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Heg. 886.

fuccefs. He directed at the fame time two at- J.C. 1481. tacks, the one on the quarter of the Jews, the other oppofite. Though the wall on the fide of the Jews was very thick, yet being old, it was foon perceived to shake. The grand master, who was every where, knew the weakness of the place on that fide; he had several houses pulled down, a large ditch digged, and a brick wall raised behind it. Every perfon was a mafon, labourer, or pioneer. Aubuffon gave the example. The women, both Chriftians and Jeweffes, terrified with the destiny which menaced them in cafe the place should be taken, forgot their weakness, and carried heavy burdens which no one could have fuppofed them capable even of moving. Meanwhile, the Infidels' artillery continually battered the wall: the Turks had mortars that carried enormous maffes, which, piercing the roofs of the houses, penetrated from ftory to ftory, and killed, or overturned every thing that fell in their way. The grand master, in order to place in fafety the children, fick, and women, caused to be constructed, in the part of the town farthest from the batteries, fheds formed of beams fo thick and clofe together, that they were impenetrable by the heaviest maffes. He replied to the enemy with a machine which threw pieces of rock to a confiderable distance, and crushed in pieces the befiegers. The knights called this deftructive

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quarter was half beaten down, the bafhaw expected to carry it eafily by affault; but he learned, with furprise, that another ditch and wall defended the town on that fide. Paleologus, The ba- defpairing of vanquishing Aubuffon, refolved deavours to to have him poisoned. For the execution of this grand maf- crime, he caft his eyes on two deferters, renegades like himself, one of which was an Albanian, and the other a Dalmatian. These two traitors prefented themselves before the gates of Rhodes, feigning to have been taken and to have escaped the flavery of the Turks. The knights received them without fufpicion. They foon introduced. themselves into the house of the grand master. One of them corrupted an officer of the kitchen presently; the other having found access to Aubuffon's fecretary, heard him one day complain bitterly of his mafter. The perfidious wretch thought the occafion favorable; he informed this malecontent, both of his miffion and the opportunity which he had found to put it in execution. The fecretary, ftruck with horror, difcovered the plot; the wretch was put to the torture; overcome by the excess of pain, he named his two accomplices. All three were torn in pieces by the people, before there was time for their being regularly executed.

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The bashaw, afhamed of having feen this in- J.C. 1481. famous defign published and rendered abortive, returned to open force. He refumed the project The Turks of taking the tower of St. Nicholas. This fort efforts, but was feparated from the Turkish camp by a small repulfed canal. Paleologus had a bridge of boats knights. constructed; but the difficulty was to place it, and to make the extremity of it touch the point of the mole. A Turk fwam to the place with an anchor, which he firmly fastened to the foot of a rock covered with fea-water; he put a large cable through the ring of this anchor, one end of which was faftened to the end of the bridge, and which, by means of a capftan, was to conduct it to its deftination. A failor faw by chance all the Turk's work, without being perceived; he plunged into the fea in his turn, untied the cable, which he left on the bank, and tore up the anchor, which he carried to the grand mafter, from whom he received a recompenfe proportionable to the fervice that he had just rendered. The Turks knew presently that their defign was discovered, by the facility with which the cable returned to them, without giving any movement to the bridge. During a very dark night, instead of the cable and capftan, the bashaw had the bridge towed by a great number of barks, and fixed at the point of the mole. The troops then proceeded towards the fort, not only over the bridge, but in the barks, which, by favor

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J.C. 1481 of the night, approached the land. Aubuffon Heg. 886. ordered his cannon to be directed towards the place where the noise pointed out their arrival, which presently made fuch deftruction among them, that the Turks chofe rather to begin the attack in the dark, than remain a longer time expofed to a fire which they could not return. The only light they received was from the grenades and flash of the fmall arms. The bridge and bark's continually furnished fresh troops. Some Turks got to the top of the wall, where they were all maffacred. The engagernent was equally as furious by fea: the grand mafter's firefhips kept close to the Turkish galleys, which were come to batter the fort, and fet fome of them on fire. Nothing was comparable to the horrors of this night; the cries of thofe who beheld the fire approaching them, the groans of the wounded, the vortices of flames and fmoke, the noife of the artillery, every thing rendered the combatants furious: they touched nothing but dead bodies and arms. At length the day came to give light to this carnage; the breaches, and the fea were covered with bodies half burnt, arrows, darts, turbans, and the wreck of the galleys ftill fuming. As foon as the gunners. could perceive the bridge covered with foldiers, they directed their batteries thither, and fucceeded in breaking it down. Every perfon on it was drowned. The courage of the Turks

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Heg. 886

then failed them; thofe, who were on the mole, J.C.1481 got into what barks they could find. Some were drowned, a few faved theinfelves by swimming, and the reft were cut in pieces by a fally. After fo much blood fpilt to no purpofe, the Turks remained fome days in filence and inaction. Aubuffon took advantage of this precious time to repair the breaches, and encourage the townfmen, to whom he was unceasingly repeating, that their happy country: fhould never be a prey to thefe barbarians. At length the bafhaw recommenced the attack on the quarter of the Jews, and on feveral others at the fame time, hoping to divide the forces of the befieged, and then come upon them by furprife. He let loofe all his ars tillery against these walls which had been juft rebuilt, and, by means of labourers, he fucceeded in filling up fome parts of the ditches. After a continual fire of four days, the breaches were again laid open. The grand mafter, rendered more confident by neceflity, employed a German engineer, who, at the commencement of the fiege, had entered the town as a deferter, but whom he had always fufpected. The perfidy of this man was prefently difcovered; for, no fooner was the command at the batteries entrusted to him, than he made feveral Gignals which he had agreed on with the enemy, and, in one day, drew two affaults on the weakest parts of the place. The bravery of the knights covered

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