Observations upon the Peloponnesus and Greek islands, made in 1829

Front matter

c

OBSERVATIONS

UPON

Dedication

already, and the others are at your command whenever you shall require them.

I am sensible, that this work must have defects. The necessary documents were not all in my possession, for several months after my return from the Mediterranean; and, since they have been, numerous interruptions, occasioned by the ordinary duties of my office, have, as you well know, been unavoidable. I have to regret, also, as many of my readers probably will, that your many avocations have prevented most of my pages from receiving the benefit of your revision.

I can truly say, that I have aimed, throughout, at perfect accuracy in my statements; and, as I have not been remiss in exertions to render my work worthy of perusal, I submit it cheerfully to your kind patronage, and also to that of the many friends of the cause, in which we have the happiness to be engaged.

Contents

INTRODUCTION. — Reasons for a special agency to the Mediterranean — Embarkation — Sight of Europe and Africa — Contrast between the present and former religious condition of northern Africa — Remarks upon the Mediterranean and its coasts — Arrival at Malta — Quarantine — Intercourse with missionaries and others — St. Paul’s Bay — Churches and palaces — Malta as a missionary station — Embark, with Rev. Eli Smith, for Greece — Objects of the tour in Greece — Political geography of the country — Route pursued — Plan of this work — Agency of Mr. Smith in it — Geographical nomenclature — The author desirous of subserving the interests of the Greek people — Has no pecuniary interest in the sale of this volume, 21

PART FIRST. NARRATIVE OF THE TOUR: including observations upon

THE MORE INTERESTING LOCALITIES AND SCENERY} UPON THE SOIL, AGRICULTURE, AND PRODUCTIONS} THE EFFECTS OF WAR ON THE TOWNS, VILLAGES, AND PLANTATIONS} AND THE MAN- NERS AND CUSTOMS OF THE INHABITANTS.

THE PELOPONNESUS.

Chapter I.— Enter the province of Elis— Clarentsa— Chloumoutsi castle— Plain of Elis— Manner of travelling— Roads — From Clarentsi to Ali Chelebi — A khan — Enter the province of Achaia — Pastoral life — Palaeo- Achaia — Church of St. Andrew — Patras — Profanation of the Sabbath — From Patras to Bostitsa — Scene of wretchedness — Hospitable reception — Domestic employments — Bostitsa — Ancient republic of Achaia — From Bostitsa to Xilocastron — Remarks on the plains alongthe northern coast — Unexpected meeting — Enter the province of Argolis — Plain of Corinth — Arrival at the city, ------- 37'

Chapter II. — Province of Argoli3 continued— Present condition of Corinth— Apostolical labors and Christian church in Corinth— Acrocorinthus, and the prospect from thence— Sicyon— Propensity of the Greeks to multiply churches— Ride to the Nemean plain— Customs on Easter Sunday— Isthmus of Corinth— American colony— Cenchrea— Isthmian town and wall— Hermione— Cranidi— Plain of Troezen— Commence our principal tour in the Peloponnesus— Epidaurus— Grove of Aesculapius— Ligurion — Plain of Argos— Nauplion — Tiryns — Mycenae — The harvest season — Argos — Funeral and marriage processions — Fountain of Erasinus — Marsh of Lema — Cross mount Parthenium into the province of Arcadia.

*1

VI

CONTENTS,

Chapter III. — Province of Arcadia — First appearance of Arcadia — A Grecian lady — Plain of Tegea — Tripolitsa — Gipsies — School — Route to Calabryta — Plain of Mantinea — Subterranean passages for water — Plain of Orchomenus — Plain of Dara — Branch of the Ladon — Beautiful glen — Another branch of the Ladon and charming plain — Elevated sites of villages— Romantic dell — Plain of Oatsanes — Manner of ploughing and irrigating the ground and cultivating Indian corn — Ascend to the plain of Soudena — Southern limits of the modern Achaia — One of the capitani — Influence of elevation on climate — Magnificent scene — Calabryta — Route to the Convent of Megaspelseon — Description of the convent with its recent history — Plains on the river of Calabryta — Extent of arable ground — Ascent of mount Erymanthus — Valley of the Erymanthus — Psophis — Enter Elis again — Dibris — New aspect of the country, - - - 78

Chapter IV. — Province of Elis continued — Productions of the plains —

Lala — Douca — Plain of Olympia — Valley of the Alpheus — Re-enter the province of Arcadia — Rivers Erymanthus and Liadon — District of Liodoras — Albanian villages — Langadia — “Heap of cursing” — River Gortynius — Reception at Demetsana — School — Description of the place — Religious customs — Conversation with a school-master — On making the Scriptures our only rule of faith and practice — The Oeconomos of Demetsana — Muleteers— Costume — Food of the peasantry — Striking scenery on the road to Caryteena — Carytaena — Theodore Colocotrones — Mount Lycaeus and fine views — Andritsana and its school — Another heap of cursing — Situation at night — Temple of Apollo Epicurius — River Neda — Enter the province of Upper Messenia — Comparative interest of this province — Custom in relation to the dead — New range of mountains — Convenience of a tent — Scripture imagery from pastoral life — District and town of Arkadia — Road to Navarino — Philiatra — Reflections on the battle of Navarino — Navarino — Mothone — Corone, ------- 100

Chapter V. — Province of Lower Messenia — Arable ground bordering on the gulf— Nisi — River Pamisus and its plain — Mane — Calamata — Villages and fruit trees on the east side of the valley of Messenia — Fountain of the Pamisus — Messene — Plain of Stenyclerus — Defile of Derbenia — Again enter Arcadia — Delightful change of air — Leontari — Plain of Megalopolis and other objects seen from the castle of Leontari — Enter the province of Laconia — Sabbath at the Fountain of the Eurotas — Villages and cultivated plain — Manner of treating the mulberry trees and silkworm — Superstition of the evil eye — Laconian rose — Plain of Sparta — Splendid scenery around Mistras — Mistras — Greek antipathy against the Jews — Lacedaemon — View from the castle of Mistras — Produce of the plain— Sparta — Sclabo Chori — Middle regions of the Taygetus — District of Bardounia — Marathonesi — Population and products of Mane — Helos — Cross the Malaic peninsula — Monembasia — End of the tour and remarks upon it — Extent of the desolations occasioned by the war— Extent of Agriculture — Trees and shrubs — Wild animals, - ----- 123

ISLANDS OF THE AEGEAN.

Chapter VI. — Western Sporades — Hydra — Appearance of the town — Census — History of the island — Commerce and maritime power — Intercourse with the people — Spetsi t — Reception — Recent history — Principal causes of safety to the traveller in Greece — Remarks on the system of passports— Porus — Burying ground — View of the island and town — Women — Visit to the temple of Neptune — Monastery — JEgina — May-day — Temple of Jupiter Panhellenius — Refugees — Description of the town and island — Grecian society — A monk requests that his epitome of the Gospels may be re-printed — Northern Cyclades — General aspect of the islands — Syra — Roman Catholic town — Hermoupolis — Tenos — St. Nicholas — Marriage of Mr. King — Governor of the N. Cyclades — Church of the Evangelista — Andros — Myconos — Delos — Return to Syra — Desolation and neglect that have befallen the more sacred places of ancient Greece — Scio — Voyage to Smyrna — Return to Malta, ------ 143

CONTENTS

VU

IONIAN ISLANDS .

Chapter VII.— Voyage from Malta to the island of Corfu — Introduction to the Ionian Islands — Magnificent scenery of Epirus — Position and history of the Ionian Islands — Population of the islands — City of Corfu — Ancient temple — Excursion into the interior, with remarks upon the island — “Ship Ulysses” — Mount Ceraunia — Hoads — Cultivation of the olive, and the moral consequences of this — Complexity in the rights of property — Professor Bambas — Preaching of Typaldos — Christian idolatry — Priesthood — Churches — Support of the clergy — Religious character of the people — Influence of Venetian policy — Toleration granted by the present Constitution — Connection between church and state — Bishops — Papal Greeks — Jews — Printing establishment — Versions of the Scriptures — Restrictions on the press — Masquerades— Obtain an interpreter for the tour, - - 166

Chapter VIII. — From Corfu to Santa Maura — Historical associations — Island of Paxo — Island of Santa Maura — Amaxichi — Remarks upon the island — Cefalonia — Argostoli — Lixuri — Ruins of Cranium — Convent of St. Andrew and female boarding school — Cross the island — Pilaro — Samos — Remarks upon the island and its inhabitants— Treatment received from the Greek clergy of Argostoli and cause of it — Intercourse with laymen — Island of Ithaca — Physical character — Bathi — Fountain of Arethusa — Social intercourse — Bishop of Ithaca — Castle of Ulysses — Detention — Police regulations— Chief occupation of the Ithacians — Island of Zante — City — Condition of females — Remarks upon the island, - 185

Part Second

CONTAINING OBSERVATIONS UPON THE TERRITORY, POPULATION, AND GOVERNMENT OF GREECE} UPON THE STATE AND PROSPECTS OF EDUCATION} UPON THE GREEK CHURCH} AND UPON THE MEASURES TO BE PURSUED BY PROTESTANTS FOR THE BENEFIT OF ORIENTAL CHURCHES.

TERRITORY, P OP ULATION, AND GOVERN- MENT OF GREECE.

Chapter I. — Territory , according to the Protocol of Feb. 3, 1830 — Population— Peloponnesus compared with the state of Massachusetts — Its ancient inhabitants never as many as might have been sustained by the products of the soil — A much greater number may be sustained now, than could have been in ancient times — Government — Manner of its first organization under the Presidency of Capo d’Istrias — Particular acts — Mode of collecting the tithes — Demogerontes and Extraordinary Commissioners — Judiciary — Proceedings in relation to the fourth national congress — Contemplated revision of the Constitution, ----- 199

STATE AND PROSPECTS OF EDUCATION.

Chapter II. — State of education in the last century — Means of instruction enjoyed by the Greeks previous to the revolution — Resort to foreign universities— Heroic patriotism of five hundred educated Greeks — Activity of the Grecian mind— Few books yet in Greece— Public spirit of the Zosiviii

CONTENTS, mades — Elementary education quite overlooked before the revolution— Great interestbeginning to be taken in it — Views, plans, and proceedings of the Greek government, ______ 211

Chapter III. — Feeling among the people at large on the subject of education— Subscriptions in towns and villages for free-schools — Contributions made by convents — Individual munificence — Rise of the female school at Syra — Letter from a Greek female — “American School” at Syra— Sabbath school at Syra — Orphan school at ASgina — Schools at Nauplion, Argos, Tripolitsa and Demetsana — Scarcity of elementary books — In what manner a supply is to be furnished — What books would be acceptable — Vast importance of this branch of benevolent effort — Printing presses — On the establishment of schools — System of instruction in the Ionian Islands — Preliminary observations — Elementary schools — Classical schools — University— Theological Seminary — General remarks, - 225

THE GREEK CHURCH.

Chapter IV. — Considerations imparting an interest to the Greek church — Ancient churches of Corinth and Athens — Seminary at Athens — Bishoprics in Greece in the fourth century — View of the decline of the Greek church , and of the introduction of some of its more remarkable usages — G ospel contaminated by false philosophy — Progress towards a splendid ritual — Regeneration believed to result from baptism — Origin of the prejudice against marriage — Rise of monachisin — Christianity becomes the religion of the Roman empire — Multiplication of churches — Rise of picture and image worship — Invocation of departed saints — Private confession — Pilgrimages, etc. — Origin of masses — Festivals — The church oppressed with rites and ceremonies — General councils — Idolatry at its height — Controversy on the subject — Councils — Triumph of idolatry — Controversy respecting the procession of the Holy Ghost — Greek fondness for controversy — Ignorance of the Scriptures — Vain effort to unite the eastern and western churches —

Fall of Constantinople — Attempts of the Roman pontiff’ to subject the Greek church to his authority — Correspondence between the German reformers and the Greek patriarch — The patriarch Cyril Lucaris — His opinions anathematized — Doctrine of transubstantiation adopted by the Greek church — Reflections, ------- 259

Chapter V. — Present condition of the Greek Church. — Its extent — Its four patriarchates— Different orders of the clergy — Their revenue — Doctrines of the church — The seven mysteries, or sacraments — Fasts and feasts — Excommunication — Churches— Public worship— Public worship performed throughout the east in an unknown tongue— Colony of priests at Mount Athos, - - - - - - - 283

Chapter VI. — General remarks upon that part of the Greek church, which exists in liberated Greece — Ignorance and superstition of the people — Reasons for anticipating a reform— Missionary operations— Remarks upon the meaures to be pursued by Protestants for the benefit of oriental churches, ________ 301

APPENDIX. — Names of places in Greece— Bearings of remarkable places and objects— Agricultural farm on the plain of Argos— Greek newspapers — Itinerary in the Peloponnesus, _____ 323

Introduction

Reasons for a special agency to the Mediterranean — Embarkation— Sight of Europe and Africa — Contrast between the present and former religious condition of northern Africa — Remarks upon the Mediterranean and its coasts — Arrival at Malta — Quarantine — Intercourse with the missionaries and others — St. Paul’s Bay — Churches and palaces — Malta as a missionary station — Embark, with Rev. Eli Smith, for Greece — Objects of the tour in Greece — Political geography of the country — Route pursued — Plan of this work— Agency of Mr. Smith in it — Geographical nomenclature — The author desirous of subserving the interests of the Greek people — Has no pecuniary interest in the sale of this volume.

Two general reasons induced the Prudential jCommittee of the Board of Foreign Missions ittlaSr to ci

opeokth a genifc^ to the Mediterranean. (1.) The missionaries to Syria, being driven from their station by the political disturbances which agitated the Turkish empire, were in the island of Malta, and the Committee were anxious to confer with them in relation to future operations in the east. (2.) The Committee were desirous to know, more satisfactorily than they had the means of knowing, precisely what kind of efforts in behalf of liberated Greece were incumbent^n the Board.a

With these objects in view, I embarked at Boston, on the 28th of November 1828, for Malta. The passage dcrOss the Atlantic was boisterous, but the wind was generally fair, and in a little more than twenty days I saw the mountains of Europe and Africa.

These were a welcome sight, after the eye had become wearied wTith the interminable level of the ocean.

(a) For a more ample statement of the reasons for this agency, see Missionary Herald, vol. xxiv. p. 394.

VOYAGE.

Those of Africa were connected with the great Atlantean range.

No Christian can gaze long upon Africa, without painful emotions. To think how near I was to the dominions of the False Prophet — to think of the vast extent of those dominions — of the deep moral and intellectual darkness that covers them — and how faint the prospect is of a speedy and desirable change, — was enough to make one turn away with sickness of heart. Yet on turning towards Spain, the prospect was not much more cheering, for a spiritual gloom hung over that country, as dismal, almost, as when it was occupied by the Moors.

How glorious, comparatively, was the state of Northern Africa in the age of the great Augustine! The light of the gospel then shone upon an extent of country stretching more than two thousand miles from the Atlantic eastward, and from the Mediterranean two hundred, and even five hundred miles into the interior. Within this space were more than four hundred and fifty bishoprics, each of which might embrace threescore or fourscore towns and villages;1* and if each town and village contained its church, which is probable, there were more than thirty thousand Christian churches in northern Africa. But these lights have all been extinguished, and with them the lights of science, civilization, and liberty.

Having entered the Mediterranean, we inclined to the northern shore, and sailed along the coast of Spain. Mountains rose before us all the first day. The snowy top of Sierra Niva da, the highest in Spain, became visible before noon, resembling a white cloud. At the setting of the sun it was comparatively near, and the summit was adorned with the most brilliant colors. Broad streams of light descended on the ridges, diverging from the top, and finely contrasted with the deep shades of the ravines.

(b) Bingham’s Antiquities of the Christian Church, vol. iii. p. 351.

ARRIVAL AT MALTA.

The next day we stood over towards Africa, and should have seen it, had the southern atmosphere been clear; yet the mountains of Spain continued visible. Indeed this sea, for nearly two hundred miles eastward of Gibraltar, does not exceed thirty leagues in width, so that the Carthagenian sailor did not here lose sight of land in fair weather, and could dispense the better with the compass and quadrant. I may add, that a vessel sails nearly five hundred miles eastward of Gibraltar, without being more than thirty-five leagues from elevated land. Still further east, we had a view of Africa and Sardinia, at the same time. Sicily must be visible from Cape Bon, the lofty promontory at the entrance of the gulf of Carthage; and when only a few miles beyond that cape, we distinctly saw the island of Pantellaria, full thirty leagues in the direction of Malta. Sicily may be seen from Malta. Mount JEtna is a conspicuous object far off at sea; and in southern Italy, in continental Greece, in the Peloponnesus, in Candia and other islands of the Archipelago, in Asia Minor, and in Syria, there are lofty heights, raised as if for a guide to the mariner. While contemplating the rugged profile which almost every coast presented, it was pleasing to think how many beacons the merciful Creator had erected around these shores, and of the aid they had rendered to the many generations of sailors, who were obliged to grope their way in the deep, without the improvements that facilitate modern navigation.

Our voyage up the Mediterranean was not distinguished by anything remarkable. The distance from Gibraltar to Malta is about a thousand miles, and the whole distance from Boston to Malta may not be far from four thousand. On the first day of the year 1829, we took on board a dark-looking Maltese pilot, and at two P. M. were safely anchored in the quarantine harbor of Valetta, the principal port of Malta. We were subjected to a quarantine of seven days. The health officer handed us printed regulations for the quarantine on the end of a long stick, to avoid contagion.

INTERCOURSE WITH MISSIONARIES.

and the letters we brought were fumigated in sulphur, before any person was permitted to touch them. Wherever we went we were accompanied by a guard, whose duty it was to see that we touched no one, and that no one touched us.

The day after our arrival, I removed to the Lazaretto,6 and occupied an apartment looking out on the lofty battlements of Valetta. The seclusion here is not entire. In ordinary cases the inmates are allowed to converse with each other wherever they chance to meet, remembering only to preserve the proper distance. But the intercourse with all persons not in quarantine, must be in the parlatorio , or place for conversation, where barriers are interposed to prevent a near approach of the parties. There I saw my brethren of the mission, Messrs. Bird, Goodell, Smith, and Hallock, and nearly all the members of their respective families; and either while in the Lazaretto, or soon after, I became acquainted with Mr. Schlienz, of the Church Missionary Society, and his two assistants; with Mr. Wilson, of the London Missionary Society; with Mr. Keeling, of the Wesleyan Methodist Society; and with Mr. Nicolayson, of the London Jews Society. Mr. Schlienz is from the Basle Missionary Seminary, and is the associate of Mr. Jowett, (then in England,) the well-known author of two interesting volumes of Christian Researches in the Mediterranean, of which one has been republished in this country.d Mr. Nicolayson was a missionary to the Jews in Syria, and left that country, with Mrs. Nicolayson, at the same time with our brethren, and for the same reasons. Mr. Wilson and Mr. Keeling have been in Malta some years. — Mr. Abbott, the English consul

(c) A Lazaretto is an edifice appointed for the temporary residence of persons, and also for the reception and purification of certain articles, coming from places suspected of the plague, or of other contagious diseases. One of the great objects of the philanthropic Howard, was to ascertain and improve the condition of these institutions.

(d) Christian Researches in Syria and the Holy Land.

REMARKS UPON THE ISLAND.

for Beyroot, was at that time in Malta, and, with his excellent lady, continued those attentions, which, under more trying circumstances, had contributed so much to the happiness of our missionaries in Syria.e I am bound to acknowledge, also, my obligations to Thomas McGill, Esq., an English gentleman holding the office of Greek consul at Malta, who, besides giving me valuable information, furnished my companion and myself with letters, which were of much use to us in Greece.

I remained at Malta till the 25th of February. The results of my intercourse with the missionaries of the Board and of other societies, will not be here related — - except so far as to say, that nearly all the measures, which have been adopted by the Prudential Committee since my return, with regard to the Mediterranean mission, were then discussed, and received the full sanction of our brethren/

Malta has been so often described, within a few years past, that I omit nearly all the notices respecting that island, which I had entered in my journal. Of course, I became familiar with the city and suburbs of Valetta; and I once made an excursion to the bay, where the apostle Paul is supposed to have suffered shipwreck, and also to the archiepiscopal city in its neighborhood, called Citta Vecchia.

The Bay of St. Paul is on the eastern coast of Malta, about six miles north of Valetta, and not far from the little island of Gozo, by some regarded as the island of Calypso. How much there is to countenance the tradition, that Paul was shipwrecked in this bay, will ap-

(e) He has since returned to Beyroot.

(f) The Rev. Messrs. Whiting and Dwight have been sent out as a reinforcement of the mission. The mission to Syria has been resumed by Messrs. Bird and Whiting. Messrs. Smith and Dwight have proceeded on an exploring tour into Armenia. The Greek press has been employed, more vigorously, in the printing of school-books; and it has been decided, with the advice and concurrence of the missionaries, to continue the printing establishment, for the present, at Malta. That establishment is designed for printing in various languages, and, under existing circumstances, can operate more advantageously in that island, than it can at Smyrna, or in Greece.

st. Paul’s bay.

pear in the opposite sketch, taken by Mr. Bird, which correctly exhibits the topography of the bay. I have added an explanation, which will be found below.

The high probability that here is the scene of the events recorded in the close of the twenty-seventh chapter of Acts, imparted a peculiar interest to the shores and waters of this bay. God had assured the apostle of life, and therefore the stormy wind, and boisterous sea, and dashing surge roaring from the rocks, could not make him afraid. Yet when the morning broke out of the long tempestuous night, with what intenseness must he have surveyed the coast to see where they were to land; and how must his soul have burned with gratitude, when he discovered the “creek with a shore;” and with what overpowering sensations must he have found himself and his companions “escaped all safe to land.” I would not worship Paul, as the papiot^ooa, nor would I erect temples in honor of him; but no pious man can stand and look on this spot, and believe that here transpired the events recorded on the sacred page above referred to, without some thrilling emotions.

On our way from Yaletta to Citta Vecchia, we travelled over a soft, white freestone, covered with a thin,

EXPLANATION OF ST. PAUL’S BAY AND SHIPWRECK.

The ship might have anchored at a or at b. The inlet c has very much the appearance of a creek, and would lead us to think that the anchorage was at b. m is an island, and two seas meet at d, where the water is too shallow for such a vessel as Paul was in to pass through. Whether the anchorage was at a or at b, the ship might “fall into” this place, and run aground. With the Euroclydon , or northeast wind, (the present Levanter,) she would not, indeed, be likely to fall upon d, if the mariners, after getting under way at b, steered for the creek c; but they might have managed unskilfully, or more probably the wind had changed to the southeast, or south. There is a “shore,” or good landing place, at e, and also at g, and on the creek c. From the island m to n (where the Maltese pretend Publius had a country-house,) is upwards of a mile. The rock at the point s, where are salt works, runs under water, and some have supposed the vessel struck on this point, and that we are to understand the phrase “where two seas met,” as intended to denote the meeting of the waves from the opposite sides of such a low projection; but at s, it would now be scarcely possible, after a storm, to effect a general landing on boards and broken pieces of a ship If the vessel struck at d, it would be possible to land at e, especially if the wind had changed io the southward, as the shore is near, low, and sandy, and the water shallow. At g and c are also fine landings. The shore at p is precipitous, and ai r rough and dangerous.

- i t

CHURCHES AND PALACES.

but luxuriant soil, which was supported on the hillsides by terrace-walls of stone, forming offsets rising one above another. Artificial levels are thus produced. Several villages lie between the two cities, each of which has a large and costly church. Within two miles of Citta Vecchia, the aqueduct, supplying Valetta with water, rises suddenly out of the ground, and runs a considerable distance by the road side, supported by some hundreds of arches. Citta Vecchia stands on an eminence, in the centre of the island, and near the celebrated labyrinth of catacombs. Here was a considerable town, called Melita, or Medina, before the knights of Rhodes took possession of Malta. Hence the name of Citta Vecchia, or the ancient* city. It is not large, but its situation, walls, and cathedral, render it conspicuous. The cathedral is a sumptuous edifice, inferior in magnificence only to the church of St. John in Valetta. The pavement of this latter church is regarded as one of the richest in the world. It is composed entirely of sepulchral monuments of the finest marbles, porphyry, lapis lazuli, and other valuable stones, admirably put together, and representing, in a kind of Mosaic, the arms and insignia of the persons they are designed to commemorate. The recesses, or chapels as they are called, are adorned with bronze and sculpture of the finest description; the arched roof is ornamented with paintings; and round the church hung tapestry, interesting in design, and rich in execution.

Not far from the old city stands the palace, formerly occupied by the Grand Master of the knights — now empty, open to the weather, and decaying. A paved way leads down the hill to a garden, called Boschetto filled with orange trees. Here we dined in a grotto, covering a fountain, and furnished with a table and seats of stone. On our way homeward, we visited another garden, connected with the summer palace of the present governor. The extent of this garden, the varied play of its fountains, the neatness of its walks, and the number and excellence of its fruits, would render it de- *3

MALTA AS A MISSIONARY STATION.

serving of attention in any part of the world. This, also, once belonged to the Grand Master. The palace he occupied in Valetta, is a vast pile surrounding a court, and occupying a whole square.

The memory of these knights will long survive the existence of their order; for the massy walls and castles they erected around Valetta, and especially the deep and wide ditches they cut many miles in the solid rock, will not soon be obliterated from the earth. The fortifications are impregnable, and the ports which they defend are admirable for depth and security. Whole fleets may ride in them.