Very soon the vigilance of the Moslems was rewarded by the capture
of a number of vessels, sent by Bernard de Mendoza laden with Turkish and
Moorish slaves, destined to be utilised as rowers in the Spanish galleys.
These men were hailed as a welcome reinforcement, and joyfully joined the
forces of Kheyr-ed-Din when he moved on Minorca, captured the castle by a
surprise assault, raided the surrounding country, and captured five
thousand seven hundred Christians, amongst whom were eight hundred men who
had been wounded in the attack on Tunis--all these unfortunates were sent
to refill the bagnio of Algiers.
This private war of revenge was, however, destined soon to come to an end,
as Soliman the Magnificent in this year became involved in disputes with
the Venetian Republic, and recalled "that veritable man of the sea," as
Barbarossa had been described by Ibrahim, to Constantinople.
In this city by the sea there had taken place a tragedy which, although it
only involved the death of a single man, was nevertheless far-reaching in
its consequences; for the man was none other than that great statesman
Ibrahim, Grand Vizier, and the only trusted counsellor of the Padishah. He
who had been originally a slave had risen step by step in the favour of his
master until he arrived at the giddy eminence which he occupied at the time
of his death. It is a somewhat curious commentary on the essentially
democratic status of an autocracy that a man could thus rise to a position
second only to that of the autocrat himself; and, in all probability,
wielding quite as much power.
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