Ch. VII.] 



SCENERY OF THE VAL DEL BOVE. 89 



sions, and appear almost isolated as seen from many points, yet 

 the stern and severe grandeur of the scenery which they adorn 

 is not such as would be selected by a poet for a vale of enchant- 

 ment. The character of the scene would accord far better 

 with Milton's picture of the infernal world ; and if we imagine 

 ourselves to behold in motion, in the darkness of the night,, one 

 of those fiery currents, which have so often traversed the great 

 valley, we may well recall 



' yon dreary plain, forlorn and wild, 



The seat of desolation, void of light 



Save what the glimmering of these vivid flames 



Cast pale and dreadful.' 



The face of the precipices already mentioned is broken in 

 the most picturesque manner by the vertical walls of lava which 

 traverse them. These masses usually stand out in relief, are 

 exceedingly diversified in form, and often of immense altitude. 

 In the autumn., their black outline may often be seen relieved 

 by clouds of fleecy vapour which settle behind them,, and do 

 not disperse until midday, continuing to fill the valley while 

 the sun is shining on every other part of Sicily, and on the 

 higher regions of Etna. 



As soon as the vapours begin to rise, the changes of scene 

 are varied in the highest degree, different rocks being unveiled 

 and hidden by turns, and the summit of Etna often breaking 

 through the clouds for a moment with its dazzling snows, and 

 being then as suddenly withdrawn from the view. 



An unusual silence prevails, for there are no torrents dash- 

 ing from the rocks, nor any movement of running water in 

 this valley, such as may almost invariably be heard in moun- 

 tainous regions. Every drop of water that falls from the 

 heavens, or flows from the melting ice and snow, is instantly 

 absorbed by the porous lava ; and such is the dearth of springs, 

 that the herdsman is compelled to supply his flocks, during the 

 hot season, from stores of snow laid up in hollows of the moun- 

 tain during winter. 



The strips of green herbage and forest-land, which have 



