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12 November 1908 — San Antonio Palace, Malta | |
Thursday. 12th [November 1908]. A strong scirocco wind was blowing wh incapacitated me & I was idle all the morning. In the afternoon the D. & Dss drove me to Natabile a village not far off to show me a fine old Palace wh they suggest should be made into a civil hospital. The Duke will give £800 towards the equipment. It will be a very good place for the purpose—& is a fine Palace built by a Grand Master of St John, but there will be much to be done to arrange it. The Connaughts are horrified at the state of the present civil hospital at Valletta—managed by the nuns & fearfully over crowded. The Maltese suffer terribly from fever which it is now found is the result of drinking goats milk. Twice the troops here have been forbidden to drink it the fever has entirely disappeared & is now only known amongst the natives of this island who cannot be persuaded to give up their goats. We went over the whole of the old building for the hospital down to the dungeons which are most gruesome & we saw the stone used for the decapitation of the prisoners. We also walked round the ramparts & moat now turned into gardens & one thought of all the people who had once inhabited the place—the Carte Vecchia as it was called—& left it desolate. It is good to think it is to be used for the relief of suffering. We drove home by 5 o’cl tea time. | |
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