272 
PAL 
year in fo populous a city as this. Women are dried as 
well as the men, but are not expofed. The bodies of 
princes, and of the prime nobility, are enclofed in hand- 
fome cherts, the keys of which are kept by the neareft re¬ 
lations of the family. This city lies hi miles weft of 
Medina, in lat. 38.10. N. Ion.13. 25. E. See, for farther 
particulars of this beautiful city. Hill’s Travels through 
Sicily and Calabria. Brydone’s Tour through Sicily and 
Malta. Sutherland’s Tour to Conftantinople. Galt’s 
Voyages and Travels, 1809, 10, n. Sicily and its Inha¬ 
bitants, by W. H. Thompfon, 1813. Cockburn’s Voyage 
to Cadiz and Gibraltar, 1815. SirR. C. Hoare’s Claflical 
Tour through Italy and Sicily, 1819. 
A revolution, which led to the quiet re-eftabliffiment 
of the Cortes and the conftitution of the year 1812, had 
taken place in Spain, on the 6th of March, 1820. A fimi- 
larand bloodlefs revolution, adopting the conftitution of 
Spain, followed at Naples on the 6th of July. On the 
14th, the veftel lent from Naples to announce the news 
that his majefty had fworn to the conftitution, arrived at 
Palermo ; and the firft impulfe of the people was to adopt 
the tri-coloured badge of the conftitution. Accordingly, 
on the evening of that day, in the promenade near the 
cathedral, which was brilliantly illuminated in honour of 
the feftival of St. Rofalia, the people fpontaneoufty 
mounted the cockade of Naples, black, Iky-biue, and red. 
But this harmony lafted only a lingle day; for, on the 
16th, the yellow or Sicilian ribband was diiplayed in con¬ 
junction with the other colours ; and the people began 
to exprefs their defire to adopt the conftitution of Spain, 
on condition that the kingdom of Sicily ffiou'ld be fe- 
parated ‘from that of Naples, and governed by a king 
which it ftiould choofe for itfelf out of the royal family. 
This firft burlt of independence might perhaps have palled 
over harmlefsly, but that an accident, or an indiferetion, 
exafperated the people againft the Neapolitan authorities 
and troops. General Church, an Englilh officer in the 
pay of Naples, is laid to have torn the badge of Sicilian 
independence from the breaft of an unarmed citizen. 
Enraged at this a£t, the forts in the poffeffion of the Nea¬ 
politan foldiery were attacked and carried by the iflanders. 
On the morning of the 17th, 700 prifoners were releafed 
from confinement by the populace; and then the Neapo¬ 
litans were furioufly attacked, and indiferiminately but¬ 
chered. The accounts eftimate the lofs of life at 2000 
killed, and about 3000 wounded. 
The next ftep, of courfe, was to form a Supreme Junta, 
or proviiional government. This was effefted on the 
19th: it conlifted of 10 Sicilian nobles, 10 opulent citi¬ 
zens, and 72 heads (confuls) of trades. A deputation of 
eight perfons from this body failed on the 26th from Pa¬ 
lermo for Naples, to negociate the independence of the 
Sicilians, and Hating their determination not to remain a 
province of the kingdom of Naples. They returned on 
the 6th of Auguft, having met with a refufal; in fadl, we 
believe they were not permitted to land. 
The return of the deputies from Naples was the fignal 
of the moft prompt and vigorous meafures on the part of 
the proviiional government at Palermo. A decree was 
immediately iffued, for enrolling in the military fervice of 
the country the name of every inhabitant of Sicily capa¬ 
ble of bearing arms, without exception of rank ; and 
troops were lent to attack thofe places which ftill adhered 
to their dependence on Naples. Thofe were Medina, 
Trapanti, Catania, and Syracule. At Caltarififetti alfo 
ftrenuous refiftance was made; and a divifion of the Army 
of National Independence, under the command of the 
Prince of St. Cataldo, inverted the place on the 8th of 
Auguft. After defeating a moft treacherous attempt to 
furprife his army, the prince took the town by ftorm. 
It appears that the Junta of Palermo have under their 
orders an armed, though undifeiplined, force of 60,000 
men, headed by the chief of the Sicilian nobility, and 
actuated by a ftrong repugnance to bear any longer the 
fway of their continental neighbours. Meffina, Augufta, 
PAL 
and Trapanti, are the only places that hold out; and, Iti 
confequence, the Neapolitan government has declared 
Meffina to be the capital of the'illand of Sicily, inftead of 
Palermo. 
We truft, for the fake of all parties, that the Sicilians 
and the Neapolitans will be equally convinced of the ne- 
ceffity of their uniting, in fome way or other, againft all 
foreign aggrefibrs; for both nations (if we may call them 
two) are threatened with foreign interference; and we 
ffiall have occafion to Hate the refult under the article 
Sicily. 
PikLER'MO, a town of North America, in the ftate 
of Maine, and county of Lincoln; with 761 inhabitants. 
PALER'NO, a town of Naples, in Principato Ultra: 
twelve miles weft-north-weft of Conza.—Alfo, a town of 
Naples, in Calabria Citra : fix miles fouth-weft of Cofenza. 
PA'LES, in mythology, the divinity'of ffiepherds, or 
the tutelar deity and proteCtrefs of flocks. Her feftival 
was called Palilia, which fee. 
PALESCIA'NO,, a town of Naples, in the province of 
Otranto : three miles fouth-eaft of Motola. 
To PAL'ESATE, v.a. [frompalefement, old Fr. openly.} 
To manifeft.—The counfell of the Turks had not palefated 
itfelf openly. Sir A. Sherley. 
PAL'ESTINE, or the Holy Land, a country of Afia, 
once the habitation of Geer’s chofen people, but now un¬ 
der the domination of the Turks. 
This once fertile and happy fpot was firft called the Land 
of Canaan, from Noah’s grandfon. In Scripture, how¬ 
ever, it is frequently diftinguifhed by other names; fuch 
as the Land of Promife, the Land of God, the Land of 
Lfrael, &c. It received the name of Palejiine from the 
Paleftines, or Philiftines, who pofl’efled a great part of it; 
and it had the name of Judea, or Judea Palejlina, from 
Judah,' the moft confiderable of the twelve Ions of Jacob. 
The Chriftians have denominated it the Holy Land; 
partly on account of the many Angular bleffings it re¬ 
ceived from the Divine Providence, and partly on ac¬ 
count of its metropolis being made the centre of God’s 
worffiip, and his peculiar habitation; but much more for 
its being the place of our Saviour’s birth, the feene of his 
preaching and manifold miracles, and laftly the place in 
wdiich he accompliffied the great work of our redemption. 
As to the name of Judea, it did not begin to receive that 
till after the return of the Jews from the Babylonifti cap¬ 
tivity, though it had been ftyled long before the Kingdom 
of Judah, in oppofition to that of lfrael, which revolted 
from it under Jeroboam, in the reign of Rehoboam, the 
fon of Solomon. But, after the return, the tribe of Judah, 
the only one that made any figure, fettling at Jerufalem, 
and in the countries adjacent, quickly gave its name to 
the whole territory. By profane authors it was called by 
many different names; fuch as Syria, Paleftina Syria, Cce- 
lofyria, Iduma, Idumaea, and Phasnicia or Phcenice ; but 
thefe are fuppofed only to have been given out of con¬ 
tempt to the Jewilh nation, whom they looked upon as 
unworthy of any other name than what diftinguifhed the 
moft obfeure parts of the neighbouring provinces. See 
the Map, vol. viii. p. 388. 
That part of the country which was properly called the 
Land of Promife, was enclofed on the weft by the Medi¬ 
terranean, on the eaft by the Lake Afplialtites, the Jordan, 
the Sea of Tiberias or of Galilee, and the Samachonite 
Lake; to the north it had the mountains of Libanus, or 
rather of Antilibanus, and the province of Phoenicia ; and 
to the fouth, that of Edom or Idumaea, from which it 
was likewife parted by another ridge of high mountains. 
The boundaries of the other part, which belonged to the 
two tribes and a half beyond the river Jordan, are not fo 
eafily defined, as well as thofeof the conquefts made by the 
more profperous kings of the Jews. All that can be faid 
with any probability is, that the river Arnon was the firft 
northern boundary on that fide ; and, with refpeCt to thofe 
on this fide the Jordan, there is a confiderable difagree- 
ment between tke Hebrew and Samaritan verfions of the 
4 Pentateuch. 
