78 THE HISTORY OE THE ORDER OF [book iv.

were carried away prisoners, not by the Turks, but byLevantine corsairs, from lucre of gain—to sell theminto slavery, or perhaps for their ransom. The Turksobeyed Mustapha’s orders to give no quarter, butimmolate every human creature in St. Elmo; andthat he would pay four crowns apiece for every headbrought him, which, however, is said to have beencommanded by Constantinople. Whether the crimewas Solyman’s or Mustapha’s, admits of hesitation.There it lies between them; it were not unlikeeither. Five Maltese, who saved themselves byswimming, were the only persons who really gotfree.

Mustapha entering St. Elmo with the imperialstandard, very much wondered so small a placeshowed so many dead bodies; and judging from theson what the parent must be, perceived he had em-barked in a far more difficult adventure than heconjectured.

A fact recounted to this day at Malta is, that ofthe knights found dead, as well as those of them sowounded that they could not move in bed, andwere pulled out and killed with fiercest torments,from each of them (martyred saints!) he had headand hands lopped off, and their arms extended andnailed to two timbers formed like a cross, plantedin a hole made with the scimitar through the breast