John, Baron of Merchiston in Scotland, and the inventor of the Logarithms, was the eldest son of Sir Archibald Napier of Edinbellie and Merchiston, by his first wife Janet Bothwell, and was born near Edinburgh, in the year 1550. Having given early indications of great natural parts, his father was careful to have them cultivated by a learned education. After passing through the ordinary courses of liberal study at the University of St Andrews, he is said to have made the tour of France, Italy, and Germany. Upon his return to his native country, his literature and other accomplishments soon rendered him conspicuous, and might have raised him to the highest offices of the state; but declining all civil employments, and avoiding the bustle of the court, he retired from active life to pursue scientific and literary researches, in which he made such uncommon progress, as to favour mankind with divers useful discoveries. He applied himself chiefly to the study of mathematics, and to that of the Holy Scriptures; and in regard to both, he has evinced the most extensive knowledge and profound penetration. His Commentaries upon the Apocalypse indicate the most acute investigation, and an uncommon strength of judgment; and though time has discovered that his calculations concerning particular events proceeded upon fallacious data, his reasonings are not on that account the less ingenious. This work was printed abroad in several languages; particularly in French at Rochelle in the year 1602, in a quarto volume, announced in the title as revised by himself. Nothing, it has been observed, could be more agreeable to the people of Rochelle, or the Huguenots of France, at this time, than the author's annunciation of the pope as antichrist, which in this book he has endeavoured to set forth with much zeal and erudition. But what has rendered his name for ever illustrious was his great and fortunate discovery of the logarithms, by which the science of astronomy and the arts of practical geometry and navigation have been wonderfully aided and advanced. That he had begun before the year 1594 the train of inquiry which led to this great achievement, appears evident from a letter to Crugerus, written by Kepler in the year 1624, wherein, mentioning the Canon Mirificus, he writes thus: "Nihil autem suprema Neperianam rationem esse puto; et si Scotus quidem literis ad Tychonem, anno 1594, scriptis jam spem fecit canonis illius mirifici." This allusion agrees with the idle story mentioned by Wood in his Athenæ Oxonienses, and explains it in a way perfectly consonant to the rights of Napier as the inventor.

When Napier had communicated to Mr Henry Briggs, mathematical professor in Gresham College, his wonderful Canon for the Logarithms, that learned professor set himself to apply the rules in his Initio Nepereus; and in a letter to Archbishop Usher, written in the year 1615, he thus expresses himself:—"Napier, Baron of Merchiston, hath set my head and hands at work with his new and admirable Logarithms. I hope to see him this summer, if it please God; for I never saw a book which pleased me better, and made me more wonder." The following passage from the life of Lilly the astrologer gives a picturesque view of the meeting between Briggs and the inventor of the logarithms, at Merchiston, near Edinburgh. "I will acquaint you," says Lilly, "with one memorable story related unto me by John Marr, an excellent mathematician and geometrician, whom I conceive you remember. He was servant to King James I. and Charles I. When Merchiston first published his logarithms, Mr Briggs, then reader of the astronomy lectures at Gresham College in London, was so much surprised with admiration of them, that he could have no quietness in himself until he had seen that noble person whose only invention they were. He acquaints John Marr therewith, who went into Scotland before Mr Briggs, purposely to be there when these two so learned persons should meet. Mr Briggs appoints a certain day when to meet at Edinburgh; but failing thereof, Merchiston was fearful he would not come. It happened one day as John Marr and the Baron Napier were speaking of Mr Briggs; 'Ah, John,' said Merchiston, 'Mr Briggs will not come.' At the very instant one knocks at the gate: John Marr hasted down, and it proved to be Mr Briggs, to his great contentment. He brings Mr Briggs up to the baron's chamber, where almost one quarter of an hour was spent, each beholding the other with admiration before one word was spoken. At last Mr Briggs began: 'Sir, I have undertaken this long journey purposely to see your person, and to know by what engine of wit or ingenuity you came first to think of this most excellent help into astronomy, viz. the Logarithms; but, Sir, being by you found out, I wonder nobody else found it out before; when now being known it appears so easy.' He was nobly entertained by the illustrious baron; and every summer after that, during the baron's life, this venerable man, Mr Briggs, went purposely to Scotland to visit him."

There is a passage in the Life of Tycho Brahe by Gasendi, which might lead some to suppose that Napier's method had previously been explored by Herwart at Hoenburg. This passage occurs in Gasendi's observations on a letter from Tycho to Herwart, written on the last day of August 1599: "Dixit Herwartus nihil morari se solvendi cujusquam trianguli difficulatem; solere se enim multiplicationem ac divisionem vice additiones solum, subtractiones 93 usuprare quod ut fieri posset, docuit postmodum suo logarithmorum Canone Neperus." But Herwart here alludes to the work afterwards published in the year 1610, which solves triangles by prostapheresis, a mode totally different from that of the Logarithms.

Kepler, who was ignorant that Napier had been deceased for more than two years, addressed a letter to him, dated 28th of July 1619 (prefixed as a dedication to his Ephemerides for the year 1620), in which he expresses his high admiration of the Canon Mirificus, and his astonishment and delight on first becoming acquainted with the importance of Napier's great discovery. "And, indeed," to use the words of one of his biographers, "if we consider that Napier's discovery was not, like those of Kepler or of Newton, connected with any analogies or coincidences which might have led him to it, but the fruit of unassisted reason and science, we shall be vindicated in placing him in one of the highest niches in the temple of fame. Kepler had made many unsuccessful attempts to discover his canon for the periodic motions of the planets, and hit upon it at last, as he himself candidly owns, on the 15th of May 1618; and Newton applied the palpable tendency of heavy bodies to the earth to the system of the universe in general; but Napier sought out his admirable rules by a slow scientific progress, arising from the gradual evolution of truth." But to quote this, or any other similar observations of an ordinary biographer, may here be considered as worse than superfluous; for the Dissertation on the History of Mathematical and Physical Science, by the late Professor Playfair, prefixed to this work, contains a view of the nature and value of Napier's great discovery, and the character of his genius, which at once satisfies scientific curiosity, and throws into the shade all the slighter sketches of less weighty authorities.

The last literary exertion of this eminent person was the publication, in the year 1617, of his Rabdologia and Promptuary, which he dedicated to the Chancellor Seton, and soon afterwards died at Merchiston, on the 4th of April of the same year, in the sixty-eighth year of his age.

This renowned discoverer was twice married. By his first wife, who was a daughter of Sir James Stirling of Keir, he had only one son, named Archibald. He was appointed a privy counsellor by James VI., under whose reign he also held the offices of treasurer-depute, justice-clerk, and senator of the college of justice; and by Charles I. he was raised to the peerage. By his second wife, a daughter of Sir James Chisholm of Cromlix, he had a numerous family of sons and daughters.

We have two Lives of the Inventor of the Logarithms; Napier's Rods, or Bones, an instrument invented by Baron Napier, whereby the Multiplication and Division of large numbers is much facilitated. Suppose the common table of multiplication to be made upon a plate of metal, ivory, or pasteboard, and then conceive the several columns, standing downwards from the digits on the head, to be cut asunder; these are what are called Napier's rods of multiplication. But then there must be a good number of each; for as many times as any figure is in the multiplicand, so many rods of that species, or with that figure on the top of it, must we have, though six rods of each species will be sufficient for any example in common affairs. There must also be as many rods of 0's. But before we explain the mode of using these rods, there is another thing to be known, namely, that the figures on every rod are written in an order different from that in the table. Thus the little square space or division in which the several products of every column are written is divided into two parts by a line across from the upper angle on the right to the lower on the left; and if the product is a digit, it is set in the lower division, but if it has two places, the first is set in the lower, and the second in the upper division. The spaces on the top are not divided. There is also a rod of digits not divided, which is called the index rod, and of this we require only one single rod.

Multiplication by Napier's Rods.—First lay down the index rod; then on the right of it set a rod whose top is the figure in the highest place of the multiplicand; next to this, again, set the rod whose top is the next figure of the multiplicand, and so on in order to the first figure. Then the multiplicand is tabulated for all the nine digits; for in the same line of squares standing against every figure of the index rod, we have the product of that figure; and therefore we have no more to do but to transfer the products, and sum them. But in taking out these products from the rods, the order in which the figures stand obliges us to employ a very easy and small addition. Thus, begin to take out the figure in the lower part, or units' place, of the square of the first rod on the right, add the figure on the upper part of this rod to that in the lower part of the next, and so on, which may be done as fast as we can look on them. To make this practice as clear as possible, take the following example: To multiply 4768 by 385.

Having set the rods together for the number 4768 (fig. 2) against 5 in the index, we find this number by adding, according to the rule:

- Against 5, this number .................................................. 23840 - Against 8, this number .................................................. 38144 - Against 3, this number .................................................. 14304

Total product ................................................................. 1835680

To render the use of the rods yet more regular and easy, they are kept in a flat square box, the breadth of which is that of ten rods, and the length that of one rod, as thick as to contain six, or as many as may be required, the capacity of the box being divided into ten cells for the different species of rods. When the rods are put up in the box (each species in its own cell distinguished by the first figure of the rod set before it on the face of the box near the top), as much of every rod stands without the box as shows the first figure of that rod; also upon one of the flat sides without, and near the edge, upon the left hand, the index rod is fixed; and along the foot there is a small ledge, so that the rods when applied are laid upon this side, and supported by the ledge, which makes the practice very easy. But in case the multiplicand should have more than nine places, the upper face of the box may be made broader. Some make the rods with four different faces, and figures on each for different purposes.

Division by Napier's Rods.—First tabulate the divisor; then we have it multiplied by all the digits, out of which we may choose such convenient divisors as will be next less to the figures in the dividend, and write the index answering in the quotient, and so continually till the work is done. Thus 2179788, divided by 6123, gives in the quotient 356. Having tabulated the divisor 6123, we see that 6123 cannot be had in 2179; therefore take five places, and on the rods find a number that is equal or next less to 21797, which is 18369; that is, three times the divisor. Wherefore set 3 in the quotient, and subtract 18369 from the figures above, and there will remain 3428; to which add 8, the next figure of the dividend, and seek again on the rods for it, or the next less, which will be found to be five times; therefore set five in the quotient, and subtract 30615 from 34288, and there will remain 3673, to which add 8, the last figure in the dividend, and finding it to be just six times the divisor, set six in the quotient. Thus,

\[ 6123 \times 2179788 = 356 \] This whole kingdom is frequently denominated the kingdom of the Two Sicilies, being situated on both sides of the Straits of Messina, and divided into two portions, commonly distinguished by the natives, Naples, or the continental part, as Domini al di qua del Faro; and Sicily, or the island part, as Domini al di là del Faro. Although the history of this kingdom forms a material part of that of Italy, and is treated of under that article in this work, yet a short abstract of the course of events seems necessary to connect the important parts there noticed.

In the earliest period of the history of Rome, this part of Lower Italy was peopled by a rude people, called the Ausonians, to whom were subjected other tribes, as the Lucanians and the Bruttians, occupying the mountainous districts of the Abruzzi, and the Samnites. The country on the eastern coast was called Apulia, and that on the western Calabria. The Greeks established colonies, but chiefly on the sea-shore, and hence the name of Magna Grecia was given to it. The dominion of Rome over Lower Italy began with the subjugation of Tarentum by Fabricius, which was defended by Pyrrhus king of Epirus, but surrendered in the year 273 before our era. It continued till the dissolution of the western Roman empire, in the year 476, an appendage to Rome; but then came under the subjection of the Ostrogoths. About the middle of the sixth century both divisions of the kingdom fell under the government of the emperor of Constantinople, to each of which a separate commander was assigned, called Duke, subordinate to the exarchs of Ravenna. Contests continually existed between these exarchs and the state of Lombardy, in Upper Italy, out of which gradually arose, in the ninth century, several independent states, which obtained the titles of dukedoms, such as Salerno, Capua, and Tarantum, and, above all, Beneventum; and also some republican cities, amongst which the most celebrated were Naples, Amalfi, and Gaeta.

At this period, the Saracens, who had previously seized on Sicily, landed on the continent, and contended for the mastery over Calabria. They seized on the city of Bari, and continued their hostilities till they were defeated by the emperor of Germany, who made himself master of Beneventum; but the country continued in an agitated state, from the furious contests of the three parties of Germans, Greeks, and Arabs, whose fierce and plundering habits produced the greatest calamities in the beautiful country for which they fought. In this state of affairs, during the eleventh century, some warlike adventurers of the Norman race offered their assistance to a Grecian duke, Sergius, against Pandolf, the German prince of Capua, and received as a reward a tract of land, on which was built the city of Aversa, where, in 1029, Rainulf, the first Norman count, established himself. Other bodies of bold and greedy Normans soon arrived, with the twelve sons of Count Tancred of Hauteville, in Lower Normandy, at their head. Amongst these young men was one most remarkable for his bravery and sagacity, Robert Guiscard, who drew around him the stoutest of the peasantry, and of them formed a band of most expert warriors. With great prudence, he accepted, as a feudatory of the pope, the district of Apulia, which he had conquered in 1059, and promised to the other Normans the same title to the lands which they should seize upon in Calabria and in Sicily. Seven years after this, he assumed the title of Duke of Apulia and Calabria.

Roger, a younger brother of Robert, in 1072 subdued the island of Sicily, and, after the death of Robert and of his sons, united in himself the whole territory held by the house of Hauteville, in which he was confirmed in 1098, by an extraordinary bull of Pope Urban II., which gave to him and to his successors the highest spiritual power in his kingdom beyond the Straits of Messina.

Roger II., who succeeded his father, reduced the whole of Lower Italy to a state of subjection by the year 1130, having then secured to his dominions the great, free, and commercial cities of Capua, Amalfi, and Naples. At this period the pope conferred upon him the title of king of Apulia, Calabria, and Sicily, which he soon exchanged for that of king of the Two Sicilies. He acknowledged himself as a feudatory of the holy see, and agreed, as an acknowledgment of his allegiance, to present annually a horse and a purse of ducats.

The union of the two kingdoms continued during a century and a half. On the continent the Lombard law was adopted, but in the island the feudal law of France was exercised. The city of Palermo, in Sicily, was, during the whole of this period, the royal residence.

William, surnamed the Good, the grandson of Roger II., died in 1109, and with him the family of Tancred became extinct; upon which the Emperor Henry VI., of the house of Hohenstaufen, claimed the kingdom in right of his wife Constantina, the daughter of Roger II. The Sicilians, however, abhorring German rule, chose Tancred, a natural son of Roger, and, on his premature demise, his son William, a minor. Henry invaded the country, and exercising great severity, reduced it to his authority. He also died early, and was succeeded by his son Frederick II., who removed the seat of government from Palermo to Naples.

The neighbourhood of the imperial house was an eyesore to the popes, and hence Urban IV., after the death of the Emperor Conrad in 1254, availed himself of his feudal authority, and granted the kingdom of the Two Sicilies as a fief to the brother of Louis IX., of France, Charles of Anjou, who, after some opposition, took possession, and ruled the country with an iron sceptre. The oppressed and discontented people applied to the pope for redress, but without effect. Upon this, John de Procida, a nobleman of a Salernian family, a person endowed with many estimable qualities, and of great penetration and perseverance, resolved to put an end to the sufferings of Sicily. His whole estate had been confiscated on account of his strong attachment to the Hohenstaufen family. In execution of his plans of revenge, he first applied to Peter, king of Aragon, who had married Constantina the daughter of Manfred, for assistance. Peter showed a disposition to assist him, but could do nothing, from the want of pecuniary means, towards obtaining the Sicilian throne. Procida undertook to procure those means, and, properly authorized by Peter, first visited Sicily, where he found all prepared to resist Charles, and where he encouraged the hope of revenge. He then proceeded to Constantinople, and presented himself to the Emperor Palaeologus, who had been alarmed by Charles with threats of invasion, and from whom he obtained promises of a large sum to be sent to Aragon. Having received the money, he returned to Peter, who immediately commenced warlike preparations, on the pretext of making an attack upon the Moors in Africa. This awakened some suspicion in Charles, but he so fully relied on the security of his possession, that he neglected to make due preparations.

Peter, with his troops, crossed over to Africa, and there made feigned demonstrations of hostility, waiting to see if the Sicilians would rise in insurrection against the French, as they had engaged to do.

On Easter Monday, the 30th of March 1332, the inhabitants of Messina flew to arms at the sound of the vesper bell. A dreadful massacre ensued, in which all the French were put to death. In their rage the inhabitants sacrificed all, not excepting the aged, the females, and the children; and even those women who had connected themselves with Frenchmen were likewise murdered. This horrible event has ever since been known by the name of the Sicilian Vespers. The other cities of Sicily remained a short time in tranquillity; but before the end of April they followed the example set in Messina, and wherever a Frenchman could be found he was instantly put to death.

As soon as Charles received the horrible intelligence, he hastened from Orvieto, where he was on a visit to the pope, to the city of Naples, and having collected his whole forces, prepared to pass over to Sicily. In July, he appeared before Messina, which was ready to surrender on conditions; but as he required unconditional submission, the spirit of the inhabitants was so roused, that they resolved on a defence, which was carried on with the most energetic courage, even the women and children partaking with the men in the dangers, as well as the privations and sufferings, of a siege.

Whilst the siege was in progress, intelligence was received that Peter of Aragon had landed at Trapani with an army of 10,000 foot soldiers and 800 mounted men at arms, and that Palermo had received him with rapturous joy. Charles, disturbed by this occurrence, became also alarmed for the state of Calabria, and having instantly embarked his troops, leaving his military stores behind him, sailed across the strait; but before he reached the continent his fleet was attacked by that of Peter, under the command of his admiral, Roger de Loria, who captured twenty-nine of his vessels, and then ravaged the coast of Naples. Peter was received with joy in Messina, and assumed the government, although the pope issued a bull placing him and the Sicilians under the ban of the church. The next year Constantina arrived with her sons, and was acknowledged as the legitimate inheritor of the crown, which it was then settled should descend to her second son James. Although Charles continued to make attempts to regain his authority in Sicily, they were all unavailing. Contrary to the usual practice of kings in that day, he discovered great personal hostility to Peter, and even charged him with treachery, hoping thus to produce a single combat. The French, however, lost Sicily, and James was firmly seated on the throne. In consequence of this, the two kingdoms were separately ruled during a hundred and sixty years. Whilst the Spanish family ruled the island, the continent was under the subjection of Charles of Anjou, who agreed to hold it as a fief of the papal see, and to pay a yearly tribute of eight thousand ounces of gold.

Robert, the great-grandson of Charles, who in succession filled the throne of Naples, was, in the year 1307, elected king of Hungary by the states of that country. After his death, in the year 1343, in the reign of his granddaughter Johanna, great commotions broke out in Naples. She had married Andrew duke of Calabria, who wished to be acknowledged as king, and is said to have intrigued with that view. He was however murdered, not without strong suspicion that his wife had been participator in the crime. Owing to this charge, and the notorious profligacy of her conduct with other men, the pope, Urban VI., conferred the crown of Naples upon Charles of Durazzo, an Hungarian, who had married a sister of Johanna. He was a short time owned as king of Naples and Hungary; but was assassinated in the latter kingdom about a year afterwards. Two competitors for the crown appeared in Naples; one the son of Durazzo, and the other an adopted or illegitimate son of Johanna. The son of Durazzo, named Ladislaus, after some struggles, conquered Louis of Anjou, the son of Johanna. He also carried on other military operations with great vigour, made himself at one time master of Rome, and aimed at the sovereignty of all Italy; but his projects were terminated by death, in the year 1414. His sister, Queen Johanna II., who succeeded him, adopted King Alphonso V. of Aragon as her heir in 1420; but when he had ascended the throne, a rival appeared in the person of the French prince Louis V. of Anjou, who was successful in his military expeditions, and at length, in 1458, drove Alphonso out of the kingdom. This created jealousies between France and Spain, which, towards the end of the fifteenth century, set the whole of Italy in flames. The contest was carried on with great bitterness, and for a time with varied success, whilst the prospect of the final issue remained doubtful. But at length the crafty king of Aragon, Ferdinand the Catholic, in 1504, gained the complete mastery of the whole of the kingdom of Naples.

During the two succeeding centuries both portions of the kingdom of Naples remained under the government of the kings of Spain. In the former of these centuries, the continued agitation between the people, the nobles, and the crown, had begotten a kind of constitution; and some assemblies or parliaments, which had originated with the house of Anjou, were instituted, and convened both in Naples and in Sicily. The feudal system was introduced; and the barons continually obtained an extension of their privileges, especially the power of life and death over their vassals, by granting which, the successive monarchs calculated upon securing their service in the wars. By this the people were sunk in the greatest misery, and at no time could the Neapolitans make any successful opposition to foreign invaders. The aristocracy were under subjection to the higher ranks of their own body; and a general corruption of morals, especially as regarded the intercourse of the sexes, which had been introduced by the two profligate queens, Johanna I. and II., prevailed amongst all classes. After the Spanish family was firmly seated, few meetings of the assembly of the states were convened either in Naples or in Sicily; and the viceroys managed matters so, that only committees of the ancient states interfered with public business, whilst the city of Naples had almost the whole administration centred within itself, but under the absolute control of the viceroy. By such means the power of the crown was gradually extended, but could only be maintained by very heavy taxation. The imposition of new taxes, and the oppressive modes of enforcing the payment of them, led sometimes to turbulent scenes in the capital, most of which were speedily suppressed; but one of them was of so singular a character as to deserve a short relation.

In the year 1647 it was thought necessary to impose some tax upon all fruit sold in the city; which, being in the summer the chief food of the poor, caused great uneasiness, but no immediate insurrection. A fisherman of Amalfi, named Masaniello, whose wife had been recently detected in smuggling some meat into the city, and fined for it, had conceived an implacable hatred against the sufferers, the farmers, and the collectors of the new tax. He was a powerful speaker, and a leader of one of the parties of the populace who had agreed to have a sham fight upon a festival. On that day he first roused the populace, and excited them to destroy the office where the tax was collected, and the dwellings of those who had proposed or farmed it. In the course of the rioting, the viceroy, instead of ordering the Spanish and German guards to suppress the disturbance, fled, and was personally insulted; but at length he escaped to a sanctuary, where the archbishop joined him; and they conjointly issued a notice that all taxes on pro- visions should be abolished. Besides this, an attempt was made to gain Massiello by an offer of a pension. But, either from patriotism, or from the vanity of increasing his influence with the mob, he refused to accept the offer, declaring that if the viceroy kept his word he would find the people obedient subjects.

On the following day, however, being joined by some more of the popular leaders, the followers of Massiello committed some violent outrages, which induced the viceroy to enter into a kind of treaty with this leader, who, though half naked and in rags, found himself at the head of 100,000 armed followers, filled with fury. Some of his followers having been purchased by the court, agreed to kill him, and whilst he was in treaty with the viceroy and archbishop, the attempt was made; but it failed, and those who were thus shown to be traitors to their chief were instantly put to death. The viceroy himself with difficulty escaped the same fate; but the power of Massiello was greatly strengthened, and he exercised it with much appearance of fairness and impartiality. The viceroy was fearful that the French might take advantage of the commotion, and create some annoyance, and therefore hastened to make peace with the leader of the insurrection. On the fifth day after it broke out, a treaty was concluded, by which it was stipulated that the taxes imposed since the reign of Charles V. should all be abolished; that in future no new taxes should be levied except by electors; that the people were to elect as well as the nobles; that an act of oblivion should be passed, and the people remain in arms till the ratification of the treaty was completed.

Great rejoicing followed this arrangement. Massiello having repaired to the viceroy, was appointed captain-general, and induced to change his dress for more appropriate apparel; he also received a present of a gold chain. The following day he began to exercise the authority of a sovereign, judging all crimes, whether civil or military, and ordering to instant execution on a gallows he had erected, those whom he had doomed to death. It is said that in these summary proceedings no innocent person suffered and no guilty person escaped. His grandeur was but of short duration. In two or three days he became distracted and delirious, and committed some most extravagant actions; and on the 18th of July he was put to death, with the consent, if not by the orders, of the viceroy.

The tumult did not however terminate with the death of its author. In the capital, as well as in all the other cities of the kingdom, the people rose and drove out those Spaniards who were found in them. The Duke of Guise, who happened to be at Rome, was induced, at the instigation of the pope, to offer his services to the Neapolitans against the Spaniards; and to this he was further encouraged by having some distant pretensions to the throne. The Spaniards in the mean time made a vigorous attack on the city of Naples, but were repulsed by the people, who thereupon formally renounced their allegiance to the Spanish family. In a short time, however, a new viceroy, Count d'Oniate, arrived from Spain. He took the city by surprise, made the Duke of Guise prisoner, and thus frustrated all the designs of France against the Spanish power in Naples.

From that time the whole of the united kingdom continued under the dominion of Spain, till the war of the succession broke out, in the beginning of which, in 1707, it was taken by Prince Eugene, and continued subject to the Emperor till the peace of Utrecht in 1713. By this peace, confirmed by the quadruple alliance of 1718, the two divisions of the kingdom were separated; the continental portion being delivered to the house of Austria, or rather to the Emperor Charles, who had been competitor with Philip of Anjou for the whole Spanish dominions; whilst the island of Sicily was given to the Duke of Savoy, who afterwards attained the dignity of king of Sardinia.

In the year 1717 Philip V. of Spain, at the instigation of his minister Cardinal Alberoni, seized upon Sicily, but in 1720 gave it back to Austria, whilst the Duke of Savoy was satisfied with the island of Sardinia. Thus the two parts were again united under one head, and were ruled by Austrian viceroys until the war which broke out in 1733, respecting the election of a king of Poland. At that period Spain invaded Naples and Sicily, and secured both divisions; and, at the peace of Vienna in 1735, it was settled that that territory should be held by the Infant Don Carlos. When, on the death of King Charles IV. in the year 1759, Don Carlos succeeded to the throne of Spain, the kingdom of the Two Sicilies was delivered over entire to his third son Ferdinand, with a guarantee or stipulation that it should never in future be again united to the Spanish monarchy.

The kingdom of Naples partook of the calamities which were inflicted upon all Europe by the French revolution; but as the history of these events is already treated of in former parts of this work, under the articles FRANCE, GREAT BRITAIN, and especially ITALY, it is not necessary here to do more than refer to them. The transactions occasioned by revolutionary attempts made since the fall of Bonaparte are pretty fully narrated under the article ITALY.

This kingdom, as a whole, comprehending both the continental and the island portion, is bounded on every side by the sea, except that on the north; and in the continental portion it is in contact with the territory of the church. It extends in north latitude from 35° 40' 10" to 42° 51", and in east longitude from 11° 54' to 18° 34"; but some few of the islands, especially Lampedusa, extend beyond these limits.

The two great divisions are commonly distinguished by their position regarding the narrow sea which divides them, called the Faro or Straits of Messina; thus the continental part is described as Dominj al di qua del Faro, and the island part as Dominj al di là del Faro.

The following table shows its actual state according to the divisions before noticed.

| Province | Extent in English Square Miles | Population | Cities | Towns | Villages | |---------------------------------|-------------------------------|------------|-------|------|---------| | Naples, the city of that name included | 193 | 745,390 | 8 | 5 | 77 | | Terra di Lavoro | 2,430 | 675,349 | 30 | 22 | 389 | | Citeriore | 2,717 | 492,228 | 31 | 18 | 332 | | Ulteriore | 1,953 | 370,930 | 30 | 22 | 114 | | Carry forward | 7,293 | 2,283,897 | 99 | 67 | 912 | ### Continent—(Continued.)

| Provinces | Extent in English Square Miles | Population | Cities | Towns | Villages | |--------------------|-------------------------------|------------|--------|-------|----------| | Brought forward | 7,293 | 2,283,897 | 99 | 67 | 912 | | Molise | 1,261 | 331,328 | 9 | 16 | 77 | | Abruzzo Ulteriore I| 2,289 | 185,144 | 27 | 14 | 93 | | Abruzzo Ulteriore II| 1,172 | 283,694 | 17 | 21 | 61 | | Abruzzo Citeriore | 1,755 | 266,948 | 12 | 24 | 103 | | Capitanata | 3,854 | 296,793 | 16 | 25 | 101 | | Bari | 1,780 | 425,706 | 24 | 27 | 175 | | Otranto | 2,767 | 357,205 | 21 | 32 | 112 | | Basilicata | 2,604 | 458,342 | 31 | 30 | 109 | | Calabria Citeriore | 3,654 | 385,360 | 37 | 29 | 108 | | Calabria Ulteriore I| 1,542 | 250,502 | 22 | 28 | 107 | | Calabria Ulteriore III| 1,854 | 333,017 | 17 | 32 | 88 |

Total: 31,825 5,858,136 332 345 2046

### The Island.

| Provinces | Extent in English Square Miles | Population | Cities | Towns | Villages | |--------------------|-------------------------------|------------|--------|-------|----------| | Palermo | 1,782 | 467,779 | 61 | 6 | 16 | | Messina | 2,018 | 290,451 | 54 | 9 | 19 | | Catania | 1,848 | 335,647 | 53 | 11 | 35 | | Siracusa | 1,964 | 233,956 | 47 | 7 | 21 | | Calanissetta | 1,584 | 168,525 | 31 | 8 | 4 | | Girgenti | 1,672 | 226,114 | 66 | 9 | 8 | | Trapani | 1,078 | 171,396 | 40 | 4 | 7 |

Total: 11,346 1,893,867 352 54 110

The above enumeration of the inhabitants of the continental part of the kingdom is taken from a minute account of the year 1831. Since that time, an official document, which gives only the final results up to the beginning of 1835, states the population of that part to be then 5,883,273 persons.

The disproportion between the number of cities and that of the towns and villages in the island, as compared with the continent, may be attributed to the ancient state of the latter. Sicily had been partly peopled with colonists from Greece. These had established governments, in some measure independent, but always jealous, and frequently in a state of hostility with their neighbours. Thus fortified places were generally constructed by each of the small communities, as places of refuge to which the cultivators repaired, and where they most commonly dwelt. Such places still retain the titles of cities, though many of them have very few inhabitants, and their defences are mostly in a dilapidated state.

As this kingdom possesses so large an extent of sea coast, our attention is naturally first drawn to a description of it; and this leads us to notice the celebrated strait, which has been depicted by the poets of antiquity in most terrific colours, but whose horrors have been so overcome by the progress of nautical science. Captain W. H. Smyth, a scientific officer, long occupied in surveying the Mediterranean Seas, took accurate measurements by theodolite angles, with a good base line, of the distance across this passage, at four different points. The shortest distance, from the village of Ganziri to Point Pezzo, is three thousand nine hundred and seventy yards; the next in length is from Messina light-house to Point del Orso, five thousand four hundred and twenty-seven yards; the next, from Faro Point to the castle of Scylla, is six thousand and forty-seven yards; and the last, from Messina light-house to the cathedral of Reggio on the continent, is thirteen thousand one hundred and eighty-seven yards.

The currents in the strait are numerous and various. In settled seasons there is a central stream running north and south, at the rate of from two to five miles an hour, and which, though properly speaking only a current, when uninfluenced by strong winds, is governed by the moon. On each shore there is a counter or returning set at uncertain distances from the beach, often forming eddies to the central current; but in very fresh breezes, the lateral tides are scarcely perceptible, whilst the main one increases, so as to send at intervals slight whirlpools to each shore. There is an uncertain rise and fall of a few inches in the tide, but at the equinoxes it amounts to eighteen or twenty inches. There is usually an interval of from fifteen to fifty minutes between the changes, and the tide runs six hours each way. In light breezes the current may be stronger than the ship's effort, and, by turning her round, often alarms a person unacquainted with the phenomenon, although there is no actual danger. The greatest risks, however, are occasioned by the heavy gusts of wind which at times rush down through the openings of the mountains on either side, and often prove dangerous to small vessels.

This passage has long been clothed with imaginary terrors; yet as the Athenians, and the Syracusans, and the Locrians, and the Rhegians, fought in it, it could not have been considered so fearfully horrible by ancient sailors as by ancient poets; and the language of the former would probably have borne a very different tenor from the embellishments of the latter, notwithstanding that the passage through it might have been an affair of some moment with their small vessels and inexperienced seamen.

Nelson with his fleet passed through this channel; but, in applauding him for doing so, and attributing to him the merit of first attempting it, his biographers have overlooked the gallant Walton, who had, nearly a century before, passed securely through.

There is a curious aerial phenomenon in the Strait of Messina, noticed by the ancients, and denominated the Fata Morguna by the Sicilians, who believe that the spectacle is produced by the fairies. Most extraordinary accounts of this phenomenon have been given by those who have witnessed it, but more especially by Father Angelucci, whose account is thus quoted by Swinburne: "As I stood at my window, I was surprised with a most wonderful and delectable spectacle. The sea that washes the Sicilian shore swelled up and became for ten miles in length like a chain of dark mountains; whilst the waters on the Calabrian shore grew quite smooth, and in an instant appeared as one clear polished mirror, reclining against the ridge. On this glass was depicted, in chiaroscuro, a string of several thousand pilasters, all equal in altitude, distance, and degree of light and shade. In a moment they lost half their height, and bent into arcades like Roman aqueducts. A long cornice was next formed upon the top, and above it rose innumerable castles, all perfectly alike. These soon split into towers, which were shortly afterwards lost in colonnades, then ended in pines, cypresses, and other trees, even and similar."

This deception is only to be seen under a peculiar concurrence of circumstances. The spectator must stand with his back to the east, on some elevated place behind the city, which commands a view of the whole bay, beyond which the mountains of Sicily rise and darken the background of the picture. The winds must be hushed, the surface smooth, the tide at its height, and the water pressed up by currents to a great elevation in the midst of the channel. All these events coinciding, as soon as the sun surmounts the eastern hills, behind the city of Reggio, and rises high enough to form an angle of forty-five degrees on the water before that city, every object existing or moving in Reggio will be repeated upon this marine looking-glass; each image will pass off rapidly in succession as the day advances, and seem to be carried down the wave on which it appeared. Thus the parts of this moving picture will vanish in the twinkling of an eye. Sometimes the air is so impregnated with vapours, and undisturbed by the winds, as to reflect objects in a kind of aerial screen, rising about thirty feet above the level of the sea. In cloudy weather they are drawn on the surface of the water, bordered with fine prismatic colours.

On this subject, which so much engaged the attention of the ancients, Captain Smyth, a cool and accurate observer, says, "I much doubt the accuracy of the descriptions I have heard and read, as I cannot help thinking that the imagination strongly assists these dioptric appearances, having never met with a Sicilian who had actually seen any thing more than the loom or mirage consequent on a peculiar state of the atmosphere; but which, I must say, I have here observed many times to be unusually strong. It is spoken of by some as a luminous ignescent phenomenon, infallibly predictive of an approaching storm."

In a maritime survey of the Neapolitan shores, we begin on the western side of the continent, where the dominions of the kingdom join the papal territory. The whole coast, though ill furnished with good harbours for large vessels, has some deep indentations and capacious bays, with good anchorage. Of these bays the most northern is that of Gaeta, which is capacious, with good anchoring ground at a depth of from twelve to fourteen fathoms at the north-west of the fortress of that name, situated on a promontory. It is very strong, and is defended by a citadel; notwithstanding which it was taken by the French in 1797, and by the English and their allies in 1799. A little to the south of the bay of Gaeta, the small rivers Erivando, Garigliano, and Volturnus empty themselves into the sea.

The next bay to the south is that of Naples, distinguished at its entrance by the islands of Ischia and Procida to the north-west, and by the island of Capri and the promontory of Campanella to the south-east. The breadth of the entrance between these points is five leagues, and vessels ride in security; but when the wind blows strongly from the north-east, it causes a very considerable swell. The bay of Naples is considered as the most beautiful and interesting indentation of the sea that the world presents. Its curiosities, both of nature and art; its remains of classical antiquity; its varied and wonderful scenery; its volcanic eruptions and earthquakes; its cities, founded, established, and at length overwhelmed, in all the pride of luxury; its mountains converted into lakes, and lakes into mountains; these form a combination of circumstances and events which is nowhere else, upon an equal space, to be found; and its shores have therefore exercised the descriptive pens of many writers.

On the north-west side of this bay, between Cape Miseno and Pozzuoli, the coast is sterile and mountainous. Cape Miseno is a block of tufa or limestone of considerable height, and was evidently a volcano, the crater of which may be traced from the south, though nearly worn away by the action of the sea. In the interior of the mountain are vast caverns and subterranean streets, supposed to have been magazines for the Roman fleets, which rendezvoused in a port sheltered by the cape, the piers of which are still to be seen level with the water. The remains of the town of Misenum, situated on the cape, consist of a theatre, and the ruins of some monuments. On the north of the cape is the Porto di Miseno and Mare Morto, known to the ancients as Acheron.

The ruins of some grand buildings on the shore and under water, at two miles and a quarter to the northward of Cape Miseno, exhibit the site of the voluptuous Baia; opposite to which, on the east, is Pozzuoli, and within half a mile of the latter is the Solfatara, or Sulphur Hill. The vapours which exhale from the various craters, from the Solfatara, from the lakes and hot springs, and from the marshes formed by the waters which anciently flowed in superb aqueducts, infect the atmosphere of these shores; and hence between Cape Miseno and Pozzuoli there is scarcely a habitation. The more healthy situation of the latter, on a point of land advancing into the sea, has retained some inhabitants; whilst beyond it to the eastward the scene improves, and the little island of Nisita is seen covered with verdure.

The Lago d'Averno, and the Lago Lucino, at the bottom of the bay of Baia, to the north-west, are surrounded by elevated grounds, and having in some parts a considerable depth, they might be formed into a good harbour, by cut-

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1 This was the officer who, after the action between Sir George Byng and the Spanish fleet, was detached in pursuit of six sail of the line and some smaller ships, that had escaped, and reported his success in the following laconic terms: "Sir,—We have taken or destroyed all the enemy's ships and vessels on the coast, as per margin. Yours, &c." ting a communication to the sea of less than half a mile in length. The poisonous qualities ascribed to these waters by the ancients no longer exist; for they now possess fish in abundance, the birds fly over and men bathe in them with impunity. The Lago Lucrino, which is to the south of the Averno, covers three or four acres, and is distant from the sea only about ten yards, a sluice forming the communication between them.

In rounding the north shore towards the city of Naples a new scene opens to the eye, the shore being thickly dotted with noble buildings in the midst of beautiful plantations. That city presents itself rising in the form of an amphitheatre on the side of a mountain, and beyond it a vast plain, richly cultivated, and watered by the winding little river Sabato. On the eastern side of the bay, Vesuvius, with its double summit, rises in majestic solitude from the surrounding plain; and two thirds of its height are cultivated, the summit only being bare of vegetation. On its sides and at its base are scattered villages and villas, built on the lava of successive eruptions, which time has converted into the most fertile of soils. But whilst the eye rests with complacency on this smiling prospect, a sentiment of melancholy cannot fail to accompany the remembrance that, many fathoms deep, lie buried the palaces and gardens of some of the ancient masters of the world.

Portici, three miles from Naples to the south-east, is built over, or nearly over, Herculaneum, which, as well as Pompeii, has for many years been exhuming or uncovering, so that now the traveller, with a feeling of astonishment and veneration, walks in streets and enters houses which have been buried for seventeen centuries. These overwhelmed cities are chiefly built of and paved with lava, and beneath their foundations are several alternate strata of this substance and of vegetable soil, in which the remains of plants are discovered; whence it seems highly probable, that long before the establishment of the people whom we call the ancients on these coasts, nations absolutely unknown to them, as well as to us, inhabited this soil, and were driven from it by great physical convulsions.

The south-east and the south-shores of the bay of Naples rise perpendicularly, in volcanic cliffs, to a great height; immediately behind which are high mountains, clothed with verdure to their summits, and having their sides decorated with villages. On this side stands Castella Mare, with its little haven formed by a mole, where vessels of war are built; and two leagues farther to the south-west is Sorrento, the ancient Surrentum, one of the most handsome towns in the kingdom.

In noticing the islands situated on this portion of the coast, Ischia, already named, first presents itself. It was the Pithecusa of the ancients, and consists of one large and several lesser hills, all formed by volcanic eruptions, and abounding in metallic substances. It has many hot springs, and is fertile, producing figs, oranges, pomegranates, chestnuts, and aloes. It is five and a half miles in length, and the hill called Monte Epomeo, in the centre, is of great height. It was formerly a volcano, a dreadful eruption from which is recorded to have happened in the year 1301. The town is on the eastern side, being well fortified, and protected by a citadel connected with it by a stone bridge four hundred yards in length, near to which vessels may anchor securely in between three and four fathoms water, fastened to the shore.

Between Ischia and Cape Miseno are the islands of Procida and Vivara, between which there is secure anchorage for vessels in four fathoms water, open only to south or south-east winds. The first of these is two miles and a fourth across, being partly covered by the town, whilst the rest produces vines, figs, and orange trees. The latter is about a mile in length, and chiefly occupied by fishermen.

After passing to the south by the island of Capri, the extensive gulf or bay of Salerno opens. In this, covered by some islets, but at a distance of three leagues, stands the town of Amalfi. It was once celebrated for that trade to the Levant which was afterwards concentrated in the city of Venice. It was at this place that the mariner's compass was perfected by Flavio de Gioja in 1302. The road is open to the south; but vessels are secure from such winds as blow at any point between north-west and south-west. Not far from thence is the city which gives its name to the bay. Salerno is large and populous, and stretches along the beach, with a ruined castle on a hill behind it. The road is much exposed to northerly winds; but there is a mole, behind which small vessels may find shelter. The country near it is fertile and pleasant, presenting a range of hills covered with olive groves, orchards, and corn-fields.

From Salerno to Cape Licosa, the southern point of the bay, the coast continues with a smooth sandy beach, on which is the ancient Paestum, with the remains of its antiquated fortifications, more than two miles in circumference, and the ruins of several beautiful temples, and other public buildings. From Licosa, the land trends towards the south-east, with no good port, but safe anchorage off Palinuro, by which town is a communication with the city of Policastro, the ancient Buzentum, but now a place of small importance. In proceeding still southward are found the gulf or bay of St Euphemia, and that of Gioja. They both have some anchoring places near small towns, but no port; and the whole coast is rocky and foul. All this part of the coast has suffered severely from earthquakes, but particularly from that most ravaging one which occurred in 1783, when most of the towns were destroyed. These bays are followed by the strait already noticed, on the northern point of which is the town of Scylla, standing partly on the shore, but the greater part above the rocks. The streets are narrow, and nine different rows of houses rise the one immediately above the other. The dangers arising from an approach to this place have been long proverbial; but the only real hazard is when the current and wind are so opposed as to impel a vessel towards the rocks. Scylla was dreadfully injured by the memorable earthquake of 1783, when a part of its promontory was thrown into the sea.

In the Faro di Messina, the only place of importance on the continental side, is the city of Reggio, celebrated for its manufactures of stockings, gloves, waistcoats of thread and of silk, and some other articles. The environs abound in oranges, citrons, mulberries, and grapes, and produce some sugar-canies.

On clearing the Faro, and proceeding round to the Adriatic, Cape Spartivento, the ancient promontory of Hercules, is passed, being the southernmost continental spot of the kingdom, and situated in latitude 37° 56' north. From thence to Cape Rizzuto, the land forms an irregular concavity. It has several small towns, villages, and towers, near the coast, but no harbour or anchoring place, except with the wind off shore; the water is very deep close to the shore, but there is no secure part where vessels can obtain shelter, in case of finding themselves on a lee shore with a strong gale of wind. Cape Rizzuto has a light tower upon it; and there is another on Cape Nan, fourteen miles distant from it. Not far from the latter cape stands the port of Crotona, a poor place, in an unhealthy situation, from which some corn and cheese are exported, and only remarkable for its having been the place where the school of Pythagoras flourished.

The great gulf or bay of Taranto, to the eastward, extends across about sixty-two miles from the extreme points which form it, namely, Point Alice to the south, and Santa Maria di Leuca to the north. No part of the western shore of the great gulf affords any harbour or shelter. for a vessel with the wind blowing on the shore; but there are many villages and watch-towers on the coast, and a great number of small rivers. The city of Taranto stands in the bottom of the gulf, and had once an excellent port, which is now nearly choked up, from neglect. It has about 18,000 inhabitants, with a fort of some strength. It stands on an island connected with the mainland by two bridges. It has some extensive fisheries. Another town stands on the eastern side of the gulf, now called Galipoli, but known in antiquity as Collipolis. Near to it is a roadstead, with good anchorage, within gun-shot of the town; but farther inshore the ground is rocky, and there are several shoals. The trade of this town consists chiefly in the export of oil, well known by its name; and in cotton, which is grown in the neighbourhood. From Galipoli to Cape di Leuca are eight leagues, and from thence seven more to Cape Otranto, the easternmost point of land in Italy. The port of Otranto is capable of affording shelter to vessels when the wind is south or south-west; but a northerly wind blows right into it. It admits vessels of 150 tons, and is a place of some trade. To the north-west, on this shore, between Cape Cavallo and Cape Gallo, is the city of Brindisi, the Brundusium of antiquity. This was once a celebrated port, and that from which the Romans usually crossed in their way to Greece; mostly at Dyrrachium, the modern Durazzo. Both places are remarkable from the war between Caesar and Pompey. Brundusium was once the best harbour on this side of the Adriatic; but in the fifteenth century the Prince of Taranto sunk some ships in the middle of the passage, to prevent his enemies from entering, and thereby formed a resting place for sea-weeds and sand, an accumulation of which has choked it up. Stagnant water at length produced a pestilence which carried off two thirds of the inhabitants. The present population scarcely exceeds 8000 persons.

The coast from Brindisi proceeds north-west, on which, on rather low ground, is the city of Monopoli, containing 10,000 inhabitants. It is open to the sea, and is defended by a castle. Not far from it are the towns of Mola and Polignano, and then comes the city of Bari, the largest place on this side of the kingdom. It has good anchorage without, and a small haven, into which vessels can enter. It is a fine city, with 30,000 inhabitants, who export large quantities of wine, oil, and soap. Beyond this is Barletta, the Barduli of the ancients, once an elegant and populous place, but now much dilapidated. It has some trade in the export of wine, oil, salt, corn, almonds, and liquorice. The gulf or bay of Manfredonia is next to Barletta, in the bottom of which is the city of that name. It was founded as late as the year 1526, and at present contains about 6000 inhabitants, who export corn and salt. It is celebrated for the excellence of its esculent vegetables, particularly its lettuces. Fish is abundant, and very cheap. On the western side of the bay is the Laguna di Salpi, the Palus Salapina of antiquity, a salt lake eleven miles in length, from which much culinary salt is obtained, owing to the evaporation caused by the sun.

Between Manfredonia and the boundary line towards the papal territory there are no harbours, though there are some spots where there is tolerable anchorage. The best is near the towns of Viesti and Rodi, and behind the islands of Dominico and St Nicola. There are a number of small towns and villages, defended by forts, along a coast low and sandy. The names of the most important are Termoli, Vasto, Ortona, Francavilla, Pescara, and Giulianova. The Neapolitan territory terminates at the river Tronto, a stream which descends from the Apennines.

It has appeared necessary to take this notice of the seacoast, because the kingdom of Naples possesses, including the continental and island division, a greater extent of sea-shore than any of the other countries of Europe except the united British kingdoms. The most productive parts of the dominion, as well as the most dense in population, are near the coast; and, in surveying it, the most interesting recollections of classical history are revived or created. For these reasons we shall proceed to pass in review the several shores of the island of Sicily.

The first appearance of the coast of Sicily is romantic, and it is formed by nature into strong positions of defence. Vessels from the westward generally touch first at Cape St Vito, the northernmost point, in north latitude 38.13. and east longitude 12.45. In proceeding eastward from thence there are some strong towers, once maintained as places of alarm, and with a few guns mounted; but of late most of them have been neglected. They serve, however, as beacons, with fires ready to be kindled; and the alarm given by them is sounded along the coasts with conch-shells, similar to the tuba of the Romans. Cape St Vito forms one of the points of the Gulf of Castell-a-Mare, an indentation about ten miles in depth, at the bottom of which is the town of the same name, containing 5000 inhabitants, in a highly cultivated district; and near to it are the interesting remains of a Doric temple, with vestiges of an ancient theatre. To the eastward of this is the bay of Palermo, with the city of that name on the western side of the bay. There is good anchoring ground in almost every part of this bay, near to the shore. To the north-east of the city is a fine mole, near a quarter of a mile in length, extending into water of the depth of nine or ten fathoms; and it forms a noble port, capable of containing a great number of vessels. Along the whole, at the most favourable points, there are establishments for the tunny fisheries. The next point on the coast is Cape Zafarana, which looks like an island; and five miles beyond it are the towns of Mandero and Milicia. In a bay known as the bay of Solento stands the city of Termini, which has some trading privileges, and from which is exported some oil, wine, sumac, corn, and rice; but the anchorage is exposed during two thirds of the year, when the boats must be drawn up upon the beach.

Five miles to the eastward of Termini is the site of the ancient Himera, celebrated on account of one of the most disastrous battles that history has recorded, and which was subsequently destroyed by Hannibal. Near to it the Fiume Grande, one of the most considerable streams of Sicily, discharges its waters into the sea, through one of the most unhealthy but most fertile districts of the island.

About twelve miles to the east of Fiume Grande stands the city of Cefalu, on a low projecting point of land, under a conical mount, on the summit of which are the ruins of an ancient Phoenician edifice and a Saracen castle. The city has a fine cathedral, and contains 9000 inhabitants. From Cefalu to Caronia is six leagues. The district is the most extensively wooded with oak, elm, and ash trees of any in Sicily, and most of the trees are converted into charcoal. On the shore there is good anchorage, which continues by the towns of Santa Agata and San Marco, quite to Cape Orlando. Here is a dangerous reef of rocks; but between it and the shore there is good ground, where small vessels may anchor in safety. Cape Orlando is distinguished by the Brolo Castle, a ruinous structure, and a rock between sixteen and seventeen feet in circumference, and twenty feet above the level of the water, behind which a ship may ride in safety, except when a southerly wind blows with great violence.

Next to Cape Orlando is the bay of Patti, a perfectly safe anchorage in all parts except in the centre, where there is a large rock; but as it appears above water, all danger is easily avoided. The unhealthy town of Oliveri stands on the banks of the small river Elicona. From Oliveri a sandy beach extends along a fertile plain studded with the towns of Fornari, Barcelona, Pozzo di Gotto, and some villages, and terminates at the promontory and city of Milazzo.

Milazzo, the ancient Mylae, is situated on the southern part of the peninsula or promontory of that name, facing the east. It consists of the upper and lower town, which together contain 8000 inhabitants, who are industrious, and subsist by the export of wine, silk, fruit, soap, red and white argols, corn, olive oil, linseed oil, and tunny fish. A citadel commands the city, the port, and the promontory. This northern coast of Sicily terminates with Cape Rasculmo, which is a deep sandy bay, with several small streams running into it. The banks are much injured by malaria, but the heights near them are thickly peopled. Off the cape is good anchorage ground, with from twelve to twenty fathoms depth of water.

The eastern coast of Sicily begins at the north with the Faro of Messina, which has been already noticed, and the city of that name. That celebrated vortex known to the ancients as Charybdis, but now called Galafaro, is formed at the back of the tongue of land named Braccio di St Rainiere, which is one bank of the harbour of Messina. This whirlpool was said by the ancients to swallow up ships, and upon the return of the tide to throw them up again in broken pieces. Captain Smyth describes it as an agitated water from seventy to ninety fathoms in depth, circling in quick eddies, which seem to be caused by the meeting of the harbour and of the lateral currents with the main current; the latter being forced over in this direction by the opposite point of Pezzo. The risk is proverbial; and at the present day small craft are sometimes endangered by it, and ships of war wheeled round upon its surface; but, with caution, very little danger or inconvenience is to be apprehended from it, especially since a light-house has been constructed.

In our progress westward is Scaletta, a small town of 700 inhabitants; then Cape Grosso, Point St Alessio, and Cape St Andrea, near to the last of which, in a bay of the same name, is the city of Taramona, in a fine situation, but not very healthy; but it has good anchorage ground, in water from eight to thirty fathoms in depth. About two miles beyond it, the Alcantara, one of the most considerable rivers of Sicily, falls into the sea. Near to this is the district of Mascali, which is most fertile, and, amongst other productions, yields annually about 90,000 pipes of excellent wine.

Beyond this, at the distance of five miles, is Point Tocco, formed of a precipitous mass of basaltic lava, converted into a mole, and forming a small port called the Marina of Aci. Not far from it is the city of Aci Reale, standing on extensive streams of lava. It is in a healthy and fertile spot, is clean and well built, and is said to contain 14,000 inhabitants. Another remarkable promontory, three miles from it, Cape Molino, is formed of lava; and the town of La Trezza, near to the latter, is built wholly of that substance, the very dark hue of which, contrasted with the white-washed lintels and door-posts of the houses, has a singular appearance. Near La Trezza are the remarkable rocks called the Cyclops, which have a bold and striking appearance; for the basalts that form them are mostly vertical, and consist of prisms of from four to eight sides.

The whole coast from thence, including the great bay or gulf of Catania, may be considered as within the line of the base of Mount Etna, which towers over every part of it. That base is calculated to extend in circumference about eighty-seven miles, and its summit is ascertained to be 10,870 feet above the level of the sea. The summit is fourteen and a half miles northward from the city of Catania.

The bay upon which Catania stands is seven and a half miles in extent from La Trezza to Cape Santa Croix; the ground is generally clean, and ships may anchor in any part of it during the fine season. The city, originally a Greek colony, has been most dreadfully ravaged by wars, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions. We avoid noticing the manifestations of volcanic power which have at various periods been exhibited, with the exception of the tremendous one in 1693, in which more than 50,000 persons perished, and the whole of the buildings were destroyed, except a few which were subsequently taken down to carry on the plan laid down for rebuilding the new city. It is now regular, spacious, and handsome. The churches and other public buildings are magnificent, being for the most part constructed of lava, faced with magnesian limestone, and enriched with marble. It is the residence of many of the Sicilian nobility, and has many literary and charitable institutions. The population amounts to about 75,000. The environs of the city, excepting those parts covered with lava, are fertile and well cultivated, but have a black and repulsive appearance. The harbour of Catania is generally filled with small craft, which repair to it for corn, macaroni, potatoes, olives, figs, silk, wine, almonds, cheese, oil, soda, manna, cantharides, amber, seow, and lava. The beauty of the situation, according to General Cockburn, excels all power of description. It is a fine well-built city, close on the sea shore, overshadowed by the gigantic majesty of Etna, and encompassed by the several minor volcanic hills, which appear like so many branches arising from the parent stock; whilst the placid brilliancy of the sea-view in front, and the solemnity of the inland scenery behind, contribute to form as magnificent a prospect as any part of the island can exhibit.

A little to the south of Catania, the river Trachino enters the sea; and near to it is the city of Aguni, with its port of La Bruca, with a harbour looking like a work of art rather than of nature, as the rocks rise vertically to the height of forty or fifty feet. The city of Augusta, after passing Point Grosso Longa, presents itself on a peninsula. It is large, strong, and well fortified; the inhabitants, about 8000 in number, subsist chiefly by collecting salt from some salines near them, and by the export of oil and wine. The western sides of the harbour are watered by several streams abounding with fish. On the same side are the mountains of Hybla, celebrated by the ancients on account of the honey produced on them, especially on those hills called Hybla-Galatea and Hybla-Magaria. The inhabitants still obtain excellent honey, the sale of which is the chief as well as the most profitable trade. There is a fort and a lighthouse, which, with the cathedral, form the marks for reaching the anchorages; the latter are good, although the inner one is deemed unhealthy.

The next place to Augusta is the city of Syracuse, occupying only one of the four porticos included in its extent when in ancient times it was a Greek colony, founded by Corinthians; it is said to have then contained half a million of inhabitants. The whole of the present city now scarcely covers the island of Ortygia. It suffered most dreadfully by an earthquake in 1693, which destroyed a great part of the population; and the present inhabitants do not amount to more than 13,000 persons.

The city constitutes a fortress of considerable strength; and the entrance of the harbour, which is half a mile wide, is defended by a fort on the south of the town. The adjacent country being copiously irrigated, and possessing a marly soil, is exuberantly fertile, producing wheat, oil, hemp, tobacco, fruits, pulse, and several kinds of delicious wines; but, from the marshes of the alluvial plains on the west side, pernicious miasmata have frequently arisen, and occasioned the destruction of human life. The port is a very secure one, easy of access, and sufficiently capacious to admit a large fleet, with good conveniences for shipping. provisions and water, as was experienced by Lord Nelson, who, in five days, obtained supplies sufficient for his memorable pursuit of the French fleet in the year 1798.

Between Syracuse and Cape Passaro, the southernmost spot in Sicily, is the extensive bay, the northern point of which is Cape Icongo. In the whole of it there is good shelter for large as well as small vessels, which may be compelled to bear up in the channel of Malta by a westerly gale of wind. The anchorage is good in from nine to thirty fathoms of water, with a good holding ground of stiff clay. The places on this bay are Avola and Noto. The former has 7000 inhabitants, who carry on a considerable traffic in wine, corn, almonds, oil, honey, and some sugar made from the only plantation of canes now left on the island. The city of Noto, with 13,000 inhabitants, is within four miles of the shore. It is finely situated and well built, and the country around is fertile; but the air is unhealthy, especially near the river Abysso, the ancient Hebrus, which winds through the plain on which it stands. There are, besides, the smaller towns of Vindicari, Marzamemi, and Pechino, the inhabitants of which chiefly depend on the fishery.

That part of the coast of Sicily the direction of which is from south-east to north-west, extends from Cape Granitola in the west, to Cape Passaro in the east. It completes that irregular triangular figure of the island which induced the ancients to bestow upon it the name of Trinacria. The coast between the two points here named is generally low and arid, and does not possess a single harbour for large ships, although there are several tolerable summer anchorages. Of these the principal are, Sciacca, Siculiana, Girgenti, Alicata, and Port Paolo; and the secondary are, Palma, Port Nicola, Terra Nova, Scoglitti, Secca, Pozzallo, and La Marza. The most remarkable headlands of the coast are, Cape St Marco, Cape Bianco, Point Tenda, Cape Scalambra, and Cape Passaro. Towards these the approaches are not so clear nor so deep as those of the northern shores; but ships are safe which by day are not in less than twelve fathoms water, or at night in about twenty fathoms.

The tides, or rather the currents, arising from the constant evaporation and the action of the winds, observe no regularity, rising a foot or two, according to the weather, and the peculiarities of locality and depth. Thus, the north-west winds, raking the shores, produce a strong set to the south-east, whilst the south-west wind, which is very sensibly felt during the vernal equinox, causes strong counter-currents; and at length, on a change of wind to the opposite quarter, the whole body of water rushes with great velocity to the westward. In settled weather, the currents between Sicily and the African shore run to the eastward at the rate of from half a mile to a mile an hour. In the channel of Malta, the current at south-east has been found so strong, that ships have found it difficult to beat up to Maritimo; whilst others, driven to leeward of Malta, have been obliged to carry a press of sail in order not to lose way, until a change of wind enabled them to make the island again.

From Cape Granitola to Cape St Marco there is a long but slender bay, a distance of twenty miles from the two points. It is called the gulf of Tre Fontane. It is of easy access, but has no good shelter except for small vessels. In it, near to Port Paolo, are the solitary ruins of Selinus or Selinuntum, appearing, at no great distance, like a large city. These extraordinary vestiges of ancient greatness, though only an incongruous mass of shafts of columns, metopes, capitals, &c., excite great admiration, and attest the mighty exertions of a once energetic people.

From St Marco to Cape Bianco a similar bay extends about fourteen miles, in which there is good anchorage; but it is only safe in the summer months, near the town of Sciacca, the celebrated Thermae Selinuntiae of antiquity. It is a poor but large place. The baths are supplied by two springs; one of which is sulphureous and hot, being about 126° of Fahrenheit; the other cool, being about 60°, and impregnated with the saline qualities of the rock from which it springs. The steam-baths of Dedalus are situated on an insulated rock, and have been in use upwards of three thousand years.

About eight miles beyond Cape Bianco is the town of Siculiana, having about 4500 inhabitants. It is pleasantly situated, but in an unhealthy climate. The chief trade consists in the exportation of sulphur, of which there are some extensive mines in the neighbourhood. The city of Girgenti, a few miles farther east, stands on a hill at nearly 1200 feet above the level of the sea, and is so elevated that almost every house in it can be seen at once. It contains 15,000 inhabitants, amongst whom is an abundance of monks and priests. It has a cathedral, a large and heavy structure of the thirteenth century; but it is irregularly built, dirty, and in appearance very poor. Near to it is the site of the ancient city of Agrigentum, said to have once contained 200,000 inhabitants, and to have been renowned for its power and commercial enterprise. The space which was once occupied by that city is now a continued range of orchards and gardens, and of groves of almond and olive trees. The vestiges of the city have been amply described by Captain Smyth, in his able and accurate account of the island. The port is formed by a mole, having on it a light-house; and without it there is good anchorage. At this port, also, large quantities of sulphur are shipped.

About five miles from Point Bianco is the respectable city of Palma, at the distance of two miles from the shore. It contains about 8000 persons, who enjoy comparative affluence, derived from a brisk trade in almonds and sulphur. The town overlooks one of the richest and best cultivated valleys in Sicily, and near to it many cattle are reared. In the bay of Grugno, about ten miles from Palma, is the city of Alicata. It stands at the mouth of the river Salso, otherwise called Ciotta, one of the largest streams of Sicily. The ground near the shore is shoul and rocky, yet in the summer it is a place of some trade, exporting corn and sulphur. It contains about 11,000 inhabitants. The provinces of Mazzara and Noto are here divided by the river Salso. At the entrance there is a bar, on which the surf beats so heavily with southerly winds, that boats can only enter it by a narrow passage, which is always difficult, and sometimes dangerous.

At the distance of fourteen miles from Alicata, along an open beach, is the city of Terra Nova, the Gela of antiquity. About a mile from the town there is good anchorage in from seven to ten fathoms water, but it is much exposed when the wind blows from the south-west. The city is situated on table-land, considerably elevated; and it has a fine palace, but few other edifices worthy of notice. The country around abounds in corn. Terra Nova contains about 9000 inhabitants, who chiefly subsist by trading in sulphur, corn, wine, and by making some coarse cloth.

The whole coast to Cape Scalambra is within a reef of rocks, always an object of peculiar dread to the ancients, and, notwithstanding all the improvements made in navigation, the cause of the loss of many ships. It is not safe to approach nearer the shore than a depth of water of fourteen fathoms, nor, with a westerly wind, quite so near as that depth. The eastern side of Cape Scalambra has a small port for vessels of an easy draught of water, where carraia beans, charcoal, wood, and some other articles, are shipped. From Cape Scalambra the distance to Point Spina is eight miles; at the latter place the coast is foul and rocky; but at three leagues farther is the town of Pozzallo, which is the chief shipping place for the produce of the district. The next point is Cape Passaro, which terminates the southern side of the island. It is the most southern land of Sicily, being in east longitude 15° 8' 56" and in north latitude 36° 41' 30". Near to it the water of the limpid stream of Busaidone irrigates the land of Spaccaforno, a walled town three miles from the shore. It has 8000 inhabitants, with numerous churches, convents, and public buildings. The trade is chiefly with Malta, to which it exports grain, flax, carrubas, acorns, soda, and live cattle.

The western shore of Sicily, which extends from Cape St Vito to Cape Granitola, will require but a short description. Proceeding from the first of those capes in a southern course, we come to Point Emilia, opposite to which is the dangerous shoal of that name, on which there is only two fathoms of water, whilst everywhere around it there are from six to ten fathoms. On Mount St Julian, at an elevation of 2175 feet, once stood the famous temple of Venus Erycina, one of the most magnificent and most sensual of all the heathen establishments, only a few vestiges of which now remain. The town of that name near it contains about 8000 inhabitants. At the distance of four miles from this is the city of Trapani, which may be approached with safety by vessels of from 200 to 300 tons; though, as the ground is much broken, and there are many counter-currents, great care is required on the part of the pilot.

Trapani is a fortified city occupying the site of the ancient Drepanum, is surrounded by a wall with bastions and ravelins, and contains about 25,000 inhabitants, amongst whom are some of the best artists, artificers, and sailors of the island. It is a place of much enterprise and industry. The streets are regular and commodious; the cathedral and semitorial palace are fine edifices; and there are many convents, two hospitals, and forty churches. From Trapani southward to Cape Boëo and Marsala, a distance of ten miles, the coast is altogether low, irregular, and varied by numerous islets resting upon a base of shoal and rocky ground, which in some parts extends two miles from the shore. The country on the main island is laid out in extensive salt-works, by the construction of causeways about a foot and a half high, enclosing square places which communicate by dams with each other. The salt is heaped in a pyramidal form, at a distance resembling tents, and when quite dry is exported, chiefly to Marseilles. The space beyond, anciently known as the Field of Hercules, produces abundance of sweet wine, as well as of corn, oil, and barilla.

Above Cape Boëo, in a healthy situation, stands the city of Marsala, the ancient Lilybeum, once the capital of the Carthaginians in Sicily. This place is moderately well built, and surrounded by a wall; the inhabitants at present amount to about 21,000, and produce much wine, fruit, and barilla. Near to it there is a great establishment for shipping the wine made at Marsala to England, where it is well known by the name of this city. The ground on the beach is all shoal and foul, and large ships must anchor at nearly two miles from the mole, which has been constructed near the English wine stores.

About nine miles from Cape Boëo is Point Feto, one league from which is the city of Mazzara, the ancient Mazum. It contains 8000 inhabitants, and, though so small, has a respectable appearance from the sea, the domes rising above the houses. It is surrounded with a Saracenic wall; but the streets are narrow, ill paved, and dirty. It is, however, a place of some considerable trade, exporting largely grain, pulse, cotton, wine, fish, fruit, barilla, madder roots, oil, and soap. The entrance of the river Salemi forms the little haven of Mazzara, and is convenient for small craft; but larger vessels are obliged to lie at a very exposed anchorage without, in from eight to twelve fathoms water, where the holding ground is a stiff clay. This place is about six miles distant from Cape Granitola, where terminates the survey that has been taken of the shores of Sicily. Connected with the survey there is an atmospheric phenomenon which deserves notice. It occurs principally on the southern coast of Sicily, but exhibits its greatest force in the neighbourhood of Mazzara. It commonly bears the name of marobia, and is thus described by Captain Smyth.

"Its approach is announced by a stillness in the atmosphere and a lurid sky, when suddenly the water rises nearly two feet above its natural level, and rushes into the creeks with amazing rapidity, but in a few minutes recedes again with equal velocity, disturbing the mud, tearing up the sea-weed, and occasioning a noisome effluvia. During its continuance the fish float quite helpless on the turbid surface, and are easily taken. The rapid changes generally continue from thirty minutes to two hours, and are succeeded by a breeze from the southward, which quickly increases to heavy gusts."

From the vast extent of sea coast appertaining to the two divisions of the kingdom of Naples, the fishery has been at all times one of the chief sources of occupation to the inhabitants, and, next to agriculture, employs the greatest proportion of labour. The principal branch of the fishery is that for the tunny, or scomer-thymus, which is carried on by a kind of joint-stock company, in which the population of many towns and villages are engaged. This fish was, according to Oppian, in the highest estimation with the Greeks, the Carthaginians, and the Romans, who made from it the sauce called garum. This fish is gregarious, and shoals of them enter the Mediterranean early in the year, with an extended base for the tides to act upon, as they swim broad and deep, in a conical form. In the progress of the shoal to the eastward it inclines over towards the European coasts, and is caught in great abundance in May, June, and July. The average length of the tunny is from four to eight feet, and the girth is nearly the same; yet there are many of still greater size, and the females are always the largest.

The manner of taking them is similar to that which was practised by the ancients. Large nets are spread out in the shape of a parallelogram, about fifteen hundred feet in length, three hundred in width, and from forty to a hundred in depth, divided into four quadrilateral spaces called rooms, having channels of communication with each other. These nets are moved east and west at about a mile distant from the shore, across the known route of the fish, with each of the spaces at right angles, and secured vertically by a number of anchors and stones at the bottom, whilst the upper edge of the net is floated by large logs of the cork tree and other light wood. The whole is then connected with the shore by a stout single net of very large meshes, called the wall, that arrests the progress of the tunny, and induces them to enter the outer room, which is thereupon raised a little and closed by the boatmen on the look-out. The fish, alarmed, and seeking to escape, swim from side to side, and thus enter the next room, when their retreat is again prevented, and thus finally they enter the fatal part, called corpo, or chamber of death, where the meshes are smaller and stronger, and made of rope of superior quality to the rest of the net. When in this way the chamber is filled, which sometimes occupies two or three days, large flat-bottomed boats, peculiarly constructed for the purpose, assisted by many smaller ones, close round, and, weighing the net, secure the prey with harpoons, and another species of sharp hook on a wooden staff, that is struck into the head to prevent the fish from foundering. In the management of this weapon the fishermen display great dexterity. Although the size and shape of this fish have rather a disgustingly coarse appearance, the flesh is agreeable to the taste, and it is esteemed very nutritious food. There are often many other fishes taken with the tunnies, all of which, except the sword-fish and the palamita, belong to the labourers as a perquisite beyond their wages.

The sword-fish passes by the shores of Sicily, in its route to the Archipelago and the Black Sea, about the time of the vernal equinox, and is often taken in the tunny nets; but in the Straits of Messina there is a particular fishery for them, in which much activity is displayed. This fish is taken by the harpoon, in a manner similar to that practised in the whale-fishery. When the fish is struck it immediately dives, and the long coil of rope fastened to the harpoon is suffered to run out till the animal becomes faint; but it is sometimes so vigorous as to oblige the fishermen to cut it adrift, lest it should draw the boat under water. The length of this fish is from seven to thirteen feet, exclusive of a sword projecting from the snout, about three feet long and three or four inches broad. The weight varies from eighty pounds to upwards of two hundred and fifty pounds. Notwithstanding this magnitude, the flesh is esteemed very delicate food, and, when broiled in slices, resembles veal.

The anchovy fishery is chiefly carried on for the sake of foreign trade. That fish is taken in shallow water during the months of March, April, and May, by means of nets ten or twelve feet wide, and very long. The curing of them occupies about a month. The fish are first thrown into brine, to give the salters time to nip off their heads with the finger and thumb, and pack them regularly, with alternate layers of salt, in the barrels designed for their exportation, which generally contain about two hundred pounds each. When the cask is filled, a round board, somewhat smaller than the head-piece, is placed over the whole, and loaded with stones, by which the contents are sufficiently compressed in a few days to allow of the casks being properly coopered up for exportation.

Besides these large objects of the fishery, the coast swarms with mullets, the roes of which are converted into a sauce called bodarca, which is in much request. A great variety of testaceous and crustaceous fish, amongst which are prawns of gigantic size, is taken along the whole shore. Coral is also fished for in many places, but yields the greatest profit to the seamen and merchants of Trapani, on the western coast of the island.

The importance of the fishery in a country where the number of days in which the inhabitants are precluded from animal food is so great as in Italy, has induced us to give a more extended notice of that subject, and the shores on which it is conducted, than would have been appropriate under other circumstances.

We turn now to that branch of industry, the cultivation of the soil, which in every country is the chief occupation of the people, and at the same time the principal means of their subsistence. In this work, under the head of Lombardy, the agriculture of that country is minutely described; and the observations there communicated are in a great degree applicable to the kingdom of Naples. The difference of climate in countries removed from each other by six to eight degrees of latitude, will necessarily cause some difference in their productions and in the modes of obtaining them.

Both on the continent and in the island of Sicily much silk is procured, but very little beyond what is required for domestic consumption. But the same diligence and skill is not applied as in Lombardy and Piedmont to the increase of mulberry-trees. Oil is the chief article of the agricultural kind which is exported. The olive-trees are abundant in all the provinces, with the exception of the Abruzzi, Molise, and Basilicata, and the mountainous parts of Calabria. In the provinces of Bari and of Otranto nearly two thirds of the land are covered with olive-trees; but in these places the quantity is more thought of than the quality, and the oil will scarcely keep more than one year.

It is the substitute for the butter made in the more northern parts of Italy, and enters largely into all the edible preparations of the inhabitants. A large portion of the oil is converted into soap, and it is generally used in lamps to supply the place of candles. The quantity of oil exported has of late years been, on an average, 36,800 tons, valued at L762,900; that exported to Great Britain is estimated at 4500 tons, valued at L90,000.

There is much wine grown, but of bad quality, and not capable of being kept more than the year in which it is made; but some of tolerable quality and flavour, and of durable strength, is made in Sicily, and finds a good vent in England, to which market about 300,000 gallons are annually exported. Cotton-wool is grown in the provinces of Bari, Otranto, and Basilicata, on the continent, and upon a small scale in several parts of Sicily. The annual growth is about 80,000 bales; but this quantity is insufficient for the home consumption, and a supply of cotton yarn and of cotton goods from England is required to the yearly amount of about L375,000. Flax and hemp are grown, as likewise tobacco, saffron, liquorice, almonds, figs, raisins, currants, dates, oranges, lemons, capers, manna, and a variety of other precious fruits. In most years this kingdom grows rather more corn than is required for its own consumption. This consists chiefly of maize, upon which the poorer classes principally subsist. Wheat, when sown, is generally a beneficial crop, though occasionally subject to blight, and to other accidents of the weather. In some of the marshy portions of the country rice is cultivated with success, in spite of its ill effects on the health of the inhabitants. In the best cultivated districts, the pasture-land is inconsiderable, and the stall-feeding of cattle is generally practised. There are, however, in the mountains, some extensive plains, affording excellent pasture for sheep. The whole number of sheep in the kingdom is estimated at 2,500,000, about one half of which are migratory, being kept on the mountains in summer, and in the valleys in winter. The wool varies in quality, but is in general good, and some portion of it is exported. The cows are of a race brought from Hungary. The oxen are commonly used to plough the land, and to draw waggons or carts. In the warm and marshy parts of Terra di Lavoro and Puglia are reared some buffaloes, which serve as beasts of draft, and whose milk is converted into a kind of cheese called prosciutto. Horses are said to degenerate fast in Naples. Numerous mules are reared, especially in the provinces of Otranto and Abruzzo, whence those appropriated to the use of the nobility in their carriages are mostly brought.

The condition of society, and the tenures of land, contribute much to the depression of agriculture, and, through it, of every other description of industry. The soil is owned in very large portions, either by the king, by the religious houses, or by the higher nobility. The peasants who cultivate the land are commonly metayers, dividing equally with the lord the annual produce; but in many cases where the soil is peculiarly fertile, the peasant has but one third of the harvest for his share. Under the government of the Napoleonic family, some of the church-lands were sold to speculators; but the change of proprietors has caused no alteration in the condition of the occupiers, or in the course of husbandry. As the climate of Sicily is somewhat warmer than that of the continental part of the kingdom, there is some variation in the practice of husbandry, as well as in its productions. The wheat of Sicily, which in ancient times contributed greatly to the subsistence of Rome, is not now extensively cultivated, because the peasants find it much more profitable to grow hemp and flax. A very large portion of the cultivated land is under fallow, which, from the scarcity of manure, is adopted, and forms an imperfect substitute, for that material. With the negligent culture of Sicily, the corn exported, chiefly wheat,