Clarke courier. [volume] (Berryville, Va.) 1869-1997, 1899-03-22
Letter from Island OF Malta.

10" ~" Sh iOutS W luc uiuPPluc
IslaDds:
Naietta, a city on the island of
Malta IN the Mediterranean Sea, was
reached at 7:3O a. ui., Feb. 2lst, and
no one was able 90 get ashore before
1890. We stopped here to coal
When We left the ship, sailing orders
were for =. M, 50 We returned at
$3.50 TO lind the cOaling had not been
AS rapid as expected aud were told
orders for sailing had been postponed
To IL p. IN. 80 off We started again
to do Naletta, the most interesting
place ] have yet seen. Malta. YOU
know, was first occupied by the Phoe
nlcians about 1900 years b. &. Later
IL fell into the hands of the Cartht
geulans. and still later the Romans.
GOths, French, aud finally he Eng
llsh tooA possession about the first Of
the present century and still hold it,
IL was here also where St. Paul was
shlpwrecked.
The morning We reached Malta was
beautiful. the atmosphere perfectly
clear and the SUI shining as bright
and warm as "A morning in June. The
snip was soon surrounded bv dozens OF
funny little boats (unlike any have
ever seem. all having something to
sell or wishing To take uS ashort Our
was occupied bv cripple-he would
show his horrible deformrd feet AMI
then hold his cap for coin. An
other was dressed i'm thin robe and
bathing traps and " heue,er a com
was thrown into the water he would
dive after il and catch it before IL
reached the bottom. Their language
seems 10 he conglomeratiou OF ItM
ian and native Maltese. with "A few
English words thrown i'm. hv which
alone could understand them. When
the coal harges came along-ide they
were literally covered with men who
were to handle the coal. Every one
of them was talking a. hard "a h.
could and seemed 20 rs regular
Tower of BABEL FINALLY We got "a
hoat and went ashore and At once
We're set uaon hv scores Of men who
clamored 20 act aS guides They
packed and iamhed each other until
Thought W. world never g.t away.
We first went 20 the Grand Hotel 70
arrange for lunch. nui then got
SOM photographs aud curio> ha,e
about a dozen photos. which givc "a
pretty good idea of the appearance OF
the city. also bought "a dozen
doiIes (ou know the Malta lace o.,
very celebrated. aud some s.w wa-
beautiful. hut so MAS the price Ne
had to get oar money change: ufo
I. :, and 81. and II s-eued gui-e 4
To he paving 1.-TWO and SIX prn-e az
tive and half pence" for article,
purchased. The streets are very
harrow. and Won cannot imagine how
man row unless Won see them. The
women wear the funniest looking
costume You ever saw: il looks a. f
they had turned their skirts over
their heads. All the women are very
small and usually quite fat. which
makes them very disgusting in ma
sight. 1t is said this dress was i'm
lilcted ON the women as A punish
ment bv the Pope. Bv far the most
Interesting place i st Johns Cathe-
dral. which was built hv the knights
of 81. John. Some of the works I'm
bronze and marble are eVQuisite and
the paintings are very old and many
hv very celebrated artists One guide
used such IA monsrrl language and
talked SO asst that hardly under
stood word he said. II. Jonu' :
Armory is also very interesting. Ii
l. filled with armor. swords. etc.
which were used by the knights of
old. 1t Is connected with the GOV.
errors (Euglish) palace Major
Brown, the Governors aid. kindly
showed us over the place. even the
private dining hall and room of State.
The palace also has some grand Old
paintings and o. her things of inter
est, all of which have history. civ
en- us by Mai. Brown. Malta Is the
rendezvous for the Mediterranean
squadron (Engiish). aud is also quite
an important army post. About 10.
600 soldiers are here at present. One
could not help being struck with the
appearance of the English soldiers.
They are 50 "cockney" and seem 50
much in earnest; they carry them
selves So erect and walk with "a
swinging, bouncing gait. not thar
standing. St0op shouldered appear
ance which our men so often present.
But, nevertheless, | dc not believe
they are any better when il comes 20
real fighting. | will mail this AZ
Port Said, which place we wi ll reach
about s a. m. tomorrow. So far We
are aking record time; We are try
ing to beat the Buffalo, if possible.