The daily morning journal and courier., 1901-09-07

" HoiIdIl CdtHOllC as III the uaHS Ol
 the fighting monks. Festivals and cer- | emonials are continually parading the streets and church bells are clamorine from dawn till dark, and almost from
 dark till dawn--not rung, as In Protest ant countries, but pounded upon with might and main by men Tn the belfries, 1 Remarkable little toleration for any
 but the Romish faith is shown in Malta
 considering that the British flag floats | everywhere.
 You land almost at the customs house
 door-unless quarantined for something
 or other, which is as likely to be the 1 case here as at Nassau, the English | being so notoriously afraid of catch ing" things. Having come direct from
 disease breeding Tripoli, we confidently
 expect to remain a week or two in the 1 tolls; but escape by an unknown mir
 acle. In former days the Porte de Monte, CGate of the MountainO a very narrow and strongly fortified en-
 trance at the top of steep and wind l ing approach, was the only thorough fare to Valletta, and thence to the other 1 towns of the island. But the English have changed all that, to the death of | picturesqueness but the great advant- | age of increased trade and population. Now fine new road, from whose every turn the most glorious views are
 unfolded, leads through the noble Vic- | toria gate, into the principal street of | the modern city. This is the Strada Reale, extending a mile or more along
 the whole length of the summit of the rid pa an6iper jy,la p5 a "a Ia ,,d
 grand house of Porta Heale and ter
 minated at the seaward edge of the Fort of St. Elmo. Seven main streets run parallel with the Strada, and eleven cut across it at right angles, making a regular little checker board of the top of the promontory, from harbor to harbor Opposite the Porte Reale, by which you enter the town, is
 the drawbridge. over a ditch thou sand yards long, sixty feet deep and
 thirty wide. which cuts off communi-
 ca ton between the Quarantine and
 main harbors. The historic gate of the
 Knights. Porta San Giorg1a, has been
 mostly displaced by distresslngly fresh
 stones and mortar. Its original Latin
 inscription remains, recording the
 foundation oe the city, and also two
 quaint statues, of Grand Commanders
 l. Isle Adam and La Villette: but the
 arms of Great Britain are ostentatious-
 ly displayed above the tiara. crossed
 keys and arms of Pope Plus W, who
 contributed such large sums of money
 toward building the ancient fortifica-
 tions.
 The churches of Villetta are too large a subject to tackle on the first day of one's arrival. It is wiser to start in fresh with some early morning: and If you complete the round in one days time, you will do better-or perhaps be more easily atisfied-than most tour lsts.
 Descending strada Reale, you see a very beautiful opera house, built with in the last twenty years, at cost of $400000. Directly opposite this up-to- date evidence of British enterprise is an object of more interest--a private residence, built on the site and out of the ruins of the old arsenal of the Order of St. John Not far below this Is the ancient Auberge de Provence, now the handsome Union club, It is a fair specimen of those noble old inns, its banquetting room being ninety feet long, fifty wide and forty-hve feet high. You may be very sure that the English who are exfled to this Mediter- rock are not enduring any hard ships King Edward maintains a con- sidera ble force at Malta-at enormous cost. Besides large body of British artillery, the garrison includes the Royal Malta Fencibles artillery, and fine native regiment of thousand men There is an extensive arsenal, and of course very important backyard, Malta being the headquarters of the British fleet in the Mediterranean,
 It is well to wind up ones first days explora tion of this extremely interest Ing city by glimpse at the Governors palace, which was formerly the official | residence of the Grand Masters. The noble range of buildings forms one whole side of St. Georges square, and Is itself divided into two great courts. | Nothing more beautiful, or more sur prising in the midst of the dry grind of l British government offices can be inn agined than those courts Their walls | are completely covered with towering | ,reepers, in which birds nest and breed, the interior space being filled with or ange trees and fragrant shrubs in the midst of which towers two Norfolk Is- ! and pines, planted years ago by the 1 'then) young Prince of Wales and | Duke of Edinburgh. In the upper stor- es the modern governors of Malta re- side in great state-but in no such | semi barbaric grandeur as was affect I'd by the warrior monks of long ago; The main staircase is wide and easy, 70 that the Grand Master could be car fed up in his lettica, or chair of state. All the corridors are paved with ex- tuisite marbles, their walls ornamented with portraits and figures of knights n full armor, with Ntheir shields and lrmorial bearings arranged in chrono- ogical order, from the days of the Cru aders, down to the present English ule. The council chamber is hung with wonderful tapestry made at Brussels by the manufacturers to His Iajesty Louis XIV. It is alleged to illustrate the scenery, customs and nat lral productions of Africa, India and outh America, but I am afraid the eniZens of those regions would never 1 ecognize their own from this portrayal. The hall of St. Michael and St. George erves the double purpose of throne and all room. It gained it's ponderous anne because the investiture of the members of the Most Distinguished ,rder of s. S. Michael and George" sed to be held here. The private