History of the Reign of Philip the Second, King of Spain, Vols. 1 and 2

by William Hickling Prescott

Fortunately, La Valette obtained notice, through some deserters, of the plans of the Turkish commanders, and made his preparations accordingly. On the morning of the second, Piali's men, at the appointed signal, moved briskly forward to the assault. They soon crossed the ditch, but partially filled with the ruins of the rampart, scaled the ascent in face of a sharp fire of musketry, and stood at length, with ranks somewhat shattered, on the summit of the breach. But here they were opposed by retrenchments within, thrown up by the besieged, from behind which they now poured such heavy volleys among the assailants as staggered the front of the column, and compelled it to fall back some paces in the rear. Here it was encountered by those pushing forward from below; and some confusion ensued. This was increased by the vigor with which the garrison now plied their musketry from the ramparts, hurling down at the same time heavy logs, hand-grenades, and torrents of scalding pitch on the heads of the assailing column, which, blinded and staggering under the shock, reeled to and fro like a drunken man. To add to their distress, the feet of the soldiers were torn and entangled among the spikes which had been thickly set in the ruins of the breach by the besieged. Woe to him who fell! His writhing body was soon trampled under the press. In vain the Moslem chiefs endeavored to restore order. Their voices were lost in the wild uproar that raged around. At this crisis the knights, charging at the head of their followers, cleared the breach, and drove the enemy with loss into his trenches.

There the broken column soon re-formed, and, strengthened by fresh troops, was again brought to the attack. But this gave a respite to the garrison, which La Valette improved by causing refreshments to be served to the soldiers. By his provident care, skins containing wine and water, with rations of bread, were placed near the points of attack, to be distributed among the men.[1356] The garrison, thus strengthened, were enabled to meet the additional forces brought against them by the enemy; and the refreshments on the one side were made, in some sort, to counterbalance the reinforcements on the other. Vessels filled with salt and water were also at hand, to bathe the wounds of such as were injured by the fireworks. "Without these various precautions," says the chronicler, "it would have been impossible for so few men as we were to keep our ground against such a host as now assailed us on every quarter."[1357]

Again and again the discomfited Turks gathered strength for a new assault, and as often they were repulsed with the same loss as before; till Piali drew off his dispirited legions, and abandoned all further attempts for that day.

It fared no better on the other quarter, where the besiegers, under the eye of the commander-in-chief, were storming the fortress of St. Michael. On[{442}] every point the stout-hearted chivalry of St. John were victorious. But victory was bought at a heavy price.

The Turks returned to the attack on the day following, and on each succeeding day. It was evidently their purpose to profit by their superior numbers to harass the besieged, and reduce them to a state of exhaustion. One of these assaults was near being attended with fatal consequences.

A mine which ran under the bastion of Castile was sprung, and brought down a wide extent of the rampart. The enemy, prepared for the event, mounting the smoking ruins, poured through the undefended breach,—or defended only by a handful of the garrison, who were taken unawares. The next minute, the great standard of the Ottomans was planted on the walls. The alarm was raised. In a few moments the enemy would have been in the heart of the town. An ecclesiastic of the order, Brother William by name, terrified at the sight, made all haste to the grand-master, then at his usual station in the public square. Rushing into his presence, the priest called on him to take refuge, while he could, in the castle of St. Angelo, as the enemy had broken into the town. But the dauntless chief, snatching up his pike, with no other protection than his helmet, and calling out to those around him, "Now is the time! let us die together!"[1358] hurried to the scene of action, where, rallying his followers, he fell furiously on the enemy. A sharp struggle ensued. More than one knight was struck down by La Valette's side. He himself was wounded in the leg by the splinter of a hand-grenade. The alarm-bell of the city rang violently. The cry was raised that the grand-master was in danger. Knights, soldiers, and townsmen came rushing to the spot. Even the sick sprang from their beds, and made such haste as they could to the rescue. The Moslems, pressed on all sides, and shaken by the resolute charge, fell back slowly on the breach.

The cavaliers would now fain have persuaded the grand-master, who was still standing among a heap of the slain, to retire to some place of safety, and leave the issue of the battle to his companions. But, fixing his eye on the Ottoman standard, still floating above the walls, he mournfully shook his head, in token of his resolution to remain. The garrison, spurred on by shame and indignation, again charged the Moslems, with greater fury than before. The colors, wrenched from the ramparts, were torn to shreds in the struggle. The Christians prevailed; and the Turks, quailing before their invincible spirit, were compelled, after a long and bloody contest, to abandon the works they had so nearly won.

Still the grand-master, far from retiring, took up his quarters for the night in the neighborhood of the breach. He had no doubt that the enemy would return under cover of the darkness, and renew the assault before the garrison had time to throw up retrenchments. It was in vain his companions besought him to withdraw, to leave the fight to them, and not to risk a life so precious to the community. "And how can an old man like me," he said, "end his life more gloriously, than when surrounded by his brethren and fighting the battles of the Cross?"[1359]

THE TURKS REPULSED.

La Valette was right in his conjecture. No sooner had the darkness fallen, than the Turkish host, again under arms, came surging on across the ruins of the rampart towards the breach. But it was not under cover of the darkness; for the whole bay was illumined by the incessant flash of artillery, by the blaze of combustibles, and the fiery track of the missiles darting through the air. Thus the combat was carried on as by the light of day. The garrison, prepared for the attack, renewed the scenes of the morning, and again beat off[{443}] the assailants, who, broken and dispirited, could not be roused, even by the blows of their officers, to return to the assault.[1360]