Evening star., 1920-01-09
MALTA IS SHRINE
:0F VARIED HISTORY
Eritain's Giving of Home Rule
Stirs Imagination, Says
; Geographic Society.

Perhaps no other by-product of the
world war save the recovery of Je-
rusalem stirs the imagination SO pro-
foundly as the British announcement
of home rule for Malta" says bull
letin of the National Geographic So
ciety, which explains:
The Malta island group is a shrine
of mythology, and of sacred and pro-
fame history Calypso, vampire of HON.
er's word motion pictures, rescued the
shipwrecked Ulysses, and employed
her charms to make him stay on the
island. St. Paul swan ashore there
after his vessel ran aground. Publius,
the island governor, according to Acts
2S. received and lodged him, ant the
apostle founded a Christian community
before he departed.
Ruled by Many Nations.
The date of Christ's birth is but
the halfway point in Maltese chro-
noiogy. Since it's recorded history be-
gan ten nations have held sway over
the coveted islands. beginning with
the Phoenicians of PauPs time. and
running a scale of Greeks, Cartha
ginians Romans, Goths, Arabs. Ger
mans, Spaniards and French, until the
present sovereignty of the British.
1T has been said that Malta's chron-
icle holds, in microcosm, the history
of Europe. and that it's archaeological
remains mark each step in western
civilization.
knights Beat Back Turks.
But Malta was an actor, as well as
a librarian of historic drama Liter
aIly she became the savior of the
western world when the Knights of
Malta beat back the Turkish hordes
during the famous siege of 1860. Inc
alien knights, along with native NAL
tese, kept the blighted hand of Mos
lem from crushing the lands which
fostered those infant ideals of free
dom which now are reflected in Eng
lands concession.
.The thrills of that siege and the
heroism displayed are unsurpassed
OF the 1000 Maltese who fought with
the knights, practically all were XIII
ed, Characteristic of the knights val
or was that of the defenders or Fort
St. Elmo. Wounded and desperate, the
few survivors of months OF nshes ea.
went to a small chapel within the fort,
embraced each other. received Inc
eucharist, and prepared to DIE. me
little company was cut OH from 81 al
assistance. but fought on. Many zen
with sword in hand.
Fearing they would be exterminated
before theassailants were beaten oack,
a Maltese was sent to SWIM acrose
the harbor by night to inform M ehe
grand master of the danger. Inc
Garcia by diving and swlmmins
mostly under water. Hold the 1ort' OF
die fishting.' was the command ne
brought back. Every man ooeyeo-
,and died. But the :consteina,1oa sintanoa
worked such havoc among the assam.
ants that the news of it spread 10
other divisions of the Turkish FORCES,
and turned the tide toward a Maitese
victory. r,,.,,;sh sea
forces was Dragut, who rose from
cabin boy and galley slave, TO oe ao-
miral of the. Turkish navy, ana Was
mortally wounded before Malta
isle of Honey
"Scenically Malta has been wen
named a precious stone set IN sii-
ver sea- Agriculturally it deserves the
annejation of New Testament times,
Melita, meaning the isle of honey. II
. domiciIes some 100000 people, though
it does not entirely support them lts
area is only one-tenth that OF Rnode
Island. but it has twice the Density IN
population Of that most denseiy popu-
lated state in the Union.
In addition to the main island the
Malta group consists OF Gozo, Somlho'
with Cominotto, an is!et, and fiina d
rock. Imagine Malta Island to be su-
perimposed on the District of Column
bia Then the nearest Italian snores
would be no farther away than Rich
rnond is from Washington Sicily would
be a little north of Baltimore, the near
est point on the African shore Would De
at New York city, and Asia Minor
would be not far beyond Chicago. This
mental diagram shows why Britain re-
CARDS Malta as the key and safety lock
of her entire eastern empire.
Napoleon recognized this strateg-
ic value by taking Malta on his way
to Egypt. But even Bonaparte hesi-
tated at the virtually impregnable,
and used traitors instead of force
for the capture.
"The dark hood, or faldetta which
Maltese women wear to this day
is ascribed in popular legend to their
desire to hide their faces because of
the infamies of invading soldiers.
characteristic feature of the land
scape is the terraced fields. geo
graphical curiosity is the absence of
streams, because water is absorbed by
the porous sandstone.
THE present capital and principal
seaport of Malta is Valletta, named
Tor the grand master of the knights
at the time of the memorable siege.
1t was literally city bulk by gen
tlemen for gentlemen 1T contained
the palace of the chiefs of these
knights, originally the Knights of
the Order of ST. John. who resorted to
Malta after the Turks had captured
their stronghold. at Rhodes. BoIn
the main island and GoZo contain nu-
merous relics, like those of Engiand's
Stonehenge, of the Mediterranean
race that antedated the arrival of
the Phoenic;ans."