Page:A History of the Knights of Malta, or the Order of St. John of Jerusalem.djvu/140

114 was only a subterfuge on the part of the Pope to conceal the real designs he had in view, and of which more will be told further on. The Grand-Master of the Templars obeyed the summons free of suspicion and without loss of time; but Villaret excused himself from the journey on the plea of the urgent business in which he was then engaged. He was, indeed, at that moment on the eve of starting from Cyprus, burning with anxiety to obtain the moat accurate information on all points which could guide him in the prosecution of his enterprise.

He coasted cautiously round the island, marking well its various points of defence, as also those which seemed to him the most vulnerable, the positions of the harbours, the sites of the towns, and as far as he could ascertain, the number of their respective inhabitants. By the time he had concluded his survey, it was made very clear to him that the undertaking was one of no ordinary magnitude, and that Rhodes possessed the most formidable means of defence if its inhabitants knew how to avail themselves skilfully of their advantages. Undeterred by the discovery of these difficulties, he returned to Cyprus, fully resolved on at once organizing an expedition for the seizure of the island. Unfortunately, however, in the midst of his preparations a sudden and violent illness carried him off, and postponed for a while the execution of the project which he had had so much at heart.

This event occurred in the year 1308, and was the source of the most lively regret on the part of the Order, by whom he was much beloved. They at once elected his brother Fulk in his place, conceiving, with great justice, that as the latter had always been in his confidence, he would prove the best-fitted person to carry out the grand design of William. The first act of Fulk, on assuming the reins of office, was to proceed to France, in order to procure an audience with Clement V. and Philip the Fair, from both of whom he hoped to obtain assistance in his project. He found the two potentates in close and secret conclave at Poictiers, in company with James do Molay, the unfortunate Grand-Master of the Temple, who had arrived there during the preceding year, in profound ignorance of the cruel plot then forming against himself and his fraternity.