CHAP. VI.]

ST. JOHN OF JERUSALEM.

115

power, as in the ancient times, to the grievousinjury of all Islam; also he acted from a spirit ofreligion to free the Mussulmen prisoners of war,whom the order kept as galley slaves, <£ whosesufferings angels and houries pitied, and engagedAllah, at last to inspire our gracious sovereignwith the resolution to succour them by conqueringthe island.” All this, however, did not prevent thenative Rhodians from sending one of their mer-chants, an excellent person, who speaking Turkishwell, and believing he had friendship with tradersof that people, who invited him to dine with themon the coast of Asia Minor, was seized and bound,and carried off to Constantinople; where he wasmost cruelly tortured, Avithout any regard to thelaws of nations, and forced to confess all he knewabout Rhodes; which occurrence fortified the highopinion the Rhodians had already of their grandmaster’s perspicacity . 1 In vain he sent embassiesto Europe, neither Charles Y. nor Francis I . 2 gavea weight to exhortations, but were too busy withtheir oAvn quarrels to attend to Rhodes . 3

Three or four times a-day used the grand masterto visit the ramparts, from the very beginning_

1 Memoires de l’Acad. des Inscript., t. xxvi.

2 Fontanus: 348.

3 Bosio: par. ii., lib. xviii., anno 1522. 528.

VOL. III.

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