text:  Such mountains we had often seen before; such a sky is the usual privilege of Sicily; these indented _bays_ which break so beautifully the line of the coast had been an object of our daily admiration; the hoary side of the majestic Etna and Naxos with its castellated isthmus might be seen from _other_ elevated situations; and the acuminated tops of Mola with its Saracenic tower were commanded by neighbouring sites--Taormina _alone_ and for its _own_ sake was the great and paramount object in our eyes and possessed us wholly! We had been following _Lyell_ half the day in antediluvian remains; but what are the bones of _Ichthyosauri_ or _Megalotheria_ to this gigantic skeleton of Doric antiquity round which lie scattered the sepulchres of its ancient audiences Greek Roman and Oriental--tombs which had become already an object of speculation and been rifled for arms vases or gold rings before Great Britain had made the first steps beyond painted barbarism! The eruptions of Etna have all been recorded