56 TRAVELS IN UPPER 



and most beautiful in the universe. The mouth 

 of it is very narrow, and defended on each side by 

 a formidable castle ; vessels are obliged to carry 

 beforehand ail the sail they can possibly set, in 

 order to acquire the impulse or the velocity requi- 

 site to carry them through this passage, in the midst 

 of which they find themselves suddenly becalmed, 

 from; the height of the forts, which exceeds that 

 of the mast-head. It was the custom of French 

 men of war to salute the place with thirteen guns, 

 which was returned by eleven ; when the ships of 

 the knighthood entered the ports of France, they 

 observed the same etiquette. If the galley of the 

 general of the order was in port, the ceremonial 

 required a second salute of fifteen guns to her, and 

 at the moment when the general came to return 

 the visit which the French commander was ex- 

 pected to pay first, he was received with a dis- 

 charge of thirteen guns. Every knight of the 

 order, who thought proper to amuse himself by 

 coming on board, was welcomed by the noise of 

 five cannon ; thus it frequently happened that a 

 French ship of war, if she was detained any length 

 of time in the harbour of Malta, was obliged to 

 expend more gunpowder than during all the rest 

 of her cruise. 



The fortifications which defend the port and 

 city are the best in the world ; they are kept up 



with 



