ships, of
which two hundred were to be galleys and a hundred _navi_, that is
full-rigged sailing-ships. It was the first time that the sailing-ship had
been given so important a place in naval projects in the Mediterranean, and
this shows the change that was rapidly coming into naval methods. The
allies were jointly to raise a force of 50,000 fighting-men, including 500
gunners.

Once the treaty was arranged preparations were pushed forward, but again
there were wearisome delays. It was easy enough to build galleys. The
arsenal of Venice had once laid a keel at sunrise and launched the galley
before sunset. But to recruit the thousands of oarsmen was a longer
business. It was not till well into the summer of 1571 that the armada of
the Holy League began to assemble at the appointed rendezvous, Messina.
Meanwhile, the Turks were pressing the siege of Famagusta, blockading it by
land and sea, and sapping slowly up to its walls. The heroic commandant of
the place, Antonio Bragadino, a worthy son of Venice, made an active
defence, retarding by frequent sorties the progress of the enemy's siege
works.

By the month of June the Turks had lost nearly 30,000 men, including those
who fell victims to the fever that raged in their camps. Bragadino's
garrison had been thinned by the enemy's fire, by sickness, and by
semi-starvation, and at the same time the magazines of ammunition were
nearly empty. Behind the yawning breaches of the rampart an inner line of
improvised defences had been erected, and the citadel was still intact. If
he had had a little more flour and gunpowder, Bragadino would have held out
as stubbornly as ever. But with starving men, empty magazines, and no sign
of relief, he had to accept the inevitable. He sent a flag of truce to
Mustapha Pasha, the Ottoman general, and relying on the impression made by
his stubborn defence, asked for generous terms.

Mustapha professed a chivalrous admiration for the heroism of the
Venetians. It was agreed that the garrison should march out with the
honours of war, and be transported under a flag of truce to Crete and there
set at liberty. The Ottoman general pledged himself to protect the people
of Famagusta, and secure for them the free exercise of their religion.

The war-worn soldiers marched out. Bragadino, with the Venetian nobles,
were received at Mustapha's tent with every mark of honour. But no sooner
had the officers been separated from their men, and these divided