MALTA AND SICILY. 
205 
the northern side of the harbour’s mouth, on 
a peninsula, now converted into an island by 
four canals or ditches, which are crossed by 
drawbridges. The streets are narrow, dirty, and 
without foot ways. With few exceptions, the 
houses are small and mean, and have sloping 
roofs, covered by tiles, which are of a dirty 
red colour, and are laid on in a very irregu¬ 
lar manner. The cathedral stands on the 
site of the ancient temple of Minerva, the 
beautiful fluted pillars of which are in very 
good preservation, and now support the roof 
of the modern building; part of the marble 
pavement is also remaining. There is a 
public museum in the town, containing a 
good collection of Syracusan antiquities, 
among the most esteemed of which are 
statues of Venus and of Esculapius, the 
former without a head. I can see little to 
admire in these battered mutilated trunks, 
