through the whole night by the light of the 1 Gordon, i. burning houses; it went on all the 243, 245; next day; and when it ceased at Ann. Hist. length, by the exhaustion of the iv. 420, 421; Ann. Reg. victors, nine thousand bodies, of all ages and sexes, encumbered the streets of Tripolitza.1 Though disgraced by such frightful cruelty, 1821, 147, 149. 42. of the conquest, and the sad result of the war of extermImportance ination which had begun between the Greeks and Turks, the capture subsequent of Tripolitza was an event of the measures of very highest importance to the Greek the Greeks. cause. They found there a considerable train of artillery, arms and ammunition in abundance, and immense treasures, the long accumulations of Ottoman rapine, which laid the foundation of some of the principal fortunes in the Morea. The army which had taken Tripolitza, after its important conquest, was divided into two parts: one half sat down before the Acro-Corinthus of Corinth, which stronghold, commanding the entrance into the Morea, surrendered in the middle of NovemNov. 15. ber; while the other went to reinforce the troops under the Archbishop Germanos, which were blockading the citadel of Patras, where Jussuf Pacha, having been strongly reinforced by succors from the army besieging Janina, had become very audacious, and had defeated the Greeks in several sorties. Meanwhile the Sultan, irritated rather than discour aged by the defeat his fleet had sustained at sea in the beginning of summer, fitted out a new squadron in the Dardanelles, which put to sea in the beginning of July, and being much stronger than any the Greeks could oppose to it, arrived in safety in the harbor of Rhodes, where it effected a junction with the Egyptian fleet. The combined squadrons, consisting of four ships of the line and seventy smaller vessels, made sail for the Morea, where they revictualed all the blockaded fortresses having harbors, and regained the shelter of the Dardanelles in the end of October, closely watched by the Greek fleet, which, without venturing to hazard a general engagement, prevented the Ottoman squadron from effecting any thing else. On the 24th November, the fleet re-entered the harbor of Constantinople, exhibiting as its only prizes thirty Greek sailors hanging from the yard-arm of one of the vessels. So elated was the Sultan, however, with the success of this maritime promenade, that he promoted the admiral, Kara Ali, to the rank of Capitan 247, 253; Pacha! Woeful picture of national decline, when escape from defeat is iv. 422,423. considered equivalent to victory!? The intelligence of the disasters sustained by the Turks in the Morea, and the entire ruin of their trade by the Greek sacre of the cruisers, again roused the Mohammedan population of Smyrna to a state of perfect frenzy. The wineshops were filled from morning to night with armed bands of Asiatics, threatening instant death and total extermination to the Christians. Oct. 22. 2 Gordon, i. Ann. Hist. 43. Fresh mas Christians in Smyrna. The European consuls presented an enNov. 2. ergetic note to the Turkish governor, representing the frightful consequences which would ensue if these disorders were not repressed; but in vain. The Asiatics broke loose; above a thousand Christians were massacred in the following days; and the slaughter would have been much greater if the majority of the Christians had not found an asylum on board the French fleet, which fortunately lay at anchor in the roads at the time. At length, on the joint representation of the French and English consuls and the French admiral, an order was issued from the governor, closing the coffeehouses and spirit-shops, ordering the Asiatic troops to quit the city, and the Franks not to bear arms openly in iv. 424; the streets, by which means the mas- Gordon, i. sacre was stopped.1 1 Ann. Hist. 256, 258. 44. cha before Janina. Fall and While these important events were in progress in Asia and southern Greece, Chourchid Pacha, commanding the Operations of army before Janina, justified the Churchid Pahigh confidence which the Sultan reposed in him. Though obliged recapture of to detach largely into the Morea Arta. and northern Greece, he never lost sight of his main object, the destruction of Ali Pacha. This old and savage chieftain, in the last extremity, justified his surname of the "Lion of Janina.' Shut up with not more than four thousand followers in his impregnable fortress in the lake, he continued his obstinate resistance, though he amused his besiegers with delusive offers of accommodation. Chourchid's chief difficulty was to preserve his lines of communication through the mountains, which were beset by twelve thousand Greeks and Souliotes, from whom he sustained, in the beginning of September, a bloody defeat in the defiles Sept. 3. of Mount Pindus. Having received a reinforcement, however, of eight thousand men soon after, his force was raised to thirty thousand men, with which he both continued the blockade of Janina, and kept up his communication with Arta, Prevesa, and the sea, though not without extreme difficulty, from the incursions of the hardy mountaineers. Hassan Pacha, alarmed at the dangers of his situation in Arta, set out with all his forces, in order to force his way through the defiles to Janina; but he was met in the defiles of Pindus by MARK Bozzaris, a chieftain destined to future glory, and Sept. 12. driven back with great slaughter to Arta. Chourchid, however, was not discouraged, and by repeated efforts he succeeded in re-establishing his communication with Arta. There, however, the Turks, under the command of four pachas, were soon vigorously assailed by Bozzaris at the head of his brave Souliotes, who, after driving them back into the fortress, at length carried it by assault. The Nov. 25. greater part of the garrison found refuge in the citadel, which still held out; but all the stores and treasures of the four pachas fell into the hands of the Greeks, to whom they proved of essential service. They held their conquest, however, only for three weeks. At the end of that time it was regained by Omer-Vrione, who was detached by Chourchid Pacha from before Janina, and the heads of the two pachas, who had sought Gordon, i. refuge in the citadel, were sent to the 258, 271; Sultan, by whom they were displayed Ann. Hist. at the gates of the Seraglio.2 iv. 427, 429. Dec. 17. The Greeks, who now began to feel the effects of the divisions consequent in all insurrections 45. Failure of the mania and Pa tras. 80. Greeks defended their intrenchments bravely, yet such was the fury of the onset, and the superiority of numbers on the part of the assailants, that they were broken through in several places, and at these openings the savage multitude rushed in with irresistible fury. It soon was no longer a battle, but a massacre. Such of the Greeks as could escape saved themselves in the mountains; but above three thousand fell under the Mussulman cimeters, and ten thousand women and children, with thirty thousand head of cattle, were taken and publicly sold in the market-place of Salonica. Taking advantage of the consternation produced by this dreadful event, the victorious pacha advanced to Mount Athos, where the trembling monks, though placed in their almost inaccessible eyries, were too happy to accept the proffered capitulation, by which they saved their lives and property on 1 Ann. Hist. payment of 250,000 piastres a year iv. 427, 428. £20,000).1 To complete the picture of this memorable year, it only remains to notice the 47. operations in Crete. The mountain- Operations eers there, albeit endowed by nature in Crete. with mild and pacific constitutions, were all in arms in consequence of the dreadful exactions and cruelty of the Turks, and the latter had brought over large bodies of Asiatics to complete their destruction. The Sfakiotes, a hardy race, whose position in the hills had hitherto saved them in a great measure from the tyran on success, were far from making that use of 46. Foreing of the line of nesses. Nov. 11. of the Ottomans, defeated them in an action at Soulo, near Canea, upon which the Turks massacred all the Christians in July 3. Candia, and seven hundred more in other towns in the island. All the bishops perished. The Sfakiotes, however, were not discouraged, but made several incursions into the plains, from whence they returned laden with the spoils of their oppressors to their mountains. Upon this, the Turks brought over ten thousand Asiatic janizaries, who penetrated into their fastnesses, and stormed Therissow, their principal Aug. 3. stronghold, laying waste every thing with fire and sword; but want of provisions soon obliged them to retire, and the Sfakiotes again resumed their incursions. The revolt upon this spread universally over the island, and the Turks were obliged to take refuge in Canea, where, toward the end 2 Gordon, i. of autumn, they suffered severe- 301, 309; ly from dysentery and other dis- Ann. Hist. eases.2 iv. 429, 431. 48. While the southern parts of the Ottoman dominions were thus the theatre of a frightful civil war, and the Turks, War with after many vicissitudes of fortune, Persia. were losing their hold of the richest and finest part of their territory, they were threatened with external danger both in the east and north scarcely less alarming. The Persians deeming a rupture between Russia and the Porte inevitable, and probably secretly instigated by the agents of the Czar, declared war against Turkey in the beginning of August, and Aug. 3. immediately invaded the pachalic of Bagdad with thirty thousand men. Although no great success attended their arms, yet it operated as an important diversion in favor of the Greeks, as it obliged the Sultan to employ an equal iv. 426, 428. sia. 49. force in defense of his eastern dominions. Af- | departure with his whole suite. The conditions fairs also had become so threatening with Rus- exacted by Russia did not consist in any cession sia that an immediate rupture seemed inevit-of fortresses or provinces, but in reparation able, and the Turkish dominions, threatened for the insults offered to the Greek religion, alike in the south, the north, and expiation for the murder of its Patriarch, and 1 An. Hist. the east, seemed doomed to destruc- the adoption of a more humane system of warfare in the contest with its Christian subjects.* If these terms were not acceded to within the prescribed time, the Porte was openly menaced with the utmost hostility of Russia, and the support of the Greeks by the forces of entire Christendom. No answer was returned by the Divan to this menacing communication, and the eight days allowed having expired, July 26. Baron Strogonoff applied for his passports. He was at first threatened with being sent to the Seven Towers, and the Asiatic hordes loudly demanded the instant adoption of that severity; but the entire diplomatic body having protested against the recurrence to that barbarous usage, the passports demanded were delivered to him, and he set sail, with all his suite, and several Greek fami- 1 An. Hist. lies who had taken refuge in the Rus- iv. 413,415; sian embassy, for Odessa on the last Gordon, i. day of July. 193, 199. 51. tion.1 Notwithstanding the determination of the Emperor Alexander to abstain from Angry ne- all interference with the Greek insurgotiations rection, it was inevitable that during with Rus- the progress of the contest various points of dispute should arise between the two powers at St. Petersburg and Constantinople. They were not long, accordingly, in showing themselves. M. Danesi, the banker to the Russian embassy, was arrested early in June, ostensibly for a debt of 300,000 piastres (£3000), but really for having furnished funds to the Greek insurgents; and notwithstanding the remonstrances of M. Strogonoff, the Russian embassador, who reclaimed him as forming part of the embassy, sentenced to be beheaded, April 3. from which he only escaped by going into exile. Hardly was this subject of discord appeased when another and more serious one arose, in consequence of the Porte having issued After the Russian embassador had taken his an order that all neutral vessels passing the Dar-departure, the Sublime Porte disdanelles should be searched, and prohibiting patched a messenger to St. Peters- Ultimatum of the exportation of grain through the canal of burg with an answer to the Czar's the Turks. the Bosphorus. These orders were vehemently ultimatum, which was ante-dated July 31. opposed by the Russian minister, as interfering 26th July, the last day assigned for its recepwith the rights of the Russian merchants in the tion. In this state paper, which was very ably Black Sea; and as strongly maintained by the drawn, the Sultan, without disputing the truth Sultan, as necessary to prevent succors being of the charges made against him—which, in conveyed to the Greeks under the Russian flag, truth, were so notorious that they could not be and within the acknowledged rights of a bel-denied-contented himself with throwing the ligerent power. The execution of the Patriarch, and the frightful massacres in Constantinople and other chief towns of the empire, were next made the subject of well-founded complaints on the part of the Russian embassador, to which the Divan replied by remonstrances founded on the asylum afforded at Odessa to the Greeks who had escaped from them, and the right of every government to repress rebellion among its subjects by every means in its power. M. Strogonoff next protested against the entry of the Turkish forces into the principalities, which was entirely disregarded; clared that, as long as the Turkish government continued, the Russians would never refuse an asylum to any Greek who might demand it; and that, if the system of violence continued, he would break off all diplomatic intercourse with the Porte. To all these remonstrances the answer constantly made was, that no foreign power had a right to interfere between the Turkish government and its iv. 394, 397; own subjects, and that the Gordon, i. rection could be subdued in no other way.2 2 An. Hist. destruction of the churches on the violence of the dregs of the people, who had been excited to madness by the Greek insurrection, justified the execution of the Patriarch by the alleged discovery of letters which implicated him in the insurrection in the Morea, vindicated the entry of the Ottoman troops into the principalities by the obvious necessity of extinguishing a dangerous rebellion, and the general arming of the Mussulmans by the threatening "Que les églises détruites ou pillées soient renoude-velées sur le champ, et mises en état de servir à leur sainte destination; que S. H., en rendant à la religion chrétienne ses prérogatives, en lui accordant la même protection que par le passé, en lui garantissant son inviolabilité a l'avenir, s'efforce de consoler l'Europe du supplice du Patriarche de Constantinople, et des profanations qui ont suivi sa mort; qu'une sage et équitable distinction s'établisse entre les auteurs des troubles, les hommes qui y prenaient part, et ceux que leur innocence doit mettre à l'abri de la sévérité du Divan; qu'à cet effet, on ouvre un avenir de paix et de tranquillité aux Grecs qui seront restés soumis, ou qui se soumettront, dans un délai donné; et qu'en tout état des choses, on se ménage les moyens de distininsur-guer les innocens des coupables. Que si le Gouvernement Ture témoignait, contre toute attente, que c'est par suite d'un plan librement arrêté, qu'il prend des mesures touchant lesquelles le Soussigné lui a déjà exposé l'opinion de son Auguste Maitre, il ne resterait a l'Empereur qu'à déclarer, dès à présent, à la Sublime Porte qu'elle se chrétien, qu'elle légitime la défense des Grecs, qui déslors combattraient uniquement pour se soustraire à une perte inévitable; et que, vu le caractére de leur lutte, la Russie se trouverait dans la stricte obligation de leur offrir his palace at Buysekdere, and de-asile parce qu'ils seraient persécutés; protection, parce livered the ultimatum of the Rus- qu'elle en aurait le droit; assistance, conjointement avec sian government to the Porte, which was retoute la Chrétienté, parce qu'elle ne pourrait pas livrer quired to be accepted unconditionally within ses frères de religion à la merci d'un aveugle fanatisme." -Note de M. le Baron STROGONOFF, July 18, 1821. eight days, failing which he was to take his | Annuaire Historique, iv. 413, 414. 195, 197. 50. These angry recriminations continued through the whole of May and June; and at length, in the middle of July, matters came to such a point that its refusal by M. Strogonoff shut himself up in Russian ultimatum, and the Divan. July 18. constitue en état d'hostilité ouverte contre le monde M. Strogonoff, July 26 1821; Ibid., iv. 656, 659. 52. 1* Dec. 2. and undeniable danger of the Ottoman empire; | pease the violence of the people as to bring 1 An. Hist. finally, the note stated that orders back the Divan to sentiments of mod- 53. iv.413, 416; had been given for reconstructing eration; and the fermentation was Alarining Réponse à the churches which had been de- such at Constantinople, all the au state of la Note de molished, and promising, on the tumn and winter, that a general mas- Constantinople, and Greek refugees being delivered up, sacre was hourly expected. Bands efforts of to execute rigorously and faithfully of Asiatics, worked up to the last the embasthe whole treaties with the cabinet point of religious fanaticism and sadors. of St. Petersburg.1 savage fury, were continually travAccording to the known usages of European ersing the streets, singing exciting songs, and diplomacy, the departure of the calling on the janizaries to rise and complete the Efforts of Lord Russian embassador from Constan- destruction of the infidels. To such a pitch did Strangford, tinople was tantamount to a dec- the disorders arise that the janizaries openly dethe English laration of war between the two manded the head of the new favorite, Halalminister, to avert a ruppowers; and consternation was Effendi, who was thought to be too much inture. universal among the Christian in-clined to moderate measures, and even of Abdulhabitants that this would lead to a general Ahmed, the son of the Sultan, and sole heir of massacre of them, as it had done at Smyrna, the empire. The popular fury was only apSalonica, and several other places. In effect, it peased by the daily sight of a number of Chriswas very near occurring, for the Asiatic troops, tians hung in the streets, and a long row of as soon as the departure of the Russian embassy heads displayed every morning at the gates of was known, began to parade the streets, and the Seraglio. At length Lord Strangford precall on the people to rise and exterminate the vailed on the Divan to abate somewhat of their Christians without mercy or distinction. Mul- unbending attitude, and open the door, if not titudes, apprehending instant death, took refuge to accommodation, at least to renewed negoin the hotels of the embassadors of the neutral tiations, by an ultimatum on their part, in powers; and fortunately the English embassa- which they consented to adjourn the demand dor, Lord Strangford, enjoyed at that period for the surrender of the refugees, but refusing the highest consideration with the Porte, and to withdraw their troops from the 1 Ann. Hist. employed his great influence and abilities to principalities till the rebellion was iv. 434, 436; avert a rupture, and bring the Divan back to entirely put down, and then to main- Note de la sentiments of moderation, and a just apprecia-tain such troops in them as might be 2, 1821; tion of the difficulties with which they were deemed necessary to maintain their Ann. Hist. surrounded. In this praiseworthy attempt he tranquillity.' was cordially seconded by the ministers of The commencement of the year 1822 was France and Austria, and at length, by their signalized by an event of no ordinary 54. united efforts, a decree was obtain-importance in this contest: the for- Formation ed from the Porte commuting the mation of a regular government, and of a constipunishment of Danesi into exile, the proclamation of national inde- tution, and proclamataking off the embargo which had pendence in Greece. During the tion of inStrangford, been laid on Russian vessels, and month of November preceding, a dependence December 2, promising an amnesty to such of congress of chiefs and deputies as1821 lbid., the Greeks as should submit within sembled from all parts of Greece in Argos, iv, 663. a short period.❜ which afterward transferred its sittings to Epidaurus, and there a constitution was drawn up, and the national INDEPENDENCE PROCLAIMED. * "Que tous les individus punis à la suite de l'insur-The act proclaiming it, signed by sixty-seven rection, et surtout le Patriarche Grec et autres prélats, n'avaient subi que la peine qu'ils avaient méritée d'après le droit que tout Gouvernement a de faire arrêter et punir sans miséricorde, sans distinction de religion ou de condition, de pareils malfaiteurs, afin de maintenir le bon ordre dans ses états et parmi le peuple. * Ann. Hist. mane a Lord It was not so easy a matter, however, to ap Que les insultes faites à quelques Eglises Grecques n'étaient que des désordres commis par des réprouvés de la lie du peuple. "Que l'adoption de la vie des camps au lieu de celle des villes, et l'armement général de la Nation Mussulmane, n'étaient que des mesures indispensables pour le maintien du bon ordre intérieur, et ne regardait en rien les puissances amies ni les divers classes des Rayahs non coupabies. "Que les instructions données au commandant des troupes envoyées par la Porte en Valachie et Moldavie n'avaient d'autre but que de réduire les rebelles et d'en purger les provinces, dont on ne voulait ni changer l'ordre ni abolir les privilèges. "Qu'aussitôt que la tranquillité aurait été rétablie, que le ci-devant Prince de Moldavie, Michel Suzzo, et ses adhérens, qui se sont évadés avec lui, ainsi que ceux des scélérats qui auront pu s'enfuir sur le territoire Russe ou Autrichien, auraient été remis au Gouvernement Turc, ou bien publiquement punis sur les lieux mêmes où ils ont été saisis, la Sublime Porte procéderait immédiatement à F'installation des Hospodars, et mettrait le plus grand soin à faire observer les anciennes conventions et à maintenir les privilèges des deux provinces comme dans le passé.' -Réponse du Divan à l'Ultimatum de M. le Baron STROGONOFF, July 26, 1821. Annuaire Historique, iv. 656, 660, Appendix. Porte, Dec. iv. 663. of Greece. members of the congress, is remarkable as containing a forcible and not exaggerated statement of the dreadful nature of the oppression under which the nation had labored, the reasons which had induced or rather compelled them to take up arms, and the grand object of national independence for which they contended-very different from the democratic dreams which at the same time were agitating the states of western Europe. The constitu * * La Nation Grècque prend le ciel et la terre à témoin que, malgré le joug affreux des Ottomans, qui la menaçait de son dépérissement, elle existe encore. Pressée par les mesures aussi iniques que destructives, que ces tyrans féroces, après avoir violé leurs capitulations ainsi que tout esprit d'équité, rendaient de plus en plus oppressives, et qui ne tendaient à rien moins qu'à l'anéantissement entier du peuple soumis, elle s'était trouvée dans la nécessité absolue de courir aux armes, pour mettre à l'abri sa propre conservation. Après avoir repousse la violence par le seul courage de ses enfans, elle déclare aujourd'hui devant Dieu et devant les hommes, par l'organe de ses représentans légitimes, réunis dans ce congrès national convoqué par le peuple, son Indépendance Politique. "Loin d'être fondée sur des principes de démagogie et de rébellion, loin d'avoir pour motifs les intérêts particuliers de quelques individus, cette guerre est une guerre nationale et sacrée ; elle n'a pour but que la restauration de la nation et sa réintégration dans les droits de pro Jan. 3, the violence and caprice of that savage barba- iv. 330, 331. 56. Pacha. tion proclaimed-which, in default of heirs of the old Byzantine emperors, was perhaps the only one which could at that period be adopted was very similar to that of the Directory which for a few years governed France: civil and religious liberty, security to person and property, equal eligibility to office, the independence of the judicial body, were duly provided for. The supreme legislative power was vested in a senate elected by the people, conjointly with an executive council appointed by the senate. This council, in whom the entire direction of affairs was vested, consisted of five members; it declared peace and war, and was invested with the supreme direction of affairs; but its members were elected only for a year, and were amenable to the senate for misconduct in duty. Prince Mavrocordato was unanimously elected the first president: the council immediately entered upon the discharge Jan. 21, 1822. of its duties; and the congress, having accomplished its task of forming a constitution, declared itself dissolved. The seat of government was soon after transferred to Corinth, the citadel of which had just capitulated. It is easy to see the ideas of the French Revolution here germinating in the minds of a nation struggling for existence: and certainly its authors seem to have been thinking more of Alarmed at the prospect of what the despair the rights of man than of averting the sabres of so indomitable a chieftain might of the Osmanlis. Yet it is impossible to with- suggest, and desirous at all hazards Perfidious hold a tribute of admiration from the brave of securing his head as an ornament seizure and men who, when their chief fortresses were still for the Seraglio, Chourchid Pacha death of Ali in the hands of the enemy, still reeking with had recourse to perfidy; and, strange Feb. 1. the blood of their best and bravest citizens, to say, the old deceiver became the and when Mohammedan fanaticism was roused victim of his own arts. He held out the prosto the highest pitch for their destruction, ven-pect of a favorable capitulation, in virtue of tured, with the resources of seven which Ali was to enjoy his treasures, his harem, Ann. Hist: hundred thousand men, to throw and the title of Vizier, with a suitable command Constitution down the gauntlet to a power pos-in Asia Minor during his life. He stipulated, de la Grece; sessing thirty millions, and before however, in return for so many concessions, that Ibid., iv. 675, which all Christendom had so often Ali should remove himself from his impregnable trembled.1 tower into an island on the lake, where a pleasThe Christian cause, thus irrevocably en- ure-house had been constructed, there to await gaged, sustained, however, a grievous the firman containing the pardon of the Sultan, Capitula- blow in the early part of this year and the entire restoration to his favor. The tion of Ali by the destruction of Ali Pacha, old pacha fell into the snare: the lion forgot who, although still a Mohammedan, the fox. He not only removed with his young and distrusted alike by the Greeks and Souli- and ardently-loved wife, and a few intrepid otes, had hitherto operated as a most important Albanians, who were resolved to share his fate, diversion, by retaining so large a portion of the to the island, but he was, though with some Ottoman forces round his wave-encircled walls. difficulty, prevailed on to deliver to the officers Notwithstanding the courage and energy of the of Chourchid Pacha a signet ring, the wellveteran pacha, who boasted in his inaccessible known token which enjoined implicit obedience fortress in the lake that his enemies would find on all his servants. Armed with this instru"that the bear of Pindus was still alive," his ment, the Turks instantly rowed across the resources were daily declining. For more than lake, ascended the tower, showed the ring to three months he had been closely blockaded. the faithful guardian of the magazine and treasProvisions were beginning to fail, and the gar-ures, who stood at the door with a lighted rison, worn out with the toil of incessant watch-match in his hand. The slave bowed with reing, and destitute of hope, had lent a willing ear to the offers of Chourchid Pacha, who promised them a large share of the treasures of the pacha, in the event of their delivering up the stronghold to him. This treachery was rendered the more easy from the defection of Ali's chief engineer, Caretto, who, alienated by iv. 328, 329; 679. 55. Pacha. priété, d'homme, et de vie, droits qui sont le partage des peuples policés nos voisins, mais qui étaient arrachés aux Grecs par une puissance spoliatrice."-Déclaration d'Indépendance, Epidaure, Jan. 27, 1822. Annuaire Historique, iv. 679, Appendix, spect before the talisman, and extinguished the torch. He was instantly dispatched by repeated strokes of the poniard, and the perfidious assassins, rowing back to Ali's island, presented to him the fatal firman, which, instead of the promised pardon, contained the order for his immediate death. As soon as he saw it, Ali exclaimed, "Stop! what are you bringing me?" "The order of the Sultan," replied Hassan the officer; "he demands your head. Submit to the order of the Sultan; obey the decree of fate; pray to Allah; make your ablutions." |