224 
MALT A: 
“ Notwithftnnding tlie fuppofed bigotry of the Maltefe, 
the fpirit of toleration is fo ftrong, that a mofque has been 
lately built for their fworn enemies the Turks. Here the 
poor flaves are allowed to enjoy their religion in peace. 
It happened lately that fome idle boys difturbed them 
during their fervice ; they were immediately fent to pri- 
ion and feverely punifhed. The police indeed is much 
better regulated than in the neighbouring countries, and 
affaflinations and robberies are very uncommon. 
“ Perhaps Malta is the only country in the world where 
duelling is permitted by law'. As their whole eflablifh- 
ment is originally founded on the wild and romantic prin¬ 
ciples of chivalry, they have ever found it too inconfiftent 
■with thofe principles to abolifh duelling; but they have 
laid it under fuch reftriCtions as greatly to leffen its dan¬ 
ger. Thefe are curious enough. The duellifts are obliged 
to decide their quarrel in one particular ftreet of the city ; 
and, if they prefume to fight anywhere elfe, they are liable 
to the rigour of the law ; and, what is not lefs fingular, 
but much more in their favour, they are obliged, under 
the moll fevere penalties, to put up their fwords when or¬ 
dered to do fo by a woman, a pried, or a knight. Under 
thefe limitations, in the midft of a great city, one would 
imagine it almolt impoffible that a duel could ever end in 
blood; however, this is not the cafe; a crofs is always 
painted oppofite to the fpot where a knight has been killed, 
in commemoration of his fall. We counted about twenty 
of thefe erodes. About three months ago, (Mr. Brydone’s 
letter is dated June 7, 1770,) two knights had a difpute 
at a billiard table. One of them, after giving a great deal 
of abufive language, added a blow ; but, to the aftonifh- 
ment of all Malta, (in whofe annals there is not a fimilar 
inftance,) after fo great a provocation heabfolutely refufed 
to fight his antagonid. The challenge was repeated, and 
he had time to refleft on the confequences; but (till he 
refufed to enter the lids. He was condemned to make the 
amende honorable in the great church of St. John for forty- 
five days fuccedively ; then to be confined in a dungeon, 
without light, for five years ; after which, he is to remain 
a prifoner in the cadle for life. The unfortunate young 
man who received this blow is likewife in difgrace, as he 
has not had an opportunity of wiping it out in the blood 
of his adverfary. 
“ The horfe-races of Malta are of a very uncommon kind. 
They are performed without either faddle, bridle, whip, or 
fpur ; and yet the horfes are faid to run full fpeed, and to 
afford a great deal of diverlion. They are accudomed to 
the ground for fome weeks before ; and although it is en¬ 
tirely over rock and pavement, there are very feldom any 
accidents. They have races of affes and mules performed 
in the fame manner four times every year. The rider is 
only furnifhed with a machine like a flioe-maker’s awl, to 
prick on his courfer if he is lazy.” 
Three fpecies of cotton are cultivated in Malta; one 
natural to the country, another from Siam, and the third 
of a cinnamon colour, called Antilles cotton. Thefe are 
all fown in the month of April, and the top of the plant 
is cut in the beginning of September, that the fruit may 
grow larger. It is gathered in October, when it begins to 
open, which is a fign that it is then fufficiently ripe. It 
is fown in the following manner: A hole fome inches deep 
is made m the ground, which is afterwards filled with 
water 5 and, when it is fufficiently foaked, the feed is put 
into it and covered over, without being watered again till 
it begins to (hoot out of the ground. The plant prefently 
grows to the height of ten to fifteen inches ; and blooms 
in the month of Augult. Wheat is fown in November, 
after the ground has been ploughed three times, and cut 
in the beginning of June: barley likewife is (own in the 
former month, and reaped in May. There is a kind of 
corn in Malta called tommon, which grows in poor land, 
and the bread made of the flour is particularly white. 
This grain is fown in February. Each field is enclofed 
with walls to fhelter the different plants from the effedts 
of the wind, rain, and florins, during the fpring and au¬ 
tumn. Malta and Goza produce fruits of exquifite fla¬ 
vour, excellent roots, and very fine flowers; the rofes in 
particular are much Tweeter feented than in any other 
country. The gardens are alfo generally ornamented with 
groves of orange and lemon-trees ; but thefe are not per¬ 
mitted to grow to any great height, on account of the 
wind, which would blow off the fruit, and break the 
branches. The greateft attention is paid to the orange- 
trees, which are commonly watered twice a-day. Their 
tops are trimmed into a round form refembling an um¬ 
brella ; and they grow on one Angle ftraight ftem, as do 
likewife the lemon-trees, the branches of which are fome- 
tlmes fuffered to extend till they form a kind of bower. 
Thefe trees are almoftall raifed in tubs, and placed in the 
molt flieltered fpots. Kitchen-gardens are greatly en- 
creafed in Malta, and employ numbers of people; they 
produce vegetables of the fined quality. Water is con- 
ftantly kept for their ufe in cifterns hewn out of the rock, 
and trenches are dug round them to coliedt the rain. A* 
great many bees are kept in fome parts of the ifland; the 
hives are horizontal, in the eaftern (tyle, and are much 
more eafy of accefs than thofe of another form. The 
Maltefe honey is very fweet, and has a moft delicious fla¬ 
vour; it is reckoned an excellent digeftive, and the an¬ 
cients compared it to the honey of Hybla. Cicero like¬ 
wife mentions it as being fuperior to that of any other 
country. 
The population of Malta is reprefented by M. Boifgelin 
to have experienced a moft rapid increafe ; and, in propor¬ 
tion to its extent, it is reprefented as having been, at the 
period of the French invafion of it, the moft populous fpot 
in Europe. We fhall tranferibe theaccount. “Malta in 
1530 did not contain quite 15,000 inhabitants, and thefe 
were reduced to 10,000 at the railing of the fiege in the 
grand malterfhip of La Valette ; during that of Omedes, 
Goza was entirely depopulated; and the plague in 1592 
made terrible ravages on the ifland ; notwithftanding 
which, by the cenlus taken in 1632, the population of the 
two iflands amounted to £1,750. Since that time, the 
Maltefe have been almoft conffantly at war; and great 
numbers were again deftroyed by an infedtious diftemper 
in 1676 ; yet fuch was the increafe of population, that in 
1798 Malta contained 90,000, and Goza 24,000, inhabi¬ 
tants. The population of Europe is in the following pro¬ 
portion : On an equal fpace of ground on which there 
exifts only 1 man in Iceland, there are 
in Norway 
in Sweden 
in Turkey « 
in Poland , 
in Spain 
in Ireland 
in Swiflerland . 
in Great Britain 
in Germany 
in England alone 
in France 
in Italy 
in the kingdom of Naples 
in the territories of Venice 
in Holland 
in Malta . . . 
The principal trade of the ifland confifted in cotton, 
the growth of the country, and which was of a much fu- 
perior quality to that brought from the Levant. It was 
exported either in bales, worked up into cloths and coarfe 
fluffs, or in its fpun-ftate. The greateft part was fent into 
Spain, for the manufactures in Catalonia. The payments 
were made in piaftres (pieces of eight), which the mer¬ 
chants fent to France, and there doubled their gains, by 
means of the profit they made in Malta on the different 
merebandifes they brought from Marfeilles. By a very 
accurate extraft from the books of the cuftom-houfe of 
the grand-malter, exhibiting the exact quantity of cotton 
fpun in Malta from the year 1788 to 1798, it appears that 
there 
3 
14 
36 
5 2 
63 
99 
114 
119 
127 
152 
153 
172 
192 
196 
224 
1103. 
