Page:A History of the Knights of Malta, or the Order of St. John of Jerusalem.djvu/493

Rh to the one side and then to the other. At last the force of numbers began to prevail, as more and more of the assailants forced their way through the breach, and in spite of their indomitable determination the defenders were driven back step by step.

La Valette and Mustapha were both watching the course of events, the one from St. Angelo, the other from the summit of the Coradin hill, and they decided, at the same moment, upon sending reinforcements to the scene of action. Mustapha, who had seen with exultation the progress made by Candlissa, determined to complete the success and overcome all further opposition. He therefore embarked a body of 1,000 janissaries in ten large boats, and despatched them to the assistance of the assaulting column. To avoid the obstacle of the stockade, this flotilla steered well round to the northward, and thus exposed itself to the fire of St. Angelo, from which the first attack had been screened by the point of Senglea. It has been already mentioned in Chapter XVI. that La Valette, amongst other works of defence, had constructed a small battery for three guns, à fleur d’eau, upon the rooks at the foot of St. Angelo, for the express purpose of protecting the spur of St. Michael. The knight who had command of this post, when he saw the advance of the hostile force, caused his guns to be loaded to the muzzle with grape, musket-shot, and other missiles, and then waited quietly until the boats had approached within easy range. At a given signal the battery, which had, from its position, escaped the notice of the Turks, belched forth its fire at a distance of little more than 200 yards, lashing the surface of the water into a foam with its iron hail. The result was awful. The boats were all crowded together, and the discharge had taken effect in their midst. Nine out of the ten sank instantly, and such of their occupants as were not killed were seen struggling in the water. The wondrous effect of this deadly discharge has been described with great unction by contemporary annalists, and the loss sustained by the Turks variously computed at from 400 to 800 men. For days after, the bodies of the killed floated on the water, and were seized by the expert Maltese swimmers, who reaped a rich harvest from the plunder found on them

Meanwhile La Valette had on his side despatched a powerful