File:A trip to the Orient; the story of a Mediterranean cruise (1907) (14598618197).jpg

Identifier: triptoorientstor00jacorich (find matches)
Title: A trip to the Orient; the story of a Mediterranean cruise
Year: 1907 (1900s)
Authors: Jacob, Robert Urie
Subjects: Middle East -- Description and travel
Publisher: Philadelphia, The J. C. Winston co
Contributing Library: University of California Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: MSN

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Text Appearing Before Image:
the month. The heavy doors were open, but a curtain
of matting hung over the entrance. A ragged, barefoot
boy ran before us, and, drawing aside the matting tha
twe might enter, extended his hand for a penny. We
walked over the beautiful inlaid mosaic marble floor,
and beheld handsomely painted ceilings with life-size
figures overhead, and richly decorated walls and pillars
around us. A priest with pride pointed out the famous
paintings on the walls, the bronze and the marble
statues around the sides, and, in the various chapels,
the three huge iron keys which opened the gates of
Jerusalem, Acre, and Rhodes, and the gates of solid
silver in front of the richly decorated altar. As we
stood before the silver gates our guide told us his little
story:
When the French captured Malta in 1798 they
carried away as bootv the most valuable possessions of
the church in the form of precious jewels, silver statues,
golden vessels, valuable vestments, and works of art.
The Emperor Napoleon with his own hand took a most
Text Appearing After Image:
92 A TRIP TO THE ORIENT.
valuable diamond from the finger of the jeweled glove
which covered the sacred relic, the hand of St. John, and
placed it on his own finger. The Emperor also took
the diamond mounted sword, which had been carried
by Valette, and buckled it to his side. These silver
gates, too, would have been carried away but for the
forethought of a priest who painted them black and so
concealed their value.
In the nave of this church we tramped over hundreds
of marble slabs which have been placed among the
mosaics in the floor as memorials of the knights and
nobles who are buried underneath. These flat tomb-
stones are adorned with representations of coats-of-
arms, musical instruments, angels, crowns, palms,
skeletons, and other odd devices. But in the crypt
underneath, whither we were next conducted, majestic
monuments of elaborate design mark the resting
places of the most noted Grand Masters of the Order,
the tomb of Grand Master Cottoner being one of the
most imposing.

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