touched a farthing. It will be 1805, before I touch the estate. Neither principal nor interest of seven thousand ounces have been paid; and it is now eight thousand ounces debt." I

Subsequently Nelson writes to his steward :

"I am so little versed in business, that I hardly know how to answer your letter. Ungrateful as the Brontese have behaved, yet the Prince... shall never, upon any consideration, be their master for an hour. In Sicily, I suppose, they have certain forms and customs as we have in England. The gentry may forget that I am master. I consider that we deal on the strictest honour, our words our bonds. You may assure the Brontese that I shall never consent to anything which can oppress them. At this moment I can only think of the French Fleet." 2

are

On the death of Lord Nelson, this estate, according to his intention, passed to his brother, the Rev. William Nelson, the first Earl, and on his death to his daughter, the first Viscountess Bridport. In 1845, the trustees of the present Earl Nelson, then a minor, contested this claim, on points of the Sicilian law of inheritance, but after argument, the claim of the Bridport family to the estate was maintained by the then Master of the Rolls, Lord Langdale, in whom the estate is now vested. The arguments in this most interesting case are too recondite. to be even analysed in this volume, in which it is sufficient to state the result.

The following paper, contributed by the Hon. Alexander Nelson Hood, furnishes a complete description of the exertions made by his father in the improvement of the estate and its present satisfactory condition.

"The Duchy of Bronte is situated in the province of Catania, in Sicily, about thirty miles from the eastern coast, and the same distance from the northern coast of that island. It is of great extent, though not so large as when granted to Lord Nelson by Ferdinand IV. of Naples. It was then encumbered by vexatious claims on the part of the town

I

Despatches, vol. v. p. 253.

2 To his steward some date in 1804; Clarke and McArthur, p. 30.

1889.] THE Former conDITION OF BRONTE.

391

ship of Bronte, to settle which, a portion of the property had to be ceded as the price of peace. It contains vineyards, and arable lands which grow magnificent crops of wheat, and lava lands which produce the valuable pistachio nut, the olive, and the almond. Orange groves flourish in the more sheltered parts. Forests of oak and beech stretch away many miles on the sides of the mountains, which rise six thousand feet above sea-level, and from that altitude a magnificent panorama of Etna and its countless parasitic caves is obtained on the one hand, while on the other lies the blue Mediterranean, dotted with the isles of Lipari, which sparkle like jewels on its surface. The country is very beautiful, and a marvel of fertility. The climate is genial, though winter brings frost and snow.

"The Castello di Maniace' is the principal residence and seat of administration of the Duchy. It is built on the southern bank of that sometimes impetuous torrent, which, uniting with others, forms the ancient river Symoethus, now called Simeto. Distant some eight miles from the town of Bronte, and up the valley of the same name as the river, the Castello stands on a mass of lava rock which is washed on two sides by the stream above mentioned. To the north risc mountains well wooded, to the south is mighty Etna-a preponderating feature in the landscape-a giant itself, as it was formerly held to be the home of giants. The central crater of the volcano, nearly eleven thousand feet high, is distant sixteen miles, and the Castello stands on the further point of its north-western slope.

"There has been difference of opinion as to the origin of the 'Castello di Maniace.' It is incontestable that the designation of Castello or castle appertained to it in the remote past. The name of Maniace was given to the surrounding country in commemoration of a signal victory gained by the Byzantine general, George Maniaces, over the Saracens, about A.D. 1032, and it is probable that the first Swordbearer and Master of the Palace of Michael, Emperor of Constantinople,' as he was styled, constructed a fortified residence near the small town which also sprung up in the neighbourhood and took his name. This town has long since disappeared. There is no doubt, however, that a monastery was founded on this spot by Queen Margaret of Sicily, in 1173, and until 1693 it was inhabited by monks of various orders. Among the abbots were the brother of our own Pierre de Blois, Bishop of London, and Pope Alexander VI., the evil Borgia. The rights and privileges of this foundation, obtained by several Bulls from the popes, which documents are preserved, still appertain to the Duchy; and, in addition to other honours, Lord Nelson enjoyed that of Father Abbot of the Abbadia di Santa

Maria di Maniace, which dignity, with full ecclesiastical jurisdiction over the church and territory, has also descended to his successors.

"The present buildings are large and commodious. The church remains much the same as when it was built. The pointed Norman arches of the interior, and windows of the same period are architecturally interesting, as is also, and artistically, the beautiful door, with its marble and granite pillars, ornate capitals, and deep moulding. Immense granaries, wine cellars, and store-houses, with the monks' kitchen and cells, now turned to modern uses, surround two spacious courtyards. On the first floor are the living rooms of the Castello, which combine the comfort of an English home, with the tasteful elegancies of a collection of majolica, old embroideries, and Etruscan and Roman pottery. A feature of this part of the building is the long corridor, in which hang prints of the exploits of the great Naval Hero. The Muniment rooms contain many ancient documents, dating from the year A.D. 900, which are full of monkish lore and legal cunning. Among them is the hero's will, by which the Duchy was conveyed to his brother, Earl Nelson, the father of Charlotte Mary, Duchess of Bronte (Lady Bridport), and grandfather of the present Duke.

"The Castello stands alone, distant some four miles from the nearest village. At the corners are pierced turrets, which serve as a warning to marauding hands; and in old days they have not been without use in restraining revolutionary bands from arson and pillage. Plantations and oliveyards surround the building, and a vineyard adjoins the old-fashioned gardens which lie beneath the windows. The larger vineyards, wine presses, and cellars are a mile down-stream. There in soil of great depth and fertility grow the vines which produce the wine called the 'Duchy of Bronte;' which has now found its way to the English market. All that science and skill can do to perfect the yield of the grape has been done, and pure wines, well matured, take their place on English dinner tables, and will doubtless rival the Marsalas and Madeiras, to the majority of which they are vastly superior.

"Life in this Duchy of Bronte is comparatively easy. Though a kind of feudal state is maintained, and campieri, or mounted guards, in uniforms of red and blue, with silver facings, the Bronte colours, protect the family when in Sicily, and the property on other occasions, there is much kindliness of feeling between employer and employed. Dependents pass a lifetime in the service of the Duchy; and there died but recently one who had worked for nearly eighty years as dairyman on the property. The jealousy of a foreigner that might be expected on the part of the natives does not exist