Page:A History of the Knights of Malta, or the Order of St. John of Jerusalem.djvu/32

 they had undergone, numbered barely 20,000 infantry with about 1,500 horse.

The first step taken by the Mahometan governor, on the appearance of the enemy before the town, was the arrest of all the leading Christians in the place. Peter Gerard, the rector of the Hospital of St. John, was of the number who were thus cast into prison. He is generally supposed to have been a native of Florence, but the fact is very doubtful; neither his family nor even his country has been with any certainty ascertained. He had undertaken a pilgrimage to the East in accordance with the prevailing custom of the times, and having been an eye-witness of the many charities administered by the hospital, he had abandoned all idea of returning to Europe, and devoted himself instead to the service of the institution. Here, by his energy and zeal as well as by the general piety of his life, he gained so much influence that eventually he was appointed rector. At the same time a noble Roman lady called Agnes was at the head of the female branch of the hospital. Pilgrims of both sexes were admitted freely; even the infidels were not excluded from its benefits, in consequence of which the rector became gradually looked up to with almost filial veneration by the poor of the city. It was the dread that this influence might be made of use in favour of the besiegers which induced the governor, as a matter of precaution, to imprison Gerard. The old historians record a curious miracle in connection with this arrest, tending to show the sanctity in which he was held. It is said that being sadly distressed at the miserable condition to which the Crusaders were reduced by famine, he had mounted the ramparts with loaves of bread hidden under his cloak, intending to throw them over the walls for the use of the besiegers. Being detected in the act, he was taken before the governor, when on examination it was found that the loaves had been miraculously turned into stones. His life was consequently spared, although he was thrown into prison as being under suspicion of holding treasonable intercourse with the besiegers. The governor caused all the wells within a circuit of five or six miles of the town to be filled up, and levelled every building in the suburbs, burning the wood of which they were