CHAP, ill.] ST. JOHN OF JEBUSALEM. 99

such importance. And the Turks found they hadlost eighteen thousand of their choicest and bravestmen. And now the Moslem scope was to shut upthe port entirely by a great many beams of timberjoined to each other; which pleased the grandmaster, since it disclosed they did not know hishopes of immediate succour, and meant to conquerthe island first.

The conflux of adventurers of all nations and oftwo hundred and fifty knights of the order, whohad met at Messina, engaged Toledo to move to thesuccour of Malta at last; after being told by oneof those knights that if he left his brethren with-out aid, and that they perished, it would be a greatshame for both him and his royal master, and amighty loss to the whole of Christendom. Was thisill-will in Toledo? Certainly not! Since manyof his family had been in the order, and recently hisbest beloved son had been killed during this very siege;and he missed no good opportunity of expressinghis gratitude to Valetta for procuring his beingnominated viceroy, as well as captain general of theimperial fleet. But he was extremely cautious andfearful of squandering the lives of the troops en-trusted to him. So in the three or four days nextfollowing the 20th of August, he embarked what iscalled the Third. Knights of Provence 29.

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