56 
A GIRA THROUGH SICILY. 
courses on the wars of the Greeks and Romans, in which, to 
be candid, I felt no interest whatever; for what consequence 
was it to a peaceful wayfarer like myself—simply an honorary 
General in the Bobtail Militia—how many were killed on 
certain occasions, or who were the best cut-throats of ancient 
times ? All this I have done from the purest good-nature. 
But now the remembrance of roasting suns, and long walks 
for nothing, and longer discourses, and lost dinners, comes 
upon me with such force that I must have some satisfaction. 
Yea, have I not seen men prate learnedly about Titian, and 
Rubens, and Guercino, who scarce knew red from blue; and 
young ladies go into ecstasies over a splendid Corinthian col¬ 
umn, which was Doric, or an antique fresco which was painted 
about a dozen years ago ? 
We were overtaken at Catania by a Portuguese gentleman 
and his wife, fellow-passengers in the Neapolitan steamer 
from Naples to Palermo. Doctor Mendoza was a man of the 
world and a philosopher, and we were very glad to join him 
in an extra diligence to Syracuse. He was rich in worldly 
possessions, and, like a good many tourists whom we had 
met, traveled chiefly to kill time and hunt up the best hotels. 
There was no good hotel on the top of Mount Etna, so he 
staid at the “ Corunna,” in Catania; “because,” said he, “I 
can see Mount Etna from my window.” Having ascertained 
that there was a good hotel at Syracuse, he concluded to go; 
and he kindly entertained us on the road with a detailed ac¬ 
count of the hotels through Germany, Switzerland, Poland, 
and Russia, dwelling with particular enthusiasm upon the 
style in which they get up hotels in St. Petersburg. He had 
been traveling constantly for three years in search of good 
hotels ; if he had any guarantee that there were hotels in 
Athens and Jerusalem he would go there, but had not yet 
made up his mind to run so great a risk. The interest of a 
country depended altogether upon the excellence of its hotels. 
It was a matter of surprise to me how a man should go to so 
much expense to find comfortable accommodations in uncom¬ 
fortable countries, when he could have found them so much 
better and so much cheaper at home or in Paris. Nor was 
