r the change, and, as far as vassalage
was concerned, they would in all probability, in the state of religious
feeling at the time, have sooner been subordinate to the Moslem corsair
than to the Christian King.

[Illustration: MULEY HASSAN, KING OF TUNIS.]

Barbarossa, as we have seen, frankly acknowledged that he sought his own
advantage, and, when he possessed himself of Tunis, made no pretence of any
altruistic motive. The Emperor, on the other hand, having come in the guise
of a Christian reformer, simply stole the kingdom from Barbarossa and kept
it for himself. Incidentally he released the captives, which enabled him to
pose once more as the great champion of the oppressed. But, however this
may have been, there is no doubt that he had performed a notable feat of
arms, and even the most mighty monarch then in Europe felt uplifted by the
fact that he had defeated the greatest of the corsairs: accordingly, on
July 25th Charles wrote to England, France, Portugal, Milan, Florence,
Venice, Genoa, Siena, Mantua, and Naples: "De manera que en pocas dias se
supo in toda Europa su buena fortuna." (So it was in a few days the whole
of Europe was acquainted with his good fortune.)

Martin Nunez, "Caballero de Toledo," was sent on a special embassy to the
Pope to acquaint the Pontiff at first hand of all that happened, and the
success which had attended the arms of the Emperor, and also to thank his
Holiness for the assistance which he had rendered by sending the Papal
galleys. Jorge de Melo, a Portuguese caballero, was sent to his own country
with despatches, and other nobles and high officials were despatched to the
Emperor's Viceroys in the various parts of his dominions. In the long
circular letter which Charles addressed to all these potentates--and which
is reproduced in its entirety by Sandoval--he says "that the Christian
captives found in Tunis amounted to something like eighteen to twenty
thousand, that Barbarossa had escaped with some five thousand Turks,
corsairs, and renegadoes, of which three thousand were on horseback and two
thousand afoot; that, as they suffered from great scarcity of provisions,
and the almost total lack of water, many were falling by the way, and many
others were being murdered by their quondam allies for such goods as they
possessed, or for the value of their arms and clothing."

We must now return to Kheyr-ed-Din. What the sufferings of that chieftain
and the remnant of his gallant army