CELEBRATED CRIMES, COMPLETE

BY ALEXANDRE DUMAS, PERE

IN EIGHT VOLUMES

ALI PACHA

CHAPTER I

The beginning of the nineteenth century was a time of audaciousenterprises and strange vicissitudes of fortune. Whilst Western Europein turn submitted and struggled against a sub-lieutenant who madehimself an emperor, who at his pleasure made kings and destroyedkingdoms, the ancient eastern part of the Continent, like mummies whichpreserve but the semblance of life, was gradually tumbling to pieces, and getting parcelled out amongst bold adventurers who skirmishedover its ruins. Without mentioning local revolts which produced onlyshort-lived struggles and trifling changes of administration, such asthat of Djezzar Pacha, who refused to pay tribute because he thoughthimself impregnable in his citadel of Saint-Jean-d'Acre, or that ofPassevend-Oglou Pacha, who planted himself on the walls of Widdin asdefender of the Janissaries against the institution of the regularmilitia decreed by Sultan Selim at Stamboul, there were wider spreadrebellions which attacked the constitution of the Turkish Empire anddiminished its extent; amongst them that of Czerni-Georges, which raisedServia to the position of a free state; of Mahomet Ali, who made hispachalik of Egypt into a kingdom; and finally that of the man whosehistory we are about to narrate, Ali Tepeleni, Pacha of Janina, whoselong resistance to the suzerain power preceded and brought about theregeneration of Greece. 

Ali's own will counted for nothing in this important movement. Heforesaw it, but without ever seeking to aid it, and was powerlessto arrest it. He was not one of those men who place their lives andservices at the disposal of any cause indiscriminately; and his soleaim was to acquire and increase a power of which he was both the guidinginfluence, and the end and object. His nature contained the seedsof every human passion, and he devoted all his long life to theirdevelopment and gratification. This explains his whole temperament; hisactions were merely the natural outcome of his character confrontedwith circumstances. Few men have understood themselves better or been onbetter terms with the orbit of their existence, and as the personalityof an individual is all the more striking, in proportion as it reflectsthe manners and ideas of the time and country in which he has lived, sothe figure of Ali Pacha stands out, if not one of the most brilliant, atleast one of the most singular in contemporary history. 

From the middle of the eighteenth century Turkey had been a prey to thepolitical gangrene of which she is vainly trying to cure herself to-day, and which, before long, will dismember her in the sight of all Europe. Anarchy and disorder reigned from one end of the empire to the other. The Osmanli race, bred on conquest alone, proved good for nothing whenconquest failed. It naturally therefore came to pass when Sobieski, whosaved Christianity under the walls of Vienna, as before his time CharlesMartel had saved it on the plains of Poitiers, had set bounds to thewave of Mussulman westward invasion, and definitely fixed a limit whichit should not pass, that the Osmanli warlike instincts recoiledupon themselves. The haughty descendants of Ortogrul, who consideredthemselves born to command, seeing victory forsake them, fell back upontyranny. Vainly did reason expostulate that oppression could not long beexercised by hands which had lost their strength, and that peace imposednew and different labours on those who no longer triumphed in war; theywould listen to nothing; and, as fatalistic when condemned to a state ofpeace as when they marched forth conquering and to conquer, they cowereddown in magnificent listlessness, leaving the whole burden of theirsupport on conquered peoples. Like ignorant farmers, who exhaust fertilefields by forcing crops; they rapidly ruined their vast and rich empireby exorbitant exactions. Inexorable conquerors and insatiable masters, with one hand they flogged their slaves and with the other plunderedthem. Nothing was superior to their insolence, nothing on a levelwith their greed. They were never glutted, and never relaxed theirextortions. But in proportion as their needs increased on the one hand, so did their resources diminish on the other. Their oppressed subjectssoon found that they must escape at any cost from oppressors whom theycould neither appease nor satisfy. Each population took the stepsbest suited to its position and character; some chose inertia, othersviolence. The inhabitants of the plains, powerless and shelterless, bentlike reeds before the storm and evaded the shock against which they wereunable to stand. The mountaineers planted themselves like rocks in atorrent, and dammed its course with all their might. On both sides arosea determined resistance, different in method, similar in result. In thecase of the peasants labour came to a stand-still; in that of the hillfolk open war broke out. The grasping exactions of the tyrant dominantbody produced nothing from waste lands and armed mountaineers;destitution and revolt were equally beyond their power to cope with; andall that was left for tyranny to govern was a desert enclosed by a wall. 

But, all the same, the wants of a magnificent sultan, descendant of theProphet and distributor of crowns, must be supplied; and to do this, theSublime Porte needed money. Unconsciously imitating the Roman Senate, the Turkish Divan put up the empire for sale by public auction. Allemployments were sold to the highest bidder; pachas, beys, cadis, ministers of every rank, and clerks of every class had to buy theirposts from their sovereign and get the money back out of his subjects. They spent their money in the capital, and recuperated themselves in theprovinces. And as there was no other law than their master's pleasure, so there was no other guarantee than his caprice. They had thereforeto set quickly to work; the post might be lost before its cost had beenrecovered. Thus all the science of administration resolved itself intoplundering as much and as quickly as possible. To this end, the delegateof imperial power delegated in his turn, on similar conditions, otheragents to seize for him and for themselves all they could lay theirhands on; so that the inhabitants of the empire might be divided intothree classes--those who were striving to seize everything; those whowere trying to save a little; and those who, having nothing and hopingfor nothing, took no interest in affairs at all. 

Albania was one of the most difficult provinces to manage. Itsinhabitants were poor and brave, and the nature of the country wasmountainous and inaccessible. The pachas had great difficulty incollecting tribute, because the people were given to fighting for theirbread. Whether Mahomedans or Christians, the Albanians were above allsoldiers. Descended on the one side from the unconquerable Scythians, on the other from the ancient Macedonians, not long since masters of theworld, crossed with Norman adventurers brought eastwards by the greatmovement of the Crusades; they felt the blood of warriors flow intheir veins, and that war was their element. Sometimes at feud withone another, canton against canton, village against village, often evenhouse against house; sometimes rebelling against the government theirsanjaks; sometimes in league with these against the sultan; they neverrested from combat except in an armed peace. Each tribe had its militaryorganisation, each family its fortified stronghold, each man his gunon his shoulder. When they had nothing better to do, they tilled theirfields, or mowed their neighbours', carrying off, it should be noted, the crop; or pastured their flocks, watching the opportunity to trespassover pasture limits. This was the normal and regular life of thepopulation of Epirus, Thesprotia, Thessaly, and Upper Albania. LowerAlbania, less strong, was also less active and bold; and there, asin many other parts of Turkey, the dalesman was often the prey of themountaineer. It was in the mountain districts where were preserved therecollections of Scander Beg, and where the manners of ancient Laconiaprevailed, the deeds of the brave soldier were sung on the lyre, and theskilful robber quoted as an example to the children by the father of thefamily. Village feasts were held on the booty taken from strangers; andthe favourite dish was always a stolen sheep. Every man was esteemedin proportion to his skill and courage, and a man's chances of makinga good match were greatly enhanced when he acquired the reputation ofbeing an agile mountaineer and a good bandit. 

The Albanians proudly called this anarchy liberty, and religiouslyguarded a state of disorder bequeathed by their ancestors, which alwaysassured the first place to the most valiant. 

It was amidst men and manners such as these that Ali Tepeleni wasborn. He boasted that he belonged to the conquering race, and thathe descended from an ancient Anatolian family which had crossed intoAlbania with the troops of Bajazet Ilderim. But it is made certain bythe learned researches of M. De Pouqueville that he sprang from a nativestock, and not an Asiatic one, as he pretended. His ancestors wereChristian Skipetars, who became Mussulmans after the Turkish invasion, and his ancestry certainly cannot be traced farther back than the end ofthe sixteenth century. 

Mouktar Tepeleni, his grandfather, perished in the Turkish expeditionagainst Corfu, in 1716. Marshal Schullemburg, who defended the island, having repulsed the enemy with loss, took Mouktar prisoner on MountSan Salvador, where he was in charge of a signalling party, and with abarbarity worthy of his adversaries, hung him without trial. It mustbe admitted that the memory of this murder must have had the effect ofrendering Ali badly disposed towards Christians. 

Mouktar left three sons, two of whom, Salik and Mahomet, were born ofthe same mother, a lawful wife, but the mother of the youngest, Veli, was a slave. His origin was no legal bar to his succeeding like hisbrothers. The family was one of the richest in the town of Tepelen, whose name it bore; it enjoyed an income of six thousand piastres, equalto twenty thousand francs. This was a large fortune in a poor country, where, all commodities were cheap. But the Tepeleni family, holding therank of beys, had to maintain a state like that of the great financiersof feudal Europe. They had to keep a large stud of horses, with a greatretinue of servants and men-at-arms, and consequently to incur heavyexpenses; thus they constantly found their revenue inadequate. The mostnatural means of raising it which occurred to them was to diminish thenumber of those who shared it; therefore the two elder brothers, sons ofthe wife, combined against Veli, the son of the slave, and drove himout of the house. The latter, forced to leave home, bore his fate like abrave man, and determined to levy exactions on others to compensate himfor the losses incurred through his brothers. He became a freebooter, patrolling highroads and lanes, with his gun on his shoulder and hisyataghan in his belt, attacking, holding for ransom, or plundering allwhom he encountered. 

After some years of this profitable business, he found himself a wealthyman and chief of a warlike band. Judging that the moment for vengeancehad arrived, he marched for Tepelen, which he reached unsuspected, crossed the river Vojutza, the ancient Aous, penetrated the streetsunresisted, and presented himself before the paternal house, in whichhis brothers, forewarned, had barricaded themselves. He at once besiegedthem, soon forced the gates, and pursued them to a tent, in which theytook a final refuge. He surrounded this tent, waited till they wereinside it, and then set fire to the four corners. "See, " said he tothose around him, "they cannot accuse me of vindictive reprisals; mybrothers drove me out of doors, and I retaliate by keeping them at homefor ever. "

In a few moments he was his father's sole heir and master of Tepelen. Arrived at the summit of his ambition, he gave up free-booting, andestablished himself in the town, of which he became chief ago. He hadalready a son by a slave, who soon presented him with another son, and afterwards with a daughter, so that he had no reason to fear dyingwithout an heir. But finding himself rich enough to maintain more wivesand bring up many children, he desired to increase his credit by allyinghimself to some great family of the country. He therefore solicited andobtained the hand of Kamco, daughter of a bey of Conitza. This marriageattached him by the ties of relationship to the principal families ofthe province, among others to Kourd Pacha, Vizier of Serat, who wasdescended from the illustrious race of Scander Beg. After a few years, Veli had by his new wife a son named Ali, the subject of this history, and a daughter named Chainitza. 

In spite of his intentions to reform, Veli could not entirely give uphis old habits. Although his fortune placed him altogether above smallgains and losses, he continued to amuse himself by raiding from time totime sheep, goats, and other perquisites, probably to keep his handin. This innocent exercise of his taste was not to the fancy of hisneighbours, and brawls and fights recommenced in fine style. Fortune didnot always favour him, and the old mountaineer lost in the town part ofwhat he had made on the hills. Vexations soured his temper and injuredhis health. Notwithstanding the injunctions of Mahomet, he soughtconsolation in wine, which soon closed his career. He died in 1754. 

CHAPTER II

Ali thus at thirteen years of age was free to indulge in the impetuosityof his character. From his early youth he had manifested a mettle andactivity rare in young Turks, haughty by nature and self-restrained byeducation. Scarcely out of the nursery, he spent his time in climbingmountains, wandering through forests, scaling precipices, rolling insnow, inhaling the wind, defying the tempests, breathing out his nervousenergy through every pore. Possibly he learnt in the midst of everykind of danger to brave everything and subdue everything; possibly insympathy with the majesty of nature, he felt aroused in him a need ofpersonal grandeur which nothing could satiate. In vain his father soughtto calm his savage temper, and restrain his vagabond spirit; nothing wasof any use. As obstinate as intractable, he set at defiance all effortsand all precautions. If they shut him up, he broke the door or jumpedout of the window; if they threatened him, he pretended to comply, conquered by fear, and promised everything that was required, butonly to break his word the first opportunity. He had a tutor speciallyattached to his person and charged to supervise all his actions. Heconstantly deluded him by fresh tricks, and when he thought himself freefrom the consequences, he maltreated him with gross violence. Itwas only in his youth, after his father's death, that he became moremanageable; he even consented to learn to read, to please his mother, whose idol he was, and to whom in return he gave all his affection. 

If Kamco had so strong a liking for Ali, it was because she found inhim, not only her blood, but also her character. During the lifetime ofher husband, whom she feared, she seemed only an ordinary woman; butas soon as his eyes were closed, she gave free scope to the violentpassions which agitated her bosom. Ambitious, bold, vindictive, sheassiduously cultivated the germs of ambition, hardihood, and vengeancewhich already strongly showed themselves in the young Ali. "My son, "she was never tired of telling him, "he who cannot defend his patrimonyrichly deserves to lose it. Remember that the property of others is onlytheirs so long as they are strong enough to keep it, and that when youfind yourself strong enough to take it from them, it is yours. Successjustifies everything, and everything is permissible to him who has thepower to do it. "

Ali, when he reached the zenith of his greatness, used to declare thathis success was entirely his mother's work. "I owe everything to mymother, " he said one day to the French Consul; "for my father, whenhe died, left me nothing but a den of wild beasts and a few fields. Myimagination, inflamed by the counsels of her who has given me life twiceover, since she has made me both a man and a vizier, revealed to me thesecret of my destiny. Thenceforward I saw nothing in Tepelen but thenatal air from which I was to spring on the prey which I devouredmentally. I dreamt of nothing else but power, treasures, palaces, inshort what time has realised and still promises; for the point I havenow reached is not the limit of my hopes. "

Kamco did not confine herself to words; she employed every means toincrease the fortune of her beloved son and to make him a power. Herfirst care was to poison the children of Veli's favourite slave, whohad died before him. Then, at ease about the interior of her family, shedirected her attention to the exterior. Renouncing all the habit of hersex, she abandoned the veil and the distaff, and took up arms, underpretext of maintaining the rights of her children. She collected roundher her husband's old partisans, whom she attached to her service, someby presents, others by various favours, and she gradually enlisted allthe lawless and adventurous men in Toscaria. With their aid, shemade herself all powerful in Tepelen, and inflicted the most rigorouspersecutions on such as remained hostile to her. 

But the inhabitants of the two adjacent villages of Kormovo and Kardiki, fearing lest this terrible woman, aided by her son, now grown into aman, should strike a blow against their independence, made a secretalliance against her, with the object of putting her out of the way thefirst convenient opportunity. Learning one day that Ali had started on adistant expedition with his best soldiers; they surprised Tepelenunder cover of night, and carried off Kamco and her daughter Chainitzacaptives to Kardiki. It was proposed to put them to death; andsufficient evidence to justify their execution was not wanting, buttheir beauty saved their lives; their captors preferred to revengethemselves by licentiousness rather than by murder. Shut up all day inprison, they only emerged at night to pass into the arms of the men whohad won them by lot the previous morning. This state of things lastedfor a month, at the end of which a Greek of Argyro-Castron, named G. Malicovo, moved by compassion for their horrible fate, ransomed them fortwenty thousand piastres, and took them back to Tepelen. 

Ali had just returned. He was accosted by his mother and sister, palewith fatigue, shame, and rage. They told him what had taken place, withcries and tears, and Kamco added, fixing her distracted eyes upon him, "My son! my son! my soul will enjoy no peace till Kormovo and Kardikidestroyed by thy scimitar, will no longer exist to bear witness to mydishonour. "

Ali, in whom this sight and this story had aroused sanguinary passions, promised a vengeance proportioned to the outrage, and worked with allhis might to place himself in a position to keep his word. A worthy sonof his father, he had commenced life in the fashion of the heroes ofancient Greece, stealing sheep and goats, and from the age of fourteenyears he had acquired an equal reputation to that earned by the son ofJupiter and Maia. When he grew to manhood, he extended his operations. At the time of which we are speaking, he had long practised openpillage. His plundering expeditions added to his mother's savings, whosince her return from Kardiki had altogether withdrawn from publiclife, and devoted herself to household duties, enabled him to collecta considerable force for am expedition against Kormovo, one of the twotowns he had sworn to destroy. He marched against it at the head of hisbanditti, but found himself vigorously opposed, lost part of his force, and was obliged to save himself and the rest by flight. He did not stoptill he reached Tepelen, where he had a warm reception from Kamco, whosethirst for vengeance had been disappointed by his defeat. "Go!" saidshe, "go, coward! go spin with the women in the harem! The distaff is abetter weapon for you than the scimitar!" The young man answered nota word, but, deeply wounded by these reproaches, retired to hide hishumiliation in the bosom of his old friend the mountain. The popularlegend, always thirsting for the marvelous in the adventures of heroes, has it that he found in the ruins of a church a treasure which enabledhim to reconstitute his party. But he himself has contradicted thisstory, stating that it was by the ordinary methods of rapine and plunderthat he replenished his finances. He selected from his old band ofbrigands thirty palikars, and entered, as their bouloubachi, or leaderof the group, into the service of the Pacha of Negropont. But he soontired of the methodical life he was obliged to lead, and passed intoThessaly, where, following the example of his father Veli, he employedhis time in brigandage on the highways. Thence he raided the Pinduschain of mountains, plundered a great number of villages, and returnedto Tepelen, richer and consequently more esteemed than ever. 

He employed his fortune and influence in collecting a formidableguerilla force, and resumed his plundering operations. Kurd Pacha soonfound himself compelled, by the universal outcry of the province, totake active measures against this young brigand. He sent against him adivision of troops, which defeated him and brought him prisoner withhis men to Berat, the capital of Central Albania and residence of thegovernor. The country flattered itself that at length it was freed fromits scourge. The whole body of bandits was condemned to death; butAli was not the man to surrender his life so easily. Whilst they werehanging his comrades, he threw himself at the feet of the pacha andbegged for mercy in the name of his parents, excusing himself on accountof his youth, and promising a lasting reform. The pacha, seeing at hisfeet a comely youth, with fair hair and blue eyes, a persuasive voice, and eloquent tongue, and in whose veins flowed the same blood as hisown, was moved with pity and pardoned him. Ali got off with a mildcaptivity in the palace of his powerful relative, who heaped benefitsupon him, and did all he could to lead him into the paths of probity. Heappeared amenable to these good influences, and bitterly to repent hispast errors. After some years, believing in his reformation, and movedby the prayers of Kamco, who incessantly implored the restitution of herdear son, the generous pacha restored him his liberty, only giving himto understand that he had no more mercy to expect if he again disturbedthe public peace. Ali taking the threat seriously did not run the riskof braving it, and, on the contrary, did all he could to conciliate theman whose anger he dared not kindle. Not only did he keep the promise hehad made to live quietly, but by his good conduct he caused his formerescapades to be forgotten, putting under obligation all his neighbours, and attaching to himself, through the services he rendered them, a greatnumber of friendly disposed persons. In this manner he soon assumed adistinguished and honourable rank among the beys of the country, andbeing of marriageable age, he sought and formed an alliance withthe daughter of Capelan Tigre, Pacha of Delvino, who resided atArgyro-Castron. This union, happy on both sides, gave him, with oneof the most accomplished women in Epirus, a high position and greatinfluence. 

It seemed as if this marriage were destined to wean Ali forever from hisformer turbulent habits and wild adventures. But the family into whichhe had married afforded violent contrasts and equal elements of good andmischief. If Emineh, his wife, was a model of virtue, his father-in-law, Capelan, was a composition of every vice--selfish, ambitious, turbulent, fierce. Confident in his courage, and further emboldened by hisremoteness from the capital, the Pacha of Delvino gloried in setting lawand authority at defiance. 

Ali's disposition was too much like that of his father-in-law to preventhim from taking his measure very quickly. He soon got on good termswith him, and entered into his schemes, waiting for an opportunity todenounce him and become his successor. For this opportunity he had notlong to wait. 

Capelan's object in giving his daughter to Tepeleni was to enlist himamong the beys of the province to gain independence, the ruling passionof viziers. The cunning young man pretended to enter into the views ofhis father-in-law, and did all he could to urge him into the path ofrebellion. 

An adventurer named Stephano Piccolo, an emissary of Russia, had justraised in Albania the standard of the Cross and called to arms all theChristians of the Acroceraunian Mountains. The Divan sent orders to allthe pachas of Northern Turkey in Europe to instantly march against theinsurgents and quell the rising in blood. 

Instead of obeying the orders of the Divan and joining Kurd Pacha, whohad summoned him, Capelan, at the instigation of his son-in-law, did allhe could to embarrass the movement of the imperial troops, and withoutopenly making common cause with the insurgents, he rendered themsubstantial aid in their resistance. They were, notwithstanding, conquered and dispersed; and their chief, Stephano Piccolo, had to takerefuge in the unexplored caves of Montenegro. 

When the struggle was over, Capelan, as Ali had foreseen, was summonedto give an account of his conduct before the roumeli-valicy, supremejudge over Turkey in Europe. He was not only accused of the gravestoffences, but proofs of them were forwarded to the Divan by the very manwho had instigated them. There could be no doubt as to the result of theinquiry; therefore, the pacha, who had no suspicions of his son-in-law'sduplicity, determined not to leave his pachalik. That was not inaccordance with the plans of Ali, who wished to succeed to both thegovernment and the wealth of his father-in-law. He accordingly made themost plausible remonstrances against the inefficacy and danger of such aresistance. To refuse to plead was tantamount to a confession of guilt, and was certain to bring on his head a storm against which he waspowerless to cope, whilst if he obeyed the orders of the roumeli-valicyhe would find it easy to excuse himself. To give more effect to hisperfidious advice, Ali further employed the innocent Emineh, who waseasily alarmed on her father's account. Overcome by the reasoning ofhis son-in-law and the tears of his daughter, the unfortunate pachaconsented to go to Monastir, where he had been summoned to appear, andwhere he was immediately arrested and beheaded. 

Ali's schemes had succeeded, but both his ambition and his cupidity werefrustrated. Ali, Bey of Argyro-Castron, who had throughout shown himselfdevoted to the sultan, was nominated Pacha of Delvino in place ofCapelan. He sequestered all the property of his predecessor, asconfiscated to the sultan, and thus deprived Ali Tepeleni of all thefruits of his crime. 

This disappointment kindled the wrath of the ambitious Ali. He sworevengeance for the spoliation of which he considered himself the victim. But the moment was not favourable for putting his projects in train. The murder of Capelan, which its perpetrator intended for a mere crime, proved a huge blunder. The numerous enemies of Tepeleni, silent underthe administration of the late pacha, whose resentment they had cause tofear, soon made common cause under the new one, for whose support theyhad hopes. Ali saw the danger, sought and found the means to obviate it. He succeeded in making a match between Ali of Argyro-Castron, who wasunmarried, and Chainitza, his own sister. This alliance secured to himthe government of Tigre, which he held under Capelan. But that wasnot sufficient. He must put himself in a state of security againstthe dangers he had lately experienced, and establish himself on a firmfooting against possible accidents. He soon formed a plan, which hehimself described to the French Consul in the following words:--

"Years were elapsing, " said he, "and brought no important change inmy position. I was an important partisan, it is true, and stronglysupported, but I held no title or Government employment of my own. Irecognised the necessity of establishing myself firmly in my birthplace. I had devoted friends, and formidable foes bent on my destruction whomI must put out of the way for my own safety. I set about a plan fordestroying them at one blow, and ended by devising one with which Iought to have commenced my career. Had I done so, I should have savedmuch time and pains. 

"I was in the habit of going every day, after hunting, for a siesta ina neighbouring wood. A confidential servant of mine suggested to myenemies the idea of surprising me and assassinating me there. I myselfsupplied the plan of the conspiracy, which was adopted. On the dayagreed upon, I preceded my adversaries to the place where I wasaccustomed to repose, and caused a goat to be pinioned and muzzled, andfastened under the tree, covered with my cape; I then returned home bya roundabout path. Soon after I had left, the conspirators arrived, andfired a volley at the goat. 

"They ran up to make certain of my death, but were interrupted by apiquet of my men, who unexpectedly emerged from a copse where I hadposted them, and they were obliged to return to Tepelen, which theyentered, riotous with joy, crying 'Ali Bey is dead, now we are free!'This news reached my harem, and I heard the cries of my mother and mywife mingled with the shouts of my enemies. I allowed the commotion torun its course and reach its height, so as to indicate which were myfriends and which my foes. But when the former were at the depth oftheir distress and the latter at the height of their joy, and, exultingin their supposed victory, had drowned their prudence and their couragein floods of wine, then, strong in the justice of my cause, I appearedupon the scene. Now was the time for my friends to triumph and for myfoes to tremble. I set to work at the head of my partisans, and beforesunrise had exterminated the last of my enemies. I distributed theirlands, their houses, and their goods amongst my followers, and from thatmoment I could call the town of Tepelen my own. "

A less ambitious man might perhaps have remained satisfied with such aresult. But Ali did not look upon the suzerainty of a canton as a finalobject, but only as a means to an end; and he had not made himselfmaster of Tepelen to limit himself to a petty state, but to employ it asa base of operations. 

He had allied himself to Ali of Argyro-Castron to get rid of hisenemies; once free from them, he began to plot against his supplanter. He forgot neither his vindictive projects nor his ambitious schemes. Asprudent in execution as bold in design, he took good care not to openlyattack a man stronger than himself, and gained by stratagem what hecould not obtain by violence. The honest and straightforward characterof his brother-in-law afforded an easy success to his perfidy. Hebegan by endeavouring to suborn his sister Chainitza, and several timesproposed to her to poison her husband; but she, who dearly loved thepacha, who was a kind husband and to whom she had borne two children, repulsed his suggestions with horror, and threatened, if he persisted, to denounce him. Ali, fearing the consequences if she carried outher threat, begged forgiveness for his wicked plans, pretended deeprepentance, and spoke of his brother-in-law in terms of the warmestaffection. His acting was so consummate that even Chainitza, who wellknew her brother's subtle character, was deceived by it. When he sawthat she was his dupe, knowing that he had nothing more either to fearor to hope for from that side, he directed his attention to another. 

The pacha had a brother named Soliman, whose character nearly resembledthat of Tepeleni. The latter, after having for some time quietly studiedhim, thought he discerned in him the man he wanted; he tempted him tokill the pacha, offering him, as the price of this crime, his wholeinheritance and the hand of Chainitza, only reserving for himself thelong coveted sanjak. Soliman accepted the proposals, and the fratricidalbargain was concluded. The two conspirators, sole masters of the secret, the horrible nature of which guaranteed their mutual fidelity, andhaving free access to the person of their victim, could not fail intheir object. 

One day, when they were both received by the pacha in private audience, Soliman, taking advantage of a moment when he was unobserved, drew apistol from his belt and blew out his brother's brains. Chainitza ranat the sound, and saw her husband lying dead between her brother and herbrother-in-law. Her cries for help were stopped by threats of deathif she moved or uttered a sound. As she lay, fainting with grief andterror, Ali made a sign to Soliman, who covered her with his cloak, and declared her his wife. Ali pronounced the marriage concluded, andretired for it to be consummated. Thus was celebrated this frightfulwedding, in the scene of an awful crime, beside the corpse of a man whoa moment before had been the husband of the bride and the brother of thebridegroom. 

The assassins published the death of the pacha, attributing it, asis usual in Turkey, to a fit of cerebral apoplexy. But the truth soonleaked out from the lying shrouds in which it had been wrapped. Reportseven exceeded the truth, and public opinion implicated Chainitza ina crime of which she had been but the witness. Appearances certainlyjustified these suspicions. The young wife had soon consoled herself inthe arms of her second husband for the loss of the first, and her son byhim presently died suddenly, thus leaving Soliman in lawful and peacefulpossession of all his brother's wealth. As for the little girl, as shehad no rights and could hurt no one, her life was spared and she waseventually married to a bey of Cleisoura, destined in the sequel to cuta tragic figure in the history of the Tepeleni family. 

But Ali was once more deprived of the fruit of his bloody schemes. Notwithstanding all his intrigues, the sanjak of Delvino was conferred, not upon him, but upon a bey of one of the first families of Zapouria. But, far from being discouraged, he recommenced with new boldness andstill greater confidence the work of his elevation, so often begun andso often interrupted. He took advantage of his increasing influenceto ingratiate himself with the new pacha, and was so successful ininsinuating himself into his confidence, that he was received into thepalace and treated like the pacha's son. There he acquired completeknowledge of the details of the pachalik and the affairs of the pacha, preparing himself to govern the one when he had got rid of the other. 

The sanjak of Delvino was bounded from Venetian territory by thedistrict of Buthrotum. Selim, a better neighbour and an abler politicianthan his predecessors, sought to renew and preserve friendly commercialrelations with the purveyors of the Magnificent Republic. This wiseconduct, equally advantageous for both the bordering provinces, insteadof gaining for the pacha the praise and favours which he deserved, rendered him suspected at a court whose sole political idea was hatredof the name of Christian, and whose sole means of government was terror. Ali immediately perceived the pacha's error, and the advantage whichhe himself could derive from it. Selim, as one of his commercialtransactions with the Venetians, had sold them, for a number ofyears, the right of felling timber in a forest near Lake Reloda. Aliimmediately took advantage of this to denounce the pacha as guilty ofhaving alienated the territory of the Sublime Porte, and of a desireto deliver to the infidels all the province of Delvino. Maskinghis ambitious designs under the veil of religion and patriotism, helamented, in his denunciatory report, the necessity under which he foundhimself, as a loyal subject and faithful Mussulman, of accusing aman who had been his benefactor, and thus at the same time gained thebenefit of crime and the credit of virtue. 

Under the gloomy despotism of the Turks, a man in any position ofresponsibility is condemned almost as soon as accused; and if he is notstrong enough to inspire terror, his ruin is certain. Ali received atTepelen, where he had retired to more conveniently weave his perfidiousplots, an order to get rid of the pacha. At the receipt of the firmanof execution he leaped with joy, and flew to Delvino to seize the preywhich was abandoned to him. 

The noble Selim, little suspecting that his protege had become hisaccuser and was preparing to become his executioner, received him withmore tenderness than ever, and lodged him, as heretofore, in his palace. Under the shadow of this hospitable roof, Ali skilfully preparedthe consummation of the crime which was for ever to draw him out ofobscurity. He went every morning to pay his court to the pacha, whoseconfidence he doubted; then, one day, feigning illness, he sent excusesfor inability to pay his respects to a man whom he was accustomed toregard as his father, and begged him to come for a moment into hisapartment. The invitation being accepted, he concealed assassins in oneof the cupboards without shelves, so common in the East, which containby day the mattresses spread by night on the floor for the slaves tosleep upon. At the hour fixed, the old man arrived. Ali rose from hissofa with a depressed air, met him, kissed the hem of his robe, and, after seating him in his place, himself offered him a pipe-and coffee, which were accepted. But instead of putting the cup in the handstretched to receive it, he let it fall on the floor, where it brokeinto a thousand pieces. This was the signal. The assassins sprang fromtheir retreat and darted upon Selim, who fell, exclaiming, like Caesar, "And it is thou, my son, who takest my life!"

At the sound of the tumult which followed the assassination, Selim'sbodyguard, running up, found Ali erect, covered with blood, surroundedby assassins, holding in his hand the firman displayed, and crying witha menacing voice, "I have killed the traitor Selim by the order of ourglorious sultan; here is his imperial command. " At these words, and thesight of the fatal diploma, all prostrated themselves terror-stricken. Ali, after ordering the decapitation of Selim, whose head he seized as atrophy, ordered the cadi, the beys, and the Greek archons to meet at thepalace to prepare the official account of the execution of the sentence. They assembled, trembling; the sacred hymn of the Fatahat was sung, andthe murder declared legal, in the name of the merciful and compassionateGod, Lord of the world. 

When they had sealed up the effects of the victim, the murderer left thepalace, taking with him, as a hostage, Mustapha, son of Selim, destinedto be even more unfortunate than his father. 

A few days afterwards, the Divan awarded to Ali Tepeleni, as a rewardfor his zeal for the State and religion, the sanjak of Thessaly, withthe title of Dervendgi-pacha, or Provost Marshal of the roads. Thislatter dignity was conferred on the condition of his levying a body offour thousand men to clear the valley of the Peneus of a multitude ofChristian chiefs who exercised more power than the officers of the GrandSeigneur. The new pacha took advantage of this to enlist a numerous bodyof Albanians ready for any enterprise, and completely devoted to him. With two important commands, and with this strong force at his back, he repaired to Trikala, the seat of his government, where he speedilyacquired great influence. 

His first act of authority was to exterminate the bands of Armatolis, or Christian militia, which infested the plain. He laid violent handson all whom he caught, and drove the rest back into their mountains, splitting them up into small bands whom he could deal with at hispleasure. At the same time he sent a few heads to Constantinople, toamuse the sultan and the mob, and some money to the ministers to gaintheir support. "For, " said he, "water sleeps, but envy never does. "These steps were prudent, and whilst his credit increased at court, order was reestablished from the defiles of the Perrebia of Pindus tothe vale of Tempe and to the pass of Thermopylae. 

These exploits of the provost-marshal, amplified by Orientalexaggeration, justified the ideas which were entertained of the capacityof Ali Pacha. Impatient of celebrity, he took good care himself tospread his fame, relating his prowess to all comers, making presentsto the sultan's officers who came into his government, and showingtravellers his palace courtyard festooned with decapitated heads. Butwhat chiefly tended to consolidate his power was the treasure whichhe ceaselessly amassed by every means. He never struck for the merepleasure of striking, and the numerous victims of his proscriptionsonly perished to enrich him. His death sentences always fell on beys andwealthy persons whom he wished to plunder. In his eyes the axe was butan instrument of fortune, and the executioner a tax-gatherer. 

CHAPTER III

Having governed Thessaly in this manner during several years, Ali foundhimself in a position to acquire the province of Janina, the possessionof which, by making him master of Epirus, would enable him to crush allhis enemies and to reign supreme over the three divisions of Albania. 

But before he could succeed in this, it was necessary to dispose of thepacha already in possession. Fortunately for Ali, the latter was a weakand indolent man, quite incapable of struggling against so formidablea rival; and his enemy speedily conceived and put into execution a planintended to bring about the fulfilment of his desires. He came to termswith the same Armatolians whom he had formerly treated so harshly, andlet them loose, provided with arms and ammunition, on the countrywhich he wished to obtain. Soon the whole region echoed with stories ofdevastation and pillage. The pacha, unable to repel the incursions ofthese mountaineers, employed the few troops he had in oppressing theinhabitants of the plains, who, groaning under both extortion andrapine, vainly filled the air with their despairing cries. Ali hopedthat the Divan, which usually judged only after the event, seeingthat Epirus lay desolate, while Thessaly flourished under his ownadministration, would, before long, entrust himself with the governmentof both provinces, when a family incident occurred, which for a timediverted the course of his political manoeuvres. 

For a long time his mother Kamco had suffered from an internal cancer, the result of a life of depravity. Feeling that her end drew near, shedespatched messenger after messenger, summoning her son to her bedside. He started, but arrived too late, and found only his sister Chainitzamourning over the body of their mother, who had expired in her arms anhour previously. Breathing unutterable rage and pronouncing horribleimprecations against Heaven, Kamco had commanded her children, underpain of her dying curse, to carry out her last wishes faithfully. Afterhaving long given way to their grief, Ali and Chainitza read togetherthe document which contained these commands. It ordained some specialassassinations, mentioned sundry villages which, some day, were tobe given to the flames, but ordered them most especially, as soon aspossible, to exterminate the inhabitants of Kormovo and Kardiki, fromwhom she had endured the last horrors of slavery. 

Then, after advising her children to remain united, to enrich theirsoldiers, and to count as nothing people who were useless to them, Kamcoended by commanding them to send in her name a pilgrim to Mecca, whoshould deposit an offering on the tomb of the Prophet for the reposeof her soul. Having perused these last injunctions, Ali and Chainitzajoined hands, and over the inanimate remains of their departed motherswore to accomplish her dying behests. 

The pilgrimage came first under consideration. Now a pilgrim can only besent as proxy to Mecca, or offerings be made at the tomb of Medina, atthe expense of legitimately acquired property duly sold for the purpose. The brother and sister made a careful examination of the family estates, and after long hunting, thought they had found the correct thing in asmall property of about fifteen hundred francs income, inherited fromtheir great-grandfather, founder of the Tepel-Enian dynasty. But furtherinvestigations disclosed that even this last resource had been forciblytaken from a Christian, and the idea of a pious pilgrimage and asacred offering had to be given up. They then agreed to atone for theimpossibility of expiation by the grandeur of their vengeance, and sworeto pursue without ceasing and to destroy without mercy all enemies oftheir family. 

The best mode of carrying out this terrible and self-given pledge wasthat Ali should resume his plans of aggrandizement exactly where he hadleft them. He succeeded in acquiring the pachalik of Janina, which wasgranted him by the Porte under the title of "arpalik, " or conquest. Itwas an old custom, natural to the warlike habits of the Turks, to bestowthe Government provinces or towns affecting to despise the authorityof the Grand Seigneur or whomsoever succeeded in controlling them, and Janina occupied this position. It was principally inhabited byAlbanians, who had an enthusiastic admiration for anarchy, dignified bythem with the name of "Liberty, " and who thought themselves independentin proportion to the disturbance they succeeded in making. Each livedretired as if in a mountain castle, and only went out in order toparticipate in the quarrels of his faction in the forum. As for thepachas, they were relegated to the old castle on the lake, and there wasno difficulty in obtaining their recall. 

Consequently there was a general outcry at the news of Ali Pacha'snomination, and it was unanimously agreed that a man whose characterand power were alike dreaded must not be admitted within the walls ofJanina. Ali, not choosing to risk his forces in an open battle with awarlike population, and preferring a slower and safer way to a short anddangerous one, began by pillaging the villages and farms belonging tohis most powerful opponents. His tactics succeeded, and the very personswho had been foremost in vowing hatred to the son of Kamco and who hadsworn most loudly that they would die rather than submit to the tyrant, seeing their property daily ravaged, and impending ruin if hostilitiescontinued, applied themselves to procure peace. Messengers were sentsecretly to Ali, offering to admit him into Janina if he would undertaketo respect the lives and property of his new allies. Ali promisedwhatever they asked, and entered the town by night. His first proceedingwas to appear before the cadi, whom he compelled to register andproclaim his firmans of investiture. 

In the same year in which he arrived at this dignity, really the desireand object of Ali's whole life, occurred also the death of the SultanAbdul Hamid, whose two sons, Mustapha and Mahmoud, were confined in theOld Seraglio. This change of rulers, however, made no difference to Ali;the peaceful Selim, exchanging the prison to which his nephews were nowrelegated, for the throne of their father, confirmed the Pacha of Janinain the titles, offices, and privileges which had been conferred on him. 

Established in his position by this double investiture, Ali appliedhimself to the definite settlement of his claims. He was now fiftyyears of age, and was at the height of his intellectual development:experience had been his teacher, and the lesson of no single eventhad been lost upon him. An uncultivated but just and penetrating mindenabled him to comprehend facts, analyse causes, and anticipate results;and as his heart never interfered with the deductions of his roughintelligence, he had by a sort of logical sequence formulated aninflexible plan of action. This man, wholly ignorant, not only of theideas of history but also of the great names of Europe, had succeededin divining, and as a natural consequence of his active and practicalcharacter, in also realising Macchiavelli, as is amply shown in theexpansion of his greatness and the exercise of his power. Without faithin God, despising men, loving and thinking only of himself, distrustingall around him, audacious in design, immovable in resolution, inexorablein execution, merciless in vengeance, by turns insolent, humble, violent, or supple according to circumstances, always and entirelylogical in his egotism, he is Cesar Borgia reborn as a Mussulman; he isthe incarnate ideal of Florentine policy, the Italian prince convertedinto a satrap. 

Age had as yet in no way impaired Ali's strength and activity, andnothing prevented his profiting by the advantages of his position. Already possessing great riches, which every day he saw increasingunder his management, he maintained a large body of warlike and devotedtroops, he united the offices of Pacha of two tails of Janina, of Toparch of Thessaly, and of Provost Marshal of the Highway. Asinfluential aids both to his reputation for general ability and theterror of his arms, and his authority as ruler, there stood by his sidetwo sons, Mouktar and Veli, offspring of his wife Emineh, both fullygrown and carefully educated in the principles of their father. 

Ali's first care, once master of Janina, was to annihilate the beysforming the aristocracy of the place, whose hatred he was well awareof, and whose plots he dreaded. He ruined them all, banishing many andputting others to death. Knowing that he must make friends to supplythe vacancy caused by the destruction of his foes, he enriched withthe spoil the Albanian mountaineers in his pay, known by the name ofSkipetars, on whom he conferred most of the vacant employments. But muchtoo prudent to allow all the power to fall into the hands of a singlecaste, although a foreign one to the capital, he, by a singularinnovation, added to and mixed with them an infusion of Orthodox Greeks, a skilful but despised race, whose talents he could use without havingto dread their influence. While thus endeavouring on one side to destroythe power of his enemies by depriving them of both authority andwealth, and on the other to consolidate his own by establishing a firmadministration, he neglected no means of acquiring popularity. A ferventdisciple of Mahomet when among fanatic Mussulmans, a materialist withthe Bektagis who professed a rude pantheism, a Christian among theGreeks, with whom he drank to the health of the Holy Virgin, he madeeverywhere partisans by flattering the idea most in vogue. But ifhe constantly changed both opinions and language when dealing withsubordinates whom it was desirable to win over, Ali towards hissuperiors had one only line of conduct which he never transgressed. Obsequious towards the Sublime Porte, so long as it did not interferewith his private authority, he not only paid with exactitude all dues tothe sultan, to whom he even often advanced money, but he also pensionedthe most influential ministers. He was bent on having no enemieswho could really injure his power, and he knew that in an absolutegovernment no conviction can hold its own against the power of gold. 

Having thus annihilated the nobles, deceived the multitude withplausible words, and lulled to sleep the watchfulness of the Divan, Aliresolved to turn his arms against Kormovo. At the foot of its rocks hehad, in youth, experienced the disgrace of defeat, and during thirtynights Kamco and Chainitza had endured all horrors of outrage at thehands of its warriors. Thus the implacable pacha had a twofold wrong topunish, a double vengeance to exact. 

This time, profiting by experience, he called in the aid of treachery. Arrived at the citadel, he negotiated, promised an amnesty, forgivenessfor all, actual rewards for some. The inhabitants, only too happy tomake peace with so formidable an adversary, demanded and obtained atruce to settle the conditions. This was exactly what Ali expected, andKormovo, sleeping on the faith of the treaty, was suddenly attacked andtaken. All who did not escape by flight perished by the sword in thedarkness, or by the hand of the executioner the next morning. Those whohad offered violence aforetime to Ali's mother and sister were carefullysought for, and whether convicted or merely accused, were impaled onspits, torn with redhot pincers, and slowly roasted between two fires;the women were shaved and publicly scourged, and then sold as slaves. 

This vengeance, in which all the nobles of the province not yet entirelyruined were compelled to assist, was worth a decisive victory to Ali. Towns, cantons, whole districts, overwhelmed with terror, submittedwithout striking a blow, and his name, joined to the recital of amassacre which ranked as a glorious exploit in the eyes of this savagepeople, echoed like thunder from valley to valley and mountain tomountain. In order that all surrounding him might participate in thejoy of his success Ali gave his army a splendid festival. Of unrivalledactivity, and, Mohammedan only in name, he himself led the chorus in thePyrrhic and Klephtic dances, the ceremonials of warriors and of robbers. There was no lack of wine, of sheep, goats, and lambs roasted beforeenormous fires; made of the debris of the ruined city; antique games ofarchery and wrestling were celebrated, and the victors received theirprizes from the hand of their chief. The plunder, slaves, and cattlewere then shared, and the Tapygae, considered as the lowest of the fourtribes composing the race of Skipetars, and ranking as the refuse of thearmy, carried off into the mountains of Acroceraunia, doors, windows, nails, and even the tiles of the houses, which were then all surrenderedto the flames. 

However, Ibrahim, the successor and son-in-law of Kurd Pacha, couldnot see with indifference part of his province invaded by his ambitiousneighbour. He complained and negotiated, but obtaining no satisfaction, called out an army composed of Skipetars of Toxid, all Islamites, andgave the command to his brother Sepher, Bey of Avlone. Ali, who hadadopted the policy of opposing alternately the Cross to the Crescent andthe Crescent to the Cross, summoned to his aid the Christian chiefsof the mountains, who descended into the plains at the head of theirunconquered troops. As is generally the case in Albania, where waris merely an excuse for brigandage, instead of deciding matters by apitched battle, both sides contented themselves with burning villages, hanging peasants, and carrying off cattle. 

Also, in accordance with the custom of the country, the women interposedbetween the combatants, and the good and gentle Emineh laid proposalsof peace before Ibrahim Pacha, to whose apathetic disposition a stateof war was disagreeable, and who was only too happy to conclude a fairlysatisfactory negotiation. A family alliance was arranged, in virtue ofwhich Ali retained his conquests, which were considered as the marriageportion of Ibrahim's eldest daughter, who became the wife of Ali'seldest son, Mouktar. 

It was hoped that this peace might prove permanent, but the marriagewhich sealed the treaty was barely concluded before a fresh quarrelbroke out between the pachas. Ali, having wrung such importantconcessions from the weakness of his neighbour, desired to obtain yetmore. But closely allied to Ibrahim were two persons gifted with greatfirmness of character and unusual ability, whose position gave themgreat influence. They were his wife Zaidee, and his brother Sepher, who had been in command during the war just terminated. As both wereinimical to Ali, who could not hope to corrupt them, he latter resolvedto get rid of them. 

Having in the days of his youth been intimate with Kurd Pacha, Ali hadendeavoured to seduce his daughter, already the wife of Ibrahim. Beingdiscovered by the latter in the act of scaling the wall of his harem, hehad been obliged to fly the country. Wishing now to ruin the woman whomhe had formerly tried to corrupt, Ali sought to turn his former crime tothe success of a new one. Anonymous letters, secretly sent to Ibrahim, warned him that his wife intended to poison him, in order to be ablelater to marry Ali Pacha, whom she had always loved. In a country likeTurkey, where to suspect a woman is to accuse her, and accusation issynonymous with condemnation, such a calumny might easily cause thedeath of the innocent Zaidee. But if Ibrahim was weak and indolent, hewas also confiding and generous. He took the letters to his wife, whohad no difficulty in clearing herself, and who warned him against thewriter, whose object and plots she easily divined, so that this odiousconspiracy turned only to Ali's discredit. But the latter was not likelyeither to concern himself as to what others said or thought about himor to be disconcerted by a failure. He simply turned his machinationsagainst his other enemy, and arranged matters this time so as to avoid afailure. 

He sent to Zagori, a district noted for its doctors, for a quack whoundertook to poison Sepher Bey on condition of receiving fortypurses. When all was settled, the miscreant set out for Berat, and wasimmediately accused by Ali of evasion, and his wife and children werearrested as accomplices and detained, apparently as hostages for thegood behaviour of their husband and father, but really as pledges forhis silence when the crime should have been accomplished. Sepher Bey, informed of this by letters which Ali wrote to the Pacha of Beratdemanding the fugitive, thought that a man persecuted by his enemy wouldbe faithful to himself, and took the supposed runaway into his service. The traitor made skilful use of the kindness of his too credulousprotector, insinuated himself into his confidence, became his trustedphysician and apothecary, and gave him poison instead of medicine onthe very first appearance of indisposition. As soon as symptoms of deathappeared, the poisoner fled, aided by the emissaries of Ali, withwhom the court of Berat was packed, and presented himself at Janina toreceive the reward of his crime. Ali thanked him for his zeal, commendedhis skill, and referred him to the treasurer. But the instant the wretchleft the seraglio in order to receive his recompense, he was seizedby the executioners and hurried to the gallows. In thus punishing theassassin, Ali at one blow discharged the debt he owed him, disposed ofthe single witness to be dreaded, and displayed his own friendshipfor the victim! Not content with this, he endeavoured to again throwsuspicion on the wife of Ibrahim Pacha, whom he accused of being jealousof the influence which Sepher Pacha had exercised in the family. Thishe mentioned regularly in conversation, writing in the same style to hisagents at Constantinople, and everywhere where there was any profitin slandering a family whose ruin he desired for the sake of theirpossessions. Before long he made a pretext out of the scandal started byhimself, and prepared to take up arms in order, he said, to avenge hisfriend Sepher Bey, when he was anticipated by Ibrahim Pacha, who rousedagainst him the allied Christians of Thesprotia, foremost among whomranked the Suliots famed through Albania for their courage and theirlove of independence. 

After several battles, in which his enemies had the advantage, Ali begannegotiations with Ibrahim, and finally concluded a treaty offensive anddefensive. This fresh alliance was, like the first, to be cemented by amarriage. The virtuous Emineh, seeing her son Veli united to the seconddaughter of Ibrahim, trusted that the feud between the two families wasnow quenched, and thought herself at the summit of happiness. But herjoy was not of long duration; the death-groan was again to be heardamidst the songs of the marriage-feast. 

The daughter of Chainitza, by her first husband, Ali had married acertain Murad, the Bey of Clerisoura. This nobleman, attached to IbrahimPacha by both blood and affection, since the death of Sepher Bey, had, become the special object of Ali's hatred, caused by the devotion ofMurad to his patron, over whom he had great influence, and from whomnothing could detach him. Skilful in concealing truth under specialpretexts, Ali gave out that the cause of his known dislike to this youngman was that the latter, although his nephew by marriage, had severaltimes fought in hostile ranks against him. Therefore the amiable Ibrahimmade use of the marriage treaty to arrange an honourable reconciliationbetween Murad Bey and his uncle, and appointed the former "Ruler of theMarriage Feast, " in which capacity he was charged to conduct the brideto Janina and deliver her to her husband, the young Veli Bey. He hadaccomplished his mission satisfactorily, and was received by Ali withall apparent hospitality. The festival began on his arrival towardsthe end of November 1791, and had already continued several days, whensuddenly it was announced that a shot had been fired upon Ali, who hadonly escaped by a miracle, and that the assassin was still at large. This news spread terror through the city and the palace, and everyonedreaded being seized as the guilty person. Spies were everywhereemployed, but they declared search was useless, and that there must bean extensive conspiracy against Ali's life. The latter complained ofbeing surrounded by enemies, and announced that henceforth he wouldreceive only one person at a time, who should lay down his arms beforeentering the hall now set apart for public audience. It was a chamberbuilt over a vault, and entered by a sort of trap-door, only reached bya ladder. 

After having for several days received his couriers in this sort ofdovecot, Ali summoned his nephew in order to entrust with him thewedding gifts. Murad took this as a sign of favour, and joyfullyacknowledged the congratulations of his friends. He presented himselfat the time arranged; the guards at the foot of the ladder demanded hisarms, which he gave up readily, and ascended the ladder full of hope. Scarcely had the trap-door closed behind him when a pistol ball, firedfrom a dark corner, broke his shoulder blade, and he fell, but sprang upand attempted to fly. Ali issued from his hiding place and sprangupon him, but notwithstanding his wound the young bey defended himselfvigorously, uttering terrible cries. The pacha, eager to finish, andfinding his hands insufficient, caught a burning log from the hearth, struck his nephew in the face with it, felled him to the ground, andcompleted his bloody task. This accomplished, Ali called for help withloud cries, and when his guards entered he showed the bruises he hadreceived and the blood with which he was covered, declaring that he hadkilled in self-defence a villain who endeavoured to assassinate him. He ordered the body to be searched, and a letter was found in a pocketwhich Ali had himself just placed there, which purported to give thedetails of the pretended conspiracy. 

As Murad's brother was seriously compromised by this letter, he alsowas immediately seized, and strangled without any pretence of trial. Thewhole palace rejoiced, thanks were rendered to Heaven by one of thosesacrifices of animals still occasionally made in the East to celebratean escape from great danger, and Ali released some prisoners in orderto show his gratitude to Providence for having protected him from sohorrible a crime. He received congratulatory visits, and composed anapology attested by a judicial declaration by the cadi, in whichthe memory of Murad and his brother was declared accursed. Finally, commissioners, escorted by a strong body of soldiers, were sent to seizethe property of the two brothers, because, said the decree, it wasjust that the injured should inherit the possessions of his would-beassassins. 

Thus was exterminated the only family capable of opposing the Pachaof Janina, or which could counterbalance his influence over the weakIbrahim of Berat. The latter, abandoned by his brave defenders, andfinding himself at the mercy of his enemy, was compelled to submit towhat he could not prevent, and protested only by tears against thesecrimes, which seemed to herald a terrible future for himself. 

As for Emineh, it is said that from the date of this catastrophe sheseparated herself almost entirely from her blood-stained husband, andspent her life in the recesses of the harem, praying as a Christian bothfor the murderer and his victims. It is a relief, in the midst of thisatrocious saturnalia to encounter this noble and gentle character, which like a desert oasis, affords a rest to eyes wearied with thecontemplation of so much wickedness and treachery. 

Ali lost in her the guardian angel who alone could in any way restrainhis violent passions. Grieved at first by the withdrawal of the wifewhom hitherto he had loved exclusively, he endeavoured in vain toregain her affection; and then sought in new vices compensation forthe happiness he had lost, and gave himself up to sensuality. Ardent ineverything, he carried debauchery to a monstrous extent, and as ifhis palaces were not large enough for his desires, he assumed variousdisguises; sometimes in order to traverse the streets by night in searchof the lowest pleasures; sometimes penetrating by day into churches andprivate houses seeking for young men and maidens remarkable for theirbeauty, who were then carried off to his harem. 

His sons, following in his footsteps, kept also scandalous households, and seemed to dispute preeminence in evil with their father, each in hisown manner. Drunkenness was the specialty of the eldest, Mouktar, who was without rival among the hard drinkers of Albania, and whowas reputed to have emptied a whole wine-skin in one evening after aplentiful meal. Gifted with the hereditary violence of his family, he had, in his drunken fury, slain several persons, among others hissword-bearer, the companion of his childhood and confidential friend ofhis whole life. Veli chose a different course. Realising the Marquis deSade, as his father had realised Macchiavelli, he delighted in minglingtogether debauchery and cruelty, and his amusement consisted in bitingthe lips he had kissed, and tearing with his nails the forms he hadcaressed. The people of Janina saw with horror more than one woman intheir midst whose nose and ears he had caused to be cut off, and hadthen turned into the streets. 

It was indeed a reign of terror; neither fortune, life, honour, norfamily were safe. Mothers cursed their fruitfulness, and women theirbeauty. Fear soon engenders corruption, and subjects are speedilytainted by the depravity of their masters. Ali, considering ademoralised race as easier to govern, looked on with satisfaction. 

While he strengthened by every means his authority from within, hemissed no opportunity of extending his rule without. In 1803 hedeclared war against the Suliots, whose independence he had frequentlyendeavoured either to purchase or to overthrow. The army sent againstthem, although ten thousand strong, was at first beaten everywhere. Alithen, as usual, brought treason to his aid, and regained the advantage. It became evident that, sooner or later, the unhappy Suliots mustsuccumb. 

Foreseeing the horrors which their defeat would entail, Emineh, touchedwith compassion, issued from her seclusion and cast herself at Ali'sfeet. He raised her, seated her beside him, and inquired as to herwishes. She spoke of generosity, of mercy; he listened as if touched andwavering, until she named the Suliots. Then, filled with fury, he seizeda pistol and fired at her. She was not hurt, but fell to the groundovercome with terror, and her women hastily intervened and carried heraway. For the first time in his life, perhaps, Ali shuddered before thedread of a murder. 

It was his wife, the mother of his children, whom he saw lying at hisfeet, and the recollection afflicted and tormented him. He rose in thenight and went to Emineh's apartment; he knocked and called, but beingrefused admittance, in his anger he broke open the door. Terrified bythe noise; and at the sight of her infuriated husband, Emineh fell intoviolent convulsions, and shortly expired. Thus perished the daughterof Capelan Pacha, wife of Ali Tepeleni, and mother of Mouktar and Veli, who, doomed to live surrounded by evil, yet remained virtuous and good. 

Her death caused universal mourning throughout Albania, and produced anot less deep impression on the mind of her murderer. Emineh's spectrepursued him in his pleasures, in the council chamber, in the hours ofnight. He saw her, he heard her, and would awake, exclaiming, "my wife!my wife!--It is my wife!--Her eyes are angry; she threatens me!--Saveme! Mercy!" For more than ten years Ali never dared to sleep alone. 

CHAPTER IV

In December, the Suliots, decimated by battle, worn by famine, discouraged by treachery, were obliged to capitulate. The treaty gavethem leave to go where they would, their own mountains excepted. Theunfortunate tribe divided into two parts, the one going towards Parga, the other towards Prevesa. Ali gave orders for the destruction of both, notwithstanding the treaty. 

The Parga division was attacked in its march, and charged by a numerousbody of Skipetars. Its destruction seemed imminent, but instinctsuddenly revealed to the ignorant mountaineers the one manoeuvre whichmight save them. They formed a square, placing old men, women, children, and cattle in the midst, and, protected by this military formation, entered Parga in full view of the cut-throats sent to pursue them. 

Less fortunate was the Prevesa division, which, terrified by a suddenand unexpected attack, fled in disorder to a Greek convent calledZalongos. But the gate was soon broken down, and the unhappy Suliotsmassacred to the last man. 

The women, whose tents had been pitched on the summit of a lofty rock, beheld the terrible carnage which destroyed their defenders. Henceforththeir only prospect was that of becoming the slaves of those who hadjust slaughtered their husbands and brothers. An heroic resolutionspared them this infamy; they joined hands, and chanting their nationalsongs, moved in a solemn dance round the rocky platform. As the songended, they uttered a prolonged and piercing cry, and cast themselvesand their children down into the profound abyss beneath. 

There were still some Suliots left in their country when Ali Pacha tookpossession of it. These were all taken and brought to Janina, and theirsufferings were the first adornments of the festival made for thearmy. Every soldier's imagination was racked for the discovery ofnew tortures, and the most original among them had the privilege ofthemselves carrying out their inventions. 

There were some who, having had their noses and ears cut off, werecompelled to eat them raw, dressed as a salad. One young man was scalpeduntil the skin fell back upon his shoulders, then beaten round the courtof the seraglio for the pacha's entertainment, until at length a lancewas run through his body and he was cast on the funeral pile. Many wereboiled alive and their flesh then thrown to the dogs. 

From this time the Cross has disappeared from the Selleid mountains, andthe gentle prayer of Christ no longer wakes the echoes of Suli. 

During the course of this war, and shortly after the death of Emineh, another dismal drama was enacted in the pacha's family, whose activewickedness nothing seemed to weary. The scandalous libertinism of bothfather and sons had corrupted all around as well as themselves. Thisdemoralisation brought bitter fruits for all alike: the subjectsendured a terrible tyranny; the masters sowed among themselves distrust, discord, and hatred. The father wounded his two sons by turns in theirtenderest affections, and the sons avenged themselves by abandoningtheir father in the hour of danger. 

There was in Janina a woman named Euphrosyne, a niece of the archbishop, married to one of the richest Greek merchants, and noted for wit andbeauty. She was already the mother of two children, when Mouktar becameenamoured of her, and ordered her to come to his palace. The unhappyEuphrosyne, at once guessing his object, summoned a family council todecide what should be done. All agreed that there was no escape, andthat her husband's life was in danger, on account of the jealousy ofhis terrible rival. He fled the city that same night, and his wifesurrendered herself to Mouktar, who, softened by her charms, soonsincerely loved her, and overwhelmed her with presents and favours. Things were in this position when Mouktar was obliged to depart on animportant expedition. 

Scarcely had he started before his wives complained to Ali thatEuphrosyne usurped their rights and caused their husband to neglectthem. Ali, who complained greatly of his sons' extravagance, andregretted the money they squandered, at once struck a blow which wasboth to enrich himself and increase the terror of his name. 

One night he appeared by torchlight, accompanied by his guards, atEuphrosyne's house. Knowing his cruelty and avarice, she sought todisarm one by gratifying the other: she collected her money and jewelsand laid them at Ali's feet with a look of supplication. 

"These things are only my own property, which you restore, " said he, taking possession of the rich offering. "Can you give back the heart ofMouktar, which you have stolen?"

Euphrosyne besought him by his paternal feelings, for the sake of hisson whose love had been her misfortune and was now her only crime, tospare a mother whose conduct had been otherwise irreproachable. But hertears and pleadings produced no effect on Ali, who ordered her to betaken, loaded with fetters and covered with a piece of sackcloth, to theprison of the seraglio. 

If it were certain that there was no hope for the unhappy Euphrosyne, one trusted that she might at least be the only victim. But Ali, professing to follow the advice of some severe reformers who wishedto restore decent morality, arrested at the same time fifteen ladiesbelonging to the best Christian families in Janina. A Wallachian, namedNicholas Janco, took the opportunity to denounce his own wife, who wason the point of becoming a mother, as guilty of adultery, and handed heralso over to the pacha. These unfortunate women were brought beforeAli to undergo a trial of which a sentence of death was the foregoneconclusion. They were then confined in a dungeon, where they spent twodays of misery. The third night, the executioners appeared to conductthem to the lake where they were to perish. Euphrosyne, too exhausted toendure to the end, expired by the way, and when she was flung with therest into the dark waters, her soul had already escaped from itsearthly tenement. Her body was found the next day, and was buried in thecemetery of the monastery of Saints-Anargyres, where her tomb, coveredwith white iris and sheltered by a wild olive tree, is yet shown. 

Mouktar was returning from his expedition when a courier from hisbrother Veli brought him a letter informing him of these events. Heopened it. "Euphrosyne!" he cried, and, seizing one of his pistols, fired it at the messenger, who fell dead at his feet, --"Euphrosyne, behold thy first victim!" Springing on his horse, he galloped towardsJanina. His guards followed at a distance, and the inhabitants of allthe villages he passed fled at his approach. He paid no attention tothem, but rode till his horse fell dead by the lake which had engulfedEuphrosyne, and then, taking a boat, he went to hide his grief and ragein his own palace. 

Ali, caring little for passion which evaporated in tears and cries, sent an order to Mouktar to appear before him at once. "He will not killyou, " he remarked to his messenger, with a bitter smile. And, in fact, the man who a moment before was furiously raging and storming againsthis father, as if overwhelmed by this imperious message, calmed down, and obeyed. 

"Come hither, Mouktar, " said the pacha, extending his murderous hand tobe kissed as soon as his son appeared. "I shall take no notice of youranger, but in future never forget that a man who braves public opinionas I do fears nothing in the world. You can go now; when your troopshave rested from their march, you can come and ask for orders. Go, remember what I have said. "

Mouktar retired as submissively as if he had just received pardon forsome serious crime, and found no better consolation than to spend thenight with Veli in drinking and debauchery. But a day was to come whenthe brothers, alike outraged by their father, would plot and carry out aterrible vengeance. 

However, the Porte began to take umbrage at the continual aggrandisementof the Pacha of Janina. Not daring openly to attack so formidable avassal, the sultan sought by underhand means to diminish his power, andunder the pretext that Ali was becoming too old for the labour of somany offices, the government of Thessaly was withdrawn from him, but, toshow that this was not done in enmity, the province was entrusted to hisnephew, Elmas Bey, son of Suleiman and Chainitza. 

Chainitza, fully as ambitious as her brother, could not contain herdelight at the idea of governing in the name of her son, who was weakand gentle in character and accustomed to obey her implicitly. Sheasked her brother's permission to go to Trikala to be present at theinstallation, and obtained it, to everybody's astonishment; for noone could imagine that Ali would peacefully renounce so important agovernment as that of Thessaly. However, he dissembled so skilfully thateveryone was deceived by his apparent resignation, and applauded hismagnanimity, when he provided his sister with a brilliant escort toconduct her to the capital of the province of which he had just beendeprived in favour of his nephew. He sent letters of congratulationto the latter as well as magnificent presents, among them a splendidpelisse of black fox, which had cost more than a hundred thousand francsof Western money. He requested Elmas Bey to honour him by wearing thisrobe on the day when the sultan's envoy should present him with thefirman of investiture, and Chainitza herself was charged to deliver bothgifts and messages. 

Chainitza arrived safely at Trikala, and faithfully delivered themessages with which she had been entrusted. When the ceremony sheso ardently desired took place, she herself took charge of all thearrangements. Elmas, wearing the black fox pelisse, was proclaimed, andacknowledged as Governor of Thessaly in her presence. "My son is pacha!"she cried in the delirium of joy. "My son is pacha! and my nephews willdie of envy!" But her triumph was not to be of long duration. A few daysafter his installation, Elmas began to feel strangely languid. Continuallethargy, convulsive sneezing, feverish eyes, soon betokened a seriousillness. Ali's gift had accomplished its purpose. The pelisse, carefullyimpregnated with smallpox germs taken from a young girl suffering fromthis malady, had conveyed the dreaded disease to the new pacha, who, nothaving been inoculated, died in a few days. 

The grief of Chainitza at her son's death displayed itself in sobs, threats, and curses, but, not knowing whom to blame for her misfortune, she hastened to leave the scene of it, and returned to Janina, to mingleher tears with those of her brother. She found Ali apparently in suchdepths of grief, that instead of suspecting, she was actually tempted topity him, and this seeming sympathy soothed her distress, aided bythe caresses of her second son, Aden Bey. Ali, thoughtful of his owninterests, took care to send one of his own officers to Trikala, toadminister justice in the place of his deceased nephew, and the Porte, seeing that all attempts against him only caused misfortune, consentedto his resuming the government of Thessaly. 

This climax roused the suspicions of many persons. But the public voice, already discussing the causes of the death of Elmas, was stifled by thethunder of the cannon, which, from the ramparts of Janina, announced toEpirus the birth of another son to Ali, Salik Bey, whose mother was aGeorgian slave. 

Fortune, seemingly always ready both to crown Ali's crimes with successand to fulfil his wishes, had yet in reserve a more precious gift thanany of the others, that of a good and beautiful wife who should replace, and even efface the memory of the beloved Emineh. 

The Porte, while sending to Ali the firman which restored to him thegovernment of Thessaly, ordered him to seek out and destroy a society ofcoiners who dwelt within his jurisdiction. Ali, delighted to prove hiszeal by a service which cost nothing but bloodshed, at once set hisspies to work, and having discovered the abode of the gang, set outfor the place attended by a strong escort. It was a village calledPlikivitza. 

Having arrived in the evening, he spent the night in taking measures toprevent escape, and at break of day attacked the village suddenly withhis whole force. The coiners were seized in the act. Ali immediatelyordered the chief to be hung at his own door and the whole population tobe massacred. Suddenly a young girl of great beauty made her way throughthe tumult and sought refuge at his feet. Ali, astonished, asked who shewas. She answered with a look of mingled innocence and terror, kissinghis hands, which she bathed with tears, and said:

"O my lord! I implore thee to intercede with the terrible vizier Ali formy mother and brothers. My father is dead, behold where he hangs at thedoor of our cottage! But we have done nothing to rouse the anger of ourdreadful master. My mother is a poor woman who never offended anyone, and we are only weak children. Save us from him!"

Touched in spite of himself, the pacha took the girl in his arms, andanswered her with a gentle smile. 

"Thou hast come to the wrong man, child: I am this terrible vizier. "

"Oh no, no! you are good, you will be our good lord. "

"Well, be comforted, my child, and show me thy mother and thy brothers;they shall be spared. Thou hast saved their lives. "

And as she knelt at his feet, overcome with joy, he raised her and askedher name. 

"Basilessa, " she replied. 

"Basilessa, Queen! it is a name of good augury. Basilessa, thou shaltdwell with me henceforth. "

And he collected the members of her family, and gave orders for them tobe sent to Janina in company with the maiden, who repaid his mercy withboundless love and devotion. 

Let us mention one trait of gratitude shown by Ali at the end of thisexpedition, and his record of good deeds is then closed. Compelled by astorm to take refuge in a miserable hamlet, he inquired its name, andon hearing it appeared surprised and thoughtful, as if trying to recalllost memories. Suddenly he asked if a woman named Nouza dwelt in thevillage, and was told there was an old infirm woman of that name ingreat poverty. He ordered her to be brought before him. She came andprostrated herself in terror. Ali raised her kindly. 

"Dost thou not know me?" he asked. 

"Have mercy, great Vizier, " answered the poor woman, who, having nothingto lose but her life, imagined that even that would be taken from her. 

"I see, " said the pacha, "that if thou knowest me, thou dost not reallyrecognise me. "

The woman looked at him wonderingly, not understanding his words in theleast. 

"Dost thou remember, " continued Ali, "that forty years ago a young manasked for shelter from the foes who pursued him? Without inquiring hisname or standing, thou didst hide him in thy humble house, and dressedhis wounds, and shared thy scanty food with him, and when he was able togo forward thou didst stand on thy threshold to wish him good luck andsuccess. Thy wishes were heard, for the young man was Ali Tepeleni, andI who speak am he!"

The old woman stood overwhelmed with astonishment. She departed callingdown blessings on the pacha, who assured her a pension of fifteenhundred francs for the rest of her days. 

But these two good actions are only flashes of light illuminating thedark horizon of Ali's life for a brief moment. Returned to Janina, heresumed his tyranny, his intrigues, and cruelty. Not content withthe vast territory which owned his sway, he again invaded that of hisneighbours on every pretext. Phocis, Mtolia, Acarnania, were by turnsoccupied by his troops, the country ravaged, and the inhabitantsdecimated. At the same time he compelled Ibrahim Pacha to surrender hislast remaining daughter, and give her in marriage to his nephew, AdenBey, the son of Chainitza. This new alliance with a family he had sooften attacked and despoiled gave him fresh arms against it, whether bybeing enabled better to watch the pacha's sons, or to entice them intosome snare with greater ease. 

Whilst he thus married his nephew, he did not neglect the advancement ofhis sons. By the aid of the French Ambassador, whom he had convincedof his devotion to the Emperor Napoleon, he succeeded in getting thepachalik of Morea bestowed on Veli, and that of Lepanto on Mouktar. Butas in placing his sons in these exalted positions his only aim wasto aggrandise and consolidate his own power, he himself ordered theirretinues, giving them officers of his own choosing. When they departedto their governments, he kept their wives, their children, and eventheir furniture as pledges, saying that they ought not to be encumberedwith domestic establishments in time of war, Turkey just then being atopen war with England. He also made use of this opportunity to get ridof people who displeased him; among others, of a certain IsmailPacho Bey, who had been alternately both tool and enemy, whom he madesecretary to his son Veli, professedly as a pledge of reconciliationand favour, but really in order to despoil him more easily of theconsiderable property which he possessed at Janina. Pacho was notdeceived, and showed his resentment openly. "The wretch banishes me, " hecried, pointing out Ali, who was sitting at a window in the palace;"he sends me away in order to rob me; but I will avenge myself whateverhappens, and I shall die content if I can procure his destruction at theprice of my own. "

Continually increasing his power, Ali endeavoured to consolidate itpermanently. He had entered by degrees into secret negotiations withall the great powers of Europe, hoping in the end to make himselfindependent, and to obtain recognition as Prince of Greece. A mysteriousand unforeseen incident betrayed this to the Porte, and furnished actualproofs of his treason in letters confirmed by Ali's own seal. The SultanSelim immediately sent to Janina a "kapidgi-bachi, " or plenipotentiary, to examine into the case and try the delinquent. 

Arrived at Janina, this officer placed before Ali the proofs of hisunderstanding with the enemies of the State. Ali was not strongenough to throw off the mask, and yet could not deny such overwhelmingevidence. He determined to obtain time. 

"No wonder, " said he, "that I appear guilty in the eyes of His Highness. This seal is certainly mine; I cannot deny it; but the writing is notthat of my secretaries, and the seal must have been obtained and used tosign these guilty letters in order to ruin me. I pray you to grant me afew days in order to clear up this iniquitous mystery, which compromisesme in the eyes of my master the sultan and of all good Mahommedans. MayAllah grant me the means of proving my innocence, which is as pure asthe rays of the sun, although everything seems against me!"

After this conference, Ali, pretending to be engaged in a secretinquiry, considered how he could legally escape from this predicament. He spent some days in making plans which were given up as soon asformed, until his fertile genius at length suggested a means of gettingclear of one of the greatest difficulties in which he had ever foundhimself. Sending for a Greek whom he had often employed, he addressedhim thus:

"Thou knowest I have always shown thee favour, and the day is arrivedwhen thy fortune shall be made. Henceforth thou shalt be as my son; thychildren shall be as mine; my house shall be thy home, and in return formy benefits I require one small service. This accursed kapidgi-bachi hascome hither bringing certain papers signed with my seal, intending touse them to my discredit, and thus to extort money from me. Of money Ihave already given too much, and I intend this time to escape withoutbeing plundered except for the sake of a good servant like thee. Therefore, my son, thou shalt go before the tribunal when I tell thee, and declare before this kapidgi-bachi and the cadi that thou hastwritten these letters attributed to me, and that thou didst seal themwith my seal, in order to give them due weight and importance. "

The unhappy Greek grew pale and strove to answer. 

"What fearest thou, my son?" resumed Ali. "Speak, am I not thy goodmaster? Thou wilt be sure of my lasting favour, and who is there todread when I protect thee? Is it the kapidgi-bachi? he has no authorityhere. I have thrown twenty as good as he into the lake! If more isrequired to reassure thee, I swear by the Prophet, by my own and mysons' heads, that no harm shall come to thee from him. Be ready, then, to do as I tell thee, and beware of mentioning this matter to anyone, inorder that all may be accomplished according to our mutual wishes. "

More terrified by dread of the pacha, from whose wrath in case ofrefusal there was no chance of escape, than tempted by his promises, theGreek undertook the false swearing required. Ali, delighted, dismissedhim with a thousand assurances of protection, and then requested thepresence of the sultan's envoy, to whom he said, with much emotion:

"I have at length unravelled the infernal plot laid against me; it isthe work of a man in the pay of the implacable enemies of the SublimePorte, and who is a Russian agent. He is in my power, and I have givenhim hopes of pardon on condition of full confession. Will you thensummon the cadi, the judges and ecclesiastics of the town, in order thatthey may hear the guilty man's deposition, and that the light of truthmay purify their minds?"

The tribunal was soon assembled, and the trembling Greek appeared inthe midst of a solemn silence. "Knowest thou this writing?" demanded thecadi. --"It is mine. "--"And this seal?"--"It is that of my master, Ali Pacha. "--"How does it come to be placed at the foot of theseletters?"--"I did this by order of my chief, abusing the confidenceof my master, who occasionally allowed me to use it to sign hisorders. "--"It is enough: thou canst withdraw. "

Uneasy as to the success of his intrigue, Ali was approaching the Hallof Justice. As he entered the court, the Greek, who had just finishedhis examination, threw himself at his feet, assuring him that all hadgone well. "It is good, " said Ali; "thou shalt have thy reward. " Turninground, he made a sign to his guards, who had their orders, and whoinstantly seized the unhappy Greek, and, drowning his voice with theirshouts, hung him in the courtyard. This execution finished, the pachapresented himself before the judges and inquired the result of theirinvestigation. He was answered by a burst of congratulation. "Well, "said he, "the guilty author of this plot aimed at me is no more; Iordered him to be hung without waiting to hear your decision. May allenemies of our glorious sultan perish even as he!"

A report of what had occurred was immediately drawn up, and, to assistmatters still further, Ali sent the kapidgi-bachi a gift of fiftypurses, which he accepted without difficulty, and also secured thefavour of the Divan by considerable presents. The sultan, yielding tothe advice of his councillors, appeared to have again received him intofavour. 

But Ali knew well that this appearance of sunshine was entirelydeceptive, and that Selim only professed to believe in his innocenceuntil the day should arrive when the sultan could safely punish histreason. He sought therefore to compass the latter's downfall, and madecommon cause with his enemies, both internal and external. A conspiracy, hatched between the discontented pachas and the English agents, shortlybroke out, and one day, when Ali was presiding at the artillery practiceof some French gunners sent to Albania by the Governor of Illyria, aTartar brought him news of the deposition of Selim, who was succeededby his nephew Mustapha. Ali sprang up in delight, and publicly thankedAllah for this great good fortune. He really did profit by this changeof rulers, but he profited yet more by a second revolution which causedthe deaths both of Selim, whom the promoters wished to reestablish onthe throne, and of Mustapha, whose downfall they intended. Mahmoud II, who was next invested with the scimitar of Othman, came to the throne introublous times, after much bloodshed, in the midst of great politicalupheavals, and had neither the will nor the power to attack one of hismost powerful vassals. He received with evident satisfaction the millionpiastres which, at his installation, Ali hastened to send as a proof ofhis devotion, assured the pacha of his favour, and confirmed both himand his sons in their offices and dignities. This fortunate change inhis position brought Ali's pride and audacity to a climax. Free frompressing anxiety, he determined to carry out a project which had beenthe dream of his life. 

CHAPTER V

After taking possession of Argyro-Castron, which he had long coveted, Ali led his victorious army against the town of Kardiki, whoseinhabitants had formerly joined with those of Kormovo in the outrageinflicted on his mother and sister. The besieged, knowing they had nomercy to hope for, defended themselves bravely, but were obliged toyield to famine. After a month's blockade, the common people, having nofood for themselves or their cattle, began to cry for mercy in the openstreets, and their chiefs, intimidated by the general misery and unableto stand alone, consented to capitulate. Ali, whose intentions as to thefate of this unhappy town were irrevocably decided, agreed to all thatthey asked. A treaty was signed by both parties, and solemnly swornto on the Koran, in virtue of which seventy-two beys, heads of theprincipal Albanian families, were to go to Janina as free men, and fullyarmed. They were to be received with the honours due to their rank asfree tenants of the sultan, their lives and their families were to bespared, and also their possessions. The other inhabitants of Kardiki, being Mohammedans, and therefore brothers of Ali, were to be treatedas friends and retain their lives and property. On these conditions aquarter of the town; was to be occupied by the victorious troops. 

One of the principal chiefs, Saleh Bey, and his wife, foreseeing thefate which awaited their friends, committed suicide at the momentwhen, in pursuance of the treaty, Ali's soldiers took possession of thequarter assigned to them. 

Ali received the seventy-two beys with all marks of friendship when theyarrived at Janina. He lodged them in a palace on the lake, and treatedthem magnificently for some days. But soon, having contrived on somepretext to disarm them, he had them conveyed, loaded with chains, toa Greek convent on an island in the lake, which was converted into aprison. The day of vengeance not having fully arrived, he explained thisbreach of faith by declaring that the hostages had attempted to escape. 

The popular credulity was satisfied by this explanation, and no onedoubted the good faith of the pacha when he announced that he was goingto Kardiki to establish a police and fulfil the promises he had madeto the inhabitants. Even the number of soldiers he took excited nosurprise, as Ali was accustomed to travel with a very numerous suite. 

After three days' journey, he stopped at Libokhovo, where his sister hadresided since the death of Aden Bey, her second son, cut off recently bysickness. What passed in the long interview they had no one knew, butit was observed that Chainitza's tears, which till then had flowedincessantly, stopped as if by magic, and her women, who were wearingmourning, received an order to attire themselves as for a festival. Feasting and dancing, begun in Ali's honour, did not cease after hisdeparture. 

He spent the night at Chenderia, a castle built on a rock, whence thetown of Kardiki was plainly visible. Next day at daybreak Ali despatchedan usher to summon all the male inhabitants of Kardiki to appear beforeChenderia, in order to receive assurances of the pacha's pardon andfriendship. 

The Kardikiotes at once divined that this injunction was the precursorof a terrible vengeance: the whole town echoed with cries and groans, the mosques were filled with people praying for deliverance. Theappointed time arrived, they embraced each other as if parting for ever, and then the men, unarmed, in number six hundred and seventy, startedfor Chenderia. At the gate of the town they encountered a troop ofAlbanians, who followed as if to escort them, and which increased innumber as they proceeded. Soon they arrived in the dread presence of AliPacha. Grouped in formidable masses around him stood several thousand ofhis fierce soldiery. 

The unhappy Kardikiotes realised their utter helplessness, and saw thatthey, their wives and children, were completely at the mercy of theirimplacable enemy. They fell prostrate before the pacha, and with allthe fervour which the utmost terror could inspire, implored him to grantthem a generous pardon. 

Ali for some time silently enjoyed the pleasure of seeing his ancientenemies lying before him prostrate in the dust. He then desired them torise, reassured them, called them brothers, sons, friends of his heart. Distinguishing some of his old acquaintances, he called them to him, spoke familiarly of the days of their youth, of their games, their earlyfriendships, and pointing to the young men, said, with tears in hiseyes, "The discord which has divided us for so many years has allowed childrennot born at the time of our dissension to grow into men. I have lost thepleasure of watching the development of the off-spring of my neighboursand the early friends of my youth, and of bestowing benefits on them, but I hope shortly to repair the natural results of our melancholydivisions. "

He then made them splendid promises, and ordered them to assemble ina neighbouring caravanserai, where he wished to give them a banquetin proof of reconciliation. Passing from the depths of despair totransports of joy, the Kardikiotes repaired gaily to the caravanserai, heaping blessings on the pacha, and blaming each other for having everdoubted his good faith. 

Ali was carried down from Chenderia in a litter, attended by hiscourtiers, who celebrated his clemency in pompous speeches, to whichhe replied with gracious smiles. At the foot of the steep descenthe mounted his horse, and, followed by his troops, rode towards thecaravanserai. Alone, and in silence, he rode twice round it, then, returning to the gate, which had just been closed by his order, hepulled up his horse, and, signing to his own bodyguard to attack thebuilding, "Slay them!" he cried in a voice of thunder. 

The guards remained motionless in surprise and horror, then as thepacha, with a roar, repeated his order, they indignantly flung downtheir arms. In vain he harangued, flattered, or threatened them; somepreserved a sullen silence, others ventured to demand mercy. Then heordered them away, and, calling on the Christian Mirdites who servedunder his banner. 

"To you, brave Latins, " he cried, "I will now entrust the duty ofexterminating the foes of my race. Avenge me, and I will reward youmagnificently. "

A confused murmur rose from the ranks. Ali imagined they were consultingas to what recompense should be required as the price of such deed. 

"Speak, " said he; "I am ready to listen to your demands and to satisfythem. "

Then the Mirdite leader came forward and threw back the hood of hisblack cloak. 

"O Pacha!" said he, looking Ali boldly in the face, "thy words are aninsult; the Mirdites do not slaughter unarmed prisoners in cold blood. Release the Kardikiotes, give them arms, and we will fight them to thedeath; but we serve thee as soldiers and not as executioners. "

At these words; which the black-cloaked battalion received withapplause, Ali thought himself betrayed, and looked around with doubtand mistrust. Fear was nearly taking the place of mercy, words of pardonwere on his lips, when a certain Athanasius Vaya, a Greek schismatic, and a favourite of the pacha's, whose illegitimate son he was supposedto be, advanced at the head of the scum of the army, and offered tocarry out the death sentence. Ali applauded his zeal, gave him fullauthority to act, and spurred his horse to the top of a neighbouringhill, the better to enjoy the spectacle. The Christian Mirdites and theMohammedan guards knelt together to pray for the miserable Kardikiotes, whose last hour had come. 

The caravanserai where they were shut in was a square enclosure, opento the sky, and intended to shelter herds of buffaloes. The prisonershaving heard nothing of what passed outside, were astonished to beholdAthanasius Vaya and his troop appearing on the top of the wall. They didnot long remain in doubt. Ali gave the signal by a pistol-shot, and ageneral fusillade followed. Terrible cries echoed from the court; theprisoners, terrified, wounded, crowded one upon another for shelter. Some ran frantically hither and thither in this enclosure with noshelter and no exit, until they fell, struck down by bullets. Some triedto climb the walls, in hope of either escape or vengeance, only to beflung back by either scimitars or muskets. It was a terrible scene ofdespair and death. 

After an hour of firing, a gloomy silence descended on the place, nowoccupied solely by a heap of corpses. Ali forbade any burial rites onpain of death, and placed over the gate an inscription in letters ofgold, informing posterity that six hundred Kardikiotes had there beensacrificed to the memory of his mother Kamco. 

When the shrieks of death ceased in the enclosure, they began to beheard in the town. The assassins spread themselves through it, andhaving violated the women and children, gathered them into a crowd tobe driven to Libokovo. At every halt in this frightful journey freshmarauders fell on the wretched victims, claiming their share in crueltyand debauchery. At length they arrived at their destination, where thetriumphant and implacable Chainitza awaited them. As after the taking ofKormovo, she compelled the women to cut off their hair and to stuff withit a mattress on which she lay. She then stripped them, and joyfullynarrated to them the massacre of their husbands, fathers, brothers andsons, and when she had sufficiently enjoyed their misery they were againhanded over to the insults of the soldiery. Chainitza finally publishedan edict forbidding either clothes, shelter, or food to be given to thewomen and children of Kardiki, who were then driven forth into the woodseither to die of hunger or to be devoured by wild beasts. As to theseventy-two hostages, Ali put them all to death when he returned toJanina. His vengeance was indeed complete. 

But as, filled with a horrible satisfaction, the pacha was enjoying therepose of a satiated tiger, an indignant and threatening voice reachedhim even in the recesses of his palace. The Sheik Yussuf, governor ofthe castle of Janina, venerated as a saint by the Mohammedans onaccount of his piety, and universally beloved and respected for his manyvirtues, entered Ali's sumptuous dwelling for the first time. The guardson beholding him remained stupefied and motionless, then the most devoutprostrated themselves, while others went to inform the pacha; but no onedared hinder the venerable man, who walked calmly and solemnly throughthe astonished attendants. For him there existed no antechamber, nodelay; disdaining the ordinary forms of etiquette, he paced slowlythrough the various apartments, until, with no usher to announce him, he reached that of Ali. The latter, whose impiety by no means saved himfrom superstitious terrors, rose hastily from the divan and advanced tomeet the holy sheik, who was followed by a crowd of silent courtiers. Ali addressed him with the utmost respect, and endeavoured even to kisshis right hand. Yussuf hastily withdrew it, covered it with his mantle, and signed to the pacha to seat himself. Ali mechanically obeyed, andwaited in solemn silence to hear the reason of this unexpected visit. 

Yussuf desired him to listen with all attention, and then reproached himfor his injustice and rapine, his treachery and cruelty, with suchvivid eloquence that his hearers dissolved in tears. Ali, though muchdejected, alone preserved his equanimity, until at length the sheikaccused him of having caused the death of Emineh. He then grew pale, andrising, cried with terror:

"Alas! my father, whose name do you now pronounce? Pray for me, or atleast do not sink me to Gehenna with your curses!"

"There is no need to curse thee, " answered Yussuf. "Thine own crimesbear witness against thee. Allah has heard their cry. He will summonthee, judge thee, and punish thee eternally. Tremble, for the time is athand! Thine hour is coming--is coming--is coming!"

Casting a terrible glance at the pacha, the holy man turned his back onhim, and stalked out of the apartment without another word. 

Ali, in terror, demanded a thousand pieces of gold, put them in a whitesatin purse, and himself hastened with them to overtake the sheik, imploring him to recall his threats. But Yussuf deigned no answer, andarrived at the threshold of the palace, shook off the dust of his feetagainst it. 

Ali returned to his apartment sad and downcast, and many days elapsedbefore he could shake off the depression caused by this scene. But soonhe felt more ashamed of his inaction than of the reproaches which hadcaused it, and on the first opportunity resumed his usual mode of life. 

The occasion was the marriage of Moustai, Pacha of Scodra, with theeldest daughter of Veli Pacha, called the Princess of Aulis, becauseshe had for dowry whole villages in that district. Immediately afterthe announcement of this marriage Ali set on foot a sort of saturnalia, about the details of which there seemed to be as much mystery as if hehad been preparing an assassination. 

All at once, as if by a sudden inundation, the very scum of the earthappeared to spread over Janina. The populace, as if trying to drowntheir misery, plunged into a drunkenness which simulated pleasure. Disorderly bands of mountebanks from the depths of Roumelia traversedthe streets, the bazaars and public places; flocks and herds, withfleeces dyed scarlet, and gilded horns, were seen on all the roadsdriven to the court by peasants under the guidance of their priests. Bishops, abbots, ecclesiastics generally, were compelled to drink, andto take part in ridiculous and indecent dances, Ali apparently thinkingto raise himself by degrading his more respectable subjects. Day andnight these spectacles succeeded each other with increasing rapidity, the air resounded with firing, songs, cries, music, and the roaring ofwild beasts in shows. Enormous spits, loaded with meat, smoked beforehuge braziers, and wine ran in floods at tables prepared in the palacecourts. Troops of brutal soldiers drove workmen from their labour withwhips, and compelled them to join in the entertainments; dirty andimpudent jugglers invaded private houses, and pretending that theyhad orders from the pacha to display their skill, carried boldlyoff whatever they could lay their hands upon. Ali saw the generaldemoralization with pleasure, especially as it tended to thegratification of his avarice. Every guest was expected to bring to thepalace gate a gift in proportion to his means, and foot officers watchedto see that no one forgot this obligation. At length, on the nineteenthday, Ali resolved to crown the feast by an orgy worthy of himself. Hecaused the galleries and halls of his castle by the lake to be decoratedwith unheard-of splendour, and fifteen hundred guests assembled for asolemn banquet. The pacha appeared in all his glory, surrounded by hisnoble attendants and courtiers, and seating himself on a dais raisedabove this base crowd which trembled at his glance, gave the signal tobegin. At his voice, vice plunged into its most shameless diversions, and the wine-steeped wings of debauchery outspread themselves over thefeast. All tongues were at their freest, all imaginations ran wild, allevil passions were at their height, when suddenly the noise ceased, andthe guests clung together in terror. A man stood at the entrance of thehall, pale, disordered, and wild-eyed, clothed in torn and blood-stainedgarments. As everyone made way at his approach, he easily reached thepacha, and prostrating himself at his feet, presented a letter. Aliopened and rapidly perused it; his lips trembled, his eyebrows met ina terrible frown, the muscles of his forehead contracted alarmingly. Hevainly endeavoured to smile and to look as if nothing had happened, hisagitation betrayed him, and he was obliged to retire, after desiring aherald to announce that he wished the banquet to continue. 

Now for the subject of the message, and the cause of the dismay itproduced. 

CHAPTER VI

Ali had long cherished a violent passion for Zobeide, the wife of hisson Veli Pacha. Having vainly attempted to gratify it after his son'sdeparture, and being indignantly repulsed, he had recourse to drugs, andthe unhappy Zobeide remained in ignorance of her misfortune until shefound she was pregnant. Then, half-avowals from her women, compelled toobey the pacha from fear of death, mixed with confused memories of herown, revealed the whole terrible truth. Not knowing in her despair whichway to turn, she wrote to Ali, entreating him to visit the harem. Ashead of the family, he had a right to enter, being supposed responsiblefor the conduct of his sons' families, no-law-giver having hithertocontemplated the possibility of so disgraceful a crime. When heappeared, Zobeide flung herself at his feet, speechless with grief. Aliacknowledged his guilt, pleaded the violence of his passion, wept withhis victim, and entreating her to control herself and keep silence, promised that all should be made right. Neither the prayers nor tears ofZobeide could induce him to give up the intention of effacing the tracesof his first crime by a second even more horrible. 

But the story was already whispered abroad, and Pacho Bey learnt all itsdetails from the spies he kept in Janina. Delighted at the prospect ofavenging himself on the father, he hastened with his news to the son. Veli Pacha, furious, vowed vengeance, and demanded Pacho Bey's help, which was readily promised. But Ali had been warned, and was not a manto be taken unawares. Pacho Bey, whom Veli had just promoted to theoffice of sword-bearer, was attacked in broad daylight by six emissariessent from Janina. He obtained timely help, however, and five of theassassins, taken red-handed, were at once hung without ceremony in themarket-place. The sixth was the messenger whose arrival with the newshad caused such dismay at Ali's banquet. 

As Ali reflected how the storm he had raised could best be laid, he wasinformed that the ruler of the marriage feast sent by Moustai, Pacha ofScodra, to receive the young bride who should reign in his harem, hadjust arrived in the plain of Janina. He was Yussuf Bey of the Delres, an old enemy of Ali's, and had encamped with his escort of eight hundredwarriors at the foot of Tomoros of Dodona. Dreading some treachery, heabsolutely refused all entreaties to enter the town, and Ali seeing thatit was useless to insist, and that his adversary for the present wassafe, at once sent his grand-daughter, the Princess of Aulis, out tohim. 

This matter disposed of, Ali was able to attend to his hideous familytragedy. He began by effecting the disappearance of the women whom hehad been compelled to make his accomplices; they were simply sewn up insacks by gipsies and thrown into the lake. This done, he himself ledthe executioners into a subterranean part of the castle, where they werebeheaded by black mutes as a reward for their obedience. He then sent adoctor to Zobeide; who succeeded in causing a miscarriage, and who, his work done, was seized and strangled by the black mutes who had justbeheaded the gipsies. Having thus got rid of all who could bear witnessto his crime, he wrote to Veli that he might now send for his wifeand two of his children, hitherto detained as hostages, and that theinnocence of Zobeide would confound a calumniator who had dared toassail him with such injurious suspicions. 

When this letter arrived, Pacho Bey, distrusting equally the treacheryof the father and the weakness of the son, and content with having sownthe seeds of dissension in his enemy's family, had sufficient wisdom toseek safety in flight. Ali, furious, vowed, on hearing this, that hisvengeance should overtake him even at the ends of the earth. Meanwhilehe fell back on Yussuf Bey of the Debres, whose escape when lately atJanina still rankled in his mind. As Yussuf was dangerous both fromcharacter and influence, Ali feared to attack him openly, and sought toassassinate him. This was not precisely easy, for, exposed to a thousanddangers of this kind, the nobles of that day were on their guard. Steeland poison were used up, and another way had to be sought. Ali found it. 

One of the many adventurers with whom Janina was filled penetrated tothe pacha's presence, and offered to sell the secret of a powderwhereof three grains would suffice to kill a man with a terribleexplosion--explosive powder, in short. Ali heard with delight, butreplied that he must see it in action before purchasing. 

In the dungeons of the castle by the lake, a poor monk of the order ofSt. Basil was slowly dying, for having boldly refused a sacrilegioussimony proposed to him by Ali. He was a fit subject for the experiment, and was successfully blown to pieces, to the great satisfaction of Ali, who concluded his bargain, and hastened to make use of it. He prepareda false firman, which, according to custom, was enclosed and sealed in acylindrical case, and sent to Yussuf Bey by a Greek, wholly ignorant ofthe real object of his mission. Opening it without suspicion, Yussuf hadhis arm blown off, and died in consequence, but found time to despatcha message to Moustai Pacha of Scodra, informing him of the catastrophe, and warning him to keep good guard. 

Yussuf's letter was received by Moustai just as a similar infernalmachine was placed in his hands under cover to his young wife. Thepacket was seized, and a careful examination disclosed its nature. The mother of Moustai, a jealous and cruel woman, accused herdaughter-in-law of complicity, and the unfortunate Ayesha, thoughshortly to become a mother, expired in agony from the effects of poison, only guilty of being the innocent instrument of her grandfather'streachery. 

Fortune, having frustrated Ali's schemes concerning Moustai Pacha, offered him as consolation a chance of invading the territory of Parga, the only place in Epirus which had hitherto escaped his rule, and whichhe greedily coveted. Agia, a small Christian town on the coast, hadrebelled against him and allied itself to Parga. It provided an excusefor hostilities, and Ali's troops, under his son Mouktar, first seizedAgia, where they only found a few old men to massacre, and then marchedon Parga, where the rebels had taken refuge. After a few skirmishes, Mouktar entered the town, and though the Parganiotes fought bravely, they must inevitably have surrendered had they been left to themselves. But they had sought protection from the French, who had garrisoned thecitadel, and the French grenadiers descending rapidly from the height, charged the Turks with so much fury that they fled in all directions, leaving on the field four "bimbashis, " or captains of a thousand, and aconsiderable number of killed and wounded. 

The pacha's fleet succeeded no better than his army. Issuing from theGulf of Ambracia, it was intended to attack Parga from the sea, joiningin the massacre, and cutting off all hope of escape from that side, Ali meaning to spare neither the garrison nor any male inhabitants overtwelve years of age. But a few shots fired from a small fort dispersedthe ships, and a barque manned by sailors from Paxos pursued them, ashot from which killed Ali's admiral on his quarter-deck. He was a Greekof Galaxidi, Athanasius Macrys by name. 

Filled with anxiety, Ali awaited news at Prevesa, where a courier, sentoff at the beginning of the action, had brought him oranges gatheredin the orchards of Parga. Ali gave him a purse of gold, and publiclyproclaimed his success. His joy was redoubled when a second messengerpresented two heads of French soldiers, and announced that his troopswere in possession of the lower part of Parga. Without further delayhe ordered his attendants to mount, entered his carriage, and startedtriumphantly on the Roman road to Nicopolis. He sent messengers tohis generals, ordering them to spare the women and children of Parga, intended for his harem, and above all to take strict charge of theplunder. He was approaching the arena of Nicopolis when a thirdTartar messenger informed him of the defeat of his army. Ali changedcountenance, and could scarcely articulate the order to return toPrevesa. Once in his palace, he gave way to such fury that all aroundhim trembled, demanding frequently if it could be true that his troopswere beaten. "May your misfortune be upon us!" his attendants answered, prostrating themselves. All at once, looking out on the calm blue seawhich lay before his windows, he perceived his fleet doubling CapePancrator and re-entering the Ambracian Gulf under full sail; itanchored close by the palace, and on hailing the leading ship a speakingtrumpet announced to Ali the death of his admiral, Athanasius Macrys. 

"But Parga, Parga!" cried Ali. 

"May Allah grant the pacha long life! The Parganiotes have escaped thesword of His Highness. "

"It is the will of Allah!" murmured the pacha; whose head sank upon hisbreast in dejection. 

Arms having failed, Ali, as usual, took refuge in plots and treachery, but this time, instead of corrupting his enemies with gold, he sought toweaken them by division. 

CHAPTER VII

The French commander Nicole, surnamed the "Pilgrim, " on account of ajourney he had once made to Mecca, had spent six months at Janina witha brigade of artillery which General Marmont, then commanding in theIllyrian provinces, had for a time placed at Ali's disposal. The oldofficer had acquired the esteem and friendship of the pacha, whoseleisure he had often amused by stories of his campaigns and variousadventures, and although it was now long since they had met, he stillhad the reputation of being Ali's friend. Ali prepared his plansaccordingly. He wrote a letter to Colonel Nicole, apparently incontinuation of a regular correspondence between them, in which hethanked the colonel for his continued affection, and besought him byvarious powerful motives to surrender Parga, of which he promised himthe governorship during the rest of his life. He took good care tocomplete his treason by allowing the letter to fall into the hands ofthe chief ecclesiastics of Parga, who fell head-foremost into the trap. Seeing that the tone of the letter was in perfect accordance with theformer friendly relations between their French governor and the pacha, they were convinced of the former's treachery. But the result was notas Ali had hoped: the Parganiotes resumed their former negotiationswith the English, preferring to place their freedom in the hands ofa Christian nation rather than to fall under the rule of a Mohammedansatrap. . . . The English immediately sent a messenger to Colonel Nicole, offering honourable conditions of capitulation. The colonel returned adecided refusal, and threatened to blow up the place if the inhabitants, whose intentions he guessed, made the slightest hostile movement. However, a few days later, the citadel was taken at night, owing to thetreachery of a woman who admitted an English detachment; and the nextday, to the general astonishment, the British standard floated over theAcropolis of Parga. 

All Greece was then profoundly stirred by a faint gleam of the dawnof liberty, and shaken by a suppressed agitation. The Bourbons againreigned in France, and the Greeks built a thousand hopes on an eventwhich changed the basis of the whole European policy. Above all, theyreckoned on powerful assistance from Russia. But England had alreadybegun to dread anything which could increase either the possessions orthe influence of this formidable power. Above all, she was determinedthat the Ottoman Empire should remain intact, and that the Greek navy, beginning to be formidable, must be destroyed. With these objects inview, negotiations with Ali Pacha were resumed. The latter was stillsmarting under his recent disappointment, and to all overtures answeredonly, "Parga! I must have Parga. "--And the English were compelled toyield it!

Trusting to the word of General Campbell, who had formally promised, onits surrender, that Parga should be classed along with the seven IonianIsles; its grateful inhabitants were enjoying a delicious rest afterthe storm, when a letter from the Lord High Commissioner, addressed toLieutenant-Colonel de Bosset, undeceived them, and gave warning of theevils which were to burst on the unhappy town. 

On the 25th of March, 1817, notwithstanding the solemn promise made tothe Parganiotes, when they admitted the British troops, that they shouldalways be on the same footing as the Ionian Isles, a treaty was signedat Constantinople by the British Plenipotentiary, which stipulated thecomplete and stipulated cession of Parga and all its territory to theOttoman Empire. Soon there arrived at Janina Sir John Cartwright, theEnglish Consul at Patras, to arrange for the sale of the lands of theParganiotes and discuss the conditions of their emigration. Never beforehad any such compact disgraced European diplomacy, accustomed hithertoto regard Turkish encroachments as simple sacrilege. But Ali Pachafascinated the English agents, overwhelming them with favours, honours, and feasts, carefully watching them all the while. Their correspondencewas intercepted, and he endeavoured by means of his agents to rouse theParganiotes against them. The latter lamented bitterly, and appealedto Christian Europe, which remained deaf to their cries. In the nameof their ancestors, they demanded the rights which had been guaranteedthem. "They will buy our lands, " they said; "have we asked to sell them?And even if we received their value, can gold give us a country and thetombs of our ancestors?"

Ali Pacha invited the Lord High Commissioner of Great Britain, SirThomas Maitland, to a conference at Prevesa, and complained of theexorbitant price of 1, 500, 000, at which the commissioners had estimatedParga and its territory, including private property and churchfurniture. It had been hoped that Ali's avarice would hesitate at thishigh price, but he was not so easily discouraged. He give a banquet forthe Lord High Commissioner, which degenerated into a shameless orgy. Inthe midst of this drunken hilarity the Turk and the Englishman disposedof the territory of Parga; agreeing that a fresh estimate should be madeon the spot by experts chosen by both English and Turks. The resultof this valuation was that the indemnity granted to the Christians wasreduced by the English to the sum of 276, 075 sterling, instead of theoriginal 500, 000. And as Ali's agents only arrived at the sum of 56, 750, a final conference was held at Buthrotum between Ali and the LordHigh Commissioner. The latter then informed the Parganiotes that theindemnity allowed them was irrevocably fixed at 150, 000! The transactionis a disgrace to the egotistical and venal nation which thus allowed thelife and liberty of a people to be trifled with, a lasting blot on thehonour of England!

The Parganiotes at first could believe neither in the infamy of theirprotectors nor in their own misfortune; but both were soon confirmed bya proclamation of the Lord High Commissioner, informing them that thepacha's army was marching to take possession of the territory which, byMay 10th, must be abandoned for ever. 

The fields were then in full bearing. In the midst of plains ripeningfor a rich harvest were 80, 000 square feet of olive trees, aloneestimated at two hundred thousand guineas. The sun shone in cloudlessazure, the air was balmy with the scent of orange trees, of pomegranatesand citrons. But the lovely country might have been inhabited byphantoms; only hands raised to heaven and brows bent to the dustmet one's eye. Even the very dust belonged no more to the wretchedinhabitants; they were forbidden to take a fruit or a flower, thepriests might not remove either relics or sacred images. Church, ornaments, torches, tapers, pyxes, had by this treaty all becomeMahommedan property. The English had sold everything, even to the Host!Two days more, and all must be left. Each was silently marking the doorof the dwelling destined so soon to shelter an enemy, with a red cross, when suddenly a terrible cry echoed from street to street, for the Turkshad been perceived on the heights overlooking the town. Terrified anddespairing, the whole population hastened to fall prostrate before theVirgin of Parga, the ancient guardian of their citadel. A mysteriousvoice, proceeding from the sanctuary, reminded them that the Englishhad, in their iniquitous treaty, forgotten to include the ashes of thosewhom a happier fate had spared the sight of the ruin of Parga. Instantlythey rushed to the graveyards, tore open the tombs, and collected thebones and putrefying corpses. The beautiful olive trees were felled, anenormous funeral pyre arose, and in the general excitement the ordersof the English chief were defied. With naked daggers in their hands, standing in the crimson light of the flames which were consuming thebones of their ancestors, the people of Parga vowed to slay their wivesand children, and to kill themselves to the last man, if the infidelsdared to set foot in the town before the appointed hour. Xenocles, the last of the Greek poets, inspired by this sublime manifestation ofdespair, even as Jeremiah by the fall of Jerusalem, improvised a hymnwhich expresses all the grief of the exiles, and which the exilesinterrupted by their tears and sobs. 

A messenger, crossing the sea in all haste, informed the Lord HighCommissioner of the terrible threat of the Parganiotes. He started atonce, accompanied by General Sir Frederic Adams, and landed at Pargaby the light of the funeral pyre. He was received with ill-concealedindignation, and with assurances that the sacrifice would be at onceconsummated unless Ali's troops were held back. The general endeavouredto console and to reassure the unhappy people, and then proceeded tothe outposts, traversing silent streets in which armed men stood ateach door only waiting a signal before slaying their families, and thenturning their weapons against the English and themselves. He imploredthem to have patience, and they answered by pointing to the approachingTurkish army and bidding him hasten. He arrived at last and commencednegotiations, and the Turkish officers, no less uneasy than the Englishgarrison, promised to wait till the appointed hour. The next day passedin mournful silence, quiet as death. At sunset on the following day, May9, 1819, the English standard on the castle of Parga was hauled down, and after a night spent in prayer and weeping, the Christians demandedthe signal of departure. 

They had left their dwellings at break of day, and, scattering on theshore, endeavoured to collect some relics of their country. Some filledlittle bags with ashes withdrawn from the funeral pile; others tookhandfuls of earth, while the women and children picked up pebbles whichthey hid in their clothing and pressed to their bosoms, as if fearingto be deprived of them. Meanwhile, the ships intended to transport themarrived, and armed English soldiers superintended the embarkation, whichthe Turks hailed from afar with ferocious cries. The Parganiotes werelanded in Corfu, where they suffered yet more injustice. Under variouspretexts the money promised them was reduced and withheld, untildestitution compelled them to accept the little that was offered. Thusclosed one of the most odious transactions which modern history has beencompelled to record. 

The satrap of Janina had arrived at the fulfilment of his wishes. Inthe retirement of his fairy-like palace by the lake he could enjoyvoluptuous pleasures to the full. But already seventy-eight years hadpassed over his head, and old age had laid the burden of infirmity uponhim. His dreams were dreams of blood, and vainly he sought refuge inchambers glittering with gold, adorned with arabesques, decorated withcostly armour and covered with the richest of Oriental carpets; remorsestood ever beside him. Through the magnificence which surrounded himthere constantly passed the pale spectre of Emineh, leading onwards avast procession of mournful phantoms, and the guilty pacha buried hisface in his hands and shrieked aloud for help. Sometimes, ashamed of hisweakness, he endeavoured to defy both the reproaches of his conscienceand the opinion of the multitude, and sought to encounter criticism withbravado. If, by chance, he overheard some blind singer chanting in thestreets the satirical verses which, faithful to the poetical and mockinggenius of their ancestors, the Greeks frequently composed about him, hewould order the singer to be brought, would bid him repeat his verses, and, applauding him, would relate some fresh anecdote of cruelty, saying, "Go, add that to thy tale; let thy hearers know what I can do;let them understand that I stop at nothing in order to overcome my foes!If I reproach myself with anything, it is only with the deeds I havesometimes failed to carry out. "

Sometimes it was the terrors of the life after death which assailed him. The thought of eternity brought terrible visions in its train, and Alishuddered at the prospect of Al-Sirat, that awful bridge, narrow as aspider's thread and hanging over the furnaces of Hell which a Mussulmanmust cross in order to arrive at the gate of Paradise. He ceased tojoke about Eblis, the Prince of Evil, and sank by degrees into profoundsuperstition. He was surrounded by magicians and soothsayers; heconsulted omens, and demanded talismans and charms from the dervishes, which he had either sewn into his garments, or suspended in the mostsecret parts of his palace, in order to avert evil influences. AKoran was hung about his neck as a defence against the evil eye, andfrequently he removed it and knelt before it, as did Louis XI before theleaden figures of saints which adorned his hat. He ordered a completechemical laboratory from Venice, and engaged alchemists to distill thewater of immortality, by the help of which he hoped to ascend tothe planets and discover the Philosophers' Stone. Not perceiving anypractical result of their labours, he ordered the laboratory to be burntand the alchemists to be hung. 

Ali hated his fellow-men. He would have liked to leave no survivors, andoften regretted his inability to destroy all those who would have causeto rejoice at his death. Consequently he sought to accomplish as muchharm as he could during the time which remained to him, and, for nopossible reason but that of hatred, he caused the arrest of both Ibrahimpacha, who had already suffered so much at his hands, and his son, andconfined them both in a dungeon purposely constructed under the grandstaircase of the castle by the lake, in order that he might have thepleasure of passing over their heads each time he left his apartments orreturned to them. 

It was not enough for Ali merely to put to death those who displeasedhim; the form of punishment must be constantly varied in order toproduce a fresh mode of suffering, therefore new tortures had to beconstantly invented. Now it was a servant, guilty of absence withoutleave, who was bound to a stake in the presence of his sister, anddestroyed by a cannon placed six paces off, but only loaded with powder, in order to prolong the agony; now, a Christian accused of having triedto blow up Janina by introducing mice with tinder fastened to theirtails into the powder magazine, who was shut up in the cage of Ali'sfavourite tiger and devoured by it. 

The pacha despised the human race as much as he hated it. A Europeanhaving reproached him with the cruelty shown to his subjects, Alireplied:--

"You do not understand the race with which I have to deal. Were I tohang a criminal on yonder tree, the sight would not deter even his ownbrother from stealing in the crowd at its foot. If I had an old manburnt alive, his son would steal the ashes and sell them. The rabblecan be governed by fear only, and I am the one man who does itsuccessfully. "

His conduct perfectly corresponded to his ideas. One great feast-day, two gipsies devoted their lives in order to avert the evil destiny ofthe pacha; and, solemnly convoking on their own heads all misfortuneswhich might possibly befall him, cast themselves down from the palaceroof. One arose with difficulty, stunned and suffering, the otherremained on the ground with a broken leg. Ali gave them each fortyfrancs and an annuity of two pounds of maize daily, and considering thissufficient, took no further trouble about them. 

Every year, at Ramadan, a large sum was distributed in alms among poorwomen without distinction of sect. But Ali contrived to change this actof benevolence into a barbarous form of amusement. 

As he possessed several palaces in Janina at a considerable distancefrom each other, the one at which a distribution was to take place waseach day publicly announced, and when the women had waited there for anhour or two, exposed to sun, rain or cold, as the case might be, theywere suddenly informed that they must go to some other palace, at theopposite end of the town. When they got there, they usually had to waitfor another hour, fortunate if they were not sent off to a thirdplace of meeting. When the time at length arrived, an eunuch appeared, followed by Albanian soldiers armed with staves, carrying a bag ofmoney, which he threw by handfuls right into the midst of the assembly. Then began a terrible uproar. The women rushed to catch it, upsettingeach other, quarreling, fighting, and uttering cries of terror and pain, while the Albanians, pretending to enforce order, pushed into the crowd, striking right and left with their batons. The pacha meanwhile sat ata window enjoying the spectacle, and impartially applauding all welldelivered blows, no matter whence they came. During these distributions, which really benefitted no one, many women were always severely hurt, and some died from the blows they had received. 

Ali maintained several carriages for himself and his family, but allowedno one else to share in this prerogative. To avoid being jolted, hesimply took up the pavement in Janina and the neighbouring towns, withthe result that in summer one was choked by dust, and in winter couldhardly get through the mud. He rejoiced in the public inconvenience, and one day having to go out in heavy rain, he remarked to one of theofficers of his escort, "How delightful to be driven through this in acarriage, while you will have the pleasure of following on horseback!You will be wet and dirty, whilst I smoke my pipe and laugh at yourcondition. "

He could not understand why Western sovereigns should permit theirsubjects to enjoy the same conveniences and amusements as themselves. "If I had a theatre, " he said, "I would allow no one to be present atperformances except my own children; but these idiotic Christians do notknow how to uphold their own dignity. "

There was no end to the mystifications which it amused the pacha tocarry out with those who approached him. 

One day he chose to speak Turkish to a Maltese merchant who came todisplay some jewels. He was informed that the merchant understood onlyGreek and Italian. He none the less continued his discourse withoutallowing anyone to translate what he said into Greek. The Maltese atlength lost patience, shut up his cases, and departed. Ali watched himwith the utmost calm, and as he went out told him, still in Turkish, tocome again the next day. 

An unexpected occurrence seemed, like the warning finger of Destiny, to indicate an evil omen for the pacha's future. "Misfortunes arrivein troops, " says the forcible Turkish proverb, and a forerunner ofdisasters came to Ali Pacha. 

One morning he was suddenly roused by the Sheik Yussuf, who had forcedhis way in, in spite of the guards. "Behold!" said he, handing Ali aletter, "Allah, who punishes the guilty, has permitted thy seraglioof Tepelen to be burnt. Thy splendid palace, thy beautiful furniture, costly stuffs, cashmeers, furs, arms, all are destroyed! And it is thyyoungest and best beloved son, Salik Bey himself, whose hand kindled theflames!" So saying, Yussuf turned and departed, crying with a triumphantvoice, "Fire! fire! fire!"

Ali instantly ordered his horse, and, followed by his guards, rodewithout drawing rein to Tepelen. As soon as he arrived at the placewhere his palace had formerly insulted the public misery, he hastened toexamine the cellars where his treasures were deposited. All was intact, silver plate, jewels, and fifty millions of francs in gold, enclosedin a well over which he had caused a tower to be built. After thisexamination he ordered all the ashes to be carefully sifted in hopesof recovering the gold in the tassels and fringes of the sofas, and thesilver from the plate and the armour. He next proclaimed throughthe length and breadth of the land, that, being by the hand of Allahdeprived of his house, and no longer possessing anything in his nativetown, he requested all who loved him to prove their affection bybringing help in proportion. He fixed the day of reception for eachcommune, and for almost each individual of any rank, however small, according to their distance from Tepelen, whither these evidences ofloyalty were to be brought. 

During five days Ali received these forced benevolences from all parts. He sat, covered with rags, on a shabby palm-leaf mat placed at the outergate of his ruined palace, holding in his left hand a villainous pipeof the kind used by the lowest people, and in his right an old red cap, which he extended for the donations of the passers-by. Behind stood aJew from Janina, charged with the office of testing each piece of goldand valuing jewels which were offered instead of money; for, in terror, each endeavoured to appear generous. No means of obtaining a richharvest were neglected; for instance, Ali distributed secretly largesums among poor and obscure people, such as servants, mechanics, andsoldiers, in order that by returning them in public they might appearto be making great sacrifices, so that richer and more distinguishedpersons could not, without appearing ill-disposed towards the pacha, offer only the same amount as did the poor, but were obliged to presentgifts of enormous value. 

After this charity extorted from their fears, the pacha's subjects hopedto be at peace. But a new decree proclaimed throughout Albania requiredthem to rebuild and refurnish the formidable palace of Tepelen entirelyat the public expense. Ali then returned to Janina, followed by histreasure and a few women who had escaped from the flames, and whomhe disposed of amongst his friends, saying that he was no longersufficiently wealthy to maintain so many slaves. 

Fate soon provided him with a second opportunity for amassing wealth. Arta, a wealthy town with a Christian population, was ravaged by theplague, and out of eight thousand inhabitants, seven thousand were sweptaway. Hearing this, Ali hastened to send commissioners to prepare anaccount of furniture and lands which the pacha claimed as being heir tohis subjects. A few livid and emaciated spectres were yet to be found inthe streets of Arta. In order that the inventory might be more complete, these unhappy beings were compelled to wash in the Inachus blankets, sheets, and clothes steeped in bubonic infection, while the collectorswere hunting everywhere for imaginary hidden treasure. Hollow trees weresounded, walls pulled down, the most unlikely corners examined, and askeleton which was discovered still girt with a belt containing Venetiansequins was gathered up with the utmost care. The archons of the townwere arrested and tortured in the hope of discovering buried treasure, the clue to which had disappeared along with the owners. One of thesemagistrates, accused of having hidden some valuable objects, was plungedup to his shoulders in a boiler full of melted lead and boiling oil. Oldmen, women, children, rich and poor alike, were interrogated, beaten, and compelled to abandon the last remains of their property in order tosave their lives. 

Having thus decimated the few inhabitants remaining to the town, it became necessary to repeople it. With this object in view, Ali'semissaries overran the villages of Thessaly, driving before them all thepeople they met in flocks, and compelling them to settle in Arta. Theseunfortunate colonists were also obliged to find money to pay the pachafor the houses they were forced to occupy. 

This business being settled, Ali turned to another which had long beenon his mind. We have seen how Ismail Pacho Bey escaped the assassinssent to murder him. A ship, despatched secretly from Prevesa, arrivedat the place of his retreat. The captain, posing as a merchant, invitedIsmail to come on board and inspect his goods. But the latter, guessinga trap, fled promptly, and for some time all trace of him was lost. Ali, in revenge, turned his wife out of the palace at Janina which she stilloccupied, and placed her in a cottage, where she was obliged to earn aliving by spinning. But he did not stop there, and, learning after sometime that Pacho Bey had sought refuge with the Nazir of Drama, who hadtaken him into favour, he resolved to strike a last blow, more sure andmore terrible than the others. Again Ismail's lucky star saved himfrom the plots of his enemy. During a hunting party he encountered akapidgi-bachi, or messenger from the sultan, who asked him wherehe could find the Nazir, to whom he was charged with an importantcommunication. As kapidgi-bachis are frequently bearers of evil tidings, which it is well to ascertain at once, and as the Nazir was at somedistance, Pacho Bey assumed the latter's part, and the sultan'sconfidential messenger informed him that he was the bearer of a firmangranted at the request of Ali Pacha of Janina. 

"Ali of Tepeleni. He is my friend. How can I serve him?"

"By executing the present order, sent you by the Divan, desiring you tobehead a traitor, named Pacho Bey, who crept into your service a shorttime ago. "

"Willingly! but he is not an easy man to seize being brave, vigorous, clever, and cunning. Craft will be necessary in this case. He may appearat any moment, and it is advisable that he should not see you. Letno one suspect who you are, but go to Drama, which is only two hoursdistant, and await me there. I shall return this evening, and you canconsider your errand as accomplished. "

The kapidgi-bachi made a sign of comprehension, and directed his coursetowards Drama; while Ismail, fearing that the Nazir, who had onlyknown him a short time, would sacrifice him with the usual Turkishindifference, fled in the opposite direction. At the end of an hour heencountered a Bulgarian monk, with whom he exchanged clothes--a disguisewhich enabled him to traverse Upper Macedonia in safety. Arriving at thegreat Servian convent in the mountains whence the Axius takes its rise, he obtained admission under an assumed name. But feeling sure of thediscretion of the monks, after a few days he explained his situation tothem. 

Ali, learning the ill-success of his latest stratagem, accused the Nazirof conniving at Pacho Bey's escape. But the latter easily justifiedhimself with the Divan by giving precise information of what had reallyoccurred. This was what Ali wanted, who profited thereby in having thefugitive's track followed up, and soon got wind of his retreat. As PachoBey's innocence had been proved in the explanations given to the Porte, the death firman obtained against him became useless, and Ali affectedto abandon him to his fate, in order the better to conceal the new plothe was conceiving against him. 

Athanasius Vaya, chief assassin of the Kardikiotes, to whom Ali impartedhis present plan for the destruction of Ismail, begged for the honourof putting it into execution, swearing that this time Ismail should notescape. The master and the instrument disguised their scheme under theappearance of a quarrel, which astonished the whole town. At the end ofa terrible scene which took place in public, Ali drove the confidant ofhis crimes from the palace, overwhelming him with insults, and declaringthat were Athanasius not the son of his children's foster-mother, he would have sent him to the gibbet. He enforced his words by theapplication of a stick, and Vaya, apparently overwhelmed by terror andaffliction, went round to all the nobles of the town, vainly entreatingthem to intercede for him. The only favour which Mouktar Pacha couldobtain for him was a sentence of exile allowing him to retreat toMacedonia. 

Athanasius departed from Janina with all the demonstrations of utterdespair, and continued his route with the haste of one who fearspursuit. Arrived in Macedonia, he assumed the habit of a monk, andundertook a pilgrimage to Mount Athos, saying that both the disguise andthe journey were necessary to his safety. On the way he encounteredone of the itinerant friars of the great Servian convent, to whom hedescribed his disgrace in energetic terms, begging him to obtain hisadmission among the lay brethren of his monastery. 

Delighted at the prospect of bringing back to the fold of the Churcha man so notorious for his crimes, the friar hastened to inform hissuperior, who in his turn lost no time in announcing to Pacho Bey thathis compatriot and companion in misfortune was to be received among thelay brethren, and in relating the history of Athanasius as he himselfhad heard it. Pacho Bey, however, was not easily deceived, and at onceguessing that Vaya's real object was his own assassination, told hisdoubts to the superior, who had already received him as a friend. Thelatter retarded the reception of Vaya so as to give Pacho time to escapeand take the road to Constantinople. Once arrived there, he determinedto brave the storm and encounter Ali openly. 

Endowed by nature with a noble presence and with masculine firmness, Pacho Bey possessed also the valuable gift of speaking all the varioustongues of the Ottoman Empire. He could not fail to distinguish himselfin the capital and to find an opening for his great talents. But hisinclination drove him at first to seek his fellow-exiles from Epirus, who were either his old companions in arms, friends, or relations, forhe was allied to all the principal families, and was even, through hiswife, nearly connected with his enemy, Ali Pacha himself. 

He had learnt what this unfortunate lady had already endured on hisaccount, and feared that she would suffer yet more if he took activemeasures against the pacha. While he yet hesitated between affectionand revenge, he heard that she had died of grief and misery. Now thatdespair had put an end to uncertainty, he set his hand to the work. 

At this precise moment Heaven sent him a friend to console and aid himin his vengeance, a Christian from AEtolia, Paleopoulo by name. This manwas on the point of establishing himself in Russian Bessarabia, when hemet Pacho Bey and joined with him in the singular coalition which was tochange the fate of the Tepelenian dynasty. 

Paleopoulo reminded his companion in misfortune of a memorial presentedto the Divan in 1812, which had brought upon Ali a disgrace from whichhe only escaped in consequence of the overwhelming political eventswhich just then absorbed the attention of the Ottoman Government. TheGrand Seigneur had sworn by the tombs of his ancestors to attend to thematter as soon as he was able, and it was only requisite to remind himof his vow. Pacho Bey and his friend drew up a new memorial, and knowingthe sultan's avarice, took care to dwell on the immense wealth possessedby Ali, on his scandalous exactions, and on the enormous sums divertedfrom the Imperial Treasury. By overhauling the accounts of hisadministration, millions might be recovered. To these financialconsiderations Pacho Bey added some practical ones. Speaking as a mansure of his facts and well acquainted with the ground, he pledged hishead that with twenty thousand men he would, in spite of Ali's troopsand strongholds, arrive before Janina without firing a musket. 

However good these plans appeared, they were by no means to the tasteof the sultan's ministers, who were each and all in receipt of largepensions from the man at whom they struck. Besides, as in Turkey it iscustomary for the great fortunes of Government officials to be absorbedon their death by the Imperial Treasury, it of course appeared easierto await the natural inheritance of Ali's treasures than to attemptto seize them by a war which would certainly absorb part of them. Therefore, while Pacho Bey's zeal was commended, he obtained onlydilatory answers, followed at length by a formal refusal. 

Meanwhile, the old AEtolian, Paleopoulo, died, having prophesied theapproaching Greek insurrection among his friends, and pledged Pacho Beyto persevere in his plans of vengeance, assuring him that before longAli would certainly fall a victim to them. Thus left alone, Pacho, before taking any active steps in his work of vengeance, affected togive himself up to the strictest observances of the Mohammedan religion. Ali, who had established a most minute surveillance over his actions, finding that his time was spent with ulemas and dervishes, imagined thathe had ceased to be dangerous, and took no further trouble about him. 

CHAPTER VIII

A career of successful crime had established Ali's rule over apopulation equal to that of the two kingdoms of Sweden and Norway. Buthis ambition was not yet satisfied. The occupation of Parga did notcrown his desires, and the delight which it caused him was much temperedby the escape of the Parganiotes, who found in exile a safe refuge fromhis persecution. Scarcely had he finished the conquest of Middle Albaniabefore he was exciting a faction against the young Moustai Pachain Scodra, a new object of greed. He also kept an army of spies inWallachia, Moldavia, Thrace, and Macedonia, and, thanks to them, heappeared to be everywhere present, and was mixed up in every intrigue, private or political, throughout the empire. He had paid the Englishagents the price agreed on for Parga, but he repaid himself five timesover, by gifts extorted from his vassals, and by the value of the Pargalands, now become his property. His palace of Tepelen had been rebuiltat the public expense, and was larger and more magnificent than before;Janina was embellished with new buildings; elegant pavilions rose on theshores of the lake; in short, Ali's luxury was on a level with his vastriches. His sons and grandsons were provided for by important positions, and Ali himself was sovereign prince in everything but the name. 

There was no lack of flattery, even from literary persons. At Vienna apoem was printed in his honour, and a French-Greek Grammar was dedicatedto him, and such titles as "Most Illustrious, " "Most Powerful, " and"Most Clement, " were showered upon him, as upon a man whose loftyvirtues and great exploits echoed through the world. A native ofBergamo, learned in heraldry, provided him with a coat of arms, representing, on a field gules, a lion, embracing three cubs, emblematicof the Tepelenian dynasty. Already he had a consul at Leucadia acceptedby the English, who, it is said, encouraged him to declare himselfhereditary Prince of Greece, under the nominal suzerainty of the sultan;their real intention being to use him as a tool in return for theirprotection, and to employ him as a political counter-balance to thehospodars of Moldavia and Wallachia, who for the last twenty years hadbeen simply Russian agents in disguise. This was not all; many of theadventurers with whom the Levant swarms, outlaws from every country, had found a refuge in Albania, and helped not a little to excite Ali'sambition by their suggestions. Some of these men frequently saluted himas King, a title which he affected to reject with indignation; and hedisdained to imitate other states by raising a private standard of hisown, preferring not to compromise his real power by puerile displays ofdignity; and he lamented the foolish ambition of his children, who wouldruin him, he said, by aiming, each, at becoming a vizier. Therefore hedid not place his hope or confidence in them, but in the adventurersof every sort and kind, pirates, coiners, renegades, assassins, whomhe kept in his pay and regarded as his best support. These he sought toattach to his person as men who might some day be found useful, forhe did not allow the many favours of fortune to blind him to the realdanger of his position. "A vizier, " he was answered, "resembles a manwrapped in costly furs, but he sits on a barrel of powder, which onlyrequires a spark to explode it. " The Divan granted all the concessionswhich Ali demanded, affecting ignorance of his projects of revoltand his intelligence with the enemies of the State; but then apparentweakness was merely prudent temporising. It was considered that Ali, already advanced in years, could not live much longer, and it was hopedthat, at his death, Continental Greece, now in some measure detachedfrom the Ottoman rule, would again fall under the sultan's sway. 

Meanwhile, Pacho Bey, bent on silently undermining Ali's influence, hadestablished himself as an intermediary for all those who came to demandjustice on account of the pacha's exactions, and he contrived that bothhis own complaints and those of his clients should penetrate to the earsof the sultan, who, pitying his misfortunes, made him a kapidgi-bachi, as a commencement of better things. About this time the sultan alsoadmitted to the Council a certain Abdi Effendi of Larissa, one of therichest nobles of Thessaly, who had been compelled by the tyranny ofVeli Pacha to fly from his country. The two new dignitaries, havingsecured Khalid Effendi as a partisan, resolved to profit by hisinfluence to carry out their plans of vengeance on the Tepelenianfamily. The news of Pacho Bey's promotion roused Ali from the securityin which he was plunged, and he fell a prey to the most lively anxiety. Comprehending at once the evil which this man, --trained in his ownschool, --might cause him, he exclaimed, "Ah! if Heaven would onlyrestore me the strength of my youth, I would plunge my sword into hisheart even in the midst of the Divan. "

It was not long before Ali's enemies found an extremely suitableopportunity for opening their attack. Veli Pacha, who had for his ownprofit increased the Thessalian taxation fivefold, had in doing socaused so much oppression that many of the inhabitants preferred thegriefs and dangers of emigration rather than remain under so tyrannicala rule. A great number of Greeks sought refuge at Odessa, and thegreat Turkish families assembled round Pacho Bey and Abdi Effendi atConstantinople, who lost no opportunity of interceding in their favour. The sultan, who as yet did not dare to act openly against the Tepelenianfamily, was at least able to relegate Veli to the obscure post ofLepanto, and Veli, much disgusted, was obliged to obey. He quitted thenew palace he had just built at Rapehani, and betook himself to theplace of exile, accompanied by actors, Bohemian dancers, bear leaders, and a crowd of prostitutes. 

Thus attacked in the person of his most powerful son, Ali thoughtto terrify his enemies by a daring blow. He sent three Albanians toConstantinople to assassinate Pacho Bey. They fell upon him as he wasproceeding to the Mosque of Saint-Sophia, on the day on which the sultanalso went in order to be present at the Friday ceremonial prayer, andfired several shots at him. He was wounded, but not mortally. 

The assassins, caught red-handed, were hung at the gate of the ImperialSeraglio, but not before confessing that they were sent by the Pacha ofJanina. The Divan, comprehending at last that so dangerous a man must bedealt with at any cost, recapitulated all Ali's crimes, and pronounced asentence against him which was confirmed by a decree of the Grand Mufti. It set forth that Ali Tepelen, having many times obtained pardon for hiscrimes, was now guilty of high treason in the first degree, and that hewould, as recalcitrant, be placed under the ban of the Empire if he didnot within forty days appear at the Gilded Threshold of the FelicitousGate of the Monarch who dispenses crowns to the princes who reign inthis world, in order to justify himself. As may be supposed, submissionto such an order was about the last thing Ali contemplated. As he failedto appear, the Divan caused the Grand Mufti to launch the thunder ofexcommunication against him. 

Ali had just arrived at Parga, which he now saw for the third time sincehe had obtained it, when his secretaries informed him that only the rodof Moses could save him from the anger of Pharaoh--a figurative mode ofwarning him that he had nothing to hope for. But Ali, counting on hisusual luck, persisted in imagining that he could, once again, escape from his difficulty by the help of gold and intrigue. Withoutdiscontinuing the pleasures in which he was immersed, he contentedhimself with sending presents and humble petitions to Constantinople. But both were alike useless, for no one even ventured to transmit themto the sultan, who had sworn to cut off the head of anyone who daredmention the name of Ali Tepeleni in his presence. 

Receiving no answer to his overtures, Ali became a prey to terribleanxiety. As he one day opened the Koran to consult it as to his future, his divining rod stopped at verse 82, chap. Xix. , which says, "He dothflatter himself in vain. He shall appear before our tribunal naked andbare. " Ali closed the book and spat three times into his bosom. He wasyielding to the most dire presentiments, when a courier, arriving fromthe capital, informed him that all hope of pardon was lost. 

He ordered his galley to be immediately prepared, and left his seraglio, casting a look of sadness on the beautiful gardens where only yesterdayhe had received the homage of his prostrate slaves. He bade farewellto his wives, saying that he hoped soon to return, and descended to theshore, where the rowers received him with acclamations. The sail was setto a favourable breeze, and Ali, leaving the shore he was never to seeagain, sailed towards Erevesa, where he hoped to meet the Lord HighCommissioner Maitland. But the time of prosperity had gone by, and theregard which had once been shown him changed with his fortunes. Theinterview he sought was not granted. 

The sultan now ordered a fleet to be equipped, which, after Ramadan, wasto disembark troops on the coast of Epirus, while all the neighbouringpachas received orders to hold themselves in readiness to march with allthe troops of their respective Governments against Ali, whose name wasstruck out of the list of viziers. Pacho Bey was named pacha of Janinaand Delvino on condition of subduing them, and was placed in command ofthe whole expedition. 

However, notwithstanding these orders, there was not at the beginningof April, two months after the attempted assassination of Pacho Bey, asingle soldier ready to march on Albania. Ramadan, that year, did notclose until the new moon of July. Had Ali put himself boldly at the headof the movement which was beginning to stir throughout Greece, he mighthave baffled these vacillating projects, and possibly dealt a fatal blowto the Ottoman Empire. As far back as 1808, the Hydriotes had offered torecognise his son Veli, then Vizier of the Morea, as their Prince, andto support him in every way, if he would proclaim the independence ofthe Archipelago. The Moreans bore him no enmity until he refused to helpthem to freedom, and would have returned to him had he consented. 

On the other side, the sultan, though anxious for war, would not spenda penny in order to wage it; and it was not easy to corrupt some of thegreat vassals ordered to march at their own expense against a man inwhose downfall they had no special interest. Nor were the means ofseduction wanting to Ali, whose wealth was enormous; but he preferred tokeep it in order to carry on the war which he thought he could no longerescape. He made, therefore, a general appeal to all Albanian warriors, whatever their religion. Mussulmans and Christians, alike attracted bythe prospect of booty and good pay, flocked to his standard in crowds. 

He organised all these adventurers on the plan of the Armatous, bycompanies, placing a captain of his own choice at the head of each, andgiving each company a special post to defend. Of all possible plans thiswas the best adapted to his country, where only a guerilla warfare canbe carried on, and where a large army could not subsist. 

In repairing to the posts assigned to them, these troops committedsuch terrible depredations that the provinces sent to Constantinopledemanding their suppression. The Divan answered the petitioners that itwas their own business to suppress these disorders, and to induce theKlephotes to turn their arms against Ali, who had nothing to hope fromthe clemency of the Grand Seigneur. At the same time circular letterswere addressed to the Epirotes, warning them to abandon the cause ofa rebel, and to consider the best means of freeing themselves from atraitor, who, having long oppressed them, now sought to draw down ontheir country all the terrors of war. Ali, who everywhere maintainednumerous and active spies, now redoubled his watchfulness, and nota single letter entered Epirus without being opened and read by hisagents. As an extra precaution, the guardians of the passes wereenjoined to slay without mercy any despatch-bearer not provided withan order signed by Ali himself; and to send to Janina under escort anytravellers wishing to enter Epirus. These measures were specially aimedagainst Suleyman Pacha, who had succeeded Veli in the government ofThessaly, and replaced Ali himself in the office of Grand Provost of theHighways. Suleyman's secretary was a Greek called Anagnorto, a nativeof Macedonia, whose estates Ali had seized, and who had fled with hisfamily to escape further persecution. He had become attached to thecourt party, less for the sake of vengeance on Ali than to aid the causeof the Greeks, for whose freedom he worked by underhand methods. Hepersuaded Suleyman Pacha that the Greeks would help him to dethrone Ali, for whom they cherished the deepest hatred, and he was determinedthat they should learn the sentence of deprivation and excommunicationfulminated against the rebel pacha. He introduced into the Greektranslation which he was commissioned to make, ambiguous phrases whichwere read by the Christians as a call to take up arms in the cause ofliberty. In an instant, all Hellas was up in arms. The Mohammedanswere alarmed, but the Greeks gave out that it was in order to protectthemselves and their property against the bands of brigands which hadappeared on all sides. This was the beginning of the Greek insurrection, and occurred in May 1820, extending from Mount Pindus to Thermopylae. However, the Greeks, satisfied with having vindicated their rightto bear arms in their own defence, continued to pay their taxes, andabstained from all hostility. 

At the news of this great movement, Ali's friends advised him to turnit to his own advantage. "The Greeks in arms, " said they, "want a chief:offer yourself as their leader. They hate you, it is true, but thisfeeling may change. It is only necessary to make them believe, whichis easily done, that if they will support your cause you will embraceChristianity and give them freedom. "

There was no time to lose, for matters became daily more serious. Alihastened to summon what he called a Grand Divan, composed of the chiefsof both sects, Mussulmans and Christians. There were assembled menof widely different types, much astonished at finding themselves incompany: the venerable Gabriel, Archbishop of Janina, and uncle of theunfortunate Euphrosyne, who had been dragged thither by force; Abbas, the old head of the police, who had presided at the execution of theChristian martyr; the holy bishop of Velas, still bearing the marks ofthe chains with which Ali had loaded him; and Porphyro, Archbishop ofArta, to whom the turban would have been more becoming than the mitre. 

Ashamed of the part he was obliged to play, Ali, after long hesitation, decided on speaking, and, addressing the Christians, "O Greeks!" hesaid, "examine my conduct with unprejudiced minds, and you will seemanifest proofs of the confidence and consideration which I have evershown you. What pacha has ever treated you as I have done? Who wouldhave treated your priests and the objects of your worship with as muchrespect? Who else would have conceded the privileges which youenjoy? for you hold rank in my councils, and both the police and theadministration of my States are in your hands. I do not, however, seekto deny the evils with which I have afflicted you; but, alas! theseevils have been the result of my enforced obedience to the cruel andperfidious orders of the Sublime Porte. It is to the Porte that thesewrongs must be attributed, for if my actions be attentively regarded itwill be seen that I only did harm when compelled thereto by the courseof events. Interrogate my actions, they will speak more fully than adetailed apology. 

"My position with regard to the Suliotes allowed no half-and-halfmeasures. Having once broken with them, I was obliged either to drivethem from my country or to exterminate them. I understood the politicalhatred of the Ottoman Cabinet too well not to know that it would declarewar against me sooner or later, and I knew that resistance would beimpossible, if on one side I had to repel the Ottoman aggression, and onthe other to fight against the formidable Suliotes. 

"I might say the same of the Parganiotes. You know that their town wasthe haunt of my enemies, and each time that I appealed to them to changetheir ways they answered only with insults and threats. They constantlyaided the Suliotes with whom I was at war; and if at this moment theystill were occupying Parga, you would see them throw open the gates ofEpirus to the forces of the sultan. But all this does not prevent mybeing aware that my enemies blame me severely, and indeed I also blamemyself, and deplore the faults which the difficulty of my position hasentailed upon me. Strong in my repentance, I do not hesitate to addressmyself to those whom I have most grievously wounded. Thus I have longsince recalled to my service a great number of Suliotes, and those whohave responded to my invitation are occupying important posts near myperson. To complete the reconciliation, I have written to those who arestill in exile, desiring them to return fearlessly to their country, and I have certain information that this proposal has been everywhereaccepted with enthusiasm. The Suliotes will soon return to theirancestral houses, and, reunited under my standard, will join me incombating the Osmanlis, our common enemies. 

"As to the avarice of which I am accused, it seems easily justified bythe constant necessity I was under of satisfying the inordinate cupidityof the Ottoman ministry, which incessantly made me pay dearly fortranquillity. This was a personal affair, I acknowledge, and so also isthe accumulation of treasure made in order to support the war, which theDivan has at length declared. "

Here Ali ceased, then having caused a barrel full of gold pieces to beemptied on the floor, he continued:

"Behold a part of the treasure I have preserved with so much care, andwhich has been specially obtained from the Turks, our common enemies: itis yours. I am now more than ever delighted at being the friend of theGreeks. Their bravery is a sure earnest of victory, and we will shortlyre-establish the Greek Empire, and drive the Osmanlis across theBosphorus. O bishops and priests of Issa the prophet! bless the armsof the Christians, your children. O primates! I call upon you to defendyour rights, and to rule justly the brave nation associated with myinterests. "

This discourse produced very different impressions on the Christianpriests and archons. Some replied only by raising looks of despairto Heaven, others murmured their adhesion. A great number remaineduncertain, not knowing what to decide. The Mirdite chief, he who hadrefused to slaughter the Kardikiotes, declared that neither he nor anySkipetar of the Latin communion would bear arms against their legitimatesovereign the sultan. But his words were drowned by cries of "Long liveAli pacha! Long live the restorer of liberty!" uttered by some chiefs ofadventurers and brigands. 

CHAPTER IX

Yet next day, May 24th, 1820, Ali addressed a circular letter to hisbrothers the Christians, announcing that in future he would considerthem as his most faithful subjects, and that henceforth he remitted thetaxes paid to his own family. He wound up by asking for soldiers, butthe Greeks having learnt the instability of his promises, remaineddeaf to his invitations. At the same time he sent messengers to theMontenegrins and the Servians, inciting them to revolt, and organisedinsurrections in Wallachia and Moldavia to the very environs ofConstantinople. 

Whilst the Ottoman vassals assembled only in small numbers and veryslowly under their respective standards, every day there collected roundthe castle of Janina whole companies of Toxidae, of Tapazetae, and ofChamidae; so that Ali, knowing that Ismail Pacho Bey had boasted that hecould arrive in sight of Janina without firing a gun, said in his turnthat he would not treat with the Porte until he and his troops should bewithin eight leagues of Constantinople. 

He had fortified and supplied with munitions of war Ochrida, Avlone, Cannia, Berat, Cleisoura, Premiti, the port of Panormus, Santi-Quaranta, Buthrotum, Delvino, Argyro-Castron, Tepelen, Parga, Prevesa, Sderli, Paramythia, Arta, the post of the Five Wells, Janina and its castles. These places contained four hundred and twenty cannons of all sizes, for the most part in bronze, mounted on siege-carriages, and seventymortars. Besides these, there were in the castle by the lake, independently of the guns in position, forty field-pieces, sixtymountain guns, a number of Congreve rockets, formerly given him bythe English, and an enormous quantity of munitions of war. Finally, he endeavoured to establish a line of semaphores between Janina andPrevesa, in order to have prompt news of the Turkish fleet, which wasexpected to appear on this coast. 

Ali, whose strength seemed to increase with age, saw to everythingand appeared everywhere; sometimes in a litter borne by his Albanians, sometimes in a carriage raised into a kind of platform, but it was morefrequently on horseback that he appeared among his labourers. Oftenhe sat on the bastions in the midst of the batteries, and conversedfamiliarly with those who surrounded him. He narrated the successesformerly obtained against the sultan by Kara Bazaklia, Vizier of Scodra, who, like himself, had been attained with the sentence of deprivationand excommunication; recounting how the rebel pacha, shut up in hiscitadel with seventy-two warriors, had seen collapse at his feet theunited forces of four great provinces of the Ottoman Empire, commandedby twenty-two pachas, who were almost entirely annihilated in one day bythe Guegues. He reminded them also, of the brilliant victory gainedby Passevend Oglon, Pacha of Widdin, of quite recent memory, which iscelebrated in the warlike songs of the Klephts of Roumelia. 

Almost simultaneously, Ali's sons, Mouktar and Veli, arrived at Janina. Veli had been obliged, or thought himself obliged, to evacuate Lepantoby superior forces, and brought only discouraging news, especially asto the wavering fidelity of the Turks. Mouktar, on the contrary, whohad just made a tour of inspection in the Musache, had only noticedfavourable dispositions, and deluded himself with the idea that theChaonians, who had taken up arms, had done so in order to aid hisfather. He was curiously mistaken, for these tribes hated Ali with ahatred all the deeper for being compelled to conceal it, and were onlyin arms in order to repel aggression. 

The advice given by the sons to their father as to the manner oftreating the Mohammedans differed widely in accordance with theirrespective opinions. Consequently a violent quarrel arose between them, ostensibly on account of this dispute, but in reality on the subject oftheir father's inheritance, which both equally coveted. Ali had broughtall his treasure to Janina, and thenceforth neither son would leave theneighbourhood of so excellent a father. They overwhelmed him with marksof affection, and vowed that the one had left Lepanto, and the otherBerat, only in order to share his danger. Ali was by no means duped bythese protestations, of which he divined the motive only too well, andthough he had never loved his sons, he suffered cruelly in discoveringthat he was not beloved by them. 

Soon he had other troubles to endure. One of his gunners assassinated aservant of Veli's, and Ali ordered the murderer to be punished, butwhen the sentence was to be carried out the whole corps of artillerymutinied. In order to save appearances, the pacha was compelled to allowthem to ask for the pardon of the criminal whom he dared not punish. This incident showed him that his authority was no longer paramount, and he began to doubt the fidelity of his soldiers. The arrival of theOttoman fleet further enlightened him to his true position. Mussulmanand Christian alike, all the inhabitants of Northern Albania, who hadhitherto concealed their disaffection under an exaggerated semblanceof devotion, now hastened to make their submission to the sultan. TheTurks, continuing their success, laid siege to Parga, which was held byMehemet, Veli's eldest son. He was prepared to make a good defence, butwas betrayed by his troops, who opened the gates of the town, and hewas compelled to surrender at discretion. He was handed over to thecommander of the naval forces, by whom he was well treated, beingassigned the best cabin in the admiral's ship and given a brilliantsuite. He was assured that the sultan, whose only quarrel was with hisgrandfather, would show him favour, and would even deal mercifullywith Ali, who, with his treasures, would merely be sent to an importantprovince in Asia Minor. He was induced to write in this strain to hisfamily and friends in order to induce them to lay down their arms. 

The fall of Parga made a great impression on the Epirotes, who valuedits possession far above its real importance. Ali rent his garments andcursed the days of his former good fortune, during which he had neitherknown how to moderate his resentment nor to foresee the possibility ofany change of fortune. 

The fall of Parga was succeeded by that of Arta of Mongliana, where wassituated Ali's country house, and of the post of the Five Wells. Thencame a yet more overwhelming piece of news: Omar Brionis, whom Ali, having formerly despoiled of its wealth, had none the less recentlyappointed general-in-chief, had gone over to the enemy with all histroops!

Ali then decided on carrying out a project he had formed in case ofnecessity, namely, on destroying the town of Janina, which would affordshelter to the enemy and a point of attack against the fortresses inwhich he was entrenched. When this resolution was known, the inhabitantsthought only of saving themselves and their property from the ruinfrom which nothing could save their country. But most of them were onlypreparing to depart, when Ali gave leave to the Albanian soldiers yetfaithful to him to sack the town. 

The place was immediately invaded by an unbridled soldiery. TheMetropolitan church, where Greeks and Turks alike deposited their gold, jewels, and merchandise, even as did the Greeks of old in the temples ofthe gods, became the first object of pillage. Nothing was respected. The cupboards containing sacred vestments were broken open; so were thetombs of the archbishops, in which were interred reliquaries adornedwith precious stones; and the altar itself was defiled with the blood ofruffians who fought for chalices and silver crosses. 

The town presented an equally terrible spectacle; neither Christians norMussulmans were spared, and the women's apartments, forcibly entered, were given up to violence. Some of the more courageous citizensendeavoured to defend their houses and families against these bandits, and the clash of arms mingled with cries and groans. All at once theroar of a terrible explosion rose above the other sounds, and a hail ofbombs, shells, grenades, and rockets carried devastation and fire intothe different quarters of the town, which soon presented the spectacleof an immense conflagration. Ali, seated on the great platform of thecastle by the lake, which seemed to vomit fire like a volcano, directedthe bombardment, pointing out the places which must be burnt. Churches, mosques, libraries, bazaars, houses, all were destroyed, and the onlything spared by the flames was the gallows, which remained standing inthe midst of the ruins. 

Of the thirty thousand persons who inhabited Janina a few hourspreviously, perhaps one half had escaped. But these had not fled manyleagues before they encountered the outposts of the Ottoman army, which, instead of helping or protecting them, fell upon them, plundered them, and drove them towards the camp, where slavery awaited them. The unhappyfugitives, taken thus between fire and sword, death behind and slaverybefore, uttered a terrible cry, and fled in all directions. Those whoescaped the Turks were stopped in the hill passes by the mountaineersrushing down to the rey; only large numbers who held together couldforce a passage. 

In some cases terror bestows extraordinary strength; there were motherswho, with infants at the breast, covered on foot in one day the fourteenleagues which separate Janina from Arta. But others, seized with thepangs of travail in the midst of their flight, expired in the woods, after giving birth to babes, who, destitute of succour, did not survivetheir mothers. And young girls, having disfigured themselves by gashes, hid themselves in caves, where they died of terror and hunger. 

The Albanians, intoxicated with plunder and debauchery, refused toreturn to the castle, and only thought of regaining their country andenjoying the fruit of their rapine. But they were assailed on the way bypeasants covetous of their booty, and by those of Janina who had soughtrefuge with them. The roads and passes were strewn with corpses, and thetrees by the roadside converted into gibbets. The murderers did not longsurvive their victims. 

The ruins of Janina were still smoking when, on the 19th August, PachoBey made his entry. Having pitched his tent out of range of Ali'scannon, he proclaimed aloud the firman which inaugurated him as Pachaof Janina and Delvino, and then raised the tails, emblem of his dignity. Ali heard on the summit of his keep the acclamations of the Turks whosaluted Pacho Bey, his former servant with the titles of Vali of Epirus, and Ghazi of Victorius. After this ceremony, the cadi read the sentence, confirmed by the Mufti, which declared Tepeleni Veli-Zade to haveforfeited his dignities and to be excommunicated, adding an injunctionto all the faithful that henceforth his name was not to be pronouncedexcept with the addition of "Kara, " or "black, " which is bestowedon those cut off from the congregation of Sunnites, or OrthodoxMohammedans. A Marabout then cast a stone towards the castle, and theanathema upon "Kara Ali" was repeated by the whole Turkish army, endingwith the cry of "Long live the sultan! So be it!"

But it was not by ecclesiastical thunders that three fortresses couldbe reduced, which were defended by artillerymen drawn from differentEuropean armies, who had established an excellent school for gunners andbombardiers. The besieged, having replied with hootings of contempt tothe acclamations of the besiegers, proceeded to enforce their scorn withwell-aimed cannon shots, while the rebel flotilla, dressed as if for afete-day, passed slowly before the Turks, saluting them with cannon-shotif they ventured near the edge of the lake. 

This noisy rhodomontade did not prevent Ali from being consumed withgrief and anxiety. The sight of his own troops, now in the camp of PachoBey, the fear of being for ever separated from his sons, the thoughtof his grandson in the enemy's hands, all threw him into the deepestmelancholy, and his sleepless eyes were constantly drowned in tears. Herefused his food, and sat for seven days with untrimmed beard, clad inmourning, on a mat at the door of his antechamber, extending his handsto his soldiers, and imploring them to slay him rather than abandon him. His wives, seeing him in this state, and concluding all was lost, filledthe air with their lamentations. All began to think that grief wouldbring Ali to the grave; but his soldiers, to whose protestations heat first refused any credit, represented to him that their fate wasindissolubly linked with his. Pacho Bey having proclaimed that all takenin arms for Ali would be shot as sharers in rebellion, it was thereforetheir interest to support his resistance with all their power. They alsopointed out that the campaign was already advanced, and that the Turkisharmy, which had forgotten its siege artillery at Constantinople, couldnot possibly procure any before the end of October, by which timethe rains would begin, and the enemy would probably be short of food. Moreover, in any case, it being impossible to winter in a ruined town, the foe would be driven to seek shelter at a distance. 

These representations, made with warm conviction, and supported byevidence, began to soothe the restless fever which was wasting Ali, and the gentle caresses and persuasions of Basillisa, the beautifulChristian captive, who had now been his wife for some time, completedthe cure. 

At the same time his sister Chainitza gave him an astonishing exampleof courage. She had persisted, in spite of all that could be said, inresiding in her castle of Libokovo. The population, whom she had cruellyoppressed, demanded her death, but no one dared attack her. Superstitiondeclared that the spirit of her mother, with whom she kept up amysterious communication even beyond the portals of the grave, watchedover her safety. The menacing form of Kamco had, it was said, appearedto several inhabitants of Tepelen, brandishing bones of the wretchedKardikiotes, and demanding fresh victims with loud cries. The desire ofvengeance had urged some to brave these unknown dangers, and twice, awarrior, clothed in black, had warned them back, forbidding them tolay hands on a sacrilegious woman; whose punishment Heaven reserved toitself, and twice they had returned upon their footsteps. 

But soon, ashamed of their terror, they attempted another attack, andcame attired in the colour of the Prophet. This time no mysteriousstranger appeared to forbid their passage, and with a cry they climbedthe mountain listening for any supernatural warning. Nothing disturbedthe silence and solitude save the bleating of flocks and the cries ofbirds of prey. Arrived on the platform of Libokovo, they prepared insilence to surprise the guards, believing the castle full of them. Theyapproached crawling, like hunters who stalk a deer. Already they hadreached the gate of the enclosure, and prepared to burst it open, whenlo! it opened of itself, and they beheld Chainitza standing before them, a carabine in her hand, pistols in her belt, and, for all guard, twolarge dogs. 

"Halt! ye daring ones, " she cried; "neither my life nor my treasure willever be at your mercy. Let one of you move a step without my permission, and this place and the ground beneath your feet will engulf you. Tenthousand pounds of powder are in these cellars. I will, however, grantyour pardon, unworthy though you are. I will even allow you to takethese sacks filled with gold; they may recompense you for the losseswhich my brother's enemies have recently inflicted on you. But departthis instant without a word, and dare not to trouble me again; I haveother means of destruction at command besides gunpowder. Life is nothingto me, remember that; but your mountains may yet at my command becomethe tomb of your wives and children. Go!"

She ceased, and her would-be murderers fled in terror. 

Shortly after the plague broke out in these mountains, Chainitza haddistributed infected garments among gipsies, who scattered contagionwherever they went. 

"We are indeed of the same blood!" cried Ali with pride, when he heardof his sister's conduct; and from that hour he appeared to regain allthe fire and audacity of his youth. When, a few days later, he wasinformed that Mouktar and Veli, seduced by the brilliant promises ofPacha Bey, had surrendered Prevesa and Argyro-Castron, "It does notsurprise me, " he observed coldly. "I have long known them to be unworthyof being my sons, and henceforth my only children and heirs are thosewho defend my cause. " And on hearing a report that both had beenbeheaded by Pacha Bey's order, he contented himself with saying, "Theybetrayed their father, and have only received their deserts; speak nomore of them. " And to show how little it discouraged him, he redoubledhis fire upon the Turks. 

But the latter, who had at length obtained some artillery, answeredhis fire with vigour, and began to rally to discrown the old pacha'sfortress. Feeling that the danger was pressing, Ali redoubled both hisprudence and activity. His immense treasures were the real reason of thewar waged against him, and these might induce his own soldiers to rebel, in order to become masters of them. He resolved to protect them fromeither surprise or conquest. The sum necessary for present use wasdeposited in the powder magazine, so that, if driven to extremity, it might be destroyed in a moment; the remainder was enclosed instrong-boxes, and sunk in different parts of the lake. This labourlasted a fortnight, when, finally, Ali put to death the gipsies whohad been employed about it, in order that the secret might remain withhimself. 

While he thus set his own affairs in order, he applied himself to thetroubling those of his adversary. A great number of Suliots had joinedthe Ottoman army in order to assist in the destruction of him whoformerly had ruined their country. Their camp, which for a long time hadenjoyed immunity from the guns of Janina, was one day overwhelmed withbombs. The Suliots were terrified, until they remarked that the bombsdid not burst. They then, much astonished, proceeded to pick up andexamine these projectiles. Instead of a match, they found rolls of paperenclosed in a wooden cylinder, on which was engraved these words, "Opencarefully. " The paper contained a truly Macchiavellian letter from Ali, which began by saying that they were quite justified in having taken uparms against him, and added that he now sent them a part of the payof which the traitorous Ismail was defrauding them, and that the bombsthrown into their cantonment contained six thousand sequins in gold. Hebegged them to amuse Ismail by complaints and recriminations, while hisgondola should by night fetch one of them, to whom he would communicatewhat more he had to say. If they accepted his proposition, they were tolight three fires as a signal. 

The signal was not long in appearing. Ali despatched his barge, whichtook on board a monk, the spiritual chief of the Suliots. He was clothedin sackcloth, and repeated the prayers for the dying, as one going toexecution. Ali, however, received him with the utmost cordiality: Heassured the priest of his repentance, his good intentions, his esteemfor the Greek captains, and then gave him a paper which startled himconsiderably. It was a despatch, intercepted by Ali, from KhalidEffendi to the Seraskier Ismail, ordering the latter to exterminateall Christians capable of bearing arms. All male children were tobe circumcised, and brought up to form a legion drilled in Europeanfashion; and the letter went on to explain how the Suliots, theArmatolis, the Greek races of the mainland and those of the Archipelagoshould be disposed of. Seeing the effect produced on the monk by theperusal of this paper, Ali hastened to make him the most advantageousoffers, declaring that his own wish was to give Greece a politicalexistence, and only requiring that the Suliot captains should send hima certain number of their children as hostages. He then had cloaks andarms brought which he presented to the monk, dismissing him in haste, inorder that darkness might favour his return. 

The next day Ali was resting, with his head on Basilissa's lap, when hewas informed that the enemy was advancing upon the intrenchmentswhich had been raised in the midst of the ruins of Janina. Already theoutposts had been forced, and the fury of the assailants threatened totriumph over all obstacles. Ali immediately ordered a sortie of all histroops, announcing that he himself would conduct it. His master of thehorse brought him the famous Arab charger called the Dervish, his chiefhuntsman presented him with his guns, weapons still famous in Epirus, where they figure in the ballads of the Skipetars. The first was anenormous gun, of Versailles manufacture, formerly presented by theconqueror of the Pyramids to Djezzar, the Pacha of St. Jean-d'Arc, whoamused himself by enclosing living victims in the walls of hispalace, in order that he might hear their groans in the midst of hisfestivities. Next came a carabine given to the Pacha of Janina in thename of Napoleon in 1806; then the battle musket of Charles XII ofSweden, and finally--the much revered sabre of Krim-Guerai. The signalwas given; the draw bridge crossed; the Guegues and other adventurersuttered a terrific shout; to which the cries of the assailants replied. Ali placed himself on a height, whence his eagle eye sought to discernthe hostile chiefs; but he called and defied Pacho Bey in vain. Perceiving Hassan-Stamboul, colonel of the Imperial bombardiers outsidehis battery, Ali demanded the gun of Djezzar, and laid him dead on thespot. He then took the carabine of Napoleon, and shot with it Kekriman, Bey of Sponga, whom he had formerly appointed Pacha of Lepanto. Theenemy now became aware of his presence, and sent a lively fusillade inhis direction; but the balls seemed to diverge from his person. As soonas the smoke cleared, he perceived Capelan, Pacha of Croie, who hadbeen his guest, and wounded him mortally in the chest. Capelan uttereda sharp cry, and his terrified horse caused disorder in the ranks. Alipicked off a large number of officers, one after another; every shot wasmortal, and his enemies began to regard him in the light of a destroyingangel. Disorder spread through the forces of the Seraskier, whoretreated hastily to his intrenchments. 

The Suliots meanwhile sent a deputation to Ismail offering theirsubmission, and seeking to regain their country in a peaceful manner;but, being received by him with the most humiliating contempt, theyresolved to make common cause with Ali. They hesitated over the demandfor hostages, and at length required Ali's grandson, Hussien Pacha, in exchange. After many difficulties, Ali at length consented, and theagreement was concluded. The Suliots received five hundred thousandpiastres and a hundred and fifty charges of ammunition; Hussien Pachawas given up to them, and they left the Ottoman camp at dead of night. Morco Botzaris remained with three hundred and twenty men, threw downthe palisades, and then ascending Mount Paktoras with his troops, waitedfor dawn in order to announce his defection to the Turkish army. As soonas the sun appeared he ordered a general salvo of artillery and shoutedhis war-cry. A few Turks in charge of an outpost were slain, the restfled. A cry of "To arms" was raised, and the standard of the Crossfloated before the camp of the infidels. 

Signs and omens of a coming general insurrection appeared on all sides;there was no lack of prodigies, visions, or popular rumours, and theMohammedans became possessed with the idea that the last hour oftheir rule in Greece had struck. Ali Pacha favoured the generaldemoralisation; and his agents, scattered throughout the land, fanned the flame of revolt. Ismail Pacha was deprived of his title ofSeraskier, and superseded by Kursheed Pacha. As soon as Ali heard this, he sent a messenger to Kursheed, hoping to influence him in his favour. Ismail, distrusting the Skipetars, who formed part of his troops, demanded hostages from them. The Skipetars were indignant, and Ali, hearing of their discontent, wrote inviting them to return to him, and endeavouring to dazzle them by the most brilliant promises. Theseovertures were received by the offended troops with enthusiasm, andAlexis Noutza, Ali's former general, who had forsaken him for Ismail, but who had secretly returned to his allegiance and acted as a spy onthe Imperial army, was deputed to treat with him. As soon as he arrived, Ali began to enact a comedy in the intention of rebutting the accusationof incest with his daughter-in-law Zobeide; for this charge, which, since Veli himself had revealed the secret of their common shame, could only be met by vague denials, had never ceased to produce a mostunfavourable impression on Noutza's mind. Scarcely had he entered thecastle by the lake, when Ali rushed to meet him, and flung himself intohis arms. In presence of his officers and the garrison, he loaded himwith the most tender names, calling him his son, his beloved Alexis, his own legitimate child, even as Salik Pacha. He burst into tears, and, with terrible oaths, called Heaven to witness that Mouktar and Veli, whom he disavowed on account of their cowardice, were the adulterousoffspring of Emineh's amours. Then, raising his hand against the tombof her whom he had loved so much, he drew the stupefied Noutza into therecess of a casemate, and sending for Basilissa, presented him to her asa beloved son, whom only political considerations had compelled him tokeep at a distance, because, being born of a Christian mother, he hadbeen brought up in the faith of Jesus. 

Having thus softened the suspicions of his soldiers, Ali resumed hisunderground intrigues. The Suliots had informed him that the sultanhad made them extremely advantageous offers if they would return to hisservice, and they demanded pressingly that Ali should give up to themthe citadel of Kiapha, which was still in his possession, and whichcommanded Suli. He replied with the information that he intended, January 26, to attack the camp of Pacho Bey early in the morning, andrequested their assistance. In order to cause a diversion, they were todescend into the valley of Janina at night, and occupy a position whichhe pointed out to them, and he gave them the word "flouri" as passwordfor the night. If successful, he undertook to grant their request. 

Ali's letter was intercepted, and fell into Ismail's hands, whoimmediately conceived a plan for snaring his enemy in his own toils. When the night fixed by Ali arrived, the Seraskier marched out a strongdivision under the command of Omar Brionis, who had been recentlyappointed Pacha, and who was instructed to proceed along the westernslope of Mount Paktoras as far as the village of Besdoune, where hewas to place an outpost, and then to retire along the other side of themountain, so that, being visible in the starlight, the sentinels placedto watch on the hostile towers might take his men for the Suliots andreport to Ali that the position of Saint-Nicolas, assigned to them, hadbeen occupied as arranged. All preparations for battle were made, andthe two mortal enemies, Ismail and Ali, retired to rest, each cherishingthe darling hope of shortly annihilating his rival. 

At break of day a lively cannonade, proceeding from the castle of thelake and from Lithoritza, announced that the besieged intended a sortie. Soon Ali's Skipetars, preceded by a detachment of French, Italians, andSwiss, rushed through the Ottoman fire and carried the first redoubt, held by Ibrahim-Aga-Stamboul. They found six pieces of cannon, whichthe Turks, notwithstanding their terror, had had time to spike. Thismisadventure, for they had hoped to turn the artillery against theintrenched camp, decided Ali's men on attacking the second redoubt, commanded by the chief bombardier. The Asiatic troops of Baltadgi Pacharushed to its defence. At their head appeared the chief Imaun of thearmy, mounted on a richly caparisoned mule and repeating the cursefulminated by the mufti against Ali, his adherents, his castles, andeven his cannons, which it was supposed might be rendered harmless bythese adjurations. Ali's Mohammedan Skipetars averted their eyes, andspat into their bosoms, hoping thus to escape the evil influence. Asuperstitious terror was beginning to spread among them, when aFrench adventurer took aim at the Imaun and brought him down, amid theacclamations of the soldiers; whereupon the Asiatics, imagining thatEblis himself fought against them, retired within the intrenchments, whither the Skipetars, no longer fearing the curse, pursued themvigorously. 

At the same time, however, a very different action was proceeding at thenorthern end of the besiegers' intrenchments. Ali left his castle ofthe lake, preceded by twelve torch-bearers carrying braziers filled withlighted pitch-wood, and advanced towards the shore of Saint-Nicolas, expecting to unite with the Suliots. He stopped in the middle of theruins to wait for sunrise, and while there heard that his troops hadcarried the battery of Ibrahim-Aga-Stamboul. Overjoyed, he ordered themto press on to the second intrenchment, promising that in an hour, whenhe should have been joined by the Suliots, he would support them, andhe then pushed forward, preceded by two field-pieces with their waggons, and followed by fifteen hundred men, as far as a large plateau on whichhe perceived at a little distance an encampment which he supposed to bethat of the Suliots. He then ordered the Mirdite prince, Kyr Lekos, to advance with an escort of twenty-five men, and when within hearingdistance to wave a blue flag and call out the password. An Imperialofficer replied with the countersign "flouri, " and Lekos immediatelysent back word to Ali to advance. His orderly hastened back, and theprince entered the camp, where he and his escort were immediatelysurrounded and slain. 

On receiving the message, Ali began to advance, but cautiously, beinguneasy at seeing no signs of the Mirdite troop. Suddenly, furious cries, and a lively fusillade, proceeding from the vineyards and thickets, announced that he had fallen into a trap, and at the same moment OmarPacha fell upon his advance guard, which broke, crying "Treason!"

Ali sabred the fugitives mercilessly, but fear carried them away, and, forced to follow the crowd, he perceived the Kersales and Baltadgi Pachadescending the side of Mount Paktoras, intending to cut off his retreat. He attempted another route, hastening towards the road to Dgeleva, but found it held by the Tapagetae under the Bimbashi Aslon ofArgyro-Castron. He was surrounded; all seemed lost, and feeling thathis last hour had come, he thought only of selling his life as dearly aspossible. Collecting his bravest soldiers round him, he prepared fora last rush on Omar Pacha, when, suddenly, with an inspiration born ofdespair, he ordered his ammunition waggons to be blown up. The Kersales, who were about to seize them, vanished in the explosion, which scattereda hail of stones and debris far and wide. Under cover of the smoke andgeneral confusion, Ali succeeded in withdrawing his men to the shelterof the guns of his castle of Litharitza, where he continued the fight inorder to give time to the fugitives to rally, and to give the support hehad promised to those fighting on the other slope; who, in the meantime, had carried the second battery and were attacking the fortified camp. Here the Seraskier Ismail met them with a resistance so well managed, that he was able to conceal the attack he was preparing to make on theirrear. Ali, guessing that the object of Ismail's manoeuvres was tocrush those whom he had promised to help, and unable, on account of thedistance, either to support or to warn them, endeavoured to impede Omarpacha, hoping still that his Skipetars might either see or hear him. Heencouraged the fugitives, who recognised him from afar by his scarletdolman, by the dazzling whiteness of his horse, and by the terriblecries which he uttered; for, in the heat of battle, this extraordinaryman appeared to have regained the vigour and audacity of his youth. Twenty times he led his soldiers to the charge, and as often was forcedto recoil towards his castles. He brought up his reserves, but in vain. Fate had declared against him. His troops which were attacking theintrenched camp found themselves taken between two fires, and he couldnot help them. Foaming with passion, he threatened to rush singly intothe midst of his enemies. His officers besought him to calm himself, and, receiving only refusals, at last threatened to lay hands upon himif he persisted in exposing himself like a private soldier. Subdued bythis unaccustomed opposition, Ali allowed himself to be forced backinto the castle by the lake, while his soldiers dispersed in variousdirections. 

But even this defeat did not discourage the fierce pacha. Reduced toextremity, he yet entertained the hope of shaking the Ottoman Empire, and from the recesses of his fortress he agitated the whole of Greece. The insurrection which he had stirred up, without foreseeing what theresults might be, was spreading with the rapidity of a lighted train ofpowder, and the Mohammedans were beginning to tremble, when at lengthKursheed pacha, having crossed the Pindus at the head of an army ofeighty thousand men, arrived before Janina. 

His tent had hardly been pitched, when Ali caused a salute of twenty-oneguns to be fired in his honour, and sent a messenger, bearing aletter of congratulation on his safe arrival. This letter, artful andinsinuating, was calculated to make a deep impression on Kursheed. Ali wrote that, being driven by the infamous lies of a former servant, called Pacho Bey, into resisting, not indeed the authority of thesultan, before whom he humbly bent his head weighed down with yearsand grief, but the perfidious plots of His Highness's advisers, heconsidered himself happy in his misfortunes to have dealings with avizier noted for his lofty qualities. He then added that these raremerits had doubtless been very far from being estimated at their propervalue by a Divan in which men were only classed in accordance withthe sums they laid out in gratifying the rapacity of the ministers. Otherwise, how came it about that Kursheed pacha, Viceroy ofEgypt--after the departure of the French, the conqueror of theMamelukes, was only rewarded for these services by being recalledwithout a reason? Having been twice Romili-Valicy, why, when he shouldhave enjoyed the reward of his labours, was he relegated to the obscurepost of Salonica? And, when appointed Grand Vizier and sent to pacifyServia, instead of being entrusted with the government of this kingdomwhich he had reconquered for the sultan, why was he hastily despatchedto Aleppo to repress a trifling sedition of emirs and janissaries?Now, scarcely arrived in the Morea, his powerful arm was to be employedagainst an aged man. 

Ali then plunged into details, related the pillaging, avarice, andimperious dealing of Pacho Bey, as well as of the pachas subordinate tohim; how they had alienated the public mind, how they had succeededin offending the Armatolis, and especially the Suliots, who might bebrought back to their duty with less trouble than these imprudent chiefshad taken to estrange them. He gave a mass of special information onthis subject, and explained that in advising the Suliots to retire totheir mountains he had really only put them in a false position as longas he retained possession of the fort of Kiapha, which is the key of theSelleide. 

The Seraskier replied in a friendly manner, ordered the militarysalute to be returned in Ali's honour, shot for shot, and forbade thathenceforth a person of the valour and intrepidity of the Lion of Tepelenshould be described by the epithet of "excommunicated. " He also spoke ofhim by his title of "vizier, " which he declared he had never forfeitedthe right to use; and he also stated that he had only entered Epirus asa peace-maker. Kursheed's emissaries had just seized some letters sentby Prince Alexander Ypsilanti to the Greek captains at Epirus. Withoutgoing into details of the events which led to the Greek insurrection, the prince advised the Polemarchs, chiefs of the Selleid, to aid AliPacha in his revolt against the Porte, but to so arrange matters thatthey could easily detach themselves again, their only aim being to seizehis treasures, which might be used to procure the freedom of Greece. 

These letters a messenger from Kursheed delivered to Ali. They producedsuch an impression upon his mind that he secretly resolved only to makeuse of the Greeks, and to sacrifice them to his own designs, if he couldnot inflict a terrible vengeance on their perfidy. He heard from themessenger at the same time of the agitation in European Turkey, thehopes of the Christians, and the apprehension of a rupture between thePorte and Russia. It was necessary to lay aside vain resentment and tounite against these threatening dangers. Kursheed Pacha was, said hismessenger, ready to consider favourably any propositions likely to leadto a prompt pacification, and would value such a result far morehighly than the glory of subduing by means of the imposing force athis command, a valiant prince whom he had always regarded as one of thestrongest bulwarks of the Ottoman Empire. This information produced adifferent effect upon Ali to that intended by the Seraskier. Passingsuddenly from the depth of despondency to the height of pride, heimagined that these overtures of reconciliation were only a proof ofthe inability of his foes to subdue him, and he sent the followingpropositions to Kursheed Pacha:

"If the first duty of a prince is to do justice, that of his subjects isto remain faithful, and obey him in all things. From this principle wederive that of rewards and punishments, and although my services mightsufficiently justify my conduct to all time, I nevertheless acknowledgethat I have deserved the wrath of the sultan, since he has raised thearm of his anger against the head of his slave. Having humbly imploredhis pardon, I fear not to invoke his severity towards those who haveabused his confidence. With this object I offer--First, to pay theexpenses of the war and the tribute in arrears due from my Governmentwithout delay. Secondly, as it is important for the sake of example thatthe treason of an inferior towards his superior should receive fittingchastisement, I demand that Pacho Bey, formerly in my service, shouldbe beheaded, he being the real rebel, and the cause of the publiccalamities which are afflicting the faithful of Islam. Thirdly, Irequire that for the rest of my life I shall retain, without annualre-investiture, my pachalik of Janina, the coast of Epirus, Acarnaniaand its dependencies, subject to the rights, charges and tribute due nowand hereafter to the sultan. Fourthly, I demand amnesty and oblivionof the past for all those who have served me until now. And if theseconditions are not accepted without modifications, I am prepared todefend myself to the last. 

"Given at the castle of Janina, March 7, 1821. "

CHAPTER X

This mixture of arrogance and submission only merited indignation, butit suited Kursheed to dissemble. He replied that, assenting to suchpropositions being beyond his powers, he would transmit them toConstantinople, and that hostilities might be suspended, if Ali wished, until the courier could return. 

Being quite as cunning as Ali himself, Kursheed profited by the truceto carry on intrigues against him. He corrupted one of the chiefs of thegarrison, Metzo-Abbas by name, who obtained pardon for himself and fiftyfollowers, with permission to return to their homes. But this clemencyappeared to have seduced also four hundred Skipetars who made use of theamnesty and the money with which Ali provided them, to raise Toxis andthe Tapygetae in the latter's favour. Thus the Seraskier's scheme turnedagainst himself, and he perceived he had been deceived by Ali's seemingapathy, which certainly did not mean dread of defection. In fact, no manworth anything could have abandoned him, supported as he seemed to be byalmost supernatural courage. Suffering from a violent attack of gout, a malady he had never before experienced, the pacha, at the age ofeighty-one, was daily carried to the most exposed place on the rampartsof his castle. There, facing the hostile batteries, he gave audienceto whoever wished to see him. On this exposed platform he held hiscouncils, despatched orders, and indicated to what points his gunsshould be directed. Illumined by the flashes of fire, his figure assumedfantastic and weird shapes. The balls sung in the air, the bulletshailed around him, the noise drew blood from the ears of those withhim. Calm and immovable, he gave signals to the soldiers who were stilloccupying part of the ruins of Janina, and encouraged them by voice andgesture. Observing the enemy's movements by the help of a telescope, heimprovised means of counteracting them. Sometimes he amused himself bygreeting curious persons and new-comers after a fashion of his own. Thus the chancellor of the French Consul at Prevesa, sent as an envoy toKursheed Pacha, had scarcely entered the lodging assigned to him, whenhe was visited by a bomb which caused him to leave it again with allhaste. This greeting was due to Ali's chief engineer, Caretto, who nextday sent a whole shower of balls and shells into the midst of a group ofFrenchmen, whose curiosity had brought them to Tika, where Kursheedwas forming a battery. "It is time, " said Ali, "that these contemptiblegossip-mongers should find listening at doors may become uncomfortable. I have furnished matter enough for them to talk about. Frangistan(Christendom) shall henceforth hear only of my triumph or my fall, whichwill leave it considerable trouble to pacify. " Then, after a moment'ssilence, he ordered the public criers to inform his soldiers of theinsurrections in Wallachia and the Morea, which news, proclaimed fromthe ramparts, and spreading immediately in the Imperial camp, causedthere much dejection. 

The Greeks were now everywhere proclaiming their independence, andKursheed found himself unexpectedly surrounded by enemies. His positionthreatened to become worse if the siege of Janina dragged on muchlonger. He seized the island in the middle of the lake, and threw upredoubts upon it, whence he kept up an incessant fire on the southernfront of the castle of Litharitza, and, a practicable trench of nearlyforty feet having been made, an assault was decided on. The troopsmarched out boldly, and performed prodigies of valour; but at the endof an hour, Ali, carried on a litter because of his gout, having leda sortie, the besiegers were compelled to give way and retire to theirintrenchments, leaving three hundred dead at the foot of the rampart. "The Pindian bear is yet alive, " said Ali in a message to Kursheed;"thou mayest take thy dead and bury them; I give them up without ransom, and as I shall always do when thou attackest me as a brave man ought. "Then, having entered his fortress amid the acclamations of hissoldiers, he remarked on hearing of the general rising of Greece andthe Archipelago, "It is enough! two men have ruined Turkey!" He thenremained silent, and vouchsafed no explanation of this propheticsentence. 

Ali did not on this occasion manifest his usual delight on having gaineda success. As soon as he was alone with Basilissa, he informed her withtears of the death of Chainitza. A sudden apoplexy had stricken thisbeloved sister, the life of his councils, in her palace of Libokovo, where she remained undisturbed until her death. She owed this specialfavour to her riches and to the intercession of her nephew, DjiladinPacha of Ochcrida, who was reserved by fate to perform the funeralobsequies of the guilty race of Tepelen. 

A few months afterwards, Ibrahim Pacha of Berat died of poison, beingthe last victim whom Chainitza had demanded from her brother. 

Ali's position was becoming daily more difficult, when the time ofRamadan arrived, during which the Turks relax hostilities, and aspecies of truce ensued. Ali himself appeared to respect the old popularcustoms, and allowed his Mohammedan soldiers to visit the enemy'soutposts and confer on the subject of various religious ceremonies. Discipline was relaxed in Kursheed's camp, and Ali profited thereby toascertain the smallest details of all that passed. 

He learned from his spies that the general's staff, counting on the"Truce of God, " a tacit suspension of all hostilities during the feastof Bairam, the Mohammedan Easter, intended to repair to the chiefmosque, in the quarter of Loutcha. This building, spared by the bombs, had until now been respected by both sides. Ali, according to reportsspread by himself, was supposed to be ill, weakened by fasting, andterrified into a renewal of devotion, and not likely to give troubleon so sacred a day. Nevertheless he ordered Caretto to turn thirty gunsagainst the mosque, cannon, mortars and howitzers, intending, he said, to solemnise Bairam by discharges of artillery. As soon as he was surethat the whole of the staff had entered the mosque, he gave the signal. 

Instantly, from the assembled thirty pieces, there issued a storm ofshells, grenades and cannon-balls. With a terrific noise, the mosquecrumbled together, amid the cries of pain and rage of the crowd insidecrushed in the ruins. At the end of a quarter of an hour the winddispersed the smoke, and disclosed a burning crater, with the largecypresses which surrounded the building blazing as if they had beentorches lighted for the funeral ceremonies of sixty captains and twohundred soldiers. 

"Ali Pacha is yet alive!" cried the old Homeric hero of Janina, leapingwith joy; and his words, passing from mouth to mouth, spread yet moreterror amid Kursheed's soldiers, already overwhelmed by the horriblespectacle passing before their eyes. 

Almost on the same day, Ali from the height of his keep beheld thestandard of the Cross waving in the distance. The rebellious Greeks werebent on attacking Kursheed. The insurrection promoted by the Vizier ofJanina had passed far beyond the point he intended, and the rising hadbecome a revolution. The delight which Ali first evinced cooled rapidlybefore this consideration, and was extinguished in grief when he foundthat a conflagration, caused by the besiegers' fire, had consumed partof his store in the castle by the lake. Kursheed, thinking thatthis event must have shaken the old lion's resolution, recommencednegotiations, choosing the Kiaia of Moustai Pacha: as an envoy, who gaveAli a remarkable warning. "Reflect, " said he, "that these rebels bearthe sign of the Cross on their standards. You are now only an instrumentin their hands. Beware lest you become the victim of their policy. " Aliunderstood the danger, and had the sultan been better advised, he wouldhave pardoned Ali on condition of again bringing Hellas under his ironyoke. It is possible that the Greeks might not have prevailed against anenemy so formidable and a brain so fertile in intrigue. But so simple anidea was far beyond the united intellect of the Divan, which neverrose above idle display. As soon as these negotiations had commenced, Kursheed filled the roads with his couriers, sending often two in a dayto Constantinople, from whence as many were sent to him. This state ofthings lasted more than three weeks, when it became known that Ali, who had made good use of his time in replacing the stores lost in theconflagration, buying actually from the Kiaia himself a part of theprovisions brought by him for the Imperial camp, refused to accept theOttoman ultimatum. Troubles which broke out at the moment of the ruptureof the negotiations proved that he foresaw the probable result. 

Kursheed was recompensed for the deception by which he had been duped bythe reduction of the fortress of Litharitza. The Guegue Skipetars, whocomposed the garrison, badly paid, wearied out by the long siege, andwon by the Seraskier's bribes, took advantage of the fact that the timeof their engagement with Ali had elapsed some months previously, and, delivering up the fortress they defended, passed over to the enemy. Henceforth Ali's force consisted of only six hundred men. 

It was to be feared that this handful of men might also become a preyto discouragement, and might surrender their chief to an enemy who hadreceived all fugitives with kindness. The Greek insurgents dreaded suchan event, which would have turned all Kursheed's army, hitherto detainedbefore the castle, of Janina loose upon themselves. Therefore theyhastened to send to their former enemy, now their ally, assistance whichhe declined to accept. Ali saw himself surrounded by enemies thirstingfor his wealth, and his avarice increasing with the danger, he had forsome months past refused to pay his defenders. He contented himself withinforming his captains of the insurgents' offer, and telling them thathe was confident that bravery such as theirs required no reinforcement. And when some of them besought him to at least receive two or threehundred Palikars into the castle, "No, " said he; "old serpents alwaysremain old serpents: I distrust the Suliots and their friendship. "

Ignorant of Ali's decision, the Greeks of the Selleid were advancing, as well as the Toxidae, towards Janina, when they received the followingletter from Ali Pacha:

"My well-beloved children, I have just learned that you are preparing todespatch a party of your Palikars against our common enemy, Kursheed. I desire to inform you that this my fortress is impregnable, and that Ican hold out against him for several years. The only service I requireof your courage is that you should reduce Arta, and take alive IsmailPacho Bey, my former servant, the mortal enemy of my family, andthe author of the evils and frightful calamities which have so longoppressed our unhappy country, which he has laid waste before our eyes. Use your best efforts to accomplish this; it will strike at the rootof the evil, and my treasures shall reward your Palikars, whose courageevery day gains a higher value in my eyes. "

Furious at this mystification, the Suliots retired to their mountains, and Kursheed profited by the discontent Ali's conduct had caused, to winover the Toxide Skipetars, with their commanders Tahir Abbas and HagiBessiaris, who only made two conditions: one, that Ismail Pacho Bey, their personal enemy, should be deposed; the other, that the life oftheir old vizier should be respected. 

The first condition was faithfully adhered to by Kursheed, actuated byprivate motives different from those which he gave publicly, and IsmailPacho Bey was solemnly deposed. The tails, emblems of his authority, were removed; he resigned the plumes of office; his soldiers forsookhim, his servants followed suit. Fallen to the lowest rank, he was soonthrown into prison, where he only blamed Fate for his misfortunes. All the Skipetar Agas hastened to place themselves under Kursheed'sstandard, and enormous forces now threatened Janina. All Epirus awaitedthe denoument with anxiety. 

Had he been less avaricious, Ali might have enlisted all the adventurerswith whom the East was swarming, and made the sultan tremble in hiscapital. But the aged pacha clung passionately to his treasures. Hefeared also, perhaps not unreasonably, that those by whose aid he mighttriumph would some day become his master. He long deceived himself withthe idea that the English, who had sold Parga to him, would never allowa Turkish fleet to enter the Ionian Sea. Mistaken on this point, hisforesight was equally at fault with regard to the cowardice of his sons. The defection of his troops was not less fatal, and he only understoodthe bearing of the Greek insurrection which he himself had provoked, so far as to see that in this struggle he was merely an instrument inprocuring the freedom of a country which he had too cruelly oppressedto be able to hold even an inferior rank in it. His last letter to theSuliots opened the eyes of his followers, but under the influence of asort of polite modesty these were at least anxious to stipulate for thelife of their vizier. Kursheed was obliged to produce firmans from thePorte, declaring that if Ali Tepelen submitted, the royal promisegiven to his sons should be kept, and that he should, with them, betransferred to Asia Minor, as also his harem, his servants; and histreasures, and allowed to finish his days in peace. Letters from Ali'ssons were shown to the Agas, testifying to the good treatment they hadexperienced in their exile; and whether the latter believed all this, or whether they merely sought to satisfy their own consciences, theyhenceforth thought only of inducing their rebellious chief to submit. Finally, eight months' pay, given them in advance, proved decisive, andthey frankly embraced the cause of the sultan. 

The garrison of the castle on the lake, whom Ali seemed anxious tooffend as much as possible, by refusing their pay, he thinking themso compromised that they would not venture even to accept an amnestyguaranteed by the mufti, began to desert as soon as they knew theToxidae had arrived at the Imperial camp. Every night these Skipetarswho could cross the moat betook themselves to Kursheed's quarters. One single man yet baffled all the efforts of the besiegers. The chiefengineer, Caretto, like another Archimedes, still carried terror intothe midst of their camp. 

Although reduced to the direst misery, Caretto could not forget that heowed his life to the master who now only repaid his services withthe most sordid ingratitude. When he had first come to Epirus, Ali, recognising his ability, became anxious to retain him, but withoutincurring any expense. He ascertained that the Neapolitan waspassionately in love with a Mohammedan girl named Nekibi, who returnedhis affection. Acting under Ali's orders, Tahir Abbas accused the womanbefore the cadi of sacrilegious intercourse with an infidel. She couldonly escape death by the apostasy of her lover; if he refused to denyhis God, he shared her fate, and both would perish at the stake. Carettorefused to renounce his religion, but only Nekibi suffered death. Caretto was withdrawn from execution, and Ali kept him concealed in aplace of safety, whence he produced him in the time of need. No one hadserved him with greater zeal; it is even possible that a man of thistype would have died at his post, had his cup not been filled withmortification and insult. 

Eluding the vigilance of Athanasius Vaya, whose charge it was to keepguard over him, Caretto let himself down by a cord fastened to the endof a cannon: He fell at the foot of the rampart, and thence draggedhimself, with a broken arm, to the opposite camp. He had become nearlyblind through the explosion of a cartridge which had burnt his face. Hewas received as well as a Christian from whom there was now nothing tofear, could expect. He received the bread of charity, and as a refugeeis only valued in proportion to the use which can be made of him, he wasdespised and forgotten. 

The desertion of Caretto was soon followed by a defection whichannihilated Ali's last hopes. The garrison which had given him somany proofs of devotion, discouraged by his avarice, suffering froma disastrous epidemic, and no longer equal to the necessary labour indefence of the place, opened all the gates simultaneously to the enemy. But the besiegers, fearing a trap, advanced very slowly; so that Ali, who had long prepared against every sort of surprise, had time to gain aplace which he called his "refuge. "

It was a sort of fortified enclosure, of solid masonry, bristling withcannon, which surrounded the private apartments of his seraglio, calledthe "Women's Tower. " He had taken care to demolish everything whichcould be set on fire, reserving only a mosque and the tomb of his wifeEmineh, whose phantom, after announcing an eternal repose, had ceased tohaunt him. Beneath was an immense natural cave, in which he had storedammunition, precious articles, provisions, and the treasures which hadnot been sunk in the lake. In this cave an apartment had been made forBasilissa and his harem, also a shelter in which he retired to sleepwhen exhausted with fatigue. This place was his last resort, a kind ofmausoleum; and he did not seem distressed at beholding the castle inthe hands of his enemies. He calmly allowed them to occupy the entrance, deliver their hostages, overrun the ramparts, count the cannon whichwere on the platforms, crumbling from the hostile shells; but when theycame within hearing, he demanded by one of his servants that Kursheedshould send him an envoy of distinction; meanwhile he forbade anyone topass beyond a certain place which he pointed out. 

Kursheed, imagining that, being in the last extremity, he wouldcapitulate, sent out Tahir Abbas and Hagi Bessiaris. Ali listenedwithout reproaching them for their treachery, but simply observed thathe wished to meet some of the chief officers. 

The Seraskier then deputed his keeper of the wardrobe, accompanied byhis keeper of the seals and other persons of quality. Ali received themwith all ceremony, and, after the usual compliments had been exchanged, invited them to descend with him into the cavern. There he showed themmore than two thousand barrels of powder carefully arranged beneath histreasures, his remaining provisions, and a number of valuable objectswhich adorned this slumbering volcano. He showed them also his bedroom, a sort of cell richly furnished, and close to the powder. It could bereached only by means of three doors, the secret of which was knownto no one but himself. Alongside of this was the harem, and in theneighbouring mosque was quartered his garrison, consisting of fifty men, all ready to bury themselves under the ruins of this fortification, the only spot remaining to him of all Greece, which had formerly bentbeneath his authority. 

After this exhibition, Ali presented one of his most devoted followersto the envoys. Selim, who watched over the fire, was a youth inappearance as gentle as his heart was intrepid, and his special duty wasto be in readiness to blow up the whole place at any moment. The pachagave him his hand to kiss, inquiring if he were ready to die, to whichhe only responded by pressing his master's hand fervently to his lips. He never took his eyes off Ali, and the lantern, near which a match wasconstantly smoking, was entrusted only to him and to Ali, who took turnswith him in watching it. Ali drew a pistol from his belt, making as ifto turn it towards the powder magazine, and the envoys fell at his feet, uttering involuntary cries of terror. He smiled at their fears, andassured them that, being wearied of the weight of his weapons, he hadonly intended to relieve himself of some of them. He then begged themto seat themselves, and added that he should like even a more terriblefuneral than that which they had just ascribed to him. "I do not wishto drag down with me, " he exclaimed, "those who have come to visit meas friends; it is Kursheed, whom I have long regarded as my brother, his chiefs, those who have betrayed me, his whole army in short, whom Idesire to follow me to the tomb--a sacrifice which will be worthy of myrenown, and of the brilliant end to which I aspire. "

The envoys gazed at him with stupefaction, which did not diminish whenAli further informed them that they were not only sitting over the archof a casemate filled with two hundred thousand pounds of powder, but that the whole castle, which they had so rashly occupied, wasundermined. "The rest you have seen, " he said, "but of this you couldnot be aware. My riches are the sole cause of the war which has beenmade against me, and in one moment I can destroy them. Life is nothingto me, I might have ended it among the Greeks, but could I, a powerlessold man, resolve to live on terms of equality among those whose absolutemaster I have been? Thus, whichever way I look, my career is ended. However, I am attached to those who still surround me, so hear my lastresolve. Let a pardon, sealed by the sultan's hands, be given me, and Iwill submit. I will go to Constantinople, to Asia Minor, or wherever Iam sent. The things I should see here would no longer be fitting for meto behold. "

To this Kursheed's envoys made answer that without doubt these termswould be conceded. Ali then touched his breast and forehead, and, drawing forth his watch, presented it to the keeper of the wardrobe. "I mean what I say, my friend, " he observed; "my word will be kept. Ifwithin an hour thy soldiers are not withdrawn from this castle whichhas been treacherously yielded to them, I will blow it up. Return to theSeraskier, warn him that if he allows one minute more to elapse than thetime specified, his army, his garrison, I myself and my family, will allperish together: two hundred thousand pounds of powder can destroy allthat surrounds us. Take this watch, I give it thee, and forget not thatI am a man of my word. " Then, dismissing the messengers, he salutedthem graciously, observing that he did not expect an answer until thesoldiers should have evacuated the castle. 

The envoys had barely returned to the camp when Kursheed sent ordersto abandon the fortress. As the reason far this step could not beconcealed, everyone, exaggerating the danger, imagined deadly minesready to be fired everywhere, and the whole army clamoured to break upthe camp. Thus Ali and his fifty followers cast terror into the heartsof nearly thirty thousand men, crowded together on the slopes of Janina. Every sound, every whiff of smoke, ascending from near the castle, became a subject of alarm for the besiegers. And as the besieged hadprovisions for a long time, Kursheed saw little chance of successfullyending his enterprise; when Ali's demand for pardon occurred to him. Without stating his real plans, he proposed to his Council to unite insigning a petition to the Divan for Ali's pardon. 

This deed, formally executed, and bearing more than sixty signatures, was then shown to Ali, who was greatly delighted. He was described init as Vizier, as Aulic Councillor, and also as the most distinguishedveteran among His Highness the Sultan's slaves. He sent rich presentsto Kursheed and the principal officers, whom he hoped to corrupt, andbreathed as though the storm had passed away. The following night, however, he heard the voice of Emineh, calling him several times, andconcluded that his end drew nigh. 

During the two next nights he again thought he heard Emineh's voice, and sleep forsook his pillow, his countenance altered, and his enduranceappeared to be giving way. Leaning on a long Malacca cane, he repairedat early dawn to Emineh's tomb, on which he offered a sacrifice of twospotted lambs, sent him by Tahir Abbas, whom in return he consented topardon, and the letters he received appeared to mitigate his trouble. Some days later, he saw the keeper of the wardrobe, who encouraged him, saying that before long there would be good news from Constantinople. Ali learned from him the disgrace of Pacho Bey, and of Ismail Pliaga, whom he detested equally, and this exercise of authority, which wasmade to appear as a beginning of satisfaction offered him, completelyreassured him, and he made fresh presents to this officer, who hadsucceeded in inspiring him with confidence. 

Whilst awaiting the arrival of the firman of pardon which Ali wasreassured must arrive from Constantinople without fail, the keeper ofthe wardrobe advised him to seek an interview with Kursheed. It wasclear that such a meeting could not take place in the undermined castle, and Ali was therefore invited to repair to the island in the lake. Themagnificent pavilion, which he had constructed there in happier days, had been entirely refurnished, and it was proposed that the conferenceshould take place in this kiosk. 

Ali appeared to hesitate at this proposal, and the keeper of thewardrobe, wishing to anticipate his objections, added that the objectof this arrangement was to prove to the army, already aware of it, that there was no longer any quarrel between himself and thecommander-in-chief. He added that Kursheed would go to the conferenceattended only by members of his Divan, but that as it was natural anoutlawed man should be on his guard, Ali might, if he liked, sendto examine the place, might take with him such guards as he thoughtnecessary, and might even arrange things on the same footing as in hiscitadel, even to his guardian with the lighted match, as the surestguarantee which could be given him. 

The proposition was accepted, and when Ali, having crossed over witha score of soldiers, found himself more at large than he did in hiscasemate, he congratulated himself on having come. He had Basilissabrought over, also his diamonds; and several chests of money. Twodays passed without his thinking of anything but procuring variousnecessaries, and he then began to inquire what caused the Seraskier todelay his visit. The latter excused himself on the plea of illness, andoffered meanwhile to send anyone Ali might wish to see, to visit him:The pacha immediately mentioned several of his former followers, nowemployed in the Imperial army, and as no difficulty was made in allowingthem to go, he profited by the permission to interview a large numberof his old acquaintances, who united in reassuring him and in giving himgreat hopes of success. 

Nevertheless, time passed on, and neither the Seraskier nor the firmanappeared. Ali, at first uneasy, ended by rarely mentioning either theone or the other, and never was deceiver more completely deceived. Hissecurity was so great that he loudly congratulated himself on havingcome to the island. He had begun to form a net of intrigue to causehimself to be intercepted on the road when he should be sent toConstantinople, and he did not despair of soon finding numerouspartisans in the Imperial army. 

CHAPTER XI

For a whole week all seemed going well, when, on the morning of February5th, Kursheed sent Hassan Pacha to convey his compliments to Ali, and announce that the sultan's firman, so long desired, had at lengtharrived. Their mutual wishes had been heard, but it was desirable, forthe dignity of their sovereign, that Ali, in order to show his gratitudeand submission, should order Selim to extinguish the fatal match and toleave the cave, and that the rest of the garrison should first displaythe Imperial standard and then evacuate the enclosure. Only on thiscondition could Kursheed deliver into Ali's hands the sultan's decree ofclemency. 

Ali was alarmed, and his eyes were at length opened. He repliedhesitatingly, that on leaving the citadel he had charged Selim to obeyonly his own verbal order, that no written command, even though signedand sealed by himself, would produce any effect, and therefore hedesired to repair himself to the castle, in order to fulfil what wasrequired. 

Thereupon a long argument ensued, in which Ali's sagacity, skill, and artifice struggled vainly against a decided line of action. Newprotestations were made to deceive him, oaths were even taken on theKoran that no evil designs, no mental reservations, were entertained. At length, yielding to the prayers of those who surrounded him, perhapsconcluding that all his skill could no longer fight against Destiny, hefinally gave way. 

Drawing a secret token from his bosom, he handed it to Kursheed's envoy, saying, "Go, show this to Selim, and you will convert a dragon into alamb. " And in fact, at sight of the talisman, Selim prostrated himself, extinguished the match, and fell, stabbed to the heart. At the same timethe garrison withdrew, the Imperial standard displayed its blazonry, andthe lake castle was occupied by the troops of the Seraskier, who rentthe air with their acclamations. 

It was then noon. Ali, in the island, had lost all illusions. His pulsebeat violently, but his countenance did not betray his mental trouble. It was noticed that he appeared at intervals to be lost in profoundthought, that he yawned frequently, and continually drew his fingersthrough his beard. He drank coffee and iced water several times, incessantly looked at his watch, and, taking his field-glass, surveyedby turns the camp, the castles of Janina, the Pindus range, and thepeaceful waters of the lake. Occasionally he glanced at his weapons, andthen his eyes sparkled with the fire of youth and of courage. Stationedbeside him, his guards prepared their cartridges, their eyes fixed onthe landing-place. 

The kiosk which he occupied was connected with a wooden structureraised upon pillars, like the open-air theatres constructed for a publicfestival, and the women occupied the most remote apartments. Everythingseemed sad and silent. The vizier, according to custom, sat facing thedoorway, so as to be the first to perceive any who might wish to enter. At five o'clock boats were seen approaching the island, and soon HassanPacha, Omar Brionis, Kursheed's sword-bearer, Mehemet, the keeper ofthe wardrobe, and several officers of the army, attended by a numeroussuite, drew near with gloomy countenances. 

Seeing them approach, Ali sprang up impetuously, his hand upon thepistols in his belt. "Stand!. . . What is it you bring me?" he cried toHassan in a voice of thunder. "I bring the commands of His Highness theSultan, --knowest thou not these august characters?" And Hassan exhibitedthe brilliantly gilded frontispiece which decorated the firman. "I knowthem and revere them. " "Then bow before thy destiny; make thy ablutions;address thy prayer to Allah and to His Prophet; for thy, head isdemanded. . . . " Ali did not allow him to finish. "My head, " he cried withfury, "will not be surrendered like the head of a slave. "

These rapidly pronounced words were instantly followed by a pistol-shotwhich wounded Hassan in the thigh. Swift as lightning, a second killedthe keeper of the wardrobe, and the guards, firing at the same time, brought down several officers. Terrified, the Osmanlis forsook thepavilion. Ali, perceiving blood flowing from a wound in his chest, roared like a bull with rage. No one dared to face his wrath, but shotswere fired at the kiosk from all sides, and four of his guards fell deadbeside him. He no longer knew which way to turn, hearing the noise madeby the assailants under the platform, who were firing through the boardson which he stood. A ball wounded him in the side, another from belowlodged in his spine; he staggered, clung to a window, then fell on thesofa. "Hasten, " he cried to one of his officers, "run, my friend, andstrangle my poor Basilissa; let her not fall a prey to these infamouswretches. "

The door opened, all resistance ceased, the guards hastened to escapeby the windows. Kursheed's sword-bearer entered, followed by theexecutioners. "Let the justice of Allah be accomplished!" said a cadi. At these words the executioners seized Ali, who was still alive, by thebeard, and dragged him out into the porch, where, placing his head onone of the steps, they separated it from the body with many blows of ajagged cutlass. Thus ended the career of the dreaded Ali Pacha. 

His head still preserved so terrible and imposing an aspect that thosepresent beheld it with a sort of stupor. Kursheed, to whom it waspresented on a large dish of silver plate, rose to receive it, bowedthree times before it, and respectfully kissed the beard, expressingaloud his wish that he himself might deserve a similar end. To suchan extent did the admiration with which Ali's bravery inspired thesebarbarians efface the memory of his crimes. Kursheed ordered the headto be perfumed with the most costly essences, and despatched toConstantinople, and he allowed the Skipetars to render the last honoursto their former master. 

Never was seen greater mourning than that of the warlike Epirotes. During the whole night, the various Albanian tribes watched by turnsaround the corpse, improvising the most eloquent funeral songs in itshonour. At daybreak, the body, washed and prepared according to theMohammedan ritual, was deposited in a coffin draped with a splendidIndian Cashmere shawl, on which was placed a magnificent turban, adornedwith the plumes Ali had worn in battle. The mane of his charger was cutoff, and the animal covered with purple housings, while Ali's shield, his sword, his numerous weapons, and various insignia were borne on thesaddles of several led horses. The cortege proceeded towards the castle, accompanied by hearty imprecations uttered by the soldiers against the"Son of a Slave, " the epithet bestowed on their sultan by the Turks inseasons of popular excitement. 

The Selaon-Aga, an officer appointed to render the proper salutes, actedas chief mourner, surrounded by weeping mourners, who made the ruinsof Janina echo with their lamentations. The guns were fired at longintervals. The portcullis was raised to admit the procession, and thewhole garrison, drawn up to receive it, rendered a military salute. Thebody, covered with matting, was laid in a grave beside that of Amina. When the grave had been filled in, a priest approached to listen tothe supposed conflict between the good and bad angels, who dispute thepossession of the soul of the deceased. When he at length announcedthat Ali Tepelen Zadi would repose in peace amid celestial houris, the Skipetars, murmuring like the waves of the sea after a tempest, dispersed to their quarters. 

Kursheed, profiting by the night spent by the Epirotes in mourning, caused Ali's head to be enclosed in a silver casket, and despatchedit secretly to Constantinople. His sword-bearer Mehemet, who, havingpresided at the execution, was entrusted with the further duty ofpresenting it to the sultan, was escorted by three hundred Turkishsoldiers. He was warned to be expeditious, and before dawn was well outof reach of the Arnaouts, from whom a surprise might have been feared. 

The Seraskier then ordered the unfortunate Basilissa, whose life hadbeen spared, to be brought before him. She threw herself at his feet, imploring him to spare, not her life, but her honour; and he consoledher, and assured her of the sultan's protection. She burst into tearswhen she beheld Ali's secretaries, treasurers, and steward loaded withirons. Only sixty thousand purses (about twenty-five million piastres)of Ali's treasure could be found, and already his officers had beentortured, in order to compel them to disclose where the rest might beconcealed. Fearing a similar fate, Basilissa fell insensible into thearms of her attendants, and she was removed to the farm of Bouila, untilthe Supreme Porte should decide on her fate. 

The couriers sent in all directions to announce the death of Ali, havingpreceded the sword-bearer Mehemet's triumphal procession, the latter, on arriving at Greveno, found the whole population of that town and theneighbouring hamlets assembled to meet him, eager to behold the head ofthe terrible Ali Pacha. Unable to comprehend how he could possiblyhave succumbed, they could hardly believe their eyes when the head waswithdrawn from its casket and displayed before them. It remained exposedto view in the house of the Mussulman Veli Aga whilst the escort partookof refreshment and changed horses, and as the public curiosity continuedto increase throughout the journey, a fixed charge was at length madefor its gratification, and the head of the renowned vizier was degradedinto becoming an article of traffic exhibited at every post-house, untilit arrived at Constantinople. 

The sight of this dreaded relic, exposed on the 23rd of February at thegate of the seraglio, and the birth of an heir-presumptive to the swordof Othman--which news was announced simultaneously with that of thedeath of Ali, by the firing of the guns of the seraglio--roused theenthusiasm of the military inhabitants of Constantinople to a stateof frenzy, and triumphant shouts greeted the appearance of a documentaffixed to the head which narrated Ali's crimes and the circumstances ofhis death, ending with these words: "This is the Head of the above-namedAli Pacha, a Traitor to the Faith of Islam. "

Having sent magnificent presents to Kursheed, and a hyperbolicaldespatch to his army, Mahmoud II turned his attention to Asia Minor, where Ali's sons would probably have been forgotten in their banishment, had it not been supposed that their riches were great. A sultan does notcondescend to mince matters with his slaves, when he can despoil themwith impunity; His Supreme Highness simply sent them his commands todie. Veli Pacha, a greater coward than a woman-slave born in the harem, heard his sentence kneeling. The wretch who had, in his palace at Arta, danced to the strains of a lively orchestra, while innocent victims werebeing tortured around him, received the due reward of his crimes. Hevainly embraced the knees of his executioners, imploring at least thefavour of dying in privacy; and he must have endured the full bitternessof death in seeing his sons strangled before his eyes, Mehemet theelder, remarkable for his beauty, and the gentle Selim whose meritsmight have procured the pardon of his family had not Fate ordainedotherwise. After next beholding the execution of his brother, SalikPacha, Ali's best loved son, whom a Georgian slave had borne to him inhis old age, Veli, weeping, yielded his guilty head to the executioners. 

His women were then seized, and the unhappy Zobeide, whose scandalousstory had even reached Constantinople, sewn up in a leather sack, wasflung into the Pursak--a river whose waters mingle with those of theSagaris. Katherin, Veli's other wife, and his daughters by variousmothers, were dragged to the bazaar and sold ignominiously to Turcomanshepherds, after which the executioners at once proceeded to make aninventory of the spoils of their victims. 

But the inheritance of Mouktar Pacha was not quite such an easy prey. The kapidgi-bachi who dared to present him with the bowstring wasinstantly laid dead at his feet by a pistol-shot. "Wretch!" criedMouktar, roaring like a bull escaped from the butcher, "dost thouthink an Arnaout dies like an eunuch? I also am a Tepelenian! To arms, comrades! they would slay us!" As he spoke, he rushed, sword in hand, upon the Turks, and, driving them back, succeeded in barricading himselfin his apartments. 

Presently a troop of janissaries from Koutaieh, ordered to be inreadiness, advanced, hauling up cannon, and a stubborn combat began. Mouktar's frail defences were soon in splinters. The venerableMetche-Bono, father of Elmas Bey, faithful to the end, was killed by abullet; and Mouktar, having slain a host of enemies with his own handand seen all his friends perish, himself riddled with wounds, set fireto the powder magazine, and died, leaving as inheritance for the sultanonly a heap of smoking ruins. An enviable fate, if compared with that ofhis father and brothers, who died by the hand of the executioner. 

The heads of Ali's children, sent to Constantinople and exposed atthe gate of the seraglio, astonished the gaping multitude. The sultanhimself, struck with the beauty of Mehemet and Selim, whose longeyelashes and closed eyelids gave them the appearance of beautifulyouths sunk in peaceful slumber, experienced a feeling of emotion. "I had imagined them, " he said stupidly, "to be quite as old as theirfather;" and he expressed sorrow for the fate to which he had condemnedthem.