Public Library of Malta.--British Museum, London.--City
Circulating Library.--Museum of Valletta.--Interesting
Curiosities.--Birthplace of Hannibal.--Pawnbroker's
Establishment.--Savings Bank of the Monte di Pieta.--The
Baraccas.--A Superb View.--An Excursion Inland.--Ancient
Capital of Malta.--Citta Vecchia.--Toy Railway.--About the
Vatican at Rome.--An Ancient Cathedral.--Dungeons of the
Middle Ages.
The public library and museum of Valletta are in the same edifice,
adjoining the Grand Palace, the entrance being under the arcades facing
the Cafe de la Reine. This was the last building erected by the
fraternity of St. John in Malta. It contains a collection of over fifty
thousand volumes besides many choice manuscripts. The library is mostly
composed of the individual collections once owned by the Knights, each
of whom agreed to bequeath, at the close of life, his private
possessions in this line. Of course there were some studious and
scholarly men as well as many charlatans in the brotherhood. It now
forms a library of much more than ordinary importance, to which valuable
books are still added from time to time. The printed works can be taken
out for home use by any resident of Malta, under reasonable
restrictions, and even strangers are permitted this privilege, if they
are properly introduced by any responsible citizen. The shelves, as
might be supposed, are particularly rich in the literature of the
Middle Ages, containing some extremely interesting volumes, the work of
zealous old monks, some few of which are illumined with rare artistic
ability. The department of engravings is quite extensive, embracing some
examples of very ancient origin, especially curious and valuable. It is
true that nothing could possibly be cruder than some of these specimens,
wherein the rules of perspective, after the Chinese fashion, are
entirely ignored. Indeed, some of the objects attempted would seem to
require labeling to fix their character and purpose.
This library was founded by Bailli de Tencin, who started the
institution with ten thousand volumes, his entire personal collection of
books, freely contributed for this purpose. It is true that
comparatively few persons avail themselves of the advantages here
offered, but an occasional priest, an elderly citizen, or a foreign
student is seen turning over the leaves of the ancient tomes.
Specialists sometimes visit Malta, coming from long distances solely to
consult this collection of books and manuscripts. An individual was
pointed out to the author who seemed to be very much interested in the
library, and who was said to be here in behalf of the British Museum,
London, to effect the transfer or exchange of certain duplicate volumes
in the collection to the grand, monumental library of the great English
metropolis. Our companion was a cultured Englishman, who spoke with just
pride relative to the London library. "Do you realize," he asked, "how
many books that noble institution contains?" We confessed a lack of
exact knowledge in the matter. "Well," said he, "there are to-day upon
its shelves, properly classified and catalogued, over one million and a
half of printed books, not to enumerate its many thousands of rare
manuscripts which are held of priceless value."
The books in the Valletta collection are principally in Latin, Italian,
and French, but there is also a large assortment in other European and
in Asiatic tongues.
The English residents maintain a well-supplied and constantly growing
subscription library, known here as the Garrison Library, situated in
St. George's Square. This resort forms a sort of ladies' club, where the
gentler sex congregate daily; they come to read, write, and to learn the
news. Here they have access to all the latest magazines and newspapers,
and here they gossip to their heart's content. Like Viesseux's
Circulating Library in Florence, or that in the square of the Spanish
Stairs, at Rome, such an institution is of as much benefit to travelers
as to the local inhabitants. There are a dozen newspapers published in
Valletta, about half of which are in English and the rest in Italian.
The number of volumes in the Garrison Library is about thirty-one
thousand. It is an indispensable acquisition in such an isolated spot,
helping to reconcile one to the fate of being forced to make Malta his
home. Army officers look upon an assignment to either this group or to
Gibraltar as anything but desirable, while entertaining a strong
preference for Malta. With the facilities and gayeties furnished by the
Union Club, these gentlemen of the sword and epaulet manage after a
fashion to exist. Public dinners are given, as well as balls and
assemblies, both by the governor at the palace and by the managers of
the club, each week during the season. This Union Club of Malta is
favorably known all over the continent of Europe for its hospitality and
general excellence. The hall of entrance to the club is very
artistically ornamented, and so is its elegant and spacious ball-room.
The museum of Valletta did not escape the outrageous cupidity of the
French soldiery, who perpetrated more mischief in their senseless
destruction of antiquities than will ever be known in detail. Plunder
and spoliation were second nature to them, but they also spitefully
defaced escutcheons and armorial insignia which were the only available
keys wherewith to unlock the mysteries of the past. The Valletta museum,
notwithstanding its misfortunes, contains many curious and unique
specimens of antiquity, being almost entirely composed of such as have
been found upon the islands of this group. These consist of statuary,
vases, illumined marbles and very ancient coins, amphora of Egyptian
shape and mural urns. A considerable number of these and also some
beautiful Etruscan vases were found on the island of Gozo, and were
unearthed quite recently. One of the marble groups represents the
familiar subject of a wolf suckling the infants Romulus and Remus.
Another marble figure is a bust representing Zenobia, Queen of Palmyra.
This is in alto-relievo. Some of the metallic objects are too much
corroded by time and rust to enable one to divine their original
purpose, like the specimens seen in the museum at Naples exhumed from
buried Pompeii. There are three or four interesting medals exhibited
which are in excellent preservation, bearing Phoenician characters,
and some other articles which are inscribed in the same language. There
is one monument which evidently belongs to the period of the Goths,
besides a fine marble statue of Ceres, the product of the same period.
This was exhumed on the island of Gozo. A few medals bear Greek
inscriptions. There are some lachrymals and sepulchral lamps which came
from Roman tombs near Citta Vecchia, the ancient capital, also a couple
of terra-cotta sarcophagi from the same neighborhood. A square stone
slab of great interest bears a legend in Punic characters, designating
it as cut to mark the burial place of the famous Carthaginian general,
Hannibal. This was found in a natural Maltese cave near Ben-Ghisa.
It is claimed that Hannibal was born on this island, and there is a
respectable, intelligent family now living near the city of Valletta who
bear the name of Barchina, and who assert themselves to be his
posterity. Menander, the celebrated orator, was born at Malta. Aulus
Licinius, whom Cicero styled the Aristotle of Malta, and Diodotus, the
philosopher and intimate friend of Cicero, were also born here. The
latter died half a century or more before Christ was born, which reminds
us that the "Sons of Malta" were representative men in Rome about two
thousand years ago.
We were shown a small but highly valued and curious gold coin, which
must have been issued by the Arabs about the year 1090, though its date
could not be distinctly made out. It was in the possession of private
parties. On one side was an Arabic legend: "There is only one God, and
Mohammed is the prophet of God." On the reverse side was: "King Roger."
It will be remembered that Count Roger the Norman, son of Tancrede de
Hauteville, was declared King of Sicily and Malta about the close of the
tenth century. We were told that a hundred pounds sterling had been
offered for this coin not long since, by an agent of the British Museum,
London.
The curiosities in this collection are not very numerous, but they are
extremely interesting. It is especially remarkable that so many highly
choice examples of antiquity should have been obtained in so limited a
space as the Maltese group, nor is the field exhausted. One cannot but
be impressed by these silent witnesses of the mutations to which these
islands have been subjected.
A pawnbroker's establishment on an extensive scale occupies a long
building in the Strada Mercanti, opposite the city post-office, and is
under special government charge. It is an institution very similar in
its purpose and management to one existing in the City of Mexico, and
was established in 1507, its object being to afford prompt pecuniary aid
when needed by the native people, who are often in temporary distress.
The government regulates the rate of interest, which is placed at the
lowest figure compatible with the purpose of making the institution
self-supporting. It was in the first place a private enterprise, and
high rates of interest were charged for the use of money, but as it grew
in means and usefulness, it was taken in hand by the government, or
sovereign power for the time being. The Maltese women who have inherited
from parents or grandparents cherished articles of personal adornment,
such as jewelry and the like, prize the same far beyond the intrinsic
value, and if they are forced to pawn them for a period, they are very
sure to redeem them when they possess the means to do so. Since 1833,
solely with a philanthropic purpose, a savings bank has been added to
the pawn establishment. After half a century of experience, this branch
of the institution has proved to be of decided public benefit, promoting
frugality, industry, and self-respect among the common people of Malta.
It has been the means of changing the daily habits of many careless,
heedless individuals, who through its agency have gradually laid by a
foundation for acquiring a competency. In 1891 the deposits had reached
an aggregate of over two million five hundred thousand dollars. This is
a very large sum for such a community as constitute the humbler class
of Valletta. The number of depositors is set down at six thousand in the
last annual report. Any native may place here a sum as small as one
dollar, to which he can add from his savings similar sums at his
pleasure. When these deposits amount to one pound sterling, the money
begins to draw interest. Being under the control of government, it is
safely and honestly administered for the public good. An unsuccessful
effort was made by the author to obtain other details, as it seems to be
a subject of general interest, and a progressive move worthy of
imitation.
The French, who respected neither religious nor charitable institutions,
even robbing the hospitals, and stealing right and left wherever they
appeared under Bonaparte,--the Alaric of his age,--plundered the Monte
di Pieta of Valletta, purloining therefrom about one hundred and fifty
thousand dollars, in small securities, left on deposit as collaterals by
the poor men and women of the capital! This ruined the institution
temporarily; and it was compelled, for the first time in about three
centuries, to close its doors. Such an unfortunate experience served to
confirm many of the ignorant Maltese in the Arab passion for burying
their money in the earth for safekeeping. This is a practice which they
have not wholly outlived, even at the present time, showing the tenacity
with which a people will adhere to the customs of their ancestors. After
the much-hated French were driven out of the island, a few liberal men,
who possessed the means, capitalized the Monte di Pieta at once, and by
energetic and honest effort it steadily regained its former position,
proving itself to be indeed a public charity. It benefits all classes,
makes no distinctions, and loans as high as three thousand dollars to
one individual.
There are two Baraccas or parterres in connection with the line of
fortifications surrounding Valletta, which form favorite promenades of
the citizens. They are known as the Old and the New Baraccas, from
either of which fine and comprehensive views may be enjoyed. The latter
is preferable on account of the great extent of land and sea which it
commands, as well as for its beautiful garden. A study of the topography
of Malta from this point will enable the visitor to bring away with him,
impressed upon the tablets of his memory, a truthful map of the group.
Experience soon teaches the traveler to adopt this expedient when he
finds himself in any new locality which admits of so doing, until he
finally possesses many photographic pictures stored within his brain,
forming delightful reminiscences of which no misfortune can rob him.
One of the most charming pictures which lives in the author's mind is
that of a bird's-eye view enjoyed from a lofty standpoint in the Maltese
capital, on a beautifully clear afternoon in early spring. The larger
portion of the yellow-hued city lay far below, with its myriads of
cream-colored, flat-roofed houses, and its thrifty, business-like
boulevard; while its many blooming fruit trees afforded warm bits of
color here and there. The Strada Reale recalled the Via Victor Emanuel
as seen from the top of the Milan cathedral. Both harbors of Valletta,
with their numerous shipping and stately warehouses, were in view. Half
a dozen iron-clads with their grim, threatening batteries formed a
prominent feature. The broad Mediterranean stretched far away to the
horizon, dotted at intervals by the picturesque maritime rig of these
waters, its placid surface now serene and quiet, radiating the afternoon
light like liquid sapphire. A fleet of gaudily emblazoned native boats
shot hither and thither over the near surface of the bay. Large,
broad-winged sea-gulls sailed lazily through the air, dipping now and
then into the water, and rising again upon outspread pinions of
stainless purity, dazzling as new-fallen snow. One or two long,
irregular lines of dark smoke, floating among the distant clouds,
pointed out the course of the big continental steamers bound east or
west. Far away to the northward, the conical outline of grand old Mount
AEtna, king of volcanoes, was faintly limned upon the sky which hung over
the Sicilian coast.
How soft and summer-like was the still atmosphere, how suggestive the
comprehensive view! Can one who was brought up on these islands ever be
content to live in the cities of the mainland? How they must hunger for
a horizon!
As we viewed the scene, the hum of the busy town rose upon the air like
the drone of insects in a tropical forest, mingled at the moment with
the soft chimes from the church of St. John. It was a fete day in
Malta, and other bells joined in the chorus which floated upward with
mellow cadence, creating a tender glow of peacefulness. While we gazed
half-entranced upon this varied scene, the sun declined serenely toward
its ocean bed, and slowly disappeared. At the same moment a sharp,
ringing report was heard from the flag-ship of the squadron, preceded by
a small puff of white smoke, which rose in circling wreaths from the
evening gun. Then the national colors came gracefully down by the
halliards from each peak and topmast head, and the brief twilight
following was steeped in the red and yellow afterglow of the departed
day, always so beautiful where sea and sky make the horizon, fading into
each other's embrace.
How full of vitality and animated contrasts seemed the small world that
lay within the scope of vision as we gazed! But now it was the close of
day; both man and beast were ready to seek repose. Nature had set the
example. Even the sea-birds turned toward their night-haunts, where they
might fold their busy wings, as the war-ships had just furled their
pennants.
What a delightful picture it was to hang in the gallery of one's memory,
often to be recalled by a single word or sound.
Let us look inland from an advantageous point in the city of Valletta;
an undulating country presents itself to the eye, sparsely settled, with
here and there a small village, always dominated by its quaint stone
church, and divided round about, as already described, by high stone
walls designed to shelter the vegetation. A central rocky ridge is
observed running north and south, which divides the island of Malta
proper near its middle, the eastern side being the most extensive and
populous. This view does not reveal any of the small groves; these are
hidden in the few valleys where they exist, and the landscape is almost
entirely devoid of arboreal ornament.
The people are few and the churches many, the latter quite out of
proportion to the number of the population or their pecuniary means. In
no other country, unless it be Mexico, is there such a manifest
disproportion in this respect.
Two leagues away to the westward, upon a prominent elevation, the
highest point of the ridge referred to, Citta Vecchia is seen breaking
the line of the horizon. It is called the "old city" to distinguish it
from Valletta, the modern capital. At this distance it appears dim and
dusty, almost like a mass of ruins, and, indeed, in some respects it is
but little better. The stones of its best edifices are corrugated by the
finger of Time, for the old capital of Malta was founded many centuries
before the advent of Christ upon earth. One writer states that its
origin dates back to 1804 B. C., but upon what authority we know not. It
is a hill city, founded upon a rock, originally proud and pretentious in
its design. We can easily imagine its grandeur when ten times its
present population dwelt within the walls, and it was at the zenith of
its prosperity. To-day, hoary and decrepit with age, it is rich only in
the traditions of its past. Situated near the centre of the island, it
was under various sovereignties and during many ages the honored capital
of the group; but to-day, its dirty, gloomy, silent streets are
comparatively abandoned, and a general somnolence reigns in its
thoroughfares, though it is connected with Valletta by a narrow-gauge
railway, built some few years since,--the only one on the islands. This
is a mere toy railway, so to speak, after leaving which a broad,
well-kept road leads up a gentle ascent to the brown and dingy walls of
the crumbling old city.
As we enter the ancient metropolis by its principal gate, a time-worn,
battered statue of Juno is passed, a figure which dates back to the
Roman period of possession here; and just within the walls the guide
points out the remains of a temple dedicated to Apollo. Everything is
gray and picturesque; dilapidation and neglect are everywhere apparent.
There are probably four or five thousand people still residing within
the city limits, not a tithe of the number which were once to be found
here. It is said that the walls which encompass the town formerly
embraced three or four times the present area, but they were contracted
to the present dimensions during the sovereignty of the Arabs, to make
them more easy of defense when besieged by an invading enemy. Citta
Vecchia flourished in times when might alone made right, and warfare was
the normal condition of the world. Malta was specially exposed to
invasion from various quarters by those who sought its capture, or for
purposes of plunder. Greek, Turkish, and Algerine pirates swarmed from
the Dardanelles to the Straits of Gibraltar, and when satisfactory
prizes were not to be found upon the open sea, inroads were organized
upon the land. It was therefore necessary for the people of Citta
Vecchia to be always prepared to repel an active and daring enemy, and
even to withstand successfully a protracted siege.
Only the skeleton of a once great and thriving metropolis now remains.
The place has no commerce and no special industry, but is slowly fading
away into the dimness of the past.
In wandering about the doleful streets of the ancient capital to-day,
one meets a swarm of plethoric priests, sandaled monks, and hooded
friars, while escorted from point to point by sad-looking, ragged,
importuning beggars. Where the first of these elements abound, the other
is sure to do so. This is a universal experience. Nowhere are the people
more absolutely subservient to the control of the priesthood, or more
completely subject to the exacting ordinances of the Roman Catholic
Church. The priests receive rental for at least one third of the land
which is occupied or cultivated on the islands. Unfortunately, this
money is not expended in a way to benefit, even indirectly, the
inhabitants of Malta. Nearly all the income from this source flows into
that great pecuniary receptacle and avaricious maw, the pontifical
treasury at Rome. There is no other palace in the world which is so
rich in hoarded treasures as the Vatican, the thrice voluptuous Roman
home of the Pope, where he lives surrounded by a populace which leads a
life of penury and semi-starvation. Little heeds he of such trifling
matters, while he "quaffs his Rhenish down." Appreciative travelers
speak of the "cold wilderness of the Vatican." This sensation is easily
accounted for. It is because this grand palace is so much more of a
museum than a home, or human habitation. It has been called, not
inappropriately, a congress of palaces, and, with two exceptions, is the
largest in the world. The Royal Palace at St. Petersburg and that of
Versailles exceed it somewhat in proportions, but by no means in the
richness and intrinsic value of its hoarded wealth. The accumulation of
original paintings and statuary, by the great masters of art, which are
stored in the Pope's palace would alone bring over thirty million
dollars, if sold to be added to the grand national collections open to
the public in various European cities. The value of other treasures of
the Vatican one would hardly dare to estimate, but the aggregate figure
would far exceed that named in connection with the paintings and
statuary. The gold in the Pope's plethoric treasury is to be added to
this estimate. With this enormous amount of riches lying perdue, and
being constantly added to, myriads who look upon the Pope as their
spiritual father actually starve on the banks of the Tiber, at his very
gates.
But let us return to Citta Vecchia, whose site upon one of the spurs of
the Bingemma Hills was so well chosen.
Much interest is felt by visitors in the ancient cathedral of the old
city, its mouldering monasteries, its convents, its theological school,
its hospitals, and its bishop's palace. The cathedral is said to be
built upon the site of the house formerly occupied by Publius, the Roman
governor of the island at the time of St. Paul's shipwreck, and who, if
tradition may be believed, was his ardent friend and follower. It has
two tall bell towers, a hundred and thirty feet in height, from which a
grand view of the Maltese group is enjoyed, the elevation being over
seven hundred feet above sea-level. The length of the edifice is nearly
two hundred feet, and it is about half as wide as it is long. The form
is that of a Latin cross. In effecting an entrance, one passes through
an army of mendicants, poor, miserable creatures, who with blind
credulity come hither in the hope of obtaining relief from their
sufferings, the most prevalent of which is gnawing hunger!
The interior of the cathedral is very rich in gorgeous decoration. Like
the church of St. John, its roof is superbly painted. This work was done
by Vincenzo Manno, an eminent Sicilian artist, and represents scenes in
the life of St. Paul. The high altar is composed of the finest marble,
artistically wrought, and must have been very costly. The mosaic
tombstones which form the flooring, after the style of the Valletta
cathedral, are a marvel of patient workmanship, and produce a fine
effect. A picture of the Madonna is pointed out by the guide, which is
said to have been painted by St. Luke, and there are several presumed
relics of the Apostle Paul. In one of the chapels is a painting
representing the Apostle miraculously routing twenty thousand Moors, who
came to besiege the city. The site upon which the cathedral stands is so
elevated as to afford a most extensive view even from the terrace.
Beneath the ancient Court of Justice near at hand, there are some damp
and dreary dungeons where human beings used to be confined ages ago,
dungeons which rival in horror those of the Doge's Palace at Venice, or
the direful cells beneath the Castle of Chillon, excavated under the
Lake of Geneva.