We now pass over to _Sicily_. The pastoral life of the Sicilians was marked by peculiar characters as well as that of the Arcadians. The bucolic poems of Theocritus represent many of its circumstances in the most lively colors; and, while their dramatic spirit and vivacity are unrivalled, they seem to be most exact copies of nature, the dialogues which they contain being in the style, the language, and the precise dialect of the Sicilian shepherds, and indeed only differing from their real conversation by being composed in hexameters. It is to be observed, that the mountains and pastures of Sicily were browsed by goats and oxen as well as by sheep. These animals were, however, under distinct keepers, called respectively Shepherds, Goatherds, and Herdsmen. But the tastes, manner of life, and the superstitions of these three classes of rustics appear to have been undistinguishable. They were probably not always independent proprietors of the soil, but in many cases the servants of a landed aristocracy who lived in _Syracuse_ and other splendid cities. They appear, however, to have enjoyed far greater comforts and advantages than the corresponding class of hired laborers in the countries to the north of the Peloponnesus and of Attica. In composing pastoral verses and in playing on the pipe and the syrinx they probably equalled the Arcadians. Whilst they were watching their flocks and herds, it was a frequent amusement with them for two persons to contend for a stipulated prize, such as a goat, a carved wooden bowl, or a syrinx, which was to be awarded by an appointed judge to him who most excelled either in instrumental music, or in singing alternate and extemporaneous verses[313]. [313] According to the learned German traveller, Baron Riedesel, the custom was not extinct in his time; for in his Travels through Sicily, page 148 of Forster’s English translation, he says, “The shepherds still sing with emulation to gain the crook or the purse, which is the prize of the best performer.” Nevertheless, the modern can be only a very faint imitation of the ancient practice; for thus the same author speaks in other passages: “Here I had an opportunity of pitying the wretched situation of modern Sicily in comparison with what it was in former ages. Many towns and different nations are destroyed; immense riches are dissipated; the whole island can at present scarce show 1,200,000 inhabitants, _the number which Syracuse alone formerly had_. Many beautiful spots, which used to produce corn and fruits, are now deserted for want of laborers; many spacious ports are without any ships for want of trade; and many people want bread, _whilst the nobility and the monks_ are in possession of all the lands.” p. 112, 113.