* * * * *
HOW MALTA CAME TO BE BRITISH.
When Napoleon was trying to conquer the whole of Europe a hundred years ago, he proceeded to take Malta.
But the Maltese people rose, and held the rest of the island against him, and sent and asked the British under Lord Nelson to come to their assistance.
This was promptly done, and the British Fleet laid siege to the French in Valetta, so that no supplies of food could be brought to the French, and some British troops were landed to help the Maltese.
Thus the French were defeated, and the Maltese handed themselves and their island over to become a colony of the British Empire.
One celebrated officer who largely helped to defeat the French in
Malta was Admiral Troubridge.
Someone was condoling with Nelson once on his losing his right arm in action. The gallant seaman replied cheerily:
"My good sir, I have got three right arms. Here is one (raising his left arm), and there are my other two (pointing to Capt. Ball and Capt. Troubridge)."
At the time of the British investment of the French in Malta, the Maltese themselves were suffering from famine, and their state was so deplorable, and the British authorities so slow to help them, that Commodore Troubridge could bear it no longer, and to ease their sufferings he caused some grain ships at Messina to be seized and brought to Malta and their contents to be given out to feed the starving people.