Hardly had the Turkish galleys, with Mustapha on board, joined the great body of the fleet in Port Musiette, than that commander received such intelligence as convinced him that the report of the Spanish numbers had been greatly exaggerated. He felt that he had acted precipitately, thus, without a blow, to abandon the field to an enemy his inferior in strength. His head may well have trembled on his shoulders, as he thought of returning thus dishonored to the presence of his indignant master. Piali, it is said, was not displeased at the mortification of his rival. The want of concert between them had, in more than one instance, interfered with the success of their operations. It was now, however, agreed that Mustapha should disembark, with such of the troops as were in fighting order, and give battle to the Spaniards. Piali, meanwhile, would quit the port, which lay exposed to St. Elmo,—now in his enemy's hands,—and anchor farther west, in the roads of St. Paul.
The troops from Sicily, during this time, had advanced into the interior, in the neighborhood of Citta Notable,—or, as it is now called, Citta Vecchia. They were commanded by Ascanio de la Corña, an officer who had gained a name in the Italian wars. Alvaro de Sandé was second in command, the same captain who made so heroic a defence in the isle of Gelves against the Turks. The chivalrous daring of the latter officer was well controlled by the circumspection of the former.
La Valette, who kept a vigilant eye on the movements of the Turks, was careful to advise Don Ascanio that they had again disembarked, and were on their march against him. The Spanish general took up a strong position on[{448}] an eminence, the approach, to which was rugged and difficult in the extreme. Thus secured, the prudent chief proposed to await the assault of the Moslems. But the Knights of St. John, who had accompanied the Sicilian succors, eager for vengeance on the hated enemies of their order, called loudly to be led against the infidel. In this they were joined by the fiery De Sandé and the greater part of the troops. When the Moslem banners, therefore, came in sight, and the dense columns of the enemy were seen advancing across the country, the impatience of the Christians was not to be restrained. The voices of the officers were unheeded. Don Ascanio saw it was not wise to balk this temper of the troops. They were hastily formed in order of battle, and then, like a mountain torrent, descended swiftly against the foe.
On their left was a hill, crowned by a small tower that commanded the plain. The Turks had succeeded in getting possession of this work. A detachment of Spaniards scaled the eminence, attacked the Turks, and, after a short struggle, carried the fort. Meanwhile the Maltese chivalry, with Sandé and the great body of the army, fell with fury on the front and flanks of the enemy. The Turkish soldiers, disgusted by the long and disastrous siege, had embarked with great alacrity; and they had not repressed their murmurs of discontent, when they were again made to land and renew the conflict. Sullen and disheartened, they were in no condition to receive the shock of the Spaniards. Many were borne down by it at once, their ranks were broken, and their whole body; was thrown into disarray. Some few endeavored to make head against their assailants. Most thought only of securing safety by-flight. The knights followed close on the fugitives. Now was the hour of vengeance. No quarter was given. Their swords were reddened with the blood of the infidel.[1376]
Mustapha, careless of his own life, made the most intrepid efforts to save his men. He was ever in the hottest of the action. Twice he was unhorsed, and had nearly fallen into the hands of his enemies. At length, rallying a body of musketeers, he threw himself into the rear, to cover the retreat of the army. Facing about, he sent such a well-directed volley among his pursuers, who were coming on in disorder, that they were compelled to halt. Don Alvaro's horse was slain under him. Several knights were wounded or brought to the ground. But as those in the rear came up, Mustapha was obliged to give way, and was soon swept along with the tide of battle in the direction of the port of St. Paul, where the fleet was at anchor. Boats were in readiness to receive the troops; and a line of shallops, filled with arquebusiers, was drawn up alongside of them, to cover the embarkation. But the Spaniards, hurried forward by the heat of the pursuit, waded up to their girdles into the sea, and maintained an incessant fire on the fugitives, many of whom fell under it, while others, vainly endeavoring to swim to the ships, perished in the waves; and their bodies, tossed upon the sands, continued for many a day to poison the atmosphere.[1377]—This was the last effort of Mustapha; and the Turkish admiral, gathering together the wreck of his forces, again weighed anchor, and spreading his sails to the breeze, steered his course for the Levant.[1378]
REJOICINGS OF THE CHRISTIANS.
The principal officers of the Spanish array, together with the knights, then crossed over to Il Borgo.[1379] They met there with a cordial welcome; but the knights, as they embraced their comrades, were greatly shocked by their appearance,—their wan and care-worn countenances, their emaciated figures, their long and matted hair, and their squalid attire. Many were disfigured by honorable scars; some were miserably maimed; others wore bandages over wounds not yet healed. It was a piteous sight, too plainly intimating the extremity of suffering to which they had been reduced; and as the knights gazed on their brethren, and called to mind the friends they had lost, their hearts were filled with unspeakable anguish.[1380]
On the fourteenth of September, the viceroy reappeared with the fleet, bearing the remainder of the reinforcement from Sicily. The admiral's pennant displayed a cross, intimating that it was a holy war in which they were engaged.[1381] As the squadron came proudly up the Great Port, with pennons and streamers gayly flying from its masts, it was welcomed by salvos of artillery from the fortresses and bastions around; and the rocky shores, which had so long reverberated only with the din of war, now echoed to the sounds of jubilee.
The grand-master came down to the landing-place below St. Angelo, to receive the viceroy, with the nobles and cavaliers who followed in his train. They had come too late to share the dangers of the besieged, but not too late to partake of their triumph. They were courteously conducted by La Valette, across the scene of desolation, to his own palace, which, though in an exposed quarter of the town, had so far escaped as to be still habitable. As the strangers gazed on the remains of the fortifications, nearly levelled to the ground, they marvelled that the shadowy forms which they saw gliding among the ruins could have so long held out against the Moslem armies. Well had they earned for their city the title of Vittoriosa, "The Victorious," which, supplanting that of Il Borgo, still commemorates its defence against the infidel.