An Excursion on Eina. 181 
such an hour to return his salutation. The enigma was soon 
explained by the appearance of another guide to take charge of 
the mules. We had now reached the limits of our riding—we 
had been five hours in the saddle, and were now on the pres- 
ent confines of the snow. We dismounted, refreshed ourselves 
with some hard eggs and wine, took our mountain staffs and 
followed the guides who struck out immediately upon the snow. 
The wind now blew fiercely from the N. W., an onsinous cloud 
was in the east, a heavy haze hung over the island, and I told 
Mr. Brush of my fears that we had no bright sunrise awaiting us. 
Still large portions of the sky were clear, and we had good cour- 
age togoon. I pointed Matteo to the cloud, when I found he had 
my fears; for he shook his head and said despondingly, looking 
to the cone, “molto vento.” The ascent on the snow for the 
first mile or two was at an easy angle. The snow was crystal- 
lized like ice freshly broken, and soft enough to give us a firm 
foot-hold.._- * 
It was about quarter past two when we made our first halt at 
the pillar of stone erected at the base of the minor peak of Etna, 
which is called “Montagnuola.” While stopping here over our 
ket of provisions, we observed in a striking manner the decep- 
tive nature of distance, where objects are viewed froma great 
height and especially at night. We saw two lights, one of which 
We supposed to be the man with the mules (who had no light!) and 
the other we did not so clearly make out. On enquiry of Matteo, 
he told us that one (the first) wasa light-house on the coast at 
Catania—twenty-five miles off—the other, the signal at Bronte, 
an equal distance on the opposite side of the mountain. ver 
was I so deceived by a physical phenomenon; I could have an- 
Swered with the greatest confidence that both lights were within 
hailing distance. We now turned our course more northerly, the 
angle of ascent increased, and our exertions were arduous. We 
saw, as we thought, the ridge of the mountain just before us 
however, and over it the naked cone of Etna rising like an im- 
mense dome from the snowy waste. We pushed on to gain the 
ridge, and as it faded away another more distant presented i 
We looked back on the path we had come and forward, in hopes 
at the comparison would encourage us by showing that we had 
passed over the longer distance. No such comfortable assurance 
Ww 
erful, that had it been in our faces, I am : 
ve made the ascent. Fortunately it was on one side, but it 
brought up frightful banks of clouds, while the wind cloud in 
the east had grown into massive banks of adull grey, which hung 
directly over, where the first light of the morning indicated the 
Position of the rising sun. 
