"Dearest - We left divine Palermo this morning - our blue bay - & Monte Pellegrino - & the Cappella Palatina - which is the jewel of the world... We were packed into a most rickety - disintegrating landau - drawn by two skeletons in ill-fitting mangy skins... I wish I cld. give you a little idea of the beauty of this place. The luminous brown-gold of the ruins - & the flowers - wild-garlic & ground ivy & almond blossom..."