Page:A History of the Knights of Malta, or the Order of St. John of Jerusalem.djvu/553

Rh a solemn mass was celebrated for the repose of the souls of those who had fallen in the siege. Visits were on that day paid to the tomb of La Valette in the crypt of the church, as well as to that of a Spaniard named Don Meichior de Robles, who had greatly distinguished himself at the post of Castile, and fell gloriously at that point. Although not a member of the Order, a monument was erected to his memory by the Grand-Master Raphael Cottoner, in the chapel of the langue of Auvergne.

During the afternoon of this vigil, the 7th September, the ceremony of uncovering the celebrated picture of Our Lady of Philermo took place. This relic has been frequently mentioned in previous pages, and it maintained its ancient renown to the last. When L’Isle Adam left Rhodes he carried it away with him, and on the arrival of the Order at Malta it was placed in the church of St. Laurence. On the completion of St. John’s cathedral it was removed thither, and lodged in a magnificent chapel prepared for its reception. Until 1598 it remained always covered with a thick veil, but in that year it was for the first time exposed to view on the festival of the Virgin, and for long afterwards continued to be uncovered on that day only. Latterly it remained constantly visible, but in order to preserve the old custom, a transparent veil was placed over it. This was solemnly withdrawn by the Grand-Master, in presence of the members of his council, on the evening of the 7th September, and replaced at sunset on the following day.

The other ceremonial to which allusion has been made, was the exposure to public adoration of the hand of St. John the Baptist. This precious relic, which was given to the Grand-Master D’Aubusson by the sultan Bajazet, had been brought from Rhodes by L’Isle Adam, and was deposited by La Cassière in a chapel of St. John’s church called the Oratory. It was enclosed in a magnificent silver custode, or casket, secured by eight locks, one of the keys of which was deposited in the hands of the Grand-Master in his capacity of Turcopolier, the other seven being held by the remaining conventual bailiffs. On the vigil of the feast of St. John these keys were all collected by the master of the horse, who, in the presence of the Grand-Master