MALTA AND SICILY. 
169 
Thomas’s Bay to Marsa Scirocco is of a 
much bolder character than any part we 
have seen; some of the cliffs appeared to 
be from one hundred to one hundred and 
fifty feet in height. 
We were several hours rowing back to 
Sliema, against a piercing north-west wind. 
Miserably cold, and wet, and hungry, we 
were glad to take refuge at last in our com¬ 
fortable home, and to enjoy the consolations 
of dry clothes, a blazing lire, and a plentiful 
meal. 
I am heartily weary of this dull tideless 
sea! An occasional exposure of a muddy 
shore even would be almost as agreeable as 
this total stagnation of the water, for here 
the collector of marine curiosities has no 
opportunity of searching for treasures left 
by the retreating waves. I cannot account 
for the scarcity of shells on this coast; those 
