It may be objected that he had already
been offered and had already accepted the post; this is quite true, but
there were certain conventions to be fulfilled on the side of the recipient
of the bounty of the Sultan quite understood on both sides, although no
word had passed on the subject. In those days the man who desired the
favour of an Eastern potentate never dreamed of approaching him
empty-handed, and the more liberal that he was in the matter of gifts the
greater was the favour with which he was regarded. Therefore the principle
acted upon by Kheyr-ed-Din on this occasion was both wise and politic; that
is to say, he placed certain of his riches in a perfectly sound investment,
certain to yield him an admirable percentage, not only in added personal
prestige, but also in the placing under his command of such a force as he
had never before commanded, with unlimited opportunities of preying on the
detested Christian on a far larger scale than it had ever been his good
fortune to do before.
The Sultan Soliman was not called "the Magnificent" without just cause; his
life was splendid in its social prodigality, as it was in war and in
statesmanship; yet even he was somewhat astonished at the amazing richness
of the gifts which were laid at his feet by a man whom he knew to be, in
spite of the kingly title which he had assumed, merely a rover of the sea.
Therefore, in spite of himself, he was impressed.
Pages:
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134