AD. THE ENGLISH VOYAGES 



1522. 



were broken and crushed by the great, furious, and con- 

 tinuall shot of the enemies artillery. As for gunpowder 

 the sayd lord sayd, that all that was for store in the 

 towne, was spent long agone, and that which was newly 

 brought, was not to serve & furnish two assaults. And 

 he seeing the great advantage of the enemies being so 

 farre within the towne, without power to put or chase 

 them away, for default of men, was of the opinion that 

 the towne would be lost, and that there was no meanes 

 to save it. The words of the sayd lord finished, the cap- 

 taine Gabriel Martiningo for his discharge sayd and 

 declared to the reverend lord and them of the Councell, 

 that seeing and considering the great beatings of the shot 

 that the towne had suffered, and after seeing the entring 

 which the enemies had so large, and that they were within 

 the towne by their trenches both endlong and overthwart ; 

 seeing also that in two other places they were at the foot 

 of the wall, and that the most part of our knights and 

 men of warre and other were slaine and hurt, and the 

 [II. i. 90.] gunpowder wasted, and that it was unpossible for them to 

 resist their enemies any more, that without doubt the 

 towne was lost if there came no succors for to helpe and 

 resist the siege. The which opinions and reasons of 

 these two woorthy men and expert in such feats, under- 

 stood and pondered by the lord great master and the 

 lords of the Councell, they were most part advised for to 

 accept and take treaty if it were offered, for the savegard 

 of the common people, and of the holy reliques of the 

 church, as part of the holy crosse, the holy throne, the 

 hand of St. John, and part of his head, and divers other 

 reliques. Howbeit the lord great master to whom the 

 businesse belonged very neere, and that tooke it most 

 heavily, and was more sorrowfull then any of the other, 

 as reason required, was alway stedfast in his first purpose, 

 rather willing to die then to consent to such a thing, and 

 sayd againe to the lordes of the Councell : Advise you, 

 and thinke well on every thing, and of the end that may 

 happen, and he proposed to them two points : that is to 



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