the scoriae, the ruins and the desolation round the crater with the scene
below! There we see the rich field covered with flax, or maize, or
millet, and intersected by rows of trees which support the green and
graceful festoons of the vine; the orange and lemon tree covered with
golden fruit appear in the sheltered glens; the olive trees cover the
lower hills; islands purple in the beams of the setting sun are scattered
over the sea in the west, and the sky is tinted with red softening into
the brightest and purest azure; the distant mountains still retain a part
of the snows of winter, but they are rapidly melting and they absolutely
seem to melt reflecting the beams of the setting sun, glowing as if on
fire. And man appears emulous of Nature, for the city below is full of
activity; the nearest part of the bay is covered with boats, busy
multitudes crowd the strand, and at the same time may be seen a number of
the arts belonging to civilised society in operation--house-building,
ship-building, rope-making, the manipulations of the smith and of the
agriculturist, and not only the useful arts, but even the amusements and
luxuries of a great metropolis may be witnessed from the spot in which we
stand; that motley crowd is collected round a policinello, and those
smaller groups that surround the stalls are employed in enjoying the
favourite food and drink of the lazzaroni.

_Ambrosio_.--We see not only the power and activity of man, as existing
at present, and of which the highest example may be represented by the
steam-boat which is now departing for Palermo, but we may likewise view
scenes which carry us into the very bosom of antiquity, and, as it were,
make us live with the generations of past ages. Those small square
buildings, scarcely visible in the distance, are the tombs of
distinguished men amongst the early Greek colonists of the country; and
those rows of houses, without roofs, which appear as if newly erecting,
constitute a Roman town restored from its ashes, that remained for