ciiap. iv.]

ST. JOHN OF JERUSALEM.

77

Bailiff of the Eagle, and thirty-third Grand Priorof England. 1

11. Sir Leonardus de Tybertis, whose granduncle had been thirty-second Prior of England. 2

12. Sir Walter Viselberg. 3

13. Sir John Rucht. 4

14. Sir John Besoel. 5

Not Mahomet II. himself, but his vizier, a rene-gade Greek, whose baseness was worthy of his san-guinary master, was the person who led and misledthe barbarians driven from Rhodes, and merited aworse disgrace than befell him, exile in a miserablevillage; but the fate of the infuriated despot of whoselofty genius , the Decline and Fall chooses to speak,may be surmised; and the surmise may be idle;but others aver that Mahomet II. was indeed acholeric, dangerous savage, who in reply to acourteous ambassador doing no more than hisduty in asking “ against whom such a mighty ar-mament was raised”—and verily it was against hisown country—broke out with : “ If a hair of mybeard knew my secret, I would instantly pluck it

1 Cod. Dipl. Geros., ii., Num. cxlv.—Scb. Paoli: Osserva-zioni, ii. 567.—Appendix, Sum. xxx.

2 Sob. Paoli : Osservazioni, ii. 533.

3 Bosio: par. ii., lib. xi., anno 1478.

4 Id. : id., id., anno 1478.

5 Boswell.—Bosio : par. ii.. lib. xi., anno 1478.