rose towering above the whole. Many miles above what I should suppose to be the habitable region, I could distinguish the white walls of a monastery, surrounded by a sea of black sand. This great black plain or desert was one of the strangest spectacles I ever saw. Here and there a lonely house could be seen, with a few dwarf willows and cherry trees scattered about, but no other appearance of life except little dots of asses moving slowly along the surface of this barren and forlorn expanse. I should have remained much longer gazing at the grand prospect which spread around me on all sides, but my guide, who had probably been on the same spot hundreds of times before, was tired of remaining here, and told me it was time to continue our journey up the mountain. A little flurry of snow came on just at this moment, which hastened our departure. We ran down the hill at a rapid pace, tumbling over and over in the loose earth; mounting our beasts at Nicolosi, we jogged on up the mountain. For some miles the country was nothing but lava and black sand; but at length we came to thick woods, through which the road ran for eight or ten miles. It began to grow dark, and I was glad to see something that looked like a house at a distance. When we reached it, however, we found it to be nothing more than a rude hut of lava stones, built for the shelter of travellers. We were obliged to take up our quarters here for the night, though all the accommodations the house contained were a clumsy fireplace and some heaps of dry leaves for our beds. The air was very chilly, and the wind blew in violent squalls, so that we were glad to meet with even so poor a shelter as this. We kindled a large fire and sat down to supper, after which, till bedtime, I amused myself by conversing with my guide. He was very communicative, and seemed highly pleased at the interest which I manifested in my inquiries respecting his personal history. He belonged to Linguagrossa, a little village situated far up the mountain. The inhabitants live by making charcoal, which they carry on asses to Nicolosi and other villages on the lower part of the mountain, for sale. I asked him how much he earned when he was in the charcoal trade. He replied that his average earnings were from three to four cents a day; a sum which I found to be enough for a man’s support, as people live in this country.