536 SAINT JOHN'S of Tiberias. After the fall of Jerusalem it was established at the castle of Margat (the present Markab), the female branch of the order re- tiring to Europe. The knights were involved in disputes and hostilities with the templars, to the damage of both orders ; but they con- tinued to serve valiantly against the infidels. At the battle of Gaza, in 1244, both orders were nearly exterminated by the Kharesmians. "When Acre fell into the hands of the Saracens (1291), the hospitallers removed to Limisso in Cyprus, where they were recruited by drafts on the European commanderies. In this insu- lar residence originated their naval character, as their vessels conveyed pilgrims to the Holy Land. This led to' sea fights, in which the brethren became as distinguished as they had been on land. They seized Rhodes in 1309, fortified it, and held it for more than two cen- turies against the utmost power of the Turks, and were hence called knights of Rhodes. Of the two memorable sieges they sustained there, the first, in 1480, under the grand master D'Aubusson, proved disastrous to the besiegers, and the second, under L'Isle-Adam, in 1522, after a heroic defence of six months, ended in the defeat of the knights and their evacuating the island. After taking refuge successively in Candia, Messina, and the mainland of Italy, they were in 1530 put in possession of the islands of Gozo and Malta and the city of Tri- poli by the emperor Charles. V. Malta, which the knights made one of the strongest places in the world, became thenceforward the bul- wark of Christendom, and gave its name to the order. The Turks made a fruitless at- tack on the island in 1551, and renewed it in 1565, with an armament calculated to com- mand success ; but the grand master, Jean Parisot de la Valette, after four months of incredible endurance, forced the besiegers to depart. This defence raised the fame of the order to its height. They held Malta till June, 1798, when it was taken by Bonaparte, the grand master Hompesch having abdicated and been sent to Trieste. (See HOMPESCH.) Since this event the order has existed only in name. It was protected for a time by the emperor Paul I. of Russia, whose reported conversion to the Roman Catholic church caused him to be chosen grand master. The seat of the order was removed to Catana in 1801, to Ferrara in 1826, and to Rome in 1834. A fruitless at- tempt to restore it was made in 1850. Since 1805 the order has been administered by a lieu- tenant and a college residing in Rome. SAINT JOHN'S, a N. E. county of Florida, lying between the St. John's river and the Atlantic, and drained by the St. John's and its affluents; area, 900 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 2,618, of whom 681 were colored. The sur- face is flat and much of it marshy. There are some live oaks. The chief productions in 1870 were 7,630 bushels of Indian corn, 15,235 of sweet potatoes, 1,000 Ibs. of rice, 67 hogs- heads of sugar, and 3,457 gallons of molasses. There were 5,664 cattle and 1,728 swine. Cap- ital, St. Augustine. SAINT JOHNS, a S. W. county of Quebec, . Canada, bordering on New York ; area, 175 sq. m. ; pop. in 1871, 12,122, of whom 9,415 were of French, 1,285 of English, and 963 of Irish origin. It is bounded E. by the Riche- lieu river, and is traversed by the Rouse's Point division of the Grand Trunk railway. Capital, St. Johns. SAINT JOHN'S, the capital and commercial metropolis of Newfoundland, the easternmost town of North America, situated in the S. E. part of the island, on the N. side of a harbor of the same name on the E. coast of the pen- insula of Avalon, 65 m. N. of Cape Race and 18 m. S. of Cape St. Francis, 550 m. E. N. E. of Halifax, Nova Scotia; lat. 47 84' N., Ion. 52 42' W. ; pop. in 1874, 23,890. The site ascends gradually from the harbor, the high- est point being 225 ft. above the sea. Oppo- site the town, on the S. side of the harbor, the hills rise abruptly from the water's edge 700 ft. ; but a small space at their base has been made available for building, and here have been erected warehouses and steam factories for the manufacture of seal and cod oil. The country around St. John's is picturesque and generally well cultivated. The town consists of three streets nearly parallel with the har- bor, and others crossing these at right an- gles. A fourth main street, on which are sit- uated the government house, colonial build- ing, skating rinks, &c., is being rapidly built up. The streets are well drained and macad- amized, and are lighted with gas. A supply of water was introduced in 1861, at a cost of $360,000, from a large lake 5 m. distant, and elevated 150 ft. above the highest part of the town. The principal thoroughfare stretches along the water's edge about 1 m., and is well built up with brick and stone. From it the wharves project into the harbor. On the other streets the houses are mostly of wood. The government house (residence of the governor) is a plain structure, erected at a cost of $240,- 000. The colonial lunatic asylum is beautifully situated in- wooded grounds about 3 m. out of town. Other public edifices are the colonial building (containing the public offices and le- gislative halls), custom house, colonial peniten- tiary, post office, court house, general hospital, smallpox hospital, market house, and poor- house (in the suburbs). The Roman Catholic cathedral is one of the finest church edifices in North America ; it occupies the highest ground in town, and with the adjacent buildings cost $800,000. The church of England cathedral, not yet completed, is a fine specimen of archi- tecture, and is handsomely decorated within. The wharves and stages for drying fish, which line the shore, are a peculiarity of the town. The harbor is landlocked and somewhat cres- cent-shaped ; it is deep, and has good anchor- age. The entrance is through the " Narrows," a gorge between two steep and rugged cliffs,
