where he "smiled at the base and hollow embassies of the Christian princes, who viewed their approaching ruin in the fall of the Eastern empire."

SIEGES OF RHODES, 1481 AND 1522.

The island of Rhodes, situated off the coast of Caria, in Asia Minor, early passed, with other parts of the Eastern Empire, into the hands of the Infidels. It was in 1308 that Foulques de Villaret, Grand Master of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem, formed the project of conquering it for his order; in which project, being seconded by the sovereigns of Europe, he, after a four years' struggle, succeeded; driving out the Turks and Greeks before him. The chief town of the same name was then put into a formidable state of defence, and twice resisted the attacks of the Turkish power, within a few years after the Christian occupation. The brave Rhodians, in this stronghold, which gave them the command of the Levant,

were for more than two centuries the terror of the Turkish pirates who infested those parts, besides occasionally making terrible descents upon the Turkish main, in one of which (1344), they took Smyrna, which they maintained as an outpost.

It was not till many years after the conquest of Constantinople, and after the unsuccessful attempt upon Belgrade (1456), that Mahomet II. seriously meditated the conquest of this desirable possession-valuable both as a military position, and for its fruitful soil and charming climate. The Grand Master Aubusson, through his spies, was early informed of the Sultan's plans; and being invested by the rest of the order with sovereign authority, he proceeded to put the fortifications in a good state of defence, at the same time laying waste the vineyards and farms in the neighbourhood of the city, so that the Turks, on their landing, should find neither lodging nor subsistence.

The invading armament, which consisted of a hundred and sixty high-built vessels, besides galliots and smaller boats, and a hundred thousand (some say two hundred thousand) land forces, was put under the command of pasha Mischa Paleologus, a Greek renegade of the family of the last Emperor of Constantinople, whom the Sultan had taken into his favour and service. This formidable expedition arrived before Rhodes on the 23rd of May, 1481.

This city is situated by the sea side, on a slight declivity, and surrounded by groves of oranges and pomegranates, and vineyards. It was surrounded by a double wall, strengthened at equal distances by large towers. A rampart supported these walls and terraces, which were further defended by a deep ditch. There were two ports, one of which serving for ten galleys, was defended by the fort of St. Helmo. The larger vessels occupied the other port, on each side of which there are two small gulfs, the one on the north, the other on the south. That on the north was secured by a mole advanced into the sea, on which was constructed a fortress, called fort St. Nicholas; the other gulf being defended by a less considerable fortress. Two miles from the town is a little hill, called mount St. Stephen.

Such was the situation of Rhodes, when Mischa Paleologus attempted its conquest. The vessels approached the places least fortified, and after a slight resistance the Ottoman army effected a landing in tolerable good order, and took possession of mount St. Stephen, from whence the pasha summoned the grand master, who did not condescend to make him a reply. Paleologus began the siege with the attack of fort St. Nicholas, both by land and sea, hoping if he could get possession of that post, to be soon master of the principal port. A formidable artillery was made use of both in the attack and defence, and when considerable damage had been done to the walls, the Janissaries landed to storm the fort, undismayed by the continued fire from the batteries, which played all at the same time. It was first necessary to clamber up an enormous heap of stones that the cannon had beaten down. They mounted, sword in hand. The grand master himself, who had shut himself up in this fort with some volunteers, defended the breach, at the head of his knights. He overturned the ladders; threw down quantities of boiling oil, and rolled enormous stones on the assailants. The Turks darted hooks towards the breach, fastened to cords which they held, in order to catch the arms or clothes of the knights, and pull them to the ground. Aubusson, intent on his post, fought as the youngest of his officers. His helmet was carried away by a sharp piece of stone, without doing him any mischief. He took a soldier's hat, and remained on the breach, till the terrible fire from the besieged at length lessened the ardour of the Janissaries. After a severe but fruitless contest they retreated to their vessels, leaving a number of dead behind. But Paleologus was not discouraged by this bad success. He directed at the same time two attacks, the

one on the quarter of the Jews, the other opposite. The wall on the side of the Jews soon began to yield under the enemy's fire; but the grand master, who knew the weakness of the place on that side, had several houses pulled down, a large ditch dug, and a brick wall raised behind it. At this work, Aubusson setting the example, all the inhabitants, men and women, Christian and Jew, cheerfully laboured. Meanwhile, the Infidels' artillery continually battered the wall: the Turks had mortars that carried enormous masses, which, piercing the roofs of the houses, penetrated from story to story, and killed or overturned everything that fell in their way. The grand master, in order to place in safety the children and women, and the sick, caused to be constructed, in the part of the town farthest from the batteries, sheds formed of beams so thick and close together, that they were impenetrable even by the heaviest masses. He replied to the enemy with a machine which threw pieces of rock to a considerable distance, and crushed in pieces the besiegers. The knights called this destructive piece of ordnance "the Tribute," in derision of the annual tribute which Mahomet had demanded from the Order.

At length, Paleologus, despairing of vanquishing Aubusson, attempted to have him poisoned. For the execution of this crime, he cast his eyes on two deserters, renegades like himself, one of which was an Albanian, and the other a Dalmatian. These two traitors presented themselves before the gates of Rhodes, pretending to have escaped the slavery of the Turks. They were received without suspicion, and soon succeeded in corrupting an officer in Aubusson's kitchen. Their treason, however, was discovered in time, and the three wretches were torn in pieces by the people, before there was time for their being regularly executed.

Upon the failure of this infamous design, Paleologus returned to open force, and resumed the project of taking the tower of St. Nicholas. This fort was separated from the Turkish camp by a small canal. Paleologus had a bridge of boats constructed; but the difficulty was so to place it, that the extremity should touch the point of the mole. A Turk swam to the place with an anchor, which he firmly fastened to the foot of a rock covered with the sea; he put a large cable through the ring of this anchor, one end of which was fastened to the end of the bridge, and which, by means of a capstan, was to convey it to its destination. A Rhodian sailor, however, who had observed what had been done, without being perceived

plunged into the sea in his turn, untied the cable, which he left on the bank, and tore up the anchor, which he carried to the grand master, from whom he received a recompense proportionable to so important a service. The Turks were only made aware that their design had been discovered, by the facility with which the cable was drawn in, without giving any movement to the bridge. Eventually, during a very dark night, the pasha had the bridge towed by a great number of barks, and fixed at the point of the mole. The troops then proceeded towards the fort, not only over the bridge, but in the barks; but Aubusson, unceasingly watchful, hearing the noise, ordered his cannon to be directed towards the place whence it came, making such destruction among the Turks, that they were forced to commence the attack in the dark, contrary to their intention. The only light they received was from the grenades and the flash, of the small arms. The bridge' and barks continually furnished fresh troops. Some Turks got to the top of the wall, where they were all massacred. The engagement was equally as furious by sea; the grand master's fireships kept close to the Turkish galleys, which came to batter the fort, and set some of them on fire. When at length the day came to give light to this carnage, the breaches and the sea were covered with bodies half burnt, arrows, darts, turbans, and the wreck of the galleys still smoking. As soon as the gunners could perceive the bridge covered with soldiers, they directed their batteries upon it, and succeeded in breaking it down. Every person on it was drowned. The courage of the Turks then failed them; those who were on the mole got into what barks they could find; some were drowned, a few saved themselves by swimming, and the rest were cut in pieces by a sallying party.

After so much blood spilt to no purpose, the Turks remained some days in silence and inaction. Aubusson took advantage of this precious interval to repair the breaches, and encourage the townsmen, to whom he was unceasingly repeating, that their happy country should never be a prey to these barbarians. At length the attack was recommenced on the quarter of the Jews, and on several others at the same time, in order to divide the forces of the besieged. After a continual fire of four days, the breaches were again laid open; and the place was very nearly falling by the perfidy of a German renegade, an engineer, whose crime, however, was discovered and punished in time.

Paleologus now had recourse to negotiation, and lavishing

flattering terms upon the valour of the defenders, proposed honourable conditions if the garrison would capitulate. Although the authority of Aubusson was supreme, several of the council were for listening to these proposals, considering the longer defence of the place hopeless; and some even began to blame aloud the grand master, and spoke to him of surrendering with an indecent liberty. Aubusson, irritated at so much weakness and mutiny, exclaimed :- "Gentlemen, if there be any one among you who does not think himself safe in this place, the gate is not so closely blocked up but I can let him out." The shame which they felt having caused a general silence to be kept, he continued:- "If you will remain with us, trust to me. I declare that I will have the first person beheaded who shall mention an accommodation.' These thundering words recalled, in the feeblest hearts, that courage which all had shown at first, but which had grown cool in the breasts of some.

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The Turkish general, enraged to think he had flattered the pride of his enemies to no purpose, swore he would have them all put to the sword; he even ordered a quantity of stakes to be sharpened and planted around the ramparts, to empale, as he said, the grand master and principal knights. He promised the pillage to the soldiers, and recommenced the attack with more fury than ever. At this side of the Jews' quarter the artillery had so battered the walls, that they were no longer anything but a heap of stones filling up the ditch, so that the ramparts did not appear difficult to climb. But the knights had formed another intrenchment behind that which was shattered; and after a furious assault in which the Turks gained the ramparts, this new species of defence so astonished them as to put them in disorder; when the knights precipitated them in great numbers from the bastion on those heaps of stones which had served them as ladders, and which rendered their fall more fatal.

The grand master, though twice wounded, would never quit the field, and his appearance, the blood running down his armour, animated the knights and soldiers to such a degree, that, in a little time, all the Turks were thrown down or put to flight. At length, after a siege of three months, and the spilling of much blood, Paleologus lost both hope and courage; he returned to his vessels again on the 17th of August, and brought back the broken remains of his fleet and army to Constantinople, meditating only to persuade Mahomet that the isle of Rhodes was impregnable. He was deprived of his command, and banished for his ill success.

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