80 
LETTERS FROM 
stroyed great numbers in this island. Some 
of the company carried banners and censers 
with incense, and two were playing on fid¬ 
dles, while the rest chanted in a very me¬ 
lancholy tone. The monks wear a thick 
knotted rope round the waist, ostensibly for 
the purpose of self-flagellation, though per¬ 
haps it is not often made use of. I have 
remarked that some of these monks show 
a little dandyism in the proper adjust¬ 
ment of this article, and endeavour to make 
it as ornamental as possible, by selecting a 
piece of very nice white rope, neatly knotted 
at equal distances. 
There is an English Protestant chapel in 
the palace, where service is performed twice 
on Sundays. As there is no organ, its place 
is supplied by the band of one of the regi¬ 
ments. 
Most of the Maltese in Valetta and the 
