The record-union., 1892-03-19
WAKEMAN'S VANDERINGS.
Wonderful Word Painting of Malta
and the Maltese.
Street Scenes and Sights in valetta-
Maltese Women and Their Charm
ing Ways-Levantine Bazars-Lux-
urious Winter Residents and the
Famous Church of ST. John.
Special Correspondence of the RECORD
UNION. Copyright. 1927
VALETrA, Malta, February %. 1852.

The street scenes of Valetta may be
briefly described in the statement that if
one could combine waterproof street and
the Alameda of Gibraltar, the Toledo of
Palermo, the -EoIus Of Athens and the
modern Boulevard de Ia Republique of
Algiers, and then remove from this con-
glonlerate some of its Berber and orien-
! tai aspects, you would secure an excel
lent likeness to the impression you gain
from the colorful scenes Of everyday life
and It's activities in the chief city of
Malta
The constant presence of the British
soldiery, the splendid luxuriant and,
sometimes, wantonly extravagant dis
plays Of the Government officials and
garrison officers, with endless parades
and reviews, alone give the place extra
ordinary lie and activity. IS every ma
tive lnhabitant Of the islands is an adhe-
rent OF The Roman Catholic faith, priests
ana students, clad in priestly garb, are
never absent from sight, Willie the pro-
cesSlonals are OF extraordinary number
and frequently characterized by the
greatest splendor
Every day, and often many times a
| day, the huge passenger steamers OF the
Mediterranean discharge hosts of tourists
here. Thousands during the winter
months are on their way to and from
Egypt, Australia or India. Thousands
more are merely Mediterranean travel
ers. Nearly all are here but for dav.
but the accessiOnS are ceaSeless. and their
( members comprise people of every ma
uonality. These are anxious to see much
IN little time, and with their chatter in
all tongues, craning heads and enthusias-
tic faces, highten and brighten the cav
scenes OF the handsome thoroughtareS.
Then in all this singular and unique
medley there are odd trifles for interest
and study ceaSelessly passing before YOU.
or forming distinct bits of color and an
! tlque in the strange and curious settings.
BarefOoted sellers of delicious Maltese
oranges, which hide no less than nectar
beneath their thin red skins. dart
| through the streets with their melodic
cries and their endless 'tSa-has.n or
Good mornings" whatever the time of
| day, the most agile and alert human be-
lngS you ever beheld. -
Groups of Watermen Struggling to their
homes beyond Floriana, redolent of har-
| borslde toll and traffic, gaily nod and
| smile and chant as they move within the
| throng. Here Il bevy of bright-faced
middies, with the roll and swagger of old
sea salts, but with the grayesJ decorum.
look in this shop and that with respect
! tul curiosity, always forming pleasant
/
a sympathetic chord in your heart as
members OF the band AtraggIe behind to
! peer into the faces of tourists with ail
eager, hungry look, as II with faint hone
| Of recognizing friends or relatives from
the far away home. Officers from men,
oI-War, sinlleless and critical, and inter
! ested chiefly in the great tortifications,
| pass and repass constantly They have
| a tolerative sort of bearing, and the look
! in their faces plainly tells the wonders
their battieships might accomplish even
! against Malta should they ever chance 10
attempt a breach in its walls.
| Solemn Turkish travellers and mer-
| chants, viewing everything askance, as
! though they remembered the Turkish
| heads La Nalette once 9blew back from
| cannons' mouths into the ranks of the be-
siegers, as roprisal, suddenly appear.
| WhIsk along for moment, and as sud
| denly are missing. Algerian Jews, often
with their beautiful wives and daughters
! rich in robes and splendid Jewels. sweep
past with truly regal bearing. Well
they may, for with the French in Algeria,
| they are gaining great wealth from the
vast tobacco splantatf6itg Of Mascara. and
they bring their finest cargoes to Malta.
where the cheapest and best cigars in the
world are made by the deft Maltese. who
| feel that they are rolling in wealth if thew
receive for one years labor what would
! sustain the American cigarmaker for
| only one month.
With all these viii be .half-naked Greek
| and Sicilian sailors chattering and gestic-
ulating wildly. Cowled monks move
| nolselessly along. Shopmen rush from
! place to place to secure what their custo-
mers desire without losing them while
| in the purchasing mood. Hawkers Of
lava bjOote3'je and lace plead and wrangle
! with tourists. Military bands are going
and coming filling the air with English,
| Scottish and Irish melodies. While add
| ing to the eXhilirating clamor of the town
| are heard all the tongues of all nations,
and above these the changing of countless
church bells. These are never runo
! They are always hammered with emulous
! Staccato, as though each bellman were en-
vious of outhammering all others. The
! bells are never silent from mathis to the
/ angelus hour of evening. Even after that
| time they often break out as though they
! had got loose from restraint and were de-
! termined to enjoy a night of it, as all
! humans seem to do here in the soft and
| languorous air.
| Indeed Valetta is never silent save in
| the early morning hours. Then it is like
! a city of the dead but always sweet and
| cool and Winsome. At that time, if YOU
are abroad alone, the silent churches the
huge auberges, the tremendous ramparts,
/ the vast archWays, the dim porticoes
and the shadowY balconies seem to
whisper anew their tales of romance old,
their mysteries of chivalrous and knight
| ly days.
| But soon from this patio. from that
| narrow thoroughfare, another silent arch
| way, from huge. barred doors that open
/ and close with a startling click, come fu-
| neral forms clad in sOmber black They
glide along with bowed heads. Their ad-
! vent has been so sudden and their num-
! Der is at once so great that you are filed
! with IlT,tk !.
not remain. For a soft and delicate hand,
as If by accident, with a swift motion,
| changes the folds of the J,dtdetta, and the
| pretty faces of half thousand Maltese
maids and matrons are one by one for
moment turned roguishly or kindly to
! yours. Then you realize that the faithful
| falr OF NaIetta are on their way to early
mass, and you stand there hat in hand,
/ yourself a reverent worshiper, mentally
/ blessing one and all for their piety and
/ pretty, gracious ways.
! These Maltese women are among the
/ pleasantest of their sex, both as to the
/ physical attractiveness and yvinsomeneSs
| OF manner and character. They are as q
rule more petite than those of Italy and
| Spain, but are very perfect as models of
/ proportion and natural grace, Their ear
riage is superb. They possess an assur-
ance, which is never boldness. with a
modesty untainted with prudery. Their
feet, hands and heads are very small;
| their faces round rather than oval; their
/ eyes and mouth are large and expressive;
and their is an upward, confiding and ex-
pectant look in their faces that is very
| winsome, at least to men.
! They are not generally intellectual, but
| better still, they are eontented home-ma-
/ kers, and are ike birds of song in all the
/ homeside joys. They mate early, being
mothers at IA, and grandmotllers at 30
when they are sill youthful and charm
/ ing. During the reign Of the knights
/ quite an aristoeracy OF wealth and nobil-
/ ity for so small an area and popTI4atiOn