The Republican journal., 1901-09-12

hundred feet long by one hu ndred and
twenty-five feet wide, whose every inch
is crowded with memorials? Its great
facade is surmounted by the cherished
symbol of the Knights of Jerusalem
the Maltese cross of eight points. Be
low this is a bronze bust of our Saviour.
Over the main entrance appears the
coat of-arms of Pope Gregory MIL,
and on either side of it the arms of
Grand Master Cassiere and some Latin
Inscriptions The facade is banked at
each end by bell-tower one contain
ing seven bells, for the announcement
of worship, the other three bells for
striking the clock This ancient time
piece, by the way, is worthy of notice,
though now of questionable veracity.
1t is a sort of glorified calendar, con-
trived by native of Malta, its three
faces telling the hour day of the week
and day of the month. Words are in
adequate to express ones emotions on
entering this church, whose very pave
ments are eloquent of the mighty dead.
The floor contains upwards of four hun
bred sculptured slabs, of finest marbles
of every hue-green, yellow, rose, brown,
black - laid down in memory of the
knights and emblazoned with their
coats of-armS, heraldic devices, military
and naval trophies, mitres and croZiers,
| md a111,c of o. f
sentatives of angels, skeletons and other
quaint symbols, all so rich in coloring
as to produce the most striking effect.
Next the roof demands attention. Its
wonderful arches, siXty-tive feet from
the ground, are outlined by gilded palm
branches, and the paintings which cover
the entire surface are apparently living
and breathing figures. You would al
most swear that Herodia's daughter is
really dancing, that st. John is baptiz-
ing our Lord, the disciples eating their
Last Supper and that the twenty-four
blessed martyrs of the Order of Jerusa-
lem and all the other Saints and Knights
and nuns followed you with eyes that
had speculation in them. For more
than forty years the greatest artists of
of the time devoted their genius to this
work. The pictures are in OIL laid on
the stone itself, which was specially
prepared for the design.
And then the forest of pillars, all in
laid with slabs of green marble, bearing
in relief the crosses of conservation
and the arms of their princely donors;
the multitude of chapels and affairs;
the host of sculptured figures; the tro-
phies and relics. Each of the chapels
deserves weeks study, so rich are
they in treasures, though most of the
old gold and silver service encrusted
with gems disappeared with the French
robbers. The tapestry is particularly
interesting thirty great pieces, meas
ing over seven hundred square metres,
and of incalculable value, though the
green and azure hair, purple eyes and
gorgeous apparel of the colossal figures
in the tableaux are considerably dimmed
by the wear and tear of centuries. A
few years ago the local government paid
100000 to have this tapestry restored,
AS for the sacred relics, it is safe to
say that another such collection was
> never gathered under one roof The
2 most treasured object here for many
f years was the reputed right hand of St
S John the Baptist, which was kept in a
1 splendid golden monstrance above the
: High Altar. Think of 1.-THE very han(
/ that poured the water upon the head O.
> our Lord. 1t is said to have beer
! brought from Antioch to CONSTANT
J; nople by the Emperor Justinian, wht
e built church expressly for it's recep
g ton. Shortly after the capture of Con
t stantinople by the Turks, Sultan Baja
/ yet gave it to Grand Master D'Aubus
v son, at Rhodes; and when the knight
|. came to Malta, L'Isle Adam brought i
V with him. By the way, considerin,
5. that the Brotherhood wandered home
o less upon the earth for several year
II after being driven out of Rhodes, on
: wonders where they kept all the treas
e ures, big and little, which they are sal
IS to have brought to Malta The sacre
hand was encased in a glove of gold
IS thickly set with priceless gems. Be
l. sides it, among other valuable offerings
e was magnificent solitaire ring. Napo
IL leon l. put the ring upon his own inge
# and Hampesch carried off the apostle
u hand, and afterwards presented it t
a Paul L., Emperor of Russia. 1t is sti
II jealousy preserved in the winter palac
s at St. Petersburg. Somehow the reli
$ does not seem to have brought blessing
It to any of its possessors, if history tell
!. true.
v 1t would require columns of space t
$. describe all the relics in this church
e Among them is the right foot of Lazarus
n let us hope with it's sores all healed; on
ir of the identical stones which martyre
d st. Stephen, still stained with his blood
D some of the bones of Thomas a-Becket
y portions of three of the apostles; a bi