MARKET-HOTELS-CAFÉS-PRICES OF PROVISIONS. 69 The hotels of Valetta are good; Morell's is the first, where the English may find excellent accommodation; but the Minerva, where a table d'hôte is daily kept, I found to be very comfortable, and the charges moderate. A person in this manner may live very cheaply in Malta. The finest Marsala wine is 10d. per bottle, and the common Sicilian, 2d. The best beef is 4d. per pound, maccaroni soup, 4d. per basin, and a person may dine sumptuously for 1s. 6d. per diem. Breakfast is best obtained at the cafés, which are open at a very early hour. Travellers passing only a short time in Malta will find these places extremely convenient, as they can drop in at any hour of the day and take coffee or ice, which latter article is consumed in Malta to a very great extent. It is obtained from Mount Etna in the form of snow, and boats are constantly arriving from Catania laden with this useful and cooling substance. In the cafes it is no uncommon thing to see them grinding up whole vats full of frozen snow, which, at first sight, appears very singular to a stranger in so warm a climate. Most of the cafés are situated in the Strada Reale, opposite the Library. I found the best attention at "Saits," and some of the prices are as follows:-Cup of coffee, 11⁄2d.; breakfast, 5d.; ice cream, 2d. lemonata ice, 11⁄2d.; Rogiata ditto, 1d.; other ices, including chocolate, coffee, cherry, strawberry, and pine-apple, 2d. or 3d. The Mediterranean Hotel is French, and the Albergo del Sole, Italian. Foreigners of these nations find good accommodation at these hotels. Liqueurs, particularly Rosolia, and many rich cordials, may be obtained in Malta at very low prices. Owing to its being a free port, cigars may be had at the rate of ten for a penny, and sugar from 2d. to 4d. per pound. The butter is bad, and is chiefly imported from England. The native cheeses are made of goats' and sheep's milk, pressed into small rush baskets: these, when fresh, are very pleasant, but are obliged to be eaten a very few hours after they are made. Tea is rarely used as a meal, except by the English. Eggs are very good, at 4d. or 6d. per dozen. Poultry is plentiful, consisting of turkeys, fowls and ducks; quails are also very abundant in April and September; and in the market I have seen rails, larks, and wheatears. The yellow wagtail, (papa-muscæ,) are sold by the natives at from d. to 1d. each, in the market, for the purpose of catching the flies in the houses, where they will live for several weeks, and answer this purpose as effectually as the chameleons do in Malaga. Olives are very much eaten by the Maltese, and oil enters largely into their cookery. The egg plant is considered a good vegetable by them, and when stuffed and roasted, it makes a palatable dish. It is the custom here, when you go to market, to be followed by a number of little boys with empty baskets; they are called market-boys, and get their living by carrying home purchased articles. You choose one, and he will follow you wherever your business leads, making his basket the general receptacle for fish, fruit, bread, and, in fact, of every thing you buy. I have always found these boys honest; and after emptying the contents of the basket at my lodgings, at the end of half an hour's service, they considered one halfpenny, or at the utmost three farthings, an ample remuneration: one poor little lad was trotting off without any thing, after carrying an earthen jar all round the city, until I called him back, and gladdened his heart with a twopenny piece. A number of beggars generally throng around the cafés, who are extremely importunate; a single grain will however satisfy them, or if you do not feel disposed to relieve them, "Allein," (or "God help you,") will answer the same purpose. One dumb boy, in particular, was always to be seen at the café door, and though unable to tell his wants by articulation, yet his gestures were so significant, no one could misunderstand him. "Nix mangé, seigneur," is the constant language of the Maltese beggars, which signifies, "Nothing to eat, sir." Sometimes they will make little nosegays of mimosa, tied up with a rosebud, at the end of a small stick, which they sell to the people as they pass from the cafés. Numbers even of the labouring classes sleep in the streets, and on going along the Strada Levante, after dark, whole rows of men and boys may be seen reposing on their little mats on that side of the street which is shaded from the full light of the moon. I have often been in danger of stumbling over some of these sleepers, and once or twice just looked down in time to discover a little boy lying curled up at my feet on the bare stones. The bread in Valetta is good, and like that of the south of Europe, unleavened. It is the custom to cover the top with small seeds, which are cultivated on purpose, called "Girginella." The honey is highly esteemed; that made by the bees of Mellieha is reckoned the best; its price is 8d. per pound. The "carube," or beans of the locust tree, are, when baked, a very common article of food amongst the poor; and in passing through the villages, travellers are often annoyed by children holding out their hands, and begging for "Habba, harroob," or a grain to buy locusts with. Besides the current money of Great Britain, and the additional small coins called grains, which are one-twelfth of a penny, accounts are also kept in taris and scudis. There is a small police force in Valetta composed of native officers, but they do not seem to be at all popular with the inhabitants. The few following words will give my readers some idea of the Maltese language: CHAPTER XVIII. DEPARTURE FROM MALTA. : "Adieu! the joys of La Valette !" EARLY to-day I received a message from the Marchioness of Testaferrata, a noble Italian lady, for a copy of my sketch of the General's Rock, a request with which I complied. I afterwards walked out with my host, Signor Fabreschi, to make several purchases, and went to see the "Manderagio," or lower part of the town, which is quite a curiosity. The streets are composed of winding stairs only a few feet wide, forming a complete labyrinth; and the houses on each side are so high, that the light of day is almost entirely excluded. Many of the poorer classes in this part of the town are employed in platting straw hats, and making cigars. On returning home to my lodgings, I was introduced to the Baroness Philomena de Saian, a little Messinese girl, whose father was a desperate gamester, and had squandered away his whole estate. This little girl lived in Malta with her mother, who was acquainted with Fabreschi's family. The articles which are chiefly worth purchasing in Valetta are, black silk mits, fine embroidered linen, various articles of gold and silver filigree work, with vases, costumes, and other figures, beautifully chiselled out of the white stone of the island; and these latter may be best obtained of James Soler, 78, Strada Forni, opposite Morell's Hotel. Lovers of natural history may occasionally meet with gazelles here, which are brought over in the market boats from Africa. I purchased a pair of young ones which I intended taking with me on my return to England. Canaries, and little French dogs, may be also obtained at very moderate prices. The "Bichons," or native dogs, as I have before observed, are very scarce, and fetch a high price. My kind host had prepared a light supper of bread and cheese, fruit, and maccaroni, which he requested me to partake of before retiring to rest. He had on a former occasion invited me to dine with him; these, and numerous other little attentions, which insensibly win a stranger's heart, and are the result of genuine hospitality, contributed to raise this amiable family in my estimation. The father is a Leghornese, and seems a pleasant man ; but unfortunately I could only converse with him through the medium of Michael, who acted as my interpreter to the rest of the family. The mother and the three daughters, Maria, Carolina, and Rosina, were unceasing in their attentions. The latter, Rosina, intends becoming a nun; she has a tame parrot which she calls "Papa-gar," and to which she is very fondly attached. I understood that Grand Cairo is the place where she intends taking the veil. Giovanni, the youngest, is a fine boy about thirteen years of age, and of a very affectionate disposition. After I left Malta I happened to find the following inscription inserted in my pocket book which had lain upon my table: "John Fabreschi, he right yo in Besides the kindness I received from this family, I must also notice that of my friends, Mr. S., and Josef Soler, the Spanish lad. On the next morning I rose very early to pack up my things, and get all in readiness for my voyage to Sicily, having taken a passage in a speronaro to Syracuse, which was to sail at six in the evening, should the wind prove favourable. After getting my money exchanged for Sicilian dollars, I went to the market with Michael Fabreschi to purchase a supply of provisions for my voyage, as it was uncertain how long it might last. I laid in a stock for three days. My bill may amuse; it was as follows:-bread, 7d.; cheese, 2d.; eggs, 6d.; sausages, 4d.; grapes, 7d.; melons, pomegranates, &c. 5d.; sugar, 2d.; figs, 1d.; lemons, 1d.; amounting in the whole to 2s. 11d. This ample supply filled a large hamper basket, which, with my other luggage, I sent on board the speronaro. A passport was the next thing to be obtained, and this I procured from the Neapolitan consul's office, after a short delay. As I had every thing in readiness for my departure full two hours before the time, I crossed over with Fabreschi to Sliema, on the opposite side of the Quarantine Harbour; the fare is only one farthing each in the ferry boat. After searching for shells among the rocks, and watching the numerous bathers who resort here, the declining sun warned us to return again to Valetta, and we recrossed in the boat with a number of priests, who had been to bathe on the opposite side of the water. I was not long in taking leave of my kind friends, several of whom accompanied me to the quay, where I found the speronaro in readiness. As we were on the point of starting, the steamer from Alexandria arrived, bringing the news of the taking of Canton by the English. Another farewell look at Malta, and we were lightly skimming over the moonlit waves for another and a greener isle ! CHAPTER XIX. VOYAGE FROM MALTA TO SYRACUSE. "The day was fair and sunny, sea and sky Drank its inspiring radiance, and the wind Swept strongly from the shore, blackening the waves." Our speronaro sailed soon after sunset, from the quay of Valetta; and as the wind blew favourably for crossing the channel, we were soon out of sight of Malta. The rocky shores of that impregnable island melted away in the soft hazy light of a full autumnal moon; and as the graceful bark glided onwards over the waves, the silvery light shining on her snow-white sails, and the gentle murmur of the breaking waves that divided as she passed, echoing pleasantly, I had an opportunity of looking around me, having busied myself when I first went on board in arranging my boxes, and in getting every thing in order for my little voyage. Though the distance from Malta to Syracuse is only 120 miles, yet the passage sometimes occupies four or five days; for the wind in the Mediterranean is so very variable that it often happens that these small vessels are obliged to put back again, and wait for a day or two, until the wind favours them. When becalmed, the sailors have recourse to their oars, reminding one of the bygone days of chivalry, when the proud galleys of the knights of Rhodes traversed these very seas, and struck terror into the breasts of surrounding nations. Our speronaro had ten oars; and, like the generality of the Sicilian boats, the prow was adorned with an upright post four feet high, on the top of which was a shaggy fleece, apparently a goat's skin, dyed blue. This post is an invariable appendage to all the speronaros, and other Sicilian boats, which I have seen. In some places the fleece is superseded by a round knob of black wood, and in others by a bird, or fish, carved and painted. The outsides of these boats are generally adorned with various strange paintings of nymphs, goddesses, and swans, and other grotesque representations. The figure of an eye, seems a favourite sign, underneath which is often placed the name of the vessel. Ours was the "Concetzione," or "conception," belonging to Syracuse; her crew consisted of the Captain, nine men, and a lad, all Sicilians; none of them understood a single word of English, or indeed L |