, from which
doorways lead into the several apartments. These rooms can be thrown
together so as to give the effect of a large hall, by opening the wide
connecting doors. The apartments are spacious and lofty, being at least
twelve or fifteen feet in height. There is not much in the way of
furniture to describe in this reception-room which we have entered,
which typifies the rest. It is lined with comfortable divans, and the
glazed tiles of the floor are covered here and there with small Persian
rugs. A few quaint old portraits of the Knights of St. John hang upon
the walls, grim and ghostly in their expression, together with a large
oval mirror of Venetian make. A lesser one hangs opposite, which plays
queer tricks with the faces and figures presented to its glistening
surface. A spacious table of dark wood occupies the centre of this
spacious room, having four or five antique chairs with tall backs ranged
beside it. There are no books, no small articles of bricabrac to be
seen, and there is a sense of emptiness and bareness which oppresses
one. It must have been the residence of some bachelor Knight, say a
hundred years ago; to-day it is a boarding-house. Out of this large room
a bay window or balcony opens, containing a mass of fragrant flowers
gracefully disposed, showing a woman's taste and a woman's hand. Such is
a Maltese drawing-room on the Strada Reale. One can take an apartment
here and dine at a neighboring restaurant, and live very cheaply, if
economy be a special object.

Each of the steep, narrow passageways which run down to the water's edge
from the Strada Reale bears the name of some patron saint. Strada Santa
Lucia is a typical street of this character, with its many tiresome
stone steps, not one of which is level from end to end. The Imperial
Hotel, so called, is upon this street. English and American visitors who
are passing a few days here generally choose the Hotel Angleterre, on
the Strada Stretta. There are half a dozen avenues which run parallel
with the main thoroughfare of the city. Strada Mercanti is the most
important of them. On this avenue there are several large public
institutions, including the post-office, the Monte di Pieta, and the
principal market. The latter is situated in the centre of the town, at
the back of the governor's palace. Flies and beggars congregate here in
almost equal numbers, forcing upon one's attention the puzzling problem
of hunger and plenty existing in juxtapos