the air with their delicious odours, whilst they gratified the eye with their splended and various colours. From the heights we could count the towns and villages in the neighbourhood, Monte Allegro, Siculiana, La Cattolica and many others, and mark the course of the winding Platani as it rolled on to the sea, which was studded by passing vessels and numerous fishing boats from the places on the coast. When we resumed our journey in the afternoon from St. Angelo, we did not keep the road along the shore, but turned towards the interior. At a short distance from that place we crossed the Platani, the ancient Halycus, which runs through a plain, naked and sterile in comparison with the rich valleys in its vicinity. It was the boundary between the Carthaginian and Syracusan territories; it has its source on the eastern side of Mount Quisquina; when increased by the waters of the Salso and the Torbo, it becomes one of the largest rivers in Sicily. After a tortuous course, it falls into the African sea above Girgenti. The fish of the Platani are held in great estimation: shad, eels, and chub are caught in great abundance.

A curious tale is related of this river. One day as St. Albert, the Carthusian, was walking on the bank of the stream, he saw some Jews, who had attempted to ford it, carried away by the rapidity of the current; as they were hurried down they implored the aid of the saint, conjuring him, in the name of his master, to save them. The holy man kindly promised to deliver them, on condition that they would embrace the Christian religion, to which they very eagerly consented. Upon which he walked to them on the water, but, fearing lest when rescued from the immediate danger they might fail to keep their word, he took especial care to instruct them in the faith and baptize them as they floated down the stream. After which he brought them to land by dividing the waters, thus renewing the miracle of the passage of the Red Sea.

It was our intention to have passed the night at Bivona, for which place we had letters, but finding the ladies fatigued, we halted at Alexandria, a small town lying on the face of a gentle hill which overlooks a fertile valley. We had reason to repent our determination, for though we had brought a supply of provisions from Girgenti, we had by no means laid in a very ample stock for so large a party, expecting to reach Bivona for supplies. As there was little or nothing to be got in this very wretched place, the servants were obliged to be content with very short commons. The fundaco at which we stopped was a most uncomfortable and dirty hovel; the people assembled in it seemed to regard us, and particularly our arms, with much discontent and suspicion. The syndic to whom the count sent for more commodious quarters was not within. In the mean time it grew dark, and a quarrel having taken place between some of the people and our domestics, a fight would have ensued; it appeared that our attendants, not finding all the assistance they expected, began to make a show of their weapons, at which the others took umbrage, and when asked for provisions, told the servants to find them with their pistols. Words followed words, and it would probably have soon come to blows if the noise had not brought us to the spot. Not without difficulty we prevented a fray; but our people could not succeed in getting anything

for their repast, except an immense caldron of fagiole, dried French beans, served up simply boiled, with a bottle of rancid oil poured over them by way of sauce. Whether it arose from the nature of the food, or, as we rather suspected, from an ill-disposed person having thrown something deleterious into the boiler, as many as partook of the above dish were seized, during the night, with violent cholics. So alarmed were they, that they dispatched one of their companions to the quarters which the syndic on his return had provided for us, to inform us that they were all poisoned. On our arrival at the fundaco, although seriously alarmed, I could scarcely refrain from laughter at the curious scene that presented itself. Here was one pacing about the room like a madman, there another rolling on the floor in an agony, a third swearing horribly, a fourth invoking all the saints in the calendar, some calling for a priest, others roaring for the doctor, which, in default of a better, I became myself. Having prepared a large quantity of hot water, I ordered the least afflicted to apply fomentations to the stomachs of the greater sufferers, and dosed the whole party liberally with tea and brandy-and-water. In the course of an hour, I had the satisfaction of seeing a visible alteration for the better in all my patients, and in the morning, although the effects of the night were visible in their faces, they were all in a condition to proceed, but some of them complained for several days afterwards.

A good breakfast at Bivona contributed not a little to restore our invalids. Eight miles from this place is Palazzo Adriano, one of the Albanian colonies before mentioned; it is situated in a plain, and reckons four thousand five hundred inhabitants. Owing to the adventure at Alexandria we thought it prudent to make a short day's journey, and stop at Chiusa, about twenty-one miles, for fear of fatiguing the convalescents and incurring the danger of a relapse. At Chiusa we were comfortably lodged in the town-house and found good wine, excellent poultry, and beef, of which, though not very tempting to the eye, the count's cook, one of the best I ever fell in with, made capital stews and several other most laudable dishes. Chiusa, according to Pirri, in his "Sicilia Sacra," was so called because built by the Count of Aderno in an inclosed place where they were accustomed to pasture horses. It is a neat, healthy town, at the foot of a charming hill, and contains a population of about four thousand souls.

We next morning proceeded to Basacchino, through a wild and mountainous country covered with the dwarf palm and lentiscus; the thistles are of an extraordinary size and height. The district is generally barren, but the eye occasionally reposes on a vineyard or a corn field. As we approached Sciacca, we observed the Castle of Luna, so famous in the history of the wars between the noble houses of Luna and Perollo, denominated "Le guerre di Sciacca." The town is defended by ancient walls, and is situated on a rocky eminence at the foot of Mount Calogero. It is a handsome town, containing some noble edifices. Among others is the mother church, which was built by Juliet de Hauteville. Sciacca is a royal city, with a population of ten thousand souls; it was anciently called Thermæ, from the excellence of its baths; there were two cities in Sicily so termed, one on the northern coast of the island, built from the ruins of Himera and

now called Termini; the other is that of which I am speaking. It was also called Thermæ Coloniæ, though Farzello says nothing is known of this colony as to its age, nation, or leader.

The baths are formed by springs which proceed from Mount Calogero, one of them, which is strongly impregnated with sulphur, is hot enough to boil an egg in the course of two minutes; it is said to be efficacious in all cutaneous and scorbutic disorders: paralytic patients also resort there. The fountain, called Aqua Santa, is lukewarm and a very powerful purgative. There is likewise a cold spring in great estimation. On digging to any considerable depth, salt water, also cold, makes its appearance. There are besides, celebrated vapour baths on Mount Calogero, much frequented by invalids in summer; some of them are deep natural caverns, others artificial excavations. I found the air on entering almost suffocating, but the unpleasant sensation ceased on the breaking out of a profuse perspiration. The ancients attributed these baths to Dædalus; the moderns give the honour of them to St. Calogero, both probably with equal truth. The thermometer stood at 124o in the vapour.

From Sciacca to Calatabellotta the road runs over a hilly, open tract of country, bare of wood and of less promising aspect than most parts of Sicily; the lower grounds, which grow a great deal of rice, are desolated by the malaria, and the higher are naked and waste. We crossed the Verdura, the ancient Isbarus, the waters of which reached no higher than the fetlocks of our animals. Calatabellotta is, perhaps without exception, the worst place of residence in the island; the difficulty of access is greater than even that at Mola or ancient Noto. The inhabitants holding but little intercourse with the valleys, are an uncouth and savage race; they evidently regarded us with distrust and ill-will.

Calatabellotta, which is elevated at least three thousand feet above the level of the sea, has succeeded to Triocala, the ruins of which lay a mile below, and have served the modern town with the materials of which it is built. We traced part of the circuit of the walls and observed the foundation of some considerable buildings, probably temples. We also noticed a hollow, which I take to have been originally the site of a theatre.

Triocala was a place of great strength; it was here that Trypho and Athenio fixed their head-quarters during the servile war in Sicily; the position justified their choice, as it enabled them to defend themselves for the space of four years against the formidable forces of the Roman republic.

We returned to Sciacca rather late, and found the ladies in some alarm at our protracted stay, as the people of Calatabellotta do not enjoy the best reputation.

We left Sciacca after a stay of three days. The hills in the neighbourhood continue bare of wood; there are some fine corn lands in the plain, but little had been sown from the cause I have before mentioned. In the vicinity of Garbo or Carabo, which falls into the sea five miles from Sciacca, are some rice grounds which, as usual, render the air very unwholesome.

Farther on we passed the Belici Destro, so called to distinguish it

from the Belici Sinistro; the former is the Crimisus, the latter the Hypsa of the ancients: we crossed it by a romantic bridge; its lofty banks are crowned with tall trees and beautiful shrubs, which pay a tribute of their leaves and flowers to this delightful stream as it glides onward to the deep. The charms of the scenery often induced us to stop or loiter, and it was rare, short as were the day's journeys we had fixed, that we did not arrive late at our resting-place for the night. It happened so now; it was nearly dark when we reached Campobello, twenty-four miles from Sciacca, although we had previously determined to sleep at Castelveterano, It was debated whether we should halt or proceed. On one side, the ladies were rather fatigued, and it had begun to rain, on the other, Campobello, though well deserving the name from the beauty and fertility of the plain in which it is situated, is a wretched and miserable place, where we were likely to fare as badly as at Alexandria, added to which, the air in its environs is pestilential. On these grounds, it was decided nem. con. to brave the dark night, the drizzling rain, and the rugged road, rather than the malaria. We continued our route without inconvenience or obstacle until we reached the small river Arena or Delia, when our lettighieri, who were also our guides, declared they could not find the ford, and that the stream was deeper than they expected to have found it. Although it is probable that we might have crossed it with perfect safety, and that the water would not have been higher than the knees of our horses, yet as there might have been hollows in the bed of the current, and as the women began to manifest signs of alarm at the idea of passing over in the dark, it was determined, rather than return, to ask lodgings for the night at an ancient castle which crowned a neighbouring eminence. This resolution was vehemently combated by the muleteers and also by the servants, who were told by the former that the place was haunted, and that we should repent our temerity if we entered its dangerous precincts; they became, in fact, so clamorous that we should retrace our steps to Campobello that we were obliged to give up the point to as many of the party as might please to return, but as we hinted that they need not take the trouble of rejoining us in the morning, there were none who chose, on mature consideration, to avail themselves of the permission accorded.

Having toiled up an ascent of three quarters of a mile, we at length arrived at the door of this formidable mansion. After knocking repeatedly, each time with increased length and force, we were about to retire in despair, when a man armed with a long gun appeared at a window and demanded our business. On our requesting an asylum, he at first declared it was impossible; that his master had given him positive orders not to admit strangers into the castle. On our renewing our instances, he strove hard to induce us to attempt the ford, for which, now we had the prospect of a roof before us, we were less inclined than ever. Hearing who we were, he at length unwillingly consented to receive us, and in a few minutes unbarred the massive iron-cased portals; as we entered he told us we should fare but ill, as he had nothing to offer us but the coarse food which served himself and family. This was no great disappointment, as we found his fare comprehended fowls and a kid, and since our adventure at Alexandria

we always took care to lay in a stock of cold provisions where they were to be found. Signore Giacinto, for such was the name of our host, told us, that he was castellano or keeper of the castle, which he had inhabited in that capacity for nearly thirty years; its owner was the well-known Duke of UA large fire having been lighted in the vast antique hall, we sat round it drying ourselves and conversing with Signore Giacinto, whom we could not prevail on to show us the apartments, pretending not to have the keys in his possession, when we were suddenly disturbed by discordant and doleful yells, which seemed to proceed from beneath. Being on the ground floor, this not a little surprised us, as we heard several voices at the same time, crying, "Misericordia, misericordia !" in a hollow, sepulchral tone. On our turning to Signore Giacinto, he appeared much confused, and telling us the noises proceeded from some "forzate," galley-slaves, under his custody, who were confined in the vaults below, hurried out of the room. His account appeared to satisfy no one but the Count, L and myself; the ladies turned pale, and the camereira was near fainting; as for the servants, I thought I should have been stunned by the roar of the Paternosters and Ave Marias that were ejaculated on all sides. It was unanimously agreed among them that they were the ghosts, who already began to make themselves heard, and that Don Giacinto was either the devil in propriá personâ, or one of his best friends. On his return, he informed us that the disturbance had been occasioned by a burning faggot which had fallen from above among the prisoners, and caused them to believe that the edifice was in flames, and that they must inevitably perish in the conflagration. It happened, in fact, that these unfortunates were confined directly underneath the hall which we occupied, and that one of the vents which admitted a small portion of air from above was in a corner of the room. Don Lthe young count, had mistaken

it for a well, and thrown in a piece of wood from the fire to ascertain the depth and hear the splash. The fate of these poor people excited my commiseration, but I found the castellano so little inclined to answer questions regarding them, that I was obliged to drop the subject. From what I learnt afterwards, I have reason to believe that they were not convicts, as Signore Giacinto would fain have persuaded us, but individuals partly victims of the private resentment of the Duke of U-, partly persons suspected of being concerned in the revolution of 1820, whom the government did not think it advisable to bring to trial, but for security or punishment detained in these unwholesome dungeons. Our cook soon put an excellent repast on the table, which we should have enjoyed more but for the recollection of the sufferers below, to whom we would willingly have lowered a part of our meal, but we found Don Giacinto, who never left us, inexorable on this head; he assured us that, barring only light and air, they wanted for nothing!

Don Giacinto had our animals ready before daylight in the morning, to our surprise and rather to our mortification: he positively refused to accept the slightest remuneration for either the accommodation or provisions he had afforded, assuring us that his master, though he might probably forgive him for receiving strangers in our circum