Besides all this, he knew quite well that now he could not hold back, had it been even against his inclination—­which was by no means the case; for there had arisen one of those storms of popular opinion—­all the more formidable because of their infrequency—­before which even the most hardened of despots must bend.  Accordingly the Sultan called a conference of his fighting men, which was held on horseback in the open-air.  The inclination of the Sultan being known, most of the generals, like good courtiers, voted for immediate war with the Knights.  At this conference was present that Ali Basha, or Occhiali, or Uluchali, as he was indifferently called, of whom we shall have more to say later on.  Upon this occasion he was present as the representative of Dragut, and urged, on behalf of his master, that the time was not yet ripe for an attack on Malta.  First, he contended, it was necessary to recapture the Goletta and the Penon de Velez, and to defeat the Moors of Tunis, who were feudatories of the Spanish king and avowed enemies of the Ottoman Empire.  Ali was supported by one Mahomet, an old warrior who had grown white in the service of the Sultan, who strongly opposed the contemplated campaign on the ground that the Knights would in all probability have the full strength of Europe at their backs.

Numbers, however, added to the personal inclination of the Sultan, carried the day.  The die was cast, the memorable expedition was decided upon, and all the Sultan’s vast Empire soon rang with the note of preparation.  The Capitan Basha, Piali, was in command of the fleet, and the direction of the land forces was confided to Mustafa, an old officer sixty-five years of age, a severe disciplinarian, and of a sanguinary and cruel disposition to any of his enemies who had the misfortune to fall into his hands.

Once again did Europe lose itself in speculation:  against whom, all men were asking, was this new expedition to be directed?  Spain feared for her African possessions, as the Goletta was the key to the kingdom of Tunis, while the Penon de Velez was one of the bulwarks of Algeria.  In consequence Don Garcia de Toledo passed over from Sicily to confer with the Grand Master of the Knights.  Garcia de Toledo was by no means a favourable specimen of the illustrious race from which he sprang, and was a complete antithesis to La Valette; he was to prove himself in the terrible days that were to come to be sluggish, incompetent, a ruler who could not rule, a person for ever letting “I dare not wait upon I would.”  Just as long as Spain considered this new expedition was directed against herself considerable activity was shown; when the attack developed and it was seen that the objective of the Turks was Malta, the procrastinating Spanish king and his incompetent viceroy allowed matters so to drift that, had any other man than La Valette been in command at Malta, the fall of that island had been inevitable.