ears with their entreaties, sometimes pathetically appealing to us for the souls of their friends in purgatory,—an artifice far more successful with Papists than with us Protestants; to the use of which the miserable mendicants had doubtless been instructed by the wily priesthood. The capital, which contains about twenty thousand inhabitants, is said to be scourged by at least eleven hundred priests of various orders; including, to be sure, the inmates of the convents; but all of whom must feed upon the famished population. These priests thronged the streets in all directions and at all hours of the day, like swarms of locusts, eager to devour the land. Some of them were mere boys, twelve or fourteen years old, whose broadbrimmed hats and other grotesque canonicals, gave to them a truly ludicrous appearance. In few places in the world, and perhaps nowhere, does the Pope reign with more tyrannical sway, than in Malta. Nowhere have I seen a more squalid, miserable, priest-ridden populace.

"La Valetta is a strongly fortified city. This, rendered well-nigh impregnable by art, and Gibraltar rock at the straits, which is fully so by nature, give to the English the perfect command of the Mediterranean. The town is also kept strongly garrisoned. There were, I think, five regiments in it when we were there, who were under the finest discipline. One of them was the famous 42nd regiment of Scotch Highlanders. They were tall, athletic men, and their highland costume, with their legs bare to the knee, give to them a very hardy, warlike appearance."

The Rev. Pliny Fisk writes "Valetta is built entirely of stone, and is consequently exempt from one of the greatest evils to be feared in the cities of the Levant; viz. fire. It would be almost impossible to burn a house here, if a person should undertake it; and it would be quite impossible that a fire should spread in any part of the town..

"We went to the grotto, which bears the name of

St. Paul... It is beneath a church; indeed one of its apartments is a subterranean chapel. In another, which is about the size of a small bed-chamber, is a marble statue of the apostle, who, according to the tradition of the place, used to retire to this retreat for his devotions. A young ecclesiastic, who accompanied us, broke off some pieces of the stones, and gave them to us, saying, that they would prevent all harm from the bite of serpents. I inquired if he had ever experienced their efficacy? He replied, 'No; but they say so.

"The island of Malta is now declared European by British Act of Parliament, though in soil and climate of African stamp. It is about sixty miles in circumference, and little better by nature than a barren, glaring, limestone rock, the general aspect of which is painful to the eye, from the utter want of shade, and the predominance of stone wall enclosures. The soil has been in great measure brought from Sicily. The crop of the dwarf cotton plant is a staple commodity, and the oranges are far-famed, especially the blood-red, said to be a cross with the pomegranate. The population, about one hundred and thirty thousand, are a dark, bright-eyed, lively race; the language curious, from the prevalence of old Phoenician; the religion strictly Roman Catholic. The women, in their black silk mantillas and hoods, are very pleasing; their little fine-worked laced mittens, cuffs, and ruffs, are in high esteem with European ladies. The climate is very hot, but very healthy; except during the African or Sirocco wind, which is debilitating and oppressive, blowing principally in autumn.

The

summer heat is tempered by the north breeze, and the pressed snow from Etna affords a cheap and delicious luxury. Valetta looks oriental or Saracenic, or rather Spanish, with its massive balconies and deep shadows. The streets are beautifully built of the island stone, and though steep, are well paved. The numberless steps (plague the feet of travellers ;) but whatever the feet might have to say of Valetta, the eyes must acknowledge

themselves delighted

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English cleanliness, grafted upon southern cheerfulness and sunshine, renders Malta delightful."-NOZRANI in Egypt and Syria.

"At about ten o'clock we descried land on our left. We had been, like St. Paul, 'driven up and down in Adria;' and instead of being amidst the islands of the Archipelago, we found ourselves far up in the Adriatic, but bearing down in a south-easterly direction, the land on our left proved to be Zante.

"Turning to the narrative of St. Paul's shipwreck, it became a deeply interesting fact to my mind, that almost on the very spot, as it were, in which St. Paul encountered the like peril, we had experienced the special mercies of God. As to the particular locality, it may be remarked, that the only observable difference is this -the apostle was on his way towards Malta-we, en route from it but both were driven up and down in Adria. (The Adriatic Sea in those days was used to comprehend the whole of the sea between Greece, Italy, and Africa.) That Malta is the island intended by St. Luke, is to my mind sufficiently evident, from the following considerations. The apostle left the island on which he was wrecked-whatever it might have beenin a ship of Alexandria, which had wintered there on her voyage to Italy; and after touching at Syracuse and Rhegium, landed at Puteoli, thus sailing in a direct course. The Illyrican Melita would be far out of the usual track from Alexandria to Italy; and in sailing from it to Rhegium, Syracuse also would be out of the direct course. The fact, that the ship was tossed all night prior to the wreck, in the Adriatic Sea, does not lessen the probability of its being afterwards driven upon Malta; because the name Adria was applied to the whole Ionian sea, which lay between Italy and Greece."-FISK's Pastor's Memorial, &c.

Etna, 100 miles distant, is seen from the high ground, rearing half its giant form out of the sea, soaring 11,000 feet above its level. They say the cinders fall here in showers during the great eruptions, which light up sea and land in lurid grandeur.

"AND when we had sailed slowly many days, and scarce were come over against Cnidus, the wind not suffering us, we sailed under Crete, over against Salmone; And, hardly passing it, came unto a place which is called The Fair Havens; nigh whereunto was the city of Lasea... And because the haven was not commodious to winter in, the more part advised to depart thence also, if by any means they might attain to Phenice, and there to winter; which is an haven of Crete, and lieth toward the south-west and north-west. And when the south wind blew softly, supposing that

they had obtained their purpose, loosing thence, they sailed close by Crete."-Acts xxvii. 7, 8, 12, 13.

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Crete, one of the finest islands in the Mediterranean, now called Candia, was celebrated for its early legislative code, its civilization, its superstitions, as well as for its natural productions in oil, wine, and fruits. It lies south-west of Peloponnesus and west of Asia Minor; is about one hundred and eighty miles long, and twenty broad; and is computed to have nearly three hundred thousand inhabitants, who, as of old, bear but an indifferent moral character.

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Formerly, there were about equal numbers of Greeks and Mahommedans; but since the transfer of the territory to the Pasha of Egypt, Mahomet Ali, the number of Mahommedans has considerably increased. In the capital there are fourteen Turkish mosques, a Greek cathedral and church, an Armenian church, and a Roman Catholic monastery.

"Crete was at an early period the site of a Christian church, of which Titus was the first Bishop."-FISK'S Pastor's Memorial.

Crete is celebrated for the number and copiousness of its springs and fountains at the present day, Mr. Pashley mentions "a most copious source," a fountain, under two fine plane trees, at the extremity of a little valley, full of cypresses, bay trees, orange trees, carobs, platanes, and myrtles. The place is so entirely abandoned, that no one comes even to gather the oranges. The orange tree flourishes greatly in Crete, and no less than twelve different kinds of this fruit are produced in the island, and the varieties of the lemon are nearly as numerous. The quince tree was once peculiar to this island, and derived its name from the Cretan city, Cydonia, near which it grew. The Cretans have a firm belief in the existence of water-spirits, &c.

The consumption of olive oil is very great in Crete. "All Crete is used to oil," say they, 66 more than other