Chap. nr. 
through the State (^Venice, 
The La^nguage of the Natives is a corrupt Arabick or 
Morefco, introduced by the Saracens^ the ancient Lan- 
guage before their coming in, probably having been 
Greek, with a Mixture of Punick i whence I think one 
may reafonably conjefture, that the Saracens did 
either deftroy or drive out the former Inhabitants. 
Howbeit, the People can generally fpeak Italian, there 
being no other Languague but that and Latin ufed in 
any of the Courts of Malta. The Great Maifer of the 
Order is now Prince and fupreme Governor of the 
whole Ifland, which with Gozo and the adjacent Ifles, 
after the Lofs of Rhodes, was granted to this Order by 
the Emperor Charles V. in the Year 1530. The Go- 
vernment is managed with that Prudence and Juft ice, 
that the Ifland is now in a very flourifhing Condition, 
the Inhabitants enjoying a great Deal of Freedom and 
Security, being alfo in their Carriage and Gonverfation 
among themfelves, and to Strangers, fince the Coming 
in of the Order, very civil and courteous, however for- 
merly they have been branded for the contrary ; fo 
that few Subjedls live more happy than they do. 
The Great Master, when he goeth Abroad, is attended 
by many of the Knights, and two or three Pages, of 
which he keeps, (as we were told) about twenty four. 
The Knights of the Order are always uncovered in the 
Prefence of the Great Matter, excepting thofe fixteen 
which are of the Gran Croce : They take Place, of what 
Birth or Quality foever they are, according to their 
Seniority, from the Time of their AdmilTion, fo that 
there is never any Difficulty or Queftion about Prece- 
dency. 
All the Knights are of noble or genteel Extraftion, 
none being capable of Admiffion, but fuch as can prove 
their Nobility for three or four Defcents. The Great 
Majter wears a black ffiort Gown, with hanging Sleeves, 
the reft of the Knights are habited as they pleafe at 
Home, but when they go in Curfo (as they call it) up- 
on the Gallies, they wear the proper Habit belonging 
to their Order. The Number of Knights was faid to 
be between 2000 and 3000, of which, for the moft 
Part, the Majority refide in the City, except when 
the Gallies are Abroad. The Name of the Great 
Matter, at our being there, was Nicholaus Cottoner, of 
Majorca, and I fuppofe he is ftill living, not having 
fince heard of his Death. 
About five Miles diftant from Malta Weftward, lies 
the Ifland Gozo, called by the Ancients Gaulos, twelve 
Miles long, fix and a half broad, and about thirty in 
Circuit. The Soil, like that of Sicily, is very deep and 
fruitful of Wheat and other Grain. This Ifland is 
mountainous, yet all cultivated, furniffied with Store of 
freffi Springs. It maintains upon it 3000 Perfons, the 
Number of Houfes being about 500. It was much 
more populous before the Lurkijh Armada moft inhumanly 
wafted it in the Year 1 565, carrying away Prifoners 6000 
Perfons. In the Streighc betwixt Malta and Gozo lies 
a little Ifland called Comino, anciently, according to 
Cluverius, Hephajiia, about five Miles in Compafs, and 
well cultivated, for the Defence whereof the Great Maf- 
ter Wignacourt caufed a Fort to be built, oppofite to 
that dn the other Side the Streight in Gozo, to fecure 
the Streight, and hinder any Velfels paffing between the 
Iflands without Leave. 
That there is great Plenty of Shells and Fiffi-Bones 
petrified found in Malta, I have already intimated. I 
fhall now therefore only Name thofe which are not at 
all, or but rarely found with us in England, i. Glojfo- 
petra, which are nothing but Sharks Teeth of feveral 
Shapes and Sizes. Thefe the Maltefe call Serpents 
"Longues. 2. The Vertebres of Thornbacks, and other 
cartilaginous Fifties. 3. Cats-Heads (as they call them 
from their Likenefs to a little Skull.) 4. Serpents-Eyes 
of feveral Figures and Colours, the moft of them red 
and like to thofe they call Load-fiones, the exterior Su- 
perficies being a Segment of a Sphere and fhinincr, 
as if it were poliffied, fo that they are commonly let 
in Rings. I have feen great Lumps or MaiTes of thefe 
cemented together. That the Load-jlone is nothing 
elfe but the Jaw-Tooth of a Fiffi called Urpus mart- 
nus, by Schonfeldius, Dr, Merris in his Pinax hath 
V o L. II. N® 1 15, 
firft fiubliflied to the World, and I doubt not but theffi 
have the fame or the like Original. 5. Serpents-TeetB 
which are ffmall, oblong, ftriate Stones, of a polite 
Superficies, but no certain Figure ; whither to refer thefe 
as yet, I know not, as neither 6 . thofe they call Ser- 
pents Eggs, which are fomewhat like the former, but 
not ftriate with Lines. 7. Bafions of St. Paul, [Baculi 
Sti. Pauli,! havino; their Refemblance of fmall fnagored 
Sticks. 8. Petrified Lentils, becaufe for Colour, Figure 
and Magnitude, fomewhat like to that Pulfe. Befides 
I found among the Stones I bought there, foriie exaftly 
figured like the Fore-Teeth of a Man, and doilbtidi 
many other Sorts by diligent Search might be foundj 
which have not as yet been named or taken Notice of. 
There are but few Trees growing upon the Ifland, the 
greateft Want they have being of Fewel , to fupply 
which Defed, they have of late begun to make Ufe of 
Seawreck, to burn in their Ovens, prepared after a cer- 
tain Manner, invented by a Peafant of Malta, for 
which he is highly commended by Ahela, as a great Be- 
nefactor to his Country. 
Here I firft noted the Cuttom of flitting up the No- 
ftrils of Aflfes, becaufe they being naturally ftrait or 
fmall, fuffice not to admit Air enough to ferve them 
when they travel or labour hard in thefe hot Countries, 
For the hotter the Country is, the more Air is nrecef- 
fary for Refpiration and Refrefliment of the Body, there 
being lefs of that Menfiruum which ferves to nourifh or 
continue Fire, and confequently the vital Heat of. Ani- 
mals (which hath great Likenels thereto) in hot Air 
than in cold ; whence we fee that Fire burns furioufly 
in cold Weather, and but faintly in hot. Whether it 
be becaufe the Air is thinner in hoc Weather and hot 
Countries, or becaufe the reflected Sun- beams fpend 
and confume a good Part of the forementioned Men- 
firuum, or from both thefe Caufes ; That the Air is 
thinner, and confequently the Menfiruum alfo more dif- 
fufed in hot Weather, is clear in Experience, I need 
mention no other Experiment to demonftrate it than 
the Air inclofed in the Shank of an ordinary Weather- 
Glafs, which in hot Weather dilates itfelf, and in Cold 
contracts very confiderably. So then to give an Account 
of the Raging of Fire in the coldeft Weather, we 
need not have Recourfe to the infignificant Term of 
Antiperifiajis, the true Reafon thereof being the Denfiry 
of the ambient and contiguous Air, containing Plenty 
of that Menfiruum which nouriflies the Fire. 
I omitted to mention the ancient Caemetria, or fub- 
terraneous Burying-places, called Catacombs, of which 
there be many in Malta, becaufe of thefe we have al- 
ready had occafion to difcourfe in our Defcription of 
Syracufa in Sicily. That this Ifland produces or nou- 
riffies no Serpent or other venomous Creature the com- 
mon People affirm ; but becaufe I find no Mention 
hereof in Abela, I give little Credit to their Report 5 
fhould it be true, it would be to me a great Argument 
that this was not the Ifland upon which St. Paul was 
caft, when he fuffered Shipwreck, but rather that Melita 
beforementioned, upon the Coaft of Ldalmatia, for 
which there is alfo fome Ground in the Scripture ; for 
that St. Paul, upon the Viper fattening on his Hand, did 
by his Prayers obtain of God, that all the Serpents in 
Malta ffiould be turned into Stones, and the Ifland for 
the future wholly free from all venomous Beafts, is a 
Monkiffi Fancy grounded upon the forementioned pe- 
trified Fiffi-Bones, which they fondly imagined were 
fome time Parts of Serpents ; whereas in other Places 
where Plenty of fuch Stones are found, there is no Lack 
of Serpents. I confefs it is difficult to imagine how 
Serpents ffiould come at firft to breed here, if the 
whole Ifland were once (as we conceive) a lubmarine 
Rock covered with the Sea ; and as there is no fponta- 
neous Generation of Animals, as we alfo believe be- 
caufe it can be fcarce imagined, that any Man ffiould 
on Purpofe bring over Serpents hither, unlefs perchance 
to ffiew them for a Curiofity. 
Whether there be venomous Beafts or no, I am 
fure there are venomous Infeds here, the very Biting or 
Stinging of the Gnats (with which the City is much 
infefted) being more virulent than in other Places. For 
