9 



THE ARABIAN RACE. 271 



EUROPE. 



On the 21st of February, I left Alexandria in the English steam- 

 boat Iberia; and on the 26th, I again arrived at Malta; where I 

 passed quarantine. 



On the 14th of March, I left Malta in the Neapolitan steamboat ; 

 and I thus had the opportunity of landing in Sicily, at Syracuse, Ca- 

 tania, and Messina. I remarked among the Sicilians, some tradi- 

 tionary remembrance of wearing the Arab costume. 



We stopped at two or three places on the Calabrian coast; and on 

 the 18th, we reached Naples ; where the boat remained eight days. 

 A ' Calabrian' peasant, clad in a sheepskin jacket, was seen perform- 

 ing on the bagpipe; an instrument somewhat Oriental in the cha- 

 racter of its intonations; and which I believe, is now nearly confined 

 to the extreme mountain-fastnesses of Italy and Scotland. 



The superstition of the 'evil eye,' is common in Italy; and I re- 

 marked traces of other Arab customs, which generally, in Europe, 

 have become obsolete ; and further, at Herculaneum and Pompeii, 

 that the Arab analogies increase on ascending into antiquity. 



The environs of Naples, offer a striking example of a succession of 

 languages within a given district; as is shown by the Latin inscrip- 

 tions of the Roman towns; and by the anterior Greek inscriptions of 

 the Catacombs. Where moreover, at this distance in time and space, 

 I did not anticipate meeting with evidence of the Hindoo worship of 

 Siva. The severe penalty for killing a cow, according to Pliny once 

 in vogue at Rome, is another fact in point. 



On recurring to Hawaiian volcanic action, it appeared to me, 

 that a subterraneous lava-stream coming in contact with water, would 

 account for the catastrophe of Pompeii. 



After leaving Naples, the boat touched at Civita Vecchia, Leghorn, 

 and Genoa. Italy offers another subject of interest, in its rich monu- 

 mental history continuing uninterrupted through the Middle Ages. 



The boat finally stopped at Marseilles; and after a ride through 

 France, I sailed from Havre on the 12th of Aj)ril, in the ship Iowa; 

 and on the 16th of the following month, we arrived at New York. 



