HISTORY OF MALTA.

7

to gain the friendship of the Greeks, who composed a con-siderable part of the inhabitants: they, therefore, permittedthem to continue their ancient customs, and still called theisland Melita: they made it a municipium, allowing the inha-bitants to be governed by their own laws; though they sent apro-praetor who depended on the prsetorship of Sicily, andin whose name they struck some medals.

The Romans particularly encouraged commerce and manu-factures ; cotton and linen cloths were so famed for fineness,and the nicety with which they were finished, that they wereregarded at Rome as an article of luxury.

The greatest attention was paid to improving and beautify-ing those temples, which were esteemed the pride of Melita, andto which both sailors and merchants repaired to offer incense tothe protecting gods of their island and their trade. The altarsof these gods long continued to be respected, but they weretoo rich to escape the rapacious hands of different depredators.A general officer belonging to Massinissa king of Numidia ar-rived at Melita with a fleet, and stripped the Temple of Juno ofsome curious works in ivory, which he presented to his sovereign.No sooner was that prince informed from whence they came,than he hastened to restore them; but the less scrupulousVerresseized upon them afterwards, and they contributed* not a littleto adorn his magnificent gallery.

* See Abbe Fraquier’s description of the Gallery of Verres.—Memoirs of the Academy ofInscriptions, Vol. X.