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HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



Here was an opportunity that was not to be missed. 

 I had long ago done the usual round of the "lions" 

 of Valetta, and therefore neither Strada Reale, the 

 Palace, nor the Armoury had any further charms for 

 me. My desire now was to visit Citta Vecchia, the ■ 

 old capital of the islands, the crumbling walls and 

 deserted palaces of which are situated on the summit 

 of one of the spurs of the Binjemma Hills, at a dis- 

 tance of about seven miles from the present capital. 



After the usual amount of bargaining with several 

 Maltese cabmen, whose custom, by the bye, is always 

 to ask the tourist three times what is legally due to 

 them, and double what they expect to receive, I 

 hired a carrozza, and was soon rolling along at a brisk 

 pace through the noisy, dusty streets of Floriana and 

 Hamrun. 



None of the resources of modern science or of 

 modern architecture appear to have been called into 

 requisition in the planning of these ill-built and 

 badly-drained suburbs, and it was, therefore, with 

 a feeling of relief that I left them behind, and turned 

 to welcome the sight of the picturesque little villages 

 of Lia and Attard, that shortly afterward* loomed in 

 sight. Had time permitted, I should have paid a 

 visit to the palace, with its lovely gardens and 

 spacious orange-groves, which is situated on the out- 

 skirts of Lia, and to which the Governor and his 

 family usually go in the summer months, to escape 

 the suffocating heat of the town. But my anxiety to 

 reach my destination, and to spend as long a time as 

 possible among the ruins of the old city on the hill, 

 induced me to put'off my visit to St. Antonio's Palace 

 until some more fitting occasion. 



After leaving the village, a bend in the road 

 brought us within full view of the old capital. It 

 crowns the summit of a small tableland, the top of 

 which is about 600 feet above the sea-level. The 

 original portion of the city seems to have been 

 built on the north and north-western edge of the 

 plateau ; but of late years considerable additions 

 have been made, and the town and its suburbs now 

 cover a much larger area. The cathedral, a lofty 

 and imposing structure, is built on the edge of the 

 cliffs ; and from the bottom of the hill it forms the 

 most striking feature of the place. The hospital, 

 too, that stands by the side of it, and which 

 formerly served as an auberge for the Knights 

 of Malta, is scarcely less remarkable ; while the 

 number of elegant buildings that are ranged around 

 are so grouped as, in the distance, to form a scene, 

 the general effect of which is very impressive. 



The position and physical surroundings of a place 

 play a part in the enhancement of its beauty such as 

 no number of superb buildings can supply. In Citta 

 Vecchia this is particularly exemplified. Owing to 

 its unique position, the old town is capable of making 

 a picture from any point of view whatever. It cer- 

 tainly looked very beautiful in the grey morning light, 

 when I saw it from the foot of the hill near St. 



Salvatore ; but it is from the Musta Road that it 

 must be viewed to catch it in its most charming 

 aspect. There the contrasts in art and nature are 

 alike more detailed, more striking ; there the scene 

 that is presented is more comprehensive, more pic- 

 turesque. 



Nor is the charm dispelled on a closer acquaint- 

 ance. As the old walls are approached, the city, as 

 a whole,, fades from the mind j and the particular 

 then takes the place of the general. The ramparts, 

 the bastions, the fosse, each in turn engage the 

 attention ; and thus what is lost in picturesque 

 effect is fully compensated for by the suggestions that 

 each stone, as it passes in review, gives rise to. 

 There are two principal gateways whereby entrance 

 to the city may be obtained, both of which are 

 situated on the southern side of the city. That at 

 the south-western end, is a fine specimen of the 

 engineering and architectural skill of the Knights. 

 It is approached by means of a drawbridge that spans 

 a wide, deep moat, the bottom of which has been 

 converted into a flower-garden. The facade of the 

 gate is still in a good state of preservation ; but the 

 walls on either side of it are sorely weather-beaten 

 and time-worn. Within the entrance, and situated 

 on the left hand of it, there is a niche containing a 

 statue in a sadly dilapidated condition. But muti- 

 lated as it is, the graceful lines of the human formi 

 that the skill of the artist had impressed on the stone 

 are yet discernible. Of its origin little is known, but 

 it is supposed to be a specimen of Roman sculpture ;. 

 and it is said to represent the Queen of the Roman 

 Pantheon. Almost immediately opposite, and situated 

 on the right-hand side, is the old auberge, which is 

 now used as a sanitorium. Within the quadrangle 

 which faces the building, there is a bust of one of 

 Malta's heroes, of one of that order of brave spirits who 

 devoted their lives to the protection of their more help- 

 less co-religionists ; one of that order who, while de- 

 fending the faith of their fathers, succeeding in inflicting 

 upon the infidel Turks, a series of blows, from the 

 effects of which, even to this day, they have never 

 recovered. The Grandmaster Manoel was not the 

 least of the galaxy whose genius shed such a lustre 

 on the " Order of St. John." 



The hand of Time has been laid but lightly upon 

 the old building. It walls are somewhat greyer, and 

 here and there the sirocco has wasted its facade, but 

 besides this there is but little else to testify to the two 

 centuries that have passed over them. But what are 

 two centuries ? In comparison with some relics that 

 the city contains, this auberge is but as of yesterday. 

 The foundations of the old city are a very embodiment of 

 antiquity. Phoenician hands have reared their dwellings 

 on its site ; and Romans, Greeks, and Carthaginians 

 have alike left evidences of their departed glory 

 in its precincts. The voice of one of Rome's greatest 

 orators was raised in its defence against those of his 

 own countrymen who should have protected rather 



