on the other side of the water: sometimes we took a
row out to sea; and, on our return, the English portion of the crew
generally came into our reception room, where we smoked, drank, and sang
far into the night. No musquitoes, no little blood-sucking tormentors,
were there to tease us; and the time passed gaily and delightfully. Thus
we held the even tenor of our course for a fortnight, when our
confinement had virtually expired; for though the established period of
quarantine was sixteen days, yet the one on which we went into the
lazzaretto, and that on which we came out, were allowed to count as two.
Though very few incidents occurred to break the uniformity of our lives,
the time flew on rapidly.

The gaming-table was established, as usual, by the foreigners; and heavy
were the fluctuations of fortune, if we might judge from the changeful
demeanour of those who frequented it. His Royal Highness never deigned
to visit us; indeed, it could hardly be expected he should do so, when
he did not even condescend to pay his respects to the ladies in the
fort, or the party there established, though living within the same
walls as himself.

In consequence of its having been decided that the boat was to go to
Alicata, Girgenti, and Palermo, I arranged with one of the passengers to
take a felucca and sail direct for Naples. The Pelican came in, and
immediately went off again to England, leaving her first lieutenant, who
was promoted, to join the boat for Naples. Some portion of every day was
spent at the parlatorio eating ices, and looking at the curious scene
going forward there; for some fresh ship daily arrived to undergo the
same ordeal as ourselves; or a knot of lucky fellows, having finished
their purgatory, were seen sallying forth to enjoy a ramble through the
clean and pleasant streets of Valetta.

[Sidenote: THE PARLATORIO.] The lazzaretto is a little world within
itself, highly interesting for many reasons; and I confess I felt rather
sorry as the time approached when we were to quit our quiet, tranquil
abode, and be again let loose upon the busy, noisy world.

We narrowly escaped having forty days allotted us, owing to the
circumstance of there being a quantity of carpets on board; but, by
entering them as ship's furniture, they were put into long quarantine,
and we escaped with a comparatively short one. Every passenger seemed to
possess two or three Persian carpets: Prince Butera had a great number;
but I saw