34 The Manimalinga-P'oda." [JULY, 



invited thirty of the most refractory boyars, with their wives. The best 

 wines were served round to the quests in abundance, until the liquor 

 completely removed from their minds all possibility of suspicion. After 

 dinner, the ladies were invited to withdraw with the princess into the 

 harcmm, or female apartments ; and the men were requested to go, one 

 after another, into a washing-closet, situated at the extremity of a suite of 

 rooms, for the purpose of performing the ablution which, in this country, 

 as in all other parts of Turkey, follows every meal. On entering the closet 

 singly, the door was instantly shut, and the boyar was seized by twelve 

 men stationed inside ; a towel was thrown round his face, to prevent his 

 calling out, and he was handed over to six executioners in a further room, 

 where he was instantly beheaded. The preparations had been made so 

 well, and the boyars had taken so much liquor, that nothing occurred to 

 disturb this memorable execution, which was completed on the whole 

 thirty individuals, in the course of half an hour. After this, the hospodar 

 entered the harem, and conversed with the ladies gaily, telling them 

 that he had forbidden their husbands to appear until he should have 

 made a proposal which he trusted might be acceptable to them. The 

 metropolitan-archbishop was now ushered in, and, having taken his seat,* 

 referred a case to him which concerned the ladies present, and relative to 

 which he required instant decision, " Should each of these ladies," said 

 he, " have suddenly lost a worthless husband by my orders, do you not 

 think it would be incumbent on me to replace him instantly by another ?" 

 The archbishop assented, and the women began 1o look serious. 

 " Then, ladies," added the hospodar, " the case is such as I have men- 

 tioned. Your husbands have, within this hour, paid, with the for- 

 feiture of their heads, the crimes of disobedience, from which I have long 

 endeavoured in vain, by other means, to recal them. But you shall have 

 no reason to complain of me. It is my duty to replace your husbands by 

 others, and not suffer yon to depart as widows from a house which you 

 have this day entered as married women. Thirty of my itsh-oglans (pages) 

 have been selected to take the places, titles, and fortunes (which they are 

 to inherit, if they find no children previously existing) of your late hus- 

 bands. They are all handsome young men, and none of them has reached 

 yet the age of twenty-five. The archbishop has been summoned here by 

 me for the express purpose of performing the nuptial ceremony." 



At this moment the itsh-oglans were introduced, one of whom was 

 assigned to each " disconsolate" widow, and the marriage service was per- 

 formed over the whole thirty couple. 



Whether the ladies who figure in this history had more reason to mourn 

 over their losses, or to rejoice in their new acquisitions, is a point which 

 the historian has not taken the trouble to enlighten us upon. As to the 

 Hospodar Yanacki, after this extraordinory act of authority, he governed 

 his province, without further obstacle, for three years; at the end of which, 

 his patron the grand vizier being dead, he was recalled from office. He 

 then retired to a delightful spot on the borders of the Thracian Bosphorus, 

 where the remainder of his days would have been spent in uninterrupted 

 happiness, had his conscience been perfectly free from the pangs with 

 which the recollection of his former seventy now and then disturbed Ihe 

 enjoyment of it. W. 



* The only "subject," besides the sons of hospodars, who is allowed the privilege of 

 being seated in the prince's presence. 



