ous amount of riches lying perdue, and
being constantly added to, myriads who look upon the Pope as their
spiritual father actually starve on the banks of the Tiber, at his very
gates.

But let us return to Citta Vecchia, whose site upon one of the spurs of
the Bingemma Hills was so well chosen.

Much interest is felt by visitors in the ancient cathedral of the old
city, its mouldering monasteries, its convents, its theological school,
its hospitals, and its bishop's palace. The cathedral is said to be
built upon the site of the house formerly occupied by Publius, the Roman
governor of the island at the time of St. Paul's shipwreck, and who, if
tradition may be believed, was his ardent friend and follower. It has
two tall bell towers, a hundred and thirty feet in height, from which a
grand view of the Maltese group is enjoyed, the elevation being over
seven hundred feet above sea-level. The length of the edifice is nearly
two hundred feet, and it is about half as wide as it is long. The form
is that of a Latin cross. In effecting an entrance, one passes through
an army of mendicants, poor, miserable creatures, who with blind
credulity come hither in the hope of obtaining relief from their
sufferings, the most prevalent of which is gnawing hunger!

The interior of the cathedral is very rich in gorgeous decoration. Like
the church of St. John, its roof is superbly painted. This work was done
by Vincenzo Manno, an eminent Sicilian artist, and represents scenes in
the life of St. Paul. The high altar is composed of the finest marble,
artistically wrought, and must have been very costly. The mosaic
tombstones which form the flooring, after the style of the Valletta
cathedral, are a marvel of patient workmanship, and produce a fine
effect. A picture of the Madonna is pointed out by the guide, which is
said to have been painted by St. Luke, and there are several presumed
relics of the Apostle Paul. In one of the chapels is a painting
representing the Apostle miraculously routing twenty thousand Moors, who
came to besiege the city. The site upon which the cathedral stands is so
elevated as to afford a most extensive view even from the terrace.

Beneath the ancient Court of Justice near at hand, there are some damp
and dreary dungeons where human beings used to be confined ages ago,
dungeons which rival in horror those of the Doge's Palace at Venice, or
the direful cells beneath the Castle of Chillon, excavated under the
Lak