144 THE HISTORY OF THE ORDER OF [book iv.

the Turks, the same Pope concedes a dispensationfor a hundred little boys, of six years old, to bemade knights professed, on their paying so much ahead, to be laid out in the defensive armament; agreat lure to an avaricious grand master, and aneasy way for the Papal quota—the Pope offers noother; yet money was the least evil, where a populargovernment was to be converted into despotic.Happily the temporal power of the Holy Seechanges, usually, with every Pontiff. 1

Three months later, the King of Spain sends tohis viceroy, in Sicily, to aid Malta in the threatenedTurkish invasion, his command being signed Yo el

Rev. De Madrid, ade Hebraro, de 1649. 21640 T , ’ . ..

In the following August, the Trench king

alleviated the taxes, regarding those of the orderin consideration of its services to Christendom, bothby land and sea. 3

A King of Poland, in 1642, to the grand master,announces a new priory for Poland alone, about tobe founded in favour of the Radzivil family; sincenot only the Polish knights, but the entire nationof Poland, consider it an injury and insult to be

1 Cod. Dipl. Geros., ii., Hum. cccxxii.

Id., Id., Id. cccxxiv.

Id., Id., Id. cccxxyi.

3