Page:A History of the Knights of Malta, or the Order of St. John of Jerusalem.djvu/712

676 the governors of Syracuse or Messina. However, I shall and will know everything as soon as the marquis is gone, which will be to-morrow morning.”

On the following day, Nelson sent the marquis de Niza back to Naples to refit, and himself began, personally, to investigate the state of affairs. This he found most unsatisfactory as far as the Neapolitan government was concerned. The Maltese were most determined and enthusiastic, but they were almost totally destitute of the means necessary for maintaining their resistance. Nelson had been led to believe that they had been furnished from Sicily with supplies of arms and ammunition, but so far was this from being the case, that, on the contrary, their vessels had actually been placed in quarantine by the Sicilians. The only assistance they had as yet received was from the British. Sir James Saumarez, whilst taking home the Nile prizes, having been detained off Malta, had seized the opportunity of supplying them with 1,200 muskets and a quantity of ammunition. Nelson found 10,000 men in arms under the command of three leaders, Emmanuele Vitale, Xavier Caruana, then canon, and afterwards bishop of Malta, and Vinceuzo Borg. They had already begun the construction of batteries for the annoyance of the garrison. On the th October they had successfully resisted a sortie in force, made by the French in the direction of the village of Zabbar, when they drove the garrison back with considerable loss. Since that date no further attempts had been made to assume the offensive. Nelson at once despatched Captain Ball to summon the island of Gozo, the result of which was a capitulation on the 30th October. Two hundred aud thirty prisoners were taken, and sent to Naples in the Van gaard and .Mino(aur. Before quitting Malta, the admiral intrusted to Ball the duty of aiding the inhabitants, and organizing their resistance, proposing that on the surrender of the fortress he should assume the government, either on behalf of the king of Naples, or jointly for him and the king of England. He instructed Ball as follows:—

“In case of the surrender of Malta, I beg you will not do anything which can hurt the feelings of their Majesties. Unite their flag with England’s if it cannot, from the disposition of the islanders, fly alone.”