LETTER XII.
TO CAPTAIN SMITH.
Messina, October 8th.
MY DEAR FRIEND,
Messina, which was formerly in so flourishing a state, and which was accounted one of the prettiest cities in the world, is now exactly in the condition of Gibraltar during the siege; and the inhabitants live in just such miserable places as the huts of Black-town and Windmill-hill.
The front of the town extended along the water side, for above two thousand yards, in the form of a crescent, adorned with pilasters and pediments, and a grand esplanade open to the sea, which at once formed a noble pier, and a delightful public walk, flanked by a fort at each end. The houses were built with great taste, all four stories high, and nearly alike.
Of this beautiful and magnificent range, only the outside shell remains; the rest, with all the town, except one or two of the strongest churches, was entirely destroyed by the dreadful earthquake in 1783.
The center of that tremendous convulsion was at Oppido, in Calabria. Every thing within twenty miles was entirely overwhelmed, and several towns, with all their inhabitants, completely swallowed up, not the smallest vestige of them being left. Scarce a place within seventy-two miles of Oppido but felt the shock. By the return made to the Secretary of State, the number of people lost, amounted to thirty-two thousand, three hundred and sixty-seven souls; and we were told by Sir William Hamilton, that there were several thousand strangers, travellers, &c. who were not included in that return.
It is by no means uncommon to hear of the Italians scourging their saints when they are overtaken by any misfortune; but, since this dreadful calamity, St. Agatha, the Protectress of Sicily, is more venerated than ever; for, notwithstanding the loss of their property, she has the credit of having defended her votaries from the catastrophe with which their neighbours on the opposite coast were overwhelmed; and every Sunday night the opera ends with a little piece in her honor.