which forms very good material for building. When used, however, for floors, it is necessary to harden the surface of the Malta stone with varnish or oil. A friend of mine, at Palermo, who paved his house with this material, and neglected thus to prepare it, discovered his mistake in a very unpleasant manner. Soon after taking posses. sion of his residence, he gave a ball. After the third or fourth dance, the gentlemen's coats were white with pow. der, the air of the rooms was filled with fine dust, and the next day, every one of the company complained of a sore throat. We lodged at a hotel, formerly a knight's palace, every apartment of which is of noble dimensions, and richly decorated. The Grand Master's residence, the splendid armory, the long lines of bastions, and the monuments in the church of Saint John, are the most interesting memorials of the knights. The old pits excava ted for preserving grain, which has been thus kept for an entire century, are still used for a similar purpose. A column on one of the ramparts, commemorates the services of Sir Alexander Ball, to whom Coleridge pays so high a tribute in the Friend. The gay uniforms of the English officers give a lively air to the narrow streets of Malta. At the opera, between the acts, the orchestra perform "God save the King," and every individual rises and remains attentively standing until the music ceases This silent recognition of national feeling, in a foreign land is impressive and touching. Malta will not long detain the curious traveller, when so near more interest ing localities. But while the novelty of its peculiar fea tures is fresh to the mind, they cannot fail to amuse.

There is a remarkable unity in the associations of the place, connected as they are, almost exclusively with the knights. A great variety in costume, and sundry singularities in the habits and dialects of the natives, afford a fund of entertainment for a few days' sojourn. The Maltese still complain loudly of their grievances, and have but recently succeeded in obtaining the freedom of their press. Their African origin is strongly indicated in their complexions and cast of features. Yet not unfrequently, from one of the grotesque balconies, a dark eye gleams, or a form is visible, which stays the steps, and provokes the sigh of the stranger.

GOLDSMITH.

It is sometimes both pleasing and profitable to recur to those characters in literary history who are emphatically favorites, and to glance at the cause of their popularity. Such speculations frequently afford more important results than the mere gratification of curiosity. They often lead to a clearer perception of the true tests of genius, and indicate the principle and methods by which the common mind may be most successfully addressed. The advantage of such retrospective inquiries is still greater at a period like the present, when there is such an obvious tendency to innovate upon some of the best-established theories of taste; when the passion for novelty seeks for such unli. censed indulgence, and invention seems to exhaust itself rather upon forms than ideas. In literature, especially, we appear to be daily losing one of the most valuable elements-simplicity. The prevalent taste is no longer gratified with the natural. There is a growing appetite for what is startling and peculiar, seldom accompanied by any discriminating demand for the true and original; and

yet, experience has fully proved that these last are the only permanent elements of literature; and no healthy mind, cognizant of its own history, is unaware that the only intellectual aliment which never palls upon the taste, is that which is least indebted to extraneous accompani. ments for its relish.

It is ever refreshing to revert to first principles. The study of the old masters may sometimes make the modern artist despair of his own efforts; but if he have the genius to discover, and follow out the great principle upon which they wrought, he will not have contemplated their works in vain. He will have learned that devotion to nature is the grand secret of progress in art, and that the success of her votaries depends upon the singleness, constancy, and intelligence of their worship. If there is not enthusiasm enough to kindle this flame in its purity, nor energy sufficient to fulfil the sacrifice required at that high altar, let not the young aspirant enter the priesthood of art. When the immortal painter of the Transfiguration was asked to embody his ideal of perfect female loveliness, he replied there would still be an infinite distance between his work and the existent original. In this profound and vivid perception of the beautiful in nature, we perceive the origin of those lovely creations, which, for more than three hundred years, have delighted mankind. And it is equally true of the pen as the pencil, that what is drawn from life and the heart, alone bears the impress of immortality. Yet the practical faith of our day is diametrically opposed to this truth. The writers of our times are constantly making use of artificial enginery. They have, for