1806.] 
are a great number of Inge pieces of lava, 
forming a grand {cene of defolation, and 
eccafioned by the difrerent eruptions of 
the volcano. All the above were ihewn 
to us by aprieft ef mof courteous and en- 
gaging manners. 
The Mufeum of the Prince de Bifcaris 
is a large colleétion of ancient Roman and 
Grecian fculpture, and is allowed to be 
very valuable and felect. The Mufeum 
of the Chevalier Georgini, to which ‘he 
was polite enough perfonally to attend us, 
confilis chiefly of curious ftones and mi- 
erals, and is well werth feeing. 
Odi profanum wulgus!—This expref- 
fion was extorted from. me, io the courfe 
of our morning’s ramble, by the rude cu- 
riofty of the inhabitants of this towa, 
hundreds of whom purfued us in the moi 
perfevering and unpleafant manner, from 
fhop to fhop, and from ftreet to fireet; and 
I verily believe, had we advertifed that 
feyeral Britifh officers were ta be {een alive 
and in full uniform, we fhould have excit- 
ed as much curiofity, and ateracted as 
many vifitors, as the Irifh giaat, or the 
lions in the Tower. 
Whilft at dinner this day, we were 
ewaited upon by a pric, who brought a 
prefent of fruit from. his monaftery : he 
bore .no refemblance to the monk immor- 
talized by Sterne ; but his purpofe was the 
fame, and probably better an{wered. 
On the 1{t of January we met with the 
captain and feverai other officers of a Bri- 
tifh frigate from Maita, and the Honour- 
able Mr. M. and two other gentlemen on 
their travels from England : we took. our 
mew-year’s dinner together, were twelve 
innumber, and i fuppole more Engiifhmen 
were never feen at one time in this town. 
The commencement of a year caulesa 
great holiday amongft the Sicilians: in 
the churches were difpiayed a great variety 
of decorations ; thefe, however, were ra- 
‘ther gaudy than cofily, much more glar- 
ing than beautiful. In one church I law 
the body of an old man lying in {late : 
this is an honour paid indifcriminacely 
throughout the country to the high and 
low, the rich and the poor. I cbferved 
here a curious cultom, which I was told 
generally prevails wpon gala days: the 
higher clafies, dreffed in their ‘* funday- 
clothes,’ drive in the evening to the moi 
public part of the town, where they remain 
in their carriages looking at each other for 
the {pace of anhour, but withcut inter- 
changing the fmallelt converfation ; after 
which .they proceed to the opera, or fome 
other public amufement. “Their carriages, 
and- the liveries of their fervants (five or fix. 
Remarks on Maita and Sisity. ‘eS 
of whom are frequently attending one fa- 
mily through the ftreets), are uncommonly 
rich. Oftentation indeed is a prevailing 
paffion among the Sicilians;.-and the 
perfon whofe houle indicates poverty and 
wretchednefs, will Rill be feen abroad in a 
dafhing coach, and attended by fervants 
in brilliant liveries. eran 
Catania is at prefent modern built, 
nearly one half of it having been deftroy. 
_ed by an earthquake in 17843 ; and ig, fut. 
fered dreadfully a few years afterwards by 
a tremendens eruption of Mount Etna. 
For its fize, and in its fituation, it perhaps 
furpaiizs in,beauty any town in the Medi- 
terranean ; the hovles are built of white 
fone, their fronts in general very hand- 
fome 3 but the interior was far. from cor- 
refponding with their external appearance, © 
Theifireets are wide and well paved. It 
has two gates): that leading to Mefiina is 
uncommonly beautiful. I faw. in_ this. 
place fome, Neapolitan troaps, both caval- 
ry and infantry; the former appeared to 
be but indifferent 5 the latter were hand- 
fome, clean, and well-drefied men. 
Oa the 2d of January, attended by ene 
man as.a guide, and two others 2s mule- 
teers, forming in alla cavalcade of feven 
men and fix mules, we left Catania. I 
fhould here remark, that the only two 
ways.of travelling this road, are, firft, by 
riding a mule, or, fecondly, by being 
carried in a kind of fedar, chair between 
two of thofe animals : I.nced hardly add 
we preferred the. former... During . the 
grcater part of this our Gr& day’s journey 
towards Mcflina, we {kirted the fout of 
Mount A2tna. . The weather was. uncom. 
monly clear, and afforded a very, fine view 
ef its fummit, which was coveted with 
fnow, as indeed it is, if not the whole, 
during the greater part of the year. The 
crater at prefent emits but little fmeke ; 
_and it is the opinion of many that its fire, 
‘is nearly exhaufled, 
We paficd through a number. of ples. 
fant villages ;, in feveralof which. (it be- 
ing holiday-time). ,we,were regaled by 
‘lively bands of mutic. 
niles 
About fixteen from. Catania we 
haited to refrefh. ouslelves and horfes at 
one of the country albergas cr taverns: it 
confiied of one large apartment, ab it 
the Gze of a good Englifh barn,, In this 
the whole family, that.is to fay, men, 
women, children, pigs, fheep, dogs, cats, 
and fowls, were aflembled... The land. 
lord, or.at leaft a male being of the haufe- 
hold, wasemployed.in ong corner in cut= 
ting up a pig, from which one ofthe fair 
fex foon produced a larze difh of hnoe 
ftcaks 
