The convent of St. Nicholas was unfortunately closed, so that we could only view its exterior.  It is a spacious magnificent building, the largest, in fact, in the whole town.  We also looked at the walks on the sea-shore, which at our first arrival we had traversed in haste in order to reach the town quickly.  Beautiful avenues extend along each side of the harbour; they are, however, less frequented than the streets and squares.  We had a beautiful moonlight night; the promontory of Etna, with its luxurious vegetation, as well as the giant mountain itself, were distinctly visible in all their glory.  The summit rose cloudless and free; no smoke came from the crater, nor could we discover a trace of snow as we returned to our ship.  We noticed several heaps of lava piled upon the sea-shore, of a perfectly black colour.

Late in the evening we adjourned to an inn to refresh ourselves with some good dishes, and afterwards returned to the steamer, which weighed anchor at midnight.

October 6th.

We awoke in the harbour of Messina.  The situation of this town is lovely beyond description.  I was so charmed with it that I stood for a long time on deck without thinking of landing.

A chain of beautiful hills and huge masses of rock in the background surround the harbour and town.  Every where the greatest fertility reigns, and all things are in the most thriving and flourishing condition.  In the direction of Palermo the boundless ocean is visible.

I now bade farewell to the splendid steamer Hercules, because I did not intend to proceed direct to Naples, but to make a detour by way of Palermo.

As soon as I had landed, I proceeded to the office of the merchant M., to whom I had a letter of recommendation.  I requested Herr M. to procure me a cicerone as soon as possible, as I wished to see the sights of Messina, and afterwards to continue my journey to Palermo.  Herr M. was kind enough to send one of his clerks with me.  I rested for half an hour, and then commenced my peregrination.

From the steamer Messina had appeared to me a very narrow place, but on entering the town I found that I had made quite a false estimate of its dimensions.  Messina is certainly built in a very straggling oblong form, but still its breadth is not inconsiderable.

I saw many very beautiful squares; for instance, the chief square, with its splendid fountain ornamented with figures, and a bas-relief of carved work in bronze.  Every square contains a fountain, but we seldom find any thing particularly tasteful.  The churches are not remarkable for the beauty of their facades, nor do they present any thing in the way of marble statues or finely executed pictures.