immediate circumstance which
at last awakened the fury of Solyman, and brought matters to a climax,
was the capture by the Knights of a Turkish galleon, on the Ottoman
coast, richly laden, and belonging to the chief black eunuch of his
royal establishment. Enraged at this, the Sultan vowed to bring about
the destruction of his old enemies, if it cost the lives of half his
subjects. In pursuance of this resolve, after a full year occupied in
elaborate preparations, one hundred and thirty vessels, carrying about
forty thousand men, sailed from Constantinople, under command of Mustafa
Pasha, who had grown old in the wars of his country, and having been
joined by an Algerine flotilla manned by piratical crews, and led by the
notorious corsair Dragut, appeared in due form, May 18, 1565, upon the
Maltese coast. The force thus organized on the part of the Turks was one
of the most complete, in its warlike character, which had ever floated
in the eastern basin of the Mediterranean Sea. Its success seemed to be
a foregone conclusion with all except the gallant Knights themselves.

In the mean time, while this grand expedition was being organized, La
Vallette, then Grand Master of the Knights, was kept well informed of
every movement at Constantinople, and he was by no means idle. Every
exertion was made to place the island in a good condition of defense. A
general summons was issued, recalling all Knights who were absent in
Europe. A large body of infantry was raised in Sicily, two thousand men
and more, who were gradually transferred to the island. Ample quantities
of provisions, arms, and ammunition were accumulated. The native militia
enthusiastically joined the service of the Knights, and were carefully
trained to the handling of weapons preparatory to the arrival of the
enemy. Thus, when the Turks made their appearance, the Grand Master had
at his command a force of about nine thousand men, well prepared to meet
them. Nearly six hundred of this number were Knights proper, full
members of the Order of St. John. These latter had been trained from
boyhood to the use of warlike weapons, and each man was equal to a score
of ordinary soldiers, as organized in those days. Still, it must have
been an anxious occasion among the Christians and their allies, the
Maltese, especially so to those who remembered the siege of Rhodes. The
Ottomans were much more formidable now than they were then. They
conquered in 1522. Who could say what