This aperture is continually widening, and will soon again become a monstrous fiery gulph. I heard several explosions below, which were accompanied by flashes of fire, which, darting from side to side, in the direction of the chasm, came up like so many immense flashes of forked lightning.
We began the ascent before sun-set; and our attention was so well engaged, that it was near day-light before we returned to Naples.
The Princess Belmonté has renewed her civilities; and the Nobile have sent us tickets for their musical Conversazione.
After a pleasant passage of scarce forty hours, at day-break on the 26th ult. we found ourselves in sight of Palermo. Nothing can be more picturesque than this bay. It forms a large amphitheatre, with the Capital of Sicily in the center, surrounded, for some miles, by a most beautiful country, interspersed with villas, and inclosed by romantic rocks and mountains. A calm, which lasted several hours, gave us an opportunity of admiring this beautiful scene at our leisure; and in the afternoon we anchored in the mole.
The town was formerly surrounded by a strong wall, but the fortifications are now entirely neglected, except towards the sea, where there are still a few weak works.
Prince Caramanico, the Viceroy, was lately Ambassador at London. We paid our respects to him the morning after our arrival, and he gave us a state dinner the next day. But we have seen nothing of him since.
Our stay here is rendered remarkable by the sudden death of Prince Palagonia.
Whilst other men endeavoured to reach the Temple of Fame, by making art equal nature in her most captivating forms, this Prince struck out a new road, by producing such monsters as nature, however perverted, could never have brought forth. With him, whoever designed the most ridiculous and unnatural object, became the greatest artist. He had a number of sculptors and stone-cutters constantly employed for upwards of thirty years, and their productions amount to near a thousand pieces. But notwithstanding the great encouragement he gave, and the ample field he held out, very few of his statues display either genius, execution, or invention. Some of them, indeed, are as extravagant as he could wish, but even these are extravagant without humour, from the total want of connection in the members. We sometimes laugh at a body a little deformed, because the parts that compose it may be set in a ridiculous point of view; but where they are totally heterogeneous, and unconnected, we may be surprised, but cannot be pleased. The principal pieces are birds and beasts with human heads, and men with the heads of beasts.