here. In the enthusiasm of the moment, while on
the Yellow Sea of China, the author gave precedence, in his published
notes, to the remarkable sunsets which characterize that region; but in
this soberer moment a calmer conviction is honestly recorded. Still, the
quivering flame that seemed to burn like lava on the line where sky and
ocean met, the iris hues softly reflected by the vapory tissue of clouds
in the opposite expanse, and the gorgeous robes in which the on-coming
night was wrapped that December evening upon the Yellow Sea, can never
be forgotten by any one who witnessed it.

On the disappearance of the sun beneath the Mediterranean at Malta, as
soon as the opal fires have burned out of the sky, light clouds usually
fringe the horizon, emitting rapid flashes of lightning which continue
for hours, recalling the Aurora Borealis as seen at Bodoee and Tromsoee,
in Norway. There is no lasting twilight in this latitude. Night follows
close upon the footsteps of the departing day. The brightness of the
stars supervenes so quickly after the curtain falls upon the scene, and
the mellow evening atmosphere is so clear, that the twilight is hardly
missed by the watchful observer, as the Spirit of the night, upon dewy
sandals, begins her course of the circling hours.

CHAPTER IV.

The Soil of Malta.--Imports and Exports.--Absence of
Trees.--Equable Climate.--Three Crops Annually.--Use of
Fertilizers.--Ignorant and Pious Peasantry.--Food of the
People.--Maltese Women.--Oriental Customs.--Roman Catholic
Influence.--Improvisation.--Early Marriages.--A Resort for
the Pope.--Low Wages.--Beggars.--Wind Storms.--Blood Oranges.
--The Carob-Tree.--Maltese Lace.--Sailing along the Shore.

It has already been mentioned that a large portion of the island of
Malta is covered with a thin, rich soil, some of which, it is said, was
brought from Sicily at infinite cost and labor. If this is so, of which
we have reasonable doubts, it was done only to a very limited extent.
Vessels sailing hence with merchandise for the mainland or Sicily,
having no return cargo, may have occasionally brought back as ballast
quantities of earth, but that there was ever any systematic importation
of soil is not probable. Much of the surface of the island is still only
bare, calcareous stone, exposed to the fierce winds, rains, and
scorching sunshine. A process of disintegration is constantly going on
which