=24. Malta= is the largest of a group of islands, the one at that time called Melita, now Malta, being the easternmost. The shore is almost entirely precipitous; two or three small bays are found on the northern shore, one of which is supposed to be that into which Paul’s ship was driven. It is fifteen miles from the eastern end of the island, which is twenty miles in length, and this is the only bay on that side with a stream emptying into its waters. The stream is only a very small brook coming down from a source in the southwest. It was running in November when the writer visited the locality. =25. Acts 27:27 to 28:10= should be read in this connection. The island of Malta contains many ancient remains of Phœnician, Greek, and Gothic construction. In the Library at Valetta are three medals and other objects found on the island said to contain Phœnician letters, and Sir W. Drummond has translated a Punic legend found on a square stone in a sepulchral cave which states that it marks the burial-place of Hannibal. =26. After three months’ stay= on this island Paul’s company proceeded on their way to Rome, stopping at Syracuse three days. Syracuse at this time seems to have been very populous. It was on the eastern part of Sicily and on the coast, and was the residence, at various times, of some of the most celebrated philosophers and poets, Plato, Simonides, Zeno, and Cicero; and here Archimedes lost his life at the capture of the city by the Romans. =27. Thence the vessel= passed to Rhegium, now called Reggio (pronounced red´jo). This place, in Calabria, is the southernmost city and seaport of Italy, and was once a renowned city eight miles southeast of Messina across the strait of the same name. It has a population now of about 20,000. =28. The next day= they came to Puteoli, now Pozzuoli (pronounced pot-soo-o´-lee) on a gulf of the same name seven miles southwest of Naples. Its vicinity was celebrated as the residence of wealthy Romans and the port was an important one. But the land has sunken, as the writer found many evidences that parts of the ancient city were covered with the waters of the sea. =29. The main Roman road=, called the Appian Way, was now taken, upon which was the marketplace called Apii Forum, forty-three miles from Rome. Its site is supposed to be marked by some ruins near Treponti. Farther on was a place called the “Three Taverns,” about thirty-three Roman miles from the city and near the present Cisterna. CHAPTER IX. PAUL AT ROME. THE SEVEN CHURCHES. COLOSSE AND HIERAPOLIS.