A DAY IN MALTA. 
3 
April 24bth . — A great alarm last night : a cry of Fire ! fire ! 
From our cabin on to tho deck in a moment. There burning soot 
was falling from the chimneys; the water-engines were in full 
play amongst many cotton bales_, which were exposed on the 
steerage deck. An hour of anxiety; then to rest_, all safe. We 
were the only passengers_, excepting Little Dorrit_, as we called 
her^ who^ with Foxcroft_, were in our service^ — the first a clever 
sempstress^ the latter to assist in forming insect^ bird^, and fish 
collections. 
No land visible to-day. A little tired lark sought refuge on 
board ; we put it in a cage^ but it soon died. 
April 2^th . — The wind rose and the air very cold. A stormy 
petrel,, as it is called^ fell on the deck ; it was not dead^ and I tried 
to protect it ; but the sailors are so superstitious^ that I was obliged 
to abandon the care of it. The African coast visible all day. 
Algiers was seen,, its buildings well-defined, standing out bold and 
clear. At five p.m. the following day passed the barren island of 
Galita. 
April %7th . — Again a lovely day ; the awning, which during the 
storm had been taken down, was put up again, and beneath its 
shade we read and write. Steamed very near to the island Pan- 
terrala, where the Sardinian convicts are sent. In the evening 
sighted the island of Goza, where the lovely lace called Maltese 
is hand-worked ; and at midnight anchored in the Bay of Valetta, 
Malta. We lingered long on deck admiring the lovely scene, the 
moonlight softening the strong fortifications, the many ships of 
war, and the tall houses all the way up to the heights. 
The next day, Sunday, leaving the Pactolus,^^ we were off for 
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