MALTA AND SICILY. 
221 
We were amused at the costume of some 
of the men we met near the town. Their 
dress consisted of a short jacket, black 
plush breeches, open at the knee, high black 
boots, and a very clean white cotton night¬ 
cap. 
We left Syracuse on Wednesday, 12th 
March, in a speronara which we had en¬ 
gaged to take us to Catania. Speronaras are 
much used in these seas, chiefly for coasting, 
but they are considered very safe boats, and 
often perform long voyages. Our boat, 
which was a small one of the kind, was 
about thirty feet in length ; she was sharp at 
both ends, and had a deck formed of move- 
able planks, and a wooden covering, like the 
tilt of a wagon, abaft, in the place of a cabin. 
We had two young Italian painters for 
fellow-passengers, one of whom could speak 
English, but, alas! the motion of the boat 
