D. John of Austria received the message from the Marqués de Santa Cruz
at a deserted place called Diana, two miles from Tunis, where he had
camped. He ordered a crier to announce at once that the town of Tunis
was given over to be sacked, on the understanding that no one was to be
either wounded, killed, or taken as a slave. Then he continued the
march, and arrived at Tunis at two o'clock. He left the army drawn up in
front of the walls, and entered the town accompanied only by his
captains, to reconnoitre it for himself, arrange barracks and billets to
avoid misbehaviour on the part of the soldiery and give courage to the
Moors who showed themselves, which were all those left in Tunis. The
Alcaide of the Alcazaba came with the other principal Moors, and
delivered up the keys of the fortress, with a humble but dignified
address. D. John listened courteously, without alighting from his horse,
and did not take the keys which the Alcaide offered on his knees. He
made a sign to the Marqués de Santa Cruz that he should take them, as he
was the first to enter the place.[16] Then he wrote at once from the
Alcazaba to his brother Philip II, announcing that His Majesty was Lord
of Tunis without a shot having been fired. At last he gave the signal to
sack the town. The loot was plentiful, and as far as it was possible the
sack was orderly, without other outrage than the death of an old man who
had taken refuge in a Mosque, and several fires, due to the Italians,
whom D. John punished without loss of time, causing four of them to be
hanged. "They found in the town," says the journal of Fr. Miguel Servia,
"much wheat, barley, wool, butter, oil, and many garments; pimento,
cinnamon, cloves, ginger, beautiful porcelain and veils. From the wells,
cisterns and caverns they drew rich garments, gold, silver and other
things; and these first days they all ate nothing but fowls, because
there were countless numbers of them. The soldiers divided the spoil
among themselves in their barracks afterwards, and nothing else was
heard but digging in various parts of the town, and then selling what
was found, clothing being sold for a low and wretched price. Some parts
of the town the Italians set on fire, which much annoyed His Highness,
but many people came up, and it was remedied."
Footnote 16:
These keys are still in the possession of his descendant the Marqués
de Santa Cruz.
A very extraordinary thing happened to D. John at the Alcazaba. This
castle, which, as we have said, was big and strong, had within its walls
large cloistered court-yards, orchards, and gardens, comfortable rooms
richly furnished in the Moorish fashion, with pavements and fountains of
white marble. These were the rooms of the King Muley Hamida, and in them
D. John lived. There was a winding staircase by which to descend to a
shady little garden, with hedges of myrtle and beautiful flower borders,
and oranges and lemons, quinces and pomegranates. Beyond were the baths,
and behind these the old ruined part of the Alcazaba. The day after his
arrival D. John went to this garden, at the hour of siesta, in search of
coolness. He was accompanied by Gabrio Cervelloni, Captain-General of
the artillery, and by Juan de Soto, and they sat down on a sort of seat
of Moorish tiles, under the shade of some creepers. The heat, the hour,
the noise of running water, and the sweet peacefulness of this
enchanting spot soon overcame the feeble conversation, and they were in
that comfortable, charmed state which precedes sleep. Suddenly
Cervelloni jumped up from his seat and put his hand on his dagger, D.
John and Soto doing the same: along one of the myrtle-edged paths they
saw slowly advancing an enormous lion with a tangled mane. The animal
seemed astonished to see these persons, and paused for a moment, gazing
about as if surprised, with one paw poised in the air. Then it quietly
continued its walk, and went up to D. John, who had gone to meet it,
rubbing against his legs like a dog, and throwing itself humbly at his
feet. Then a Nubian slave appeared from the side of the baths, and
explained by picturesque signs that his beautiful animal was a tame lion
for the solace of King Hamida, and that it lived familiarly with all the
dwellers of the Alcabaza. D. John then gently caressed the mane, and
such a current of sympathy passed between the _lion of Austria_ and the
lion of the desert, that the latter became the devoted slave of the
former, and thus the great knight D. Luis Zapata de Calatayud describes
it, having often seen it: "D. John gave it his own name of Austria,"
says the already quoted Zapata in his Miscellany, "and neither by day
nor by night, like a faithful captain, did it ever leave its post. When
transacting business at Naples he had it lying at his feet like a
greyhound, its head on the ground, and satisfied with the attention paid
to it. When he dined it was at the table, and ate what D. John gave it.
It came when he called it, and on the galley, the boat was its
dwelling-place. When he was riding, it ran at his stirrups like a
lackey, and if he went on foot, behind like a page. There was nothing in
his royal house at which this gentle and obedient lion was not present,
to the point of being by day or by night of those of his bed-chamber;
and if it was cross with anyone who took hold of it, in order to rouse
it, a word from the Lord D. John, calling, "Austria, quiet, come here,"
pacified it, and it went to throw itself on his bed. This beautiful and
rare animal, when D. John left Naples for Flanders, gave such sighs and
roars that it saddened and astonished all those of that kingdom, until
at last, from sorrow for the loss and absence of its master, eating much
and eating little, it died."
It is this lion which is painted in various portraits of D. John, whose
gay, chivalrous nature made him sign himself for fun in the letters to
his two great friends, D. Rodrigo de Mendoza and the Conde de Orgaz, as
the _Knight of the Lion_, and in another letter to Gian Andrea Doria,
lamenting his work in Flanders, he says, "The Knight of the Lion does
not in the least envy the good life of Genoa, and its coast, as his life
is as laborious as that of the Knight at Ease is peaceful."
D. John, according to Philip II's instructions, made a thorough
examination of the fortifications and strategical position of Tunis, and
had long talks about it with Gabrio Cervelloni, who was well versed in
such matters; but, far from settling to dismantle the town, as the King
thought, he decided to build a new fort, capable of holding 8000 men, to
complete its defence. Tunis is situated on the banks of a lagoon, which
is so shallow that it is called "el estaño" (the pond), which is no
other than the ancient and famous port of Carthage, silted up by the
centuries, and the carelessness and the filth of all Tunis which emptied
itself there. The mouth of the lagoon is a narrow channel in the Gulf of
Tunis, and it is in this opening that Goletta is situated, defending the
entrance. On the opposite side there is an island, separated by another
channel from Tunis, and it is here that D. John thought to build the new
fort, with a covered communication with the Alcazaba. Most of those
consulted warmly applauded the project, a few condemned it,
faint-hearted ones or toadies, to whom not to agree with the King was
openly to disobey him. But D. John, firm in his idea, ordered Gabrio
Cervelloni to put it into execution without delay; which fact was not
overlooked, and later the crafty Antonio Pérez, always on the watch,
knew how to make capital out of it.
Meanwhile the Moors were reassured by the humane and generous conduct of
D. John. They trusted him absolutely, and daily the fugitives returned
to their houses, and Moors of the country descended from the mountains
to sell bread, meat, eggs, olives, fish, beef, mutton, and a thousand
other things, as peacefully and with as much confidence and security as
they would in an ordinary market. There still remained, however, a
garrison of Turks in Biserta; but the Moor Horrus, who was the Alcaide,
surprised them with a few neighbours, and beheaded them all. He then
took a fine Turkish galley which was in the port, killing some of the
crew, making slaves of others, and giving liberty to the 156 Christian
captives on board. Having accomplished this feat, the twenty-two Moorish
magnates went to Tunis, with the Christian captives, to deliver them up
to D. John, and to make their submission to him.
This happened on the 13th of October, and on the 14th D. John, satisfied
as to the submission of the kingdom, publicly gave it over to the Prince
Muley Hamet; not with the title of King of Tunis, but with that of
Governor in the name of His Catholic Majesty D. Philip II, King of
Spain. He also wrote the same day to Goletta, giving D. Juan de Cardona
orders to embark on a galley for Palermo, and gave another as an escort
to the dethroned King Muley Hamida and his son, and all the other Moors
of his suite who cared to follow them. At first the proud Moor refused
to embark, but, convinced by his son and by those about him that
resistance would be futile, he allowed himself to be taken on the galley
without resistance. He was wrapped in a long mulberry-coloured cloak,
with a white burnous over it, with the hood drawn, hiding his face with
its swollen features. He was swarthy, with an evil countenance and a
scanty beard. He walked slowly and with much dignity, his arms crossed,
and his eyes fixed on the African soil which he was treading for the
last time. When he embarked on the galley from the boat he received a
salute of two cannons, and the crew gave theirs also, which they called
"de forzado." Then his African impassiveness broke down, and he burst
into tears, saying bitterly in Arabic, "King without a crown, man
without freedom, salutes are unbecoming to you." Such was the King Muley
Hamida, whom Cervantes calls "the cruellest and bravest Moor in the
world."
Tunis quieted and the Moors content with their new government, D. John
returned to Goletta and began the preparations for his departure. He
left 8000 men divided between Goletta, Tunis, Biserta and the island
where they were beginning the new fort, and named as Generals of these
garrisons D. Pedro Portocarrero, Gabrio Cervelloni, D. Francisco de
Avila, and D. Juan Zagonera. This done, he embarked on the 24th of
October in the evening, taking with him all the remainder of the army,
except the Marqués de Santa Cruz, who remained with the galleys under
his command as rearguard. At Palermo he learnt of the death of Princess
Juana, which had taken place at the Escorial on the 8th of September.
The loss of this beloved sister affected D. John very much, and those of
his household saw him, in the privacy of his room, cry like a child,
which proves that bravery and energy are not weakened by feelings and
the tears which spring from pure and tender affections. He ordered
funeral rites in the churches, and the fleet to go into mourning,
painting and hanging with black the masts, yards, oars and bulwarks of
the ships.
This mourning, however, did not prevent the great reception D. John
received in Naples. It was something like the solemn triumphs of the
Roman conquerors of old; nor did the procession lack captive kings and
princes, to wit, Muley Hamida and his son, or strange wild beasts of
other countries, represented by the lion Austria, who walked at D.
John's stirrups, led by two strong Nubians who waited on it, without its
seeming surprised or put out by the bands, salutes, or the shouting of
the mixed multitude which accompanied D. John all the way from the mole
to the palace.
D. John entered Naples on the 12th of November, and on the 13th Juan de
Soto left for Rome on a secret mission, to tell the Pope from D. John
that the Tunis expedition was ended as far as it concerned him, and that
if the Pope still intended to give him the kingdom as he had offered to
do, that he should interpose his good offices with Philip II, so that D.
John might accept it without any disloyalty and with Philip's absolute
consent. The ambassador D. Juan de Zúñiga knew of the arrival of Soto in
Rome, and although he did not know the reason, he hastened to apprise
Philip II of the fact, who by it was filled with suspicion and fresh
jealousy. He was, however, soon enlightened, as in a day or two the
Nuncio Ormanetto, Bishop of Padua, presented himself on a special
mission on behalf of Gregory XIII, and explained very minutely the
Pope's plans for the kingdom of Tunis and for D. John, urging strongly
that they should be approved and favoured. D. Philip listened
attentively, and as if these plans were not for the good of all
Christendom, but only for the benefit of D. John of Austria. He thanked
His Holiness very much for the interest that he took in his brother, and
charged the Nuncio to say so to Gregory XIII.
Three days later he wrote a letter to his brother, of which Lorenzo
Vander-Hammen makes a precis thus:
"That he was not to be anxious about his person or promotion, as he
would see to that as of one so near to him, but that this was not the
time until it was seen what would be the result of the past expedition,
nor could it be of use or value, but rather a great vexation and care to
all; that he would consider the matter well as the case demanded, and if
it were advisable he would be the first to assist in its execution, as
he desired it."