Page:A History of the Knights of Malta, or the Order of St. John of Jerusalem.djvu/487

Rh Now that Mount Sceberras was in possession of the Turks, Mustapha moved the greater portion of his army round to the other side of the grand harbour, and enclosed the two peninsulas. A glance at the map will shew that two bold promontories of very high land jut out one on either side of the Bourg and Senglea, that on the south, which is the larger and most dominant, being the Coradin Hill, the one on the north being called Bighi. The trenches of the Turks were traced so as to stretch from one of these hills to the other, and when they were completed the garrison was completely cut off from succour. Before this was accomplished, however, four galleys, under the command of Don Juan de Cardona, had reached Malta, and landed their forces on the north of the island. This reinforcement consisted of forty-two knights, twenty gentlemen volunteers from Spain, eleven from Italy, three from Germany, two from England (whose names have been recorded as Edward Stanley and John Smith), fifty-six gunners, and a body of 600 imperial troops under the command of Don Melchior do Robles.

Taking advantage of a thick mist which most fortunately overspread the island (an event very unusual at that time of the year), de Robles succeeded in passing the Turkish lines in safety with his little force, and joined his brethren in the Bourg on the 29th of June. This reinforcement, slender as it was, greatly raised the spirits of all, the more so that the new corners brought the intelligence that a far more efficient force was being assembled in Sicily, which would shortly make its appearance in Malta. In proportion as the spirits of the garrison were raised, those of the Turkish army were depressed. They soon learnt that fresh troops had entered the Bourg, and their fears greatly exaggerated the number. Rumours also reached them of the large preparations going forward in Sicily, so that they felt they might at any moment be called upon to meet a new foe.

Mustapha entertained much dread at the thought of an interruption to his enterprise, and, the disastrous consequences likely to ensue therefrom, lie had no great confidence in the staunchness of his troops, so many of the best of them having been already sacrificed during the various assaults on St. Elmo. He therefore thought it advisable, if possible, to bring matters to