Page:A History of the Knights of Malta, or the Order of St. John of Jerusalem.djvu/508

474 The siege was now over; the shattered remnants of that powerful army which a few short months before had landed with all the pomp and circumstance of war, were wending their way homeward to Constantinople, there to meet the angry frowns of a sovereign who, till that moment, had scarcely known defeat. It now only remained that the victors should advance upon the town and greet their friends in the Bourg. A joyful meeting it was between those enfeebled war-worn soldiers and the gallant comrades who had so opportunely come to their rescue. Their wan and haggard faces, attenuated with vigils and hardships, were lighted up with the proud consciousness of the glorious victory they had gained. Alone and unaided, they had for months withstood the shock of one of the most powerful armaments that had ever left the port of Constantinople. Their ruined and blood-stained ramparts could tell a tale of heroism and endurance that would long linger in men’s minds. As friend met friend and was clasped in fraternal arms, each felt that another triumph had to be emblazoned upon the banner of the Order, before which all previous victories seemed poor and trivial. Well might La Valette be excused the natural exultation of the moment when he directed that the name of his town should be changed from its old appellation of the Bourg, to the proud and well-earned title of the Città Vittoriosa.

The troops which accompanied Mustapha to Malta had originally consisted of upwards of 30,000 men, mostly picked from the flower of the Ottoman army. The successive reinforcements brought by the corsairs Dragut and Hassan had increased that number to nearly 40,000. Of this vast force little more than 15,000 survived to return with their leader to Constantinople. On the other hand, the original garrison of the fortress had barely reached 9,000 men. The reinforcement received shortly after the fall of St. Elmo added only 700 to their strength. Of this small body only 600 remained unwounded. The process of exhaustion had been carried on by Mustapha almost to the point at which he had aimed. It had been his design to harass them by constant assaults in order to reduce their numbers so much that they would fall an easy prey to his arms. This policy had proved successful at St. Elmo, and