The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1912-01-25
CHAPTER xxTY.

be seen from the southern mainland
of Italy. Some of the. best citizens Of
Apalachicola were born there. 1t is the
Island of Sicily. Apparently the con-
tinent of Africa once joined Europe
by a peninsula of which the boot of
Italy was a part. Sicily lies between
the toe of the boot and the site of the
ancient Phenecian city afterward de-
stroyed by Rome. This beautiful and
wealthy island might be called the
cradle of western civilization. With
in sight of Mount Aetna longer than
anywhere else have existed a mayor,
city council, and policemen and a jail
Before Rome amounted to much, the
Greeks of Syracuse waged war on
equal terms with the Carthaginians.
The Greeks who started Syracuse
found it convenient to leave Corinth
on account of the overflow of popu
lation. 1t was overflow populatin
running into the Island of Orange
Groves as the overflow of the popu-
lation of Sicily in the nineteenth CEN
fury is responsible gor the presence in
Apala today of our Sicilian fell
/ low citizens. When Syracuse was
| three hundred years of age, AIcibiades,
with his fleet of one hundred and
! Athens-thirty-s six thousand soldiers.
| and sailors on Mountaineering the
| captured of Sicil and Italy and Africa.
| The fleet and army were virtually an
! initiated and seven thousand prison
ers were crowded in the open stone
| quarries as slaves. Many of these
! slaves bought their liberty by teach
1 ing their captors the verses of Euri-
| pides. Aristephanes play of the
| Birds" was aimed particularly at the
| foolishness of this expedition against
| Syracuse. Syracuse was the home of
| Archimedes.
/ The beginning of the first Punic war
| was the invasion of Sicily by the Ro-
mans in 264 B. C. Pyrrhus had fore
seer that Sicily was to be a battle
ground between Rome and Carthage,
| and a prophecy of his is recorded In
| the school histories. The ending of
| the first Punic war was the cession
| OF Sicily to Rome. Carthage was
| bankrupt and could not pay her mer-
| cenary soldiers. These mercenaries
| made war against Carthage to collect
! their debt just as Charlie McClay IN
| Apala chicola makes war on people
who don't pay him his grocery bills.
| These mercenaries in their effort to
| collect what was owed them created
| the Truceless War. You ought to
! read 'Salammbo'' by Gustave Falu-
| bert which gives an account of this
war and tells you of the love affair
between the Big Goth who led the
armies of the mercenaries, and "Sa-
lammbo," the sister of Hannibal. She
is g. priestess in the temple of Car
| tEage and goes out to the tent of the
| Big Goth, who, | think, was a former
| Incarnation of Rivers Buford. You
ought to read the chapter about how
| Rivers Buford, in his then incarna-
ton, kissed and Rugged this sweet
Phenician princess. There seems to
have been excellent kissing even in
tho Sc days, Terese. That book is one
of the 100 best books in the world.
Some of the most beautiful meme
cries of the world are perfumes from
the orange flowers Of Sicily and the
likeness of Mount Aetna is stamped
III gold in the mind of mankind like a
relief on the back of coin. No per-
son of even common school educa-
ton could stand with cool blood In
sight of Mount Aetna for the first
time. The smoke of this old volcano
floats forever in the sky of literature.
AS some young Greek from Corinth.
eight hundred years before Caesar
was stabbed in the capital, might
have stood in the late afternoon
gazing up the long slopes of Mount
Aetna, so a young Sicilian, Nicola
Sano, nineteen hundred years after
the regn Of Augustus, stood with me
in June in Tallahassee in the capitol
of Florida. We were on the first
landing of the stairs on the way up
to the senate hall and the hall Of the
house. Ten or twelve old ragged flags
dropped from their STATS in the sub
\ stantial case faced with glass. One
| of these flags was the flag of the Apa-
, lachicola company. One of them
have reason to believe was carried in
battle by my father. I showed them
, to Spano. Instantly he took off his
: hat and stood uncovered. His beauti-
full dark eyes were moist with tears
! and the pupils were wide with emo
ton. The half forgotten martial mem.
cries of the race of this young scion
of the Island of Oldtime War-mem-
cries of the battle flags OF PyrDhus
stiff with gold-the banners Of Hero
and Hanne, of Hamilca Barca and F'a-
bias, of nameless corsairs of the
Adriatic Sea, of sacred flags borne
, above the dreaming keels of Greece
before the Persian wars-these mem
{ cries lowered around us; and as VIC
stood there, out of space and out OF
time, thrilled with the passionate
echoes far-heard of olden conflicts
. the thunder of the cannon at Mission
airy Ridge mingling with the shouts
and clatter of steel at the battle OF
5 Cannae in Apulia-there, climbing ur
i the stairs his feet that marched with
the army of Lee now a little weary
venerable and ennobled by years oil
service in the courts Of justice and in
the business Of government Jun Flor
: ida and in the senate of the United
! States and as a member of the 18TH
milan Canal Commission, now, on g
, visit to the capitol, as Cincinnatus
from his farm by the Tiber in his ole
age climbed the steps Of the capito
in Rome there-with an aura of dig
nifty and honor about him, was
( Samuel Pasco.
Senator Pasco," I said. this i:
Nicola Spano. an American citizen