This morning I underwent a medical examination in the government council room. The opinions of the doctors were divided. They argued among themselves and came at last to the conclusion that I was not mad. But this was due to the fact that I tried hard during the examination not to give myself away. I was afraid of being sent to the lunatic asylum, where I would not be able to go on with the mad undertaking I have on my hands. They pronounced me subject to fits of excitement, and something else, too, but nevertheless of sound mind. The doctor prescribed a certain treatment, and assured me that...

The most famous Sicilian short-stories by Giovanni Verga translated into English. "The charm of the six short stories bound up under the inclusive title of Under the Shadow of Etna lies in their reflection of Sicilian scenery, life, and character, with which all of them deal. They are translations from the Italian of Giovanni Verga by the practiced hand of Nathan Haskell Dole, and smoking Etna overhangs them all as does Fujiyama the romances of Japan. One of the six, "Cavalleria Rusticana," has already been made widely familiar by the musical setting of it in Mascagni's opera. All are tales...