s next step was to seek for
a patron who could make use of his valour, address, and capability for
command. His choice was soon made, as who in all the Mediterranean, in his
early days, held such a name as Dragut? He accordingly entered the service
of the Basha of Tripoli, and, under his command, became well known to the
officers of the Grand Turk, particularly to the Admiral, Piali Basha, to
whom he was able to render some important services.

There is no object to be gained in lingering over the earlier years of this
notable corsair, as we should thus only be repeating what has been said
about Dragut, whose lieutenant and trusted follower he became. He
accompanied his master to the siege of Malta, and when Dragut was slain the
Capitan-Basha, Piali, named him as successor to his chief as Viceroy of
Tripoli. Ali sailed from Malta to Tripoli, taking with him the remains of
Dragut, to be buried as that chieftain had directed. When he arrived on the
Barbary coast he made himself master of the slaves and treasure which had
been left behind by Dragut; shortly after this he was confirmed in his
Vice-royalty of Tripoli by the Grand Turk; thenceforward increasing, both
his wealth and the terror in which his name was held, by continual raids
upon the Christians, more particularly on the coasts of Sicily, Calabria,
and Naples. It is curious to observe the sort of spite which all the
renegadoes seem to have harboured against the countries in which they were
born.

In March 1568, owing to the fall of Mohammed Basha, the Vice-royalty of
Algiers became vacant, and, through the good offices of his old friend
Piali, Ali became Governor. He thus returned to occupy a position of
literally sovereign power to the city which he had first entered as a
galley-slave.

That he was no negligent Governor and that he took an entirely intelligent
view of his functions, is proved by an occurrence which took place in this
same year in Spain. The Moriscoes in the Kingdom of Granada revolted
against their Spanish Governor, by whom they were sorely oppressed. They
sent messages to Ali at Algiers, begging for succour against their
persecutor. But the Basha would send no expedition; he permitted all and
sundry to go as volunteers, but gave out publicly that "it more concerned
him to defend well his own State than to interfere in the affairs of
others." He even went farther than this, and when a number of Moriscoes,
who were settled at Algiers, embarked