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HISTORY OF MALTA.

What, at such a moment, must have been the reflexions ofthose men, who, being themselves the cause of this shameful sur-render, were reduced to drag on life in humiliating self-reproachesand fruitless despair ! Equally disregarded by their enemies andtheir former protectors, they were left, without pity, to languish inchains, and to groan in a captivity brought on by their own treasonand infamous cow r ardice.

Desveches, a servant-of-arms, commanded a small fort nearthe entrance of the port: and though the garrison consisted of onlythirty men, he would not listen to any terms of composition withthe Turks, but forced them to raise a battery against his inconside-rable fort, which, in course, was instantly reduced. Desveches, withhis troops, had the good fortune to escape in a boat during thenight, and to gain the open sea.

The French ambassador succeeded in obtaining leave to ran-som the knights, which he did without distinction of country. Thispermission, however, was obtained with difficulty, by the means ofpresents, and paying a large sum out of his own private fortune.

D’Aramont embarked for Malta, accompanied by the knightshe had thus ransomed. But he had scarcely begun to taste theheartfelt satisfaction of restoring his valiant companions to theirorder, when, in the midst of the blessings bestowed upon him bythose whose chains he had broken, he was informed that the grand-master accused him of having given up Tripoli into the hands ofthe infidels. Omedes was, in truth, dismayed upon receiving in-telligence that the town was taken; though he was more uneasy