41 )

HISTORY OF MALTA.

had ever honoured the knights of St.John; and finished by enume-rating the services he had rendered the order on so important anoccasion. The grand-master answered in few words, and with anair of distant coldness. D’Aramont, perceiving, that, in the presentdisposition of men’s minds, it would be useless to endeavour to makethe grand-master sensible of his injustice, or indeed to complain ofit, departed a few days afterwards for Constantinople, but not with-out acquainting his sovereign, Henry II., with all that had passed.

The absence of the ambassador gave the grand-master anopportunity to contrive the marshal’s ruin. It was decided incouncil, that he, together with the knights, should be forced to givean account of the motives which induced them to capitulate. Threeknights, of three different languages, were appointed to take cogni-sance of the affair, and the grand-master took care to name threeof his own creatures for this commission; but as these commissio-ners, being in a religious order, were incapable of judging in acriminal cause which struck at the lives of the accused, it wasdetermined that a secular should be named as head of the com-mission, who, after having examined the report of the three knights,should pronounce judgement on the criminals. The grand-mastercontrived that Augustin de Combe, a secular officer in the island,who owed all he possessed to Omedes, should be appointed to thisoffice. r I his man was easily corrupted, being always ready to sacrificehis conscience to his love of money. He also made choice, for theattorney in the commission, of another secular, who was a Spaniardby birth, and whose only merit was a blind submission to his will.