On the northern shore of Sicily are still to be seen the magnificent

remains of a castle, which formerly belonged to the noble house of

Mazzini. It stands in the centre of a small bay, and upon a gentle

acclivity, which, on one side, slopes towards the sea, and on the

other rises into an eminence crowned by dark woods. The situation is

admirably beautiful and picturesque, and the ruins have an air of

ancient grandeur, which, contrasted with the present solitude of the

scene, impresses the traveller with awe and curiosity. During my

travels abroad I visited this spot.

As I walked over the loose fragments of stone, which

lay scattered through the immense area of the fabrick,

and surveyed the sublimity and grandeur of the ruins, I

recurred, by a natural association of ideas, to the times when these

walls stood proudly in their original splendour, when the halls were

the scenes of hospitality and festive magnificence, and when they

resounded with the voices of those whom death had long since swept

from the earth.

'Thus,' said I, 'shall the present generation--he who

now sinks in misery--and he who now swims in pleasure, alike pass

away and be forgotten.' My heart swelled with the reflection; and, as

I turned from the scene with a sigh, I fixed my eyes upon a friar,

whose venerable figure, gently bending towards the earth, formed no

uninteresting object in the picture. He observed my emotion; and, as

my eye met his, shook his head and pointed to the ruin. 'These walls,'

said he, 'were once the seat of luxury and vice. They exhibited a

singular instance of the retribution of Heaven, and were from that

period forsaken, and abandoned to decay.' His words excited my

curiosity, and I enquired further concerning their meaning.

'A solemn history belongs to this castle, said he, 'which is too long

and intricate for me to relate. It is, however, contained in a

manuscript in our library, of which I could, perhaps, procure you a

sight. A brother of our order, a descendant of the noble house of

Mazzini, collected and recorded the most striking incidents relating

to his family, and the history thus formed, he left as a legacy to our

convent. If you please, we will walk thither.'

I accompanied him to the convent, and the friar introduced me to his

superior, a man of an intelligent mind and benevolent heart, with whom

I passed some hours in interesting conversation. I believe my

sentiments pleased him; for, by his indulgence, I was permitted to

take abstracts of the history before me, which, with some further

particulars obtained in conversation with the abate, I have arranged

in the following pages.




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