MALTA AND SICILY. 
225 
it is quite impossible to reach the summit 
on account of the snow. During the greater 
part of our stay, the weather was so wet 
and cold that we had not much opportunity 
of exploring the neighbourhood. There was no 
fireplace or stove of any kind in our rooms, 
for the Sicilians are not yet sufficiently 
enlightened to have discovered that the 
usual method of producing warmth is pre¬ 
ferable to the unwholesome brazier of burn¬ 
ing charcoal which they make use of in cold 
weather. While we were confined to the 
house by the rain, we were, however, com¬ 
pelled to adopt this method of keeping our¬ 
selves warm, but it is a poor substitute for 
the cheerful blaze of an English fireside. 
The gas from the charcoal causes head¬ 
ache and a feeling of oppression, and in a 
small room the consequences would no 
doubt be much more serious. To correct 
