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- Author: Luis Coloma
Book online «The Story of Don John of Austria by Luis Coloma (e books for reading txt) 📖». Author Luis Coloma
"Our Lord keep the Illustrious person of Y.E. as I wish.
"From Messina, the 7th of May, 1572."
PHILIP II AND HIS SON DON FERNANDO
Titian. In Prado Gallery, Madrid
At the end of this letter is the following postscript in D. John's own hand:
"I desire that this boy should be given me much more than I can say, as he will do so little harm, and I am truly fond of him, and almost under an obligation, and thus, as I have said, I desire to have my wish gratified, and for this I truly want your help, whom I beg that if it now appears to you to be the time and occasion, to do me this favour, to grant it, and to see that in every case and time the rest of those in the company of the said boy should be well treated, as pity towards such is certainly, in my opinion, the sign of a good heart, and, moreover, I wish that they should know that I am watching over their interests, and all this I confide to you, Don Juan.
The Pope, the King, and the Doge of Venice readily agreed to what D. John asked, and left him exclusive master of the poor captive child. The Generalissimo sent to set him at liberty with all his servants; but beforehand, and while D. John was at Naples, there arrived in the port a beautiful Turkish galley, with a safe conduct of embassy, sent by Fatima Cadem, a daughter of Ali Pasha, and the only remaining relation left to the orphan. Alhamet came in this galley, the tutor of the two brothers, bringing a letter and a rich present from Fatima for D. John of Austria. The following is the translation of her letter, given by Vander Hammen:
"Great Lord: After kissing the earth Y.H. treads, that which this poor and miserable orphan wishes to make known to Y.H., Her Lord, is to tell you how grateful I am for the favour you have done to all of us, not only in giving liberty to Alhamet, our servant, but by sending him to give us news, that after the death of my father and the destruction of the Armada, my poor orphan brothers remained alive and in the power of Y.H., for which I pray to God to give Y.H. many years of life. What remains to us, My Lord, to me and all of us, is to beg Y.H. to do us the favour and charity by the Soul of Jesus Christ, by the life of Y. Royal H., by the head of your mother, by the soul of the Emperor, your father, by the life of the Majesty of the King, your brother, to give liberty to these poor orphans. They have no mother, their father died at Y.H.'s hand. They are under your sole protection. But if you are the courteous gentleman people say, so pious and generous a prince, pity the tears I shed for hours, and the affliction in which my brothers find themselves, and concede me this mercy. Of the things I have been able to get here, I send Y.H. this present, which I beg you will be willing to receive. I well know that it is not worthy of Y.H.'s greatness, which deserves greater things, but my resources are small. Do not look at the smallness of the service, but, like a great lord, accept the good-will with which it is made. Again, My Lord, I beg Y.H. by the Soul of Jesus Christ to do me the charity of giving liberty to my brothers, as in doing this good, even to enemies, you will gain a renown for liberality and piety; and, thinking of their tears, you were pleased to send Alhamet, to say that they were alive and of the good treatment Y.H. gave them (which all this Court thinks very noble and does nothing but praise the virtue and greatness of Y.H.), for you have ended in gaining this title from everyone, there remains nothing but that Y.H. should grant this mercy, of giving them liberty.
"Your slave, the poor sister of the sons of Ali Pasha, kisses the feet of Y.H.
D. John received this letter, wrapped in a cloth of brocade, from the hands of Alhamet, and the eight Turkish slaves who came with him then brought in the magnificent present. It consisted of four garments of sable, two of lynx, one of ermine, another of lynx with crimson satin, which had belonged to the King of Persia, with a trimming, half a yard wide, of brocade, each piece seven ells long; two boxes of very fine Levantine porcelain, a box of handkerchiefs and towels embroidered with gold, silver and silk in the Turkish fashion; a cover of cut-out silk embroidered in relief with gold; another cover of quilted brocade; a quantity of table-covers of leather; perfumed leather tapestry; a damascene scimitar which had belonged to the Grand Turk, set with gold and adorned with fine turquoises; five gilt bows with 500 arrows, which had belonged to the Grand Turk, much adorned with gold and enamel, and the quivers chased and perfumed; a quantity of all sorts of feathers; a little box of fine musk; some turban pieces of fine linen; six big carpets; six felt covers; a bow and quiver all of fine gold, enamelled in blue, which had belonged to Soliman; a quantity of water-bottles and flasks of perfumed leather; four flasks of fine mastic of Chios; twenty-four damascened knives, worked in gold, silver and rubies.
D. John of Austria examined all these riches minutely, with many expressions of courtesy and thanks; but then he made the slaves pack them up again as they had come, and ordered Alhamet to take them himself to Rome and make them over to the child captive, Mahomet Bey, to do as he liked with them. The son of Ali arrived at Naples at the end of May, and a few days afterwards embarked for Constantinople, with all his servants and some other prisoners whom D. John had redeemed to do him honour. The child took back this answer to his sister Fatima from the Generalissimo:
"Noble and virtuous Lady: From the first hour that Ahmet Bey and Mahomet Bey, your brothers, were brought to my galley, after having gained the battle over the Turkish Armada, knowing their nobility of mind and good morals, and considering the misery of human weakness, and how the state of man is subject to change, added to which that these noble youths came more for the pleasure and company of their father, than to do us harm, it was in my mind, not only to order that they should be treated as noblemen, but to give them liberty, when it seemed to me the time and place. This intention grew when I received your letter, so full of affliction and fraternal affection, and such demonstrations of desiring the freedom of your brothers, and when I thought I could send them both, to my very great sorrow, came to Ahmet Bey the end of his labours, which is death. I now send Mahomet Bey, free, and all the other prisoners he asked for, as I would have sent the deceased, if he were alive; and be certain, Lady, that it has been a special annoyance not to be able to satisfy you or gratify part of what you ask, because I hold in much esteem the fame of your virtuous nobility. The present you sent I did not accept, and I have given it to Mahomet Bey, not that I do not appreciate it as coming from your hand, but because the greatness of my ancestors was not accustomed to receive gifts from those who wanted favours, but to grant them; and for this reason receive your brother from my hand, and those I send with him; be certain, that if in another battle I should take any of his kinsmen, with the same liberality I will give them their liberty, and would procure them all pleasure and contentment.
"From Naples, 13th of May, 1573. At your service,
The downfall of the Ottoman Empire began at Lepanto and its ruin followed. It is, however, certain that the immediate benefits of this triumph did not correspond either to the splendour of its glory or to the heroism of those who gained it.
The Generals of the League were in a great hurry to separate; old Veniero was anxious to find himself in Venice to have the wound he had gained in the battle cared for; Colonna wished to be back in Rome to enjoy the merited honours of the triumph, and D. John of Austria, shut up in Messina by the definite orders of his brother Philip II, who had instructed him to retire there and not to move, or do anything without fresh orders from him, was consumed with impatience at seeing the opportunity of plucking the fruits of the battle of Lepanto slip away, and, as a natural consequence, the fulfilment of the promise made by the Pope at the investiture, of granting him the first kingdom gained from the Turks.
A mysterious event, then very secret, but afterwards known by everyone, came to spur on in D. John his desire to continue the campaign according to the treaty of the League, and according to the continual demands of Pius V, the only one who raised his voice, without worldly interests, in absolute and saintly independence. D. John had entered Messina on All Saints' day at the head of the Venetian fleet, towing the innumerable captive galleys, with their standards lowered, their flags dragging through the water, their cannon and arms crossed, forming trophies of war. Nothing seemed enough in Messina with which to feast and welcome the hero of Lepanto; the city, Archbishop and clergy received him under a pall, and there on the mole they gave him the munificent present of 30,000 golden crowns, which D. John divided between the hospitals and the wounded soldiers of the fleet. In his honour they gave the name of Austria to the magnificent doorway which they had constructed on the mole to receive him, and also to the street which ran from it. In the most prominent site of Messina, in front of the palace and in the centre of the square of Our Lady del Piller they erected, at that time, a colossal statue, the work of the renowned sculptor and architect Andres Calamech. This was (and is, for it still stands in the same place) of gilded bronze; the right hand holds the triple baton of the Generalissimo of the League, and it is placed on a very high column also of bronze, on the pedestal of which are sculptured Latin verses and allegories alluding to the short but glorious life of D. John of Austria.
While the feastings and rejoicings which lasted many days were still going on, there glided one night, among the many boats in the harbour, a Greek galley, of the kind which at that time brought the merchandise of the East to Italy. It was there several days, without attracting anyone's attention, moored to the mole, unloading its cargo under the direction of the Captain, a portly Albanian, who was acquainted with the principal merchants of Messina. But one night, after the curfew had sounded, three men secretly disembarked from the Greek galley, and, guided by the Captain himself, went through the deserted streets, shrouded in ample cloaks, with hoods that hid their faces, two of whom seemed to regulate their firm steps by those of the third man, who went slowly and with fatigue. They gained the square del Piller, where was the statue of D. John; the great mole of the old castle stretched in front, constructed in the time of Arcadio and renovated lately by D. Garcia de Toledo, and towards it the hooded men went, stopping at a little door, which opened in the
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