SCIENCR-COSS//'. 



33 



MKMORIKS OF CALVI'SO'S ISLK 



Uy JiiiiN II. CouKK, K. I..S., K.C.S. 



'Plir. Maltese Islands have i)f late years become 

 •*• very popular us a winter resort, and thousands 

 ;if visitors now reach their shores annually, in ((uest of 

 the balmy, health-nivinj; air which the " tempo del 

 diavok)" and "tempo sporco " of other countries 

 fail to supply. The islanils, however, have somethinj; 

 more to ofler besides climate and social advantages. 

 They teem with mythological lore, and with pre- 

 hi.sloric and me<liaeval relics of the many nations who 

 have, from time to time, controlled (heir destinies. 

 The vicissitudes through which they have passed since 

 the I'hoenicians tirst landed on their shores three 

 thousand years ago, possess a spice of romance which 

 strongly attracts wayfarers, and excites the enthusiasm 

 of all interested in classical anil mediaeval historv. 



island the long-drawn undulations of the plain, 

 which lead up from the shoreline, gradually melt 

 into the slopes of the plateau.^. These again sink 

 awiiy in the distance inloliro.id fertile valleys, forming 

 a selling to the emerald green waters of the baylels 

 thai fringe the shoieline. The contrasts which the 

 scenery of the island affords are striking and varied. 

 They offer a wealth of material alike to the geologist, 

 the botanist, and every other lover of nature. 



Krom the ijuainl little hamlet of Sciarra, where the 

 love-stricken Calypso held her court, a fine view of 

 the topography of the island is afforded. To the east 

 lies the pyramidal-shaped hill of Inna Torra with its 

 old Phoenician temples and tombs. Hounding it on 

 either side are two small ravines, which, on the 



The Gi.\nts" Towkr, Gozo. 



A little more than an hour's run from Valelta, the 

 capital of Malta, lies Ogygia, in modern parlance 

 Gozo. It is a small island, which has been immor- 

 talised by Ovid in his fifth book of the Iliad, and by 

 Kenelon in his " .\dventures of Telemachus " as being 

 the place where the goddess Calypso and her nymphs 

 held court, and the scene of the shipwreck of Tele- 

 machus. To modern geographers it is better known 

 as Gozo, corrupted by the Arabs tVc ■ni the name Gaulos, 

 given to it by the Greeks two thousand years ago. 



The scenery of Gozo is both varied and 



picturesque. l'"or nine months of the year the 



country is covered with a rich mantle of corn, cotton, 



grapes and melons. Towards the centre of the 



JcLv. 1S99.— .\o. <-■!. \o!. VI. . 



western slopes, coalesce and form the delightful 

 valley of Uied el Ramla, where the headstrong 

 Ulysses and his faithful Mentor planned their escape 

 from the seductive intrigues of the goddess nymph. 

 .•Vway to the east extends its precipitous but well- 

 cultivated slopes, dotted with locust and fig-trees, 

 and patched with luxuriant crops of clover and rye- 

 grass. These under the influence of the light 

 southern zephyrs sway to and fro, presenting 

 kaleidoscopic changes of colour, that vary in the sun- 

 light from a rich crimson lo a richer purple, and 

 graduating through every conceivable shade of a 

 golden yclloH return to their crimson and purple. 

 The iskmd abounds with reminiscences of old- 



