nd have desired to attach him to
himself as a friend or as a confidential secretary, to be always near
him. It is more than probable that his impressions of Southern France,
which he immortalized in his early pastoral romance of "Galatea" were
imbibed while making the journey to Rome with the cardinal, in whose
service he must have remained three years, as in October 7, 1571, we
find him joining the united Venetian, Papal, and Spanish expedition
commanded by Don John of Austria, against the Turks and the African
corsairs.

In the naval engagement at Lepanto, Cervantes was badly wounded, and
finally lost his left hand and part of the arm. For six months he was
immured in the hospital at Messina. After his recovery, he joined the
expedition to the Levant, commanded by Marco Antonio Colonna, Duke of
Valiano. He joined at intervals various other expeditions, and not till
after his prominence in the engagement at Tunis, did he, in 1575, start
to return to Spain, the land of his heart, the theme of the poet, and
the region supposed by the Moors to have dropped from heaven. Don John
of Austria and Don Carlos of Arragon, Viceroy of Sicily, each bore the
warmest testimony to the bravery and heroism of our poet, and each gave
him strong letters of commendation to the king of Spain.

In company with his own brother Roderigo, and other wounded soldiers
who were returning home, he started in the ship _El Sol_, which had the
misfortune, September 26, 1575, to be captured by an Algerine squadron.
Then it happened that the letters from the two kings, so highly prized
and upon which he had built so many hopes, proved a great misfortune to
him. The pirates cast lots for the captives. Cervantes fell to the share
of the captain, Dali Mami by name, who, in consequence of finding these
two letters, imagined he must be some Don of great importance and worth
a heavy ransom. He was watched and guarded with great strictness, loaded
with heavy fetters, and subjected to cruelties of every kind, till his
captor, not finding him of so much account as he had supposed, and no
money being offered for his ransom, the captain finally sold him for
five hundred escudos to the Dey Azan.

Inasmuch as a change might lead to something better, Cervantes rejoiced.
His gallant spirit, ever hopeful, looked for the open door in
misfortune. But, alas! his increased sufferings with the Dey reached a
climax almost beyond endurance. He made every struggle to escape;