514 



Remarks on Malta and Sicily, 



[Jan. ], 



quent delaysjand difficulties to vefTcls get- 

 ting i.; or cut. I m. (elf knew a man-of- 

 war that wai beating off the ifland twvnty- 

 three dayrs, and was at lali ol)lif;ed to give 

 Up the attempt (o ener the h'^rl^'oiir, and 

 fleer ffr KJeflliia in Sicily. To da away 

 this ohilacle, it h^s be )i propofeH lo n.ake 

 a cut fn m the bottom ol tic harbour to 

 the oppofite fide of the ifja;id ; and this 

 p'.ojeil- has been ihought lo be extremely 

 prHuticable. There is another excellent 

 haibour w^ftwarvi of ihe city, which is 

 however but little ufed. I was deta.ncd 

 in quarantine till the evening of the iqih, 

 vhen I difembarked, ^iid lock policifion 

 of iodgings which had been prrvioufly 

 piociired forme in the city of LaVale:ta. 

 Th'.s city ftands upon a prni: (iila, be- 

 tween the two ports, and is 'he capital of 

 the ifland. It is a large well built town, 

 and contains many handlnme churches, 

 and otiier edifices, both public and pri- 

 vate. Amongft the foimer St. John's 

 church is the moft cenlpicuo^is : it is ex- 

 ternally a fine piece of aichiieiSlure, and 

 its in;erior is indt richly decorated, con- 

 taining many f::ccime: s cf fine ta[:eftry, 

 and a number ot excellent paintings : the 

 floor is alto exirerr.ely curious, being 

 beautifully inlaid with varivtis fpecies of 

 the finei^ marble j but this, in common 

 with every other place of worfhip, was 

 flript of its mafllvecaTidlefticks, and other 

 g'ld and filver ornaments, by the French. 

 The palace is a very large handdme 

 building ; as is alfo another extenfivc 

 ftruihire, at prefe: t ufed as a common 

 coffee-room, but which was built and fit- 

 ted up by the knijhis tor i~e reception of 

 the public-library, to which purpolie, 

 liowevcr, it has not yet been appropiiated : 

 this library, wiiich is open to all delciip- 

 ticns of pcrf'ons, is a very exlenfive one ; 

 but I did not underdand it to ci ntain any 

 manulcripts or other books of peculiar 

 icaicity or value. 



The (trerts of Valetta are well paved, 

 ^ul r^'ther too nanow. The houfes are 

 built ot white (lone, and are in general 

 lofty and handfome: the fronts of molt 

 of them had formerly been ornamtnted 

 w-tS coats of arms ; but thefe, with very 

 few exceptions, had beene'ither totilly dc- 

 fcr.iyid or grealty (i^iiced by the democra- 

 tic hut pueiile emhiilialmof ihe French. 



There are levcral good inns in thisciiy, 

 which have been eilablilhed fiiice the En- 

 glifli became mafteis of the ifland. There 

 are alio numerous re oms where mofl deli- 

 cious iced creams may daily be had : 

 theic arc ni He (it it is not an Irifhifm to 

 fay lo) of Inow, broiiglu fiom Mount 



^tvs. Provifions of all kinds are good 

 and plentiful, butvi?ereat this time rather 

 exienlive, owing to the extraordinary 

 numbers of lail>is and foldiers upon the 

 iflaid, and to the miwkets being in a great 

 mealuie dependent upon Sicily for fupplies. 

 From Sicily is aifo imported a greu va- 

 rieiy of fruits ; aithoujih the ifl.md ilfelf 

 produce^ oranoes, lein:ns, &c., &c., in 

 greru qnantities, and of the finiil flavour. 



Within five.i miles of Valetta is a 

 fmall to^n called Civita Vccrhia, fituited 

 upon a confider.ihie eminence, and com- 

 nisndint: a tine view of the whole ifla'id. 

 St. Paul's cluiich is its piincipal omameni : 

 it beais lome lelemblance to ;hat ot St. 

 John in Valetta, but is a more moklern 

 building, and, from being lels gaudy, I 

 thongiit it more elegant. Here are alio 

 fbme very large catacombs; but having 

 feen lo many in Egypt, I had no curiofity 

 to vifit ihtfe : ihev aie excavntions in the 

 earth, formed inio (eveal'apirtmens, in 

 which the ancients, particularly the Egyp- 

 tians, preferved the hoiiie.'. cf ihe dead. — 

 Two niHcs beycnd this [ilace is a village 

 chilled Bochet'a, where th re are lome tx- 

 tenlive anJ beau'ilul oran;^e-gr'Vcs. — 

 Here alf.) is a very large and hand ome 

 building, which was formerly a mona.Tery, 

 but it is n^iw convened into a banack — 

 On this fide of the ifland is an aqueduff, 

 extending upwaiHs of nine miles, by 

 which, (luring the rainy feafons, great 

 ftijiplies of water are conveyed to the capi- 

 tal. The grand-maitcr's countiy-feat, 

 now in pofl'effion of Mr. Cameron, the 

 civilccmmifTMr.er, is alfo in this neigh- 

 bouih'Od, and cloie to the village of St. 

 Antonio : the houle is handlome, and the 

 gardens are the molt extenfive, the beft 

 laid out, and the moft produilive of any 

 on the ifluid. 



On the fame day in which I vilited the 

 ab.^ve mentioned places I returned to Va- 

 lett.^, and in the evening went to the ope- 

 ra, where Italian come;iies are reprelented ; 

 tlie hjule IS bad, and the performance 

 worle ; but inderri better canil t fairly be 

 expfiRcd from either, when we co- filler 

 that eightpenre is the pricf '( admiliion 

 to the b xcs, and that, the houle in gene- 

 ral is but thinly attendtd. The only 

 other pui'lic amolement is a fublcription- 

 bail, heid at the large coffee-room before- 

 mei^i' ntd, once a fortnight, which a 

 lover or oddity will find a great treat in 

 attending ;. tlie Maliele, men and women 

 (particularly the latter), vying with each 

 othei in their endeavouu to caricature flie 

 human form ; lor in all the exiravagant 

 buffoonery of Sadler's- Vv'ells, Aftley's, 



&c.. 



