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LETTERS FROM 
most of which are narrow and dirty. In 
some of the streets are moveable iron 
bridges for the purpose of crossing the tor¬ 
rent which runs down the middle in rainy 
weather. In an open space in front of the 
cathedral, there is an excellent figure of an 
elephant, formed of black lava, with tusks of 
white marble, and supporting on his back an 
ancient Egyptian pillar, covered with hiero¬ 
glyphics ; underneath there is a fountain. 
There appears to be but little trade in the 
place; indeed, the harbour is not large 
enough to contain many vessels, for the only 
shelter is a small pier built of large blocks 
of lava. Catania could once boast of a 
beautiful natural pier, formed by a torrent of 
lava, which extended a long way into the 
sea, but this was quite destroyed by the 
eruption of 1669. 
We visited several museums, one of which 
