adorned by three or four massive gold rings, whilst the remainder of her dress may not be worth as many shillings.

After leaving Giardini the country becomes mountainous and romantic the whole way to Messina; the road lays along the sea-coast, and in many places it winds round the sides of the mountains, commanding views which are extremely beautiful and picturesque. The pass of Fort St. Allessio is very fine, and the opposite shores of Calabria add increasing beauty to the scene. We reached Zia Paola at noon, where we halted for a couple of hours at a small inn by the sea-side. Here we dined on a rotolo of maccaroni, and the old gentleman who joined us at Giarra, adding to this supply a fine stuffed turkey and some Etna wine, which he very kindly invited us all to partake of, we came off for our dinner much better than we had anticipated. One of my fellow travellers expressed a desire to drink wine with me, not after the Sicilian fashion, which consists chiefly in touching glasses, but, as he expressed it, in the mode of the "Ingleses." Instead, however, of saluting me when I bowed, he seemed dreadfully afraid of not hitting the identical moment, and shouted out "now," with all his might. This was most probably done to display his knowledge of the English language; but seeing me smile, and mistaking the cause, he continued at intervals to vociferate "now," during the whole of the time that we were at dinner. He was very desirous of knowing the English name for every thing, and as he pointed to various articles before us, I gave him the English words for them; but when he came to the word "fly," he pronounced it as "fry," and after making numberless attempts to improve his Anglo-Sicilian pronunciation, he gave it up as a bad job. After a very merry dinner, we once more started on our journey northwards, and passed through the village of Scaletta on the sea-shore. Towards evening we drew near to Messina, having travelled through fields, the hedgerows of which were composed entirely of aloes and Indian figs; these latter shrubs, which are called by the Maltese "prickly pears," bear a yellow blossom, which in size and shape very much resembles that of the cactus speciosissima, and this as well as the fleshy lobes of the plant is armed with small prickles, whose wounds cause much inflammation, which I discovered to my cost on attempting to pluck one of the yellow flowers for my hortus siccus. After dark, the lights of Reggio, on the Italian side of the straits, shone brightly through the clear evening air, and after passing successively through several villages, we at last entered the beautiful city of Messina, the Zancle of the ancients. I alighted at the Britannia Hotel, and after partaking of a cup of excellent coffee, retired to my room quite overcome with fatigue; my want of sleep preventing me from visiting the quay in search of the schooner until the following morning.

TRIP TO THE FARO-SCYLLA AND CHARYBDIS.

"Incidit in Scyllam, cupiens vitare Charybdiin."

ON ascending Etna, I found that the sharpness of the cold night air in the exalted regions of the mountain so severely affected my eyes that I was nearly blind; for they had not as yet recovered from the effects of the hot glare of the sun in Malta. During my journey to Messina, I suffered acutely from this species of ophthalmia, and finding it much worse when I awoke in the morning, I resolved on having a pair of spectacles. I purchased these in the Strada del Corso, and hurrying down to the Marina, I commenced searching for the vessel amongst a crowd of others of all nations, Greek, Austrian, Turkish, Russian, Spanish, and Italian, that thronged the quay to the extent of a mile. I soon discovered our rakish little schooner, and found the captain, his wife, and all on board, well. My favourite gazelles, which I had procured from Tripoli when in Malta, were in good condition, and seemed as healthy and playful as when I left them at Valetta. From the captain I received the pleasing intelligence that on account of the want of rain the lemons were not yet ready for exportation, and that another week would elapse before we should finally sail for England. On hearing this news, I determined to start very early on the following morning for Etna, and to make a visit during the remainder of the day to the Faro, from which Messina is only seven miles distant. Having accomplished this, I purposed to engage mules back to the neighbourhood of Etna, and lose no time in making the ascent of the mountain, leaving my survey and description of Messina, till my return.

I set off on a large donkey, which the cicerone of the hotel procured for me; and taking an old man as a guide, we soon got clear of the streets of the city, and entered upon the Faro road, which runs along the sea-shore. The ride was beautifully diversified with villas, and fine spreading trees, which are backed by the fiumaras that descend abruptly from the mountains, down which, in the rainy season, the streams pour with great force and volume, forming numerous cascades in their course. Along the whole road, the view of the opposite coast is very beautiful;

S

the mountains of Calabria rising rugged and abrupt, sprinkled over with vineyards and olives; and the deep blue waters of the straits, winding, like a vast and mighty river, between Sicily and the continent of Europe. The distance at this part is only three miles across, and beneath the clear atmosphere of Italy, objects appear to be much more distinct than persons residing in less genial climates are aware of. Tradition states that Calabria and Sicily were once joined. Pliny, Strabo, and even Virgil, all tell a similar story. The received opinion is, that they were parted asunder by a violent earthquake; and that formerly the straits were much narrower than they are at present. This constant widening of the channel accounts, in some measure, for the terrors of Scylla and Charybdis having so nearly vanished, the waters being now less pent up, and their force greatly diminished. The banks here consist, in some places, of fine yuccas, interspersed among the aloes. two sorts; the larger kind, which bears the fruit that forms so large a proportion of the food of the lower classes during this season, and a dwarf species, more prickly than the former, that grows close to the sea, and produces only a hard green seedvessel of the size of a walnut. Before arriving at the promontory on which the lighthouse stands, the country is low, flat, and sandy, and the road runs between several salt water lakes that are flooded at high tide. I was much amused in passing one of these lakes to see several birds stuck upon sticks, in imitation of cranes, wading in the deep water, but for what purpose this deception was practised I could not discover; it seemed most probable that it was for decoying others during the winter season, when these birds are taken.

The prickly pears are of

On reaching the straggling village of Faro, we dismounted at a fisherman's hut, and having tied up our donkey, and procured him some hay, we entered the cottage to seek some refreshment for ourselves. In the vineyards around the Faro the famous Falernian wine was formerly made, but at present none is to be procured. All we could obtain was some red wine of the roughest quality, with some black bread, a few figs, and a dish of olives; the latter detestable and unpalatable morsels were for my guide. The wine was served out to us in a monstrous Calabrese vase of so singular a construction, that my guide very wittily ascribed it to the Saracens, a nation to whom every thing that is ancient or doubtful is constantly referred by the Sicilians. When I had nearly finished my repast, the woman of the cottage came in with a fish on a plate, which my guide informed me that she had just caught. This accounted for her sudden disappearance on my expressing a wish to have something to eat, and had not the sea been so close to the door, I should have stood but a poor chance of tasting the fishes of Faro! But she had been fortunate in her capture, and seemed determined that I should enjoy it whilst it was fresh. She took her prize into an outhouse, and threw it upon a charcoal fire, and after a few minutes' frizzling, she brought it in to me upon a trencher, black, smoking, and half