The St. Charles herald. [volume] (Hahnville, La.) 1873-1993, 1885-09-19
&c ISLAND or MALTA.


The entrance 10 the harbor of Malta
Il very narrow, and dominated by |
frowning fortresses. Inside il is deep
and capacious, and was crowded with |
shipping, including q Russian nian-of- |
war and four or five magnificent YES
sells Of our own Mediterranean squad
ron. Malta. Coco aud the adjoining |
islets contain populAtionstf one hun
bred and sixty thousand. A large
trade is done in early fruits and -yege-
tables, but the coaling Of steamers i
the principal business of the port.
This is done in most expeditions man
ner. Coal laden barges are drawn
alongside, and gangs Of half-clad,
grimy men, carrying heavy basketfuls, !
stream up one plank, and correspond
ing row with empty baskee keep fpn-
ming down another moi 4 moment y
lost But as this is dirty job the pas
sengers,werey glad sto.aval themselves
of an hour Or two bnGshofe. The boats
are shaped like lifeboat, with high
bow and stern, and are gaudily painted,
and are deceGhfe dwitlrrudel ye4ecuted
pictures, generally Of animals. The
boatmen row standing, and looking
forward Malta has very much Fhe ap7
pearance of Sicilian or Neapolifan
town, only at o. much eieaHer, and
there are few 81 nohe Of those odorsl
which are sol disagree abl6 10 travellers
in Spanish and Italian atowns. The
streets are regular and some Of them
very Steep, The houses are high and
white, and all ornamented with tasteful
balconies and bow windows. The
stone employed is limestone, so soft
when quarried that it can be cut with a
knife, but ithardens on exposure. The
views down sUmB of the streets, with
the pretty projecting balconies, some
bright coloFse here and there,
the motley throRg y Of passen-
gers, priests, baTeheaded moaks,
relocated soldiers, b1uejaGkets and
stately Moors from Tunis, with a
glimpse Of the bright blue sea at the
enS, were suchs as would delight Rpy
artist The principal sight Of Malta is
the Church of st. John, built on the
ridge which separates the main har.
from the lesser quarantine harbors and
near it is the palace where the Grand
Masters of the knights of Malta were
won't to hold their all but regal state,
The st. John who is the titular deity
of the Knights Of Malta is not the gen
tie Evangelist, but, as Becomes Their
character, they have preferred the
stern and heroic, Baptist. The Incl
dents in his life are depicted in the
frescoes on the roof Of the church.
Externally 1t has no architectural pre-
tensions, but the interior is rich il
mOsaics. iFOurhundFed knights lie in
TERED abeneath the fo6F, s~hich il en-
tirely covered with oblong squares o
marble, gekiH tn AaaStfpl tposaics
Elaborately emblazoned IMMORTAL bear
ings, quaint devices, and Latin inscrip
tions record thet deeds Of long forgot
ten heroes now slumbering beneath il
peace. One shrine has gates of silver
which, we were, told, were preserves
8 from the republican rapacity of tn
French in 1898 by being painted tn
color of iron. A chapel on the othe
fside ofsthe, church had gatess Of gold
but. these Napoleon contrived to ap
propriate. The palace is a3arge build
ing with Is courtyard, in which wer,
many orange trees coveredswith fruit
Passing up q magnificent staircase o
white marble, we were shown into thu
council chamber. This is now used BY
the municipality Of Malta. The wall
are hung with silk ntapestry, rich anC
fresh in color, which, we were told. ha(
been the Igift Of Louis XIV
., of France. Thenlssby long aosoF
ridors decorated !. with portrait
of the grand masters, and with rows o
3 pail-olad figures, we passed to wha
had been the banqueting hall, and i
z now the armorys Here was aNlarg
collection Of suits of armor, and othe
objects Of antique and historic Interest
Under a glass case is preserved tn
original dsedsof gift by which the, En-
peror Charles v. granted Malta to tn
knights. Not being able to hold Jefu
salem, the knights withdrew to Rhode
and here for long time helped to sten
the advancing tide of Islam. A
length driven from Rhodes, they sci
tied in Maltai In 1880, whlel1 Mas be
slowed upon, them by Charles V. o
condition that they would defend bot
~ ~ tNeAA AAtRNAAs3al 4 A4At bhVJA NlN wiz
varied fortunes till at last the pressur
Of the Turk on Europe was checked
and the order grad ually fell into decay
Napoleon came here in 1898 on his wa
to Egypt, and extihguished forever til
Order Of the Knights of Malta.
We next visited tbs Capuchin monas
terry, and as usual at such places ther
was large crowd of AIRED poor peopl
soliciting aims, There is nothin
specially interesting in the church il
self. The attraction is the crypt wher
the skeletons of the monks are prs
served IN inches. Each has been place
originally in q devotional attitude, vi
held by . cross Of wood, nut now the
are slowly. crumbain and wastin
away. The sight was & feyolting on,
and Is really only ma ai6gd sbscaus
of the contribute naa0a khez4 Visitors III
garains who play ABOUT sAwhe
they get in ! ah05s how littl
reverence they have Ion their d6eease
spiritual INSTRUCTOR pulling the
robes and sticking pins into them w
next had an opp0f tnhitY Of seeing ii
internal arrangamep ts pf a. Maltes
private residence III rwass In enc ,
the steep side stree The cuisines
portion was in the lower floors, aA
the d9elling-h above. On ente
ing we passed into q courtyard file