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FALCHETTI. The personal narrative of Fabriano Falohettì, who was taken prisoner at the fall of Nicosia, September 9, 1570, is here translated from a copy of a contemporary NS. NO. 117 in the Biblioteca Otiveriana at Pesaro, kindly supplied by the courteous Librarian, Marchese Antaldi-Sentinolli. The letter was doubtless addressed to the Doge of Venice, and has not, I think, been published. An accotent of what happened at the talcing of Nicosia in Cyprus. I, Fabriano Falchetti, of Saluderio, a village in the District of Rimini, who happened to be at Nicosia in the company of Captain Palazzo da Fano, can give an account of many things which happened before and after the loss of that city : and I begin and say truly to your Serene Highness how ou the 28th of Jnne the Turkish fleet arrived at the Salines; by common report there were two hundred vessels, galleys, galliots, faste, with other kinds, such as lighters, caramussalini, palancate and the like, to the nmnber of two hundred more. And as soon as they arrived they sent off one hundred other ships to Caramania to bring other troops, and landed some of their men, and built a few forts and remained quiet nine-teen days—it was said on account of a difference between the two Pashas, Piale wishing first to go to Famagosta, and Mustafa to Nicosia. They resolved however at last to go to Nicosia, which thoy reached in six days. When they were within four miles they fell in with 500 stradiots, who were in ambush. These were the balance of the 800 iu Famagosta, that is there were 500 in Nicosia and 300 left in Famagosta. A great skirmish followed, and many were killed. One stradiot only fell, and Captain Corti so was made prisoner; we heard afterwards that they cut off his head. When they had pitched their camp about a mile freni the city three hundred Italians made a sally and came to blows, without any loss on onr side. Tho oneiny, posted behind a hill called Famagosta, began to build there forts which were five in number, facing five of the city bastions, and while they wore building them many of their men were slain by our artillery. When the forts were finished they began tu batter the city incessantly with their guns, and while still firing to make trenches which ran from one bastion to another. Then they sot to make other winding trenches which sometimes came up to the walls of tho city, and again another which girdled all five bastions, iu which they posted many guns and musketeers, who fired continually, and hindered ns from approaching the walls, which were without parapets. Noxt they brought np their works in serpentine fashion to our ditch, and there made two parapets, one on the right and the other on the left, and managed so that onr artillery could not prevent them coining up to the angles of these bastions, and they did come up and cut off the angles. Meanwhile our men made two sallies by night to find out what they were doing, not without loss on uur side and theirs. On the Feast of the Virgin, August 15, a sally was made to sinke their gnus, and a fierce skirmish ensued, in which many of the Turks were killed, aud forty of our men, among whom were Captain Giobattista da Fano, Count Alberto Scotto, and Captain Cesare da Treviso, Lieutenant of the Colonel. After this skirmish no further sallies were made so ns not to lose men. The Turks meanwhile set to joining the soil which they dug out uf the bastions with other soil which they bronght up in front of the ditch, and thus with fascines and earth they built np a road to the level of the bastions, while we could assail them only with fireworks and stones. 80 EXCERPTA CYPRIA.

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