During this time, the Turkish commander was pressing the siege with

vigor. Day and night, the batteries thundered on the ramparts of the

devoted fortress. The ditch was strewed with fragments torn from the

walls by the iron tempest; and a yawning chasm, which had been gradually

opening on the south-western side of the castle, showed that a

practicable breach was at length effected. The uncommon vivacity with

which the guns played through the whole of the fifteenth of June, and

the false alarms with which the garrison was harassed on the following

night, led to the belief that a general assault was immediately

intended. The supposition was correct. On the sixteenth, at dawn, the

whole force of the besiegers was under arms. The appointed signal was

given by the discharge of a cannon; when a numerous body of janizaries,

formed into column, moved swiftly forward to storm the great breach of

the castle.

Meanwhile the Ottoman fleet, having left its anchorage on the eastern

side of the island, had moved round, and now lay off the mouth of the

Great Port, where its heavy guns were soon brought to bear on the

seaward side of St. Elmo. The battery on Point Dragut opened on the

western flank of the fortress; and four thousand musketeers in the

trenches swept the breach with showers of bullets, and picked off those

of the garrison who showed their heads above the parapet.

The guns of the besieged, during this time, were not idle. They boldly

answered the cannonade of the vessels; and on the land side the play of

artillery and musketry was incessant. The besieged now concentrated

their aim on the formidable body of janizaries, who, as already

noticed, were hurrying forward to the assault. Their leading files were

mowed down, and their flank cruelly torn, by the cannon of St. Angelo,

at less than half a mile's distance. But though staggered by this double

fire on front and flank, the janizaries were not stayed in their career,

nor even thrown into disarray. Heedless of those who fell, the dark

column came steadily on, like a thundercloud; while the groans of the

dying were drowned in the loud battle-cries with which their comrades

rushed to the assault. The fosse, choked up with the ruins of the

ramparts, afforded a bridge to the assailants, who had no need of the

fascines with which their pioneers were prepared to fill up the chasm.

The approach of the breach, however, was somewhat steep; and the breach

itself was defended by a body of knights and soldiers, who poured

volleys of musketry thick as hail on the assailants. Still they pushed

forward through the storm, and, after a fierce struggle, the front rank

found itself at the summit, face to face with its enemies. But the

strength of the Turks was nearly exhausted by their efforts. They were

hewn down by the Christians, who came fresh into action. Yet others

succeeded those who fell; till, thus out-numbered, the knights began to

lose ground, and the forces were more equally matched. Then came the

struggle of man against man, where each party was spurred on by the fury

of religious hate, and Christian and Moslem looked to paradise as the

reward of him who fell in battle against the infidel. No mercy was

asked; none was shown; and long and hard was the conflict between the

flower of the Moslem soldiery and the best knights of Christendom. In

the heat of the fight an audacious Turk planted his standard on the

rampart. But it was speedily wenched away by the Chevalier de Medran,

who cut down the Mussulman, and at the same moment received a mortal

wound from an arquebuse.[1316] As the contest lasted far into the day,

the heat became intense, and added sorely to the distress of the

combatants. Still neither party slackened their efforts. Though several

times repulsed, the Turks returned to the assault with the same spirit

as before; and when sabre and scymitar were broken, the combatants

closed with their daggers, and rolled down the declivity of the breach,

struggling in mortal conflict with each other.

[Sidenote: HEROIC DEFENCE OF ST. ELMO.]

While the work of death was going on in this quarter, a vigorous attempt

was made in another to carry the fortress by escalade. A body of Turks,

penetrating into the fosse, raised their ladders against the walls, and,

pushed forward by their comrades in the rear, endeavored to force an

ascent, under a plunging fire of musketry from the garrison. Fragments

of rook, logs of wood, ponderous iron shot, were rolled over the

parapet, mingled with combustibles and hand-grenades, which, exploding

as they descended, shattered the ladders, and hurled the mangled bodies

of the assailants on the rocky bottom of the ditch. In this contest one

invention proved of singular use to the besieged. It was furnished them

by La Valette, and consisted of an iron hoop, wound round with cloth

steeped in nitre and bituminous substances, which, when ignited, burned

with inextinguishable fury. These hoops, thrown on the assailants,

inclosed them in their fiery circles. Sometimes two were thus imprisoned

in the same hoop; and, as the flowing dress of the Turks favored the

conflagration, they were speedily wrapped in a blaze which scorched them

severely, if it did not burn them to death.[1317] This invention, so

simple,--and rude, as in our day it might be thought,--was so disastrous

in its effects, that it was held in more dread by the Turks than any

other of the fireworks employed by the besieged.

A similar attempt to scale the walls was made on the other side of the

castle, but was defeated by a well-directed fire from the guns of St.

Angelo across the harbor,--which threw their shot with such precision as

to destroy most of the storming party, and compel the rest to abandon

their design.[1318] Indeed, during the whole of the assault, the

artillery of St. Angelo, St. Michael, and Il Borgo kept up so irritating

a fire on the exposed flank and rear of the enemy as greatly embarrassed

his movements, and did good service to the besieged.

Thus the battle raged along the water and on the land. The whole circuit

of the Great Port was studded with fire. A din of hideous noises rose in

the air; the roar of cannon, the rattle of musketry, the hissing of

fiery missiles, the crash of falling masonry, the shrieks of the dying,

and, high above all, the fierce cries of those who struggled for

mastery! To add to the tumult, in the heat of the fight, a spark falling

into the magazine of combustibles in the fortress, it blew up with a

tremendous explosion, drowning every other noise, and for a moment

stilling the combat. A cloud of smoke and vapor, rising into the air,

settled heavily, like a dark canopy, above St. Elmo. It seemed as if a

volcano had suddenly burst from the peaceful waters of the

Mediterranean, belching out volumes of fire and smoke, and shaking the

island to its centre!

The fight had lasted for some hours; and still the little band of

Christian warriors made good their stand against the overwhelming odds

of numbers. The sun had now risen high in the heavens, and as its rays

beat fiercely on the heads of the assailants, their impetuosity began to

slacken. At length, faint with heat and excessive toil, and many

staggering under wounds, it was with difficulty that the janizaries

could be brought back to the attack; and Mustapha saw with chagrin that

St. Elmo was not to be won that day. Soon after noon, he gave the signal

to retreat; and the Moslem host, drawing off under a galling fire from

the garrison, fell back in sullen silence into their trenches, as the

tiger, baffled in his expected prey, takes refuge from the spear of the

hunter in his jungle.[1319]

As the Turks withdrew, the garrison of St. Elmo raised a shout of

victory that reached across the waters, and was cheerily answered from

both St. Angelo and the town, whose inhabitants had watched with intense

interest the current of the fight, on the result of which their own fate

so much depended.

The number of Moslems who perished in the assault can only be

conjectured. But it must have been very large. That of the garrison is

stated as high as three hundred men. Of these, seventeen were knights of

the order. But the common soldier, it was observed, did his duty as

manfully throughout the day as the best knight by whose side he

fought.[1320] Few, if any, of the survivors escaped without wounds.

Suck as were badly injured were transferred at once to the town, and an

equal number of able-bodied troops sent to replace them, together with

supplies of ammunition, and materials for repairing, as far as possible,

the damage to the works. Among those who suffered most from their wounds

was the bailiff of Negropont. He obstinately refused to be removed to

the town; and when urged by La Valette to allow a substitute to be sent

to relieve him, the veteran answered, that he was ready to yield up his

command to any one who should be appointed in his place; but he trusted

he should be allowed still to remain in St. Elmo, and shed the last drop

of his blood in defence of the Faith.[1321]

A similar heroic spirit was shown in the competition of the knights, and

even of the Maltese soldiers, to take the place of those who had fallen

in the fortress. It was now not merely the post of danger, but, as might

be truly said, the post of death. Yet these brave men eagerly contended

for it, as for the palm of glory; and La Valette was obliged to refuse

the application of twelve knights of the _language_ of Italy, on the

ground that the complement of the garrison was full.

The only spark of hope now left was that of receiving the succors from

Sicily. But the viceroy, far from quickening his movements, seemed

willing to play the part of the _matador_ in one of his national

bull-fights,--allowing the contending parties in the arena to exhaust

themselves in the struggle, and reserving his own appearance till a

single thrust from his sword should decide the combat.

Still, some chance of prolonging its existence remained to St. Elmo

while the communication could be maintained with St. Angelo and the

town, by means of which the sinking strength of the garrison was

continually renewed with the fresh life-blood that was poured into its

veins. The Turkish commander at length became aware that, if he would

end the siege, this communication must be cut off. It would have been

well for him had he come to this conclusion sooner.

By the advice of Dragut, the investment of the castle was to be

completed by continuing the lines of intrenchment to the Great Port,

where a battery mounted with heavy guns would command the point of

debarkation. While conducting this work, the Moorish captain was wounded

on the head, by the splinter from a rock struck by a cannon-shot, which

laid him senseless in the trenches. Mustapha, commanding a cloak to be

thrown over the fallen chief, had him removed to his tent. The wound

proved mortal; and though Dragut survived to learn the fate of St. Elmo,

he seems to have been in no condition to aid the siege by his counsels.

The loss of this able captain was the severest blow that could have been

inflicted on the besiegers.

[Sidenote: HEROIC DEFENCE OF ST. ELMO.]

While the intrenchments were in progress, the enemy kept up an

unintermitting fire on the tottering ramparts of the fortress. This was

accompanied by false alarms, and by night attacks, in which the flaming

missiles, as they shot through the air, cast a momentary glare over the

waters, that showed the dark outlines of St. Elmo towering in ruined

majesty above the scene of desolation. The artillery-men of St. Angelo,

in the obscurity of the night, were guided in their aim by the light of

the enemy's fireworks.[1322] These attacks were made by the Turks, not

so much in the expectation of carrying the fort, though they were often

attended with a considerable loss of life, as for the purpose of wearing

out the strength of the garrison. And dreary indeed was the condition of

the latter: fighting by day, toiling through the livelong night to

repair the ravages in the works, they had no power to take either the

rest or the nourishment necessary to recruit their exhausted strength.

To all this was now to be added a feeling of deeper despondency, as they

saw the iron band closing around them which was to sever them for ever

from their friends.

On the eighteenth of the month, the work of investment was completed,

and the extremity of the lines was garnished with a redoubt mounting two

large guns, which, with the musketry from the trenches, would sweep the

landing-place, and effectually cut off any further supplies from the

other side of the harbor. Thus left to their own resources, the days of

the garrison were numbered.

La Valette, who had anxiously witnessed these operations of the enemy,

had done all he could to retard them, by firing incessantly on the

laborers in the hope of driving them from the trenches. When the work

was completed, his soul was filled with anguish; and his noble features,

which usually wore a tinge of melancholy, were clouded with deeper

sadness, as he felt he must now abandon his brave comrades to their

fate.

On the twentieth of the month was the festival of Corpus Christi, which,

in happier days, had been always celebrated with great pomp by the

Hospitallers. They did not fail to observe it, even at this time. A

procession was formed, with the grand-master at its head; and the

knights walked clad in the dark robes of the order, embroidered with the

white cross of Malta. They were accompanied by the whole population of

the place, men, women, and children. They made the circuit of the town,

taking the direction least exposed to the enemy's fire. On reaching the

church, they prostrated themselves on the ground, and, with feelings

rendered yet more solemn by their own situation, and above all by that

of their brave comrades in St. Elmo, they implored the Lord of Hosts to

take pity on their distress, and not to allow his enemies to triumph

over the true soldiers of the Cross.[1323]

During the whole of the twenty-first, the fire of the besiegers was kept

up with more than usual severity, until in some places the crumbling

wall was shot away, down to the bare rock on which it stood.[1324] Their

pioneers, who had collected loads of brushwood for the purpose, filled

up the ditch with their fascines; which, as they were covered with wet

earth, defied the efforts of the garrison to set them on fire.

Throughout the following night a succession of false alarms kept the

soldiers constantly under arms. All this prognosticated a general

assault. It came the next day.

With the earliest streak of light, the Turkish troops were in motion.

Soon they came pouring in over the fosse, which, choked up as it was,

offered no impediment. Some threw themselves on the breach. The knights

and their followers were there to receive them. Others endeavored to

scale the ramparts, but were driven back by showers of missiles. The

musketry was feeble, for ammunition had begun to fail. But everywhere

the assailants were met with the same unconquerable spirit as before. It

seemed as if the defenders of St. Elmo, exhausted as they had been by

their extraordinary sufferings, had renewed their strength as by a

miracle. Thrice the enemy returned to the assault; and thrice he was

repulsed. The carnage was terrible; Christian and Mussulman grappling

fiercely together, until the ruins on which they fought were heaped with

the bodies of the slain.

The combat had lasted several hours. Amazed at the resistance which he

met with from this handful of warriors, Mustapha felt that, if he would

stop the waste of life in his followers, he must defer the possession of

the place for one day longer. Stunned as his enemies must be by the blow

he had now dealt, it would be beyond the powers of nature for them to

stand another assault. He accordingly again gave the signal for retreat;

and the victors again raised the shout--a feeble shout--of triumph;

while the banner of the order, floating from the ramparts, proclaimed

that St. Elmo was still in the hands of the Christians! It was the last

triumph of the garrison.[1325]

They were indeed reduced to extremity; with their ammunition nearly

exhausted; their weapons battered and broken; their fortifications

yawning with breaches, like some tempest-tossed vessel with its seams

opening in every direction, and ready to founder; the few survivors

covered with wounds; and many of them so far crippled as to be scarcely

able to drag their enfeebled body along the ramparts. One more attack,

and the scene would be closed.

In this deplorable state, they determined to make an effort to

communicate with their friends on the other side of the harbor, and

report to them their condition. The distance was not great; and among

the Maltese were many excellent swimmers, who, trained from childhood to

the sea, took to it as to their native element. One of these offered to

bear a message to the grand-master. Diving and swimming long under

water, he was fortunate enough to escape the enemy's bullets, and landed

safe on the opposite shore.

La Valette was deeply affected by this story, though not surprised by

it. With the rest of the knights he had watched with straining eyes the

course of the fight; and though marvelling that, in spite of odds so

great, victory should have remained with the Christians, he knew how

dearly they must have bought it. Though with little confidence in his

success, he resolved to answer their appeal by making one effort to aid

them. Five large barges were instantly launched, and furnished with a

reinforcement of troops and supplies for the garrison. The knights

thronged to the quay, each eagerly contending for the perilous right to

embark in them. They thought only of their comrades in St. Elmo.

It turned out as La Valette had foreseen. The landing-place was

commanded by a battery of heavy guns, and by hundreds of musketeers,

menacing instant death to whoever should approach the shore. But the

knights were not allowed to approach it; for the Turkish admiral, lying

off the entrance of the Great Port, and aware of the preparations that

were making, sent a flotilla of his lighter vessels into the harbor, to

intercept the convoy. And so prompt were their movements, that unless

the Christians had put back again with all speed, they would have been

at once surrounded and captured by the enemy.

The defenders of St. Elmo, who had watched from the ramparts the boats

coming to their assistance, saw the failure of the attempt; and the last

ray of hope faded away in their bosoms. Their doom was sealed. Little

more was left but calmly to await the stroke of the executioner. Yet

they did not abandon themselves to an unmanly despair; but, with heroic

constancy, they prepared to die like martyrs for the good cause to which

they had consecrated their lives.

[Sidenote: Fall of St. Elmo.]

That night was passed, not in vain efforts to repair the defences, with

the hope of protracting existence some few hours longer, but in the

solemn preparation of men who felt themselves standing on the brink of

eternity. They prayed, confessed, received the sacrament, and, exhorting

one another to do their duty, again renewed their vows, which bound them

to lay down their lives, if necessary, in defence of the Faith. Some,

among whom Miranda and the bailiff of Negropont were especially noticed,

went about encouraging and consoling their brethren, and, though covered

with wounds themselves, administering such comfort as they could to the

sick and the dying;--and the dying lay thick around, mingled with the

dead, on the ruins which were soon to become their common

sepulchre.[1326]

Thus passed away the dreary night; when, tenderly embracing one another,

like friends who part for ever, each good knight repaired to his post,

prepared to sell his life as dearly as he could. Some of the more aged

and infirm, and those crippled by their wounds, were borne in the arms

of their comrades to the spot, where, seated on the ruins, and wielding

their ineffectual swords, they prepared, like true and loyal knights, to

die upon the breach.

They did not wait long. The Turks, so often balked of their prey, called

loudly to be led to the assault. Their advance was not checked by the

feeble volleys thrown at random against them from the fortress; and they

were soon climbing the ascent of the breach, still slippery with the

carnage of the preceding day. But with all their numbers, it was long

before they could break the little line of Maltese chivalry which was

there to receive them. Incredible as it may seem, the struggle lasted

for some hours longer, while the fate of St. Elmo hung suspended in the

balance. At length, after a short respite, the Turkish host rallied for

a last assault; and the tide of battle, pouring through the ample breach

with irresistible fury, bore down cavalier and soldier, leaving no

living thing upon the ramparts. A small party of knights, escaping in

the tumult, threw themselves into the chapel; but, finding that no

quarter was given to those who surrendered, they rushed out, and

perished on the swords of the enemy. A body of nine cavaliers, posted

near the end of the fosse, not far from the ground occupied by Dragut's

men, surrendered themselves as prisoners of war to the corsairs; and the

latter, who, in their piratical trade, had learned to regard men as a

kind of merchandise, happily refused to deliver up the Christians to the

Turks, holding them for ransom. These were the only members of the order

who survived the massacre.[1327] A few Maltese soldiers, however,

experienced swimmers, succeeded, amidst the tumult, in reaching the

opposite side of the harbor, where they spread the sad tidings of the

loss of St. Elmo. This was speedily confirmed by the volleys of the

Turkish ordnance; and the standard of the Crescent, planted on the spot

so lately occupied by the banner of St. John, showed too plainly that

this strong post, the key of the island, had passed from the Christians

into the hands of the infidel.[1328]

The Ottoman fleet, soon afterward doubling the point, entered Port

Musiette, on the west, with music playing, and gay with pennons and

streamers; while the rocks rang with the shouts of the Turkish soldiery,

and the batteries on shore replied in thunders to the artillery of the

shipping.

The day on which this occurred, the twenty-third of June, was that of

the festival of St. John the Baptist, the patron of the order. It had

been always celebrated by the knights with greater splendor than any

other anniversary. Now, alas! it was to them a day of humiliation and

mourning, while they had the additional mortification to see it observed

as a day of triumphant jubilee by the enemies of the Faith.[1329]

To add to their distress, Mustapha sullied his victory by some brutal

acts, which seem to have been in keeping with his character. The heads

of four of the principal knights, among them those of Miranda and the

bailiff of Negropont, were set high on poles looking towards the town. A

spectacle yet more shocking was presented to the eyes of the besieged.

The Turkish general caused the bodies of several cavaliers--some of

them, it is said, while life was yet palpitating within, them--to be

scored on the bosoms with gashes in the form of a cross. Thus defaced,

they were lashed to planks, and thrown into the water. Several of them

drifted to the opposite shore, where they were easily recognized by

their brethren; and La Valette, as he gazed on the dishonored remains of

his dear companions, was melted to tears. But grief soon yielded to

feelings of a sterner nature. He commanded the heads of his Turkish

prisoners to be struck off, and shot from the large guns into the

enemy's lines,--by way of teaching the Moslems, as the chronicler tells

us, a lesson of humanity![1330]

The number of Christians who fell in this siege amounted to about

fifteen hundred. Of these one hundred and twenty-three were members of

the order, and among them several of its most illustrious

warriors.[1331] The Turkish loss is estimated at eight thousand, at the

head of whom stood Dragut, of more account than a legion of the common

file. He was still living, though speechless, when the fort was stormed.

He was roused from his lethargy by the shouts of victory, and when, upon

turning with inquiring looks to those around, he was told the cause, he

raised his eyes to Heaven, as if in gratitude for the event, and

expired.[1332]

The Turkish commander, dismantling St. Elmo,--which, indeed, was little

better than a heap of ruins,--sent some thirty cannon that had lined the

works, as the trophies of victory, to Constantinople.[1333]

Thus ended the memorable siege of St. Elmo, in which a handful of

warriors withstood, for the space of a month, the whole strength of the

Turkish army. Such a result, while it proves the unconquerable valor of

the garrison, intimates that the Turks, however efficient they may have

been in field operations, had little skill as engineers, and no

acquaintance with the true principles of conducting a siege. It must

have been obvious, from the first, that, to bring the siege to a speedy

issue, it was necessary to destroy the communications of St. Elmo with

the town. Yet this was not attempted till the arrival of Dragut, who

early recommended the construction of a battery for this purpose on some

high land on the opposite side of the Great Port. In this he was

overruled by the Turkish commander. It was not till some time later that

the line of investment, at the corsair's suggestion, was continued to

the water's edge,--and the fate of the fortress was decided.

St. Elmo fell. But precious time had been lost,--an irreparable loss, as

it proved, to the besiegers; while the place had maintained so long and

gallant a resistance as greatly to encourage the Christians, and in some

degree to diminish the confidence of the Moslems. "What will not the

parent cost," exclaimed Mustapha,--alluding to St. Angelo,--"when the

child has cost us so dear!"[1334]

CHAPTER IV.

SIEGE OF MALTA.

Il Borgo invested.--Storming of St. Michael.--Slaughter of the

Turks.--Incessant Cannonade.--General Assault.--The Turks

repulsed.--Perilous Condition of Il Borgo.--Constancy of La Valette.

1565.

The strength of the order was now concentrated on the two narrow slips

of land which run out from the eastern side of the Great Port. Although

some account of these places has been given to the reader, it will not

be amiss to refresh his recollection of what is henceforth to be the

scene of operations.

The northern peninsula, occupied by the town of Il Borgo, and at the

extreme point by the castle of St. Angelo, was defended by works

stronger and in better condition than the fortifications of St. Elmo.

The care of them was divided among the different _languages_, each of

which gave its own name to the bastion it defended. Thus the Spanish

knights were intrusted with the bastion of Castile, on the eastern

corner of the peninsula,--destined to make an important figure in the

ensuing siege.

The parallel slip of land was crowned by the fort of St. Michael,--a

work of narrower dimensions than the castle of St. Angelo,--at the base

of which might be seen a small gathering of houses, hardly deserving the

name of a town. This peninsula was surrounded by fortifications scarcely

yet completed, on which the grand-master, La Sangle, who gave his name

to the place, had generously expended his private fortune. The works

were terminated, on the extreme point, by a low bastion, or rather

demi-bastion, called the Spur.

The precious interval gained by the long detention of the Turks before

St. Elmo had been diligently employed by La Valette in putting the

defences of both La Sangle and Il Borgo in the best condition possible

under the circumstances. In this good work all united,--men, women, and

children. All were animated by the same patriotic feeling, and by a

common hatred of the infidel. La Valette ordered the heavy guns to be

taken from the galleys which were lying at anchor, and placed on the

walls of the fortresses. He directed that such provisions as were in the

hands of individuals should be delivered up for a fair compensation, and

transferred to the public magazines.[1335] Five companies of soldiers,

stationed in the Notable City, in the interior of the island, he now

ordered to Il Borgo, where their services would be more needed. Finally,

as there were no accommodations for prisoners, who, indeed, could not be

maintained without encroaching on the supplies necessary for the

garrison, La Valette commanded that no prisoners should be made, but

that all who fell into the hands of the victors should be put to the

sword.[1336] It was to be on both sides a war of extermination.

[Sidenote: ENVOY FROM THE TURKS.]

At this juncture, La Valette had the satisfaction of receiving a

reinforcement from Sicily, which, though not large, was of great

importance in the present state of affairs. The viceroy had, at length,

so far yielded to the importunities of the Knights of St. John who were

then at his court, impatiently waiting for the means of joining their

brethren, as to fit out a squadron of four galleys,--two of his own, and

two belonging to the order. They had forty knights on board, and seven

hundred soldiers, excellent troops, drawn chiefly from the Spanish

garrisons in Italy. The vessels were placed under command of Don Juan de

Cardona, who was instructed to return without attempting to land, should

he find St. Elmo in the hands of the enemy. Cardona, who seems to have

had a good share of the timid, vacillating policy of his superior,

fearful of the Ottoman fleet, stood off and on for some days, without

approaching the island. During this time St. Elmo was taken. Cardona,

ignorant of the fact, steered towards the south, and finally anchored

off Pietra Negra, on the opposite side of the island. Here one of the

knights was permitted to go on shore to collect information. He there

learned the fate of St. Elmo; but, as he carefully concealed the

tidings, the rest of the forces were speedily landed, and Cardona, with

his galleys, was soon on the way to Sicily.

The detachment was under the command of the Chevalier de Robles, a brave

soldier, and one of the most illustrious men of the order. Under cover

of night, he passed within gunshot of the Turkish lines without being

discovered, and was so fortunate as to bring his men in safety to the

side of the English harbor opposite to Il Borgo, which it washes on the

north. There he found boats awaiting his arrival. They had been provided

by the grand-master, who was advised of his movements. A thick fog lay

upon the waters; and under its friendly mantle Robles and his troops

crossed over in safety to the town, where they were welcomed by the

knights, who joyfully greeted the brave companions that had come to

share with them the perils of the siege.[1337]

While this was going on, Mustapha, the Turkish commander, had been

revolving in his mind, whether it were not possible to gain his ends by

negotiation instead of war, and thus be spared the waste of life which

the capture of St. Elmo had cost him. He flattered himself that La

Valette, taking warning by the fate of that fortress, might be brought

to capitulate on fair and honorable terms. He accordingly sent a

messenger with a summons to the grand-master to deliver up the island,

on the assurance of a free passage for himself and his followers, with

all their effects, to Sicily.

The envoy chosen was a Greek slave,--an old man, who had lived from

boyhood in captivity. Under protection of a flag of truce, the slave

gained admission into St. Angelo, and was conducted blindfold to the

presence of the grand-master. He there delivered his message. La Valette

calmly listened, but without deigning to reply; and when the speaker had

ended, the stern chief ordered him to be taken from his presence, and

instantly hanged. The wretched man threw himself at the feet of the

grand-master, beseeching him to spare his life, and protesting that he

was but a poor slave, and had come, against his will, in obedience to

the commands of the Turkish general. La Valette, who had probably no

intention from the first to have his order carried into execution,

affected to relent, declaring, however, that, should any other messenger

venture hereafter to insult him with the like proposals, he should not

escape so easily. The terrified old man was then dismissed. As he left

the presence, he was led through long files of the soldiery drawn up in

imposing array, and was shown the strong works of the castle of St.

Angelo. "Look," said one of the officers, pointing to the deep ditch

which surrounded the fortress, "there is all the room we can afford your

master; but it is deep enough to bury him and his followers!" The slave,

though a Christian, could not be persuaded to remain and take his chance

with the besieged. They must be beaten in the end, he said, and, when

retaken by the Turks, his case would be worse than ever.[1338]

There was now no alternative for Mustapha but to fight; and he had not

lost a moment since the fall of St. Elmo in pushing forward his

preparations. Trenches had been opened on the heights at the foot of

Mount Coradin, at the southern extremity of the Great Port, and

continued on a line that stretched to Mount St. Salvador. Where the soil

was too hard to be readily turned up, the defences were continued by a

wall of stone. Along the heights, on different points of the line,

batteries were established, and mounted with guns of the heaviest

calibre. Batteries were also raised on the high ground which, under the

name of Mount Sceberras, divides Port Musiette from the Great Port,

terminating in the point of land crowned by St. Elmo. A few cannon were

even planted by the Turks on the ruins of this castle.

Thus the Christian fortresses were menaced on every point; and while the

lines of the besiegers cut off all communication on the land side, a

detachment of the fleet, blocking up the entrance to the Great Port,

effectually cut off intercourse by sea. The investment by land and by

sea was complete.

Early in July the wide circle of batteries, mounting between sixty and

seventy pieces of artillery, opened their converging fire on the

fortresses, the towns, and the shipping, which lay at anchor in the Port

of Galleys. The cannonade was returned with spirit by the guns of St.

Angelo and St. Michael, well served by men acquainted with their duty.

So soon as the breaches were practicable, Mustapha proposed to begin by

storming St. Michael, the weaker of the two fortresses; and he

determined to make the assault by sea as well as by land. It would not

be possible, however, to bring round his vessels lying in Port Musiette

into the Great Port, without exposing them to the guns of St. Angelo. He

resorted, therefore, to an expedient startling enough, but not new in

the annals of warfare. He caused a large number of boats to be dragged

across the high land which divides the two harbors. This toilsome work

was performed by his Christian slaves; and the garrison beheld with

astonishment the Turkish flotilla descending the rugged slopes of the

opposite eminence, and finally launched on the waters of the inland

basin. No less than eighty boats, some of them of the largest size, were

thus transported across the heights.

Having completed this great work, Mustapha made his preparations for the

assault. At this time, he was joined by a considerable reinforcement

under Hassem, the Algerine corsair, who commanded at the memorable

sieges of Oran and Mazarquivir. Struck with the small size of the castle

of St. Elmo, Hassem intimated his surprise that it should have held out

so long against the Turkish arms; and he besought Mustapha to intrust

him with the conduct of the assault that was to be made on Fort St.

Michael. The Turkish general, not unwilling that the presumptuous young

chief should himself prove the temper of the Maltese swords, readily

gave him the command, and the day was fixed for the attack.

[Sidenote: STORMING OF ST. MICHAEL.]

Fortunately, at this time, a deserter, a man of some consequence in the

Turkish army, crossed over to Il Borgo, and acquainted the grand-master

with the designs of the enemy. La Sangle was defended on the north, as

already noticed, by a strong iron chain, which, stretching across the

Port of Galleys at its mouth, would prevent the approach of boats in

that direction. La Valette now caused a row of palisades to be sunk in

the mud, at the bottom of the harbor, in a line extending from the

extreme point of La Sangle to the foot of Mount Coradin. These were

bound together by heavy chains, so well secured as to oppose an

effectual barrier to the passage of the Turkish flotilla. The length of

this barricade was not great. But it was a work of much difficulty,--not

the less so that it was necessary to perform it in the night, in order

to secure the workmen from the enemy's guns. In little more than a week,

it was accomplished. Mustapha sent a small body of men, excellent

swimmers, armed with axes, to force an opening in the barrier. They had

done some mischief to the work, when a party of Maltese, swimming out,

with their swords between their teeth, fell on the Turks, beat them off,

and succeeded in restoring the palisades.[1339]

Early in the morning, on the fifteenth of July, two cannon in the

Ottoman lines, from opposite sides of the Great Port, gave the signal

for the assault. Hassem prepared to lead it, in person, on the land

side. The attack by water he intrusted to an Algerine corsair, his

lieutenant. Before the report of the cannon had died away, a great

number of boats were seen by the garrison of St. Michael putting off

from the shore. They were filled with troops, and among these, to judge

from their dress, were many persons of condition. The account is given

by the old soldier so often quoted, who, stationed on the bastion of the

Spur, had a full view of the enemy. It was a gay spectacle, these Moslem

chiefs, in their rich Oriental costumes, with their gaudy-colored

turbans, and their loose, flowing mantles of crimson, or of cloth of

gold and silver; the beams of the rising sun glancing on their polished

weapons,--their bows of delicate workmanship, their scymitars from the

forges of Alexandria and Damascus, their muskets of Fez.[1340] "It was a

beautiful sight to see," adds the chronicler with some _naïveté_, "if

one could have looked on it without danger to himself."[1341]

In advance of the squadron came two or three boats, bearing persons

whose venerable aspect and dark-colored robes proclaimed them to be the

religious men of the Moslems. They seemed to be reciting from a volume

before them, and muttering what might be prayers to Allah,--possibly

invoking his vengeance on the infidel. But these soon dropped astern,

leaving the way open for the rest of the flotilla, which steered for the

palisades, with the intention evidently of forcing a passage. But the

barrier proved too strong for their efforts; and, chafed by the musketry

which now opened on them from the bastion, the Algerine commander threw

himself into the water, which was somewhat above his girdle, and,

followed by his men, advanced boldly towards the shore.

Two mortars were mounted on the rampart. But, through some

mismanagement, they were not worked; and the assailants were allowed to

reach the foot of the bastion, which they prepared to carry by escalade.

Applying their ladders, they speedily began to mount; when they were

assailed by showers of stones, hand-grenades, and combustibles of

various kinds; while huge fragments of rock were rolled over the

parapet, crushing men and ladders, and scattering them in ruin below.

The ramparts were covered with knights and soldiers, among whom the

stately form of Antonio de Zanoguerra, the commander of the post, was

conspicuous, towering above his comrades, and cheering them on to the

fight. Meantime the assailants, mustering like a swarm of hornets to the

attack, were soon seen replacing the broken ladders, and again

clambering up the walls. The leading files were pushed upward by those

below; yet scarcely had the bold adventurers risen above the parapet,

when they were pierced by the pikes of the soldiers, or struck down by

the swords and battle-axes of the knights. At this crisis, a spark

unfortunately falling into the magazine of combustibles, it took fire,

and blew up with a terrific explosion, killing or maiming numbers of the

garrison, and rolling volumes of blinding smoke along the bastion. The

besiegers profited by the confusion to gain a footing on the ramparts;

and when the clouds of vapor began to dissipate, the garrison were

astonished to find their enemies at their side, and a number of small

banners, such as the Turks usually bore into the fight, planted on the

walls. The contest now raged fiercer than ever, as the parties fought on

more equal terms;--the Mussulmans smarting under their wounds, and the

Christians fired with the recollection of St. Elmo, and the desire of

avenging their slaughtered brethren. The struggle continued long after

the sun, rising high in the heavens, poured down a flood of heat on the

combatants; and the garrison, pressed by superior numbers, weary and

faint with wounds, were hardly able to keep their footing on the

slippery ground, saturated with their own blood and that of their

enemies. Still the cheering battle-cry of St. John rose in the air; and

their brave leader, Zanoguerra, at the head of his knights, was to be

seen in the thickest of the fight. There too was Brother Robert, an

ecclesiastic of the order, with a sword in one hand and a crucifix in

the other, though wounded himself, rushing among the ranks, and

exhorting the men "to fight for the faith of Jesus Christ, and to die in

its defence."[1342]

At this crisis the commander, Zanoguerra, though clad in armor of proof,

was hit by a random musket-shot, which stretched him lifeless on the

rampart. At his fall the besiegers set up a shout of triumph, and

redoubled their efforts. It would now have gone hard with the garrison,

had it not been for a timely reinforcement which arrived from Il Borgo.

It was sent by La Valette, who had learned the perilous state of the

bastion. He had, not long before this, caused a floating bridge to be

laid across the Port of Galleys,--thus connecting the two peninsulas

with each other, and affording a much readier means of communication

than before existed.

[Sidenote: SLAUGHTER OF THE TURKS.]

While this was going on, a powerful reinforcement was on its way to the

support of the assailants. Ten boats of the largest size, having a

thousand janizaries on board, were seen advancing across the Great

Harbor from the opposite shore. Taking warning by the fate of their

countrymen, they avoided the palisades, and, pursuing a more northerly

course, stood for the extreme point of the Spur. By so doing, they

exposed themselves to the fire of a battery in St. Angelo, sunk down

almost to the water's level. It was this depressed condition of the work

that secured it from the notice of the Turks. The battery, mounted with

five guns, was commanded, by the Chevalier de Guiral, who coolly waited

until the enemy had come within range of his shot, when he gave the word

to fire. The pieces were loaded with heavy balls, and with bags filled

with chain and bits of iron. The effect of the discharge was terrible.

Nine of the barges were shattered to pieces, and immediately sunk.[1343]

The water was covered with the splinters of the vessels, with mutilated

trunks, dissevered limbs, fragments of clothes, and quantities of

provisions; for the enemy came prepared to take up their quarters

permanently in the fortress. Amidst the dismal wreck a few wretches were

to be seen, struggling with the waves, and calling on their comrades for

help. But those in the surviving boat, when they had recovered from the

shock of the explosion, had no mind to remain longer in so perilous a

position, but made the best of their way back to the shore, leaving

their companions to their fate. Day after day the waves threw upon the

strand the corpses of the drowned men; and the Maltese divers long

continued to drag up from the bottom rich articles of wearing apparel,

ornaments, and even purses of money, which had been upon the persons of

the janizaries. Eight hundred are said to have perished by this

disaster, which may, not improbably, have decided the fate of the

fortress; for the strength of the reinforcement would have been more

than a match for that sent by La Valette to the support of the

garrison.[1344]

Meanwhile the succors detached by the grand-master had no sooner entered

the bastion, than, seeing their brethren so hard beset, and the Moslem

flags planted along the parapet, they cried their war-cry, and fell

furiously on the enemy. In this they were well supported by the

garrison, who gathered strength at the sight of the reinforcement. The

Turks, now pressed on all sides, gave way. Some succeeded in making

their escape by the ladders, as they had entered. Others were hurled

down on the rocks below. Most, turning on their assailants, fell

fighting on the rampart which they had so nearly won. Those who escaped

hurried to the shore, hoping to gain the boats, which lay off at some

distance; when a detachment, sallying from the bastion, intercepted

their flight. Thus at bay, they had no alternative but to fight. But

their spirit was gone; and they were easily hewed down by their

pursuers. Some, throwing themselves on their knees, piteously begged for

mercy. "Such mercy," shouted the victors, "as you showed at St.

Elmo!"[1345] and buried their daggers in their bodies.

While this bloody work was going on below, the knights and soldiers,

gathered on the exposed points of the bastion above, presented an

obvious mark to the Turkish guns across the water, which had not been

worked during the assault, for fear of injuring the assailants. Now that

the Turks had vanished from the ramparts, some heavy shot were thrown

among the Christians, with fatal effect. Among others who were slain was

Frederic de Toledo, a son of the viceroy of Sicily. He was a young

knight of great promise, and was under the especial care of the

grand-master, who kept him constantly near his person. But when the

generous youth learned the extremity to which his brethren in La Sangle

were reduced, he secretly joined the reinforcement which was going to

their relief, and did his duty like a good knight in the combat which

followed. While on the rampart, he was struck down by a cannon-shot; and

a splinter from his cuirass mortally wounded a comrade to whom he was

speaking at the time.

While the fight was thus going on at the Spur, Hassem was storming the

breach of Fort St. Michael, on the opposite quarter. The storming-party,

consisting of both Moors and Turks, rushed to the assault with their

usual intrepidity. But they found a very different enemy from the

spectral forms which, wasted by toil and suffering, had opposed so

ineffectual a resistance in the last days of St. Elmo. In vain did the

rushing tide of assailants endeavor to force an opening through the

stern array of warriors, which, like a wall of iron, now filled up the

breach. Recoiling in confusion, the leading files fell back upon the

rear, and all was disorder. But Hassem soon re-formed his ranks, and

again led them to the charge. Again they were repulsed with loss; but as

fresh troops came to their aid, the little garrison must have been borne

down by numbers, had not their comrades, flushed with their recent

victory at the bastion, hurried to their support, and, sweeping like a

whirlwind through the breach, driven the enemy with dreadful carnage

along the slope, and compelled him to take refuge in his trenches.

Thus ended the first assault of the besiegers since the fall of St.

Elmo. The success of the Christians was complete. Between three and four

thousand Mussulmans, including those who were drowned,--according to the

Maltese statements,--fell in the two attacks on the fortress and the

bastion. But the arithmetic of an enemy is not apt to be exact.[1346]

The loss of the Christians did not exceed two hundred. Even this was a

heavy loss to the besieged, and included some of their best knights, to

say nothing of others disabled by their wounds. Still it was a signal

victory; and its influence was felt in raising the spirits of the

besieged, and in inspiring them with confidence. La Valette was careful

to cherish these feelings. The knights, followed by the whole population

of Il Borgo, went in solemn procession to the great church of St.

Lawrence, where _Te Deum_ was chanted, while the colors taken from the

infidel were suspended from the walls as glorious trophies of the

victory.[1347]

Mustapha now found that the spirit of the besieged, far from being

broken by their late reverses, was higher than ever, as their resources

were greater, and their fortifications stronger, than those of St. Elmo.

He saw the necessity of proceeding with greater caution. He resolved to

level the defences of the Christians with the ground, and then,

combining the whole strength of his forces, make simultaneous assaults

on Il Borgo and St. Michael. His first step was to continue his line of

intrenchments below St. Salvador to the water's edge, and thus cut off

the enemy's communication with the opposite side of the English Port, by

means of which the late reinforcement from Sicily had reached him. He

further strengthened the battery on St. Salvador, arming it with sixteen

guns,--two of them of such enormous calibre, as to throw stone bullets

of three hundred pounds' weight.

[Sidenote: INCESSANT CANNONADE.]

From this ponderous battery he now opened a crushing fire on the

neighboring bastion of Castile, and on the quarter of Il Borgo lying

nearest to it. The storm of marble and metal that fell upon the houses,

though these were built of stone, soon laid many of than in ruins; and

the shot, sweeping the streets, killed numbers of the inhabitants,

including women and children. La Valette caused barriers of solid

masonry to be raised across the streets for the protection of the

citizens. As this was a work of great danger, he put his slaves upon it,

trusting, too, that the enemy might be induced to mitigate his fire from

tenderness for the lives of his Moslem brethren. But in such an

expectation he greatly erred. More than five hundred slaves fell under

the incessant volleys of the besiegers; and it was only by the most

severe, indeed cruel treatment, that these unfortunate beings could be

made to resume their labors.[1348]

La Valette, at this time, in order to protect the town against assault

on the side of the English Port, caused a number of vessels laden with

heavy stones to be sunk not far from shore. They were further secured by

anchors bound to one another with chains, forming altogether an

impenetrable barrier against any approach by water.

The inhabitants of Il Borgo, as well as the soldiers, were now active in

preparations for defence. Some untwisted large ropes and cables to get

materials for making bags to serve as gabions. Some were busy with

manufacturing different sorts of fireworks, much relied on as a means of

defence by the besieged. Others were employed in breaking up the large

stones from the ruined buildings into smaller ones, which proved

efficient missiles when hurled on the heads of the assailants below. But

the greatest and most incessant labor was that of repairing the

breaches, or of constructing retrenchments to defend them. The sound of

the hammer and the saw was everywhere to be heard. The fires of the

forges were never suffered to go out. The hum of labor was as

unintermitting throughout the city as in the season of peace;--but with

a very different end.[1349]

Over all these labors the grand-master exercised a careful

superintendence. He was always on the spot where his presence was

needed. His eye seemed never to slumber. He performed many of the duties

of a soldier, as well as of a commander. He made the rounds constantly

in the night, to see that all was well, and that the sentinels were at

their posts. On these occasions he freely exposed himself to danger,

showing a carelessness of his own safety that called forth more than

once the remonstrances of his brethren. He was indeed watchful over all,

says the old chronicler who witnessed it; showing no sign of

apprehension in his valiant countenance, but by his noble presence

giving heart and animation to his followers.[1350]

Yet the stoutest heart which witnessed the scene might well have

thrilled with apprehension. Far as the eye could reach, the lines of the

Moslem army stretched over hill and valley; while a deafening roar of

artillery from fourteen batteries shook the solid earth, and, borne

across the waters for more than a hundred miles, sounded to the

inhabitants of Syracuse and Catania live the mutterings of distant

thunder.[1351] In the midst of this turmoil, and encompassed by the

glittering lines of the besiegers, the two Christian fortresses might be

dimly discerned amidst volumes of fire and smoke, which, rolling darkly

round their summits, almost hid from view the banner of St. John,

proudly waving in the breeze, as in defiance of the enemy.

But the situation of the garrison, as the works crumbled under the

stroke of the bullet, became every day more critical. La Valette

contrived to send information of it to the viceroy of Sicily, urging him

to delay his coming no longer, if he would save the island. But, strange

to say, such was the timid policy that had crept into the viceroy's

councils, that it was seriously discussed whether it was expedient to

send aid at all to the Knights of Malta! Some insisted that there was no

obligation on Spain to take any part in the quarrel, and that the

knights should be left to fight out the battle with the Turks in Malta,

as they had before done in Rhodes. Others remonstrated against this,

declaring it would be an eternal blot on the scutcheon of Castile, if

she should desert in their need the brave chivalry who for so many years

had been fighting the battles of Christendom. The king of Spain, in

particular, as the feudatory sovereign of the order, was bound to

protect the island from the Turks, who, moreover, once in possession of

it, would prove the most terrible scourge that ever fell on the commerce

of the Mediterranean. The more generous, happily the more politic,

counsel prevailed; and the viceroy contrived to convey an assurance to

the grand-master, that, if he could hold out till the end of the

following month, he would come with sixteen thousand men to his

relief.[1352]

But this was a long period for men in extremity to wait. La Valette saw

with grief how much deceived he had been in thus leaning on the viceroy.

He determined to disappoint his brethren no longer by holding out

delusive promises of succor. "The only succor to be relied on," he said,

"was that of Almighty God. He who has hitherto preserved his children

from danger will not now abandon them."[1353] La Valette reminded his

followers, that they were the soldiers of Heaven, fighting for the

Faith, for liberty and life. "Should the enemy prevail," he added, with

a politic suggestion, "the Christians could expect no better fate than

that of their comrades in St. Elmo." The grand-master's admonition was

not lost upon the soldiers. "Every man of us," says Balbi, "resolved to

die rather than surrender, and to sell his life as dearly as possible.

From that hour no man talked of succors."[1354]

One of those spiritual weapons from the papal armory, which have

sometimes proved of singular efficacy in times of need, came now most

seasonably to the aid of La Valette. A bull of Pius the Fourth granted

plenary indulgence for all sins which had been committed by those

engaged in this holy war against the Moslems. "There were few," says the

chronicler, "either women or men, old enough to appreciate it, who did

not strive to merit this grace by most earnest devotion to the cause,

and who did not have entire faith that all who died in the good work

would be at once received into glory."[1355]

[Sidenote: GENERAL ASSAULT.]

More than two weeks had elapsed since the attempt, so disastrous to the

Turks, on the fortress of St. Michael. During this time they had kept up

an unintermitting fire on the Christian fortifications; and the effect

was visible in more than one fearful gap, which invited the assault of

the enemy. The second of August was accordingly fixed on as the day for

a general attack, to be made on both Port St. Michael, and on the

bastion of Castile, which, situated at the head of the English Port,

eastward of Il Borgo, flanked the line of defence on that quarter.

Mustapha was to conduct in person the operations against the fort; the

assault on the bastion he intrusted to Piali;--a division of the command

by which the ambition of the rival chiefs would be roused to the utmost.

Fortunately, La Valette obtained notice, through some deserters, of the

plans of the Turkish commanders, and made his preparations accordingly.

On the morning of the second, Piali's men, at the appointed signal,

moved briskly forward to the assault. They soon crossed the ditch, but

partially filled with the ruins of the rampart, scaled the ascent in

face of a sharp fire of musketry, and stood at length, with ranks

somewhat shattered, on the summit of the breach. But here they were

opposed by retrenchments within, thrown up by the besieged, from behind

which they now poured such heavy volleys among the assailants as

staggered the front of the column, and compelled it to fall back some

paces in the rear. Here it was encountered by those pushing forward from

below; and some confusion ensued. This was increased by the vigor with

which the garrison now plied their musketry from the ramparts, hurling

down at the same time heavy logs, hand-grenades, and torrents of

scalding pitch on the heads of the assailing column, which, blinded and

staggering under the shock, reeled to and fro like a drunken man. To add

to their distress, the feet of the soldiers were torn and entangled

among the spikes which had been thickly set in the ruins of the breach

by the besieged. Woe to him who fell! His writhing body was soon

trampled under the press. In vain the Moslem chiefs endeavored to

restore order. Their voices were lost in the wild uproar that raged

around. At this crisis the knights, charging at the head of their

followers, cleared the breach, and drove the enemy with loss into his

trenches.

There the broken column soon re-formed, and, strengthened by fresh

troops, was again brought to the attack. But this gave a respite to the

garrison, which La Valette improved by causing refreshments to be served

to the soldiers. By his provident care, skins containing wine and water,

with rations of bread, were placed near the points of attack, to be

distributed among the men.[1356] The garrison, thus strengthened, were

enabled to meet the additional forces brought against them by the enemy;

and the refreshments on the one side were made, in some sort, to

counterbalance the reinforcements on the other. Vessels filled with salt

and water were also at hand, to bathe the wounds of such as were injured

by the fireworks. "Without these various precautions," says the

chronicler, "it would have been impossible for so few men as we were to

keep our ground against such a host as now assailed us on every

quarter."[1357]

Again and again the discomfited Turks gathered strength for a new

assault, and as often they were repulsed with the same loss as before;

till Piali drew off his dispirited legions, and abandoned all further

attempts for that day.

It fared no better on the other quarter, where the besiegers, under the

eye of the commander-in-chief, were storming the fortress of St.

Michael. On every point the stout-hearted chivalry of St. John were

victorious. But victory was bought at a heavy price.

The Turks returned to the attack on the day following, and on each

succeeding day. It was evidently their purpose to profit by their

superior numbers to harass the besieged, and reduce them to a state of

exhaustion. One of these assaults was near being attended with fatal

consequences.

A mine which ran under the bastion of Castile was sprung, and brought

down a wide extent of the rampart. The enemy, prepared for the event,

mounting the smoking ruins, poured through the undefended breach,--or

defended only by a handful of the garrison, who were taken unawares. The

next minute, the great standard of the Ottomans was planted on the

walls. The alarm was raised. In a few moments the enemy would have been

in the heart of the town. An ecclesiastic of the order, Brother William

by name, terrified at the sight, made all haste to the grand-master,

then at his usual station in the public square. Rushing into his

presence, the priest called on him to take refuge, while he could, in

the castle of St. Angelo, as the enemy had broken into the town. But the

dauntless chief, snatching up his pike, with no other protection than

his helmet, and calling out to those around him, "Now is the time! let

us die together!"[1358] hurried to the scene of action, where, rallying

his followers, he fell furiously on the enemy. A sharp struggle ensued.

More than one knight was struck down by La Valette's side. He himself

was wounded in the leg by the splinter of a hand-grenade. The alarm-bell

of the city rang violently. The cry was raised that the grand-master was

in danger. Knights, soldiers, and townsmen came rushing to the spot.

Even the sick sprang from their beds, and made such haste as they could

to the rescue. The Moslems, pressed on all sides, and shaken by the

resolute charge, fell back slowly on the breach.

The cavaliers would now fain have persuaded the grand-master, who was

still standing among a heap of the slain, to retire to some place of

safety, and leave the issue of the battle to his companions. But, fixing

his eye on the Ottoman standard, still floating above the walls, he

mournfully shook his head, in token of his resolution to remain. The

garrison, spurred on by shame and indignation, again charged the

Moslems, with greater fury than before. The colors, wrenched from the

ramparts, were torn to shreds in the struggle. The Christians prevailed;

and the Turks, quailing before their invincible spirit, were compelled,

after a long and bloody contest, to abandon the works they had so nearly

won.

Still the grand-master, far from retiring, took up his quarters for the

night in the neighborhood of the breach. He had no doubt that the enemy

would return under cover of the darkness, and renew the assault before

the garrison had time to throw up retrenchments. It was in vain his

companions besought him to withdraw, to leave the fight to them, and not

to risk a life so precious to the community. "And how can an old man

like me," he said, "end his life more gloriously, than when surrounded

by his brethren and fighting the battles of the Cross?"[1359]

[Sidenote: THE TURKS REPULSED.]

La Valette was right in his conjecture. No sooner had the darkness

fallen, than the Turkish host, again under arms, came surging on across

the ruins of the rampart towards the breach. But it was not under cover

of the darkness; for the whole bay was illumined by the incessant flash

of artillery, by the blaze of combustibles, and the fiery track of the

missiles darting through the air. Thus the combat was carried on as by

the light of day. The garrison, prepared for the attack, renewed the

scenes of the morning, and again beat off the assailants, who, broken

and dispirited, could not be roused, even by the blows of their

officers, to return to the assault.[1360]

On the following morning, La Valette caused _Te Deum_ to be sung in the

church of St. Lawrence, and thanks to be offered at the throne of grace

for their deliverance. And if the ceremonies were not conducted with the

accustomed pomp of the order of St. John, they were at least

accompanied, says the chronicler, who bore his part in them, by the

sacrifice of contrite hearts,--as was shown by the tears of many a man,

as well as woman, in the procession.[1361]

There was indeed almost as much cause for sorrow as for joy. However

successful the Christians had been in maintaining their defence, and

however severe the loss they had inflicted on the enemy, they had to

mourn the loss of some of their most illustrious knights, while others

lay disabled in their beds. Among the latter was De Monti, admiral of

the order, now lying seriously ill of wounds received in the defence of

St. Michael, of which he was commander. Among the deaths was one which

came home to the bosom of La Valette. A young cavalier, his nephew, had

engaged in a perilous enterprise with a comrade of his own age. The

handsome person and gilded armor of the younger La Valette made him a

fatal mark for the enemy;[1362] and he fell, together with his friend,

in the ditch before the bastion, under a shower of Turkish bullets. An

obstinate struggle succeeded between Christians and Turks for the bodies

of the slain. The Christians were victorious; and La Valette had the

melancholy satisfaction of rendering the last offices to the remains of

his gallant kinsman. The brethren would have condoled with him on his

loss. But his generous nature shrank from the indulgence of a selfish

sorrow. "All are alike dear to me," he said; "all of you I look on as my

children. I mourn for Polastra" (the friend of the young La Valette) "as

I do for my own nephew. And after all, it matters little. They have gone

before us but for a short time."[1363]

It was indeed no season for the indulgence of private sorrows, when

those of a public nature pressed so heavily on the heart. Each day the

condition of the besieged was becoming more critical. The tottering

defences both of Il Borgo and La Sangle were wasting away under the

remorseless batteries of the besiegers. Great numbers, not merely of the

knights and the soldiers, but of the inhabitants, had been slain. The

women of the place had shown, throughout the whole siege, the same

heroic spirit as the men. They not only discharged the usual feminine

duties of tending and relieving the sick, but they were often present in

the battle, supplying the garrison with refreshments, or carrying the

ammunition, or removing the wounded to the hospital. Thus sharing in the

danger of their husbands and fathers, they shared too in their fate.

Many perished by the enemy's fire; and the dead bodies of women lay

mingled among those of the men, on the ramparts and in the

streets.[1364] The hospitals were filled with the sick and wounded,

though fortunately no epidemic had as yet broken out to swell the bills

of mortality. Those of the garrison who were still in a condition to do

their duty were worn by long vigils and excessive toil. To fight by day,

to raise intrenchments or to repair the crumbling works by night, was

the hard duty of the soldier. Brief was the respite allowed him for

repose,--a repose to be broken at any moment by the sound of the

alarm-bell, and to be obtained only amidst so wild an uproar, that it

seemed, in the homely language of the veteran so often quoted, "as if

the world were coming to an end."[1365]

Happily, through the provident care of the grand-master, there was still

a store of provisions in the magazines. But the ammunition was already

getting low. Yet the resolution of the besieged did not fail them. Their

resolution had doubtless been strengthened by the cruel conduct of the

Turks at St. Elmo, which had shown that from such a foe there was no

mercy to be expected. The conviction of this had armed the Christians

with the courage of despair. On foreign succor they no longer relied.

Their only reliance was where their chief had taught them to place

it,--on the protection of Heaven; and La Valette, we are assured, went

every day during the siege to the church of St. Lawrence, and there

solemnly invoked that protection for the brave men who, alone and

unaided, were thus fighting the battles of the Faith.[1366]

The forlorn condition of the defences led, at length, the Council of

Grand Crosses, after much deliberation, to recommend to La Valette to

abandon Il Borgo, and to withdraw with the troops and the inhabitants

into the castle of St. Angelo. The grand-master saw at once the

disastrous consequences of such a step, and he rejected it without a

moment's hesitation. To withdraw into the castle, he said, would be to

give up all communication with St. Michael, and to abandon its brave

garrison to their fate. The inhabitants of the town would fare no

better. The cistern which supplied St. Angelo with water would be wholly

inadequate to the demands of such a multitude; and they would soon be

reduced to extremity. "No, my brethren," he concluded; "here we must

make our stand; and here we must die, if we cannot maintain ourselves

against the infidel."[1367]

He would not even consent to have the sacred relics, or the archives of

the order, removed thither, as to a place of greater security. It would

serve to discourage the soldiers, by leading them to suppose that he

distrusted their power of maintaining the town against the enemy. On the

contrary, he caused a bridge communicating with the castle to be broken

down, after calling off the greater part of the garrison to assist in

the defence of Il Borgo. By these measures, he proclaimed his

unalterable determination to maintain the town to the last, and if need

were, to die in its defence.[1368]

[Sidenote: THE TURKS DISPIRITED.]

CHAPTER V.

SIEGE OF MALTA.

The Turks dispirited.--Reinforcement from Sicily.--Siege

raised.--Mustapha defeated.--Rejoicings of the

Christians.--Mortification of Solyman.--Review of the Siege.--Subsequent

History of La Valette.

1565.

While the affairs of the besieged wore the gloomy aspect depicted in the

last chapter, those of the besiegers were not much better. More than

half their original force had perished. To the bloody roll of those who

had fallen in the numerous assaults were now to be added the daily

victims of pestilence. In consequence of the great heat, exposure, and

bad food, a dysentery had broken out in the Moslem army, and was now

sweeping off its hundreds in a day. Both ammunition and provisions were

running low. Ships bringing supplies were constantly intercepted by the

Sicilian cruisers. Many of the heavy guns were so much damaged by the

fire of the besieged, as to require to be withdrawn and sent on board

the fleet,--an operation performed with a silence that contrasted

strongly with the noisy shouts with which the batteries had been

raised.[1369] But these movements could not be conducted so silently as

to escape the notice of the garrison, whose spirits were much revived by

the reports daily brought in by deserters of the condition of the enemy.

Mustapha chafed not a little under the long-protracted resistance of the

besieged. He looked with apprehension to the consequences of a failure

in an expedition for which preparations had been made on so magnificent

a scale by his master, and with so confident hopes of success. He did

not fail to employ every expedient for effecting his object that the

military science of that day--at least Turkish science--could devise. He

ordered movable wooden towers to be built, such as were used under the

ancient system of besieging fortified places, from which, when brought

near to the works, his musketeers might send their volleys into the

town. But the besieged, sallying forth, set fire to his towers, and

burnt them to the ground. He caused a huge engine to be made, of the

capacity of a hogshead; filled with combustibles, and then swung, by

means of machinery, on the rampart of the bastion. But the garrison

succeeded in throwing it back on the heads of the inventors, where it

exploded with terrible effect. Mustapha ran his mines under the

Christian defences, until the ground was perforated like a honeycomb,

and the garrison seemed to be treading on the crust of a volcano. La

Valette countermined in his turn. The Christians, breaking into the

galleries of the Turks, engaged them boldly underground; and sometimes

the mine, exploding, buried both Turk and Christian under a heap of

ruins.

Baffled on every point, with their ranks hourly thinned by disease, the

Moslem troops grew sullen and dispirited; and now that the bastion of

Castile, with its dilapidated works, stood like some warrior stripped of

his armor, his defenceless condition inviting attack, they were in no

heart to make it. As their fire slackened, and their assaults became

fewer and more feeble, the confidence of the Christians was renewed;

until they even cherished the hope of beating off the enemy without the

long-promised succors from Sicily. Fortunately for the honor of Spain,

the chivalry of St. John were not driven to this perilous attempt.

Yielding, at length, to the solicitations of the knights and the

enthusiasm of the army, the viceroy, Don Garcia de Toledo, assembled his

fleet in the port of Syracuse, and on the 25th of August weighed anchor.

The fleet consisted of twenty-eight galleys, and carried eleven thousand

troops, chiefly Spanish veterans, besides two hundred knights of the

order, who had arrived from other lands, in time to witness the closing

scene of the drama. There was also a good number of adventurers from

Spain, France, and Italy, many of them persons of rank, and some of high

military renown, who had come to offer their services to the knights of

Malta, and share in their glorious defence.

Unfortunately, in its short passage, the fleet encountered a violent

gale, which did so much damage, that the viceroy was compelled to return

to Sicily, and repair his galleys. He then put to sea again, with better

fortune. He succeeded in avoiding the notice of the enemy, part of whose

armament lay off the mouth of the Great Port, to prevent the arrival of

succors to the besieged,--and on the 6th of September, under cover of

the evening, entered the Bay of Melecca, on the western side of the

island.[1370]

The next morning, having landed his forces, with their baggage and

military stores, the viceroy sailed again for Sicily, to bring over an

additional reinforcement of four thousand troops, then waiting in

Messina. He passed near enough to the beleaguered fortresses to be

descried by the garrisons, whom he saluted with three salvos of

artillery, that sent joy into their hearts.[1371] It had a very

different effect on the besiegers. They listened with nervous credulity

to the exaggerated reports that soon reached them, of the strength of

the reinforcement landed in the island, by which they expected to be

speedily assaulted in their trenches. Without delay, Mustapha made

preparations for his departure. His heavy guns and camp equipage were

got on board the galleys and smaller vessels, lying off the entrance of

the Great Port,--and all as silently and expeditiously as possible. La

Valette had hoped that some part of the Spanish reinforcement would be

detached during the night to the aid of the garrison, when he proposed

to sally on the enemy, and, if nothing better came of it, to get

possession of their cannon, so much needed for his own fortifications.

But no such aid arrived; and, through the long night, he impatiently

listened to the creaking of the wheels that bore off the artillery to

the ships.[1372]

[Sidenote: MUSTAPHA DEFEATED.]

With the first light of morning the whole Ottoman force was embarked on

board the vessels, which, weighing anchor, moved round to Port Musiette,

on the other side of St. Elmo, where the Turkish fleet, the greater part

of which lay there, was now busily preparing for its departure. No

sooner had the enemy withdrawn, than the besieged poured out into the

deserted trenches. One or two of those huge pieces of ordnance, which,

from their unwieldy size, it was found impossible to remove, had been

abandoned by the Turks, and remained a memorable trophy of the

siege.[1373] The Christians were not long in levelling the Moslem

entrenchments; and very soon the flag of St. John was seen cheerily

waving in the breeze, above the ruins of St. Elmo. The grand-master now

called his brethren together to offer up their devotions in the same

church of St. Lawrence where he had so often invoked the protection of

Heaven during the siege. "Never did music sound sweeter to human ears,"

exclaims Balbi, "than when those bells summoned us to mass, at the same

hour at which, for three months past, they had sounded the alarm against

the enemy."[1374] A procession was formed of all the members of the

order, the soldiers, and the citizens. The services were performed with

greater solemnity, as well as pomp, than could be observed in the hurry

and tumult of the siege; and, with overflowing hearts, the multitude

joined in the _Te Deum_, and offered up thanks to the Almighty and the

Blessed Virgin for their deliverance from their enemies.[1375] It was

the eighth of September, the day of the Nativity of the Virgin,--a

memorable day in the annals of Malta, and still observed by the

inhabitants as their most glorious anniversary.

Hardly had the Turkish galleys, with Mustapha on board, joined the great

body of the fleet in Port Musiette, than that commander received such

intelligence as convinced him that the report of the Spanish numbers had

been greatly exaggerated. He felt that he had acted precipitately, thus,

without a blow, to abandon the field to an enemy his inferior in

strength. His head may well have trembled on his shoulders, as he

thought of returning thus dishonored to the presence of his indignant

master. Piali, it is said, was not displeased at the mortification of

his rival. The want of concert between them had, in more than one

instance, interfered with the success of their operations. It was now,

however, agreed that Mustapha should disembark, with such of the troops

as were in fighting order, and give battle to the Spaniards. Piali,

meanwhile, would quit the port, which lay exposed to St. Elmo,--now in

his enemy's hands,--and anchor farther west, in the roads of St. Paul.

The troops from Sicily, during this time, had advanced into the

interior, in the neighborhood of _Citta Notable_,--or, as it is now

called, _Citta Vecchia_. They were commanded by Ascanio de la Corña, an

officer who had gained a name in the Italian wars. Alvaro de Sandé was

second in command, the same captain who made so heroic a defence in the

isle of Gelves against the Turks. The chivalrous daring of the latter

officer was well controlled by the circumspection of the former.

La Valette, who kept a vigilant eye on the movements of the Turks, was

careful to advise Don Ascanio that they had again disembarked, and were

on their march against him. The Spanish general took up a strong

position on an eminence, the approach, to which was rugged and

difficult in the extreme. Thus secured, the prudent chief proposed to

await the assault of the Moslems. But the Knights of St. John, who had

accompanied the Sicilian succors, eager for vengeance on the hated

enemies of their order, called loudly to be led against the infidel. In

this they were joined by the fiery De Sandé and the greater part of the

troops. When the Moslem banners, therefore, came in sight, and the dense

columns of the enemy were seen advancing across the country, the

impatience of the Christians was not to be restrained. The voices of the

officers were unheeded. Don Ascanio saw it was not wise to balk this

temper of the troops. They were hastily formed in order of battle, and

then, like a mountain torrent, descended swiftly against the foe.

On their left was a hill, crowned by a small tower that commanded the

plain. The Turks had succeeded in getting possession of this work. A

detachment of Spaniards scaled the eminence, attacked the Turks, and,

after a short struggle, carried the fort. Meanwhile the Maltese

chivalry, with Sandé and the great body of the army, fell with fury on

the front and flanks of the enemy. The Turkish soldiers, disgusted by

the long and disastrous siege, had embarked with great alacrity; and

they had not repressed their murmurs of discontent, when they were again

made to land and renew the conflict. Sullen and disheartened, they were

in no condition to receive the shock of the Spaniards. Many were borne

down by it at once, their ranks were broken, and their whole body; was

thrown into disarray. Some few endeavored to make head against their

assailants. Most thought only of securing safety by-flight. The knights

followed close on the fugitives. Now was the hour of vengeance. No

quarter was given. Their swords were reddened with the blood of the

infidel.[1376]

Mustapha, careless of his own life, made the most intrepid efforts to

save his men. He was ever in the hottest of the action. Twice he was

unhorsed, and had nearly fallen into the hands of his enemies. At

length, rallying a body of musketeers, he threw himself into the rear,

to cover the retreat of the army. Facing about, he sent such a

well-directed volley among his pursuers, who were coming on in disorder,

that they were compelled to halt. Don Alvaro's horse was slain under

him. Several knights were wounded or brought to the ground. But as those

in the rear came up, Mustapha was obliged to give way, and was soon

swept along with the tide of battle in the direction of the port of St.

Paul, where the fleet was at anchor. Boats were in readiness to receive

the troops; and a line of shallops, filled with arquebusiers, was drawn

up alongside of them, to cover the embarkation. But the Spaniards,

hurried forward by the heat of the pursuit, waded up to their girdles

into the sea, and maintained an incessant fire on the fugitives, many of

whom fell under it, while others, vainly endeavoring to swim to the

ships, perished in the waves; and their bodies, tossed upon the sands,

continued for many a day to poison the atmosphere.[1377]--This was the

last effort of Mustapha; and the Turkish admiral, gathering together the

wreck of his forces, again weighed anchor, and spreading his sails to

the breeze, steered his course for the Levant.[1378]

[Sidenote: REJOICINGS OF THE CHRISTIANS.]

The principal officers of the Spanish array, together with the knights,

then crossed over to Il Borgo.[1379] They met there with a cordial

welcome; but the knights, as they embraced their comrades, were greatly

shocked by their appearance,--their wan and care-worn countenances,

their emaciated figures, their long and matted hair, and their squalid

attire. Many were disfigured by honorable scars; some were miserably

maimed; others wore bandages over wounds not yet healed. It was a

piteous sight, too plainly intimating the extremity of suffering to

which they had been reduced; and as the knights gazed on their brethren,

and called to mind the friends they had lost, their hearts were filled

with unspeakable anguish.[1380]

On the fourteenth of September, the viceroy reappeared with the fleet,

bearing the remainder of the reinforcement from Sicily. The admiral's

pennant displayed a cross, intimating that it was a holy war in which

they were engaged.[1381] As the squadron came proudly up the Great Port,

with pennons and streamers gayly flying from its masts, it was welcomed

by salvos of artillery from the fortresses and bastions around; and the

rocky shores, which had so long reverberated only with the din of war,

now echoed to the sounds of jubilee.

The grand-master came down to the landing-place below St. Angelo, to

receive the viceroy, with the nobles and cavaliers who followed in his

train. They had come too late to share the dangers of the besieged, but

not too late to partake of their triumph. They were courteously

conducted by La Valette, across the scene of desolation, to his own

palace, which, though in an exposed quarter of the town, had so far

escaped as to be still habitable. As the strangers gazed on the remains

of the fortifications, nearly levelled to the ground, they marvelled

that the shadowy forms which they saw gliding among the ruins could have

so long held out against the Moslem armies. Well had they earned for

their city the title of _Vittoriosa_, "The Victorious," which,

supplanting that of Il Borgo, still commemorates its defence against the

infidel.

La Valette had provided an entertainment for his illustrious guests, as

good as his limited resources would allow; but it is said that the

banquet was reinforced by a contribution from the viceroy's own

stores.[1382] On the departure of the Spaniards, he showed his

gratitude, while he indulged his munificent spirit, by bestowing

handsome presents on the captains and a liberal largess of money on the

soldiers.[1383]

On his way, the viceroy had discovered the Ottoman fleet formed in

compact order, and standing under press of sail towards the east. He was

too far inferior in strength to care to intercept its course;[1384] and

the squadron reached in safety the port of Constantinople. Solyman had

already received despatches preparing him for the return of the fleet,

and the failure of the expedition. It threw him into one of those

paroxysms of ungovernable passion to which the old sultan seems to have

been somewhat addicted in the latter years of his life. With impotent

fury, he stamped on the letters, it is said, and, protesting that there

were none of his officers whom he could trust, he swore to lead an

expedition against Malta the coming year, and put every man in the

island to the sword.[1385] He had the magnanimity, however, not to wreak

his vengeance on the unfortunate commanders. The less to attract public

notice, he caused the fleet bearing the shattered remains of the army to

come into port in the night-time; thus affording a contrast sufficiently

striking to the spectacle presented by the brilliant armament which a

few months before had sailed from the Golden Horn amidst the joyous

acclamations of the multitude.

The arms of Solyman the Second, during his long and glorious reign, met

with no reverse so humiliating as his failure in the siege of Malta. To

say nothing of the cost of the maritime preparations, the waste of life

was prodigious, amounting to more than thirty thousand men, Moors

included, and comprehending the very best troops in the empire. This was

a loss of nearly three fourths of the original force of the besieging

army,--an almost incredible amount, showing that pestilence had been as

actively at work as the sword of the enemy.[1386]

Yet the loss in this siege fell most grievously on the Christians. Full

two hundred knights, twenty-five hundred soldiers, and more than seven

thousand inhabitants,--men, women, and children, are said to have

perished.[1387] The defences of the island were razed to the ground. The

towns were in ruins; the villages burnt; the green harvests cut down

before they had time to ripen. The fiery track of war was over every

part of Malta. Well might the simple inhabitants rue the hour when the

Knights of St. John first set foot upon their shores. The military

stores were exhausted, the granaries empty; the treasury was at the

lowest ebb. The members of the order had now to begin the work of

constructing their fortunes over again. But still they enjoyed the glory

of victory. They had the proud consciousness of having baffled, with

their own good swords, the whole strength of the Ottoman empire. The

same invincible spirit still glowed in their bosoms, and they looked

forward with unshaken confidence to the future.

[Sidenote: REVIEW OF THE SIEGE.]

Such were the results of this memorable siege,--one of the most

memorable sieges, considering the scale of the preparations, the amount

of the forces, and the spirit of the defence, which are recorded on the

pages of history. It would not be easy, even for a military man, after

the lapse of three centuries, to criticize with any degree of confidence

the course pursued by the combatants, so as to determine to what causes

may be referred the failure of the besiegers. One obvious fault, and of

the greatest moment, was that already noticed, of not immediately

cutting off the communications with St. Elmo, by which supplies were

constantly thrown into that fortress from the opposite side of the

harbor. Another, similar in its nature, was, that, with so powerful a

navy as the Turks had at their command, they should have allowed

communications to be maintained by the besieged with Sicily, and

reinforcements thus introduced into the island. We find Mustapha and

Piali throwing the blame of this mutually on each other, especially in

the case of Cardona, whose most seasonable succors might easily have

been intercepted, either by land or sea, with proper vigilance on the

part of the Turkish commanders. A serious impediment in the way of the

besiegers was the impossibility of forcing a subsistence for the troops

from a barren spot like Malta, and the extreme difficulty of obtaining

supplies from other quarters, when so easily intercepted by the enemy's

cruisers. Yet the Turkish galleys lying idle in the western port might

have furnished a ready convoy, one might suppose, for transports

bringing provisions from the Barbary coast. But we find no such thing

attempted. To all these causes of failure must be added the epidemic,

which, generated under the tropical heats of a Maltese summer, spread

like a murrain through the camp of the besiegers, sweeping them off by

thousands.

It operated well for the besieged, that the great advance made in the

science of fortification was such, in the latter half of the sixteenth

century, as in a great degree to counterbalance the advantages secured

to the besiegers by the use of artillery,--especially such clumsy

artillery, and so awkwardly served, as that of the Turks. But these

advantages would have proved of little worth, had it not been for the

character of the men who were to profit by them. It was the character of

the defenders that constituted the real strength of the defence. This

was the true bulwark that resisted every effort of the Ottoman arms,

when all outward defences were swept away. Every knight was animated by

a sentiment of devotion to his order, and that hatred to the infidel in

which he had been nursed from his cradle, and which had become a part of

his existence. These sentiments he had happily succeeded in

communicating to his followers, and even to the people of the island.

Thus impelled by an unswerving principle of conduct, the whole body

exhibited that unity and promptness of action which belongs to an

individual. From the first hour of the siege to the last, all idea of

listening to terms from the enemy was rejected. Every man was prepared

to die rather than surrender. One exception only occurred,--that of a

private soldier in La Sangle, who, denying the possibility of holding

out against the Turks, insisted on the necessity of accepting the terms

offered to the garrison. The example of his cowardice might have proved

contagious; and the wretched man expiated his offence on the

gallows.[1388]

Above all, the strength of the besieged lay in the character of their

chief. La Valette was one of those rare men whom Providence seems to

raise up for special occasions, so wonderfully are their peculiar

qualities suited to the emergency. To that attachment to his order which

he had in common with his brethren, he united a strong religious

sentiment, sincere and self-sacrificing, which shone through every act

of his life. This gave him an absolute ascendancy over his followers,

which he had the capacity to turn to full account. He possessed many of

the requisites for success in action; great experience, a quick eye, a

cool judgment. To these was united a fixedness of purpose not to be

shaken by menace or entreaty; and which was only to be redeemed from the

imputation of obstinacy by the extraordinary character of the

circumstances in which he was placed. The reader will recall a memorable

example, when La Valette insisted on defending St. Elmo to the last, in

defiance not only of the remonstrance, but the resistance, of its

garrison. Another equally pertinent is his refusal, though in opposition

to his council, to abandon the town and retire to St. Angelo. One can

hardly doubt that on his decision, in both these cases, rested the fate

of Malta.

La Valette was of a serious turn, and, as it would seem, with a tendency

to sadness in his temperament. In the portraits that remain of him, his

noble features are touched with a shade of melancholy, which, taken in

connection with his history, greatly heightens the interest of their

expression. His was not the buoyant temper, the flow of animal spirits,

which carries a man over every obstacle in his way. Yet he could comfort

the sick, and cheer the desponding; not by making light of danger, but

by encouraging them like brave men fearlessly to face it. He did not

delude his followers by the promises--after he had himself found them to

be delusive--of foreign succor. He taught them, instead, to rely on the

succor of the Almighty, who would never desert those who were fighting

in his cause. He infused into them the spirit of martyrs,--that brave

spirit which, arming the soul with contempt of death, makes the weak man

stronger than the strongest.

There is one mysterious circumstance in the history of this siege which

has never been satisfactorily explained,--the conduct of the viceroy of

Sicily. Most writers account for it by supposing that he only acted in

obedience to the secret instructions of his master, unwilling to hazard

the safety of his fleet by interfering in behalf of the knights, unless

such interference became absolutely necessary. But even on such a

supposition the viceroy does not stand excused; for it was little less

than a miracle that the knights were not exterminated before he came to

their relief; and we can hardly suppose that an astute, far-sighted

prince, like Philip, who had been so eager to make conquests from the

Moslems in Africa, would have consented that the stronghold of the

Mediterranean should pass into the hands of the Turks. It seems more

probable that Don Garcia, aware of the greater strength of the Turkish

armament, and oppressed by the responsibility of his situation as

viceroy of Sicily, should have shrunk from the danger to which that

island would be exposed by the destruction of his fleet. On any view of

the case, it is difficult to explain a course so irreconcilable with the

plan of operations concerted with the grand-master, and the promises of

support given to him by Don Garcia at the beginning of the siege.

La Valette, we are told, subsequently complained of the viceroy's

conduct to Pius the Fifth; and that pontiff represented the affair to

the king of Spain. Don Garcia had, soon after, the royal permission to

retire from the government of Sicily. He withdrew to the kingdom of

Naples, where he passed the remainder of his days, without public

employment of any kind, and died in obscurity.[1389]--Such a fate may

not be thought, after all, conclusive evidence that he had not acted in

obedience to the private instructions of his sovereign.

[Sidenote: SUBSEQUENT HISTORY OF LA VALETTE.]

The reader, who has followed La Valette through the siege of Malta, may

perhaps feel some curiosity to learn the fate of this remarkable

man.--The discomfiture of the Turks caused a great sensation throughout

Europe. In Rome the tidings were announced by the discharge of cannon,

illuminations, and bonfires. The places of public business were closed.

The shops were shut. The only places opened were the churches; and

thither persons of every rank--the pope, the cardinals, and the

people--thronged in procession, and joined in public thanksgiving for

the auspicious event. The rejoicing was great all along the shores of

the Mediterranean, where the inhabitants had so severely suffered from

the ravages of the Turks. The name of La Valette was on every tongue, as

that of the true champion of the cross. Crowned heads vied with one

another in the honors and compliments which they paid him. The king of

Spain sent him a present of a sword and poniard, the handles of which

were of gold superbly mounted with diamonds. The envoy, who delivered

these in presence of the assembled knights, accompanied the gift with a

pompous eulogy on La Valette himself, whom he pronounced the greatest

captain of the age, beseeching him to continue to employ his sword in

defence of Christendom. Pius the Fifth sent him--what, considering the

grand-master's position, may be thought a singular compliment--a

cardinal's hat. La Valette, however, declined it, on the ground that his

duties as a cardinal would interfere with those which devolved on him as

head of the order. Some referred his refusal to modesty; others, with

probably quite as much reason, to his unwillingness to compromise his

present dignity by accepting a subordinate station.[1390]

But La Valette had no time to dally with idle compliments and honors.

His little domain lay in ruins around him; and his chief thought now was

how to restore its fortunes. The first year after the siege, the knights

had good reason to fear a new invasion of the Moslems; and Philip

quartered a garrison of near fifteen thousand troops in the island for

its protection.[1391] But Solyman fortunately turned his arms against a

nearer enemy, and died in the course of the same year, while carrying on

the war against Hungary.[1392] Selim, his successor, found another

direction for his ambition. Thus relieved of his enemies, the

grand-master was enabled to devote all his energies to the great work of

rebuilding his fallen capital, and placing the island in a more perfect

state of defence than it had ever been. He determined on transferring

the residence of the order to the high land of Mount Sceberras, which

divides the two harbors, and which would give him the command of both.

His quick eye readily discerned those advantages of the position, which

time has since fully proved. Here he resolved to build his capital, to

surround it with fortifications, and, at the same time, to enlarge and

strengthen those of St. Elmo.

But his treasury was low. He prepared a plan of his improvements, which

he sent to the different European princes, requesting their coöperation,

and urging the importance to them all of maintaining Malta as the best

bulwark against the infidel. His plan met with general approbation. Most

of the sovereigns responded to his appeal by liberal contributions,--and

among them the French king; notwithstanding his friendly relations with

the sultan. To these funds the members of the order freely added

whatever each could raise by his own credit. This amount was still

further swelled by the proceeds of prizes brought into port by the

Maltese cruisers,--an inexhaustible source of revenue.

Funds being thus provided, the work went forward apace. On the

twenty-eighth of March, 1566, the grand-master, clad in his robes of

ceremony, and in the presence of a vast concourse of knights and

inhabitants, laid the first stone of the new capital. It was carved with

his own arms; and a Latin inscription recorded the name of "Valetta,"

which the city was to bear in honor of its founder.[1393] More than

eight thousand men were employed on the work; and a bull of Pius the

Fifth enjoined that their labors should not be suspended on

fête-days.[1394] It seemed to be regarded as a Christian duty to provide

for the restoration of Malta.[1395] La Valette superintended the

operations in person. He was ever to be seen on the spot, among the

workmen. There he took his meals, discussed affairs of state with his

council, and even gave audience to envoys from abroad.[1396]

In the midst of these quiet occupations, there were some occurrences

which distracted the attention, and greatly disturbed the tranquillity,

of La Valette. One of these was the disorderly conduct of some of the

younger knights. Another was a dispute in which he was involved with the

pope, who, in the usual encroaching spirit of the Vatican, had

appropriated to himself the nomination to certain benefices belonging to

the order.

[Sidenote: SUBSEQUENT HISTORY OF LA VALETTE.]

These unpleasant affairs weighed heavily on the grand-master's mind; and

he often sought to relieve his spirits by the diversion of hawking, of

which he was extremely fond. While engaged in this sport, on a hot day

in July, he received a stroke of the sun. He was immediately taken to Il

Borgo. A fever set in; and it soon became apparent that his frame,

enfeebled by his unparalleled fatigues and hardships, was rapidly

sinking under it. Before dying, he called around his bed some of the

brethren to whom the management of affairs was chiefly committed, and

gave them his counsel in respect to the best method of carrying out his

plans. He especially enjoined on them to maintain a spirit of unity

among themselves, if they would restore the order to its ancient

prosperity and grandeur. By his testament, he liberated his slaves, some

fifty in number; and he obtained the consent of his brethren to bequeath

a sum sufficient to endow a chapel he had built in Valetta, to

commemorate his victory over the infidels. It was dedicated to the

Blessed Virgin; and in this chapel he desired that his body might be

laid. Having completed these arrangements, he expired on the

twenty-first of August, 1568.

La Valette's dying commands were punctually executed by his brethren.

The coffin inclosing his remains was placed on board of the admiral's

galley, which, with four others that escorted it, was shrouded in black.

They bore the household of the deceased, and the members of the order.

The banners taken by him in battle with the Moslems were suspended from

the sterns of the vessels, and trailed through the water. The

procession, on landing, took its way through the streets of the embryo

capital, where the sounds of labor were now hushed, to the chapel of Our

Lady of Victory. The funeral obsequies were there performed with all

solemnity; and the remains of the hero were consigned to the tomb,

amidst the tears of the multitude, who had gathered from all parts of

the island, to pay this sad tribute of respect to his memory.[1397]

The traveller who visits Malta at the present day finds no object more

interesting than the stately cathedral of Valetta, still rich in

historical memorials and in monuments of art, of which even French

rapacity could not despoil it. As he descends into its crypts, and

wanders through its subterranean recesses, he sees the niche where still

repose the remains of La Valette, surrounded by the brave chivalry who

fought, side by side with him, the battles of the Faith. And surely no

more fitting place could be found for his repose, than the heart of the

noble capital which may be said to have been created by his

genius.[1398]

The Knights of St. John continued, in the main, faithful to the maxims

of La Valette and to the principles of their institution. For more than

two centuries after his death, their sword was ever raised against the

infidel. Their galleys still returned to port freighted with the spoils

of the barbarian. They steadily continued to advance in power and

opulence; and while empires rose and crumbled around them, this little

brotherhood of warlike monks, after a lapse of more than seven centuries

from its foundation, still maintained a separate and independent

existence.

In the long perspective of their annals, there was no event which they

continued to hold in so much honor as the defence of Malta by La

Valette. The eighth of September--the day of the nativity of the

Virgin--continued to the last to be celebrated as their proudest

anniversary. On that day the whole body of the knights, and the people

of the capital, walked in solemn procession, with the grand-master at

their head, to the church of St. John. A knight, wearing the helmet and

mailed armor of the ancient time, bore on high the victorious standard

of the order. A page by his side carried the superb sword and poniard

presented by Philip the Second. As the procession passed into the

church, and the standard was laid at the foot of the altar, it was

announced by flourishes of trumpets and by peals of artillery from the

fortresses. The services were performed by the prior of St. John's; and,

while the Gospel was read, the grand-master held the naked sword aloft,

in token that the knights were ever ready to do battle for the

Cross.[1399] When the ceremony was concluded, a fine portrait of La

Valette was exhibited to the people; and the brethren gazed, with

feelings of reverence, on his majestic lineaments, as on those of the

saviour of their order.[1400]

But all this is changed. The Christians, instead of being banded against

the Turk, now rally in his defence. There are no longer crusades against

the infidel. The age of chivalry has passed. The objects for which the

Knights Hospitallers were instituted have long since ceased to exist;

and it was fitting that the institution, no longer needed, should die

with them. The knights who survived the ruin of their order became

wanderers in foreign lands. Their island has passed into the hands of

the stranger; and the flag of England now waves from the ramparts on

which once floated the banner of St. John.

CHAPTER VI.

DON CARLOS.

His Education and Character.--Dangerous Illness.--Extravagant

Behavior.--Opinions respecting him.--His Connection with the

Flemings.--Project of Flight.--Insane Conduct.--Arrest.

1567, 1568.

We must now, after a long absence, return to the shores of Spain, where

events were taking place of the highest importance to the future

fortunes of the monarchy. At the time when the tragic incidents

described in the preceding Book were passing in the Netherlands, others,

not less tragic, if we may trust to popular rumor, were occurring in the

very palace of the monarch. I allude to the death of Don Carlos, prince

of Asturias, and that of Isabella of Valois, Philip's young and

beautiful queen. The relations in which the two parties stood to each

other, their untimely fate, and the mystery in which it was enveloped,

have conspired with the sombre, unscrupulous character of Philip to

suggest the most horrible suspicions of the cause of their death. The

mystery which hung over them in their own time has not been dissipated

by the researches of later chroniclers. For that very reason, it has

proved an inexhaustible theme for fiction, until it might be thought to

have passed from the domain of history into that of romance. It has been

found especially suited to the purposes of the drama; and the dramatic

literature of Europe contains more than one masterpiece from the hand of

genius, which displays in sombre coloring the loves and the misfortunes

of Carlos and Isabella.[1401]

[Sidenote: HIS EDUCATION AND CHARACTER.]

The time for discussing so dark and intricate a subject had not arrived

while the Spanish archives were jealously locked up even from native

scholars. But now that happily a more liberal system has prevailed, and

access has been given to the dread repositories of the secrets of the

Spanish sovereigns, the time seems to have come for investigating this

mysterious story. And if I cannot boast that I have been able to dispel

the doubts that have so long gathered around the subject, I may at least

flatter myself that, with the materials at my command, I have the means

of placing the reader in a better point of view than has yet been

enjoyed, for surveying the whole ground, and forming his own

conclusions.

Don Carlos was born on the eighth of July, 1545. His mother, Mary of

Portugal, then only eighteen years of age, died a few days after giving

birth to her ill-fated child. Thus deprived from the cradle of a

mother's watchful care, he experienced almost as little of his father's;

for, until Carlos was fourteen years old, Philip was absent most of the

time, either in the Low Countries or in England. The care of the child

was intrusted, during the greater part of this period, to Philip's

sister, the Regent Joanna,--an excellent woman, but who, induced

probably by the feeble constitution of Carlos, is said to have shown too

much indulgence to the boy, being more solicitous to secure his bodily

health than to form his character. In our easy faith in the miracles

claimed for education, it sometimes happens that we charge on the

parent, or the preceptor, the defects that may be more reasonably

referred to the vicious constitution of the child.

As Carlos grew older, Philip committed the care of his instruction to

Honorato Juan, a member of the emperor's household. He was a

well-trained scholar, and a man of piety as well as learning; and soon

after assuming the task of the prince's preceptor, he embraced the

religious profession. The correspondence of Honorato Juan with Philip,

then in Flanders, affords a view of the proficiency of Carlos when

eleven or twelve years old. The contentment which the king evinces in

the earlier letters diminishes as we advance; and anxious doubts are

expressed, as he gathers the unwelcome information from his tutor of his

pupil's indifference to his studies.[1402]

In the year 1556, Charles the Fifth stopped some time at Valladolid, on

his way to his cloistered retreat at Yuste. He there saw his grandson,

and took careful note of the boy, the heir to the vast dominions which

he had himself so recently relinquished. He told over his campaigns to

Carlos, and how he had fled at Innsbruck, where he barely escaped

falling into the hands of the enemy. Carlos, who listened eagerly,

interrupted his grandfather, exclaiming, "I never would have fled!"

Charles endeavored to explain the necessity of the case; but the boy

sturdily maintained, that he never would have fled,--amusing and indeed

delighting the emperor, who saw in this the mettle of his own earlier

days.[1403] Yet Charles was not blind to the defects of his

grandson,--to the wayward, overbearing temper, which inferred too much

indulgence on the part of his daughter the regent. He reprehended Carlos

for his want of deference to his aunt; and he plainly told the latter,

that, if she would administer more wholesome correction to the boy, the

nation would have reason to thank her for it.[1404]

After the emperor had withdrawn to his retreat, his mind, which kept its

hold, as we have seen, on all matters of public interest beyond the

walls of the monastery, still reverted to his grandson, the heir of his

name and of his sceptre. At Simancas the correspondence is still

preserved which he carried on with Don Garcia de Toledo, a brother of

the duke of Alva, who held the post of _ayo_, or governor of the prince.

In one of that functionary's letters, written in 1557, when Carlos was

twelve years old, we have a brief chronicle of the distribution of the

prince's time, somewhat curious, as showing the outlines of a royal

education in that day.

Before seven in the morning Carlos rose, and by half-past eight had

breakfasted, and attended mass. He then went to his studies, where he

continued till the hour of dinner. What his studies were we are not

told. One writer of the time says, among other things, he read Cicero's

Offices, in order the better to learn to control his passions.[1405] At

eleven he dined. He then amused himself with his companions, by playing

at quoits, or at _trucos_, a kind of billiards, or in fencing, and

occasionally riding. At half-past three came a light repast, the

_merienda_; after which he listened to reading, or, if the weather was

fine, strolled in the fields. In the evening he supped; and at half-past

nine, having gone through the prayers of his rosary, he went to bed,

where, as his _ayo_ says, he usually made but one nap of it till the

morning.--It was certainly a primitive way of life, in which more regard

seems to have been had to the cravings of the body than of the mind, and

as regular in its routine as the monastic life of his grandfather at

Yuste. Yet Don Garcia does not fail to intimate his discontent with the

want of interest shown by his pupil, not merely in his studies, but in

fencing, cane-playing, and other manly exercises, so essential to the

education of a cavalier of that day.[1406] He notices, at the same time,

the first symptoms of those bilious attacks which already menaced the

prince's constitution, and so effectually undermined it in later

years.[1407]

In another epistle, Don Garcia suggests that it might be well for the

emperor to allow Carlos to visit him at Yuste, trusting that his

grandfather's authority would accomplish what his own had failed to

do.[1408] But this suggestion found no favor, apparently, with the royal

recluse, who probably was not disposed to do penance himself by

receiving so troublesome an inmate in his family. The emperor's own

death, which occurred shortly after this, spared him the misery of

witnessing the disastrous career of his grandson.

[Sidenote: HIS EDUCATION AND CHARACTER.]

The reports of the Venetian ministers--those precious documents that

contain so much instruction in respect to matters both of public and

domestic interest--make occasional allusions to the prince, at this

period. Their notices are by no means flattering. They describe Carlos

as of a reckless, impatient temper, fierce, and even cruel, in his

disposition,[1409] and so arrogant as to be unwilling to stand with his

head uncovered, for any long time, in the presence of the emperor or

his father.[1410] Yet this harsh picture is somewhat redeemed by other

traits; for he was generous, though to a degree of prodigality,--giving

away his trinkets and jewels, even his clothes, in default of money. He

had a fearless heart, with a strong passion for a military life. He was

far from frivolous in his tastes, despising buffoons, and saying himself

so many good things that his tutor carefully made a collection of

them.[1411] This portrait of a youth scarcely fourteen years old seems

as highly overcharged, whether for good or for evil, as portraits of

princes usually are.

Yet the state of the prince's health may be fairly mentioned in

extenuation of his defects,--at least of his infirmity of temper. For

his bilious temperament already began to show itself in the form of

intermittent fever, with which he continued to be afflicted for the

remainder of his life. Under this depressing disorder, his spirits sank,

his body wasted away, and his strength failed to such a degree, that it

was feared he might not reach the age of manhood.[1412]

In the beginning of 1560, Isabella of France came to Castile, and on the

second of February was united to Philip. By the preliminaries of the

treaty of Cateau-Cambresis, her hand had been assigned to Don Carlos;

but Mary Tudor having died before the ratification of the treaty, the

name of the father was substituted for that of the son, and the royal

maiden was affianced to Philip.

The marriage ceremony was performed with great splendor, at Toledo.

Carlos was present; and, as he gazed on the beautiful bride, it is not

improbable that some feelings of resentment may have mingled with

regret, when he thought of the unceremonious manner in which her hand

had been transferred from him to his father. But we should be slow to

believe that Isabella could have felt anything like the tender sentiment

that romantic historians have attributed to her, for a boy of fourteen,

who had so few personal attractions to recommend him.

On the twenty-second of the same month, Carlos was formally recognized

by the cortes of Castile as heir to the crown. On this occasion, the

different members of the royal family were present, together with the

great nobles and the representatives of the commons. The prince rode in

the procession on a white horse, superbly caparisoned while his dress,

resplendent with jewels, formed a sad contrast to the sallow and sickly

countenance of its wearer.[1413] He performed his part of the ceremony

with dignity and feeling. When Joanna, his aunt, and his uncle, Don John

of Austria, after taking the oath, would have knelt, according to

custom, to kiss his hand, he would not allow it, but affectionately

raised and embraced them. But when the duke of Alva inadvertently

omitted the latter act of obeisance, the prince received him so coldly,

that the haughty nobleman, rebuked by his manner, perceived his error,

and humbly acknowledged it.[1414]

In the autumn of the following year, with the hope of mending his health

by change of air, Carlos removed to Alcalá de Henares, famous for its

university founded by the great Ximenes. He had for his companions two

youths, both destined to a conspicuous part in the history of the times.

One was Philip's illegitimate brother, Don John of Austria, the hero of

Lepanto; the other was the prince's cousin, Alexander Farnese, son of

Margaret of Parma, who was now in the course of training which was one

day to make him the greatest captain of his time. The three boys were

nearly of the same age; but in their accomplishments and personal

appearance the uncle and the cousin afforded as strong a contrast to

their royal kinsman, as in the brilliant fortunes that awaited

them.[1415]

Carlos had not been at Alcalá many months, before he met with an

accident, which was attended with most disastrous consequences. One

evening in April, 1562, as he was descending a flight of stairs, he made

a misstep, and fell headlong down five or six stairs against a door at

the bottom of the passage. He was taken up senseless, and removed to his

chamber, where his physicians were instantly summoned, and the necessary

remedies applied.[1416] At first it seemed only a simple contusion on

the head, and the applications of the doctors had the desired effect.

But soon the symptoms became more alarming. Fever set in. He was

attacked by erysipelas; his head swelled to an enormous size; he became

totally blind; and this was followed by delirium. It now appeared that

the skull was fractured. The royal physicians were called in; and after

a stormy consultation, in which the doctors differed, as usual, as to

the remedies to be applied, it was determined to trepan the patient. The

operation was carefully performed; a part of the bone of the skull was

removed; but relief was not obtained.[1417]

[Sidenote: DANGEROUS ILLNESS AND RECOVERY.]

Meanwhile the greatest alarm spread through the country, at the prospect

of losing the heir apparent. Processions were everywhere made to the

churches, prayers were put up, pilgrimages were vowed, and the

discipline was unsparingly administered by the fanatical multitude, who

hoped by selfinflicted penance to avert the wrath of Heaven from the

land. Yet all did not avail.

We have a report of the case from the pen of Dr. Olivares, the prince's

own physician. Some of the remedies were of a kind that would look

strangely enough if reported by a medical journal of our own day. After

all efforts of professional skill had failed, and the unguent of a

Moorish doctor, famous among the people, had been rubbed on the body

without success, it was resolved to make a direct appeal to Heaven. In

the monastery of Jesus Maria lay the bones of a holy Franciscan, Fray

Diego, who had died a hundred years before, in the reign of Henry the

Fourth, in the odor of sanctity. King Philip and his court went in

solemn procession to the church; and in their presence, the mouldering

remains of the good father, still sweet to the nostrils, as we are told,

were taken from their iron coffin, and transported to the prince's

apartment. They were there laid on his bed; and the cloth that wrapped

the skull of the dead man was placed on the forehead of Carlos.[1418]

Fortunately the delirious state of the patient prevented the shock that

might otherwise have been given to his senses. That very night the friar

appeared to Carlos in his sleep. He was muffled in his Franciscan robe,

with a green girdle about his waist, and a cross of reeds in his hand;

and he mildly bade him "be of good cheer, for that he would certainly

recover." From this time, as the physician who reports the case admits,

the patient began speedily to mend. The fever subsided, his head

returned to its natural dimensions, his eyes were restored to sight. At

the end of something less than two months from the date of the accident,

Carlos, who had shown a marvellous docility throughout his

illness,[1419] was enabled to walk into the adjoining apartment, and

embrace his father, who, during the critical period of his son's

illness, had established his residence at Alcalá, showing the solicitude

natural to a parent in such an extremity.

The merit of the cure was of course referred to Fray Diego.[1420] An

account of the miracle, duly authenticated, was transmitted to Rome; and

the holy man, on the application of Philip, received the honors of

canonization from the pontiff. The claims of the new saint to the credit

of achieving the cure were confidently asserted by the Castilian

chroniclers of that and succeeding ages; nor have I met with any one

hardy enough to contest them, unless it be Dr. Olivares himself, who,

naturally jealous of his professional honor, intimated his

conviction,--this was before the canonization,--that with some

allowance for the good wrought by Fray Diego's intercession and the

prayers of the righteous, the recovery of the prince was mainly to be

referred to the skill of his physicians.[1421]

But the recovery of Carlos does not seem to have been so complete as was

at first thought. There is good reason to suppose that the blow on his

head did some permanent injury to the brain. At least this may be

inferred from the absurd eccentricities of his subsequent conduct, and

the reckless manner in which he abandoned himself to the gratification

of his passions. In 1565, on his recovery from one of those attacks of

quartan-fever which still beset him, Philip remarked, with a sigh, to

the French minister, St. Sulpice, "that he hoped his repeated warnings

might restrain the prince, for the future, from making such fatal

inroads on his health."[1422] But the unfortunate young man profited as

little by such warnings as by his own experience. Persons about the

court at this period have left us many stories of his mad humors, which

formed the current scandal at Madrid. Brantôme, who was there in 1564,

says that Carlos would patrol the streets with a number of young nobles,

of the same lawless habits with himself, assaulting the passengers with

drawn swords, kissing the women, and insulting even ladies of the

highest rank with the most opprobrious epithets.[1423]

It was the fashion for the young gallants of the court to wear very

large boots. Carlos had his made even larger than usual, to accommodate

a pair of small pistols. Philip, in order to prevent the mischievous

practice, ordered his son's boots to be made of smaller dimensions. But

when the bootmaker brought them to the palace, Carlos, in a rage, gave

him a beating; and then, ordering the leather to be cut in pieces and

stewed, he forced the unlucky mechanic to swallow this unsavory

fricassee--as much as he could get down of it--on the spot.[1424]

On one occasion, he made a violent assault on his governor, Don Garcia

de Toledo, for some slight cause of offence. On another, he would have

thrown his chamberlain, Don Alonzo de Cordova, out of the window. These

noblemen complained to Philip, and besought him to release them from a

service where they were exposed to affronts which they could not resent.

The king consented, transferring them to his own service, and appointed

Ruy Gomez de Silva, prince of Eboli, his favorite minister, the governor

of Carlos.[1425]

[Sidenote: HIS DISPOSITION.]