built near the time of the Antonines, corresponding exactly, in proportion and style, with the architecture of that age. And as the elder Gordian was proclaimed emperor at this city, it is not impossible that, in gratitude to the place where he received the purple, he might have been the founder of it. Upon one of the medals of the younger Gordian is an amphitheatre, not accounted for by medalists. This very perfect and highly interesting classic monument was visited by Sir Grenville Temple, an accomplished traveller, in 1833, from whose journal, published two years afterwards, the following testimony of its beauty is extracted:

"Deprived, however, of the information which an inscription would convey to us, we are compelled to satisfy ourselves with beholding an edifice which, though yielding in magnitude and splendour to the Colosseum, is still one of the most perfect, vast, and beautiful remains of former times, that exists-at least, to our knowledge-ccmbining in itself more of those united properties, than any other building which I can at this moment bring to my recollection. The amphitheatre at Nismes I have never seen; that of Pola in Istria, in its exterior is perfect, though completely the reverse interiorly; whilst, on the contrary, the one at Verona is diametrically the opposite, possessing the range of seats as entire as at the time when admiring citizens witnessed the sports performed in the arena for their gratification, but, with the exception of four arches, completely deprived of its exterior façade, the principal and most beautiful feature of those stupendous edifices."

THE PORT OF MESSINA.

SICILY.

"There would I linger, then go forth again,

And hover round that region unexplored."

BYRON.

MESSINA is here viewed from the point of a tongue of land, Braccio di San Raniero, which separates the waters of the harbour from those of the straits, and at its termination under the walls of fort St. Salvatore. It was here that Count Roger the Norman first landed from Calabria in the beginning of the twelfth century, and erected a church in commemoration of the event, which has since given place, and transferred its name, to the fortification.

The noble harbour of Messina is nearly four miles in circumference, perfectly landlocked and secure, and capable, from its extent and depth, of receiving all the shipping employed in Sicilian commerce. The broad quays and prolonged line of stately buildings, which border the northern shore, have but partially arisen from the ruins of those palacial edifices overthrown by the earthquake of 1780. The poverty and the indolence

of the people, or the apprehension of a similar catastrophe, may retard the completion of the works; but it is gratifying to record, that to the enterprise and munificence of a native of Great Britain, the Messenians owe this incipient restoration.

The beautiful hills that encircle the town, and the rich valleys that intervene, teem with the luxuriant produce of a southern climate. Gardens and casinos of the rich or the noble occupy the most charming situations; and the deepest recesses of the valleys abound in the most delicate and picturesque scenery. Amongst the agricultural objects as seen from the port, the most conspicuous are the Duomo, the Castel Guelfonio, a Norman edifice, and now a ruin, surmounting a near eminence, besides numerous convents, whose white walls are elevated above the surrounding olive and orange groves.

During the revolt of the Sicilians against the Neapolitan government, in 1848, this , city suffered immensely, both in the destruction of its buildings and the slaughter of its inhabitants. A compromise was at length effected through the mediation of England and France.

ST. GOA R, ON THE RHI N E.

"There can be no farewell to scenes like thine,

The mind is coloured by thy every hue;

And if reluctantly the eyes resign

Their cherish'd gaze upon thee, lovely Rhine!

"Tis with the thankful glance of parting praise."

BYRON.

SOMETIMES the Rhine assumes a character solemn, sombre, and majestic; sometimes, again, gay, and sparkling, and sunny; but nowhere does it combine its varied character and charms more delightfully than in the immediate locality of St. Goar. Yielding to no spot on the banks of "the exulting river," in the agreeable quality of its scenery, it is more advantageously circumstanced than any other, as a central station for "Pilgrims of the Rhine." The grand ruins of Rheinfels impend over the town-the glorious river glides heavily by, on whose opposite shore is the picturesque village of Goarshausen, reposing modestly at the foot of the wild and rugged rocks that support the mouldering ruins of Katzenellenbogen. The little town of St. Goar extends along the margin of the river, presenting an antique but peculiarly cheerful aspect, and numbers about fifteen hundred souls as its permanent population. It has long continued to enjoy the character here given to it. When Mrs. Radcliffe struggled up the stream of Old Rhine, some fifty years ago, she found St. Goar to be a place "possessing a considerable share of the commerce of the river. Having in time of war a numerous garrison, and being a little resorted to on account of its romantic situation, it had an air of somewhat more animation than might be expected, mingling with the gloom of its walls, and the appearance of decay, which it had in common with other German towns." This gloom,