Page:A History of the Knights of Malta, or the Order of St. John of Jerusalem.djvu/533

Rh out with the republic of Venice upon the question of some property of Venetian Jews, which had been seized by the cruisers of Malta. This very nearly led to the confiscation of their possessions within the territories of the republic, and was only accommodated by the most ample concessions and complete reparation on the part of La Casaière. Another source of dispute arose from the nomination, through the interest of the king of Spain, of the archduke Winceslas of Austria to the grand-priory of Castile and the bailiwick of Lora immediately after his reception into the fraternity. Remembering the powerful assistance which that monarch had invariably accorded to the Order, it was practically impossible to refuse any request when strongly put forward by him. Still this appropriation of the leading dignities in the langue of Castile naturally gave the greatest possible dissatisfaction to its members, and a sedition sprang up which was only quelled by the interposition of the Pope. The mutinous knights were by his decree condemned to present themselves before the Grand-Master, in council, with wax tapers in their hands, and there publicly ask pardon for their turbulent behaviour.

The spirit of insubordination having once broken out, was not to be permanently quelled by a mere decree from the papal court, nor was the conduct of La Cassière, during these troublous times, such as to conciliate the brethren or restore a spirit of obedience to their ranks. his arrogance and haughty bearing only rendered matters worse, and multiplied the number of his enemies until, in the year 1581, the mutinous feeling once more shewed itself openly. The knights of the langue of Aragon had again become jealous of the influence which the numerical superiority of the French invariably gave them, and in this discontent they were joined by the Italians and Germans. The former had not, in their opinion, supplied to the roll as many Grand-Masters as their numbers would warrant, whilst the latter langue had never furnished a chief at any time. They now, therefore, joined the Spanish malcontents in plotting for the deposition of La Cassière. To veil their real designs they intrigued with a French knight named Romégas, who held a high position in the estimation of the convent, and had been nominated to the dignities of grand-