64 THE HISTORY OF THE ORDER OF [book ill.

about two thousand drawn up in tight ranks, whoclosed with ours. These with all their might en-deavouring to expel them, and those the contrary.Still the firm courage of ours could not be moved;but of their opponents three hundred or morewere by main force pushed over the inside of thewall, that down they tumbled into Jew Street,where they were every one slain. This infidel van,that had at first scaled and occupied the top of thewall, was quickly re-inforced by theii other van, avast multitude that covered the field, adjacentruin, valley, ditch, that no eye could easily distin-guish ground; for deserters say that the wholestorming party mustered four thousand ; 1 at which,perceiving a great conflict ready, we raised andplanted firm the banner representing our sacredLord Jesus Christ, and beside it that of our order,directly facing our enemy, and then ensued a des-perate battle of two hours. At length the Turks,pressed, broken, wearied, terrified, and covered withgashes, tremble, recede, turn, fly; with such an im-petus, that they hinder each other, and hasten theirown destruction. There fell in that conquest, threethousand five hundred of them, as exactly as can

1 Bosio has forty thousand; tremendous difference : par. ii.,lib. xii., anno 1480.