etentious chapel is built, dedicated to the memory of the Apostle
to the Gentiles. He is supposed to have lived here during his three
months' sojourn upon the group, in which time he not only converted
Publius to Christianity, but also sowed the seed which bore fruit to the
same effect among nine tenths of the population. According to all
accounts, Christianity, as we construe the word, thus made its advent in
Malta with the shipwreck which took place in St. Paul's Bay, so many
centuries ago. In the middle of the grotto just spoken of is a crudely
executed statue of the Apostle. The visitor is assured that the stone of
this cavernous apartment is remarkable for its efficacy in the cure of
fevers and of poisonous bites. Credulous people secure pieces thereof,
and keep them on hand for use in an emergency. A story is told of the
miraculous nature of the grotto stone, to wit: it seems that, although
it is constantly cut away to supply the demand for it as a remedial
agent, yet it never becomes less, but is always replaced by unknown
means. The many legends relating to St. Paul and his stay upon the group
are most religiously cherished and believed in at Malta, and it would
be considered little less than an insult, by a native, to question their
verity. If there is any truth in profane or sacred history, we are quite
ready to believe that St. Paul was wrecked on the island of Malta, and
that the outline of the story as handed down to us is veracious; and
yet, who is it that says, "History is only a fable agreed upon"?

Some few descendants of the old Maltese nobility, as empty in purse as
are their titles in any real value, keep up a degree of appearances in
their moss-grown and decaying "palaces," so called by courtesy, while
other edifices, once grand and pretentious, are either quite untenanted,
or are occupied for commercial purposes. The town forcibly reminds one
of Toledo, on the banks of the Tagus in Spain, which is equally dead and
deserted, and probably of as ancient origin. Its grand edifices are now
diverted to storage purposes, and its palaces closed. Here, in the day
of Spanish glory, royal pageants alternated with ecclesiastic parades,
and grand military displays often varied the scene. Coveted by various
conquerors, she too had been besieged more than twenty times. Like Citta
Vecchia, her glory was at its acme in mediaeval days.

In an endeavor to keep up the importance of the old Maltese capital
under the ru