Page:A History of the Knights of Malta, or the Order of St. John of Jerusalem.djvu/667

Rh the captured ship should be placed in the church of St. John, at Aix, the birthplace of the hero. Still it was found that, as a rule, the galleys of Malta were not of sufficient size to grapple with the vessels now comprising the Turkish fleet, and it was therefore determined to add larger vessels to aid them in their expeditions. Three ships of considerable size were consequently built in the dockyard of Malta, and were named the St. Raymond, the St. Joseph, and the St. Vincent. The command of this new fleet was given to St. Pierre, a French knight, who made his first cruise in 1706. On this occasion he captured the Tunisian flag-ship, a vessel of fifty guns, which was immediately added to his squadron under the name of the Santa Croce. In 1707, another knight, named de Langon, succeeded in forcing his way through the Algerine fleet, then blockading Oran, and throwing a supply of ammunition and provisions into the fortress, upon which event the Pope wrote a letter of congratulation to the Grand-Master. In 1708 de Langon captured the Algerine flag-ship. In this combat, however, the Order had to mourn the loss of the conqueror, as he fell at the moment of victory. His body was interred with great honour under the high altar in the cathedral of Carthagena, and a tablet with a long laudatory inscription was placed by the Grand-Master in the nave of St. John’s church at Valetta.

At this time the convent of Malta was in a most flourishing condition. The bailiff of Chambray, who has left a manuscript record of the period, says that, “in 1715, at the moment of the declaration of war by the Turks against the Venetians; the court of the Grand-Master Perrelos presented a most brilliant aspect. No less than 1,500 knights, many of them general officers in every army in Christendom, formed the main ornament of the residence of the Order.” From that date until 1718, when peace was once more declared between these two powers, the knights of Malta continued to render the most valuable assistance to Venice. So pleased was the Pope with their exertions that he gave the title of lieutenant-general of the papal armament to the admiral of the Order, that he might be able, in case of separation, to take command of any papal levies that were acting in concert with him. The