on the eve of the nativity of our blessed lord a.d. 1551 there was profound peace in gozo.
the assaults of the infidel had for so long a time been intermitted, that the simple hardy islanders had almost come to believe that they would always be left in peace to cultivate their tiny fields, to worship god after their own sweet manner, and to rest quietly in their little square stone dwellings, secure from the attacks of the swarthy, merciless monsters that, not content with the possession of their own sunny lands, had so often swarmed across the bright blue stretches of sea separating the maltese islands from africa.
over the main thoroughfare of rabato, the principal town of the tiny island that hung like a jewel in the ear of malta the beautiful, the great square citadel of the knights kept grim watch and ward. it rose sheer from the street for one hundred feet of height, a mass of quarried stone cemented into a solidity scarcely less than that of the original rock from whence its ashlar had been hewn with such heavy toil, a mountainous fortress, to all outward seeming impregnable. upon its highest plateau towered the mighty cathedral, fair to view without in its stately apparel of pure white stone, and all glorious within by308 reason of the numberless gifts showered upon it by the loving hands of those who desired thus to show their gratitude to god.
in truth it was a goodly fane. not merely because of the blazing enrichments of gold and silver and precious stones with which it glowed and sparkled, but because of the many signs of loyalty and truth evidenced in the sculptured tombs of the illustrious dead. the knights who kept vigilant watch around its sacred walls and came daily to worship within its cool aisles were never left without a solemn witness to the fealty of those who had gone before them. the most careless among them could not help being impressed by the fact that here in the midst of the great sea had been planted an outpost of christendom of which they were the custodians—a fortress of the utmost value for the keeping back of the paynim hordes who bade fair to overwhelm all christian countries, and bring them under the abhorrent rule of mahomed the accursed one.
in this there is no exaggeration. if there be one fact more clearly established than any other, amid the welter of misleading rubbish that floods the world to-day, it is this, that the fearless self-sacrifice of the knights of malta, buttressed by the devotion of those over whom they held no gentle sway, saved europe from being overrun by the pitiless mussulman, saved europe from being to-day a depraved, debased, and miserable land, wherein all the horrors of eastern africa would have their full and awful outcome.
raimondo de homedes, only son of the grand309 master of that name, juan de homedes, was on this most momentous christmas eve in command of the gozo garrison. the general feeling was one of security. the last attack of the infidel in 1546 had been repulsed with such terrible loss to the invader that the high-spirited garrison could not help coming to the conclusion that it would be at least a generation before any such attempt would again be made.
raimondo de homedes, then, went the rounds of his great command in the citadel of gozo with a carefree heart. his thoughts were mainly occupied with the question of how soon he should be free to meet his lady-love, the stately daughter of alfonso de azzopardi, chief of all the notables in gozo. she was, to him at least, brightest, best of all the damosels whose charms fired the palpitating hearts of those warriors of the cross who were holding these islands for the commonweal of christian europe.
while he thus meditated, receiving the replies to his perfunctory challenges of the sentries on guard with an ear that hardly conveyed to his brain the meaning of the words, there came running to him a page, a lad of parts who was an especial favourite. breathless, panting with excitement, the child (he was scarcely more) gasped out, “messer raimondo, the sentinel on the eastern tower says that since you passed his guard-house he has been mightily exercised by the appearance of some black masses on the sea. he knows not what they can be, but he fears they are galleys and that they can be coming for no good purpose. he prays you to return and look for yourself, in310 case there should be any mischief intended of which we have had no warning by our spies.”
raimondo listened, with a concentration of all his mental faculties, but as he did so he could not help a contemptuous smile crinkling his features. “just another bad dream of old gianelli’s. but never mind; i will go and set his troubled soul at rest.”
it wanted but two hours of midnight. the moon was full and almost in the meridian, pouring down through the cloudless serene a flood of light like molten silver. so dazzling was the radiance that when the commandant and his companion stepped forth upon the highest plateau of all into its full glare, their shadows glided by their sides as if carved in solid ebony, and every object around them was as clearly visible as if it had been noonday. with a quick springing step, raimondo mounted the half-dozen steps of stone leading into the eastern tower, meeting gianelli’s challenge with the countersign of the night, “mary.” then raimondo burst impetuously into speech, saying—
“what ails thee, gianelli? surely dreams trouble thee; and in thy nervous anxiety to be counted most faithful of all our faithful guards, thou hast conjured up a band of spectres to torment thyself withal. what hast thou seen and where?”
for all answer gianelli bowed low, and, straightening himself immediately, stretched out his long left arm towards the west in the direction of tunis. and there, in that blazing tract of silvern light shed upon the darkling sea by the moon, was distinctly to be seen311 a row of objects that could be nothing else but galleys, although it was evident that they were of the smallest size.
an instantaneous change took place in the attitude of the young commandant. “by the holy sepulchre,” he muttered, “thou art right, gianelli, and i did thee grievous wrong to ridicule thy well-known fidelity and watchfulness.”
“say no more about it, my lord; i love thee far too well to be over-pained by what i know is but the natural free speech of a high-spirited youth. but what thinkest thou, my lord? is it possible that some of our own galleys may be returning from a secret raid upon the infidel strongholds?”
“no, gianelli, it is not; for my latest information, coming yesterday morning, was to the effect that all the smaller galleys had been recalled, and were safely housed in the grand harbour. their crews have been given leave for the great festival, only the slaves remaining by them under guard. no; this must be a matter of far more serious import. sound the summons to arms and light the beacon while i haste to the council chamber. luigi, my lad, run thou to the church and pass the word for all my officers to leave their vigil around the altars at once.”
thus saying, raimondo hastened away, noting as he did so, with grim satisfaction, the leaping flames from the summit of the tower being answered by twinkling points of light all over the black masses of rock that lay to the eastward, showing that already the312 alarm had been sounded in every fortress from rabato to st. elmo.
within the great church were gathered most of the garrison not on guard. all the gorgeous details with which the church loves to welcome in the day of days had been lovingly attended to. there was the stable, the manger, the waiting cattle, the worshipping eastern kings. mary, in her mighty meekness, cradled her divine infant upon her virgin bosom; joseph, careworn and travel-stained, looked upon her with a solemn wonder in his honest eyes; while around and above jewels and gold and silver flashed in all their splendour by the light of a thousand tall candles. a thin blue haze of incense gave all things an air of mystery, and the perfume laid upon the senses a strange exaltation.
suddenly there was a hush, a bated breathing by all, as the archbishop, in his marvellous vesture, arose from his knees and spoke.
“my brethren, from the preparation for the advent of the day whereon we celebrate the human birth of our divine redeemer, ye are called to do battle with his most terrible foes. my lord the commandant of gozo informs me that the galleys of the infidel are approaching us, in the hope, he supposes, of finding us all so enwrapped in our devotions that he will have of us an easy prey. my children, let him learn that we watch as well as pray. show him once again that we count it our most precious privilege to pour out our blood in defence of our most holy faith, that we look upon our dying in this high endeavour to protect313 christendom from the infidel as the most glorious fate that could befall us. receive at my hands the blessing of the most high. go forth, each of you, fully equipped, not merely with material armour, but with the knowledge that upon you rests the special benevolence of god the son, under whose banner you fight.”
all heads bowed for an instant as the solemn benediction was spoken, then with a clanging of armour and a clashing of swords the great assembly sprang to their feet and departed each to his post of honour and utmost danger.
it was high time. already those snaky galleys laden with men of the most bloodthirsty type, fired with fanaticism and lured by the promises of an endless paradise of sensual delight, had crept into the many little sheltered bays of the island, and were vomiting forth their terrible crews.
already a quick ear might catch the varied cries in strange tongues floating upward through the silken smoothness of the night air, predominant over them all the oft-reiterated shout of “allah!” already the keen-sighted watchers could discern dark-moving masses of men, from the midst of which came an occasional silvery gleam as the molten flood of moonlight touched a spear-tip or sword-blade.
onward they came, marvelling doubtless at the ease with which they had been permitted thus to assemble upon the enemy’s territory, and for the most part utterly unconscious of the reception that awaited them at the goal of their hot desire. suddenly there314 arose from the town beneath the citadel walls a long-drawn cry of anguish. the careless ones who had not fled for shelter to the common refuge had been found by the invader, and were being ruthlessly slaughtered. their cries made bearded lips tighten, nervous hands grasp more firmly their weapons, and all hearts above to beat higher and more resolute to repay these murderers in full tale when the opportunity so to do should arrive.
out from the highest belfry of the cathedral pealed the twelve strokes of the midnight hour, and before their sound had died away there uprose from the citadel a mighty chorus of welcome to christmas day—gloria in excelsis deo.
before it had ended the first of the invaders had reached the walls, and, mad with fanatic fury and lust of blood, were swarming like ants up its steep sides, clinging with desperate tenacity to every plant and projection that afforded the slightest foot or hand hold. regardless of the avalanche of stones hurtling down upon them, unheeding the dreadful rain of boiling lead and scalding water, they came indomitably on. their numbers seemed incalculable, their courage, buttressed by unreasoning faith, invincible. but they were met at every point by men whose hearts were as well fortified as their own, and who possessed, besides the inestimable advantage of discipline and long training in warlike matters, the invaluable position of being defenders.
downwards by hundreds the invaders were hurled, their spurting blood staining the pure whiteness of315 the walls with long black-red smears, which the shuddering moonlight revealed in all their ghastliness. already the reinforcements were compelled to mount upon mounds of dead to get their first hold; the street of the little town, but lately so peaceful, was defiled by heaps upon heaps of frightfully mangled corpses, representatives of all the savage tribes of northern africa. “for mary and her son”—the war-cry of the night—rang out clearly and defiantly, soaring high above the shrill yells of the savages and the monotonous howl of “allahhu!”
so far all seemed to have gone well, until suddenly a shudder ran through the whole garrison as the news spread that by the treachery of a vile renegade the secret subterranean passage into the citadel from a point near the shore had been laid open, and that already a torrent of the infidels were pouring through it.
the commandant, who had approved himself on this occasion a man of the very highest ability and courage, no sooner heard this awful news than, summoning around him his most trusted knights, he placed himself at their head and hurried to the spot. and the first sight that met his eyes was the beautiful form of her he loved borne high upon the shoulders of a gigantic heathen in black armour who, apparently feeling her weight not at all, was brandishing a huge scimitar in his right hand, and yelling words of encouragement in some guttural eastern tongue to his followers.
forgetful of all else, his brain on fire at the sight, raimondo sprang ahead of his men, his keen blade316 whirling round his head. by the sheer fury of his onslaught he burst through the grim ranks of the heathen, and smiting with all his vigour at the head of the captor of his beloved one, slew, not his foe, alas! but her for whom he would gladly have given his life. the terrible blow cleft her fair body almost in twain, as the heathen giant held her before himself shieldwise to meet it. the distracted commandant’s first impulse was to fling himself upon that beloved corpse and accompany her spirit to heaven, but that thought was conquered by the knowledge of his high responsibilities. and with a shout of “mary” he recovered his blade, sprang at the foul paynim’s throat, and cleft him in sunder through gorget and vant brace.
all the followers of the young knight were fired in like manner, and like avenging angels before whom no mere flesh and blood could possibly stand for a moment, they hewed their gory way through the masses of the heathen, halting not until the last of their foes had gasped out into the darkness of eternal night his guilty soul.
and as it was in the heart of the citadel, so it had been on the battlements, not one heathen had survived his footing upon those sacred walls. and as it appeared that the whole force had devoted themselves to death in default of victory there was not one left alive.
so that the great fight ceased with the death of the last invader, and the blessed sun rose upon a scene of carnage such as even these blood-stained islands had never before witnessed. but in the hour317 of victory there arose a great cry. raimondo the gallant commandant was missing. his devoted friends rushed hither and thither in the pearly light of the new day, seeking him where the heaps of dead lay thickest, but for a long time their search was in vain. at last he was found before the manger in the church, lying with face hidden on the bosom of his beloved, whose cold mangled body was clutched in an unreleasable embrace. he was to all human sight unwounded, but even the most ignorant and callous of his command knew that he had died of a broken heart.
yet it must be believed that he went gladly to join his beloved one, knowing full well that as a gallant soldier of the cross he had nobly sustained his high part, and only when his duty was done had he permitted himself to sink into eternal rest in the arms of her whom he had so fondly loved.
