he emperor to consent that the gift should be burdened
with no other condition than the annual payment of a falcon in token of
his feudal supremacy. It was also stipulated, that the order should at
no time bear arms against Sicily; a stipulation hardly necessary with
men who, by their vows, were pledged to fight in defence of Christendom,
and not against it.[1292]

In October, 1530, L'Isle Adam and his brave associates took possession
of their new domain. Their hearts sunk within them, as their eyes
wandered over the rocky expanse, forming a sad contrast to the beautiful
"land of roses" which had so long been their abode.[1293] But it was not
very long before the wilderness before them was to blossom like the rose
under their diligent culture.[1294] Earth was brought in large
quantities, and at great cost, from Sicily. Terraces to receive it were
hewn in the steep sides of the rock; and the soil, quickened by the
ardent sun of Malta, was soon clothed with the glowing vegetation of the
south. Still, it did not raise the grain necessary for the consumption
of the island. This was regularly imported from Sicily, and stored in
large pits or caverns, excavated in the rock, which, hermetically
closed, preserved their contents unimpaired for years. In a short time,
too, the island bristled with fortifications, which, combined with its
natural defences, enabled its garrison to defy the attacks of the
corsair. To these works was added the construction of suitable dwellings
for the accommodation of the order. But it was long after, and not until
the land had been desolated by the siege on which we are now to enter,
that it was crowned with the stately edifices which eclipsed those of
Rhodes itself, and made Malta the pride of the Mediterranean.[1295]

In their new position the knights were not very differently situated
from what they had been in the Levant. They were still encamped amongst
the infidel, with the watch-fires of the enemy blazing around them.
Again their galleys sailed forth to battle with the corsairs, and
returned laden with the spoils of victory. Still the white cross of St.
John was to be seen in the post of danger. In all the expeditions of
Charles the Fifth and Philip the Second against the Barbary Moors, from
the siege of Tunis to the capture of Penon de Velez, they bore a
prominent part. With the bravery of the soldier, they combined the skill
of the mariner; and on that disastrous day when the Christian nav