Page:A History of the Knights of Malta, or the Order of St. John of Jerusalem.djvu/537

Rh intention, in designing this crypt, that his own body should lie by the side of those two great men, who had reflected such glory on the title of Grand-Master, and he prepared everything, including his tomb, accordingly. His death at Rome seemed at first to render it unlikely that his wishes would be carried out. It was, however, ultimately decided to transport the corpse to Malta for interment in the sepulchre he had constructed, and he now lies in the place he himself desired. At the foot of the tomb of La Valette lie the remains of Oliver Starkey, his faithful Latin secretary, and the last Englishman who held the Turcopoliership and the bailiwick of the Eagle before the suppression of the langue. The Latin inscription on the tomb of La Valette is from the pen of Starkey:—

The heart of La Cassière was removed from the body and embalmed before his remains were taken to Malta, and it is still preserved at Rome. As soon as the death was notified to the Pope he despatched a mandate to the council at Malta prohibiting any steps being taken in the election of a successor until the members should have received further instructions from him. He intended originally to take the nomination entirely into his own hands, considering himself the head of the Order, and as the Grand-Master had died within the limits of his own immediate jurisdiction that he should be entitled to that prerogative. A little thought, however, led him to adopt a middle course. He therefore sent one of the knights then at Rome to his nuncio Visconti, intrusted with two separate briefs, and with full instructions how to make use of them. The messenger having arrived at Malta, the first of the briefs was presented to the council by the nuncio. In this the Pope averred that the peculiar circumstances attending the death of the late Grand-Master had left him the right to nominate a successor, but that from friendship for the Order he waived his claim to the privilege, and desired that the election should proceed in the usual manner. The langues were therefore