Page images
PDF
EPUB

Candia were formerly celebrated for their want of veracity: St. Paul alludes to their evil habits in the first chapter of his epistle to Titus, where he says The Cretians are always liars.' There are some remarkably ugly dogs in Candia, which seem to be a race between the wolf and the fox.

66

Cyprus contains the renowned Paphos: it is not quite so long an island as Candia, but it is ten miles broader.

"Rhodes is fifty miles long, and twenty-five broad. At the north of the harbour stood the celebrated colossus of brass, once reckoned one of the wonders of the world. It was placed with a foot on either side of the harbour, so that ships in full sail passed between its legs. This enormous statue was 130 feet high; it was thrown down by an earthquake, and afterwards destroyed, and taken to pieces in the year A. D. 653.

"Of Majorca I have little to say: its chief town is Majorca." "Port Mahon is the capital of Minorca; and Iviza is the principal town in the island of that name.

"MaltaGEORGE.

[ocr errors]

"Excuse me for interrupting you, dear mamma; but I wish Grandy to tell me if Malta is the same island as the Melita mentioned in the 28th chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, where St. Paul was shipwrecked?'

[ocr errors]

In

GRANDY. "Yes, my dear; it is commonly supposed to be the same. It is a very rocky island, inhabited by a people whom most modern travellers describe as very selfish, very insincere, and very superstitious. The population amounts to upwards of 63,000. the days of St. Paul, the inhabitants were, without doubt, an uncivilised race, for he calls them a barbarous people! And the barbarous people shewed us no little kindness: for they kindled a fire, and received us every one, because of the present rain, and

D

[ocr errors]

because of the cold.' Here it was that from the circumstance of St. Paul experiencing no evil effects from the viper clinging to his hand, that the people concluded him to be a god; here too he was allowed to perform many mighty works, such as healing the sick, &c., which caused him to be honoured with many honours;' and when they departed, they were laden with the bounty of the people.' Can one of you young folks tell me the name of the chief town in this little island?".

"Yes, madam," replied Charles, "I know it; it is Valetta, so named from the noble Provençal Valette, who, after vainly endeavouring to defend the holy sepulchre from the defilements of the infidels, was by them driven with his faithful Christian army from island to island, until he ultimately planted the standard of the cross on this sea-girt rock, and bravely and successfully withstood the attacks of his enemies. Malta was given to the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem in 1530 by the Emperor Charles V., when the Turks drove them out of Rhodes. They have since been called Knights of Malta.' The island is in possession of the English.”

6

DORA. "And so are the Ionian Islands, which include Zante, Cephalonia, and St. Maura: they are all pretty spots near the coast of Greece."

MR. WILTON. "In the Mediterranean Sea lays the largest ship in the world, the Mahmoud :' it is floating off Beyrout."

[ocr errors]

"I can tell you, papa," said George, "the size of the largest ship in the time of Henry VIII.; it was called the Henri Grace à Dieu,' and was of 1000 tons burthen; it required 349 soldiers, 301 sailors, and 50 gunners to man her.”

MR. WILTON. "That was the first double-decked ship built in England; it cost 14,000l., and was completed in 1509. Before this, twenty-four gun-ships were the largest in our navy; and these had

[graphic]

"Valette, after vainly endeavouring to defend the Holy Sepulchre from the defilements of the infidels, was by them driven, with his faithful Christian army, from island to island, until he ultimately planted the standard of the cross on this sea-girt rock, and bravely withstood the attacks of his enemies."

Vide page 34.

no port-holes, the guns being on the upper decks only. Port-holes were invented by Descharges, a French builder at Brest, in the year 1500."

CHARLES. "That was a useful and simple invention enough: it must have been very inconvenient to have all the guns on the upper decks; besides, there could not be space for so many as the vessels of war carry now. Pray what is the size of a first-rate man-of-war, and how many guns does she carry ?"

[ocr errors]

MR. BARRAUD. "The Caledonia,' built at Plymouth in 1808, is 2616 tons burthen, carries 120 guns, and requires 875 men without officers. You can imagine the size of a vessel that could contain so many men. But all are not so large: that is a first-rate: there are some sixth-rate, which only carry twenty guns, are not more than 400 tons burthen, and their complement of men is only 155. The intermediate ships, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th rate, vary in every respect according to their size, and are classed according to their force and burthen. Only first- and second-rate men-of-war have three decks. Ships of the line include all vessels up to the highest rate, and not lower than the frigate.'

[ocr errors]

GEORGE. "How I should like to have a fleet of ships. Will you buy me more, dear papa, when I have rigged the Stanley.' I am getting on very fast with her; Emma has stitched all the sails, and only three little men remain to be dressed; while I have cut the blocks, and set the ropes in order. It will look very handsome when it is quite finished; but a miniature fleet would be beautiful to launch on the lake at Horbury next summer. If I rig this vessel properly, may I have some others of different sizes, with port-holes to put cannon in? The 'Stanley,' you know, is a merchantman; but now I want some men-of-war."

MR. WILTON. "My dear, when your godpapa sent you the

« PreviousContinue »