A BOOK OF THE DAY.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2211, 25 July 1914, Page 11

A BOOK OF THE DAY.

MALTA AND THE MALTESE. "The Odd Man In Malta. . Before tho P. and 0. boats,' bound to and fflom Australia and London, ceased, calling at Malta) not a few NewZea- , ders spent a pleasant day ashore.at wio historically famous and picturesque old port of Valetta. Nowadays, 'only the Indian-bound P. and 0. steamers sail there,' Homeward-bound colonists being hurried direct from Port. Said tb Marseilles, thus missing acquaintance with a port a visit to which, however, Drief, cannot fail to. be interesting. " In' ' his "Odd Man in Malta" (G; Bell, and •Sons; per Whitcombe and Tombs), Mr. John Wignacourt, who was .for some years: a resident of the .island—he was that Maltese rara avis, a British civilian . —lias'.written a, very .interesting,' .'and > amusing book. He devotes special at- ■ tontion to the native Jlaltese and the curious social habits and'customs, which have survived the influences of the alien British military element. " The .women of the. richer classes have succumbed'to the wascmation 0 f French fashions—a long : way off —but they still wear' the ancient faldella when they go to church, and by the poorer women it \ia always worn., , Tho : faldelta is a black hood arch&i over, the head with a strip of whalebone, and held in place by a hand carrying all. the jewellery that is available.. "Its appear- . ance," says the author, "is'somewhat sombre and depressing, and the efforts to look round the corner of it cause a great number of the women to be cross- , eyed. Still, it is a thoroughly iiieradic-? able fashion, andTias great possibilities,-" since it is difficult to tell'who 'is ; underneath it.".-Tho true Maltese/language, not the seaport jargon of "Valletta? but the tongue spoken by the peasants, is, . • Mr. /Wignancourt contends, ' pure and ancient Semitic, but the Maltese'are, he says, a, purely Hamitic' are of 'tno same race as "the people who , built Stonehenge and our long'barrows, and covered Europe with neolithio monuments.". .. • , ' ' 1

Maltese English, • . 'i Mr. Wignancourt has a very-'amusing chapter on i!he'King's. English .as it-is spoken' in Malta. ; The Maltese journalist, is given to a certain of metaphor, which at times bears curious fruit; Thus, one Valetta reporter, de-' scribing.a gubernatorial reception, let himself go as follows:— ✓./ . ■ , '. -. ■Up those hallowed steps, there '. crowded, beauty, wit, industry; - pride, modesty and desert incbmr : ' : motional ; enthusiasm to catch a•■•/; glimpse of semi-royal favour.. . ■Nor'wore the viands and'decorations of a. mean order; in-the bounteous : ■" generosity of .his heart his Excel-"' leney had Bidden the walls.be niuig ■ - with verdure, flower-pots to be ar- •'■• ranged upon the tables, which ' groaned beneath their weight.of de- /. licacies, 'the sausage-roll, and the quivering jelly vying with', eachother for. selection. .-. .;. On his, Excellency's right hand .'stood his , able Lie|itenanb" : and^l),eputyf j Sir \ ; -Wiggins' shortly, alasl about to quit his place in our midst,; but not in out hearts; - so.,long awaited, and. vouchsafed to us; in/the fullness of time; like. a Messiah,-'he came amongst us," etc.. \ The Jady reporter of the samp $fgan equally distinguished herself: "Lady Jones shimmered in a perspicuous sequined; gown , of lace; Lady Ingram refulged;in peacock blue: Mrs. •Mifsiid wore herpink." •■" 'Refulged' is .good," as Polouius would , ,have said. In view of the. large British population, theMbcal tradesmen often affect bilingual capacity in their signs, sometimes with rather odd expression. Thus, one 1 Joseph Bulligieg announces; Jiimself as "Butcier and Purveyor,", and offers "Beef, Mutton, Rabbist,. and all sorts, of Fowlery." ' ■ '~■'..; "'■ •■.'■. ■'-. . .•■■..'■ '.- A Curious Dictionary. Mr. Wignancourt made a rare philo-" logical find in a copy of a Maltese-Eng-lish'DictionarjVcompiled by aiMr. Biisutell. Some of this gentleman's "English" equivalents .for'-the, words ■ and phrases of his native'tongue are curiously exemplificative of the peculiar pregnancy of the language Thus, it'is hard to conceive of one single (Maltese) word meaning all -this, and in such a picturesque way: "He who piills the hair, or seizes by the hair, he, who admonishes, he who makes an.admonishment," or:"Spat out, spat out a little at a : timej" or such -widely-different things as. Sculpture, "cawing." Other instances of this character are, "When he saw him he remained flabbergasted for utterance," or "I found all the papers .jumbled together, or in a mingle mangle." In some phrases Mr. Wignancourt. detects a ? 'high, even sententious' pitch." Thus: . r . ;: ' c' 'Keep that book fibjilated,' or • else it will be; spoiled", "I found, that tMs'.place is really,mobific": Sud- ; den' (subitanebue. or subitary) death," which lesds naturally to Mr. . ' Lloyd George—"There v is. nothings .certain in this life hut death (and taxes!)"; "They, took him, with the .. accompaniment of' music" (a: local' touch —I suppose the police are referred to); '• A measure of dry or arid goods"; '-'Did you hear of the murder (manslanghtor or homicide) thattook place at Gosso yesterday?" ■ which shows that he is at least no. .lawyer. . .'■'•. ,- The Maltese People, The' Maltese are proverbially keen traders—"no Jews can live there"—and their commercial morality is of a very low order. Nevertheless, the. people themselves live decent, moral lives, are Jdn'dly-hearted, and have, many social and private virtues. _ The Maltese, as a people, must not be judged by the oilytongued rascals .jyho pester the steamer Eassengers to buy "imitation; lace. They ave all the Oriental love of bargaining, and quite expect the/customer to.beat down the price. "So," says Mr. Wignancourt, "the, fisherman' who'intrudes his smiling face through the whwow while you are at breakfast will set a price of five shillings on a fish which has perhaps given him some trouble. to catch, but if you do not wound his sensibilities by too steep a descent, you .may finally acquire it tor fourpence halfpenny. There is a good field for antiqarian and archaeological research in Malta, and the author has much to say on the history of the island and the origin of its people, which will interest the student of history and ethnology. The Maltese of to-day is, however, not greatly concerned with the past. The peasant is a hard-working fellow, but in {he towns there is' an intense love of amusement, and the numerous religious festivals afford welcome opportunity for agreeable idling. Tho Maltese "-Movies. ,, . The omnipresent kinematograph is greatly patronised, which is not surprising, seeing the usual price of admiseion is but the Maltese equivalent of the. British penny. Tin popular, taste favours very blood-curdling scenes, ami the fiery nature of the.south finds grim satisfaction in the portrayal of burnings at.the stake. From the advertisement of one very popular -"picturfe dfam^."

"The Evil Fascination/' I take the titles V the pictures in Part Third: 17. The New Servant at Work.- . 18. The only Way to Difembarrass from Ram6on is to fulminate him . to-night when, he is at work' in his . studio! ■ ' : 19. Your betrothed is an adven- , turess, and to-night tries to kill ■ you for your heredity. 20. The robbed Testament. : ■'21. He Deceit. • • [Will follow other Scenes.] Mr; Wigrianoourt's entertaining stutlies of Maltese life and character are accom-' panied by a large number of excellent illustrations of-Maltese scenery of peasant town life,-etc.,' (Price,} 10s. 6a.)