7000 men. They were here shut up for two months, with half supply of food, just sufficient to keep them alive, exposed to the vertical sun by day and the dews by night, without any method to preserve cleanliness, and coming in contact every moment with the sick, dead, and dying. At the end of two months, those few who had escaped these horrors with their lives were brought out and sold for slaves. This enterprise was the largest ever fitted out by any Greek state for the reduction of a foreign power. The attention of all the powers was fixed on this expedition, and all Greece was sanguine of its success; but jealousy in the management of the undertaking was the cause of its defeat. Alcibiades, whose experience, ability, and decision were universally acknowledged, was removed, and the command given to Nicias, who was deficient in the necessary qualifications. The consequence was the defeat of the Athenian fleet, and the glory and empire of Athens. there should be any danger of your not getting through in that time, purchase your ticket to Alexandria only. To visit Malta you must take an Austrian Lloyd steamer from Messina; time, 17 h. MALTA. Malta is an island in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to Great Britain. It is situated about 50 miles to the south of Sicily, and has a population (exclusive of Gozzo) of 110,000. Gozzo, which lies to the northwest, has a population of 17,000. This isl and, though small in size, is of vast importance for the protection of British commerce in the Mediterranean, and as a coaling dépôt for steamers to the East. It is about 17 miles long by 9 broad, and is nat urally a barren rock. The greater part of it, however, is finely cultivated, and planted with cotton, wheat, barley, and other grains. The pastures of the island of Gozzo are very extensive, and cattle are raised for the more numerous population of Malta. Both islands produce oranges, lemons, grapes, and other fruits of excellent quality. Besides the food produced by the soil, extensive fisheries are carried on for the daily supply of the market. The siege of Syracuse by the Romans, 200 years before Christ, is one of the most celebrated in ancient history. Here the great Archimedes rendered himself famous; for not only had the Romans to contend against the natural strength and fortifica- The Maltese are in general of an orditions of the city, but against the wonder-nary stature, strong, robust, and of a brown ful machines first invented by this great complexion. They are of a mixed race, mechanic. The city never could have been and speak a dialect which bears much retaken but for the treachery of one of the semblance to the Arabic spoken on the opSyracusan commanders. posite shores of Africa. They are full of fire, and endowed with a penetrating imag ination. They possess very lively pas sions, and are tenacious in their opinions, in their love, and in their hate; are labori ous and frugal, living on very slender fare. They are Roman Catholic in their religion, and are generally ignorant and supersti tious. Most persons in trade speak the Italian language as well as English; the latter is now taught in the common schools. About one tenth of the entire population are English and other foreigners, the balance are natives. Archimedes, Theocritus, and Moschus were all natives of Syracuse. Up to the year 1693 Syracuse was a city of great importance, but the dreadful earthquake of that year laid her monuments and houses in ruins. Travelers who wish to make the tour of the Mediterranean, viz., to Malta, Alexandria, Jaffa, Beyrout, Tripoli, Alexandretta, Rhodes, Smyrna, Syria, Malta, Messina, Civita Vecchia, to Marseilles, can purchase at Messina a return ticket from the Messageries Imperiale Company for 1200 francs, which will be good for four months. From this a discount of 20 per cent. will be made, and if for a family of three, an additional 10 per cent. discount is made. This will give you time to go up the Nile, and spend one month in Palestine. If you go to Constantinople, that will be added to the amount at the same discount. If The Maltese have in general adopted the costume of the Franks, but the native dress is still worn by the lower orders. This consists, first, of a long bag, made of wool, for a cap; it is dyed various colors, and hangs down behind; the top part is used for a purse, or forms a receptacle for any small articles the wearer wishes to carry about him. A short loose pantaloon, which leaves the leg bare to the knee, is confined round the waist with a girdle of cotton or silk. A cotton shirt, with a short loose waistcoat covering the same; in many cases the vest is ornamented with rows of silver buttons, quarter dollars, or English shillings. The costume of the ladies of Malta consists of a black silk petticoat, bound round the waist, over a body of some other kind of silk or print: this is called a half onnella. The upper part is called the onnella, and is made of the same material as the former, drawn up into neat gathers for the length of a foot about the centre of one of the outer seams; in the seam of one of the remaining divisions is inclosed a thin piece of whalebone, which is drawn over the head, and forms an elegant arch, leaving the face and neck perfectly open. The left arm is covered with one part of this habit, and the right is used for keeping down the angle of the other. The whole is extremely neat, but requires a peculiar grace in walking to show it off to advantage. The dress of the peasantry is very similar to that worn by the ladies, differing only in material, which consists of striped native cotton of a substantial quality. It is not customary for the poor females of the country to wear shoes, though they all like to have a pair. Bager, in his history of Malta, says a country woman, making preparations to visit the town, asked her companion how long she had had her shoes; the answer was, "Since the time of the plague" (1813). "Oh," replied the other, "mine are much older than yours, for I have had them since the blockade of the French." It is now universally acknowledged that Malta was first occupied by the Phoenicians, who were driven out by the Greeks. After the siege of Troy many of the Greeks returned to their homes, the rest scattered themselves over the islands of the Mediterranean. Some of them settled in Sicily, and built Syracuse and Agrigenti. In the year 3620, the Carthaginians, who had settled themselves along the northern coast of Africa, seized upon Sicily and Mal ta. It was not without a great effusion of blood that the Greeks were driven from Malta, as they were continually receiving re-enforcements from Sicily, but under the conduct of Hannibal, the famous Carthaginian general, they were defeated. A large square stone, with an inscription in the Punic language, marks the burialplace of Hannibal: it is near Ben Ghisa. The thriving condition of Malta excited the cupidity of the Romans, who, after two expeditions, took possession about the commencement of the second Punic war. The Romans did every thing they could to conciliate the inhabitants, who were strongly attached to the Carthaginians by a common origin and language. They respected their laws, permitted them to coin their own money, and made them eligible to any office in the republic. The Goths, who had overrun and made themselves masters of Italy and Sicily, and had pillaged and sacked Carthage, arrived at Malta about the year 506; and after occupying it for 37 years, were expelled by the army of Justinian, under the command of Belisarius. The island now remained under the dominion of the Emperors of Constantinople until the year 879, when the Saracens, who had already overrun all the East and conquered Spain, Portugal, Italy, and part of France, made a descent on the island of Gozzo, and massacred all the Greeks. From Gozzo they crossed to Malta, which nobly resisted for a length of time, but was at last obliged to succumb to superior force. The Saracens, upon taking possession of Malta, exterminated all the Greeks, and made slaves of their wives and children. They treated the Maltese, however, with every mark of respect, and allowed them the free exercise of their own religion. The advantages of the situation of Malta soon made itself apparent to the Saracens. Its numerous harbors gave them shelter in their piratical excursions, and they erected a fort on the present site of St. Angelo to secure their vessels from danger of attack. They also added new walls to those already erected around the Città Notabile. After they had remained in quiet possession of the island for 220 years, Count Roger, son of the celebrated Tancrede de Hauteville, in company with his brother William, expelled them from Malta, as also from Sicily and Naples. The inhabitants of the islands, regarding Roger as their deliverer, proposed to name him sovereign, which he accepted; he was accordingly crowned King of Sicily and Malta, notwithstanding the opposition of the Emperor of Constantinople and the Pope of Rome. Roger treated the Maltese with great kindness; he founded and enriched many churches; he allowed the Saracens to stamp their gold coin with "There is only one God, and Mohammed is the prophet of God," on one side, and on the other, "King Roger." cided the fate of the kingdom in favor of the former. Manfred met the just punishment of his parricide and his other crimes by being slain on the field, and his wife and children were taken prisoners by the conqueror. The daughter of Manfred; whose husband was now King of Aragon, with the title of Peter III., used all her influence to inspire him to assert his claims to the kingdom of Sicily and Malta. The tyranny of Charles had already rendered him obnoxious to the people over whom he governed, and it was not long before a desperate attempt was formed by a private Sicilian gentleman, who was secretly at After the death of Roger II., Constance, his only daughter, who had espoused Henry VI., emperor of Germany, of the house of Swabia, ceded the islands of Malta and Sicily to her husband and the future emperors of Germany. Malta remained under the government of the German em-tached to Peter, to massacre all the French perors for 72 years, during which time the natives signalized themselves greatly by their valor at sea. One of their admirals attacked and destroyed a squadron of the republic of Pisa, which had come to lay siege to Syracuse, and took the island of Candia from the Venetians, after having shattered their fleet and taken prisoner their admiral, Andrea Dandolo. Manfred, the natural son of Frederick II., formed the horrible design of poisoning his father, and making himself master of his dominions. The cruel oppressions and tyrannical proceedings of this usurper excited a rebellion of the Maltese and Sicilians against his government, and finally caused Pope Urban IV. to absolve all his subjects from their allegiance to him. To save the consequences of such powerful opposition, he offered his daughter Constance in marriage to Peter, son of James, king of Aragon. This alliance, however, had no other effect upon Urban than of completing his enmity toward Manfred; and without any right, except that presumptuously assumed by his predecessors, he invested Charles of Anjou, king of France, with the possession of Sicily and Naples, and their dependent states. This proceeding was unjustly confirmed by his successor, Clement IV., who reserved to himself the duchies of Benevento and Ponto Corvo, in the kingdom of Naples, and a yearly tribute of 40,000 crowns, which Charles obligated himself to pay to the Papal See on St. Peter's Day. A battle, which took place between the forces of Charles and Manfred, on the plains of Benevento, on the 26th of February, 1266, de in the kingdom at a given signal. This famous conspiracy, known by the name of the "Sicilian Vespers," was carried into effect on Easter Day of the year 1282, during which the King of Aragon was proclaimed sovereign of Sicily, and publicly crowned in the Cathedral at Palermo. Charles was in Tuscany when the news of this tragical event reached him; he immediately set about making endeavors to gain his lost authority; but his fleet, commanded by his son, was discomfited by Admiral Roger, who commanded the vessels of the Aragonese. The island of Malta, having suffered so much from the dissensions of its successive masters, was now destined to undergo even worse treatment from the individuals to whom it was successively given as a fief by the kings of Aragon and Castile. Notwithstanding the solemn promises made by King Louis, son of Peter II., at the just and earnest representations of the Maltese, that the island should, in future, be considered as unalienable from the crown of Sicily, it was twice afterward mortraged by King Martin-first to Don Antonio Cordova, and subsequently to Don Gonsalve Monroi-for the sum of 30,000 florins. The Maltese, wearied with making useless complaints, resolved to pay to Martin the sum for which the island was pledged. This offer was accepted; and in the year 1350, by a public act of the king, it was decreed that the islands of Malta and Gozzo should henceforth never be separated from the kingdom of Sicily, and that their inhabitants should enjoy equal privileges with those of Palermo, Messina, and Catania. In 1516 this entire kingdom passed into the hands of Charles V. of Germany, the heir of all the Spanish dominions. Notwithstanding his confirmation of the previous declaration of his predecessors concerning the perpetual junction of Malta with Sicily, this emperor, for political reasons, resolved to cede the island to the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, the remains of which were at that time at Viterbo, in the Papal States. The act of the donation is dated at Castel Franco, near Boulogne, March 23, 1530; and the document of the acceptance of the gift, by the council of the Order, April 25 of the same year. The substance of the act was as follows: That the Emperor Charles V., king of Sicily, gave to the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, in his name and in that of his successors, the islands of Malta, Gozzo, and Comino, with Tripoli in Africa, as a free and noble fief, with all the privileges of the sovereignty, under these conditions: 1. That every year the Order should present a falcon to the King or Viceroy of Sicily. 2. That the bishopric of Malta should always be nominated by the king. 3. That the chief admiral of the fleet should always be an Italian. 4. That they should preserve to the Maltese all their rights and privileges. The Grand Master, having accepted these conditions, embarked to take possession of the island, where he arrived on the 26th of October, 1530, accompanied by a great many knights and principal officers of the Order. in 1788 were three millions of livres, were in 1797 reduced to one million. The French government, which had for some time manifested a spirit of hostility to the Order, now came forward to display it openly. The first division of the French fleet arrived before the port of Malta on the 6th of June, 1798. On the 9th, General Bonaparte, with the remainder of the squadron, stood off the island, and, through his consul, Carson, demanded free admission for the whole fleet. This demand being refused, the same day the French began to disembark at the Bay of St. Maddalena, and carried the small fort of St. George without the loss of a single life. The next day the French army had sccured all the important posts in the country, and had advanced beneath the walls of the city, when the greatest uproar prevailed among the people on account of the treachery that had been discovered among several knights of the Order. Six days after the landing a council was called, and it was resolved to yield up the city into the hands of the besiegers. No sooner did the French find themselves the uncon trolled masters of the island than they enjoined all the knights to quit within three days. About $50 were advanced to each for the expenses of his journey; but he was not permitted to depart until he had torn the cross from his breast and mounted the tri-colored cockade. By the articles of capitulation, the French engaged to pay the Grand Master an annual pension of 300,000 livres, and to each French knight resident in Malta a yearly allowance of 700 livres. The French fleet, under the command of General Bonaparte, sailed from Malta in June, carrying with them all the rarities found in the public treasury, together with all the standards and trophies belonging to the Order, none of which ever reached their destination. They were contained in two ships, the Orient and Sensible-the former was blown up in the battle of Aboukir, and the latter fell into the hands of the British. The French soldiery com During the reign of John de la Valette, founder of the city called by his name, Malta was destined to undergo its severest attack from the hands of the Turks. It was besieged by a powerful armament for four months, but without success, De Valette having succeeded in repelling all their attacks, and compelling them, in the end, to retreat with vast loss. The Order maintained possession of the island for the space of 268 years. About the year 1730 it suffered serious losses by the extinction of many of its commanders in Germany, Spain, Sicily, Portugal, and Aragon; and in 1792 an edict of France was issued, de-mitted so many depredations throughout claring the Order extinct within the French territories, and its possessions were annexed to the national domains. To show the dilapidated state of the revenue, it need only be mentioned that the receipts, which the island, suspending the pensions to charitable institutions, and despoiling the churches, that the population became furious, and, when an attempt was made to sell the decorations of the cathedral church of Città Notabile, sixty soldiers, with their commander, were massacred by the people. From this time all communications between the city and country ceased, and Valette was reduced to a state of blockade. of them are steep, with side-walks composed of stairs. They are kept remarkably clean, being swept every morning. The houses, which are built of stone, and are generally of three stories, have all flatroofed terraces, which serves the double purpose of being an agreeable resort for a walk, and a receptacle for the rain which falls during the winter, from whence it runs into the cistern with which every dwelling is provided. The principal hotels are the Imperial Hotel and Morrell's Hotel. Prices high. Valetta is built upon a tongue of land extending into a bay, forming two splendid harbors; one called the Great Harbor, the other the Quarantine Harbor. The former is used for government vessels alone, the latter for foreign vessels, and those in quarantine. The city is closed by three gates: Porta Reale, which leads to the country; Porta Marsamuscetto, which leads to the Quarantine Harbor, and through which all strangers enter the city; and the Marina Gate, from the Great Harbor. About this time it was blockaded by the English and Portuguese fleets. The Portuguese admiral was left alone to maintain the blockade during the temporary absence of the English squadron; on the return of which a fresh summons was sent for the place to surrender. Early in December the same was repeated, which was firmly and laconically answered in the negative. The blockade had now lasted six months, and the city exhibited a scene of frightful privation. The besiegers would not permit any person to leave the town, knowing that their doing so would relieve the garrison. Disease added its ravages to the general suffering, and soldiers and citizens became alike its victims. Month after month passed heavily over, and in August, 1800, the citizens being totally beggared, the army was put on half pay. Four months afterward it was entirely stopped, and their rations greatly lessened. Still they bore all with aston-measure about 15 feet wide, and are com ishing fortitude, being supported with the posed chiefly of the common limestone of hope of speedy deliverance. At length the country; their whole circumference is the news of the interception of the sup- two miles and a half. The ditch which plies, and their capture by the English, crosses the peninsula from the Quarantine disheartened many, though it did not de- to the Great Harbor, cutting off all com cide them to capitulate. The condition of munication with the city, is about 1000 the town was dreadful beyond description. feet long, 120 deep, and 120 wide; this is Fresh pork brought two dollars a pound; crossed by five bridges. Beyond the counrats sold at an exorbitant price; dogs and terscarp are many outworks and a glacis cats were generally eaten, and horses, built in the same massive style, and well asses, and mules were similarly converted supplied with cannon, rendering the city into food. On the 8th of September, 1800, one of the best fortified in the world. a parley was held with the besiegers, when the terms of capitulation were arranged and ratified. The following morning the French sailed away, after having endured an obstinate blockade for two years. The fortifications which surround the town are very high, and many of them formed out of the solid rock. The walls During the existence of the Order, the knights of each language had a particular post assigned to them in case of attack. The knights of Provence had a rampart of St. John; those of France, St. James; those of Auvergne, St. Michael; those of Italy, St. Peter; those of Aragon, St. Andrew; those of England, St. Lazarus; those of Germany, St. Sebastian; and those of Castile, Santa Barbara. There was also a palace or inn for each of these languages, where all the members ate and assembled together for the purpose of consultation and the transaction of business such as preferred residing in their respective inns |