18 
A GIRA THROUGH SICILY. 
ramifications of government extend into every family circle, 
and wind every body up as in a cobweb. The stranger who 
lands at Palermo, and succeeds in getting through the Polizia, 
will respect good government all the rest of his life. I have 
a very pleasing impression of the officer in attendance there. 
He opened my knapsack when he heard me speak English, 
because he knew I must be an Englishman to address him 
in that language ; he opened my letters one by one and care¬ 
fully read them, commencing at the signatures and ending 
at the dates; and when he saw that I was not Mr. Glad¬ 
stone, and had no printed documents for private circulation 
among the people of Sicily, he gave me a kindly nod and let 
me pass. Now, I depend upon that officer, as a man of 
honor, never to divulge the contents of my letters—especially 
one that was written in German and some private memoranda 
in shorthand. 
The streets of Palermo are wider than those of the princi¬ 
pal cities in Italy, and at night the shops present a very 
cheerful appearance. Cafes abound in all the public places, 
but there are none equal to the cafes in Florence. I visited 
during my stay the magnificent villa of the Marquis Fourche, 
which is embellished in the style of a Pompeiian palace, with 
fountains and interior decorations designed strictly according 
to the antique models found in the ruins of Pompeii. The 
mosaic marble saloons, frescoes, and general arrangement of 
the chambers, as also the style of the furniture, afford a very 
good idea of Pompeii in its days of splendor. It was a festa 
day in Palermo, so I went to all the churches worth seeing, 
and heard some good music at the Santa Catherina. Coming 
from Italy, I was surfeited with sight-seeing of this kind, but 
I still found much to interest me in Palermo, where something 
of a different architectural order may be seen. 
With respect to the fine arts in Palermo, of which the 
Marquis of Artala, in his Guide to Sicily, speaks in enthusi¬ 
astic terms, I must confess I saw nothing of a high order of 
excellence. He dwells with particular admiration on the 
magnificent statuary which he says adorns the public prom¬ 
enades. I believe I thoroughly explored Palermo and its 
