throw a Spanish army was a phenomenon which the
Christian States now began to eye with considerable anxiety. From the
possessor of a strong place or two on the coast, he had become nothing
less than the Sultan of Middle Barbary (_Maghrib el-Awsat_). When the
Prince of Tinnis raised the whole country side against him, and a
mighty host was rolling down upon Algiers, Ur[=u]j marched out with
one thousand Turks and five hundred Moors, and never a cannon amongst
them, and smote the enemy hip and thigh, and pursued them into their
own city. The prince of Tinnis took to the mountains, and Ur[=u]j
Barbarossa reigned in his stead (1517). Then Tilims[=a]n fell into his
possession, and save that the Spaniards held Oran and two or three
fortresses, such as the Penon de Alger and Buj[=e]ya, his dominions
coincided with modern Algeria, and marched with the kingdoms of Tunis
and Fez. He was in a position to form alliances with Fez and Morocco.
His galleots were punctilious, moreover, in returning the call of Don
Diego de Vera, and many an expectant merchant in Genoa, or Naples, or
Venice, strained his eyes in vain for the argosy that, thanks to the
Corsair's vigilance, would never again sail proudly into the harbour.

When all this came to the ears of the new King of Spain, afterwards
the Emperor Charles V, he yielded to the prayer of the Marquis de
Comares, Governor of Oran, and despatched ten thousand veterans to
make an end of the Corsairs once and for ever. Ur[=u]j Barbarossa was
then stationed at Tilims[=a]n with only 1,500 men, and when the hosts
of the enemy drew near he made a bolt by night for Algiers, taking his
Turks and his treasure with him. The news soon reached the enemy's
scouts, and the Marquis gave hot pursuit. A river with steep banks lay
in the fugitives' path: could they pass it, they would have the
chances in their favour. Ur[=u]j scattered his jewels and gold behind
him, vainly hoping to delay the greedy Spaniards; but Comares trampled
over everything, and came up with the Turkish rear when but half their
force had crossed the river. Their leader was already safe on the
other side, but the cries of his rear-guard brought him back. The
Corsair was not the man to desert his followers, and without an
instant's hesitation he recrossed the fatal stream and threw himself
into the fray. Hardly a Turk or a Moor escaped from that bloody field.
Facing round, they fought till they dropped; and among them the
vigorous figu