Page:A History of the Knights of Malta, or the Order of St. John of Jerusalem.djvu/672

636 handsome pension, and from that time the anniversary of the day was regularly celebrated as long as the Order remained in Malta.

The second expulsion of the Jesuits from the island was the only other domestic event of importance which marked the sway of Pinto. This decree was carried out through the intervention of the marquis of Pombal, prime minister to the king of Portugal, and of the marquis Tannuci, regent of the Two Sicilies during the minority of Ferdinand IV., and the example was shortly afterwards followed in almost every kingdom in Europe. The rule of Pinto was very popular amongst his subjects, and his name is still revered in Malta as a wise and energetic prince. At the same time, he was undoubtedly far more despotic than any of his predecessors, and encroached materially on that liberty which the Order had under former chiefs permitted to its subjects. The leading features of his government were, nevertheless, salutary, and if he ruled the Maltese with an iron hand, they did not the less respect him.

The naval superiority of the fraternity had, during these years, dwindled imperceptibly, but steadily, and the fleet was now becoming more an appanage of dignity than of real service. The Ottoman empire had almost ceased to cause uneasiness in Europe; her navy was no longer spreading terror along the coasts of the Mediterranean, and so the caravans of the galleys of Malta, there being no foe worthy of the name, degenerated into mere pleasure cruises to the various ports in the south of Europe. Sonnini, in his travels in Egypt, gives the following description of these galleys at the time:—“They were armed, or rather embarrassed, with an incredible number of hands; the general alone (or flag-ship) had 800 men on board. They were superbly ornamented; gold blazed on the numerous basso relievos and sculptures on the stem, enormous sails striped with blue and white carried on their middle a great cross of Malta, painted red. Their elegant flags floated majestically. In a word, everything concurred, when they were under sail, to render them a magnificent spectacle. But their construction was little adapted either for fighting, or for standing foul weather. The Order kept them up rather as an image of its ancient splendour, than for their utility. It was one of those ancient institutions