Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-09-01

HrsH sot' seo
From Jack Winston to Lord Lane (Con-
tinued).
thought then that never was such a Gay
in the memory of man: but several Gays
have come and gone since-also with her'
and a mans opinion changes. / know that
in the society of no one else would there
have lowered such glamor over the ruins
OF Greek glory. Five noble temples they
are, my Monte, of which two are almost
perfect; the others pathetic relics of past
grandeur with their heaped. fallen COL
umns There they stand-or lie prone, with
here and there a majestic pillar pointing
skyward-in a stately row between the bril-
liant blue sea and the billowng nower-
starred plain the one side, the hills ana
the grim city, like crows nest, on the
other Their sandstone columns hold oys-
ter and scallop shells from prehistoric
ages, while here and there broken vein
of coralline stains the dun surface as II
with blood Below the towering temples
green as they CULVER in the warm
breeze, and on this day OF ours a
myriad budding almond blossoms were
breaking at their massive feet in rosy foam
All the ground was carpeted with yellow
daisies pimpernel and iris blue-gray as my
ladys eyes Together we pictured process
sions of men and maidens. "hte-roneu'
bearing urns and waving gariandS OF roSes'
chanting paeans in a slow ascent of the am
ber-hued temple steps. We also were In d
mood to sing praises as we drove pack 10
the friendly hotel in Its high eyrie OF gardsh.
In the afternoon. | am sorry to say, we
went up into the town--it is a bleak ana
grueSome memory; and next day We had
hundred and twenty miles drive to Catanla,
our faces turned toward Etna, the queen OF
Sicily, which had not yet seen. but
longed to see. In view of the awful roads
We were likely to encounter l had asked
the ladies if they would mind starting at Z.
They were ready the minute, ana L
think they were repaid by the beauty. OF
the newly walked morning bathed IN dla-
mond dew and pearly with sunrise
Again drove through strange country,
sterile save for the crowding prlckIy pears
with their leerng green faces, tangled gar
lands of pink, wild geranum and blaze
of peoples spreading over the meadow land
like a running flame. We penetrated the
heart of Sicily, wound through her undu-
lating valleys and were frowned on by her
ruined robber castles; but the towns were
discouragingly squalid for much or our
way led through the sulphur-mlne district.
The true interest of that day came when
from afar off We deserted twin mountains,
each bearing huddled town on Its summit
Ny midnight studies warned me that they
were Castrogiovanni and CalasclDetta, ana
had suggested to Miss Randolph on start
ing that even at the risk of having to drive
to Catania in the dark We should not miss
n
had bought Douglas Sladen's book, In
Sicily" and Miss Lorimers travel romance,
by the Waters of Sicily, so that she was
already fired at the name of CastrogloVannl
and needed no persuasion from me TO turn
aside to scale the ancient rock fortress that
marks the very center of Sicily. am pref
ty sure that never before has a motor car
climbed that winding road, and think the
whole population turned out and ran at our
heels as we drove slowly through the SOM
Der, wind-swept, eagle-eyrie of town;
As it happened, the day was overcast ana
scudding clouds drifted coldly across the
mountain top showing us the reason for
the great blue hoods that the men wear
over their heads, their Saracenc faces peer
ing out as from a cave. we ailghted IN the
market place and leaned on the balustrade
to see the tremendous vicw-aN Sicily
spread out below us. cleaning with opaIne
lights and shadows. hundreds OF people
clustered curiously around and watched
with dark, lustrous eyes, as II we had been
beings from another world. We tried to
ignore all these silent watchers, who, Aunt
MARI said, gave her "a creepy feeling in
her spine" and gaZed out over the tumpIeo
mountains of Sicily.
Suddenly shaft of sunlight broke
through the clouds and descended tt
earth like a golden ladder. 1t was
the signal for transformation scene. The
white msts coiling round us disappeared;
the clouds foated away before breath OF
balmy wind and the landscape lay bright
and clear at our feet. Then oh; What is
that exclaimed Miss Randolph. l fol
lowed the glance of her eyes, and far away
there great white floating cone OF
pearl soaring up into the sky. Yes, 1t was
Etnai
At Castrogiovanni there is no inn where
lady stay, so when we had seen the
view there was nothing more to keep us
l had stopped the motor when we left the
car, and every one crowded eagerly round
us the ladies mounted to their places
Their amazement when they saw me star
the motor with one turn of the handle was
m
up from the crowd; and when, with warn
ing blast on the horn, l drove SLOWLY
through their parting ranks, circled rounS
In the market place, jus; avoiding pro
cessiOn of masked Mise~icordia, and put
ting on speed passed swiftly through tn
streets. with great shout every one start
ed to run after the car. We distanced then
easily (AIiss Randolph imprudently show
ering penuies). and ran at a fair pac
down the winding road that led to the val
ley. Looking up. we could see the terrace
and every wi dow of the houses alive wit
wondering heads. c. ;trogiovanni will re
member for many a day the visit OF tn
first motor car to its historic heights.
Catania is | think. memorable to Mis-
Randolph merely because she bought Their
at a tiny but famous shop incredible guam
titles of curious : Gillian amber streake
green with sulphur, absolutely unique. an
valued as iuck bringer. She says tina
she has "pocket-piece" for each one Q
her most intimate friends in New York
Judging by tie provision made the nam
of these intimates must be legion. Apar
from her opinion. however / humby ven
ture to think that Catania has its points,
only people stopped long enough to Sc
them, which they don't, Catania being tn
Basic of Scily-the place OF departure TO
somewhere else In our case the some
where else was Syracuse.
Now the Goddess mad been looking fol-
ward to Siracusa: I'm not sure that sh
was not by way of regarding her whole pa.
as working slowly up to a sight of tina
place, since she had come to think of 1
She had made up her royal mind to sto
there some time dreaming in the quarrie
where the seven thousand Greeks lar
guished In captivity while the Siracusa