Halletsville Herald. (Hallettsville, Tex.), Vol. 36, No. 8, Ed. 1 Thursday, April 25, 1907 Page: 1 of 8
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: Hallettsville Area Newspaper Collection and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the Friench Simpson Memorial Library.
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i Vol. 36.
Halletsville, Lavaca County, Texas, April 25, 1907.
No. 8
MALTA, HISTORIC CITY OF THE MEDITERRANEAN.
LETTER FROM S. J. THOMAS ON HIS
TRIP ABROAD.
The Apostle Paul was a teat
■ muker before he was a lawyer;
was a prosecutor of Chris-
I tians before he vae a Christian
J bimself and he was all those be-
■ -fore he was a sailor. When he
was shipwrecked on the island
of Melita he was making bis last
trip on the sea, for he was a
prisoner on a Roman ship and
never returned from the fateful
In an imposing cathedral close
by, dating-back to the misty
past, are numerous paintings, in
most of which Paul and Publius
are conspicuous. The kind at-
tending priest lights a taper on
of a Tong pole and
the end
holds it high over an altar sac-
red to Mary. Dropping to his
knees in obeisanci, he arises and
voyage.
It is a matter of record (Acts
27:33) that the great, first and
foremost promoter of Christian-
ity was a victim of seasickness.
For fourteen days he ate noth-
ing and that is evidence that he
was seasick, he and the whole
tempest-tossed crew. Luke is
very artful in his description of
this most aggravating feature of
the stormy episode and gra-
ciously refrains from details, or
it may have been that Paul
edited the manuscript and cut
out all that he considered not
germain to his serious purposes.
With a feeling of deep rever-
ence and of profound respect
for the noble hero of the cross, I
stood in the place “where two
seas met,” and with the story in
sacred print before me. recalled
in imagination the incidents of
the wreck and its interesting
sequel—the breaking in two of
the ship, the purpose of the sol-
diers to kill the prisoners, the
interference of the kind centu-
rian whom Paul’s diplomacy had
won, the swim to shore and Paul
on a broken timber drifting in,
the camp fire built by the na-
tives to dry and warm the 276
passengers. On a rock marking
the place of landing of the strand-
ed party stands a tall monu-
ment in memory of the incident
and in memory of the chief actor
in it.
withdraws a curtain, disclosing a
medallion of the Virgin; and then
in soft and exultant Maltese
gives some information which we
are sure from his manner is im-
portant. Our guide in mangled
and bleeding English, interprets
the declaration.
It
And then we drove eight miles
upon a splendid road and up the
steep inclines,to the home of Pub-
lius where Paul and his party
were entertained for three
months. A ■» Catholic chapel
stands over the spot and we
were conducted through the
various rooms and halls to an
altar marking the exact place,
we were informed, where Paul
held mass each morning while
a guest in the home of Publius.
] have made it a rule to comply
with the Pauline injunction to
■“believe all things” on this trip,
and so 1 began just here to cud-
gel the beads of the first doubts
that began to rise. Thoroughly
aubduea and credulous, we en-
tered a grotto cut in the chalky
rock under this chapel and in
the light of the wax tapers beheld
the very room where Paul slept
and dreamed, for three long
months, of the future of the
great gospel he preached. Ido
not know why he slept under-
ground unless the capacity of
the house of thegovernor was lim-
ited to the entertainment of the
captain of the boat, and the cen-
turion and the prisoners had to
take steerage accommodations.
Henceforth I shall always prize
the fragment of chalky lime-
atone I chipped from the historic
cave for the kindly shelter it af-
forded the great gospel chief-
tain. In this chapel a marble
slab relates in latin how Publius,
after conversion to the Christian
belief, became the first bishop of
the island and lost his head in
the cause.
This is surely worth a penny,
and dropping several copper
disks into the outstretched palm
of the church official, we pass
out and onto another revelation,
the catacombs. There we de-
scend by a flight of stone steps
into a subterranean graveyard,
where gruesome history flaunts
its ghostly robes from 6,000 se-
pulchres, and 100 aisles vocal
with solemn and terrible tales of
woe. So far as we go, and we
go only a short distance, and beg
to see the light of day again,
every grave but two has been
dispoiled of its bones and is va-
cant- In this sleeping room of
the dead there are upper and
lower berths, berths for adults
and smaller ones for childreu,
berths for the lean and wider
ones for the corpuleut. There
are ground floors, basements
aud galleries and a bewildering
labyrinth of aisles, at every foot
or so a dark, silent, vacant bed
in the solid rock. The flickering
tapers we carry only make the
dismal prospect more ghostly
and our spoken works are
hurled back, it seems, by mock-
ing demons from the cavernous
recesses, until the presence be-
comes oppressive and we clamor
to be taken out.
MRS. LOUIS
SUFFERED FDR MOUTHS.
Operation Advocated—Saved
By Pe-ru-na.
Mrs. Louis Laeomb, Hayward, Wis.,
writes:
“I have followed your treatment as
closely a^I could and am now entirely
well.
*• We had two doctors and one said
that / would have to have an operation
performed before I could regain my
health.
“We then.doelded to write you as to
my condition, as I had been suffering
nearly a year with severe pains and
headaches at times so that I could
scarcely stand up.
••Now / feet so well after a short
treatment with your remedy, and am
so grateful that I do not know how to
express my thanks.
“I thank you many times for the kind
advice I have had from you.”
Mrs. Laura Benyo, 821 Ann St., Cin-
cinnati, Ohio, writes: “I am entirely
cured of catarrh of the bronchial tubes
by Poruna.”
enclosures of stone like small
cattle pens, not a shrub nor a
vine, and yet in every little cow-
peu a patch of something green,
aud you have a conception of the
picture. It is a veritable crazy-
quilt of rock and vegetation,
without order and without break
in the continuity of patches ex-
cept where a fort rises prominent
here and there in Ft commanding
locality.
Malta was first occupied by
the Phoenicians. They were
succeeded by the Romans in 251)
B. C.; by the Vandals in 534 A.
1).; by the Arabs in 870; bv the
Knights of St. John in 1530: by
Napoleon in 1800, and by Eng
land from that year to the pres-
ent. The Knights of St. John,
or Knights of Malta, as they are
best known, have a romantic
and remarkable history. Or-
ganized at Jerusalem in 1048 as
a military and religious secret
order, they were confirmed as
such by the pope; removed to
Rhodes in 1300, and to Malta
about 1550, their numbers in-
creasing in the meantime und
their battles on laud and sea
being an almost unbroken chain
of victories. Their struggles
were mainly directed against
the piratical ravages of the
Turks and the repeated attempts
of the barbarians to overrun
Europe. Their gallantry dieted
the admiration of the Christian
world. Fader La Valetta, the
most famous of the grand mas-
ters of the secret order, the city
bearing his mime was founded
and a series of fortifications be-
gan that have long been without
a parallel. Two of the cardinal
tenets of this order, were tem-
perance Find chastity, but with
the growth of power and wealth
they fell from grace in these re-
spects, and their virility as an
active force declined. There is
We are told by the guide, in a
sputtering medley of Arabic and
English that the early Christians
were buried there, many of them
martyrs in the days of wholesale
persecution. I confess a failing
for souvenirs and, here as else-
where, I pick up as I suppose in
the darkness to be a piece of
stone from the walls, but which
proves in the light to be a bone.
I wonder what a story of sorrow
it would tell, could it only speak
of the unhappy days when it
lived in the upholstery of flesh.
A chapel near the ent"arce has
its place for the bier, an altar for
the funeral service and space for
the assembled mourners, hewn
from the rock.
All these things, the chapel,
cathedral and catacombs, are at
Citta Vecchia, the old capitol of
Malta, or Me'ita, as it was form-
erly called. Cicero, in one of his
best orations arraigns Verres,
praetor of Sicily, on a charge of
plundering the temples and rob-
bing wealthy citizens of Citta
Vecchia, and states in the same
connection that Verres had fac-
tories there for the manufacture
of cotton goods. But it is al-
most deserted now, only the
walls are left, showing little of
the wear of centuries, and rows
of vacant houses, and a few
brown natives who are mendi-
cants living on the charity of the
visitor.
Valetta is now the capital and
chief city of Malta and is quite
CapHml - -
Surplus ~ . -
$60,000
11,000
Ample FmollMme.
. *.!; 4 A •: •; iv
.Via COUNTY DAT
modern—anything in this part
of the world that is less than a
couple of thousand years old is
regarded as in its kilts—and a
fine city it is, splendidly located
on a hill of rock rising abruptly
out of the sea. The fortifica-
tions are said to be even more
formidable than those of Gibral-
tar and form the strongest link
in the chain that unites England
to her eastern posessions. The
city has 90,000 people, and the
island a total of 200,000. Malta
is said to be the most densely
populated country in the world,
the average being 2,000 people
to the square mile (not of course
including the city.) I had the
pleasure of a ride across from
shore to shore in two directions
and saw practically the whole of
it, for it is not over ten miles
across the widest portion. Ne-
ver was a ride more replete with
interest; never were views more
picturesque, nor customs more
quaint. In the first place the is-
land is a rock upheaved from the
bed of Pasiedou, and it is noth-
ing but rock, rock from base to
rugged summit and to fretted
perimeter, except that a thin
soil has settled upon it somehow
from somewhere. The roads are
carved from the rock and bevel-
ed and drained by British mil:-
tary engineers and are not sur-
passed anywhere. As in Madeira,
only more so, eyery available
inch of surface is fenced with rock
walls and cultivated for all there
is in it.
The outlook from Cetta Vec-
cbia, the highest point on the is-
feet, brint
land (750) feet, brings before the
eyes a scene not presented any-
where else in the world. It is a
wilderness of stones erected in-
to fence—walls around countless
little patches of greer all the
way to the water’s edge and in
every direction. It is said there
are no snakes on the island and
that there has been none since
the curse of Paul fell
t
upon
them, when he was bitten. but
to all appearanoesit lean idle
no page in history more roman-
tic or more delightful than that
which relates the thrilling story
of the Knights of Malta.
The design of the cities of Malta
is similar to those of Spain and
all oriental cities so far as 1
have seen—narrow streets,
white houses, the people up
stairs over shops and stores,
The inhabitants are of mixed
Arab and Italian origin, chiefly
of the former, and they me
known throughout^the Mediter-
ranean as a plucky, enterprising,
temperate and industrious peo-
ple. Maltese artificers in gold
aud silver are without peers aud
the dreamy creations in lace that
come from the deft fingers of the
Maltese women, are esteemed
above all pothers by women the
worlfl over. The decks of our
ships were lined with this exqui-
site finery, during the day we
were anchored in the harbor, and
there must have been enough,
in the aggregate, to have taken
oae woman a thousand years or
t thousand women one year to
create, ft was a battle royal be-
tween the shrewd salesman and
the bargaining lady buyers.
Holding up an ethereal collar, a
lady with a 98c look in her eye,
would inquire “how much?” aud
the shrewd native, divining the
inevitable “jewing” that wa,s to
"o'lOw, would fix his price up in
the clouds. The feminine hands
were up in surprise. But the
trader had only begun the com-
bat which his customer had
summarily forsaken. “How
much?” was his wary challenge
to further negotiations, and the
lady, knowing the prestige of
Maltese manufacture and con-
firmed in her estimate of its val-
ue by the exaggerated price
named, readily offers one-half
the figure, and it is her proper-
ty. She boasts of her bargain,
and he of a sale of twice the
price iu the shops of Malta.
The women of Malta wear a
peculiar headdress, called a
faldetta, this is invariably black
and shaped like a sun bonnet
with one side extended into a
very large, stiff loop, and reach-
ing to the waist on the loop side
and fcbp back. Only one-tenth
of the people can read and write,
tnis is
1907 Lap Robes For Summer Use
ti if u '
w*' •
§? *'
Bought direct from the
factory now in Fit H. J.
Heye’s, the Saddler and
Buggy Dealer. Wegotover
200 and of the latest and
nicest patterns, ranging in
price from
25 Cents to $2.50
Come and see them, wheth-
er you buy or not.
Respectfully.
H. J. HEYE
FRESH MEATS
OF ALL KINDS
\\ e strive to please and therefore our patrons can be
assured that in coming to t his market they will be furnish-
I ed nothing but the very choicest cuts. Come once and
■ you will be a regular customer.
L
JOHN ROTHSCHMITT, proprietor
A. Stankiewicz
JEWELER
Fine Repairing a Specialty.
Cut Glass, Silverware, Ornaments, Etc. Every-
thing- kept in a First-class Jewelry Store.
HALLETSVILLE, TEXAS
FOR BARGAINS
In Fresh Family and Staple Groceries call and
See us. You can also save money by buying
your Paints and (tils from us. getting good
quality without paying drug store prices.
I um agent for the Texas Wonder. HALL’S GREAT
DISCOVERS. Cures all Kidney and Bladder troubles,
removes Gravel, cures Diabetes, Seminal Emission, Weak
and Eaine Backs. Rheumatism, and all Irregularities of
the Kidneys and Bladder In men and women. Price #1..
D. B. Fjowerton & Co.
REMEMBER THE “SAP’
DAVY CROCKETT
-IS THE ONLY TKAIN-
Out of Halletsville that gives you all day In Houston and San
Antonio without the Iohh of a night’s sleep.
GOING WEST you arrive In San Antonio 7:1.') a. ru.; returning
leave San Antonio l*.4r> p. m. The most comfortable reclining
clmlr CFirs to bo found are operated on the old reliable—fi! ways on
time—“Davy Crockett.”
Wj
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Q. F. LUPTON, G. P. A.
W. fl. GAFFORD, Local Agent.
MONEY TO LOAN
On Farms and Ranohaa
Vendor's Uon Noise Bought.
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Beaumier, W. R. Halletsville Herald. (Hallettsville, Tex.), Vol. 36, No. 8, Ed. 1 Thursday, April 25, 1907, newspaper, April 25, 1907; Hallettsville, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1015637/m1/1/?q=Lamar+University&rotate=90: accessed June 21, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Friench Simpson Memorial Library.