The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-07-28

connection l am reminded of a talk l had with Mrs. General Grant the wife of our own great Ulysses, in which she told mo that when the general steamed by these Maltese islands on his trip around the world fair fellow passenger warned him to beware of the sirens He replied that his Calypso was with him in the person Of his wife, and there was no danger Of Lis being enchanted by any other she.
 Malta once belonged to the Phoenicians, and was colonized by the Carthaginians. Before that it was owned by the Greeks, and, after the Punic wars, by the Ro- mans. Later on 1t was attached to Sicily, and after the Roman power was over thrown it was occupied by the Vandals, the Goths, and again by the Greeks. In the ninth or tenth century the Arabs took possession of it, and later on the Nor mans came in and ruled it under one form or another for hundreds of years.
 The Knights of Malta.
 It was in 1850 that Charles V of Spain gave Malta to the order of the Knights of St John of Jerusalem, who thereupon took the title of the Knights of Malta and fortified 1t. At this time they mad not only Malta, but Gozo and Tripoli They took upon themsel> es the defense of the Mediterranean. They made war upon thu Barbary pirates, attacked the Turks HSthiii anu again. anu dcledleu til6 sulldll when he attacked them. They waged war with the Moslems for generations; and it was not until Napoleon Bonaparte, on his way to Egypt, besieged them, thar they surrendered their fortresses Alto gctnor they held the island for 2dS years and when the Frenh took it they a Z, feed t0 give the grand master of the knights an annual pension of about $6J,C00 and to every French knight resident in Malta a yearly allowance of Sli0
 The French siege was followed by one of the English and Portuguese fleets which lasted two years. During a part oi this time there was a famine in Malta. French pork sold for s2 a pound, dogs and cats were generally eaten and even rats brought exhorbitant price,
 While the kngths had possession of the island they lived In grand styie Those of each languags sld d particular post assigned them in cas of an attack and there were also palaces or inns where all the members ate and assembled together to transact business. The eaace of the grand master was surrounded by the four principal streets. I. still st. ds and is now occupied by the officers of the British garrison. Iris building covers more than two acres. It has two en- frances and two courtyards, ore of which is now used as an amusement court for the British officers. The interior of the palace IS elegant, the cnlet nails ana apartments being embellished with paint ings commemorating the battles of the order. One of the most interesting parts of the building is the armory. It is ! great hall running the whole length of the structure and containing many war like weapons and trophies which belonged to the Knights of Malta. In it there are now ninety complete coats of armor for mounted knights, and large number of weapons used by the infantry of the past The complete suits of armor stand among the muskets of the garrison look Ing like sentinels and giving the whole q sombre appearance. In one piece Of armor several slight dents may be seen. They were caused by shooting at 1t with a musket at 1S0 feet. The bullets failed to penetrate or break the steel.
 Cita Vecchia.
 The old capital of Malta is six miles from Valletta, and one can reach it by rail or carriage. It is there that the grand masters had their summer resi- dences, and there they were inauguratcd. They left Valletta early in the morning escorted by a bodyguard and bands of music When the grand master came near the city he was saluted by musketry, and one of the chief citizens came out and gave him a bunch of artificial flowers, making an appropriate speech and kiss ing his hands When the grand master arrived at the gates he knelt down be- fore the cross which had been erected