Page:A History of the Knights of Malta, or the Order of St. John of Jerusalem.djvu/750

 712 A His1oy of the Knights of Malta. Vsailles not lakking XVth thousand seamen, and by Lande, a hundredth thousand fething men, and fefte thousand laborers with spades and pikes, were the occasione of the taking of the Rodes in the space of four moniths, they brought a mowntaine of erth befor them to the walles of the towne, which was as Me agen as the walles of the towne wer, the which. the destructione and dethe of many a man. . . and child; for at all such tymes as they would geve us any batalle, they would put 1111 or V springarders upon the said mowntaine, that the people for a man could not go in the. . . of that mountaine. I was one of those that the lord master. . . . Reigione sent to the gret Turk for p. . . . such tyme as the pact was made betwene the Turks and him. The gret turk ys .‘f the age of. . . . yers; he ys vere wise discret and muc. lothe in his wordes and also in his. . . . being of his age. I was in hii courte. . . . at such time as we were brought first to make our reverence unto him we fou. . . . a red pavilion standing between too. . . . lions marvelous ryche and sumptu. . . . setting in a chayr, and no creatur sat in the paveione, which chayr was of g. work of fin gold, his gard stonding near his pavilion to the number of XXII y be called Sulaky, thes nomber. . . . continually about his person, he ha. . . . nomber of XI thowsand of them; they wear on ther heddes a long white cape, and on the tape of the cape a white ostrage hich gevith a gret show. . . . was divided in fowre partes, the captains. . . . was callid as folowith, the principall captaine is called pero bashaw, second mustapha bashaw, the third hakmak bashaw, the fourth the. . . . igalarby of anatolia. They be the 1111 governours under the gret turk; eury one of them had fifte thousand men under his Baner, and they lay at 1111 severall places of the tow-ne, and euery one of them made a breche in the wall of the tow-ne; that in some places Vc men on horseback myght come in at once; and alter that the wall of the town was downe, they gave us battall often tymes upon even ground, that we had no manner of advantage apone them; yet thankid be God and Saint John, at euery batall they returned without their purpose. Upon Saint Andrue ys evin last, was the last batall that was betwene the turkes and vs; at that batall was slain XI thousand turkes, and of our part a hundredth and. . . . ur score, and after that day the turkea purposed to give vs no more batall, but to come into the towne by trenches in so much, yt they mad. . . . gret trenches, and by the space of a month did come alimost into the mydst of our tow-ne, insomuch that ther lay nightly wtin our town. . . . thousand turkes; the trenches wer covered with thick taballes, and holes in them for thyer springardes, that we could not aproche them. . . . and a monithe after we saw precisely that the toune was loste we would never give over in esperance of socours, and at such tyme as we sawe yt theyr come no succours, nor no socours reddy to come, and considering that the most of our men were slain, we had no powther nor. . . . manner of munycone, nor vitailes, but all on by brede and water, we wer as men desperat. . . . deter-