The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1914-03-28
I MALTESE CELEBRATE
 TO-DAY THE BOUNDING OF THEIR CAPITAL.

]
 OF THEIR CAPITAL.
 The Maltese-meaning the inhabi- tants of the Mediterranean island of Malta. and not the cats of that name will celebrate to-day their principal festival. which commentaries the founding of Vnetta, their port. capi- tai and chief city. It was on the 2sth of March, 566, that John de Ia
 va1ette. most distinguished of the grand masters of the famous military religious order, the Knights of Malta, laid the cornerstone of the first build ing in that quaint and curious capital.
 This year also marks the centenary of the treaty of Paris by which old
 Malta was guaranteed to Great Brit ain.
 There are no Maltese cats in Malta now. nor knights in armor. nor Mal- tese crosses, nor is the island pro- ducer of malt. as some may suppose. In fact, Malta has none of those things with which it's name is popu- 1 larly associated, but it has something better-a host of beautiful women, lsconsidered by some experts in fenin- ]! inc charms as the loVeIiesti in the 1 world. And Africa, where a. man may have all the wives he can supp port, is only a short distance away. Consult advertising columns for steanshIp Ip sailin ngs-and don't pushl
 Malta was ancient In history before vaIette founded yiIetta. Ulysses had | his little love afair with Calypso at Malta, and St: Paul was shipwrecked l. =. : Italy. The Maltese ladies of that day were not as charming as they are to- l day, else the Apostle would not have remained woman-hater. Until a century ago, when the British flag was hoisted over Malta and the island
 was confirmed to John Bull. life for lthe Maltese was just one squabbIe af- 1 ter another. The strategic position of Malta, between Sicily and Africa made it a bone of contention for nations to I fight over Romans and Carfhagin-
 ians fought all over Malta and the 1 island was held successive1y by the fPhoenicians. Carthage and Rome, un- till the latter obtained the upper hand
 in 25s B. The vandals had .
 whack at Malta in the sixth century ! I the Sicilians took it from the Mos 1ems. and itwas overrun by the Nor mans. and was then held successively I by the houses Hohenstaufen, Anjou,
 and Aragon, and in 153o Charles v.
 gave it to the Knights HospitaIIer Of St. John Of Jerusalem. who henceforth called themselves Knights of Malta.
 The knights had no sooner took pos
 session than they had to dexend their pr roperty against tine Turks, and 80, l000 of the latter were slain before they
 abandoned the attack The Turks l lcontinued to make war on Malta al
 intervals for over two centuries. and
 in 1798 Napoleon came along and II gobbled tip the island for France, re
 leasing 5, 900 Turkish prisoners. Tn s 1900 the British decided that they
 wanted Malta and went after it so eff l fectively that it soon surrendered. Al
 the peace of Amiens it was stipulat-
 ed that the island should be restored
 to the Knights of Malta, but after due
 consideration John Bull decided tha1
 Malta was convenient piece of prop erty to own and hung on to 1t. The
 French then resumed the war over
 Malta, but the British bulldog hae a firm hold and refused to let gc. Sc
 in 1914, by the treaty of Paris, Malts was formally confirmed to England and the Union Jack still flies oyer ancient MeIita, the little battle-ground
 of the nations. Malta has an ares of less than a hundred square miles [ and a population of less than 10000, but it has prospered nightly during ! it's century of peace under the British flag. It's Winter climate is delight
 full, and it is becoming one of tn, { most popular of Winter resorts fo Europeans. Many Americans hay, z also discovered the charms of Malta . especially bachelors. widowers an,
 married tourists who have left thef
 wives at home. As previously re marked, Maltese women are entranc ? ing1y lovely. which may explain wh. 7 there is so great preponderance o : male over female visitors to the Med . iterranean isle.
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