The Order Of St. John

THE ORDER OF ST . JOHN

LONDON , SATTJBDAY , JTTLT 27 , 1867 . ' *? ' i

NOTES BY A NOVICE ; - ; '' ' { Continued ^ fr @ m- page 42 . ) **< The fall of Acre , tlae last stronghold , of the military orders , secured the supremacy pf the Moslems in Palestine , and the scanty remnant of

Christian Knights returned to Europe , discomfitted , but not dismayed . The King of Cyprus joyfully received the warriors of St . John , assigning them the town of Linrisso , in his dominions , as a retreat , where they remained for twenty

years , until Eulke de Villaret , the Grand Master , led them to the conquest of Rhodes . This island continued in the possession of the Order for more than two hundred years , during which time the Knights distinguished themselves

as much by sea as they had previously done by land ; their war galleys swept the Mediterranean Sea , then infested by corsairs from Barbary , and many sanguinary struggles ensued between the representatives of the cross and the crescent .

Immense numbers of Christians , who were being carried off to slavery by the pirates , were rescued as the result of these encounters , in which the Knights were generally successful , so that at length the black flag of the African robbers was scarcely to be seen in the Lycian waters .

The advent of Solyman , the Magnificent , to the throne of Turkey , was of evil omen to the heroic fraternity . After a series of maritime victories , this renowned Sultan landed on the island of Rhodes , with an immense army , and solemnly

declared his head , his fleet , and his whole empire to be for ever accursed if he failed to capture the fortress of the Christian Knights . The noble defence made by the Hospitallers * is one of the undying records of history ; but overwhelming

numbers prevailed , and they were eventually compelled to capitulate under conditions honourable alike to the victor and the vanquished . The Knights then retired to Candia , and afterwards to Sicily , until the Emperor Charles the V ., in 1530 , ceded to the Order the Island of Malta , to be maintained , as a bulwark against the constant

encroachments of the Ottoman empire . Here the Kni ghts fully sustained their ancient reputation , the Turks being defeated with great loss after a memorable siege of five months'

duration , in which the valour and military genius of John cle'Valette . Grand Master of the Order , were eminently conspicuous . Prom this time they ; remained in undisputed possession of Malta , of which the Grand Master was recognised as

sovereign , being bound only to present a falcon every year to the King- ' of Spain , and to use his best endeavours to suppress piracy . In 1650 , the siege of Candia was the scene of many brave exploits on the part of the knights of St . John , and

seven years afterwards the Maltese squadron , in conjunction with the fleet of Venice , signally defeated the Turks at the Dardanelles . In 1798 , the wondrous career of the Knights as an independent and sovereign body came to an end . On

the 9 th of June in that year , the French , under Napoleon , took possession of Malta ,, and the glorious banner of the chivalrous fraternity was supplanted by the republican tricolour . Everything of-value or [ interest belonging to the Order

was carried off by the French , but many never reached their destination , one frigate , laden with spoil , being captured by the English , and the grand standard of St . John , with other relics , may now -be seen within the walls of the Tower of

London . A general dispersion of the Knights followed ; but a considerable number took refuge in Russia , where theywerefavourablyreceivedbythe Emperor Paul ; who , at a chapter of the Order , held

subsequently at St . Petersburg , was elected Grand Master , and formally notified the fact to all the Courts of Europe . This measure was not approved by many of the Italian Knights , who accordingly requested the Pope to nominate one

of their number as the head of the Order—with the express stipulation that the inherent right of the Chevaliers to choose their own chief was not to be considered as in any way surrendered or abrogated by this temporary abandonment of

their privileges . While the Congress of Vienna held its sittings several Knights formed a general Chapter in Paris , under the Prince de Rohan , and petitioned the Congress to grant them the sovereignty of some

small island in lieu of Malta , which the British ( who had expelled the French in 1799 ) were determined not to relinquish . This attempt on the part of the Knights was , however , unsuccessful , and their influence as apolitical or ruling body seems destined never to . be restored .