cuse told me, that a day was never known when the sun did not shine upon their city. The streets of Catania were thronged with people, notwithstanding the rain, and almost every one had a silk umbrella. I remarked that all the umbrellas were of a bright red, which made the crowd look very picturesque. These rains are caused by Mount Ætna, which attracts the clouds from all quarters. The showers are sometimes so heavy that the streets of the city which run up and down the mountain, become rivers of water, rushing down to the sea with such rapidity that it is impossible to ford them. For this reason all the streets which lie upon a slope are provided with movable iron bridges, for crossing. There are also abundant springs of water under ground, which often burst out the sides of the mountain. I saw one of these which had sprung up through the pavement of one of the principal streets, and had been flowing for many weeks, a stream of beautiful clear water. The longest street is called Strada Etnea. It runs up the mountain several miles, exactly in the direction of the crater, and the prospect upward is terminated by the magnificent snowy cone of the mountain, thirty miles distant. No other street in the world is equal to this in singularity.

Many times has this city been destroyed by torrents of lava from the mountain, but the beauty and advantages of the situation are such, that the inhabitants have always been willing to rebuild it, rather than seek another spot. The seashore is a black, craggy lava rock, on which the surf is always beautifully dashing. The prospect through some of the streets is terminated by columns of white spray perpetually flying into the air, as the city is built directly on the open sea, and has no harbor except an artificial dock, about as large as the space between two of the common

wharves in Boston. The soil of all the neighborhood is black, hard lava, which looks like cast iron; notwithstanding which the country is most beautiful, abounding in gardens, orchards, olivegroves, and everything rich and ornamental. Large numbers of the Sicilian nobility live here, attracted by the beauty of this delicious spot.

It was impossible to look up the mighty mountain which towered into the skies over my head, without feeling a strong desire to venture up and explore its wonders. The top, for many miles, was covered with snow, and I was told that the ascent to the summit was hardly possible. However, I determined to make the trial, and hired a couple of stout mules, which are always the best animals for climbing mountains. I obtained a guide well acquainted with the mountain, who agreed to accompany me for half a dollar a day to any place I dared to approach. We set out on the morning of the second of March. At first we found the ascent very gradual; the ground was a broken lava rock, overgrown with olive and almond trees, and prickly pears. Innumerable villages were scattered all round the lower region of the mountain, surrounded by gardens and groves. The houses appeared to be all built of lava; indeed, there is hardly any other kind of stone or building material to be seen anywhere. Every one of the villages had a church with a dome covered with glazed tiles of variegated colors, bright red, green, blue, and yellow, so as to resemble an enormous inverted bead-bag, glittering in the sun. The people were collected in crowds round the churches, firing off guns, crackers, and other fireworks, as it was a saint's day. I could see fences in the fields: in fact, I had not yet seen such a thing as a wooden fence since the day I left home. The fields were all divided by walls of lava. In

no

deed, lava serves here for stone, brick, marble, wood, and many other purposes besides. They build houses of it, wall their yards and fields, pave their streets, macadamize their roads, gravel their walks, and sand their floors with it. They grind it into soil, mix it up with mortar, manufacture it into snuff-boxes, inkstands, statuary, and more things than I have time to mention. The finer sort is exceedingly hard, and takes a fine polish. In one of the squares of Catania is a lava statue of an elephant with an obelisk on his back.

After going some miles up the mountain, the trees and other vegetation became scarce, and presently the road passed over nothing but rugged, barren lava rocks. At the end of about a dozen miles we came to a village called Nicolosi. Here we left our mules, and proceeded on foot to visit the crater of Monti Rossi, from which the eruption issued that destroyed Catania in 1669. This crater is about one third of the way up the mountain, and at fifteen or twenty miles' distance, looks like a dark red spot on the black mass of Etna. We travelled several miles over a great desert of coarse black sand, without see ing a single tree or shrub, till we came to Monti Rossi, which I found to be a mountain with a double summit and very steep sides, consisting of coarse gravel and tufts of long rank grass, with here and there a stunted willow. It was laborious work climbing up this loose soil and holding on by the grass and twigs; now and then we lost our hold and rolled to the bottom, for it was impossible to stay our descent on this steep declivity when once we began to slip. At last we got to the summit, which consists of solid rock. The wind blew in furious gusts on this high elevation, and we were forced to tie our caps firmly upon our heads for fear of losing

them.

I was, however, amply repaid for my toil in the ascent, for the view was grand beyond description. Under my feet was the crater, a yawning gulf of craggy rock, blood-red from the action of fire. All this rock had been thrown up from the bowels of the mountain. There was no opening at the bottom of the crater, the orifice having been filled up many years ago by the crumbling in of the sides, so that it is considered perfectly safe to descend to the bottom. I went down and stood over the spot from whence had issued those streams of fire that made such frightful destruction a century and a half ago. It appeared firm to the tread, like any solid earth, but it was startling to think what it once had been and might be again: it was, in truth, a pit of destruction. A prospect of a different description was exhibited from the top of the crater: the high point of this steep elevation shows the great body of Mount Etna on one side with grand effect. When I recollected that this hill was a mere wart on the huge face of Ætna, I had a most lively impression of the enormous magnitude of the whole mountain,— seeing the wondrous bulk swelling up over my head twenty miles distant. Below, on one hand, was an immense level plain of black sand, on which I could discover winding foot-paths and stone walls, like lines drawn upon paper. Here and there I spied a traveller moving along the plain, mounted on his donkey, but at such a distance that he looked like a grasshopper astride of a mouse. Farther off, other craters and cones were discernible, and more in number than I could count. Each of these was a mountain of itself, but nothing more than a spot on the giant bulk of Etna, whose bold peak, bright with snow, rose towering above the whole. Many miles above what I should suppose to be the habitable region, I

could distinguish the white walls of a monastery, surrounded by a sea of black sand. This great black plain or desert was one of the strangest spectacles I ever saw. Here and there a lonely house could be seen, with a few dwarf willows and cherry trees scattered about, but no other appearance of life except little dots of asses moving slowly along the surface of this barren and forlorn expanse.

I should have remained much longer gazing at the grand prospect which spread around me on all sides, but my guide, who had probably been on the same spot hundreds of times before, was tired of remaining here, and told me it was time to continue our journey up the mountain. A little flurry of snow came on just at this moment, which hastened our departure. We ran down the hill at a rapid pace, tumbling over and over in the loose earth; mounting our beasts at Nicolosi, we jogged on up the mountain. For some miles the country was nothing but lava and black sand; but at length we came to thick woods, through which the road ran for eight or ten miles. It began to grow dark, and I was glad to see something that looked like a house at a distance. When we reached it, however, we found it to be nothing more than a rude hut of lava stones, built for the shelter of travellers. We were obliged to take up our quarters here for the night, though all the accommodations. the house contained were a clumsy fireplace and some heaps of dry leaves for our beds. The air was very chilly, and the wind blew in violent squalls, so that we were glad to meet with even so poor a shelter as this. We kindled a large fire and sat down to supper, after which, till bedtime, I amused myself by conversing with my guide. He was very communicative, and seemed highly pleased at the interest which I mani

fested in my inquiries respecting his personal history. He belonged to Linguagrossa, a little village situated far up the mountain. The inhabitants live by making charcoal, which they carry on asses to Nicolosi and other villages on the lower part of the mountain, for sale. I asked him how much he earned when he was in the charcoal trade. He replied that his average earnings were from three to four cents a day; a sum which I found to be enough for a man's support, as people live in this country.

There are thousands of people in the villages and hamlets on Mount Etna who have never been off the mountain during their lives, and pass the whole of their existence in a state of poverty like this. I asked him if his townspeople thought much of their danger in living in a place constantly threatened with showers of fire and torrents of burning lava. He replied, Niente! Niente!" Not at all! Not at all! because the mountain always gives notice of its eruptions long beforehand, by subterraneous rumblings and shakings, and the people have time to save themselves before the mountain bursts out. So strong is the attachment of man to his native soil!

CHAPTER IX.

A snow-storm on the mountain.-Trick of the guide.-Night's lodging at the Englishman' house. Sunrise.-Journey up the cone.-Ar rival at the top.-Description of the crater.

By daylight the next morning we were up and pursuing our journey. The sky was clear, and the air exceedingly cold. After about an hour's travelling, we got through the woods, and came out into another immense field of barren lava. High above our heads

rose the snowy cone of the mountain, glistening bright in the rising sun-a most magnificent spectacle. Farther on we came to a little hamlet consisting of a dozen or fourteen houses, inhabited by charcoal burners, and there were fifteen or twenty shabby-looking asses strolling about, apparently seeking for something to eat; but what sort of food they could pick up in this desolate place, puzzled me to guess. These animals, however, will eat almost anything, and can make a good meal upon coarse stalks and thistles. We passed by two or three large hills of a deep red color, that seemed to be recently thrown up by an eruption. Our path lay over rough heaps of broken lava, where a horse could not have gone without stumbling at every step, yet our sure-footed beasts carried us safely over the most difficult spots. About noon, the sky, which had hitherto been clear, began to grow overcast, and I could perceive that the smoke from the crater, instead of streaming off to the northeast, was now rolling down the side of the mountain directly toward us. This showed that the wind had shifted to the north, and I felt serious apprehensions when I observed the increasing blackness of the sky.

My guide, who had been snuffing the air and stretching his vision in every direction for the last quarter of an hour, now assured me that a snow-storm was coming, and advised an immediate return down the mountain. I was not disposed to comply, as I had heard that these people are very ready to discourage travellers at the least appearance of any danger, because they are unwilling to encounter the cold of the upper regions. I told him to push on, and never mind the wind, which was now blowing in violent gusts. But in a few minutes, large flakes of snow began to fall, and soon the whole air was obscured. The mules showed some reluctance to pro

ceed, and we had much ado to urge them onward. The guide kept talking of the dangers of our undertaking, and told a story of an Englishman who was lost here about six weeks before in a snow-storm, just like the one that was now raging. It seems he was going up the mountain with two others of his countrymen, and being overtaken by the snow, they strayed from the path, and got into a great plain, full of deep pools of water, covered with a thin crust of ice. In attempting to cross one of these, they broke through, and one of the travellers was drowned, the rest escaping with difficulty after losing all their baggage. This melancholy catastrophe called forth all the sympathies of my companion, who related the circumstances with many mournful ejaculations and shakes of the head, assuring me that he was a bel giovanotto, or fine young fellow.

As I had never heard a syllable of this story at Catania in all my inquiries respecting the mountain, I guessed at once that the fellow had made it up out of his own head, to scare me from my undertaking. I asked him if he was sure the story was true. He protested that it was true, every word, and there could be no doubt of it, for he had seen the very mule which the drowned man rode, no longer ago than last Friday, trotting through the Corso of Catania. He was a long-backed beast, dark red, mixed with iron gray; and if that was not the dead Englishman's mule, whose mule was it? I could not help laughing in his face at this odd proof of the story. He was a good deal disconcerted to see me so much amused instead of being frightened, and jogged on without telling any more tales of the misfortunes of travellers.

The snow continued to fall so thick that we could see only a few yards before us; but the mules, who always

follow a beaten path, continued to keep in the track till the middle of the afternoon, when the ground became so deeply covered that there seemed to be danger of their missing the way, and I began to feel some small apprehension that we might encounter an accident of the kind which had been related of the young Englishman, though I did not believe a word of the story. Luckily, about this time, the snow ceased to fall, and before sunset the sky grew clear. The prospect around me was desolate in the extreme. The whole surface of the mountain above was covered with snow, diversified here and there with huge red and black spots, where hills of burnt rock and volcanic sand, or craggy masses of lava, lifted their heads above the white expanse.

Just as daylight shut in we reached a little hut called the "Englishman's House," which had been erected here for the accommodation of travellers. The shelter it afforded us was exceedingly welcome, for we were almost frozen to death with the keen air of the mountain. Luckily, the building, though destitute of furniture, contained a considerable quantity of dry sticks, which enabled us to make a good fire; else we should have passed a sleepless night, for my limbs were stiff with cold and fatigue. I lay down to rest as soon as I had eaten my supper, in order to be awake before daylight the next morning, as I was determined if possible to get to the top of the mountain before sunrise. I gave my companion strict injunctions to waken me as soon as his eyes should be open. But we both slept so soundly that it was broad daylight before we knew anything about it; and by the time we were fairly on our journey, the sun rose. I was much disappointed in not witnessing this spectacle from the mountain-top, as it would have afforded me something to boast of 4

VOL. II.

all my life; but the sight, as it was, might be thought enough to compensate for the fatigue and trouble of climbing so far. The snowy cap of the mountain, on the lower edge of which we were standing, glowed with the pure rosy tints of morning. Next to this was the green belt of forest, which first appeared dark and gloomy, but by degrees brightened into livelier tints, as the advancing sun threw his beams more directly upon the thick masses of leaves. Further down, the eye expatiated over the diversified surface of the skirts of the mountain, with its red cones, spots of green vegetation, and countless villages and towns, scattered right and left down to the water's edge. The prospect to the east was bounded by the broad expanse of the ocean, which the brilliant morning sun had brightened up into a mirror of fire. Further to the north, the eye reposed on the dark mountains of Calabria, whose snowy summits glimmered with a faint roseate hue in the distance.

The wind blew a steady breeze from the southwest, which carried the smoke from the crater away from us; and we proceeded on foot directly up the cone of the mountain. The distance to the top was eight or nine miles, though it did not appear to be more than two or three. The snow, instead of being soft like that of yesterday, was frozen into a hard crust, over which we were continually sliding. I could not help thinking, as I looked on this great, steep mountain-top, covered with a glare of ice, what a capital coasting place it would be for the Boston boys! They might slide half a dozen miles at a stretch, and then warm their toes in hot ashes and lava. However, this sliding on the frozen snow was a thing I never thought of when I began my journey, or I should have provided myself with a pair of corks. The only way I could