27*2 
LETTERS FROM 
and was high and rocky, but the lower parts 
were cultivated. There was a large town, 
and a castle in a little bay towards the south, 
and near the northern point was a high white 
cliff, which we were informed was composed 
entirely of pumice-stone. As there was no 
good anchorage here, we continued for some 
hours sailing backwards and forwards, under 
the friendly shelter of the island, hoping for 
a change of wind, till at length the old pirate, 
after a careful survey of the heavens, pre¬ 
dicted that the gale would continue, and he 
said that we must seek a safer harbour. Ac¬ 
cordingly we scudded before the wind, and 
in a few hours cast anchor in the Bay of 
Milazzo, on the northern coast of Sicily. 
This bay is sheltered by a narrow tongue of 
land, which extends two or three miles into 
the sea, forming a tolerably safe harbour, ex¬ 
cept during northerly winds, when it is en- 
