Heg. 928, J.C. 1522. mafters of the important town of Belgrade, "after having put to the fword all those whỏ "had the temerity to refift us. Adieu." & 929. << me. L'ifle Adam, displeased with this letter, which whilft it offered peace, displayed with so much affectation the conquefts that the Turks had made from the Chriftians, answered: "Brother "Philip Villiers L'ifle Adam, grand mafter of "Rhodes, to Solyman, fultan of the Turks: I << have very well comprehended the meaning of "thy letter which thy ambaffador has brought The proposals of a peace between us are σε as agreeable to me as they will be disagreeable "to Curtogli. This corfair, in my paffage from "France, did his utmost to take me prisoner; but "not having fucceeded in his project, and not "being able to refolve to leave these seas without "having done us fome damage, he entered the "river Lycia, and endeavoured to take two "merchantmen which went from our ports. "He even attacked a bark belonging to fomė "Candians. But fome galleys of the Order, "which I fent from our port, obliged him to "defift, and, for fear of falling himself into our power, he fought his fafety in a speedy flight." As L'ifle Adam had no hostage in his hands, he did not think it prudent to expofe a knight, as ambaffador, to the infults of a nation which knew but little of the laws of mankind. A Greek, an inhabitant of Rhodes, was charged with carrying Heg. 928 & 929. carrying the letter of the grand mafter to Soly- J.C 1522. man. Mustapha Kirlou, grand vizier and favorite of the emperor, who had juft married the fifter of that prince, wrote to Rhodes, that he could never permit the letter addreffed to Solyman to be remitted to him, unless one of the most qualified commanders of the Order came himself to present it in the name of the knights of St. John. L'ifle Adam replied, that he would fend two grand croffes to Conftantinople, as foon as the emperor of the Turks fhould have fent two viziers or bashaws of the bench as hoftages to Rhodes. As they were obftinately resolved not comply with this formality, the knights were determined to remain fo likewife, and indeed with great reafon, as their fpies informed them, that the intention of the vizier, and confequently of the emperor, was to force from the mouth of the ambaffador, either by force or cunning, an exact state of the forces of the Ifle of Rhodes: In confequence of this information, the grand master haftened to recruit his army. He fent immediately to all the ports of Italy to buy up and affemble convoys to provifion Rhodes. He would fain have levied troops; but all the fubjects of the Venetians had orders to refufe him recruits. It seemed as if this republic wifhed to have Rhodes taken. By dint of attention, artifice, and money, L'ifle Adam could procure only five hundred men from the Candians, and an engineer, J.C.1522. engineer, a noble Breffan, called Martinengue, Heg. 928, &929. the moft ingenious man of his time in fortifi L'ifle Adam & his knights prepare for cation, who, having taken the cross of the Order, rendered it afterward the moft fignal fervices. Amidst all these preparations, the grand master received the following letter from the emperor of the Turks. "We are informed that the letter " which our highness has written thee, has caufed "thee more aftonishment than pleasure. Know, "that I am not contented with the taking of "Belgrade, but propose to make soon another "more important conqueft, of which thou fhalt "be warned the first, thou and thy knights being feldom out of my memory." L'ifle Adam replied, by the chiau that brought this fort of challenge: "I am no way "forry at thy remembering me and the knights "of my Order. Thou mentioneft thy conqueft "in Hungary and thy intention to execute an"other enterprise from which thou hopeft for "the fame fuccefs; but remember, that, of all "the projects formed by mankind, there are "none more uncertain than those which depend " on the fortune of war." After thefe forts of declarations of war, they had only to think of their own defence. Some their de- Turkish veffels had already surprised several unarmed Rhodian fhips. The grand master ordered the villages to be ruined, the corn to be cut, and the exterior edifices to be pulled down, even fence. the Heg. 928, & 929 the churches, all the materials of which were J.C.1522. carried into the town, as much to be made ufe of, as not to leave the enemy the means to conftruct platforms proper to place cannon on. Every thing was burnt that could not be of use in the town, and the peasants were conducted thither, as much to fubfift them, as to employ them in the reconstruction of the fortifications that had been pulled down, and in repairing the breaches. These precautions, indispensable for fuftaining a fiege against fuch a power as the Turks, caufed great detriment, and impoverished the island, particularly as the large convoys which came from other parts had drained the public treasury. The chancellor Damaral represented in open council, that they were caufing a real calamity in order to prevent an uncertain one, perhaps even imaginary; that the accounts which came from the isles of the Archipelago faid, that the armament of the Turks menaced the isle of Candia, and even Italy; that, during the forty years which he had ferved the Order, he had obferved, that the uneafiness caused by the Turks had done more mischief than their hoftilities. This discourse, which, at that time, was but little noticed, contributed afterward to the ruin of Damaral. He was appointed, against his inclination, commiffary of the ftores, together with chevalier Gabriel Pommerolles, grand commander, and chevalier John Bouk, turcopolier or J.C.1522 or general of the horse, Heg. 928, Martinengue, juft &929. made fuperintendent of the fortifications, haftened the raifing of the baftions. He made, on the outside of the place, cuts, ditches, intrenchments, barricades, in fhort, every work that the fhortnefs of the time would permit him to undertake. The citizens of Rhodes confented to take arms. The grand mafter formed fome companies of them; but there was but very little service to be reaped from these people, who were neither made for fatigue nor danger. We have faid that Rhodes was fituated on a little hill, and extended by a small declivity as far as the borders of the fea; that the two ports were defended by two fortreffes conftructed on two advanced moles. Each of thefe ports was fhut by two chains of iron at fome distance. L'ifle Adam placed garrisons in all the forts, and committed the defence of each bastion and each tower to a fingle knight. The men which this knight commanded were to be relieved every twenty-four hours. The grand mafter thought to keep up an emulation, by thus attaching each officer to the defence of one particular poft. He had feveral veffels funk, loaded with ftones, at the foot of the moles on which the caftles were constructed, in order to render the approach impracticable, and to fave his troops the combats which the knights had had to sustain at the tower of St. Nicholas during the laft fiege of Rhodes. The upper |