THE COASTS OF SICILY. 165 



smaller vermin. Like the latter, however, they are 

 nocturnal in their habits. Concealed all day in 

 some dark retreat, they emerge at night from their 

 hiding places, and wander forth in search of food. 

 Sugar, broken pieces of bread or meat, all seem 

 alike acceptable to them, and even if nothing better 

 is to be had, they will attack old leather. Their 

 fecundity fully equals their voracity, and they oc- 

 casionally swarm in such myriads on board trading 

 vessels, that they will sometimes destroy the entire 

 cargo and render the vessel unfit for further service. 

 Such were the tenants which the Santa Rosalia 

 harboured in every crevice of her timbers, and which 

 as soon as night approached, came forth by thousands, 

 diffusing around and over us a pestiferous stench. 

 The most energetic means that we could devise, 

 proved inadequate for their destruction. During 

 the course of our voyage we frequently caused the 

 men to haul the boat ashore, and wash it thoroughly 

 with sea-water, while we even attempted to plug up 

 every hole and crevice in her sides ; but it was all 

 labour lost, for the cockroaches speedily re-appeared 

 as numerous and as pestiferous as ever. We were 

 compelled to resign ourselves to the evil, in the hope 

 that habit might diminish the disgust which these 

 unbidden guests occasioned us. 



Yet, notwithstanding the disagreeable discovery 

 which it brought us, our first night's bivouac passed 

 off most admirably. At break of day the next 

 morning, we awoke our crew, and got speedily under 

 weigh, being extremely impatient to reach some 

 station which might prove more favourable for our 



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