tal, where the sounds of labor were now hushed, to the chapel of Our
Lady of Victory. The funeral obsequies were there performed with all
solemnity; and the remains of the hero were consigned to the tomb,
amidst the tears of the multitude, who had gathered from all parts of
the island, to pay this sad tribute of respect to his memory.[1397]

The traveller who visits Malta at the present day finds no object more
interesting than the stately cathedral of Valetta, still rich in
historical memorials and in monuments of art, of which even French
rapacity could not despoil it. As he descends into its crypts, and
wanders through its subterranean recesses, he sees the niche where still
repose the remains of La Valette, surrounded by the brave chivalry who
fought, side by side with him, the battles of the Faith. And surely no
more fitting place could be found for his repose, than the heart of the
noble capital which may be said to have been created by his
genius.[1398]

The Knights of St. John continued, in the main, faithful to the maxims
of La Valette and to the principles of their institution. For more than
two centuries after his death, their sword was ever raised against the
infidel. Their galleys still returned to port freighted with the spoils
of the barbarian. They steadily continued to advance in power and
opulence; and while empires rose and crumbled around them, this little
brotherhood of warlike monks, after a lapse of more than seven centuries
from its foundation, still maintained a separate and independent
existence.

In the long perspective of their annals, there was no event which they
continued to hold in so much honor as the defence of Malta by La
Valette. The eighth of September--the day of the nativity of the
Virgin--continued to the last to be celebrated as their proudest
anniversary. On that day the whole body of the knights, and the people
of the capital, walked in solemn procession, with the grand-master at
their head, to the church of St. John. A knight, wearing the helmet and
mailed armor of the ancient time, bore on high the victorious standard
of the order. A page by his side carried the superb sword and poniard
presented by Philip the Second. As the procession passed into the
church, and the standard was laid at the foot of the altar, it was
announced by flourishes of trumpets and by peals of artillery from the
fortresses. The services were performed by the prior of St. John's; and,
while the Gosp