Sepia

“ Rarely have I seen anything finer than Palermo and the group of mountains round it 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. It was slung, and gently deposited on shore by the ship's crane, and we drove off on it at once to the Villa Igiea. Everything was new to me in Sicily, and I confess that the Igiea was a surprise. One has heard that Sicily is a hundred years behind the times, and that in accommodation the island is deficient. ”

“ The evening was sunny and still, the air serene, and the sea calm, except around the rock of Scylla. The green Sicilian shore rose up, clearly and distinctly, from the azure ocean; and the sails of the Amphion, the Electra, the Glatton, the Pompey, and all our numerous war-ships which studded the Straits, shone white as snow in the sunbeams; while Sicilian gun-boats, slave-galleys, and xebecques dotted the sea between: the cloudless sky and the range of hills which terminates at the Faro, formed the background. ”

“ Big full-blooded Samoan chiefs smile and show their white teeth as they roll banana-leaf cigarettes between their dusky fingers. Across the flat lies Apia town with its one main street; beyond the inland plateaux rise, and far off you can see the moonlit waves breaking into patches like white moss on the level ocean plains.
By the copra and coco plantations are the emigrant settlements, where tired coolies, most of them Malay Indians, rest after their toil. Native women linger near them, for they are generous men those coolies, and give the velvet-skinned native girls sham jewellery. ”

“ And nowhere else in the island are the different types of the forefathers more numerous and distinct: here a distinctly Semitic type, with the swart face, black beard and piercing eyes of the Phœnicians; here a pure Greek face worthy of the sculptor; there a burnt-up son of the desert, and yonder a Roman beside a Gaul. Busy and prosperous they seem, for all their dirt and indifference to squalor and evil smells; and moreover, contented. Their fishing smacks bring in tons of herring which by euphemy go out of Cefalù in cans of oil as the best sardines. ”

“ After making the round of Savaii, the boat has to make back to Manono, and then can proceed inside the reef all the way to Apia, making stoppages at the many minor villages which stud the shore at intervals of every few miles.
These malaga by boat along the coast or from one island to another are much in favour with many of the white residents of Samoa, who find their life in Apia very monotonous. European ladies frequently accompany their husbands, and sometimes quite a large party is made up. ”

“ DESCRIPTION OF THE EAST INDIES AND COUNTRIES ON THE SEABORD OF THE INDIAN OCEAN IN 1514. [3] THE CAPE OF ST. SEBASTIAN AFTER PASSING THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE.
Having passed the Cape of Good Hope in a north-easterly direction, at Cape San Sebastian, there are very fair mountain lands, and fields, and valleys, in which there are many cows and sheep, and other wild animals; it is a country inhabited by people who are black and naked. ”

“ The main stream torms the natural highway of communication between the Atlantic seaboard and the Moluya, draining to the Mt'diterrancan, and in the fertile plains watered by the Sebu is situated Fez, the first city in the empire. Travellers following the coast route from Tangier to Mogador cross the Sebu by a ferryboat of primitive structure, which does not relieve them from the necessity of wading through the mud. The tides ascend a long way up the lower course of the Sebu. ”

“ From the top of the mountain one cobweb line of black crossed{381} another; two iron baskets passed each other on the aerial railway, one ascending empty, the other descending laden with shining salt.
“What a pleasure to see life, movement, activity after the desolation of Calabria and Messina!” Patsy exclaimed.
“Davvero! This should be a rich country; our people are hard working, frugal. We need only a little foreign capital to restore La Sicilia to her ancient greatness. Crispi [1] saw that—if we only had a few such men today!” ”

“ Near the principal settlement of the island of Sebu, there is a fine port for all manner of vessels. It has a good entrance and furnishes shelter at all times. It has a good bottom and is an excellent anchorage. There are also other ports and bars of less importance and consideration, as in all these islands, for smaller vessels.
This island of Sebu is an island of more than one hundred leguas in circumference. It has abundance of provisions, and gold mines and placers, and is inhabited by natives. ”

“ The new settlement was intended to become an important centre for the colonies of the Phenicians in the West. The situation was peculiarly fortunate. Where the north coast of Africa approaches Sicily most nearly, the mountain range which runs along this coast, and forms the edge of the table-land in the interior, sinks down in gentle declivities, which thus [Pg 270] form water-courses of considerable length, to a fertile hill country still covered with olive-gardens and orange-forests. ”

“ Saba, dear Cora, is the mightiest kingdom of Arabia; Saba is Arabia Felix, Cora. Saba is the sweet land where the balsam-trees grow and the precious spices are gathered: myrrh and frankincense and cinnamon. All the herbs and flowers, Cora, are scented in Saba; there is no herb and no flower that is not scented. Under the sky, which is transparent as empty blue space, the clouds of perfume waft up and rise to the feet of the gods, who always glance down smilingly upon my country, upon my happy country. The palm-tree is scented there and the calamus-reed is scented there ”

“ THE SUITORS OF AGARISTÉ.
Sicyon, the smallest country of the Peloponnesus, lay on the Gulf of Corinth, adjoining the isthmus which connects the peninsula with the rest of Greece. In this small country—as in many larger ones—the nobles held rule, the people were subjects. The rich and proud rulers dwelt on the hill slopes, the poor and humble people lived on the sea-shore and along the river Asopus. But in course of time many of the people became well off, through success in fisheries and commerce, to which their country was well adapted. ”

“ There is a strong position in the village, which they garrison in time of war. They go naked and barefooted, and the women wear small mantles, and are good looking—some of them beautiful. Further on is the district of Sopia, and between these two places there flows a river rich in gold, where the Spaniards have established some farms. The people of the last named district also go naked. The houses are like those of other Indians, and within them there are great sepulchres where they bury their dead. They have no idols nor house of worship that we saw. ”

“ I never stick too long to one ship; one gets narrow-minded and prejudiced. Besides, Sicily is one of my happy hunting-grounds. I know everybody there, and their ways just suit me. I spent many jolly weeks in the island, staying with friends up country. When I grew restless again I took advantage of a ship that was trading to Sardinia and Corsica; and very glad I was to feel the fresh breeze and the sea-spray in my face once more.’
‘But isn’t it very hot and stuffy, down in the—hold, I think you call it?’ asked the Water Rat.
The seafarer looked at him with the suspicion of a wink. ”

“ The tendency is marked in all primitive peoples—a large part of the Sicilians are still primitive—to tell an inquirer the thing they suppose he most wishes to know; and the Saracenic blood in the Sicilian has doubtless left him a certain heritage of poetic imagination and exaggeration for the most utter commonplaces of life. At any rate, this inclination is found throughout the island, and it does not, except to the flustered tourist-in-a-hurry, seem a peculiar drawback or fault. Indeed, it rather adds to the fascination of the people, who appear to fit perfectly into their environs. ”

“ Within the memory of man, the white people of Apia lay in the worst squalor of degradation. They are now unspeakably improved, both men and women. To-day they must be called a more than fairly respectable population, and a much more than fairly intelligent. ”

“ By consulting the map you see that the triangle—with an area of some ten thousand square miles—is not only in the center of the Mediterranean from East to West, but that it is also a great stepping-stone between Europe and Africa. In ancient days, when all the civilized world bordered the Mediterranean, the geographical position of Sicily gave the island an especial political character and importance. And naturally, while it remained the very center of the civilized world, it was a rich prize to be fought for by each Nation which rose to power. ”

“ At this juncture the tyranny of the French led to the ‘Sicilian Vespers.’ The people rose throughout Sicily while Charles of Anjou prepared to wreak vengeance upon them, collecting a large army and fleet. The Sicilians turned to the King of Aragon, whose wife was the heir to their King, for help in their sore need, and their appeal was not in vain. He was engaged in some successful operations on the coast of Barbary, with a large, well-appointed fleet, when the message reached him. Pedro did not hesitate. ”

“ It is a country inhabited by a poisonous insect, where people cannot breed cattle, excepting in the next neighbourhood of Shesheke, and he preferred those parts only to be nearer to our traders. But Sepopo was killed in 1876, and the people who came from the West coast and had great influence with the advisers and counsellors of the new king, recommended the new man not to deal with our traders, and since that time our trade has decreased. ”

“ Whatever future may be in store for Spezia as a military port, it has none as a commercial one, for though it affords excellent shelter to vessels, no railway connects it with the fertile countries beyond the Apennines, and its exports are limited to the produce of the valleys in its immediate vicinity. Spezia is indebted for its high rank amongst the cities of Italy to its beautiful gulf, the rival of the Bay of Naples and the roadstead of Palermo. ”

“ The conduct I have pursued towards these ships, circumstanced as they are, has been moderate, and truly considerate towards his Sicilian Majesty.
The time is now come—that, profiting of my forbearance, the Spanish ships are fitting for sea. It is not possible, if they persist in their preparations, that I can avoid attacking them, even in the port of Palermo; for they never can, or shall, be suffered to go to sea, and placed in a situation of assisting the French, against not only Great Britain, but also the Two Sicilies. ”

“ Bullfights, gorgeous ecclesiastic spectacles, and dancing—these are the recreations of rich and poor alike in Seville to-day. In this city of pleasure you will see the majo, the Andalusian dandy, as he struts up and down the Sierpes—the only busy street of shops—spruce, self-conscious, casting fervent glances at the señoras accompanied by their duennas. Go into the meaner alleys and market streets, and you will see the very vagrants that Murillo painted, tattered wastrels who address one another as Señor, and hold licences to beg. ”

“ The city of Cebu was the first seat of Spanish government, and remained the capital of the archipelago until Legaspi went to Luzon and set up his government in Manila. Cebu was made an open seaport by the Spanish, and although its exports are not large now, when the resources of this island are developed the city will become an important shipping center. There is a large Malay population in the island. There are no rivers or valleys; the land is broken up into small farms, and hemp is the principal crop. ”

“ Sicily served not only as a place for the exchange of exports for foreign products, the cloth of northern Italy and France and the spices and fabrics of the East, but also as a stage in the trade with the Orient by the great highway of the Straits of Messina or with Africa and Spain by way of Palermo and the ports of the western and southern coast. ”

“ VI
"You have spoken well, Davida," said Queen Sepeli. "This Fulualea has brought a madness with him, and Tui Tulifau is drowned in gin. If he does not grant the big council, I shall give him a beating. He is easy to beat when he is in drink."
She doubled up her fist, and such were her Amazonian proportions and the determination in her face that Grief knew the council would be called. So akin was the Fitu-Ivan tongue to the Samoan that he spoke it like a native.
"And you, Uiliami," he said, "have pointed out that the soldiers have demanded coin and refused the paper Fulualea has offered them. ”

“ I came to Uganda to see the king and queen, because the Arabs said they were always treated with great respect; but now I could perceive those Arabs did not know what true respect means. Being poor men, they thought much of a cow or goat given gratis, and were content to live in any hovels. Such, I must inform her, was not my case. I could neither sit in the sun nor live in a poor man's hut. When I rose to leave for breakfast, she requested me to stop, but I declined, and walked away. ”

“ Across the water, in Sicily, there is also a group of Albanian colonies. The impression made by these is more favourable in every way. In Sicily we have first Palermo itself, then five villages to the south of the city. The Albanians have a church at Palermo since 1547. Their colony here is not very great nor important in itself; but at Palermo is the seminary where the clergy are educated, and the seat of the ordaining Byzantine bishop for Sicily. ”

“ Sixteen years later, in 1282, the French paid dearly for their oppression in the terrible massacre of the Sicilian Vespers, when they were exterminated throughout the island.
Then the Sicilians invited Don Pedro de Aragón, the son-in-law of Manfred, their last Norman king, to rule them; and the Aragonese dynasty, with varying fortunes, lasted until 1409, when it became extinct, and Sicily was attached to Spain and governed by Spanish viceroys. Never did a government care less for its subjects ”