MALTA AND SICILY. 
255 
new plants in blossom, and we were struck 
with the size and beauty of some of the 
spurges, which were four feet or more in 
height, with strong woody stems and spread¬ 
ing branches, appearing like oak-trees in 
miniature. We found two sorts of antirrhi¬ 
num, one with a very long spur to the blos¬ 
som, a species of hound’s-tongue, with a 
pencilled flower, a very large white cistus, a 
convolvulus, apparently the same as the con¬ 
volvulus major of our gardens, a pretty 
vetch, like the vicia cracca, and, lastly, we 
had the pleasure of gathering a few very 
large violets of a pale blue colour, and with 
an odour as sweet and powerful as those of 
our own green hedge-banks. 
At the top of the hill we met a shabbily- 
dressed man, who said he had once been a 
priest, in waiting to conduct us to the theatre. 
It was certainly a very interesting relic of 
