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capacious enough to holda man, Interesting comments were 
made upon the construction of this and similar erections, the 
principles upon which they had been built, shewing that the 
architects were capable and conscientious men. After alluding 
to the lazy contentment which appeared to prevail throughout 
the island, the slowness of the railway travelling, and other 
features of the life of the island, the lecturer gpoke of Catania 
and the great voleano Etna. That great mountain which rears 
its head to the height of 11,000 feet demanded a paper to itself. 
The ascent takes two days. The ancient city of Syracuse was 
next described. It was said that at one time it was the largest 
and most beautiful of Greek cities, being 22 miles in circuit, 
possessing fine buildings and having a population of 500,000. 
In traversing the extensive ruins of that historic town, the visitor 
‘treads on the dust and rust of twice ten hundred years.’’ The 
famous siege by the Athenians was graphically portrayed, and 
the salient points in the history of Syracuse dwelt upon. It was 
a strange place for a strange people: for its streets were simply 
cracks, in which it was impossible for a carriage to turn. Its 
castle represents the military engineering of 2,200 years ago. 
Then there remain the Greek Theatre, hewn out of the rock, 
capable of seating 25,000 spectators; and the Roman Amphi- 
theatre. The city also possesses vast catacombs. The paper 
finally dealt with the unmatched beauties of Taormina—a place 
perched high up amongst the hills, and close to the straits of 
Messina. The lecturer pictured in glowing language its rock- 
built town—with its oriental water-carriers and its lithe and 
handsome men. The girls with the varied hues of their garments, 
their native beauty and graceful pose, and the fountains of water 
by which they were often seen, reminded one of Alma Tadema’s 
unrivalled productions. The view from the Greek Theatre was 
said to be the finest in the world. The visitor stood amongst 
refined associations, surrounded with perfection of beauty of form 
and colour, and examples of surpassing fairness in nature and 
art. It was an inestimable privilege to witness such a capti- 
vating scene. You saw the rocky mountain ridges, and Htna 
towering in the distance; around you was the white Town cut out 
of the rock, with its picturesque towers and ruins lovely in their 
decay ; beneath lay the sea slumbering in deep blue, and beyond the 
strait of Messina, on the bordering rocks of which towns are 
perched here and there, are visible the outlines of the mountains 
of Calabria. 
At the conclusion of the paper numerous illustrations of the 
principal scenes were given by means of Mr. Drew’s magnificent 
lantern, Mr. Waddington briefly naming and describing them. 
