Year: 1878

source of profit. Her regard for mi


was merely due to the fact that I hai


prevented some of our rough work


men, who insisted that she was &


witch aud had the evil eye, from fling


ing her body and bones, into the win


try torrent that rushed roaring pas'
our huts, and ever since that day she
had been patronizingly polite to II
Captain as she called me.


Mine was not, as sub inspector, a
very desirable position. The inspec.
tor, save on pay day, did not often
show himself, and when he did visit
the scene of his nominal duties, would
have been powerless to enforce any
sort of discipline among our black
sheep but for me. BY the combined
effect of coaxing, good humored ban
ter, and the occasional argument of a
knock down blow, contrived to es-
tablish some ascendency over the wild
spirits around me, and was rather
popular than Otherwise, although at
first my orders had been met with
scowling glances and finger OF knives.
The work to be done was none of the
pleasantest. The crude sulphur, sell
dom quite cold, and often quite hot,
had to be raked with hoes and iron
hooks from the brink of some of the
numerous small craters on the crest OF
the volcano. in the midst of poison
Gus fumes and eddying clouds OF
smoke, showers of red hot ashes, and
even of stone.


| It was necessary to convey the sui
phur, when a sufficient quantity had
been gathered, to the plains, along
tracts only fit for the goat or hill fox,
by the aid of rude hand barrows or
sledges constructed of boughs, through
| dense forests and over broken and
jagged rocks.


Our huts were mere booths, hastily
built of logs and branches, and i'll ft-
ted to keep out the weather, the suow,
hail and wind, which lsshed the bleak
heights of Etna when the lower coun-
try seems still to bask in it's golden
shine. The pay of the workmen was
small, enough to provide them with
black bread, garlic and chestnuts, with
perhaps Sunday repast of stockfish
or cells, on which the poor of the far
South contrive to exist. Frugal as
were their meals. however, coarse
wine aud coarser spirits were some-
how afforded by them, and, as have
said, Of gambling for grant, or per-
haps for a pannikin finery 'arguardi-
ente,' there was no stint.


had been made somewhat uncom-
Portable by the half enigmatical words
of Assunta's warning. The part of
the mountain on which we were en-
camped was clothed with thick forests
of chestnut and live oak, with here
and there a barren track of scoria,
spanned in places by what might have
been mistaken for a solid stone cause
way, the remains of some ancient lava
stream long cold. Here were many
small apertures, whence arose jets of
steam and puffs of smoke, and around
which hissed and simmered q crust of
sulphur, heaving, cracking and glow
ing of every color, from pale yellow
to ruby red. From these solfataras.
as they were locally called, we CLEAN
ed the chief portion of the mineral for
the sake of which we passed our time
in such elevated regions.


Now it was only for some four or
five days that the old charcoal burners
widow had taken to uttering her half
mystic predictions of coming evil, and
during that space I had myself observ-
ed signs of q greater activity than usu.
al in the volcano. The smoke was
blacker and more frequent. Kissing
columns of steam rose often into the
air, and were not unseldom followed
by volley of red hot stones. The
earth was in many places so warm as
to cause pain to the hand that touched
it, and in two instances the brushwood
near our camp caught fire from the
falling of heated ashes amid the parch-
ed grass, and the fire was with difficult
ty extinguished.


Without reposing unlimited faith in
Assunta's croaking, was still of the
opinion that we should do better to re-
move our temporary dwellings before
the mountain plateau grew literally
too hot to hold us, and accordingly 1
only awaited the inspectors arrival
with the monthly pay to mention to
my superior officer the condition of
affairs, and to obtain his permission
for change of quarters.


Pay day arrived, and with it the in
spector, but not alone. With him came
a party of travellers, most of whom
rode mules, while their guides, port
ers, servants and interpreter made up
quite an imposing cortege. None but
the wealthy can afford to bring with
them as much paraphernalia and 1
could easily believe the inspector that
the new corners were, as he said, H.
lustrissimi Englesi,' who had been es-
pecially recommended to his good Of
fees by the Governor of the province.
There were several ladies of the par
ty, which consisted, as 1 afterwards
learned, of more than one family, and
1 think it was the sight of their plum
ed hats and fluttering dress, and the
sound of their merry laughter that
made me hang back and keep aloof,
ashamed of my rough garb and wealth.
er beaten aspect, while my chief
nothing 10th, did the honors of the
sulphur mine, about which he practic
ally knew 80 little, descanting glibbly
to his fair listeners on the marvels o.