193

CHAPTER XII.

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. 214

CHAPTER XIII.

Ancient Catacombs.--A Subterranean City.--Phoenician Tombs.
--Grotto of St. Paul.--A Crumbling Old Capital.--Dreary and
Deserted.--Bingemma Hills.--Ancient Coins and Antique Utensils.
--Ruins of a Pagan Temple.--A Former Fane to Hercules.--A
Garden of Delights.--Druidical Circles.--Beautiful Grotto.--
Crude Native Dances.--Unique Musical Instrument.--Nasciar.--
Suburb of Floriana.--A Capuchin Convent.--Grim Skeletons. 231

CHAPTER XIV.

The Chivalric Order of St. John.--Humble Beginning of the
Organization.--Hospitallers.--Days of the Crusades.--Motto of
the Brotherhood.--Peter Gerard.--The Monk lost in the Soldier.
--At Acre, Cyprus, and Rhodes.--Naval Operations.--Siege of
Rhodes.--Garden of the Levant.--Piratical Days.--Six Months of
Bloodshed.--Awful Destruction of Human Life.--A Famous Fighting
Knight.--Final Evacuation of Rhodes by the Order. 254

CHAPTER XV.

Settlement of the Order at Malta.--A Barren Waste.--A New
Era for the Natives.--Foundling Hospitals.--Grand Master
La Vallette.--Sailors and Soldiers.--Capture of Prisoners at
Mondon.--A Slave Story in Brief.--Christian Corsairs!--The
Ottomans attack the Knights in their New Home.--Defeat
of the Turks.--Terrible Slaughter of Human Beings.--Civil
War.--Summary Punishment.--Some Details
of a Famous Siege. 274

CHAPTER XVI.

Result of the Siege.--Native Women serving as Soldiers.--The
Maltese Militia.--The Knights gain World-Wide Applause.--Rage
of Sultan Solyman.--Agents of the Grand Master become
Incendiaries.--La Vallette, Hero of the Siege.--The Order still
Piratical.--The Turks and Knights Affiliate.--Decadence of the
Chivalric Brotherhood.--Momentary Revival of the Old Spirit.
--Treacherous Surrender.--French Sovereignty.--End of the Order. 297

CHAPTER XVII.

Conclusion.--A Picture of Sunrise