Page:A History of the Knights of Malta, or the Order of St. John of Jerusalem.djvu/424

392 the advantages of the position of Mount Sceberras, dominating, as it did, both harbours, and owing to its formation secure from attack, except on the land side. Here he naturally thought of establishing his convent, and fortifying the promontory, but unfortunately the funds necessary for such an undertaking were not forthcoming. The Order had for the preceding eight years led a wandering life, accompanied by a large body of Rhodians, to the number of nearly 4,000. Most of these had subsisted mainly on the charity of the fraternity, which was distributed to them under the name of the bread of Rhodes. This expenditure had gone far towards exhausting the public treasury, so that L’Isle Adam now found himself absolutely unable to carry out any work of magnitude, even though it might clearly prove to be of the most vital necessity. lie therefore decided upon establishing himself, as a temporary measure, in the fort of St. Angelo, and fixing the convent in the adjacent Bourg. Such additions to the defences of the fort as his means permitted were at once constructed, and a line of intrenchment was drawn across the head of the promontory where it joined the mainland, so as to enclose the Bourg, and cover it as far as possible from the surrounding heights.

The Grand-Master was at this moment the less disposed to undertake any costly work in Malta because he still clung to the hope of establishing his convent in some more advantageous position. When the commander, Bosio, had visited Rhodes with the object of ascertaining the feelings of its inhabitants, he had at the same time opened negotiations in the town of Modon. This was a port in the Morea which had been captured by the Turks some few years before the last siege of Rhodes. The position of the town rendered it well adapted for maritime enterprise, and L’Isle Adam was the more anxious to obtain possession of it since its proximity to Rhodes would enable him to take the first favourable opportunity for recovering his old home. Two renegades, one the commandant of the port and the other the head of the custom house, had notified to Bosio their willingness to assist the knights in seizing the place, provided a sufficient force were despatched to make success a certainty.