Page:A History of the Knights of Malta, or the Order of St. John of Jerusalem.djvu/631



seventeenth century opened with the accession of Alof do Vignacourt to the dignity of fifty-second Grand-Master of the Order of St. John. This knight, at the age of seventeen, had joined the ranks of the fraternity at Malta, in the year 1564, at the time when they were expecting an immediate attack by the Turks, and in the following year he passed through all the perils and hardships of the siege. He was subsequently named governor of Valetta, and as his length of service increased, so he rose in rank until he reached the post of conventual bailiff, as grand-hospitaller, and at the death of Garoes, in 1601, he was raised to the vacant office of Grand-Master. The disputes which disturbed the sway of his predecessors appeared now to have calmed down, and although on several occasions dissatisfaction and turbulence still made themselves manifest, the peace of the convent was not materially affected. Several naval exploits of more or less importance graced the annals of his rule. Successful descents were made on Barbary, Patras, Lepanto, and Lango. Laizzo and Corinth also witnessed the daring inroads of adventurous knights, who returned from these various expeditions with a vast amount of booty, and were able in consequence to store the bagnio in Malta with a large additional number of slaves.

That these exploits bore in any appreciable degree on the 39.