HISTORY OF MALTA.

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such an open violation of his rights made by his holiness; w ho, to-gether with his ministers, pretended to think that La Valette hadnot been sufficiently moderate in his expressions. The court ofRome, therefore, to mortify and punish him, added outrage to in-justice, and forbade the ambassador of the order to appear there infuture.

Such a succession of vexatious circumstances greatly afflictedLa Valette, and threw him into a profound melancholy. Wishingto divert his mind, he amused himself by hunting: but this amuse-ment proved a fatal one; for he was struck one day by what inthose climates is called a coup de soldi, and, after an illness ofthree weeks, he breathed his last; and thus ended in the mostpeaceful manner a life which had been spent in all the tumults ofwar *.

Peter de Monte, who succeeded him as grand-master, wasespecially attentive to performing the last duties towards his prede-cessor, whose remains were first deposited in the church of NotreDame de Phileme. They afterwards, by command of the wholeorder, were placed on board the admiral’s galley, which was dis-armed and dismasted, and thus towed by two armed galleys hungwith black cloth. The banners, standards, and arms, taken fromthe Turks and other infidels whom he had conquered, were like-wise towed by the same galleys, and suffered to drag through thew r ater. These were followed by two other galleys, which had parti-

August 22, 1568.S 2