202 RAMBLES OF A NATURALIST. 



rule of their predecessors, still ventured on these 

 veritable razzias on the soil of Sicily, which had 

 been rescued from their ancestors by the sons of 

 Tancred. There are nearly 200 of these towers, 

 which were, until lately, incessantly guarded by an 

 army of 10,000 men, who were distributed among 

 these garrisons, where they were ever on the watch 

 to sound an alarm at the first appearance of any 

 suspicious-looking felucca or brigantine. Since the 

 conquest of Algiers these precautions have been no 

 longer needed. The soldiers have returned to the 

 towns ; and the towers, which now stand deserted on 

 these desolate shores, afford a striking proof, by 

 their neglected condition, of the importance of the 

 services which France has rendered to humanity and 

 civilisation. 



In the meantime we were approaching the Cape 

 of Santo-Vito, where, according to the assurance of 

 our men, we should find, in the Santuario, as good ac- 

 commodation as we could desire, together with abun- 

 dance of provisions — a luxury w^hich we had only 

 enjoyed in retrospect since our departure from Pa- 

 lermo. We were the more impatient to reach this 

 promised land in consequence of the cold rain and 

 stormy wind which had begun to chill and stiffen 

 our limbs beneath the insufficient shelter of our 

 slight tent. At last we reached the object of our 

 desires, and the first glance sufficed to show that the 

 architect who had erected this edifice had thought 

 more of insuring the safety of the inhabitants than of 

 displaying any elegance of structure. The church 

 of Santo-Vito looks precisely like some strong tower 



