[Illustration: _View of St. Paul’s Bay, Malta._] The Travels, Adventures, and Experiences of Thomas Trotter. CHAPTER IV. _Landing at Malta.--Description of the city and inhabitants.-- Excursion into the interior.--Visit to the catacombs.-- Wonderful subterranean abodes.--St. Paul’s Bay._ When we were through with the quarantine, we hauled round into the great harbor of Malta. The city, which is called Valetta, made a most stately appearance as we passed the castle of St. Elmo. It lies close to the sea, and the whole mass of buildings bursts upon you at once, with its long rows of castellated walls, bristling with cannon, tier upon tier, towering battlements, turrets and bastions and pinnacles in the most picturesque profusion--a grand and magnificent spectacle. The harbor was full of ships--men-of-war, merchantmen, and all sorts of small Mediterranean craft, rigged in the strangest style imaginable. Whole fleets of row-boats came crowding round us, filled with people. Some of them had bands of music, playing “Yankee Doodle,” “Washington’s March,” and “Hail Columbia,” for which they expected we should give them a quarter of a dollar or so. Others brought fruit, fresh provisions, sea-shells and curiosities, for sale. Most of them spoke a little English, and, in their eagerness to sell their commodities, would make the most ludicrous speeches imaginable. One comical fellow had a pig for sale, which he praised very highly: “Buy pig, captain?--nice pig, sweet pig, ’merican pig: won’t heave nothing overboard, eat brick-dust, eat anything.” It was difficult to get rid of the importunities of these people. They would offer a thing for a dollar, and then gradually come down to nine-pence. When we landed on the quay, we found a still greater crowd besetting us, offering to carry our trunks, amidst immense confusion and jabbering. Donkeys and mules were trotting about, but we saw no horses. We passed through a great gate in a wall, and went up into the city, by climbing flights of stone steps. The donkeys go up and down with heavy loads on their backs, and never stumble. All the streets were narrow, with high stone houses on each side, and full of people. The main street occupies the summit of the rock on which the city is built, and all the cross streets run up and down the hill, and are paved stair-fashion. The city is one of the handsomest in the world, and looks like an assemblage of palaces. The streets are straight, and all the houses are built of a light yellow stone. Nothing can be more picturesque than their architecture. The fronts are studded with bold masses of carved stonework, balconies, cornices, pilasters, projections, and sculptured ornaments of various descriptions. The prospect through one of the streets is a perfect picture. I could not help contrasting it with our American cities, with their quadrangular monotony of architecture!