All The Workmen Employed Are Obliged To Have Dispensations
From The Pope, And Every Pretext Is Eagerly Seized Upon To Delay The
Erection Of The Edifice.
At present, the Protestant community, with
few exceptions, are content to have service performed in an angle of
the court-yard of the palace, formerly a cellar and kitchen, but now
converted into an episcopal chapel and vestry-room.
The members of
the society have a small chapel, not adequate to the accommodation of
those who desire to attend it, belonging to the Methodist persuasion;
but its minister is afraid to encounter the difficulties and delays
which would be consequent upon an attempt to enlarge it. There is a
public library adjoining the palace, originally formed by the knights,
but considered now to be more extensive than valuable.
The period which I spent upon the island was too brief to allow me to
make any inquiries respecting its institutions, the novelties of
the scene engaging my attention so completely, that I could give no
thought to anything else. The shops and cafes of La Valetta have a
very gay appearance, and the ingenuity of the inhabitants is displayed
in several manufactures; the black lace mittens, now so fashionable,
being particularly well made. Table-linen, also of superior quality,
may be purchased, wrought in elegant patterns, and, if bespoken, with
the coat-of-arms or crest worked into the centre or the corners. In
the fashioning of the precious metals, the Maltese likewise excel,
their filagree-work, both in gold and silver, being very beautiful:
the Maltese chains have long enjoyed a reputation in Europe, and other
ornaments may be purchased of equal excellence.
To the eye of a stranger, Malta, at this period of the year (the end
of September), seems bare and destitute of verdure; yet, from the
quantity of every kind of vegetables brought to market, it must be
amazingly productive. The growth of cotton, lately introduced into
Egypt, has been injurious to the trade and manufactures of Malta, and
the attempt to supply its place with silk failed. In the opinion of
some persons, the experiment made had not a fair trial. The mulberry
trees flourished, and the silk produced was of an excellent quality;
but the worms did not thrive, and in consequence the design was
abandoned. Inquiry has shown, that the leaves from old trees are
essential to the existence of the silk-worm, and that, had the
projectors of the scheme been aware of a fact so necessary to be
known, they would have awaited the result of a few more years, which
seems all that was necessary for the success of the undertaking.
How many goodly schemes have been ruined from the want of scientific
knowledge upon the part of their projectors, and how frequently it
happens that a moment of impatience will destroy the hopes of years!
Fruit is cheap, plentiful, and excellent at Malta, the figs and grapes
being of very superior quality, while the island affords materials for
the most luxurious table. The golden mullet and the Becca fica are
abundant; and all the articles brought to market are procurable at
low prices. I can scarcely imagine a more agreeable place to spend a
winter in, and I promise myself much gratification in the sojourn of
a few weeks at this delightful island upon my return to England. I can
very strongly recommend Durnsford's Hotel as a place of residence, the
accommodation being excellent and the terms moderate. In remaining any
time, arrangement may be made for apartments and board, by which means
the rate of living is much cheaper, while the style is equally good.
There is an opera at Malta, in which performances of various degrees
of mediocrity are given. The gay period to a stranger is that of the
carnival; but, at other times, the festivals of the church, celebrated
in this isolated place with more of the mummeries of Roman Catholicism
than obtain in many other countries professing the same faith, afford
amusement to the lovers of the grotesque.
Though the thermometer at Malta seldom rises to 90 deg., yet the heat in
the sultry season is very great. Every person, who is in the habit of
studying the glass, becomes aware of the difference between the heat
that is actually felt and that which is indicated by instruments; and
in no place is this discrepancy more sensibly experienced than Malta,
in which the state of the winds materially affects the comfort of the
inhabitants. A good authority assures us, that "the heat of Malta
is most oppressive, so much so, as to justify the term 'implacable,'
which is often applied to it. The sun, in summer, remains so long
above the horizon, and the stone walls absorb such an enormous
quantity of heat, that they never have sufficient time to get
cool; and during the short nights, this heat radiates from them so
copiously, as to render the nights, in fact, as hot as the days, and
much more oppressive to the feelings of those who are accustomed
to associate the idea of coolness with darkness. I have seen the
thermometer, in a very sheltered part of my house, steadily maintain,
during the night, the same height to which it had arisen in the day,
while I marked it with feelings of incalculably increased oppression,
and this for three successive weeks in August and September, 1822."
At Malta, we were recommended, in consequence of the unsettled state
of affairs between Mehemet Ali and the European powers, to proceed
forthwith to Egypt, and though strongly tempted to prolong my stay in
the island, I thought it advisable to make the best of my way to the
Red Sea, and defer the pleasure, which a more protracted residence
promised, until my return in the ensuing year. Lieut. Goldsmith, our
kind commandant of the Megara, called upon us, according to promise,
to conduct us on board the new steamer, the Volcano, the vessel
appointed to carry the mails on to Alexandria.
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