Dowager Queen evinced her gratitude for restored health by erecting
here an Episcopal place of worship, known as the Church of St. Paul,
situated on the Piazza Gelsi. It is a plain edifice, both inside and
out, but of chaste and elegant Grecian design. The old palace of the
German branch of the Knights of St. John was torn down to afford a site
for this church, the construction of which drew upon the generous
donor's purse to the extent of one hundred thousand dollars. Its tall,
pointed spire is quite conspicuous, in a general view of the town, the
architecture being so in contrast with its surroundings. There was a
bitter but useless opposition made by the arrogant Roman Catholic
priesthood of Malta against its construction. The priesthood, however,
soon found that they had to deal with a power that could crush their
influence in the group altogether, if it chose to do so, and were forced
to eat humble pie, after exposing their spirit of bigotry. This church
has a fine set of bells, and contains a valuable theological library.
The Dowager Queen also established an infant school or kindergarten,
with an English lady teacher, which proved to be a decided success, and
a revelation to this isolated community as regarded the education of
children. It proved to be a spur to mental culture in older persons, who
saw, with surprise, children five or six years of age able to read and
to answer simple questions in arithmetic, as well as exhibiting ripening
intelligence concerning everything about them. This admirable example
was not without its due effect upon the government. There are to-day ten
infant schools and seventy-six primary schools in the city of Valletta.
The visit of the Queen Dowager lasted three months, during which time
she endeared herself very much to the Maltese by her kindness and
consideration.

The excellent and melodious organ used in St. Paul's Church was removed
from the cathedral in the quaint old city of Chester, England, where it
had long served its purpose, being replaced there by a very superior
modern instrument.

The atmosphere of this region is so clear that the grand, solitary,
sulphurous cone of Mount AEtna can be sometimes seen, though it is
situated a hundred and thirty miles away, in Sicily. The coast,
stretching east and west from Cape Passaro, which is the nearest point
to the Maltese islands, is also occasionally visible. The mountain, when
seen against the northern sky, assumes the shap