of the finest in Europe, and its environs are the best cultivated and most thickly inhabited part of Sicily. Population 135,000. The principal hotel is the Victoria-well kept.

Make your bargain with the boatman before you land or embark. If he ask two francs, offer him one; he will be sure to take one and a half. The boatmen will often agree to take yourself and baggage to the hotel for two francs, or about 40 cts. This will be plenty to offer for carriage and boat. There is no regular tariff, but they all insist there is, and what they ask is exactly the tariff. Ladies must not be frightened at their loud talk and quarreling: it never results in any thing.

One or two days may be well spent here. Messina contains numerous curiosities,

boast. One of the relics consists of an autograph letter written by the Virgin Mary to the Messenians, in which she assures them that she has taken them under her special care and protection! She also, to make assurance doubly sure, and establish beyond all cavil the genuineness of the letter, gave a lock of her own hair to the person intrusted with the conveyance of the letter! The Virgin has kept her promise on several occasions. At one time, when the city was suffering by famine, it was saved by a timely arrival of a supply of corn which she sent! It would be con

About daybreak we pass to the south of the celebrated islands of Lipari, or Vulcaniæ of the Romans, who supposed them to be inhabited by Vulcan, god of fire, from their emitting smoke and flames. The principal islands are seven in number, viz., Lipari, Stromboli, Vulcano, Salini, Panaria, Felicudia, and Alcudi. Their entire population is about 23,000. They are all of volcanic origin. Stromboli, which is the most northerly, is the only volcano in Europe which is constantly emitting smoke and flames. On a dark night the reflection of its flames may be seen on the ocean for many miles. Lipari and Vulcano have also craters, which are occasionally in action. Earthquakes are of frequent occurrence, but the climate is pure, and highly salubrious. Lipari is the great mine from whence Europe and America obtain all the pumice-stone used; its entire soil is composed of that singular substance; it is also plenty at Vulcano; it is worth $50 per ton in the English market.

Messina is beautifully situated at the inost eastern part of the island of Sicily, on the straits of the same name, eight miles from Reggio, on the Italian side. The straits here are only two miles wide. Messina is the second city in Sicily. Though

genuineness of either of those relics. What a pity she forgot them in 1783, when the whole city was laid in ruins by an earthquake which happened in that year.

The city has a very fine appearance from the streets. It is in form of a crescent. From the palazzetta, or quay, in front, which extends over two miles, and at which lie all the shipping, the city and background rise in the form of an amphitheatre. The houses, being built of white stone, contrast finely with the dark, luxuriant, cone-like hills in the rear. The principal street, running parallel with the quay, is bordered with fine houses, and is well paved with square blocks of lava, and is ornamented with numerous churches, statues, and fountains.

The principal object of interest in Messina is the Cathedral, which was partly destroyed by the earthquake of 1783. It is situated in a very fine square, the fountain in the centre of which is one of the finest in Sicily. The cathedral was erected in the early part of the 12th century, soon after the conquest of Sicily by Roger the Norman. It is a Gothic building, with heavy and gloomy exterior. The interior, however, is richly ornamented, and corresponds in richness to the façade. The pulpit is beautifully carved, and is consid

ered the master-piece of the Sicilian sculptor Gaggini. The principal altar and roof of the choir are adorned with mosaics and precious stones. The nave is supported by immense granite columns taken from a temple of Neptune.

The other churches worthy of a visit are Monte Virgine, Annunciation, and St. Giorgio. The last belongs to the convent of the Bernardines, and requires some exercise to mount the hill. Among some of the pictures in this church is one by Ste. fano Giordano, and one by Antonio FeloThe marbles and inlaid-work are

camo.

one can deviate from it. Every thing around you is made of the fell destroyer, lava. The mole which protects the harbor is lava, the houses are built of lava, the streets are paved with lava; their furniture, toys, every thing is lava; and this same lava, by its own decomposition, has covered the plains of Sicily in this direction with the most fertile soil in the world. Catania has a beautiful appearance from the sea, and landing does not dispel the illusion. The streets are regular, spacious, and handsome, lined with elegant houses, churches, convents, palaces, and public establishments. Owing to the frequent

mare.

The Harbor is well defended by a citadel, provided with bomb-quarter and stores on the Vauban principle. There are also two well-built forts above the town, and one commanding the mouths of the FiuThe harbor is one of the finest in the world; first-class men-of-war can lie in any part of the basin, and the largestsized traders can be accommodated with perfect safety at any part of its immense quay. To this port and harbor Messina is wholly indebted for her prosperity. Then her situation between Italy and Sicily gives her great advantages as a commercial entrepôt. The principal exports consist of oranges, lemons, wines, olive oil, olives, silk, rags, and corn.

Messina has two theatres and an operahouse. The last is one of the finest in Europe, and the company employed first

class.

Travelers who wish to make the ascent of Mt. Etna, which is 40 miles to the southwest of Messina, can take the railroad, now (1868) completed to Catania.

Catania is situated at the foot of Mount Etna. It contains 60,000 inhabitants. The plan of the city is very fine, and no

ments have been destroyed. There still remains, however, remnants of an amphitheatre larger than the Coliseum at Rome, a hippodrome, odeum, and theatre, with numerous temples, aqueducts, baths, and fountains. The principal manufacture here is silk. The city exports largely snow from Mt. Ætna, wine, olive oil, olives, figs, soda, and manure.

Syracuse lies about 30 miles south from Catania. Its population, which in ancient times was 250,000, is now about 20,000. Among the objects of antiquity which it now possesses is the Cathedral, which was converted from the Temple of Minerva. The famous fountain of Arethusa, the glory of ancient Syracuse, is now degraded into a washing-tub. The Latomia, or prisons cut in the solid rocks. The "Ear of Dionysius."-This is supposed to be the prison where the tyrant Dionysius incarcerated suspected persons. It is formed in the solid rock in the shape of the letter S, narrowing gradually toward the end. Along the prison runs a groove, which collected the sounds of the voices. By applying his ear to the end of the groove he could ascertain whether his suspicions were correct. The Catacombs in Arcadina are of vast extent. They consist of one principal avenue, with smaller ones branching off, cut in the solid rock. The recesses on each side contain cells for the reception of the dead.

In the Latomic, or prisons, which are cut in the solid rock, of great depth, open at the top, but with steep overhanging sides, the Syracusans confined the rem nant of the expedition sent by Athens to subjugate them. They amounted to over

7000 men. They were here shut up for two months, with half supply of food, just sufficient to keep them alive, exposed to the vertical sun by day and the dews by night, without any method to preserve cleanliness, and coming in contact every moment with the sick, dead, and dying. At the end of two months, those few who had escaped these horrors with their lives were brought out and sold for slaves. This enterprise was the largest ever fitted out by any Greek state for the reduction of a foreign power. The attention of all the powers was fixed on this expedition, and all Greece was sanguine of its success; but jealousy in the management of the undertaking was the cause of its defeat. Alcibiades, whose experience, ability, and decision were universally acknowledged, was removed, and the command given to Nicias, who was deficient in the necessary qualifications. The consequence was the defeat of the Athenian fleet, and the glory and empire of Athens.

The siege of Syracuse by the Romans, 200 years before Christ, is one of the most celebrated in ancient history. Here the great Archimedes rendered himself famous; for not only had the Romans to contend against the natural strength and fortifications of the city, but against the wonderful machines first invented by this great mechanic. The city never could have been taken but for the treachery of one of the Syracusan commanders.

Archimedes, Theocritus, and Moschus were all natives of Syracuse. Up to the year 1693 Syracuse was a city of great importance, but the dreadful earthquake of that year laid her monuments and houses in ruins.

Travelers who wish to make the tour of the Mediterranean, viz., to Malta, Alexandria, Jaffa, Beyrout, Tripoli, Alexandretta, Rhodes, Smyrna, Syria, Malta, Messina, Civita Vecchia, to Marseilles, can purchase at Messina a return ticket from the Messageries Imperiale Company for 1200 francs, which will be good for four months. From this a discount of 20 per cent. will be made, and if for a family of three, an additional 10 per cent. discount is made. This will give you time to go up the Nile, and spend one month in Palestine. If you go to Constantinople, that will be added to the amount at the same discount. If

there should be any danger of your not getting through in that time, purchase your ticket to Alexandria only.

To visit Malta you must take an Austrian Lloyd steamer from Messina; time, 17 h. MALTA.

Malta is an island in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to Great Britain. It is situated about 50 miles to the south of Sicily, and has a population (exclusive of Gozzo) of 110,000. Gozzo, which lies to the northwest, has a population of 17,000. This island, though small in size, is of vast importance for the protection of British commerce in the Mediterranean, and as a coaling dépôt for steamers to the East. It is about 17 miles long by 9 broad, and is naturally a barren rock. The greater part of it, however, is finely cultivated, and planted with cotton, wheat, barley, and other grains. The pastures of the island of Gozzo are very extensive, and cattle are raised for the more numerous population of Malta. Both islands produce oranges, lemons, grapes, and other fruits of excellent quality. Besides the food produced by the soil, extensive fisheries are carried on for the daily supply of the market.

The Maltese are in general of an ordinary stature, strong, robust, and of a brown complexion. They are of a mixed race, and speak a dialect which bears much resemblance to the Arabic spoken on the opposite shores of Africa. They are full of fire, and endowed with a penetrating imagination. They possess very lively passions, and are tenacious in their opinions, in their love, and in their hate; are laborious and frugal, living on very slender fare. They are Roman Catholic in their religion, and are generally ignorant and superstitious. Most persons in trade speak the Italian language as well as English; the latter is now taught in the common schools. About one tenth of the entire population are English and other foreigners, the balance are natives.

The Maltese have in general adopted the costume of the Franks, but the native dress is still worn by the lower orders. This consists, first, of a long bag, made of wool, for a cap; it is dyed various colors, and hangs down behind; the top part is used for a purse, or forms a receptacle for any small articles the wearer wishes to

accordingly crowned King of Sicily and Malta, notwithstanding the opposition of the Emperor of Constantinople and the Pope of Rome. Roger treated the Maltese with great kindness; he founded and enriched many churches; he allowed the Saracens to stamp their gold coin with "There is only one God, and Mohammed is the prophet of God," on one side, and on the other, "King Roger."

After the death of Roger II., Constance, his only daughter, who had espoused Henry VI., emperor of Germany, of the house of Swabia, ceded the islands of Malta and Sicily to her husband and the future emperors of Germany. Malta remained under the government of the German emperors for 72 years, during which time the natives signalized themselves greatly by their valor at sea. One of their admirals attacked and destroyed a squadron of the republic of Pisa, which had come to lay siege to Syracuse, and took the island of Candia from the Venetians, after having shattered their fleet and taken prisoner their admiral, Andrea Dandolo.

Manfred, the natural son of Frederick II., formed the horrible design of poisoning his father, and making himself master of his dominions. The cruel oppressions and tyrannical proceedings of this usurper excited a rebellion of the Maltese and Sicilians against his government, and finally caused Pope Urban IV. to absolve all his subjects from their allegiance to him. To save the consequences of such powerful opposition, he offered his daughter Constance in marriage to Peter, son of James, king of Aragon. This alliance, however, had no other effect upon Urban than of completing his enmity toward Manfred; and without any right, except that presumptuously assumed by his predecessors, he invested Charles of Anjou, king of France, with the possession of Sicily and Naples, and their dependent states. This procceding was unjustly confirmed by his successor, Clement IV., who reserved to himself the duchies of Benevento and Ponto Corvo, in the kingdom of Naples, and a yearly tribute of 40,000 crowns, which Charles obligated himself to pay to the Papal See on St. Peter's Day. A battle, which took place between the forces of Charles and Manfred, on the plains of Benevento, on the 26th of February, 1266, de

cided the fate of the kingdom in favor of the former. Manfred met the just punishment of his parricide and his other crimes by being slain on the field, and his wife and children were taken prisoners by the conqueror.

The daughter of Manfred, whose husband was now King of Aragon, with the title of Peter III., used all her influence to inspire him to assert his claims to the kingdom of Sicily and Malta. The tyranny of Charles had already rendered him obnoxious to the people over whom he governed, and it was not long before a desperate attempt was formed by a private Sicilian gentleman, who was secretly attached to Peter, to massacre all the French in the kingdom at a given signal. This famous conspiracy, known by the name of the "Sicilian Vespers," was carried into effect on Easter Day of the year 1282, during which the King of Aragon was proclaimed sovereign of Sicily, and publicly crowned in the Cathedral at Palermo. Charles was in Tuscany when the news of this tragical event reached him; he immediately set about making endeavors to gain his lost authority; but his fleet, commanded by his son, was discomfited by Admiral Roger, who commanded the vessels of the Aragonese.

The island of Malta, having suffered so much from the dissensions of its successive masters, was now destined to undergo even worse treatment from the individuals to whom it was successively given as a fief by the kings of Aragon and Castile. Notwithstanding the solemn promises made by King Louis, son of Peter II., at the just and earnest representations of the Maltese, that the island should, in future, be considered as unalienable from the crown of Sicily, it was twice afterward mortgaged by King Martin-first to Don Antonio Cordova, and subsequently to Don Gonsalvo Monroi-for the sum of 30,000 florins. The Maltese, wearied with making useless complaints, resolved to pay to Martin the sum for which the island was pledged. This offer was accepted; and in the year 1350, by a public act of the king, it was decreed that the islands of Malta and Gozzo should henceforth never be separated from the kingdom of Sicily, and that their inhabitants should enjoy equal privileges with those of Palermo, Messina, and Catania.