cess is most so. Lingering contests entail such terrible
consequent ills that they bring with them sufferings paramount to those
caused by the conflict of arms. "The next saddest thing in war to a
defeat is a victory," said Wellington, as he looked sorrowfully upon the
field which he had won by a fearful sacrifice of human life at San
Sebastian.

The two excellent harbors of Valletta might afford anchorage for six
hundred ships of war, as they have bold, well-defined shores, and an
average depth of ten fathoms. This was not so originally, but is the
result of a thorough system of dredging, which has been faithfully
completed.

As we look upon the scene from an elevated point, beneath the afternoon
sun, while freely inhaling the lotus-like air of the Mediterranean,
everything is serene and lovely. Over the terraced roofs of Valletta
rises the square tower of the Grand Palace, gay with many colored signal
flags. Across the harbor the eye rests upon Fort Ricasoli, and here
stands stout old St. Elmo, while in the distance Fort San Rocco crowns a
hilltop. Much nearer is Fort St. Angelo, with its record of a thousand
years and more. The numerous domes and towers of the city, though they
are not minarets, have much the same Oriental effect upon the eye.
Myriads of small boats, painted in bright, fanciful colors after the
florid Maltese style, and having canvas coverings sheltering the stern,
shoot hither and thither like birds upon the wing. The boatmen stand
while rowing, as do the oarsmen of the Venetian gondolas, pushing, not
pulling, at the oars. Hundreds of small feluccas line the shore. A group
of fishermen in rude but picturesque costumes are landing the product of
their industry. Half a dozen ships belonging to the British navy, and as
many huge mail steamers, swing lazily at anchor, while little erratic
steam launches dart back and forth from ship to shore; a memorable
picture, the sea and sky being its appropriate frame. French, German,
Italian, and English flags indicate the nationality of the several
vessels, but the eye searches in vain for the stars and stripes of our
Union. The same absence of the American flag is only too observable
throughout nearly all the ports of the Mediterranean and the far East.
The home-keeping citizen who reads these lines can hardly realize the
patriotic sensation mingled with dire homesickness which thrills the
traveler, long absent from his native land, at sight of our beloved
nat