r was given to those who surrendered, they rushed out, and
perished on the swords of the enemy. A body of nine cavaliers, posted
near the end of the fosse, not far from the ground occupied by Dragut's
men, surrendered themselves as prisoners of war to the corsairs; and the
latter, who, in their piratical trade, had learned to regard men as a
kind of merchandise, happily refused to deliver up the Christians to the
Turks, holding them for ransom. These were the only members of the order
who survived the massacre.[1327] A few Maltese soldiers, however,
experienced swimmers, succeeded, amidst the tumult, in reaching the
opposite side of the harbor, where they spread the sad tidings of the
loss of St. Elmo. This was speedily confirmed by the volleys of the
Turkish ordnance; and the standard of the Crescent, planted on the spot
so lately occupied by the banner of St. John, showed too plainly that
this strong post, the key of the island, had passed from the Christians
into the hands of the infidel.[1328]

The Ottoman fleet, soon afterward doubling the point, entered Port
Musiette, on the west, with music playing, and gay with pennons and
streamers; while the rocks rang with the shouts of the Turkish soldiery,
and the batteries on shore replied in thunders to the artillery of the
shipping.

The day on which this occurred, the twenty-third of June, was that of
the festival of St. John the Baptist, the patron of the order. It had
been always celebrated by the knights with greater splendor than any
other anniversary. Now, alas! it was to them a day of humiliation and
mourning, while they had the additional mortification to see it observed
as a day of triumphant jubilee by the enemies of the Faith.[1329]

To add to their distress, Mustapha sullied his victory by some brutal
acts, which seem to have been in keeping with his character. The heads
of four of the principal knights, among them those of Miranda and the
bailiff of Negropont, were set high on poles looking towards the town. A
spectacle yet more shocking was presented to the eyes of the besieged.
The Turkish general caused the bodies of several cavaliers--some of
them, it is said, while life was yet palpitating within, them--to be
scored on the bosoms with gashes in the form of a cross. Thus defaced,
they were lashed to planks, and thrown into the water. Several of them
drifted to the opposite shore, where they were easily recognized by
their brethren; and La Valette, as h