-
Articles/Ads
Article NOTES OE A YACHT'S CETJISE TO BALAKLA.VA... ← Page 6 of 7 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Notes Oe A Yacht's Cetjise To Balakla.Va...
St . Angelo opposite , reflecting back , not her sister fortress ' s blushes , but her frowns—a very epitome of the church militant ; the peculiar whiteness of the whole structure arresting our eye , accustomed to the deep browns and reds of more northern ports . Some one somewhere describes Malta as " lying and boiling in the water like an egg , every
summer ; " and certainly the scorching heat is almost beyond the conception of an untravelled Englishman , to which the glaring white , both of soil and stones , and the total absence of shade , greatly contribute . 1 1 1 < L /> 4-1 . By degrees our whole party joined me on the deck—most ot them as new to the locality as myself . Then came breakfast , and embarkation in the beautiful shore-boats for the town .
The first edifice I noticed was a small chapel , erected by one ot the later Grand Masters , which occupies a prominent position at the foot of the stairs which lead to the town , and which are known by the extraordinary appellation of " Nix Mangiare" ( i . e ., nothing to eat ) Stairs , so called from the legions of beggars who line the ascent , and pour their sorrows and petitions into the ear of those who
toil slowly upwards . There is a long- excavated passage from this portion of the mole to that beyond the Custom House—the work of another Grand Master . The fortifications which surround the town are very high ; many of them are formed out of the native rock . The walls average about fifteen feet thick , and are composed chiefly of the common limestone of the country—which is mere coral rock , to which almost every inch
of soil has been transported from Africa or Sicily . These walls are about two miles and a half in circumference , and are strengthened by fortresses flanking the chief entrances to the city , and commanding the bridges which cross the great ditch ; they are termed cavaliers , and are each capable of quartering five hundred men . In the palmy days of Malta , the knights of each country—or , as the term was , each Language—had a particular rampart and cavalier
appropriated to themselves , in case of an attack , thus , to the knights of Provence was assigned the Bampart of St . John , with its cavalier—to those of France , that of St . James—to Arragon , ^ St . Andrew—to Castile , Santa Barbara—to England , the platform of St . Lazarus . . Every step is fraught with memories of this last glimmer of dying chivalry , which faded and expired on the rock of Malta . The stately auberges ( inns ) of the different Languages still beautify the city ;
nut , alas ! their glory is departed . JNo longer the rendezvous ot dignified warriors , they are parcelled out as civil and commercial courts , Government official residences , clubs , and auctioneers' offices . ^ These inns are handsome architectural buildings , especially that of Castile , which is the largest of them , and occupies a delightful situation under the walls of the great ditch which defends La Valetta on the land side , commanding a splendid view of the country beyond . While the Language of England existed , its inn fronted the small church of Santa Oatarina on one side , and the Strada Beale on the
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Notes Oe A Yacht's Cetjise To Balakla.Va...
St . Angelo opposite , reflecting back , not her sister fortress ' s blushes , but her frowns—a very epitome of the church militant ; the peculiar whiteness of the whole structure arresting our eye , accustomed to the deep browns and reds of more northern ports . Some one somewhere describes Malta as " lying and boiling in the water like an egg , every
summer ; " and certainly the scorching heat is almost beyond the conception of an untravelled Englishman , to which the glaring white , both of soil and stones , and the total absence of shade , greatly contribute . 1 1 1 < L /> 4-1 . By degrees our whole party joined me on the deck—most ot them as new to the locality as myself . Then came breakfast , and embarkation in the beautiful shore-boats for the town .
The first edifice I noticed was a small chapel , erected by one ot the later Grand Masters , which occupies a prominent position at the foot of the stairs which lead to the town , and which are known by the extraordinary appellation of " Nix Mangiare" ( i . e ., nothing to eat ) Stairs , so called from the legions of beggars who line the ascent , and pour their sorrows and petitions into the ear of those who
toil slowly upwards . There is a long- excavated passage from this portion of the mole to that beyond the Custom House—the work of another Grand Master . The fortifications which surround the town are very high ; many of them are formed out of the native rock . The walls average about fifteen feet thick , and are composed chiefly of the common limestone of the country—which is mere coral rock , to which almost every inch
of soil has been transported from Africa or Sicily . These walls are about two miles and a half in circumference , and are strengthened by fortresses flanking the chief entrances to the city , and commanding the bridges which cross the great ditch ; they are termed cavaliers , and are each capable of quartering five hundred men . In the palmy days of Malta , the knights of each country—or , as the term was , each Language—had a particular rampart and cavalier
appropriated to themselves , in case of an attack , thus , to the knights of Provence was assigned the Bampart of St . John , with its cavalier—to those of France , that of St . James—to Arragon , ^ St . Andrew—to Castile , Santa Barbara—to England , the platform of St . Lazarus . . Every step is fraught with memories of this last glimmer of dying chivalry , which faded and expired on the rock of Malta . The stately auberges ( inns ) of the different Languages still beautify the city ;
nut , alas ! their glory is departed . JNo longer the rendezvous ot dignified warriors , they are parcelled out as civil and commercial courts , Government official residences , clubs , and auctioneers' offices . ^ These inns are handsome architectural buildings , especially that of Castile , which is the largest of them , and occupies a delightful situation under the walls of the great ditch which defends La Valetta on the land side , commanding a splendid view of the country beyond . While the Language of England existed , its inn fronted the small church of Santa Oatarina on one side , and the Strada Beale on the