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slice of pumpkin bought worries her as much as paying half a crown for a sixpenny tea, as one does frequently enough in London. The third of a farthing is no exaggeration, for the Maltese deal in such tiny sums among themselves that а coin of that value is specially struck for their use. The only exaggeration is to pretend it is ever in use between them and the

occasionally wondered if they really boiled the water before they sodafied it, but did not discuss this point with Octavia, or she would have insisted either on inspecting the factory or boiling our water, and I never can get up much enthusiasm for the microbic fads. By next year they would have discovered that by boiling the water we had destroyed the beneficent atom which a thoughtful but abstruse-minded English. But, under Dolores' Providence had hidden there for our preservation.

care, the household marketing was managed on Maltese lines, her morning's shopping probably being as follows: two eggs-one for each of us; a portion of a loaf-about two pounds; a slice of pumpkin, six potatoes, two carrots, three onions, a clove of garlic, and one kohl-rabbi. When Dolores first suggested the last item for dinner we were entirely mystified. We supposed it was cold rabbit, pronounced

The ordinary morning's shopping is quite fun. It is all done from carts which come round -Octavia ought thoroughly to enjoy it, for even she must get her fill of economy here. Dolores haggles over every onion and every ounce of bread; the man in the cart would, no doubt, consider her afflicted in the head if she did otherwise. Even with the foolish and notoriously spendthrift à la Maltese, although, as OcEnglish he is obviously dashed in spirit if one accepts his first offer-rather as if an opponent at tennis pocketed the ball instead of returning it! I find it difficult to be economical in England; here it is quite impossible, for everything is so ludicrously cheap. But it's a glorious feeling to be recklessly extravagant, without ever having to go through the nextmorning feeling. With Octavia, the managing spirit is art for art's sake, and has little to do with the actual expense involved. To have paid a third of a farthing too much for the

VOL. CCXV.—NO. MCOXCIX.

tavia said thoughtfully, "I never realised it was anything to eat; I always thought it was some kind of Jewish priest."

People less agriculturally ignorant, no doubt, would have known all along, but we only discovered when we got it that it is a kind of turnip, which seems to prefer to grow on the top of the earth instead of under it, and arranges its hair more becomingly. If one wants an ordinary turnip in Malta, one must ask for English turnip," and pay twice as much; but I don't know why

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any one should do such a thing, even with a leaning to prodigality.

One of us generally attends the shopping operations on the verandah or out on the road, and not infrequently the Capitano Castellani comes and helps, and we have started a regular Berlitz school of our own. Dolores and the seller of the things conduct affairs in Maltese-the Capitano supplies the Italian name when he recognises the object, and we give the English when explanations go beyond his knowledge of English, or ours of Italian (and they have not far to go in either direction!); the ex

planatory language becomes a species of French. The Capitano's anxiety to learn more English does not lead to the obvious method of taking lessons from his sister's governess -perhaps Madame Patapouffe would not encourage the idea; anyhow it is Octavia he feels convinced could most easily help him. He finds her so simpatica, so so I not know what." Octavia is not only handsome, but placid and competent-qualities that seem to him unusual in a woman,— but I never before heard any one suggest there was anything so elusive as a je-ne-sais-quoi about her.

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VI.

The 2nd of November is Octavia's birthday, and I said we must celebrate it with a drive and a dinner. The guests were not very difficult to choose: Bobbie, of course, and Mr Joynson Capitano Castellani -and some one to balance Joynson. Miss Mason seemed indicated, but could we have the noble Captain and the governess?" Them furrineers" are difficult to understand and whatever the Capitano himself thought I had my doubts about his gimlet-eyed vivacious sister. Better not -so we decided to leave out Joynson too. Octavia's real self hankered for a chaperone, but her feminist professions showed her what a remnant of inferiority and suspicion such

a thing was which was very convenient, for we did not know one-and I was determined to have the dinner.

Unfortunately, when I put the great scheme to Bobbie, and asked him where we should go, he said that as far as he was concerned it was no go anyhow. There was to be some very special tamasha at the Admiral's that day, and they would all have to turn up. I was much dashed.

"And I suppose you're going in your best bib and tucker, and won't be able to do anything amusing till you've changed," I groaned.

Bobbie explained that he would not be in his technically best clothes, but that he would be quite best enough not to

go picnicing, "a sword dang- To compensate for the glory ling around makes one look of going about with an officer rather an idiot getting into a in full dress, one has to carry dog-cart, you know." So it one's own parcels. Bobbie is was decided Octavia and I wonderfully accommodating should put in an afternoon on about conventions for a young our own, and expect our guests British male, but even he would only for dinner. But when I draw the line at adding the told Octavia this, she looked evening's dinner to his sword a little disconcerted, and said- and epaulettes. "Then you had better come with us. Captain Castellani has offered to take me a drive, and I said yes, because I supposed you would be amusing yourself somehow with Bobbie; but, of course, you must just come with us."

I am not keen on invitations to "just come too," especially when given in so resigned a voice, and refused.

"If I come, the poor Capitano won't get on half so well with his English-I think I make him nervous,-and, anyhow, I must see about the dinner and do ourselves credit."

When the day came, and Dolores had procured two immensely fat chickens for less than the price of a boiling British fowl, and had concocted undecipherable Maltese sweets, I said I would make a great housekeeping effort and get some fish. There is no retail trade in fish apparently -at least we had not discovered it, although Dolores' young man occasionally left unknown marine monsters as an "obligement." So, if fish is wanted, mistress or maid must e'en go to market-and on this occasion it was this little pig.

The Fish Market is near the Marina, where the boats land, so I arranged to do my marketing and meet Bobbie as he came ashore. He would then attend to his business at the Admiral's, and we would foregather again at the Club for tea. Octavia pointed out that it would be much too late for tea; she will not understand that there is a decency to be observed, and that in this game "tea represents the joker, and may mean at will just tea, or a lemon-squash, or a cocktail, or mere flirtation. I think that Bobbie's idea was to combine the last two items-one at least was my own intention, if they could be separated; but they are apt to go in indissoluble couples, like cause and effect, though which is which it would be invidious, perhaps libellous, to say.

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I never get tired of the little journey into Valetta such a delicious change from motorbuses and tubes !

One begins by walking along our street, which is, like Edinburgh's famous Princes Street, only half a street, but the castle and gardens are here replaced by the limitless blue Mediterranean. It seems a

little obvious always to add the adjective "blue," but then the blue is so very obvious that one can hardly help it. All along Strada Ittori, one will be pursued by carrozze, each intent on making one drive the short half-mile to the ferry. At last, tired of saying no to their persistence, one chooses the one with the cleanest white covers and curtains, with the freshest and plumiest horse. The Maltese always want to drive at a gallop, once they have caught a victim; so the contemplative admiration of the sea must give place to keeping one's balance. So much glory and honour for sixpence compares well with the ticking taxi at home.

Then comes the crossing, either by ferry, where all sorts and conditions of humanity make an endlessly amusing study, or else in lonely state in a dghaisa. It is a great improvement from ordinary rowing boats that one does not have to sit facing the rower. This always ends in embarrassing me, either trying not to look at the man or else trying to talk to him. The dghaisa men row standing up and facing the bows-from their point of view also an improve ment, I should think, as they can see where they are going without cricking their necks.

At the landing-stage, on the other side, there is the same carrozze competition, but as it is fearsomely steep, and the

Maltese lash their horses unmercifully, the decision to walk is more easily made. Besides, the way for pedestrians is by what is called The Jews' Sallyport, and is narrow, steep, and queer-the houses high on either side, with odd little shops,-and half-way up it is the entrance to the extraordinary underworld of Malta. Octavia has unearthed the fact that it is the most densely populated acre in the world, and although I have not the foggiest idea what sort of number that means, I am quite prepared to believe it. Bobbie says we must on no account go into it unchaperoned, so we are still waiting for him to arrange a suitable escort.

Having climbed laboriously uphill to Strada Reale, one just climbs down again to the Grand Harbour - for Strada Reale is literally as well as figuratively the backbone of hump-backed Valetta. The quickest and most picturesque way is by a Strada which has given up the effort to be a street and become an immense flight of steps. The goats particularly fancy this place perhaps because there is no traffic to disturb them, and their owners can leave them to their own devices while refreshing themselves in the innumerable small drink-shops. The billy-goat is conspicuous by his absence-the ubiquitous nanny goat by her blatant femininity.

Apart from draping every doorway and flight of steps,

The trouble of not knowing the language in the markets here is not so much the difficulty of buying anything as

and supplying the inhabitants holding up three fingers and with Maltese fever, the goat saying "Shillins," and I went also acts as a scavenger- forth again on my quest for indeed the only one I ever fish. saw at work! The Maltese are too poor and too thrifty to throw away much, and as a nation they have the animal they deserve, for the goat seems to thrive on waste-paper! the impossibility of avoiding The morsels that have happily embraced some meat are indeed bonnes-bouches, and I have seen a goat even consume a whole 'Daily Mail' at one meal. Getting to the Marina seems to take some time! So it does, even with Octavia, who, having decided to go there, would not stand upon the order of her going; but the shallow stream of my mind meanders over an extensive area, and I am quite capable of never reaching the fishy Marina, but of coming back late, having instead heard Mass in one of the innumerable churches. My only real digression this time (apart from this description of it) was to go into a tiny jeweller's shop and arrange to get a signet-ring made out of my one and only pre-war sovereign. The little man had no English, but as long as there is no audience one can communicate marvellously well with a Patagonian, a chimpanzee, or a Maltese. With gesticulations and grimaces and inarticulate sounds, I showed him what I wanted, and gave him a drawing of my monogram; and when I had made my face one large question-mark, he answered it by

it. The natives, with great perspicacity, conclude that your only purpose in being there is to buy, so as soon as one approaches a stall something is sure to be thrust into your hand, the seller knowing no English but the price of the unwanted article. This is particularly embarrassing in the Fish Market. If the animals were even such as one could recognise it would matter less. I should walk discreetly down the middle till I caught the eye of a cod or saw the slim brown back of a sole, but, as it is, the creatures' sizes and shapes are quite unknown to me, and I have not an idea which are good and which not. Having to account to Octavia and Dolores afterwards complicates it too-for Octavia has to eat it, and Dolores would scorn my housekeeping extravagance if I bought the equivalent of salmon, and my parsimony if I bought a sort of flounder. I have heard harried housekeepers at home wish a new edible beast could be invented-I can assure them it is even more harassing to be confronted with nothing but new ones. Wandering amongst fish in warm weather

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