Several of the older Knights received the command with due
submission, but among those who were younger there were murmurings. These
men deemed the answer to their appeal hard and cruel; they could see no
object in the loss of their lives, which they well knew would all be
sacrificed in the next assault. They accordingly, to the number of
fifty-three, wrote a letter to the Grand Master, demanding permission to
abandon St. Elmo and retire to Il Borgo. If their request were denied they
announced their design to sally forth, sword in hand, and perish in the
ranks of the enemy. The Commandeur de Cornet was the bearer of this letter,
which was received by the Grand Master with sorrow and indignation. To
reassure them, he sent three commissioners to inspect the place. This was
done, and one of them, a Knight of Greek descent named Constantine
Castriot, reported that the fort could still hold out a while longer. When
he announced this at St. Elmo the recalcitrant Knights were so furious with
him that the Baili of Negropont had to sound "the alarm" to prevent a
disgraceful fracas. The commissioners returned to Il Borgo. After hearing
their report La Valette wrote a letter to those by whom he had been
memorialised to the following effect:
"Return to the convent, my brothers; you will there be in greater
security; and on our part we shall feel a greater sense of security in
the conservation of so important a place, on which depends the safety of
the island and the honour of our Order.
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