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alone, the Alma with a favorable wind and all sails sur-
passed her before reaching Malta. It was a triumph for the
propellor and we were cheered by the beaten crew as we passed.
A detail of the table which is a feature in all the steamers of
the P&O line - meaning the Peninsular & Oriental line - is that
sherry is furnished without extra expense at dinner. The pas-
sage money was a large sum, and the company could well afford
to supply that item.

The Alma remained in the harbor of Valetta during one day
and Hayes and I explored the little town quite thoroughly. Towards
sunset he reembarked on his way to Gibraltar when he made
a short tour of Spain. I was annoyed again by delay in Malta
where I was obliged to wait a week for the steamer going to Na-
ples, thereby missing the illumination of St Peter during Holy
week. I employed my time however usefully and read while
there the celebrated novel of Uncle Tom’s Cabin. I met at the
hotel a Bostonian named Dickenson and an Englishman
named Nasmyth. We three started on a horseback ride one
morning intending to visit the grotto or cave of St Paul.

While passing along the suburbs Nasmyth’s horse turned sud-
denly and kicked Dickenson on the calf of the right leg, dis-
abling him completely for the day, and even for several weeks
afterwards. The small bone called the fibula was broken by the
blow, but that was only ascertained for certain after his return
to Boston, when his physician examined the leg and saw that
it was the only explanation of the tedious recovery. Dickenson
was obliged then to return to our hotel and Nasmyth and
I continued our ride to the grotto.

I employed many hours of daylight at Malta taking long
walks and was surprised at the number of naval vessels which
were out of commission there for the winter. Among the “line of battle”
ships the four decker Duke of Wellington was completely dismant-
led. The town of Valetta is well known to have been strongly
fortified by the religious military order of the knights of Malta
and the place is curious and interesting as exhibiting cha-
racteristics of European life as well as that of the East. It
was under the knights a bulwark against the Turks, and
the siege which was successfully maintained against these
proves the order to have been quite equal to the purposes of their
institution. After some time in the cities of the Mohammedan
East where church bells are never heard, except possibly in some
Christian church, the infernal din of the bells in the cathedral
of Valetta makes an impression on the traveller. They suddenly
break out as though in defiance of the Turk, and to hear
them you would suppose that it was expected that the sound
would reach Constantinople.

While walking through the roadway one day that passes through

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