aded
scourge, which had so long hampered the commerce of these waters,
namely, the rapacious Greek, Turkish, and Algerine pirates. In the
armory of the Grand Palace at Valletta, there may be seen to-day, among
other trophies taken from the enemy by the Knights, the sword of the
renowned pirate chief, known as Admiral Dragut, who was also Pasha of
Tripoli. The owner of the sword was fatally wounded in the siege of
Malta, before the walls of St. Elmo, in 1565.

This daring man, entirely wanting in the attribute of mercy, and known
as the most reckless and successful corsair of his day, yet preserved
some chivalrous instincts which were exhibited on occasion. A gallant
saying, which is often attributed to others, was first uttered by him,
if we may believe contemporary authority. It was at the time when the
Turkish forces, with whom Dragut had joined in the attempt to take
Malta, after struggling for months in the vain endeavor to capture the
fort of St. Elmo, were engaged in the last decisive assault. The pirate,
now advanced in years, lay sorely wounded and dying, when he asked the
surgeon, who was by his side, "How goes the battle?" "Our soldiers have
taken the fort and massacred its defenders," was the reply. "Allah be
praised!" gasped the sinking corsair, "then I die content." These were
his last words. Dragut was very humbly born, beginning his profession as
a common seaman, at the lowest round of the ladder, that is, as cabin
boy. His fortune was a strangely varied one, now a galley slave, now a
soldier in the Sultan's service, now a pilot on the sea, and now a
daring pirate, working his way upward by patient determination, until
finally he stood as master upon the deck of his own galley, and was the
terror of these seas. It was not long before he became admiral of the
entire Turkish navy. Dragut had pursued his piratical and warlike career
for nearly half a century. He possessed executive qualities which fitted
him to act both as an admiral and as a general, a large share of his
victories having been achieved upon the land. He had agreed with the
Sultan of Turkey to join forces with him in the attack upon Malta, but
was delayed for a few days, so the Sultan's commander began the siege
without him. Mustafa Pasha made a bad piece of business of it, and did
not open his attack with true soldierly skill. When Dragut arrived,
important changes were promptly made, and it was while directing these
movements that the famou