Pope Leo, son of Lorenzo the Magnificent, was accustomed to
leave Rome in the autumn for hunting, and fishing in the sea, of which
latter pastime he was particularly fond. One of his favourite resorts was
the castle of Magliana, five miles from Rome, on the banks of the Tiber. On
September 18th, 1516, he left Rome and proceeded to Civita Lavinia, on the
Laurentian coast. Here he was waited for by the corsair Curtogali, who,
with fifteen ships off the coast and an ambush on shore, was ready to carry
him off. Curtogali is supposed to have derived his information as to the
movements of the Pope from some traitor about the Papal Court who desired
the downfall of "the fatal House of Medici."
Some one, however, warned the Pope, who fled, accompanied by his retinue,
at a headlong gallop to Rome, never drawing bridle until he reached the
safe seclusion of the Vatican.
We must now return, however, to that eagle who fluttered so sorely the
dovecotes, both Christian and Moslem, and whose loudly proclaimed faith in
the Prophet never permitted his religion to stand inconveniently in the way
of his material advancement in the world. The soldiers and sailors of the
corsair entered Bizerta shouting for Soliman and Barbarossa. There was no
mention of Raschid, that Prince of the Hafsit dynasty, whom Kheyr-ed-Din
had declared to the townspeople he had come to restore to the throne of his
ancestors. Too late the town sprang to arms, under a chief named Abdahar,
and in the first instance accomplished a considerable success.
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