Page:Life in the Old World - Vol. II.djvu/453

Rh has given me much, but nothing more beautiful, more precious and dear to me than the sight of an affection without selfishness, the drama of two richly-gifted souls, in which I have taken and still take part, as a mother and a friend. This drama will soon commence a new act, and then I shall be no longer with them. In the mean time the lovers will accompany me to Catania and Etna. I long to become acquainted with Etna, as one longs to make the acquaintance of a great character. We intended to have driven thither from Girgenti, but we were not able to reach that place on account of the swollen state of the rivers, which had overflowed the roads so as to render them dangerous in many places.

We go therefore by way of Messina, and shall afterwards return thither, where we separate. They to proceed northward, and I to the south.

November 9th.—The sun shines again, after many days' rain, and Palermo beams forth again by its blue sea and its fertile valley olive, lemon, and orange groves, making an atmosphere fragrant which it is life and health to inhale. We have visited Montreal, a glorious morning drive, with such views from the resting places and the marble fountains, and such perfume from the blossoming groves! The church and convent of Montreal are noble monuments of the age when the new life gave inspiration to architecture, which devoted its best powers to the service of the church, that by symbolic imagery it might express and perpetuate for thousands of generations the thoughts of eternal life. It erected here grand, airy arches for the emancipated spirit, and it has