The elder knights, on learning the grand-master's decision, declared their resolution to abide by it. They knew how lightly he held his life in comparison with the cause to which it was consecrated; and they avowed their determination to shed the last drop of their blood in defence of the post intrusted to them. The younger brethren were not so easily reconciled to the decision of their superiors. To remain there longer was a wanton sacrifice[{422}] of life, they said. They were penned up in the fort, like sheep, tamely waiting to be devoured by the fierce wolves that were thirsting for their blood. This they could not endure; and, if the grand-master did not send to take them off at once, they would sally out against the enemy, and find an honorable death on the field of battle. A letter signed by fifty of the knights, expressing their determination, was accordingly despatched by one of their number to Il Borgo.
La Valette received the communication with feelings in which sorrow was mingled with indignation. It was not enough, he said, for them to die the honorable death which they so much coveted. They must die in the manner he prescribed. They were bound to obey his commands. He reminded them of the vows taken at the time of their profession, and the obligation of every loyal knight to sacrifice his life, if necessary, for the good of the order. Nor would they gain anything, he added, by abandoning their post and returning to the town. The Turkish army would soon be at its gates, and the viceroy of Sicily would leave them to their fate.
That he might not appear, however, to pass too lightly by their remonstrances, La Valette determined to send three commissioners to inspect St. Elmo, and report on its condition. This would at least have the advantage of gaining time, when every hour gained was of importance. He also sent to Sicily to remonstrate on the tardiness of the viceroy's movements, and to urge the necessity of immediate succors if he would save the castle.
The commissioners were received with joy by the refractory knights, whom they found so intent on their departure that they were already beginning to throw the shot into the wells, to prevent its falling into the hands of the Turks. They eagerly showed the commissioners every part of the works, the ruinous condition of which, indeed, spoke more forcibly than the murmurs of the garrison. Two of the body adopted the views of the disaffected party, and pronounced the fort no longer tenable. But the third, an Italian cavalier, named Castriot, was of a different way of thinking. The fortifications, he admitted, were in a bad state; but it was far from a desperate one. With fresh troops and the materials that could be furnished from the town, they might soon be put in condition to hold out for some time longer. Such an opinion, so boldly avowed, in opposition to the complaints of the knights, touched their honor. A hot dispute arose between the parties; and evil consequences might have ensued, had not the commander, De Broglio, and the bailiff of Negropont, to stop the tumult, caused the alarm-bell to be rung, which sent every knight to his post.
Castriot, on his return, made a similar report to the grand-master, and boldly offered to make good his words. If La Valette would allow him to muster a force, he would pass over to St. Elmo, and put it in condition still to hold out against the Ottoman arms.
La Valette readily assented to a proposal which he may perhaps have originally suggested. No compulsion was to be used in a service of so much danger. But volunteers speedily came forward, knights, soldiers, and inhabitants of both town and country. The only difficulty was in making the selection. All eagerly contended for the glory of being enrolled in this little band of heroes.
HEROIC DEFENCE OF ST. ELMO.
La Valette was cheered by the exhibition of this generous spirit in his followers. It gave assurance of success stronger than was to be derived from any foreign aid. He wrote at once to the discontented knights in St. Elmo, and informed them of what had been done. Their petition was now granted. They should be relieved that very evening. They had only to resign their posts to their successors. "Return, my brethren," he concluded, "to the convent. There you will be safe for the present; and I shall have less apprehension[{423}] for the fate of the fortress, on which the preservation of the island so much depends."
The knights, who had received some intimation of the course the affair was taking in Il Borgo, were greatly disconcerted by it. To surrender to others the post committed to their own keeping, would be a dishonor they could not endure. When the letter of the grand-master arrived, their mortification was extreme; and it was not diminished by the cool and cutting contempt but thinly veiled under a show of solicitude for their personal safety. They implored the bailiff of Negropont to write in their name to La Valette, and beseech him not to subject them to such a disgrace. They avowed their penitence for the course they had taken, and only asked that they might now be allowed to give such proofs of devotion to the cause as should atone for their errors.
The letter was despatched by a swimmer across the harbor. But the grand-master coldly answered, that veterans without subordination were in his eyes of less worth than raw recruits who submitted to discipline. The wretchedness of the knights at this repulse was unspeakable; for in their eyes dishonor was far worse than death. In their extremity they addressed themselves again to La Valette, renewing their protestations of sorrow for the past, and in humble terms requesting his forgiveness. The chief felt that he had pushed the matter far enough. It was perhaps the point to which he had intended to bring it. It would not be well to drive his followers to despair. He felt now they might be trusted. He accordingly dismissed the levies, retaining only a part of these brave men to reinforce the garrison; and with them he sent supplies of ammunition, and materials for repairing the battered works.[1315]