Heg. 972. The half the fort is diately feized by those who had found no obftacle J.C.1565. in fcaling the parapet. In fine, the combat lafted four hours on this fingle work; it coft the Turks three thousand men, and the Maltese a hundred and fifty foldiers and thirty knights. The nu- moon of merous army of the Turks having at length carried by driven this handful of foldiers, the Maltefe drew the Turks. from the ramparts fix knights all covered with wounds, but who ftill breathed. Being returned into the body of the place, they embarked them that they might procure fome affiftance in the Burgh. The feeble Lacerda had mixed himself among them, under pretence of a contufion, which was not even vifible; Valette afflicted at this example, 'till then unknown in his Order, had this coward put in arreft, whofe weakness he pitied, though he was refolved to have him punished by a court-martial. The bailiff of Negropont and commander Broglio, both wounded and in an advanced age, refused to quit the fort, whatever importunity was made them. They defired a reinforcement from the grand mafter, to fupply the place of thofe heroes that they had loft. Meanwhile the Turks, indefatigable workers, by means of facines and earth, so raised the half moon which they had just taken poffeffion of, that it commanded the parapet of the place. They erected a battery there, and, by favor of the almost continual fire which kept the Maltese from M 2 VOL. II. the J.C. 1565. the rampart, constructed a bridge with large trees, Heg. 972. yards of veffels, and large thick planks. This knights, in fort Saint work, which they covered with earth, left the knights should find means to burn it, raised the Turks more than twenty feet from the bottom of the ditch towards the parapet. It could contain eight men a-breaft, and favored the affault. The knights were obliged to appear continually along the rampart, in order to defend it; and as foon as the parapet was manned, thofe who were on the bridge throwing themselves flat on the earth, the cannon made a terrible flaughter of the besieged, In a fally, the Maltese fet fire to the beams which fupported this fatal bridge; but it was foon repaired by the activity of Dragut, who expofed his life and thofe of his people. The Maltese had already loft fifty knights, and near five hundred foldiers; their artillery was difmounted every moment, and they had but few men left to defend large breaches where an affault would foon be practicable. In this extremity, the knights The fent to the grand mafter chevalier Medran, who Helme, de. had diftinguished himself in feveral fallies, and whose bravery could not be fufpected. fire permiffion to evacuate it. grand fufes them. He reThe quested barks from him, to convey from certain mafter re- death the remaining combatants, who could no longer defend a place open on all fides. After having represented, that a longer defence would vail, only to destroy brave men, more useful in the defence of other fortreffes, Medran concluded by Heg. 972. by affuring Valette of the perfect obedience of J.C.1565. all thofe in fort St. Helme. The grand mafter communicated chevalier Medran's miffion to the council. All the grand croffes were for abandoning this miferable place. Valette alone argued, that if its defence could be prolonged fome time longer, it would fave the isle of Malta. He added, that it was a long time yet to the season, when, the fea being no longer safe, the Turks would be obliged to conduct back their fleet; that the viceroy of Sicily, who fought a thousand excuses for refufing his fuccours, would have a very plaufible one as foon as the fort fhould be abandoned, and would say publicly, that, wanting his master's forces to defend his own dominions, he ought not to risk them in the town of an ally, which could no longer be defended; that he, the grand master, lamented from the bottom of his heart the brave men abandoned in fort Saint Helme'; but such was the misfortune of war, that it was often neceffary to facrifice fome members to fave the body. All the council fubmitted, and Valette wrote to the knights remaining in the fort, that, when they shut themselves up there, they knew that the fafety of Malta, and perhaps the Order of Saint John, depended on the time more or less that they might be able to defend that place; that they should remember the vow which they had made to facrifice their life for the Order; that as many men fhould be fent them as the fmallness J.C.1565. fmallness of the fort could contain. Heg. 972. occafioned On the reading of this letter, fome knights, among others the bailiff of Negropont and commander Broglio, made courageously the facrifice of their life, by repeating aloud one after another the words of their vow; but the greatest number thought the grand master's answer exceedingly hard. They faid it was strange that people, who Troubles, did not fhare the danger, fhould facrifice their by this brethren in cold blood and unneceffarily; that if it were requifite for them to shed their blood for the Order, they should shed it more usefully in the other forts, which they might hope to defend ; that then they should prolong the time with much more certainty; but they could not fee why people should be condemned to an inevitable death, who, it was true, had vowed to facrifice themfelves for the intereft of the Order, but not for the caprice of the commanders. refufal. As the batteries fired with more fury than ever, and it was necefiary to defend the breaches con-ftantly, every moment the cannon destroyed foldiers or knights. The murmuring increased: fifty-three knights figned a letter to the grand mafter, which contained in substance, that, 'for the last time, they folicited his permiffion to retire to the Burgh, and to fave the precious remains of a garrifon which had performed prodigies; that, if he did not fend them barks the following night, they would fally out and fell Heg. 972. their lives as dear as they could, rather than re- J.C. 1565. main to be buried under the ruins, or reserved for those hideous tortures which the ingenious cruelty of the Turks never failed of inventing. Valette was exceedingly hurt on reading this letter. In order to gain time, he fent three commiffioners: commander Medina, a Spaniard; commander Caftriot, an Italian, defcended from the famous Scanderbeg; and chevalier Laroche, a Briton. They were ordered to examine the fort, and to endeavour to prevail on the knights to defend it, at least 'till the arrival of the fuccours from Sicily. The knights made no reply to the exhortations, prayers, and even flattery of the commiffioners, 'till these last had visited the fortrefs. After they had fhewn them that the half moon, in the poffeffion of the Turks, commanded the parapet by the additions which they had made to its height; that the breaches laid open all the body of the place; that there was no more earth to make shouldering-pieces with; and that the platforms on which the batteries were placed were all broken; commander Medina and chevalier Laroche highly praised their gallant defence, and conjured these brave men to hold out fome days longer, to give the Sicilian fuccours time to arrive. The knights attempted to convince them of its impoffibility, when commander Caftriot cried, that the place was not without refources, and that he would be anfwerable for |