250 
LETTERS FROM 
But, though Mount Etna has been the 
cause of so much misery to the inhabitants 
in its neighbourhood, they derive great be¬ 
nefits from it also, for the forests which 
cover its sides furnish them with an 
abundant supply of wood and charcoal, and 
from the higher regions are procured snow 
and ice, which, during the great heat of 
summer, are ranked among the necessaries 
of life in this island. It is even said that 
the Bishop of Catania formerly derived a 
great part of his revenue from the sale of 
ice, which is exported to Italy and to Malta. 
Mount Etna is between ten and eleven 
thousand feet, or, as nearly as possible, two 
miles in height. When viewed from Catania, 
its apparent height is much increased by 
there being no very high land near it. 
We left Catania for Messina in a shabby 
open carriage, which we had hired for the 
