A Two Months' Cruise in the Mediterranean in the Steam-Yacht 'Ceylon' (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1884 edition. Excerpt: ...In the ante-ehamber of this chapel are full-sized marble figures of the four great prophets, standing against mosaic drapery. After examining the interior of the building Avc ascended to the top of the tower, from which we had a splendid view of mountain, plain, and city, and of the deep blue sea beyond; after descending we walked through the ruins of the extensive cloisters which adjoin the cathedral. There, are two hundred and sixteen columns of Saracenic design, in pairs. All the capitals are different, and the mosaic work still remaining in the arches is very fine. On our way back to the city we called at the Cappuccini convent, to see the subterranean corridors, in which are deposited (stored, I might say) the desiccated bodies of the former wealthy inhabitants of 204 Ghastly Skeletons. Palermo. Each corridor is about a couple of hundred feet long, arched over, broad, well lighted and ventilated, and paved with stone. On both sides of the corridor are long boxes or coffins, with glass tops or sides, piled one above the other, each one of which contains a dead human body; a ghastly skeleton, with just enough shrivelled skin covering the bones to give it a semblance of humanity. The bodies are clothed from head to foot, some in finery--silks, satins, and brocades, with kid gloves and satin shoes--and others in dresses of humbler material. There He the sire and matron clad in garments of sombre hue; the virgin, in her robe of white with tinsel crown upon her head, and faded lilies in her hand; and, beside her, the little infant, swathed in its long garment of white muslin or linen, and laced cap covering its little head. Must it come to this f 205 Above these piles of coffins hang, either by the neck or waist, rows of hideous skeletons...