ilippe, who died of consumption at Malta.
This tomb is ornamented with a full-length recumbent statue of the
youthful prince, and is a fine work of art. From this chapel there are
marble steps leading to the crypt in which are the tombs of twelve of
the Grand Masters, including those of L'Isle Adam, first Grand Master in
Malta, and his successor, La Vallette. The sarcophagi in this place are
elaborate works of more than ordinary merit, and are said to have come
from Florence, Milan, and Rome. The sepulchre of La Vallette interested
us most, as does the life of this remarkable soldier, commander, and
prelate. The pedestal is of bronze, upon which the Grand Master is
represented as reclining in the full armor of a Knight of the order
which he had served so long and so faithfully. At the foot of this tomb
lies the body of Oliver Starkey, La Vallette's trusted secretary, who,
had he possessed the ambition, might have aspired to almost any post of
honor within the gift of the brotherhood. In the silence of this
sepulchral chamber, one naturally falls to musing upon the vanities of
life and the stern reality of the end. The tomb is the great leveler;
the emperor and his humblest subject must alike crumble to dust.

As we ascend once more to the nave of the church, the brain becomes very
busy with thoughts suggested by the surroundings, where there is such an
incongruous blending of religious with warlike associations. Everything
speaks of the brave but heedless Knights, and their common pride in and
devotion to this ostentatious temple.

Besides the chapels which were assigned to the several languages of the
order in this church of St. John, here called the cathedral, each
division had also some church in the city devoted entirely to its
service. Thus to the Knights of Provence belonged the church of Santa
Barbara, in the Strada Reale; that of Italy possessed the church of
Santa Catarina, in the Strada Mercanti; the church of Our Lady of Pilar,
in the Strada Ponente, belonged to the language of Castile and
Portugal, the other divisions being similarly supplied with separate
churches.

We have several times referred to the divisions of the Knights; this
should perhaps be made clearer by a few words. In consequence of the
admission to their ranks of kings, princes, and nobles from all parts of
Christendom and speaking various tongues, they divided themselves into
what was called "the eight languages," each, as we have shown,