ft

W^im

YALE UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY

Purchased from the honorarium of
Lt. Gen. SIR WILLIAM DOBBIE
Trumbull Lecturer, 1945.

VOYAGE

T 0

SICILY and MALTA,

WRITTEN B-f

Mr. JOHN DRYDEN, Junior
When he acconipariied Mr. Cecill irt
that Expedition,
In the Years 1700 and 1701; .

LONDON:
PRINTED FOR J. BEW.IN PATERNOSTER-ROW.
MDCCLXXVI.

ADVERTISEMENT,
THE following pages will, it
is prefumed, be acceptable.
to the Public, not merely on ac^
count of the information and en
tertainment they may afford, but
alfo on account of their originality,
and their claim to a fon of th$
great Drycjen for, their author *,.

* Mr. John Dryden was the fecond of three fons of
tljie Poet. Qharles, the eldeft brother, became Uflier qf
the Palace to Pope Clement XI. and, upon his return to
England, left John to officiate in his room. Befidgs
writing this account of his Voyage to Sicily and Malta,
Mr. John Dryden tranflated the 14th Satire of Juvena],
and was author of*a comedy entitled The Hulband his
o.wn Cuckol.d, printed, in 1696. He died at Rome npt
many months after making this voyage.
t> Th^

yi ADVERTISEMENT.
The ingenious Mr. Brydone, in
an Advertifement prefixed to his,
*' Tour thrQugh Sicily and Malta"
not long lince published, fays,
that, li Had there been a,ny book
<c in our language on the fubjed;
*c of the following Letters, they
" never mould have feen the
" light." This is, doubtlefs, a
jlriking argument of that Gentle
man's great modefty ; and well
for the Republic of Letters it is,
therefore, that no fimilar work in.
Englifh was then known, Bu£,
had this Voyage, which was,
written more than 70 years ago,
made ;ts appearance in the world
before his Tour, it would by no
means have rendered that publi
cation

Advertisement, ^i
cation lefs defirable ; and, on the:
other hand, the circumftance of
the Tour's firlt "feeing the light"
,is no reafbn that Mr. Dry den's
Voyage mould continue in obicu-
Hty; as many of the obfervations
and defcriptiohs in the two per
formances have different object^
-or, where they relate to the fame,
fome particulars will be found in
the one which are hot in the
other. — Indeed, the Editor's opi-
. hion is, that the prefent publication
Will be a proper companion to
Mjr. Brydone's j and with this
idea he has printed it in the
fame fize and manner, that both
may be uniformly clafied together
when bound. b % It

v|ii ADVERTISEMENT*.
It may be neceffary to add,
that the Editor was affured by the
Gentleman of whom he obtained
the manfucript of thefe meets,
that he received it from a parti
cular friend into whofe hands it
had fallen among other effects of
a Gentleman to whom he was
executor ; and that the orthogra
phy of the copy is preferved, the
better to enable the reader to form
a judgment, from internal evi
dence, with refpect to its authen
ticity, of which, it is apprehended,
there will fcarcely exift a doubt.

CON-

CONTENTS.
£jT The Figures refer to their correfponding Pages.
^Ourney from Rome to Naples, i.
*J Voyage to the I/land ofCapra 3. — Ac
count of the Carhufans, and their con
vent there, ib. — Defcription of the town
coiled Donna Copra, 4 j— of la Grotta
Cieca, 5. — Ruins of the palace of Tibe
rius Ccefar, 6.
Extraordinary effeBs of a fulphureous fpring
in the ijland of Ifchia, 7.
Some account of the if and of Prochita, 9.
Miferable accommodations in Calabria, 10.
Defcription of Meffina, 12.  Ladies of
quality in Meffina wind filk; 14. — Of
the grand feafi of the Blejfed Virgin of
the Letter, 1 5 ; — and a great miracle
performed by St. Paul whiljl preaching
at Rhegio, 1 7. — Remarkable cafcade run
ning into a convent of Capuchins near
Meffina, 19.-- "Coaches drawn by mules 7k

% cotttfefcf&
. harneJJ'ed.with ropes, 20, 21.— Defer ip*
tion of the country-feat of the Avocatd
Fifcale, 21 *
Of Catania, and the dreadful effetls of the'
loft great earthquake there, 23*
^Account of Mount JEtna, 25.
Defcription of Modern Syracufe, 32.— Em
tertainment at the houfe of the fe-
fuits, 36  Of the fountain Arethufa^
and river Alpheus, 38 ; — the church of
Santa Lucia, &c. 39 •,— catacombs of thi
antient Syracufans, 40 ; — and the famous
prifon called the Ear of Dionyfius, 43 .
Source of, and particulars relating to, th4
river Alpheus, 45.
Of the town of Avola, 48.
Voyage from Sicily to Maltat 51.
Extent of the if and of Malta, 54. — -The"
ifands Camona and Gozzo, ib, — Lan
guage of {he Maltefe$ ib.- — ¦ Haven and
city of Valet t a, 56.^- Account of the
Grand Mafter and Knights of Mal
ta, §7 -,—Neatnefs of the towns t ,64 >-^
and

CONTENTS, m
and remarkable quality of the rock of
which the houfes are built , ib. — Defcrip-?
tion of the church of St. John the Bap->
tiff, in Valetta, ib.-— of the hofpital'of
St. John, 66 ; — the armory of the Grand
Mafter, by, — his two palaces, 68 •> — an4
fhe extraordinary cave of St. Paul, ib, —
vipers, toads, fcorpionst &c. not venomous
in Malta, J i .
4$ delightful double grotto dif cover e$ in the
rocks of Camona^ 74.
Prefent mean fate of the city of Mazzara,
in Sicily, 75.
Want of lodgings in Marfalla, 97.
The report of the moving fleeph belonging
to the church of Carmelites, exploded, 78.
Of Trapani) and fait made there, 79.
Account of Trapani del Monte, 8 1 .
Of Santo Vito, and the uncharitablenefs of
. the priejls, 82.
Troublefome voyage to Palermo, 83.
Defcription of Palermo, 85 ;—qf the church
of San. Giufeppe, and another belonging ta

xii CONTENT S.
to the Bqfilian nuns, 86 ; — of the Cafa-
Profefa, or Giefu, of the Jefuits, and of
the Vice-King's receiving incenfe at high-
mafs with his hat on, 87. — Illuminations
in the church of St. Dominic, 89 ; — ex-.
traordinary illuminations and decorations
in the' cathedral church, in honour of
Santa Rofalia, 90. — Of the ^uattro Can-<
toniere, and Pre tor's palace, 92 and 93 ;
. — and two doors fuppofed to be brought
by the Romans from Carthage, g$ — Sin-
¦ gular appearance of dead bodies in a vault
belonging to the Capuchins, and the me-*.
thod of prefer ving them, gj.
Account of Monreale, 101 ; — -and defcrip-*
tjon of the cathedral there, 103.
Of the monafery and church of San. Mar^.
tino, belonging to Benedictine monks, 104.
Extraordinary account of Santa Rofalia,
and the place where her body was foun4
on Monte Pelegrino, 107.
Return to Rome, 1 09-1 12.
A VOYAGE

^¦s--:--$-i  a  Ms-H-SH  a  !  a  r--*-a-a  |  «•••¦¦!  a  i-|§
fi).f-f  !  a  !-a-|  jji  [¦¦•¦•$  )•¦¦•*  j.-4-.j  k  !  jt~4-h  !-^|i

VOYAGE T O
SICILY and MALTA.
October 29, 1700.
WE fet out early in the morning from
Rome for Naples, in a calefch,
taking three pofl-horfes, paying four giu
lios for each calefch-horfe, and three giulios
for the faddle-horfe for the fervant, which
came to eleven giulios every poft ; and the
firft poft we paid double, becaufe it is the
pofta regia, as the poft-men terra it. The
wheels of our calefch were fo battered and
B broken

4 A VOYAGE TO
broken by the ragged and ftoney ways, that
we were not able to reach Naples in two
days, and we lay the firft night at Piperno,
7 pofts off Rome, and in the Pope's
eftate. Wednefday night, the 20th of October,
we lay at Fondi, the firft town belonging
to the King of Spain, in the kingdom of
Naples, where we began to pay Neapoli
tan moneys, arid alter'd in the price of
our poft-horfes, paying five Neapolitan
carlins and half for each horfe, that is 1 6
carlins and half every poft for three horfes ;
fo that we paid every poft, in the king
dom of Naples, at the rate of twelve
giulios and four bajocks Roman,
On Thursday the 21ft of October we
came to Naples, and lodged at the Polom-
bo d*Oro, where we paid ten carlins a
head each day for dinner, fupper, and
bedding, and five carlins for the fervamt, which

SICILY AND MALTA. 3
Which came to 25 carlins a day> that is
two ducats and an half*.
On Wednefday the 27th of October
We fet fail, in a felucca, for the ifland of
Capra, which is 9 miles in circuit, and
30 miles diftant from Naples ; and that
afternoon, after our arrival there, we had
juft time to vifit the Convent of Carthu-
iians, which is feated the moft pleafantly
that can be on a high rock juft over the
fea. Thefe fathers have a very large enclo-
fure of about 3 miles, with a very neat
apothecary's mop ; and, according to their
inftitution, cannot eat flefh on any account,
without a particular difpenfation of the
Pope. On Thurfday morning, 28th of O&o-
ber, we went out early a ihooting thrufhes,
which they call marravizze, and not tordi,
as they do at Rome. The fame morning
* WI)kh is il. 3s. 6d. Englifli money.
B 2 ' we

4 A V O Y A G E TO
we went from the lower town, which they
call la Terra, up a fteep and very high
rock, to the upper town, which the inha
bitants call Anna Capra, or, as fome,
Donna Capra ; fo ftil'd from the goat
that taught them the way up, which
only to look on, one would think impof-
fible for men to climb up: but they have
cut a winding way out of that high rock,
which Gonfifts of above feven hundred
fteps, and, which is yet more wonderful,
the women there make nothing of carry
ing on their heads an hundred and thirty
weight up and down that painful way,
with very little refting, and for a very
fmall fum, lefs than a carlin, though we,
who had nothing but ourfelves to carry up,
were forced to lye down, panting feveraL
times e're we got to the top.
The ifland of Capra is a bifhoprick, and
worth but 500 crowns Roman yearly,
and the cathedral church - is in the Terra,
or lower town. In

SICILY AND MALTA. 5
¦ In the month of May there are fo many
quails fly thither from Africa to Europe,
that the inhabitants catch with their nets
feveral thoufands in a day's time, and when
many are caught it makes the bifhop's in
come the better; and at Rome, I remem
ber, at the Pope's court, they ufed to call
him II Vefcovo delle Quaglie, (viz.) the
Biihop of the Quails, 1
On Friday morning we took a felucca,
and rowed quite round the ifland, whofe
high rocks make a terrible, yet pleafing,
profpecl ; and going about the fouth fide
of this ifland we entered a cavern beneath
the rock, which they call la Grotta Cieca,
viz. the Dark Grotto. We were forced
to ftoop to come into it in our boat, and
when we had rowed a good way into it, it
became by little and little as dark as pitch,
but we had not ftaid there a quarter of
an hour ere it grew as light as day all
over, fo that we could count the ftones
B 3 on

6 A VOYAGE TO
on the fhore at the farther end of it, and
then we found it to be fo large and capa-?
cious that many galleys might convenient^
ly ride in it, could they get them in j and
in this place feveral boats faved themfelves
when the Turks and the French came tq
the Ifland. This cavern looks fo roman-
tique, that we cou/d not but fancy it be-
long'd to fome fea god, as his court or
palace. The fame day, in , the afternoon, we,
went up towards the fouth-eaft end of the
ifland, to the top of a rock, on which it
is fuppps'd Tiberius C^far had his chief
and beft palace (for they affirm he had
feaven on this Very ifland, a.s, indeed, in
many places the ruines yet remain). There
at prefent is built a fmall church, and an
hermitage, and the hermite, who was a
Spaniard, carry'd us down under ground
to view the ruines of Tiberius palace, of,
whjch there is nqthing left entire above

SICILY AND MALTA. 7
ground, only vaft and great vaults under:
ground, without any thing elfe curious,
or worth obfervation.
On Satterday, the 30 th of October, we
left this ifland, and in our felucca fett out
for Ifchia ; an ifland alfo, about 20 miles
diflant from Capra northwards, and is a-
bout 18 miles round. No ifland in all the
Mediterranean fea affords fo much wine
as this does (for it's bignefle), and very
ftrong. Ih this ifland there is a fcalding
hot fulphureous ftream, which defcending
from the top of the higheft mountain in
the ifland, to the bottom of a valley, is
found of great vertue to cure all difeafes
in the limbs, and alfo of great efficacy to
make women fruitful $ and therefore they
have made a great many bathing rooms,
fome for the publique, and others for the
nobility in particular, where, every year,
in the month of June, they repair both
for paftime and health ; and exactly over
B 4 againft;

8 A VOYAGE TO
againft the baths there is built a very fine
hofpital to receive the infirm, at the ex-
pence of the Monte della Pieta of Na
ples. The greateft inconvenience of thefe
is, the enduring the natural fcalding heat
of the waters, which muft be done to re
ceive benefit by them. Belonging to this
ifland of Ifchia there is a ftrong caftle,
feated on a rock, which has never been
taken, and naturally makes an ifland of
itfelf, were it not artificially joyn'd by
a narrow way or neck of land to Ifchia.
The governor of this caftle was fo jealous
at this time for fear of the French, and
the news then currant of the King of
Spain's death, that he wou'd not admit us
up to fee it, becaufe we were feen with
red cloaks on, but fent word that a Domi
nican father, who was with us, might come
up if he pleas'd with his breviary. Ifchia
(next under the King of Spain) owns the
Marchefe del Vafto, a chief grandee of
Spain, for its prince, whofe anceftours once, in

SICILY AND MALTA. 9
in time of a revolt, reduc'd it to the King
of Spain's obedience, and by reducing this
one caftle recover'd the whole kingdom
of Naples to his Mafter.
The fame day, in the evening, we pafs'd
over to the adjacent ifland of Prochita, be
longing alfo, as before, to the fame Mar
chefe del Vafto, who has a very ftately
palace on it, feated about the fouth-eaft
point, which has as many rooms in it as
there are days in the year. This ifland is
about fix miles in circuit, and makes a
port allways, for when the wind blows
too ftrong on one fide, the barques change
to the other j and the reafon of this con
venience is becaufe this ifland lyes juft be
tween the Ifland of Ifchia and the main
land of the kingdom of Naples.
On Sunday the 31ft of October we re-
turn'd to Naples agen, concerning which
city I fay nothing, bcaufe it is fo well
known. And

10 A VOYAGE TO
And fo much for our voyage of the
iflands.

On Tuefday the 2d of November, 1700,
we fett out, in the afternoon, in a felucca,
for Meffina, taking the faid felucca wholly
to ourfelves, and agreeing to pay for our'
paffage thither 33 ducats, or Neapolitan
crowns. We never lay afhore in any
place, but always in our felucca, and, in
deed, we found nothing but bare walls
wherever we put in ; and thofe people of
Calabria are fo barbarous as well as poor,
that, when we only came into their bare
rooms, where was not to be found fo much
as a chair to fit on, to fup there as well as
we cou'd, they wou'd have exacted above a
carlin a head of us, befides the reck'ning,
for our chambering, as they termed it, for
they cou'd not give it the name of a night's
lodging, for we went down to lye in our
felucca. And this odd treatment hap
pened to us at a miferable place called la
Scaleaj, on the coaft of Calabria, all along
which

SICILY AND MALTA, ij
which we difcovered nothing but the con
tinual profpect of high rocks and craggy
mountains, till we came towards the foot
of Calabria, where, though it was moun*
tainous, yet it lookt all green, and cover'd
with woods of olive trees and vineyards :
the wine very ftrong, and but indifferent;
the oyl very good. This green profpect
of Calabrja began about a place or terra
called Paula, where St. Francefco di Paula
was born, of the order of Minims, or Re-
form'd Francifcans, he being the head
faint of that order, and is fo call'd, not
only from this place, where he was born,
but alfo to diftinguifh him from San Fran-:
cefco, the great patriark or father of the
Francifcans, who was born at Affifi, near
Jjoreto. In this town of Paula, fitting in
our felucca, as we pafs'd terra, we had
a pleafing yiew of a moft noble convent
of this Saint Francis of the Minims,
feated on a defcending valley between two
mountains, with a rivulet running down to

ix A VOYAGE TO
to the fea clofe by it, and woods about it.
The order and reform of thefe Minims,
who ftile themfelves fo, to exprefle them-
ielves the leaft and moft humble of all
religious orders, caus'd one to make this
verfe on them :
Et minimi minimorum et qui minimantur ab illis j
In imitation of that of Virgil,
Et nati natorum et qui nafcentur ab illis.
On Sunday Morning, the 7th of No
vember, we came into the port of Mef
fina, where the pallaces, all of one height,
built in one fafhion of ftone, give a moft
noble profpect to thofe that are entering
into the port, as of an amphitheatre ; but
the city within does not at all anfwer the
great idea which one has of it without,
for the ftreets are nafty, and ill pav'd, and
all broken, the houfes bad, dark within,
and generally fo fhatter'd by earthquakes,
that moft of them are in fuch danger of
falling that they are propt up with beams :
and,

SICILY AND MALTA. 13
and, befides, fince the time of the rebel
lion of the Meffinefes in favour of the
French, which happened fome twenty-
three ^years ago, a great many houfes are
empty, and marked with R. C. that is
Regia Corte, to denote > that they are
houfes that did belong to the rebells, who
are for the moft part fled to France, and
are now confifcated to the King, as alfo
are the eftates of the faid rebells, ftill hop
ing that Meffina will fall into the hands
of the French, and they return to their
eftates again. In effect, none of the Mef
finefes. will buy any of thofe houfes mark'd
with R. C. though they are offered to be
fold, for fear the owners fhou'd one day
return by means of the French. There
is not, it may be in the world, a finer
and more convenient port than this of
Meffina, where fhips of the greateft bur
den may approach the very key, and
unlade.
The

14 A VOYAGE TO
The next thing confiderable is the new1
titadel, which is fituated moft conve
niently on a neck of land which comes
winding about towards the city, and fo
defends it from the approach of any fleet
by fea.. Indeed this citadel is of fo vaft:
a compafs, that it requires all the inhabi
tants of Meffina to defend it, and man it;
and we obferved it had not half the num
ber of guns the feveral baftions required.
All the wealth of this place confifts in
filk, there being an infinite number of
mulberry trees growing about this country
to feed their filk worms -, and the chief
women of quality in Meffina are not
afham'd to gain their private expences, by
unravelling and winding their filk with
their own hands (which we obferved were
generally very fine, and much better than
their faces) ; and this filk they fell to the
Englifh and French merchants.
The

SICILY AND MALTA. 15
The churches of Meffina are but mean
and poor, in comparifon of thofe of Na
ples and Rome, only the cathedral church
is very large, tall, and venerable, with a
very fine fteeple belonging to it ; but the
two rows of pillars, fome cas'd or crufted
with marble (and the greateft part not),
look difagreeably ; but the biihop, who
began this expence, either had not moneys
to carry it on, or dy'd before he cou'd
finifh what he had undertaken.
This is worthy an obfervation, that the
people of Medina keep a certain feaft on
the firft, fecond, and third of June, with
the greateft folemnity imaginable, which
they call la Fefta della Madonna Lettera,
that is, the Feaft of the Bleflfed Virgin of
the Letter. The tradition they have for
keeping this feaft is as follows : They af
firm, that at the fame time St. Paul was
caft on the Ifle of 'Malta, that the faid
Apoftle came alio to Reggio, to preach the

i*v .A VOYAGETO
the Gofpel to the people of Calabria, and
that then, alfo, many of the people of
Meffina (cali'd then by another name)
went over the fea thither to hear him
preach ; and for that abundance of the
Meffinefes were converted, and hearing,
by the Apoftles preaching, that the bleffed
Virgin, and mother of God, was living,
they wrote a fubmiffive and moft refpect-
ful letter in their own and citys name to
the Bleffed, Virgin, begging her Sons and
her protection, which letter their deputies
delivered to St. Paul, to prefent in their
behalf to the Bleffed Virgin. This letter
of the Meffinefes was faithfully deliver'd
by the Apoftle to the Virgin, who after
wards gracioufly anfwered this their let-
letter, writing one in Hebrew to them,
which Hebrew letter of the Virgin the
Meffinefes received with fo great venera
tion, that they inftituted a great feaft or
holyday in honour of it, expofing the faid
letter to the people, the fight only of
which

Sicily and malta. n
which, they affirm, did great miracles.
This original Hebrew letter, in the many
difafters this city has fuffer'd, has long
fince been loft, fo that now that which is
expos'd to the people is but a copy and
tranflation of the true one ; which> how
ever, thofe people greatly efteem for it's
antiquity: and the firft three days of June
are made days of jubilee, in honour of the
reception of this letter, and the feaft is
celebrated in the afore mentioned cathe
dral church, which is called Santa Maria.
Tis certain, that many even of the neigh
bouring countries do not believe the peo
ple of Meffina ever receiv'd any fuch let
ter from the Bleffed Virgin, and fo out of
Meffina there is little account made of
this feaft : but 'tis moft certain that St. Paul
came to Rheggio, which is on t'other fide
the water, or channel; and the people
Will tell you of a great miracle the Apoftle
did there, and fhow, befide, a pillar for
its foundation. They affirm, that while
C Saint

i8 A VOYAGE TO
Saint Paul was preaching to thofe Cala-
brians by night, he had plac'd a light
on that pillar, which being almoft burnt
out, the Apoftle befeech'd them to hear
him while the light laftedj the miracle
was, that no fooner was the light burnt
out but the ftone pillar it felf took fire,
and began to flame, that the Apoftle
might preach as long as he was minded
to convert the people.
On Thurfday the eleventh of Novem
ber we departed, in the afternoon, from
Meffina,from Conful Chamberlayn's houfe,
where we were extreamly well and cor
dially entertain'd for the time we ftay'd
there ; and we receiv'd alfo many civilityes
from Mr. Porting, in company with
Mrs. Beale and Cutting, (the two lat
ter in England,) to whom we were recom
mended by Mr. Thorold and Gould, of
Naples. -n The

SICILY AND MALTA. 19
*¦ The day before we left Meffina we
went to fee the Capuchins, a mile diftant
from the city, whofe convent, being moft
agreeably fituated on a hill, gave us a de
lightful profpect down to the city, and
the fea beneath it quite to the coaft of Ca
labria on t'other fide of the fea. In this
convent we faw nothing remarkable but a
large cafcade of water, which, from about
fouroniles diftant where it begins, comes
tumbling down into this convent, and the
fathers have, by means of a leaden pipe,
conducted a portion of this water even to
the middle of the chimney in their kitchen,
fo that when ever the pott is on the fire
they have nothing to do but to turn a
brafs cock to let water into it. We went'
ilfo to a houfe of pleafure> belonging to a
prince of the country, and feated on the
fea-fide, which houfe they call il Paradifo
di Meffina, (viz.) the Paradice of Meffina.
This houfe might have been more a para
dice formerly than we found it, for bate-
C 2 ing

z© A VOYAGE TO
ing it's being pleafantly and advantageoufly
plac'd on the fea-fide, and a pretty fac-^
ciata, or frontifpiece, we faw nothing in
it worth remark* except an abundance of
motto's all in Latine verfe, fome taken
from antient Latin poets, and others mo
dern, but all to expreffe the happineffe of
a retir'd life, plac'd over every door in the
whole palace, to the number of about
thirty, or more ; the rooms were other-
wife void of all furniture and conveniency.
As for it's garden, it was good for nothing,
there not being fo much as one level walk
in it, but full of Cabbage in the middle,
(fit meat for a Meffinefe Prince,) all up
hill, with a ftraggling tree here and there,
Tis obfervable in Meffina that all their
coaches are drawn by mules, of Which
there are an abundance, and thofe very
fine : they fay they make ufe of thefe, be-
caufe tis a more hardy animal than a horfe,
and will eat any thing, fo that the keep
ing them is lefs expenceful. All their
coaches

SICILY AND MALTA, at
coaches, which are very bad and poor,
are drawn by means of ropes, which are
the beft harnefs they have; and they
efteem ropes, a la mode d' Efpagne, of
greater grandeur than leather j and when
they, go with four mules, the leading-
mules are feparated from the wheel-mules
by an extravagant diftance of rope, which
is efteemed grandeur alfo : and the coach*
man feldom rides on the coach-box, but
drives riding on one of the mules, that
is, the mule on the left or infide next the
coach, /
The country feat, or villa, of the Avo-
cato Fifeale, or the Kings advocate for
forfeited eftates, is the prettyeft about
Meffina. The houfe itfelf is but mean, but
the garden has an infinite number of wa
ter-works in it, and bad figures of men
and beafts, made in ftucco or plafter ; and
becaufe the garden goes up-hill, and is as
one garden above another, there is an en^
C 3 gine

2,2 A VOYAGE TO
gine, which is a wheel-pump, plac'd ons
the uppermoft garden, by turning which
wheel you may draw water from cifterns
or wells in the lower garden to fupply a
fountain in the upper garden, and water
the fame. Here is alfo a low labirinth of
myrtle, and when one is gott into the mid
dle of it, there are water-works which
fpring out in all the walks and turnings,
fo that one is perplex'd to get out of them*
On Thurfday the eleventh of Novem*
ber, as I faid, we fet out in our, felucca
from Meffina, for Malta, having agreed
with the padron of our felucca,, whofq
name was Carmino Spitrillo, to carry us
thither for eight Spanifh piftols, and we
bargain'd that we might flop to fee the
chief cities and curiofities in our way on
the coaft of Sicily, but fo that we were
oblig'd not to confume above five days in
feeing them, and if more we were oblig'd
to confidef the padron of our felucca ac-.'
cording

SICILY AND MALTA. ac
cording as we ftay'd to fee fuch citys and
curiofities, but not to give any confidera-
tion the more in cafe we were detain'd be*
yond our defign by contrary weather.
On Sunday, therefore, the 14th of
November, about an hour after fun-fett,-
we came to Catania, a city which lyes on
the fea-coaft, wholly deftroyed by the great
earthquake which happen'd about 8 years
ago, to that degree, that where houfes
formerly ftood they have now made their
ftreets, which ftreets they have made three-
times as large as formerly they were, and
built their new houfes very low and ftrong,
fcarce any of them above two ftoryess the
better to refift in cafe of a like difafter.
They reckon that of twenty-four thoufand'
fouls, which were in that city before the
earthquake, they loft above two thirds;
and in the cathedral church alone, where
at that time an abundance of people fled
for refuge and devotion, they affirm, that
C 4 three

a4 A • V'OYA G.E "T O :
three thoufand. fouls at leaft perifhed all in
a heap, for juft at that inftant the earth
quake was fo violent, that it threw down
the fteeple (which was one of the higheft;
and fineft in the world) upon the church,
which ferv'd to beat down entirely three
parts in four, and in particular the great-'.
nave of it, where all the people ftood
thickeft j the upper end, only, of the
church remains entire, which fufficiently
difcover'd to us the beauty and majefty of
the reft ; and fome of the pillars are alfo
ftanding, which are very tall and fine, of
a dark grey marble, or ftone, and all of
one piece, as well as I remember. This
cathedral church is dedicated to St. Aga
tha, and bears the name of that faint : a
very large fet of bells belongs to it, tho"
not gradually in tune as are ours in Eng-,
land, and one of them of a prodigious
bigneffe, Now thefe bells are mounted
on great beams of timber in the open
piazza, before .the remains of this church*

SICILY AND MALTA. t$
in which there are about fome three or
four altars left entire to celebrate mane in.
In the Val de Notp only, which is a third
part of the ifland of Sicily, and the moft
fouthardly, the inhabitants affirm'd that
there perifhed an. hundred thoufand fouls
by the fury of this earthquake.
The city of Catania may be faid to lye
at the bottom of the foot of Mount JEtna,
or, as they call it now, Mongibello, famous
from all antiquity for it's vomiting up fire.
It is indeed 30 miles, all up-hill, from
Catania to the top of Mongibello; but
the feafon being now advanc'd too far in
the winter, we found it impoffible to go
Up to the top of it, by reafon of the vaft
quantity of fnow already fallen all on the
top, and tis a wonder to fee fo much fnow
remain unmelted near fo much flame and
fmoak. In the day time the flames do
not appear fp vifible,. but in the night
$hey blaze ou,t and look horrible, juft like

zS A VOYAGE TO
like a city on fire on the top of a vaft?
mountain, or rather in the air, for little
or nothing of the mountain is fetn in the
night. We went therefore up the moun
tain as far as was convenient, that is 14
miles, to view the neareft bocca di fuoco,
or mouth of fife, which broke out juft
32 years ago, and out of it ran down a
Vaft river * of fire, quite to the fea, on
one fide Catania •, and as it came down by
degrees, and at laft with a flow motion, it
grew cold, and turn'd to a rock of a dark
leaden colour, as it now remains : and of
this very fubftance the people on Mount
iEtna have built many fmall towns and
villages, breaking off ftones from the faid
rock, and made that advantage out of
their ruines.
This laft aforefaid mouth of fire, after
it had finifh'd voiding this immenfe quan
tity of liquid fiery rock, began to throw
* Now called'Lava. out

SICILY AND MALTA. 27
oQt afhes' of a hard fubftance, which it
continued fo long doing that it has made a;
large plain of above 1 o miles round, and
is now grown fo hard that our horfes feet
made very little impreffion in it. In the
middle of this plain of afhes this fiery
mouth has caft up a vaft high mountain of
afhes of the fame fubftance round about it,
and this mountain appears with two heads,
to the top of which we climb'd with no
little danger of falling down and breaking^
our necks, by reafon of its fteepneiTe, and>
the footing which was hard frozen, and*
therefore flippery, with a thin covering of
fnow and hail on it, no one ever having
been up that way before; and it being fo
much more dangerous to come down than
it was to climb up, we were forc'd to
caufe fteps and footing to be dug with a
fpade. *
In feveral times and ages Mount ./Etna
has broke out with many fiery mouths
beneath

28 A VOYAGE TO
beneath the principal mountain itfelf ;
all which mouths have caft up as many
mountains of afhes, fome 12, fome 14
miles, more or lefs, diftant, and beneath
the great mountain, which continually
vomits up fire, though now none of the
others do, and (if we may compare little
things with great) looks like a hen brood
ing fo many chicken-mountains beneath
it's wings. When we were got up to
the top of the two-headed mountain
of afhes, we lookt down and beheld
the mouth all choaked up, and fill'd with
the fame matter, yet ftill fmoaking and
fending forth fumes, though in fmall
quantity; and in one part it had caft up a
great quantity of matter, altogether like
pure brimftone, fome of which I took and
put into my pockett, and when I came
home, flinging fome of it into the fire,
imagining it would burn like brimftone,
it deceived my expectation, and would not
take fire, but. lay like a dead earth in it.
Tis

SICILY AND MALTA. 29
Tis not a little to be admir'd how thofe
people will venter to live and build fo
many fmall villages all about Mount ;Etna,
confidering the many and often eruptions
abput the faid mountain ; but the countrey
all thereabout is fb extream fertile, both for
wines as well as all other forts of fruits,
that the inhabitants chufe rather to live
there in continual fear and trembling, than
leave their pofTeffions in fo fruitful a foyl ;
and you will fee fig trees and other fruit
trees fo bury'd in the afhes, that all the
trunck lyes hid, and only the upper
branches appear, in the feafon all laden
with fruit ; for the afhes fatten and cherifh
the foil, and the grapes are the fweeteft
I ever eat, which they have a method of
preferring good all winter long. Here,
alfo, we beheld another wonder, which was
a deep and wide ditch, which in former
times had been a river, but now it's chan
nel was quite dry'd up, and over grown
with trees and bryars. I have omitted
hitherto

go A VOYAGE TO
hitherto to tell, that how in the beginning
when we fet out from Catania, we were per-
fwaded by one Signor Vincenzo Marietta,
to -whom we came recommended from
¦Conful Chamberlayn, to take three foldjers
along with us for our fafe guard, there
having been, as 'tis faid, formerly feveral
pranks playd by the banditi, or robbers,
on paflengers : but I am confident we had
no need or ufe of thofe fellows at that
time, and one good guide had been of
more confequence ; for thofe rafcally fel
lows fcarce knew the way, and had we
been aflaulted by robbers, of which there
was no danger, they very likely had been
the firft to have forfaken us and fhown the
utmoft of their courage in fcouring off as
faft as their lean beafts on which they
rode could carry them. In fhort, thefe
fellows were good for nothing, but to
eat and drink on us, and be expenceful
to us ; for to each man and his horfe we
gave a crown, befides eating and drinking :
fo

SICILY AND MALTA. ;3x
fo that ere our return to Catania, that ex
pedition alone coft us three Spanifh piftols
and two tari's or fixpences, notwithftand-
ing we had a fupper and nights lodging
gratis, at the houfe of one Don Paulo
•Marietta, Vincenzo Mariettas kinfman, a
prieft, and fegreto or governour of a village
called Santa Lucia, in the way up to
.Mongibello,, and ten miles diftant from
.Catania.

syracusa;

32 A V O Y A G E TO
SYRACtJSA.
ON Thurfday the 18th of November
we came to Syracufa, efteem'd, at
prefent, the third city in dignity in the
ifland of Sicilia, though formerly it was an
imperial city. In thofe days it was poffefs'd
by the Greeks, who had Dionifius the Ty
rant for their King, and was taken by Mar-
cellus the Roman general, and ftoutly de
fended by the artifice of Archimedes, the
renowned mathematician, who, with cer*
tain engines he had invented* from the
Walls of Syracufe tofs'd and fhatter'd
the fhips of Marcellus lying in the har
bour* This city, which they now call Syra
cufe, was formerly cali'd <0_rtigia by the
Greeks, and was one only, and the leaft,
of the four cities which compos'd the
antient, Syracufe, but now it has ufurped the

SICILY AND MALTA. 33
the name of whole Syracufe, becaufe this
is the only part habitable remaining.
This modern Syracufe is an ifland of
abo:u three miles circuit; it makes the
figure of a little tongue of land, coming
out from the main ifland of Sicilia, arid
very conveniently forms two ports, one of
each fide, which they call Porto Maggiore,
and Porto Minore. Porto Minore is very
fhallow, and can ferve only for fmall
barques to lye at anchor in ; but Porto
Maggiore is, it may be, as fine and conve
nient a port as any is in the world, deep
all about, and capacious enough to enter
tain 200 men of warr of any fize in it at
anchor in great fecurity.
This city of Syracufe is the head city
of all thofe which are in the Val de Noto,
which is one third of "Sicilia ; as Meffina is
the chief of all thofe in Valle di Monna;
and Palermo, the chief of all in ' Valle di
D Mazara,

34 A VOYAGE TO
Mazara, as well as head city at prefent
of the whole kingdom and ifland of Si
cilia : all the churches and houfes in Sy
racufe, as well as the fortifications which
furround it, having fuffer'd by the late
great eaithquake, but not fb much as
thofe in Catania, and all about Mongibello,
which were utterly deftroy'dj for it is ob-
fervable, that all the countries which lye
round Mount ./Etna were the moft enda-
mag'd and fhaken. The two fineft churches
in Syracufe are the domo, or cathedral,
and the Jefuits church ; both which have
fuffer'd fo much by the earthquake, that
they muft be quite built a new, almoft
from the foundations.
As foon as we came on fhore to , Syra
cufe, without dreffing, or ftaying to change
the cloaths we wore in the felucca, we went
up to prefent ourfelves to the governour,
a cavalier, born at Final (near Genoua,
and belonging to Spain) ; his name Don
Diego

SICILY AND MALTA. 35
Diego de Ifturis, who had marry'd a lady
of BrufielSi As foon as we had told him
we were Englifh gentlemen, he told us he
had been in England, in the reign of King
Charles the Second, and afk'd us concern
ing many of our chief nobility, with whom
he had been acquainted there, calling them
properly by their names and titles ; then
bidding us welcome to the place, and offer
ing us all the civilityes of it, he defir'd
We wou'd ftay and drink chocolat with
him, and order'd his coach to be gott
ready to conduct us to our inn, or pofata,
as they term it, but we were in haft and
uneafy, and excus'd our felves from the
acceptance of his favours, which he offer'd
us in a very gallant manner, and with
great expreflions of good breeding and
civility. Our inn, or pofata, was near at hand,
where we no fooner arriv'd than we found
it to be a houfe given by fome deceas'd
D 2 bigot

$S A VOYAGE TO
bigot to the Jefuits, who, to make the
beft ufe of it for their profit, had con
verted it to an inn, or rather a lodging
place, for it had not any one convenience
in it that inns commonly have, befides
bedding, with which the Jefuits furnifh'd
us, clean, new, and frefh ; but the flock-
beds were very fcanty, and we lay very
hard on the boards underneath them, and
were bit and tormented with a fort of
flinging finging fly, with which Syracufa
abounds, of the fame nature with the fa-
rapiche at Rome, but bigger. We had
not been half an hour at our inn but the
Signer Baron Camulio, who had notice of
our arrival, and that we had a letter for
him, fent his coach to us, in which we
immediately went to his houfe, and deli
vered to him our letter of recommenda
tion, which Conful Chamberlayn furnifh'd
us with, in receiving which, and without
opening it, he made us a very obliging
compliment, and told us that he had no
need

SICILY AND MALTA. 37
need of opening the letter, for we carry 'd
the beft letter of recommendation in our
looks. This was an Italian compliment,
indeed, but the baron was afterwards fo
abounding in his civilityes to us, that no
thing cou'd be more ; and becaufe he was
not in a condition himfelf, by reafon of
bufineffe, and a fmall indifpofition, he fent
the Baron della Carcaccia, his brother in
law, every day to fee us, who, in their
coach, carry 'd us about to fee the rarityes
and antiquityes of the countrey.
This Baron Camulio, and his brother
in law, are of the fen ate of Syracufa,
whom they call the Guirati, that is, the
Sworn ; and they erect a canopy in the
great hall, before you come to the anti-
chamber, as a mark of their fenatorial
dignity. The firft thing the young baron carry'd
us to fee was, the fo much renown'd foun-
D 3 tain

38 A VOYAGE TO
tain of Arethufa. This fountain, fo much
celebrated by the antient poet, is in Orti-
gia, that is, in modern Syracufe it felf, and
comes flowing with a ftupendous quantity
of clear chriftaline water out from the
bottom of a living or natural rock, and
this Within half a ftones throw off the fea,
into which it carrys it's felf through a
hole, or fmall arch, made in the walls of
the city to convey it : but Arethufa, who
looks fo fair and limpid at her firft coming
out from under the rock, looks foul on it
immediately, 'ere fhe can carry her ftream
to the city wall ; for 'tis become the refort
of all the laundrenes, who, ftanding up to
their knees in the Water, beat and wring
all their fowl linen in this poetical foun
tain, which certainly were Ovid alive to
fee, it wou'd greive him to the very heart,
and difcourage the river Alphefts, tho'
never fo fond of his Arethufa, to take the
pains of running under the fea, quite from
t'other £de of the harbour, to embrace his

SICILY AND MALTA. 39
his miftrefs in foul linen.- — Then we
took a boat in company of the aforefaid,
young Baron Carcaccia, who, when we
had crofs'd over the Porto Minore, carry'd
us to a fmall round church, or rotunda,
about a mile and a half within the terra
firma. This rotunda is dedicated to Santa
Lucia, virgin, and one of the primitive
martyrs. We went down a very hanfome
pair of ftone flairs, which make two
wings, to enter into the church, for the
ground lyes above it all round ; and there
the fathers, who are Reform'd Francifcans,
carry'd us to that part of the church where
the high altar is plac'd ; and when we
were mounted a top of it, they took away
a board and fhow'd us a hole in the wall,
from whence they told us the body of
Santa Lucia was taken, for now it lyes
no more there, it being transferred to Ve
nice. The fathers affirm, that this very
place, where the faints body was firft found,
has done a great many miracles in the
D 4 per-

40, A VOYAGE TO
perfons of thofe who have come with faith
and devotion, to vifit it; and one of the
fathers told us of a miracle of one who
recover'd his fight there, who was born
blind, and no fooner faw but began to
cry out he faw gold and yellow colours.
This account gave us no opinion of his
miracle. Not farr diftant from this place, we went
to fee the Grotte di San Giouanni, or, to call
them more properly, the catacombs of the
antient Syracufians ; for fo indeed they are,
and are only cali'd the, Grotte di San Giou
anni, becaufe they go under, and are near
the cathedral church dedicated to St. John,
of which the ruines are only now to be.
feen, it having been quite flung down by
the laft great earthquake. Thefe catan
combs we cou'd not judge to he other than
the common, or, it may he, the extraordi-^
nary burying places for people of the bet
ter fafhion. ; for .indeed they were very ex-.
traordinary

SICILY AND MALTA. 4t
traordinary, and much finer than any ei
ther at Rome or Naples, as all confefs
who have feen thefe and thofe.
In thefe catacombs, when once you
are enter'd, you walk very conveniently
and upright, and every now and then they
enlarge themfelves into a vaft round vaulted
chamber, in which you ftand as in the
centre, and behold quite about you a vifta,
or profpect of tombs, on a level, but one
within another, as farr as your eye can
carry, tho' you ftoop to look forward by
torch-light ; fo that every fuga or flight of
tombs, as one may call them, departs
from the great round vault in the middle
like fo many rays or ftreets from it's
centre. Over fome of the beft of thefe tombs
we difcover'd fome painting yet remain
ing, done in frefco, and reprefenting, prin
cipally, the figures of birds, and thofe for

42 A VOYAGE TO
for the moft part peacocks ; and we alio
found very good antient Greek characters
engraven in the walls over fome few of
the tombs, but fo broken and defac'd that
'tis imrjoffible to gather out a .fentence :
but this was fufficient to let us know, that
thefe catacombs were made ufe of by
the Greek Syracufians before the Ro
mans with Marcellus came to conquer
them; fo that, though we cannot imagine
from what nation thefe Greek Siracufians,
got this invention of catacombs, or whe
ther they were the firft inventors of them,
(for the moft antient ufe of the Grecians
was that of burning their dead,) yet this
is very probable, that the Romans follow'd
thefe Grecians in making their cata
combs after this manner, as well as in
burning their dead, after the antient Greek
fafhion. Not farr from hence we got over a low
wall into a , vineyard, where we faw the
remains

SICILY AND MALTA. 43
remains of an antique amphitheatre ; but
not finding any more left of it befide fome
of the ftone fteps, and many of them
overgrown with bufhes and briars, we
ftay'd not any longer to confider it, and
the foundations of it fhewed plainly that
it was not of any extraordinary compafle,
as that in Rome is.
The next thing we went to view was
the fo much renowned prifon of Dionifius
the Tyrant, which they call L'Orecchio
di Dionifio, that is, the Ear of Dionifius ;
for this prifon is fhap'd or cut out in the
living rock, in fafhion of an affes eare ;
and as the outward hole makes the figure,
fo alfo does it go deep into the rock in the
fame form, and is fpatious enough to con*
tain feveral hundred perfons in it : but
this hole does not go in a ftraight line into
the rock, but fomething winding ; and the
great curiofity in it is the channel which
runs all along on the top of the infide, till

44 A VOYAGE TO
till it conveys the voice of any one fpeak-
ing below up to a certain point, where
the fufpitious tyrant us'd to come and
place his eare, to hear all that might be
faid againft him, tho' in never fo low a
whifper. The cutting out of this prifon
in fo hard a rock muft have been a work
of a prodigious expence, and nothing lefTe
than a tyrant cou'd have been capable
either of inventing it or caufing it to be
made ; and tho' the paflage through
which the tyrant us'd to convey himfelf
to come to the hole at the top of the eare
be wholly loft, and ftop't up with ruines,
fo that nobody can conveniently get to it,
yet is the effect of it as much taken for
granted as if one were got there to hear;
and 'tis certain, that ftanding below and
difcharging a piftol at the mouth of the
eare, it anfwers with a noife as lowd as
that of a canon, of which we were afhur'd
by every body, as well as by the only beat
ing of a cloak with a ftick at the mouth, which

SICILY AND MALTA. 4$
which return'd '; a very lowd founding
eccho. On Satterday morning the 20th of No
vember we took a boat, in company of
one Signior Pompeo, captain of the Port
of Siracufe, who did us an abundance of,
civilities ; and crofs'd over the Porto Mag
giore, and fb went up the river Alpheus,
about four or five miles, till we came to
the very head or fpring of it. This river,
tho' narrow, and in moft places quite
Cover'd with weeds, yet is as full of fifh
as it can hold ; and among thofe fifh are
taken abundance of cefali and fpigole, very
large, and of a much better tafte than
thofe are taken in the fait waters ; and
thefe two fifh are efteem'd two of the beft
fifh that fwim in the Mediterranean fea.
Though this river is very weedy, yet
among thofe weeds there are abundance of
water crefles, of an excellent quality, of
which both the poor and rich in Siracufe covet

45 A VOYAGE TO
covet to eat, for with them they make
excellent broath ; and there is alfo another,
long green herb growing on that river,
which is very good and wholefome to eat,
either raw or boil'd, which has exactly the
tafte of a parfnip, but fo much fweeter and
better; and of this there is an infinite
quantity, and the poor of Siracufe feed on
it heartily, either by way of falad, or
boil'd in water ; for this herb makes a
very good broath alone, with only a little
oyl pour'd on it, and fome fait and very
little fpice, the herb being of an indif
ferent hot quality, and very homogerfeal.
The water of this river Alpheus, or, as
the inhabitants at prefent call it, Lo Pif-
ma, is extream limpid and'clear; and in
feme places where the river grows larger,
and is free from weeds, 'tis very pleafant
to behold, and the rufhes and reeds grow
ing on each fide in many places make it
look very agreeable, particularly when we
came to the head of it, there it makes the
moft

SICILY AND MALTA. 47
moft pleafant amphitheatre of rufhes in
the world, of about half a quarter of a
mile round, and is fo very clear that you
may fee quite to the bottom, which is all
of rock-ftone, tho' it be above feven fa
thom 1 deep ; and hence the water fprings
up, and you have the greateft pleafure that
can be to behold a vaft quantity of fifh of
all forts and fizes, the greateft lying neareft
the bottom, where they love to fcoure
about and enjoy the bubling up of the
waters out of the rock at the bottom, and
tho' are very large and long, yet look very
little by reafon of the depth, and lye
fecure from being caught. All along this
river there.is a great deal of game of all forts
of wild foul, water-hens with red bills,
and an abundance pf fnipes. This Al
pheus is the river which the poets feign
fell in love with Arethufa on the other
fide of the bay, as he beheld her wafh-
ing herfelf in her own ftream or fountain,
and fo made his way very flily under the fea

48 A VOYAGE TO
fea till he rofe up agen on the other fide,
between the nymphs leggs. -
On Sunday morning, being the twenty
firft day of November, we departed from
Syracufe in our aforefaid felucca, and that
afternoon we came to anchor at a place
cali'd Avola : 'tis a large village, feated on
a moft delicious and vaft fertile plain, and
is diftant about half a good Englifh mile
from the fea-fide. We went immediately
up to fee the town, and were no fooner
enter'd the ftreets but the governour fent
a perfon to us with a very civil compli
ment, that we were welcome, and was
forry that the town afforded no good con
venience of lodging, but that we were
padrons to lye in his houfe if we pleafed.
We returh'd him his compliment with
many thanks, and excus'd our felves from
giving him that trouble, for we had al
ready found out an indifferent good lodg
ing at our firft landing, juft on the fea-
fide,

SICILY AND MALTA. 49
fide, at the Tonnara or Tonny houfe ; a
houfe erected on the coaft for the con-
veniency of the Tonny fifhing ; and there
we lay that night : and that was the night
that Tim. made us an excellent limonade
of the remains of fome Vernaccia wine,
which we brought with us from Syracufe
out of the Jefuits cellar; as alfo two ca-
ratells, one of red, and the other of white
wine. But as I was faying, as we were in the
town of Avola, (which lies open without
either walls or fortifications,) and had
made ourexcufe to the perfon who brought
the Governours compliment to us, we went
immediately to taft the wines of the place ;
•for our felucca men had told us that wines
were better and cheaper here than at Sy
racufe ; here, indeed, we found a prodi
gious quantity of wine in the cellar to
which we were conducted, both red and
white ; but the perfon who gave us to taft
E of

50 A VOYAGE TO
of the feveral butts, feeing we were gen
tlemen, had the confcienee to afk us al-
moft double the prices which the Jefuits
afk'd of us at Syracufe, tho', indeed, we
tafted none better than thofe of the Je^
fuits. All the plain country of Avola, which
runs for many miles in length, bounded on
one fide by a ridg of mountains, and on
the other fide by the fea, is fo very plea-
fant a country, it's air fowholefom, and fo
abounding with all forts of wild fowl, and
other game;, that we were extreamly tempt
ed to pafs three weeks or a month there,
and had certainly done it, had we not had
our felucca on our hands, on which we
had bargain'd already to be carry'd directly
to Malta.
The next morning, which was Monday
the twenty-fecond of November, we fet out
very early, and with a very fair wind pafs'd by

SICILY AND MALTA. 51
by Capo Paffaro (one of the three moft
famous promontorys of Sicily, antiently
cali'd Trinacria, from the three chief pro
montorys of it's triangle); and after we had
doubl'd the faid cape, we fell too with our
oars, and about midday put into a creek,
where our felucca men went all on fhore,
and cut down fo much wood, in an hours
time, that they ftow'd their felucca full of
it under the hatches, fore and aft; and all
this countrey where the felucca men cut
down their wood fwarms with wild rabbets.
After our men had made fo. much wood,
they fell luftily to their oars again, and
that evening we came to the place from
whence they intended to crofs over the
channel directly for Malta.
Here we immediately went afhore, and
firft eharg'd a couple of fad guns, belong
ing to our felucca, thinking to meet with,
a wild coney, or fo, and after we had
E 2 foundly

52 A VOYAGE TO
foundly tir'd our felves, without being
able to kill any, we retir'd to our felucca,
in which, after we had fat two or three
hours confidering the wind and weather
well, at laft our men refolv'd to venter to
crofs over the channel, which they began
to do about midnight, having an eafie gale
of wind in our favour, and the moon-
fhine. The next morning no fooner was the
fun up (whofe rifing, I remember, our fe
lucca men faluted with huzzas), and we
were gotten a pretty way in the channel,
and almoft out of fight of the land of Si
cily, when we difcover'd a fhip which
came failing exactly towards us. This put
our poor men into a great confirmation,
fearing fhe was a Turk, and the more
becaufe the wind was a little too much
encreas'd, and the fhip had it more fa
vourably for her to come on us, than we
had to avoid her by continuing our direct
courfe.

SICILY AND MALTA. 53
courfe. Immediately our men let down
their fail, and could find . no other expe
dient but that of falling to their oars, and
rowing* againft the Wind out of their way,
as faft as back and arms cou'd fhove, and
allto no'purpb'fe, forthe fhip continuing
her courfe gain'd fo faft on us with the fa
vour of the wind, that, after we had row'd
our felves quite out of breath, we found it
impoffible to get out of her way; but it
pleas'd God to deliver the old gentleman
of our felucca out of his peck of troubles,
for about the time the fhip was come up to
us wkhin cannon fhot, fhe was gracioufly
pleas'd to put out Englifh colours'," and
free us from our fears ; then we hoifted
up fail moft couragioufly, and 'the wind,
though' brifk, veering ~ about * fomething
more id our favour, in a little time we
difcover'd land a head of us, and the ifland
of Malta, whofe. land lyes fo" low that
(hips often mifle it, efpecially in the night
time. l , ' *•"
E 3 MALTA.

54

VOYAGE TO

MALTA.

ON the twenty-third of -November,
1700, and on a Tuefday, in "the af
ternoon, we came to Malta, after having
crofs'd a channel of about 70 Italian miles
over in our felucca, with no little danger.
The whole ifland of Malta is of 60
miles, Italian, circuit; the broadeft part
of k is but 1 2. miles; and the length 20
miles. , There are two other fmall iflands that
belong toMalta, which lye adjacent to it,
and in a ,line with it. The neareft to it is
cali'd the Ifland of Camino, or, as the peo
ple vulgarly call it, Camona, and is fome
eight Italian miles round. The other next
to it is more confiderable, and is cali'd
Gozzo ; and jthis is thirty Italian miles
about, fome 12 in length, and 6 in
bredth. There

SICILY AND MALTA. 55
There has been great difputes among
the antient writers and geographers, whe
ther Malta fhou'd belong to Europe or
Africa ; but if an ifland ought to belong
to that terra-firma to which it is neareft,
-tis certain that Malta is nearer to the
neareft part of the terra-firma of Europe,
than it is to any the neareft part of the
terra-firma of Affrica.
However, the natives fpeak the Lingua
Morefca, or Barbarefca, for their natural
language, (this Morefca is in a manner
the fame they fpeak in the kingdoms of
Fez and Marocco,) and do not fpeak
the Italian tongue naturally well; nay,
moft of the Maltefes out of the city of
Valetta (which is now the chief of Malta)
underftand not a word of Italian.
There are many ports or havens belong
ing to the Ifland of Malta, but the chief,
and moft commodious, and renown'd, is
E 4 divided

56 A V O Y'A G E T O
divided by a tongue of land, and on this
tongue of land is built the city of Valetta,
fo' cali'd from the name of the Grand Maf-
ter who built and founded it in the -year
1566, which was foon after the laft great
invafion of the Turks, who had very near
carry'd the whole ifland, had not the King
of Spain fent timely fuccour from Sicily to
it's relief.
Nothing can be more fafe and commo
dious than are both thefe havens, which
this tongue of land makes on each fide of
it, for all forts of fhips and veflels to ride
in, particularly that on the left hand of
the tongue as you come in, which makes
feveral crofs ports befide, and all capable
of entertaining whole fleets on occafion. •
The entrance on both fides this tongue
is fo well fortifyJd both by art and nature,
and fuch a prodigious number of canon
planted on batteries one above another, that

SICILY AND MALTA. 57
that the city of Valetta is altogether im
pregnable ; nay, indeed, to fay truth, I do
believe not only the Turks, but the moft
expert nation in the world for taking
fortify'd places, who are the French,
wou'd riot be able to take it, if the inha
bitants make a reafonable defence.
The Grand Mafter of the Religion is
abfolute prince of this ifland of Malta,
and the two other adjacent, that is, as to
its temporalityes ; but as to the fpiritual,
the whole Religion is fubordinate to the
Pope ; for all the Knights who have re- ,
ceiv'd the habit, are frati, or religious^
men, and as much oblig'd to keep the
three vows of poverty, chaftity, and obe
dience, as any Capuchin, or other fryar
whatfoever. The Grand Mafter beares the title of his
Eminence, which is the fame with that of
a cardinal, tho' the Grand Mafter be not a
cardinal. The

58 A V'OYAG E T O
The moft iantient and dignify'd among
tfee ^Knights are thofe whom they call the
Grand 'Croci, Les Grands Croix, and a
felect -number of thefe make the council,
and thefe you may diftinguifh from the
reft in all publique ceremonies by their
robes, and the great white crofs they
weare on their brefts.
The Grand Mafter has 12 pages, who
are all gentlemen of good famiiyes, and
have already jprov'd their nobility to be
^Knights of Malta. Thefe pages have this
privilege that they are no fooner entered
into the Grand Mafters fervis, but they
ijegin to enjoy, from that moment, the
right of. their antianity, and are ready to
iiep into thofe benefices and comraenda's,
and prioryes, ccc. which fall in courfe to
the moft antient ; and I knew myfelf a
little creature but of a month old at Rome,
who was already enter'd page to the Grand
Mafter. Thefe pages, I remember, wore a
kind

SICILY AND MALTA. 59
kind of grey cloth, and the fleeves turn'd
up with green velvet, drefs'd after the
French fafhion. I know not whether or
no every new Grand Mafter gives a dif
ferent livery, but I believe not. Thefe
pages, when the Grand Mafter comes to
church, ftand or wait behind his chair,
and under the canopy of ftate.
In cafe Malta fhould ever be befieg'd,
the Knights of each nation have already
their pdfts affi'gn'd them to defend, which
are term'd fo many quartieri; and to
every one of thefe quartieri there belongs
a notable battery of cannons, all brafs ; for
there are no other all round the fortifi
cations. The jKtiights of Malta are all of one
of thefe nations, viz. France, Spain, Por
tugal, Italy, Germany, and in. former
¦days England,, Thefe

60 A V OJY A G E TO:
Thefe nations .com pofe fo many tongues
or languages, linguas as they call them;
-and they are eight in number,: and thus in
order, ; antiquity, and precedence.
i. Lingua drProvenza.
2. Lingua di Alvergna.
3. Lingua di Francia.
4. Lingua di Italia.
5. Lingua di ' Aragona, Catalonia, e
• Navarra. ,
6. Lingua di Anghilterra.
7. Lingua di. Alemagna.
8. Lingua di Caftilia, Leon, e Portogallo.
Every one of thefe languages (which all
vote in the election of a Grand Mafter)
have fo many grand crofles belonging to
thteriP; and out of thefe grand crofles one
is ehofen Grand Mafter, and there are
fome of thefe grand crofles who are ftill
deputed to reprefent the language of Eng*-
land, and vote for it. Every

SICILY AND MALTA. 61
Every one of thefe lingua's have it's al-
bergo, or alberge, that is, a kind of palace
in which they fojourn, and to which, at
an hour and a half before midday they all
repair to dine together ; that is, all thofe
Cavaliers who have but a fmall fubfiftahce
of their own; for the others who are rich
do and may live feparately by themfelves,
and it is fufficient they are refident in
Malta.
ft
No cavalier of Malta, who has not ob
ferv'd refidence for ten years in Malta,
can enjoy the prioryes, commenda's, and
other benefices, which belong to the Reli
gion ; for they who have obferv'd refidence
ftep in before them, though they fhou'd
be younger Knights : and 'tis to be noted
•that all thofe are efteem'd to be refident,
who are any ways employ'd in the fervice
of the Religion, though they fhou'd not
be in Malta. . Thefe

62 A VOYAGE TO
Thefe Knights of Malta were firft
Knights of St. John of Jerufalem, where
they had their firft hofpital ; and when
they were routed from thence by the Sa
racens, they fettled themfelves at Rhodes,
and were cali'd Knights of Rhodes ; but
being driven alfo from Rhodes in a long
and famous fiege by the Turks, they were
utterly ruin'd and difpers'd, till the Em
peror Charles the Fifth took compaffion
of them, and gave them the Ifland of
Malta to inhabit, conftituting their Grand
Mafter, Fra. Villers Lilleadam, prince
thereof, who had fo bravely defended
Rhodes. He was a Frenchman.
As to the churches in Malta, there are
an abundance, very fine, ftately, and of
good architecture, all about the countrey,
there being in the Ifland of Malta, alone,
above 30 very good fubftantial towns and
villages; which is a wonderful thing to
behold on an ifland which is little better than

SICILY AND MALTA. 63
than a rock, for fcarce in any place is
ground two foot deep before you come to
touch on rock : but nothing can be more
fruitful than is the little earth of this
ifland, bearing two crops, or three, every
year, that is, one of corn, one of cotton^
and another of fome fort of pulfe o*
fetches. Nor are the fruits of Sicily fo well tafted
or wholfome; nay, even the cattle which
they bring from Sicily, after they have fed
fome time in the Ifland of Malta, have
quite another and better taft; and this
is moft certain.
Nothing can be more neat and clean
than are the houfes and ftreets of Malta.
The ftreets are all pendive, and moft of
them pav'd with free ftone, where no
coaches can go (though the Grand Mafter
can go: quite round the city in his coaches,
and in fome ftreets); fo that I have feen, after

64 A VOYAGE TO
after having rain'd for fix days together, it
has all been quite dry with half an hour
of fun fhine.
They build all their houfes of ftone,
which they cut out of the rock ; and it
is wonderful to fee the ftone when it is
frefh cut out, that it is as foft as. chalk,
and how after it has been expofed to the
air for fome time, it grows as hard as
any free ftone, and the longer expos'd the
harder it grows.
Of all the churches on the Ifland of
Malta, the church of St. John, in the
city of Valetta, is the moft confiderable,
as being the church properly of the Reli
gion ; 'tis dedicated to St. John the Bap-
tift, their antient patron at Jerufalem.
This church is very fine and ample, and
remarkably rich in ftucco indorato, all the
pillars in it, which are flat, being adorn'd
with that fort of work : then the painting all

SICILY. AND MALTA. 6$
all on the vault, containing the hiftory of
the life of St. John Baptift, is admirable,
being the work of that great paintef
Mattias Preti, who for his excellence in
that noble art was created a Cavalier of
Malta di gratia, by the confent of the
whole Religion, that is, a Knight of fa*
vour, for his birth was not otherwife fuf-
ficient to make him one. This famous
painter lyes buried in the church among
the other Knights; for none but thofe of
the Religion can be bury'd there. He
gain'd a vaft deal of moneys by his art,
which he perform'd with great celerity,
and wou'd be well paid ; but his genero-
fity and wonderful charity to the poor
made him dye a beggar, infomuch that he
did not leave the expences of his burial
or a tombftone* had not the Religion
given it to his memory. There is a
vault at the upper end of the church on
the left hand, into which you may defcend
by a handfome pair of flairs ; there you
F will

66 A VOYAGE TO
will find the burying place of the Grand
Mafters, where formerly they gave them
but a very indifferent and modeft interr-
ment : but now they feldom bury any
more Grand Mafters there, but in the
chappels of and belonging to the feveral
linguas or nations, and there you may be
hold fome very magnificient monuments
of them.
The hofpital alfo of St. John is very
neat and fine, with a large income be
longing to it, and maintain'd wholly at the
expences and by the charity of the Reli
gion. This hofpital is always ready to
receive not onely all the fick and wounded
of the ifland of whatfoever condition, but
alfo all ftrangers : and the method and
diligence us'd in taking oare of them, that
is, as to what concerns dyet and phyfick,
is worthy obfervation ; for there is a table
of board hung up by the bed fide of each
fick man, arid thereon the phyfitian marks down

SICILY AND MALTA. 67
down with great eafe and expedition all
that is convenient for the fick perfon.
There is, indeed, a quarter in which none
but Knights of Malta can lye in this
hofpital, but it is on a levell and on the
fame floor with the other beds; and there
are the fame and as good conveniencyes
belonging to every bed as there is to thofe
of the Knights of Malta ; and the chiefeft
and beft among the Knights, the Grand
Croixs and Grand Mafter himfelf not ex
cepted, come out of charity, and are de
puted to ferve the fick and wounded dayly.
Another place worthy to be feen is the
Armeria, or Armery, joyning to the palace
of the Grand Mafter; in this are contain'd
arms fufficient for the arming 60 thoufand
men on occafion, very clean and well or-
der'd. In this place they will fhow you
fuits of armour formerly worn by fome
hero's and Grand Mafters of the Religion,
who were great warriours in the days that
arming cap a pie'd was in fafhion.
F 2

68 A VOYAGE TO
As to the palace of the Grand Mafter,
all one can fay of it is, that it is new, all
of ftone, in a fquare form, and very con
venient, and magnificent enough for a
prince of fo fmall a territory, and one
who withall is a fryar.
Notwithftanding there is very little
wood growing all over the ifland of Mal
ta, by reafon the earth is fcarcely any>
"where deep enough for trees to take fuf-
ficient rooting, yet in a place cali'd the
Bofchetto (Bofchetto fignifyes a little
wood) the Grand Mafter has a very fine
palace of retreat, (about 6 miles diftant
from the city of Valetta,) from which
you go down gradually into a very plea-
fant valley, full of all manner of orange
and lemon trees in a vaft quantity, and
Olive trees ; and towards the farther end
of this garden, on the left, there is a very
pleafant grotto with a large fountain, and
¦ftone feats all round it. Hard,

SICILY AND MALTA. 6^
Hard by there is alfo a very pretty gio-
co di acqua,, or water work; and par
ticularly one in an arbour, which re-
prefents many forts, of figures, as a fun,
ftar, fun-flower, &c, and at Jaft a fpout
which keeps up a ball a great height in
the air.
The Jaft thing which I have referv'd to
ipeak of as the moft wonderful, is the
Grotta di San Paolo, or Cave of St. Paul ;
this is about fome (even miles diftant
from the city of Valetta, near or within
the territory of an antient city built and
dedicated to the honour and memory of
the landing of St. Paul in thofe parts. In
this cave fiand two old wooden ftatues,
clofe by one the other, of St. Paul, and
St. Luke the companion of his travels, juft
in the middle of the cave. The great
wonder in this cave is, that the hollow of
it is fo little ; for all the inhabitants affirm,,
that there has been in procefTe of fo many
F 3 hundred

70 A VOYAGE TO
hundred years as from the landing of St.
Paul in that ifland to this day, as much
earth carry'd out of that cave as wou'd
certainly have ferve to have fill'd it many
an hundred times. This is certain, that the
cave is fo little, that one may with three
ftrides pafs from one fide to the other of
it, and is fo low, that a man of a middle
ftature may ftanding touch to the top of
it ; and yet they tell you every one that
eomes in has the liberty of carrying as
~jmuch of the earth away as he can carry
or load an afs with, and there always lyes
a pickax or two there in readineflfe for the
firft comer to make ufe of; and moft peo
ple here look upon it as a ftanding miracle,
to prove to all ages, that St. Paul was
fhipwrack'd on this ifland, lay in that cave,
and gave by his benidiction a vertue to the
earth of that cave, and generally to the
earth of the whole ifland, to cure the
venimous bitings of all infects and repti
les. Indeed, the cavity of the Grotte is
fo

SICILY AND MALTA. 71
fo fmall in companion of the vaft quantity
of earth that has been exported, that it is
very miraculous ; notwithftanding, we
were denyed the liberty of making ex-r
periments in it by the Inquifitor.
Concerning the great quantity of vi
pers eyes and tongues, they are found and
dugg up in many places all over the
ifland, but more in fome parts than others;
and thefe are commonly beaten to pow4
der, and apply'd to the parts bitten by
venemous animals, though in the ifland
of Malta they have very little need of
ufing that or any other remedy 5 for noN
withftanding there are live vipers, toads,
fcorpions, &c. there, yet they are not
venemous as elfe where ; and I was aflurd
by fome grave perfons there, that the
women make no difficulty of playing
with fcorpions and handling vipers. Now
I mention the fex, I muft not omit to
fpeak of the fine women we faw. in this
F 4 ifland 5

72 A VOYAGE TO
ifland; for, indeed, there are feveral fo per*
fectly handfome, that we don't remember
in any of our travells to have obferv'd the
like : but it is very difficult to have their
converfation, or ever to fee them, unlefle
in churches ; for the people of this place
follow much the > Italian cuftorns an4
manners, ,.. y jj, -
After having tarry'd almoft a month at
Malta, fometimes at our inn, or Ofteria
dell Orfo, where we were very well lodg'd
and treated, even better and much cheaper
than at Naples itfelf, or any other place
in our whole journey; and fome times
in a little houfe, with as little a gar
den belonging to it, about a mile out
of the city of Valetta, where we retir'd
on purpofe to enjoy folitude and the
mufe, this cafino, or little houfe, belong
ing to a kinfman of Mr. Rigord ; the
wind ftood fair for us to repafle over
to Sicily, and fo for Palermo ; there* fpre,

SICILY AND MALTA. 73
fore, with Mr. Rigords advice, we bar
gain'd with the padron of a Maltefe bri-
gaatine, laden with cotton, (one padron
Giovan Cacchia) for feaven fechins, to
carry us to Palermo*, the chief city of
Sicily. Qn Satterday, therefore, in the evening,
the 1 8 th of December, 1700, with the
wind ftanding fair, we fet fail from the
port of Malta, but we were not gone farr,
coafting it alpng the ifland in order to
ftrike over the channel, but t;he wind
fharpen'd upon us, and at laft blew full in
our faces, fo that about midnight we were
glad to fhelter behind a fmall bay, on the
fmall ifland before mentioned of Camona,
and there lay till morning in our brigan-
tine. The next morning we went a fhore,
and according to our ufual way of looking
out for pretty caves or grotta's in the
rocks

74 A V O Y AGE TO
rocks on the fea - fide, I fortunately
found out a very charming one ; indeed, it
was a double grotte, for after we were
enter'd the firft, we crept through a nar
row hole into another, which was ten
times more charming : there we fat down
and fell to reading, and after that din'd in
it, fending for our pafty, and had refolv'd
alfo to lye in it that night, but the padron
of our brigantine wOu'd ftay no longer in
that place, and haften'd us away that
evening to return to Malta again; fo we
were forc'd to embarque, and about Sun
day midnight we re-enter'd the port of
Malta, and the next morning went afhore
again to our inn of the Bear,
But on Tuefdav the 21ft of December
the wind turn'd about fair for us; fo that
after-noon we fet fail again, and finding
the wind fettled, and a gale in our favour,
we venter'd to begin croffirig over the
channel that night, and, driven by a'brifk con*

SICILY AND MALTA. 75
continued gale, we came early the next
morn in fight of the land of Sicily, and
the fame wind continuing, we arriv'd that
day, before funfett, at Mazzara, a poor and
moft miferable city, and yet one third part
of Sicily, takes it's name from it, and is
cali'd Val di Mazzara : it has been more
confiderable in former times.
Here we arriv'd, as I faid, the next day
in the after noon, which was on Wednes
day the twenty fecond of December, and
in this place we found nothing remark
able, except it were the two maids of the
nafty inn, or pofata, as they call it, with
one eye apiece, to whom the fcrivano or
fcrivener of our brigantine, who had but
one eye alfo, made very good court and
application. One thing more I have to
fay, that in this place we found very good
Iobfters, and exceeding cheap, but our
greateft difficulty Was in getting a fire
made, and a pot to boyl them in. The

76 A VOYAGE TO
The next morning, on Thurfday the
twenty third of December, we found the
-weather exceeding fair, and a perfect calm
'on: the fea; fo we went aboard our bri
gantine, and with rowing pian piano all
day we came to Marfalla that evening,
which: is about eighteen or nineteen miles
from Mazzara. ,;
• -f Marfalla is a much bigger town than
Mazzara, but extream dirty, and in one
refpect worfe than Mazzara, for after we
had tir'd our felves with walking all over
that dirty town, we cou'd , by no means
find out a lodging good or bad ; fo as we
"were returning* very difconfolate towards
our brigantine, we ftopp'd at the city gate,
and obferving they had made a feaft in a
fmall chappel juft tinder it, out of which
the people were all departed, the feaft
•being ended, and it being one hour in
the night, we ftopp'd there with a fancy
that with confent of the prieft wjs might
obtain

SICILY AND MALTA. 77
obtain a night's lodging : accordingly we
open'd our cafe, and told them We were
gentlemen that cou'd get no lodging in
the town. It was our good fortune to fuc-
ceed, if I may call it fb, for we lay very
hard and uneafy, in a narrow organ loft,
on the ground, turning and fliifting fides
very often, for we had nothing but the
matreffes of our brigantine under us. A
certain perfon who had built that chappel
at his own expences, was our benefactour
alfo for that nights lodging.
The next morning, Fryday the twenty
fourth day of December, new ftyle, and
Chriftmas Eve, the fame calm continuing
on the fea, we were fummon'd early to
go down to our brigantine 5 but taking
our padron along with us, we firft went to
fee the fteeple fo much talk'd of for mov
ing from one fide to the other, on the
ringing of a bell. This

78 A VOYAGE TO
This fteeple belongs to the church*
of the Carmelites, and waS built in the
time of the Saracens being mafters of
Marfala ; thither we went, full of curio
fity, to confider this wonder, and being
carry'd up to the fteeple by a blind father,
we found immediately that the fteeple was
not joyning to the body of the church, but
had juft fo much diftance (as, for example,
about half a yard) as to give it room to
rock backwards and forwards, as we ex
pected. Without more ado a porter began to
ring out the bell, which was but a fmall
one neither, and the fteeple did, indeed,
begin on the founding of it to move a
little backwards and forwards, even from
the foundations; but when we began to
expect great matters, and more and more
of that fport, the fteeple all 'oth fuddain
difapointed us, and ceas'd it's motion,
tho' the bell was almoft up an end : fo the
porter,

SICILY AND MALTA, 79
porter, who was well acquainted with the
humour of the fteeple, flopt it as faft as
ever he cou'd.
After we had feen enough of this fteeple,
we repair'd to our brigantine, putting out
oars immediately, and, rowing it leafurely
on a fmooth fea, we came that evening to
Trapani : here we had better fortune than
at Marfala, for we met with indifferent
good accommodations as to lodging and
lying; for Trapani is a free port, and
makes a pretty handfom large city, with
fome nobility in it.
But becaufe we came in there fome
two hours before fun-fett, we took a fmall
boat, and the pleafure of viewing the beds
into which they let the fea for the con
gealing it into fait, of Which they make a
prodigious quantity ; for I counted about
forty great hills of fait lying on a row,
and there were an abundance of tartans,
' befide

80 A VOYAGE TO
befide a Venetian fhip, which lay ready
in the road to lade fait. And this great
convenience of making fait in thofe parts
proceeds from the fhallownefs of the fea
all thereabouts, for you may go out above
two leagues into the fea in moft places oft
that coaft, and ftill fee the bottom ; fb
that they do what they will with the fea,
railing beds and banks as they pleafe,
quite into the fea a great way, letting it
in and out at pleafure; and their only
trouble confifts in cleaning and making
a way with a boat to take in and lade off to
the fhips the fait, for every now and then
the paflages are choak'd up with fea weeds.
The riext morning, being December
the twenty fifth, Chriftmas-day, the pa
dron of our brigantine came to tell us
the news that the wind blew fair for us
to go on to Palermo ; fo we haften'd to
eat a bit firft, and difpos'd our felyes im
mediately to imbarque.- But

SICILY AND MALTA. 8t
But before we imbarque, I muft take
hotice of the great mountain, or pro-
montry, which lyes above the city of Tra
pani, on which there is built another city,
cali'd Trapani del Monte. This is large
and fo confiderable, that they aflurd me it
makes eighteen thoufand fouls, but it is
fo very cold there above, that the people of
the poorer fort are often found dead with it.
Indeed, it was, too cold at that time of the
year for us to go up to vifit it ; but, had
it been in a more mild feafon, we had cer
tainly done it, for there on that mountain
i^Eneas bury'd his father Anchifes, and the
people talk of a giant there to be feen who
is petrefy'd. So weimbarqued, the wind
blowing in our favour ; but 'ere we had
fayl'd three or four hours it began to turn
againft us, and blow a ftorm, fo it was all
we cou'd do to fave our felves by rowing
into a creek near which lyes the church
of Saftto Vito. G Santo

82 A V O Y A G E TO
Santo Vito is fe.ated all alone by the
fea fide, in a pleafant vale beneath high
mountains, and makes the figure of a fmalj
caftle, in which there is a church, or rather
chappel, built in honour of this Saint,
and there is always a prieft or two living
there to officiate, on holy days ; and this;
place is about eighteen miles diftant frorn
all towns or villages, for Trapani is the
neareft. Here we were forc'd in on Chriftmas
day in the evening, and found a little pf-
teria, or inn, juft behind Santo Vito, where
we chqfe father to lye down on the ground
by the fire fide, tfian be beholding to the
priefts of Sanftq Vito, who, we found, had
but very little charity for any but thofe
yfhg brought prefents and money to their
Saint. In tins place we were detained
Saturday night, all Sunday, Monday, and
Tuefday, fuffering a great deal of incon
venience by reafon of bad lodging ; andthe

SICILY AND MALTA. 83
the more becaufe we had caught great
colds by tgoing out a mooting, and the
uncharitable priefts of Santo Vito made
a difficulty of only lending us a dirty
flock-bed to repofe on.
On Wednefday morning, the twenty-
ninth of December, the weather grew
more mild and favourable ; fo our men let
down their brigantine into the fea (for they
had drawn it on fhore during the bad
weather) ; and that evening we came, an
hour before night, into the Port of Paler
mo, after having crofs'd over a. gulf of
about fourty miles, with the wind ftill in
favour till we came to double the Cape of
Monte Pelegrino, and then the wind
fharpen'd upon us, and put us into no
fmall apprehenfion of being caft back
quite to Santo Vito, for that coaft is all
fo bad that we cou'd have put in at no
other place without danger ; but the pa
dron of our brigantine recommended
G 2 himfelf

84 A VOYAGE TO
himfelf and his cotton fo heartily to Santa
Rofalia, (who liv'd and dy'd a hermit
on the faid Monte Pelegrino,) that the
Saint could not refufe interceding for us,*
and bringing us fafe into port. No fooner
had we landed that evening, but we en-
counterd one Mr. Samuel Martin, who
did us the favour to fhow us to our inn,
and wou'd have by all means that night
Conducted us to Mr. William Gifford,
the Englifh Conful there, but we ex-
cus'd our felves till the next morning,
alleadging our wearinefle, diforder, and
want of repofe.
After we had repos'd well that night
and beft part of the next morning in
clean fheets and indifferent good beds,
which was no little refrefhment to us af
ter what we had fuffer'd at Santo Vito,'
Mr. William Coldgrave came about e-
leaven of the clock to make us a vifit,
and conducted us in the Confuls coach
thefe to dine. PALERMO.^

SICILY AND MALTA. 85

PALERMO,
MR. Gifford did us a great many
civilyties during our ftay at Paler
mo, aiid though he cou'd not invite us to
lye in his houfe for want of convenience,
jt being fo little, yet he oblig'd us to come
and dine with him every day, fending his
coach continually to our inn to that pur
pofe, and befide carry'd us to fee all the
beft churches, and other remarkable places
in the city.
Palermo is a large city, the metropolis
of the kingdom of Sicily, the Vice-
King refiding and keeping his court
there, who was then the Duke de Vera-
guez. This city is efteem'd to have one
hundred and twenty thoufand fouls in it,
with a very good port, which, though not
fo capacious as that of Meffina, yet is
G 3 more

8.6 A VOYAGE TO
more convenient for cafting anchor in, it
not being fo exceffive deep water, as it is
in many parts of the port of Meffina,
One of the firft churches we went to
fee was that of San Guifeppe, belonging
to the Theatins. This is a fine vafe of
a church indeed, but that which renders it
noble and majeftic, is the vaft great pillars
of dark Sicilian marble : I call them vaft,
becaufe they are all of one piece, being
marble, and are almoft as tall and as big
about as are the pillars at Rome in the
baths of Diocletian, where the Carthufians
have their church and cloyfter.
There is another church alfo belongs
ing to certain Bafiliarji nunns, which ex-
teriourly is built in form of a rotonda, tho'
within it makes an oval figure. This is
pretty large, but not near fo large as the ro
tonda at Rome, and will be a fine church,
when the ftucco or plaifter-work, gilding
and painting of it, is finifh'd. The

sicily and Malta. s7
The Cafa-Profe'fa of the Jefuits, or
Giefu, is a fine church, with a very con
venient cloyfter, arid pretty garderi in it,
With the invention of a ciftern to keep
rain water in for drinking all underneath
it. This we faw all over; and on the occa-
cafion of the feaft of the name of JeTus,
or of the circumcifion, which is their great
day, that is New-years day, we return'd*
thither, and beheld the church dreft in all*
it's glory, it being' a chappel day, and the"
Vice-King feated in all majefty on a high"
throrie of ftafe, with all the fenatours and
cbuncelldurs beneath and about him. This"
high-mafs was perforrh'd with great de-'
cency, and indifferent good rriufic; but
that which was worthy obfervation was,"
that after the Gofpel was fung, the prieft
who fang the high-mafs came up to the
throne on which the Vice-King was
feated, accbmpany'd with deacon and
i . . . > >. ¦ ¦ , • ¦
fub-deacon, and, after having perform'd a
very profound reverence, incens'd him,
G 4 which

83 A VOYAGE TO
the Vice- King received with putting on
his hat. This is an honour which no
Chrjftian monarch how great foever can
prefume tp receive with his hat on his
head in Gods houfe; but a Pope formerly
not knowing how to recompence thq
great feryices done him by the kingdom
of Sicily, made a prefent of his own pa-*
pal dignity and authority tP the king's
thereof, which from that time to this that
nation has been loath to part with ; fo
we are to fuppofe that hat which the
Vice-King pf Sicily claps on his head
when the prieft incenfes him, to be no leffq
than the Popes mitre, which it reprefents;
arid tho' the Kings of Spain at prefent
are mafters of Sicily, yet cannot they in
Spain receive this honour, and, if they
will have it, muft come to, Sicily for it.
And, indeed, the Vice- King of Sicily
is inverted with fo great an ecclefiaftical
power, that fcarce any appeals are made to,
the

SICILY AND MALTA. 89
the court of Rome ; and bateing the no
mination of bifhops, which the fee of
Rome has ftill referv'd to itfelf, every
thing elfe is included in the royal autho
rity, and exercis'd by the fame, not ex
cepting the Inquifition, whofe minifters
depend more on the Vice-King than on
the Pope himfelf; and when the Popes
are difcoprfing of Sicily to any perfon,
they have been often heard to fay, — Dove
no; non fiame Papa, (viz.) where we/are
not Pope,
The Dominican fathers, in their church
qall'd of St. Dominick, made a very han-
fome feaft for Epifany, or Twelftide ; and
though their mufick was but indifferent,
yet they had made a very fine illumination
in their church all of wax candles, begin*
ning quite from the entrance into the
church, and making a gradually rifing
profpect of lights to the upper end there
of, which is the high altar. And

go A VOYAGE TO
And that which is remarkable in all
their great feafts in Palermo and Sicily is,
that whereas they have finifh'd vefpers at
Rome in all their feafts by half an houi
of the night, here they do not begin their1
fefpers arid mufick before one hour in the
night at fooneft, which gives an occafiori
for them to make very fplendid, and fur-
p»zing, and coftly illuminations in their
churches ; and this cuftome of beginning
their vefpers fo late they have deduc'd
from the aforefaid authority they have
gain'd in ecclefiaftical goverment.
But the moft furprizeing illumination
that ever I beheld, as well as the moft
feemingly rich decoration of a church, we
faW at the cathedral, or Matrice, as they
call it, in occafion of a thanks giving feaft
the feriate yearly make at their proper ex-
pences, about the tenth of January, to
their great patroneffe Santa Rofalia, who,
they affirm'd, fav'd them from the laft
earth-

SICILY A N D M A LT A. $t
earthquake. This church was fo full1 of
lights; all wax, that they had turn'd the
night into the moft glorious day I ever
faw, which appear'd the more by reafon
of the reflection from the luftre of the
falfe gold and filver-Works they had moft
artificially and ingenuoufly cover'd all the
pillars and church with; an invention I
never faw practis'd before ; and tho' the
appearances of gold and filver WOrks were
falfe, yet was I afliir'd that the decoration
of that church, this time, coft the fenate
of Palermo fome thoufands of crowns,
not counting the expences of wax candles,
which was yet more.
In this mother church you may behold
a lamp of filver hung up before the high
altar, of a prodigious bigneffe, which was
a prefent made by the fenate ; and I do
not remember to have feen any lamp fo
big in the churches of Rome. Here

92 A VOYAGE TO
Here are alfo very good ftatues of marble
above and about the high altar in niches,
viz. corners, in a great quantity, reprefent-
ing the Apoftles and other faints ; and the
fmall bafo-rilieuo works in marble are
wonderfully fine, and tis a thoufand pit-
ties they are fo ruin'd and broken.
The greateft ornament of the city of
Palermo confifts in the two very long and
even ftreets, which crofs each other, arid
go in length not only from one end to
the other of the city, but alfo continue fp
out of the gates of the city ; and of thefe
two that is the moft remarkable and
longeft, which makes the whole length
of the city, and after is continued in a
ftreight line quite up to the city of Mon^-
reale, which is very near five miles, and
this ftreet, within the gates, is cali'd Lo
Caflaro, and is a much finer ftreet than.
the Curfo in Rome.

In

SICILY AND MALTA. 93
In the part where thefe two ftreets crofs
there is the famous Quattro Cantoniere, or
Four Corners, which are very fine, and
adorn'd with good architecture, and the
ftatues of fome of their Kings, which are
well done : the Quattro Fontane at Rome
are nothing in comparifon to thefe Quat
tro Cantoniere.
Near to thefe Quattro Cantoniere ftands
the Pretors or Lord Mayors pallace,
which is large and majeftick, with a good
ftatue of Santa Rofalia on high on the
frontiVpiece ; but that which fetts off this
pallace fo much is the very fine fountain
in the middle of the piazza before it : this
fountain is very noble, and adorn'd with a
great quantity of excellent ftatues, all in
marble, and done by great mafters ; a-
mong thefe there is a Silenus, done by
Michael Angelo Buonarota, in a lying
pofture, very fine ; and two others among
the reft, which in my mind are remarka ble

94 A VOYAGE TO
ble for .their beauty, and thefe are a Mer
cury and a Baeehus near to each other.
Thefe tftatues feem to equal thofe of anti
quity, and they have already contracted
fueh a colour, that, 'had they not told me
they were -modern, I fhould have taken
them without more . ado for the beft an
tient. In this Pretors palace the fenate meet
on certain days to do the buffineffe of the
city ; fo that in fome fort it may be pro
perly cali'd the fenate-houfe, for the Pre
tor is chief of the fenatours. As you go
up the flairs of this palace you may ob-
ferve an antient ftone, with an infcription
on it, ever fince Cecilius Metellus, a Ro
man, was pretor there, and thefe twoLa-
tin verfes under written :
Ta£fo -fide fociam ftatuit;fibi Roma Panormum;
Hinc aquila, et pretor, et decus urbis adeft ;
relating to the eagle and the pretor, which
were common to Rome and Palermo. The

SICILY AND MALTA. ,95
The gates of this city are very fine,
and in particular that which leads out to
Monreale, and the oppofite gate to that is
remarkable for the two great iron doors,
that is, pf wood eoyer'd with iron, which
they affirm to be thofe of the city of
Carthage, whence they were taken and
brought thither by the Romans, in the
time of Scipio Affricanus. But I canno$
imagine how iron, which is a metall given
to ruft, fhou'd laft fo long ; fo I queftion
much their fo great antiquity, and fuppofe
them of a later date and erudition.
They have here a very pleafant Spaffe-
giq, or Hide-park, by the fea fide, tho'
it be inferiour to that of Naples ; and all
along above it, within the walls, is the
Spaffegio in which the widows of quality
onely appear in their coaches drawn by
mules : and there is a very hanfome mu
fick houfe built on the fea fide, between
\he upper and lower Spafiegiq, with a
fmall

96 A VOYAGE TO
fmall fountain beneath it, fo that the mu
fick may be heard by both.
The ftatue of Charles the Fifth, empe*
rour, towards the upper end of the Caf-
faro, reprefenting him with a flick in his
own hand, and with the other expanded,
as in the action of laying it on the Gofpel,
and fwearing to obferve the laws, and pre-
ferve the rights and liberties of the king*
dom of Sicily, is worth obfervation.
Another ftatue of Philip the Fourth,
with four other figures underneath him,
reprefenting the four parts of the world
fubject to him, is done by a good hand.
But the oddeft and moft furprizing
fight we ever beheld was at the Cappu-
chins, about fome half a mile out of the
gate that leads to Monreal, where one
of thofe fathers conducted us down into a
long crofs vault under their church and
convent.

SICILY AND MALTA. 97
convent. Here we faw an abundance of
Cappuchins ftanding in a row one by ano-^
ther againft the wall; feemingly in a de
vout pofture ; when coming near to them;
we found they were fo many dead men*
all dry'd up; but with all the flefh and
fkin on their hands and faces entire, nor
were the nerves rotted: This wonderful
Way of preferving their dead bodys they
perforrh with the greateft eafe imaginable!
only by extending their dead on four or
five crofs ftieks, over a receptacle or
fmall place built up of brick, hollow; and
in form of a coffin ; and fo the dead
body continuing to lye thus extended of
at length over this hollow, fupported by
the crofs ftieks, vents all it's corruption
away, arid in a years time the fkin and
flefh remain dry on the bones : and we
faw feveral ftanding up that had been but
a year, with an infcription on the bodys
who they were ; for, notwithftanding the
bodys are all cloath'd in Cappuchins ha-
H bits*

$8 a Voyage to
bits, yet an abundance of them had been-
laymen and perfons of the beft quality in
Palermo ; and that which is almoft incre
dible, the faces retain'd fome refemblancc
of the perfons to whom they did belong ;
for not only Mr. Gifford at firft fight
cali'd them by their names, faying, This
was a very honeft fellow and my broker,
this fuch a one, and fo of the reft, but
the Father who led us down did in par
ticular point to one of the dead bodys,
who had been a Cappuchin, faying, This
Father was a Very handfome comely man j
and, indeed, it appear'd fo, not only be
low, in refpect pf the other dead, but
alfo above flairs, where he fhowed us the
picture of that dead Father, which he did
to convince us that the dead had not loft
the refemblance of what they had been
formerly when alive..
Among thefe dead bodys there' were
many of an hundred years ftanding, which Were

Sicily And MALTA* g§
were as entire as the neweft; and you
might handle their faces and hands with- i
Out damageing them*
This way pf preferring the dead amohg
the living is eafy; I imagine, to be prac^
tic'd in any countrey ; but in my mind it
is but a very mellancholly renewing of an
acquaintance with our friends to fee them
in this pofture ; tho' in Catholique coun
tries it ferves to put thofe who come to
fee them in mind of praying for their
foulfe. Mr. Gifford told us, that he had
already taken a place for himfelf to ftand
in among the dead of this vault*
The pofture of two among thofe dead
feodyes was very remarkable ; the one on
it's knees, with it's arms extended, and
hands clos'd, as at prayers ; the other
With it's arms quite out at full ftretch,
ftanding upright in pofture of one cruci-
fy'di The account the Fathers gave of
H % thefe

I GO

A VOYAGE TO

thefe two was, that they had both beeii
very devout in their lives time ; and that
the body of that perfon which is in the
pofture of a crucifix could by no means
be altered by the Fathers, who had fy'd
down the arms more than once when th®
corps was frefh, and ftill found it foon
return'd to that pofture, which therefore
they judg'd to be the will of God that it
fhould fo remain, firice it was knowri that
perfon had been a great and devout con-
templatour of our Bleffed Saviours paflion :
the fame kind of an account they gave of
the other body in the kneeling pofture,
averring that they found it rais'd of it felf
in that fafhion, going in to vifit the bodys
that lay aventing in the clofe vault, which
they open only for that end, or to put in
a frefh body.
On Thurfday, the fixth of January,
1 70 1, we went, in company of Mr. Sa
muel Martin, and Mr. Coldgrave, and
Capt.-

SICILY AND MALTA. 101
Capt. Efcot (commander of an Englifh
fmall fhip then in the road of Palermo),
to fee Monreale, which is fome five fhorfc
miles out of the city,
- Monreale is an archbifhops feat, and
b,as a better income belonging to. it than
the archbifhoprick of Palermo, and has
been formerly a city of greater requeft
than now it is, and lyes on the fide of a
high mountain : however, it is ftill the
third archbifhoprick in all Sicily, none
befide that of Palermo and Meffina being
reckoned before itA
The way out of the gate of Palermo
almoft quite up to Monreale is in a line, a
yery pleafant road, and the greateft part of
it with trees planted qn each fide, in very
good order. When we came up near to.
Monreale, we look'd down on the left
fide of us, and beheld one of the moft
pleafant and richeft Valleys in the world,
H 3 and;

joa A VOYAGE TO
and which look'd green, notwithftanding
the bare time of the year, being full of
plive trees, orange and lemon trees, and
corn that look'd green.
The profpect of this valley from Mon-j
reale is fo pleafant, and fo far exceeding;
the profpect of any valley I ever faw in
my life, that it would be a rafh attempt
to defcribe it, fince the thing it felf does,
fo much furpafs what one can fay of it,
and the only way is to go and view it.
Tis of feveral miles extent, and is fo rich
in oyl, corn, wine, faladins, and all forts
of garden herbs and fruits, that it fup-
ports not only Palermo and Monreale,
but alfo the country all about, compre
hending feveral towns and villages.
The cathedral church of Monreale is
ancient, of Gothick architecture, very ve
nerable and majeftick. The mofaic work
on the walls on high is well done for
thofe

SICILY AND MALTA, ioj
thofe times they were done in, and de-
ferves obfervation, as it contains the whole
hiftory of Genefis,
On the right hand, at the upper end,
are the monuments of two Sicilian Kings,
Gulielmo Buono, and Gulielmo Malo,
which are of porfiry, very fine and large.
Towards the upper end, on the left hand,
is to be feen an altar dedicated to Saint
Lewis, or Louis King of France, whp
dy'd in making the holy warr, and his
bowels are kept beneath this altar.
A little higher on the fame hand you
may turn into a very fine and neat chap^
pel, built by the prefent Archbifhop, who
has erected a noble monument in it for
himfelf. The gilt iron -work of the
doores, I think, was made in England ;
and I am fure the locks and keys were
Englifh, and, as Mr. William Coldgrave
H 4 told.

I04 A VOYAGE TO
fold us, a prefent which Mr. Gifford had;
made to the Archbifhop.
From Monreale we went up a fteep
high mountain on our horfes, about fome
three miles, till we came to the monafi
tery of San. Martino. San. Martino is
a very noble monaftery of Benedictin
monks, all Sicillians, and men of qua
lity. Thefe live moft on the allowance
each has from his own family, and have
every one of them one or two fervants to
wait on them. They rigouroufly obferve
this rule of hofpitality, to entertain all
thofe who come up to vifit their church
and monaftery out of devotion for three
days, and that according to the quality
pf every perfon or corner, the monks
themfelves ferying their guefts at table,
as they did us for the one meal we ftay'd
there. And, indeed, whoever comes up
^o them may deferve to be treated well for

SICILY AND MALTA. 105
for his pains, efpecially in the winter ; for
the way up is very fteep, bad, and craggy,
befides the cold which comes from the
fhow on the mountains clpfe by, and all
about the monaftery, which is feated on a
yayl on the mountain, and befide dorm?
neerd and furrounded by other mountains,
yet higher and chargd with fnow?J
Thefe Fathers have a very handfome and
copious library; and the floor of their
dormitory is very obfervable for its being
compos'd of a hard fhining plafter, which,
though fo often trodden on by all comers
all well as the Fathers, yet retains it's
Iuftre as if it were new laid, and is of a
reddifh colour. Their church is not very
large, but very neat, and the moft re-r
markable thing in it, is a figure in marble
ef our Blefled Lady, with a little Saviour
jn her arms, which was brought out of
England in the time of Harry the Eighth, when

106 A VOYAGE TO
when the Roman Catholique Religion
began to fuffer perfecution.
The marble pillars in the cloyfter of the
monaftery, as well as thofe which are in
the church, are not fb much to be ad-*
rnir'd fpr being feen in that place; for it is
hard to be conceiv'd how pillars of fuch a
weight, all of one piece, cou'd be brought
up hither, the Fathers affuring us they
were brought up, and that thofe mountains
dp nqt affor4 it which are near it.
i
On Sunday, the ninth of January, we
took horfes again, to go up Monte Pele?
grino, and vifit the place (which is now a
chappel) where the body of Santa Rofalia,
patronefle and protectreffe of Palermo,
was found, and that by a particular and
miraculous revelation to a perfon of %
good life, Santa

SICILY AND MALTA. 107
Santa Rofalia was of Palermo, and born
pf a very noble family, and when very
young abhorr'd fo much the vanities of
this world, and avoided the conyerfe of
mankind, refolving to dedicate herfelf
wholly to God Almighty, that fhe by
divine infpiration forfook her fathers
houfe, and never was more heard of till
her body was found in that cleft of a
rock, on that almoft inacceffible rnoun-f
tain, where now the chappel is built; and
they affirm fhe was carry'd up there by the
hands of angels, for that place was not
formerly fo acceffible (as now it is) in the
days of the Saint, and even now it is a very
bad, and fteepy, and break-neck way. In
this frightful place, this holy woman liv'd
a great many years, feeding only on what
fhe found growing on that barren moun
tain, and creeping into a narrow and
dreadful cleft in a rock, which was always
dropping wet, and was her place of re
tirement as well as prayer, having worn out

io8 A VOYAGE TO
out even the rock with her knees, in a*
certain place, which is now open'd on,
purpofe to fhow it to thofe who come
there. Thischappel is very richly adorn'd,
and on the fpot where the Saints dead
body was difcover'd, which is juft bener.th
the hole in the rock, which is open'd on
purpofe as I faid, there is a very fine ftatue
of marble reprefenting her in a lying po-.
fture, railed in all about with fine iron
and hrafs work, and the altar, on which
they fay mafs, is built juft over it. Con-?
cerning the miraculous life of this Saint,_
there is a book printed in Palermo, which
I have not read; fo that what I have faid
in fhort of this holy woman is only what
I had by hearfay, and fo referr thofe
who are curious to the reading of her-
life for more exactnefs. Her feftival day is
celebrated on the fourth day of September,
with unfpeakable fplendour and magni
ficence, in the cathedral church of Paler
mo, where her body is preferv'd in a filver-
cheft,

Sicily and malta. xo§
eheft, which cheft is brought out of the
chappel of the Saint, and on oceafion ex-
pos'd aloft on a triumphal machine, in
the middle of the faid cathedral, to the
devotion of the people, as alfo on two other
days in the year, the one in memory of
her freeing that city from the plague, and
the other when fhe by her interceffion freed
them from the earthquake.
We had now been fixteen days at Pa
lermo; and becaufe there lay a fmall Eng-
lifh fhip, of an hundred and twenty tuns*
in the road, Capt, Efcott commander,
which was ready to carry the Vice-Kings
fon, cali'd the Marquifle of Jamaica, to
Naples, we thought it a very good ocea
fion to embarque at the fame time with
him : fo having made our bargain with
the Captain for twenty crowns Neapoli
tan to give us our paflage, we according
ly embarqued on Fryday the fourteenth of
January in the afternoon, and it was paft
midnight

ii6 A .VOYAGfi T5
midnight before we could fet fayl, by rea-1
fon of the Vice-Queens fuperftition, who
wou'd not fuffer her fon the Marquiffe to
come on board till Fryday was over; fo he
came on board juft half an hour after mid
night, accompany'd by many of the
Sicilian nobility; and after he had flipped
(to which he invited Mr. Cecil and us
Englifh), his company took their leave of
him, and at their putting off the Capt. gave
them thirteen gunns: fo having brought
our anchor a head, we fet fayl immediately*
and with a fair eaiie gale we came into the
Port of Naples on Sunday night, lying
that night in the fhip; and the next morn*
ing, about eleven of the clock, the boat
of the Sanita came off to us, and gave us
produc, or prattica, as they call it in Ita
lian. Captain Efcot had treated us with a
wonderful deal of civility the fmall time
We were aboard him, and at our putting
off gave us feaven gunns. Oil

SICILY AND MALTA. nr
On Satterday the twenty fecond of
January, we took our old felucca of Pa
dron Carmino Spitrillo for Rome, embar-
quing our calefh in it, and made our
bargain for twenty-fix crowns Neapolitan;
and that night we lay at Prochita, about
fome twenty miles from Naples.
On Sunday morning we fet out from
the Ifland of Prochita, and came that
evening to Gaeta.
On Monday morning the 24th, we
fet out from Gaeta, and put in that even
ing, by reafon of rain and contrary weather,
into a fmall place called Spelonca, be
longing to the kingdom of Naples, where
we ftay'd all Tuefday the twenty4fth,
and went a fhooting ; and on Wednefday
morning the twenty-fixth, our felucca,
with a great deal of trouble, was gott off
of that fhallow fhore to fea, and we put of
in a fmall boat tp gett to it, with no little
danger

112 A VOYAGE TO
danger, I being, wafh'd all over with a
wave, which beat over me and the men
ftark- naked, and almoft ftarvd to death
with cold and wet. That afternoon,
however, we gott as far as Neptuno,
the Popes new port of Anzo, which is
but a very fmall port, and ferves only to
fave a tartan, or a galley, in ftreffe of
weather, and five galleys may ride af
large, in it*
The next morning, fome three hours'
before day, we fet out from the port of
AnzOj or Antium, and with a great deal
of do got into the mouth of the river
Tiber, with the wind full in our teeth,
and a dreadful cold Tramonta wind. That
night we took up our lodging in a hutt
fome nine miles off Rome, , and the next
morning we fet out in a ealefh with a
a lame horfe, and but one fhoe to his feet j
and that Fryday, about eleven of the
clock, on the twenty-eighth of January,

A v 6 ¥ A g e, &a iii
i^70i, we came to Rome, and fet our
felves down at the Bagno, or Stufa, be-
heath Monte Cavallo;
An account, in fhdrt, pf the moneys
fpent in this jburney, from the nineteenth
of October, 1700, the day we fet out
from Remei till the 28th pf January,
17PI, the day we came to Rome again>
which is juft three months and a half.
Crowns Bajocktg
From Rome to Meffina 1 44. 80
From Meffina to Malta 596 00
From Malta to Palermo • 054 40
From PalermP to Rome 092 80

Summ in all 398 06

FINIS.

YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

3 9002 01311 9327

I -