Page:A History of the Knights of Malta, or the Order of St. John of Jerusalem.djvu/514

480 offered to, and accepted by, the Grand-Master Peter D’Aubusson. La Valette, however, considered, and with reason, that his position was already far more elevated than that of a cardinal. The offer of the pontiff was therefore graciously declined on the plea that the office of the Grand-Master involved functions so diametrically opposed to those of a cardinal, that he did not consider they could well be combined.

Meanwhile the rage of Solyman, upon learning the disgrace which had befallen his arms, was such as might have been anticipated in one who throughout a lengthened career had hitherto been almost invariably the favoured child of victory. Tearing the despatch which contained the unpalatable intelligence into fragments, he pledged himself to lead in person a fresh expedition against Malta at the commencement of the ensuing summer, when he vowed that he would not leave one stone standing upon another. Preparations were instantly begun in the arsenals of Constantinople for the construction of a fleet large enough to carry out the project of the sultan, and every nerve was strained to collect such a force as should effectually wipe away the stain cast upon the military renown of the empire.

The position of the Order was at this moment critical in the extreme. It became, therefore, necessary for La Valette, in the midst of the general rejoicing, to consider what steps should be taken to avert the renewed attack as to the imminence of which his spies at Constantinople had given him early intimation. The state of the island was deplorable. The fortifications were more or less in ruins, the arsenals and storehouses empty, the treasury exhausted, and the ranks of the fraternity so fearfully diminished that an adequate garrison could not be provided even had the fortress been in a proper state of defence. The general feeling of the council leant in favour of an abandonment of the island, and the withdrawal of the convent to Sicily. La Valette, however, felt that his renown and that of his knights had become too intimately connected with Malta to brook such a sacrifice in the very hour of triumph. He expressed his