38 
A GIRA THROUGH SICILY. 
happy as they looked. These were the peasant girls of the 
country. 
Senor Gemmellaro met us at the gate in the true spirit of 
a fine old country gentleman. “ I am very glad to see you,” 
said he, “ though I have hut little to offer you here. You 
see my country house there—a mere straw cabin, hut good 
enough for an old bachelor.” The cottage was indeed a cu¬ 
riosity. Robinson Crusoe never designed or inhabited any 
thing more picturesque. Pleasantly shaded by trees stood 
this rustic little wigwam, with its peaked straw roof and 
single door, and the inviting aroma of grape vines and flowers 
around it, and in front a laughing, dancing, buxom gang of 
country girls, full of life and fun, and apparently not at all 
disposed to work. “They are a very troublesome set,” said 
Senor Gemmellaro; “ I can’t do any thing with them.” 
Then the old gentleman would laugh and shake his head at 
the girls : “ Ah, you young imps ; you think because I am a 
bachelor you can do as you please with me. Never mind, 
I’ll pay you up ; I’ll get a wife to keep you all in order.” 
Here the old gentleman would laugh again, until his eyes 
seemed ready to pop out of his head; and the girls would 
laugh, and we laughed as a matter of politeness. 
We went into the cottage, where we found the roof orna¬ 
mented with choice selections of grapes and various produc¬ 
tions of the villa. The old gentleman prides himself on a 
particular wine, which he makes with his own hands, to 
which he gallantly gives the name of “ Vino del Donna.” It 
is a wine peculiarly for the ladies; and I must say it is the 
very best that could be devised for the delicate palate of the 
fair sex. Any lady who could drink two glasses of the Vino 
del Donna without experiencing an immediate inclination to 
accept of the first offer, must be possessed of an adamantine 
heart. The grapes are perfectly delicious—far superior to 
any we had tasted down in the lower country. 
We learned from Senor Gemmellaro that the climate and 
soil of San Nicolosi are peculiarly adapted to the cultivation 
of the grape. Black and parched as the whole face of the 
country appears, it produces most abundant crops, and the 
