Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-08-31

From Jack Winston to Lord Lane.
TAORMINA, Sicily, January 26.
My dear Monte:
we are at Taormina! When l say that,
1 want you to realize that we have arrived
at the Most Beautiful Place in the world.
Nothing less than capital letters can ex-
press it. We have had six glorious days in
Sicily, and it is fit that these wild ramblings
of mine with the Goddess should end here
amidst such scenes of loneliness that even
more exquisite. For end these ramblings
must; to be continued, as l hope (but dare
not expecD, in a life-journey in which. l
may wear my own name shared then by
her. 1t is through my dear kind, little
matchmaking mother that I trust this
may be brought about; for my pluck fails
me when 1 think of confessing my impos-
ture to the Goddess.
1 told you in my letter from Rome that
at the hotel there l found forwarded let
ter from the mater, saying that on account
of the continued rain and cold she and the
leave Rome suddenly and go to Naples.
sunshine. She added that She had
heard anything for weeks. from which it is
clear that at least three letters have some
how miscarried doubtless owing to her
constant change of address and the care
leSsneSs of hotel people in forwarding. The
worst of it is that 1 haven't been able to
reassure her mind. as she gave me no new
address, but merely said that when she was
settled she would wire. OF course. l gave
the hall porter at the Grand the most ex-
plicit directions as to where was to be
found and tipped him we'll The result is
that on my arrival here in Taormina l
found telegram (sent on from Romeo TO
say that my mother and the Barrows will
arrive here tomorrow to stay week with
Sir Evelyn Haines, an old friend of the
matters, who has. 1 believe, bought de-
serted monastery and turned 1t into fine
fLan y,,nt hnr vxyi1 hn
here; shall tell her everything. throw my
self on her mercy, and get her to make
peace for me with the Goddess. That, at
least. is my present plan. But who can
tell how events may upset it?
Well, as you don't know italy south Of
Naples, perhaps you'd like to hear some
thing of our Sicilian adventures. Of ad-
ventures, in the strict sense, we have had
less here than in other places. If hadn
been certain that the country was quite
safe as far as brigandage is concerned,
should not have been such fool as to
bring two ladies through it in motor car.
But eve have had, as l said, six glorious
days. and the Goddess and l are agreed
that in many ways Sicily is the best thing
we have done on our whole long tour.
We landed at Palermo after night pas
sage in a comfortable boat from Naples
leaving one world-famous bay to enter an
other scarcely less beautiful Rarely have
l seen anything finer than Palermo and
the group CT mountains round 1t as We
steamed in at sunrise on a white and gold
morning The ship goes alongside the
quay, so there was no difficulty at all about
landing the car. 1t was slung, and gently
deposited on shore by the ships crane, and
we drove off on it at once to the Villa
Igiea. Everything was new to me in Sicily,
and l confess that the 1giea was sur
prise. One has heard that Sicily is hun
dred years behind the times, and that in
accommodation the island is deficient. That
cannot be said any longer. The Igiea is
perfect. Miss Randolph reluctantly ad-
mitted that there is nothing better in
America. In situation the house is unique,
lying under the tall, pink Monte Pellegrino.
1t was built by the Sicilian millionaire
Florio for a sanitorium, but never SO used
1t is long building of honey-coored stone,
standing in an exquisite terraced garden
that stretches along the sea- and actually
Overhangs it-charmingly irregular garden,
with many unexpected hooks, and sweet
smelling flowers, palms, and all kinds of
subtropical plants fountains playing in
marble basins, and a huge, half-covered
balcony where every one except insignifi-
cant chauffeurs assemblies for tea. Alto
gether a gay and delightful place. and it is
having the effect of bringing to the island
a stream of rich and luxury-loving travel
ers.
From afar I saw Miss Randolph
and Aunt Mary breakfasting on the
big balcony, balcony; "a and d. they could not not
at 10 o'clock l had orders to be at the no.
tel door with the Napier. ] knew no more
of Sicily than they did, but it is my meter
to keep up the reputation of walking en-
cyclopaedia; therefore, in the small watches
of the night while the Goddess and her
aunt slept the sleep of the just, l had porej
over guide books and fat little volumes
of Sicilian history What wasn't prepared
to tell them that heavenly morning about
Ulysses. Polyphemus, the omnipotent Roger
and other persons of local interest, to say
nothing of the right buildings to be visited,
was not worth telling.
We ran along the shore, past harbors
and basins where strangely shaped boats
lay at anchor on a smooth, blue sea, with
an elusive background of Shimmering
snowclad mountains; and in street, like a
moving picture gallery, we made the ac
quaintance of those painted carts which
are Indigenous to the island. Quantity ru-
dimen.ary as carts, these extraordinary We
hicles are remarkable as works of art, and
the Goddess did exactly what / expected Of
her-wanted to buy one. With her usual
quick discrimination, she picked out a fine
specn en-. the wheels, shafts and under
work a mass of elaborate wood-carving
richly colored the boldly painted panels
representing a victory of Rogers attended
with great slaughter. The little horse was
jingling with bells. and almost overweight
ed with his towering scarlet phmes.
II must have that" exclaimed my i'm.
pulsive angel. please stop the car, Brown,
and ask the man how much he will sell it
for, just as it stands-harness and all, but
not the horse"
The much-endurlng Brown stopped, ran
back hailed the owner of the cart, who
was accompanied by a dove-eyed wife and
seven Saracenic children all piled in any
how on top of each other like parcels.
Never, probably, was man more surprised
than by the question hurled at him, but
Sicilians retain too deep a strain of the
oriental to show that they are fustered. He
said in a strange patois that his cart was
the pride and JOY of the household; that it
had been decorated by the one man in
Sicily who had inherited the true art OF
historical cart painting; that 1t was one Of
the best on the island, and he had ex-
pected it to remain an ornament to his fam
lily unto the third and fourth generations,
but that he would part with 1t for the sum
of one thousand Ira. l beat him down
until with tears in his magnificent eyes,
he consented to accept two-thirds, which
really was more than the cart was worth,
or than he had expected to get when he
began to bargain. The cart was Miss Ran
dolph's, and later that day arranged about
having 1t taken to pieces, boxed and sent
to New York. She was delighted with her
purchase, and in such a radiant mood that
She thought everything and every one she
saw perfect, from the men milking goats
to the dramatically talented garden of the
beautiful old red-domed San Giovanni degli
Eremiti, once mosque.
The German emperor Is rather a hero of
hers. and when We left the car In the