Page:A History of the Knights of Malta, or the Order of St. John of Jerusalem.djvu/342

312 take a general survey of the town, considered as a fortress. First in importance was the fort of St. Nicholas, built, as has already been mentioned, by Raymond Zacosta. This work was so placed as to command both the inner and outer ports. The exterior trace is polygonal; a drawbridge leads under a low archway into the interior, where two ramps give access to the platform. Beneath this are the magazines, stores, tanks, &c., all arched. In the middle of the platform rises a round tower, two stories in height, on the summit of which is another platform, which, like the lower one, was armed with artillery. The tower and fort were seriously injured by Paleologus pasha, in the siege of 1480, and still more by the earthquakes in 1481. They were subsequently restored, and were in perfect repair before the siege of 1ö22 took place. There are still guns mounted in this work, some bearing the date of 1482, and others of 1507, as also the arms of the various langues. The fort was connected with the northeastern corner of the Castello by a mole and covered way leading to the gate of St. Paul. Next in importance was the tower of St. Michael, built by the Grand-Master de Naillac, which has already been described. This tower is now in ruins, only the foundations and a portion of the arcade by which it was joined to the gate of St. Paul are left. The tower of St. John, on the opposite side of the inner port, was not a strong work, being merely a battery, not capable of much defence, but well swept by the guns of the other works. These two last-named towers were connected with the enceinte by long moles, which were themselves armed with guns, and made into covered ways. The ports were thus well protected, and the defences sufficient to render an attack by water impracticable.

Starting from the gateway of St. Paul, the enceinte took a semi-circular sweep. From that point to the Grand-Master’s palace was the post of Auvergue, in a tower of which is still to be found a small magazine of powder. After passing the ramparts of the palace itself, the line sweeps southward, forming the post of Germany, in which stands the gateway of Amboise already described. This post reached as far as the gate of St. George, where that of France began. The gate of St.