hur Symonds. "The hills on
either hand descend upon the sea with long-drawn delicately broken
outlines, so delicately tinted with aerial hues at early dawn or beneath
the blue light of a full moon the panorama seems to be some fabric of
fancy, that must fade away, 'like shapes of clouds we form,' to nothing.
Within the cradle of these hills, and close upon the tideless water,
lies the city. Behind and around on every side stretches the famous
Conco d'Oro, or golden shell, a plain of marvelous fertility, so called
because of its richness and also because of its shape; for it tapers to
a fine point where the mountains meet, and spreads abroad, where they
diverge, like a cornucopia. The whole of this long vega is a garden,
thick with olive-groves and orange trees, with orchards of nespole and
palms and almonds, with fig-trees and locust-trees, with judas-trees
that blush in spring, and with flowers as multitudinously brilliant as
the fretwork of sunset clouds."

During the days of Phoenician and Carthagenian supremacy Palermo was a
busy mart--a great clearing-house for the commerce of the island and
that part of the Mediterranean. But during the days of the Saracens it
became not only a very busy city but also a very beautiful city. The
Arabian poets extolled its charms in terms that sound to us exceedingly
extravagant. One of them wrote: "Oh how beautiful is the lakelet of the
twin palms and the island where the spacious palace stands. The limpid
waters of the double springs resemble liquid pearls, and their basin is
a sea; you would say that the branches of the trees stretched down to
see the fishes in the pool and smile at them. The great fishes in those
clear waters, and the birds among the gardens tune their songs. The ripe
oranges of the island are like fire that burns on boughs of emerald; the
pale lemon reminds me of a lover who has passed the night in weeping for
his absent darling. The two palms may be compared to lovers who have
gained an inaccessible retreat against their enemies, or raise
themselves erect in pride to confound the murmurs and the ill thoughts
of jealous men. O palms of two lakelets of Palermo, ceaseless,
undisturbed, and plenteous days for ever keep your freshness."

With the coming of the Normans Palermo enjoyed even greater prosperity
than had been experienced under the liberal rule of the Saracens. This
was the most brilliant period in the history of the city. The population
was even more m