in his bonds, and my praise is sounded by hostile mouths. These are two consolations that will triumphantly cheer my passage to another world."

66

A voice was now heard crying at a distance, Flamming." It approached nearer and nearer, and sounded as that of a woman in intense distress; and with the words, "The foe, the foe! save thyself Flamming !" Dione rushed into the room. Like the tiger seizing the gazelle, the Odabaschi instantly sprang upon her. At that moment she saw Flamming bound as he lay, and fear mercifully deprived her of sensation.

"Oh, not that " exclaimed Flamming, appealing to heaven. And Leontaras, rushing up to the Odabaschi, said, "Under favour, friend, the maiden is my betrothed."

"As much as thou pleasest!" retorted the savage.

"She

is mine now, and shall remain so. It was on her account the giaour abused me, therefore before his death, he shall have the pleasure of seeing me happy in her arms: after that thou mayst marry her if thou wilt.""

"I remind thee, Thorbaschi, of the promise thou madest me as I burst thy prison," cried Leontaras, with augmenting anguish and rage. "Thou wilt not break thy sacred word?" But the Thorbaschi turned his back on him.

"Thou art amazingly stupid," was the remark of the taxgatherer; "if thou dost not see that a Thorbaschi in prison, and a Thorbaschi in freedom, are too distinct persons, and that the second is not to be expected to fulfil what the first has promised." Betrayed then!" howled Leontaras. "A curse on my folly. How could I expect anything else from this monster ! But though it cost me my life, I yield not this maiden a victim to thee."

And plucking up all his courage, he rushed on the Odabaschi, and struck him a violent blow on the chest that made him reel backwards, tore the fainting Dione from his arms, and was hurrying with her from the hall but quicker than he expected, the Turk recovered, clutched at his girdle, and whistling flew his handjar after the Greek, who fell bleedin at the door with his lovely burden.

"What is all this?" thundered a deep base voice, and a tall, richly-clad Turk entered. His left hand rested on the jewelled hilt of his cymitar, his right played with his beads of rich pearls, the symbols of the several names of God. A tame lion walked by his side like a dog: behind him thronged an armed retinue.

"The Captain Pacha!" cried the astonished Turks, bowing to the ground.

"Who stabbed this man,' ," he demanded sternly, pointing to Leontaras, who lay writhing in his blood. There was a dead silence. He stopped and drew the handjar out of the dying man's breast, his looks flew from one to another and fastened on the Odabaschi's empty scabbard.

"Thou wast the murderer, he said, "Wherefore ?"

All were silent as before, but Flamming cried out from his bed "The Odabaschi sought to violate the maiden yonder, and the Greek to save her

"Who speaks here?" said the Captain Pacha stepping to the bed.

"The hospitaller von Flamming," said the latter, with knightly pride, in spite of his helpless condition, "commandant of this castle which has fallen through treachery into the hands of thy people."

"A hospitaller?" said the Captain Pacha, affably. "I have very recently become acquainted with you, you are brave soldiers, with whom it is a pleasure to fight. Who bath so shamefully bound thee?"

"These Turks," said Flamming, "have taken advantage of my sleep."

"These be your deeds! Moslems!" cried the Captain Pacha, with a bitter laugh. "The swarm of paltry mice venture only on the sleeping, elephant. Unbind the knight instantly." The Turks obeyed with mortified rage.

"You have been guilty of multiplied offences," said the Captain Pacha, with fearful accents, " 'you have dared to exercise arbitrary authority in this castle, and thus insulted in the most audacious manner my supreme command, and while, listening to the evil suggestions of your hearts, you have been practising cruelties here against the unarmed, you have suffered a whole ship-full of armed christians to escape."

"Take these men to prison," said he to his guard. "I will decide upon their doom this-day."

Flamming's bonds fell: he sprang up cheerfully, whilst the three Turks and the corpse of Leontaras were carried away. "I thank thee for this fair treatment," said Flamming to the Captain Pacha, "and request thee to name my ransom.

"Thy request is too hasty," replied the other contemplating him with good humour. "Youths like you are not so easily to be released, especially in war, when the freed hand would be sure instantly again to seize the sword against us.

So soon as Candia falls, I will take thee with me to Stamboul, and place thee before the Grand Seignor, that he may see what sort of men I had to deal with. Till then thou remainest in my train."

"At least, then, send this girl back to her relations, the Greek Lambro Canzoni, from whom she was carried off," entreated Flamming, pointing to Dione, who had sunk on her knees.

"The girl!" said the Captain Pacha, keenly examining her with the eye of a connoisseur. "No, she is handsome, I destine her for my harem."

"Great Captain Pacha," implored Dione, gathering from her terror the strength to speak; "thou hast hitherto behaved so nobly, complete thy good deeds, and send me back to my relation, I will daily pray to my God that he crown thee with blessing, and give thee victory over all thy enemies."

The prayers of the unbeliever are no prayers, but errors,* I abide by my resolve."

He clapped his hands, and slaves hastened in with gold embroidered silk cushions. He sat down, took his pipe from an attendant, and smoked a long while in delicious repose of soul, without one of his retinue daring to break the profound stillness by a sound. The lion had stretched himself at his feet and snored."

The Aga, who had led away the prisoners, now returned and whispered something in the chief's ear, who nodded, and made a silent horizontal gesture with his hand from left to right. The Aga bowed low, with his hands crossed over his breast, laid his right hand on his turban, in token of the most submissive obedience, and quitted the hall.

The Ezann of the Imaum, who always accompanied the pious Captain Pacha on all his expeditions, now sounded from without the call to greet the sunrise, "O great God! there is another God than God; and Mahomet is his prophet Come to prayer, come to the temple of holiness, prayer is better than sleep. God is great, and there is no other God."

Instantly the Captain Pacha laid down his pipe, and rose; a slave appeared who presented him a gold wash-hand basin, set with precious stones, while another poured water on his hands, from a ewer of the same metal. The proud chief, punctiliously performed the ablution commanded by the law, and then went wrapped in reverend meditation, into an adjoin

ing room to repeat his prayers undisturbed. None of his train dared to follow him: the lion alone arose and stalked slowly after him.

CHAPTER XXII.

NEW ADVENTURES. THE ESCAPE.

"EVEN the last hope is gone down, when yet but barely risen," said Flamming mournfully, as his looks rested full of pity and love on Dione. She was still on her knees, her fair hands wrung till they were red, her eyes overflowing with torrents of tears, and her bosom heaving fearfully with the violence of her unspeakable agony. "What can I do?" the youth asked himself with mute concentrated indignation. "I might strangle the Turk, and let myself be torn to pieces by the beast, but what will become of poor Dione, who will lose in me her last protection, and fall perhaps into the hands of a worse master than this Turk appears to be. Ah, death is easy to bear, if one leaves no dear object behind. I reap the mischief I have sown by the violation of my vow. Did not my heart cling to this girl, a brief and bloody crisis should end my troubles, and I should be spared the disgrace of being led as a slave into the proud Constantinople."

"Ullahoh! ullahoh!" was yelled outside, as if a pack of jackals were before the door of the hall, "make way for the holy dervishes!" cried the Pacha's retinue, falling back respectfully before three dingy yellow monsters, with great black beards, and cutting a very ludicrous figure in their tall pointed caps, short jackets, and nether garments, like enormously wide petticoats. They stepped boldly up to the Pacha's rich cushion and set down on it, waiting his return.

He appeared at last, accompanied by his lordly favourite. The dervishes rose, saluted him ceremoniously, and received his respectful return to their greeting. One of them then began before him the strange sacred dance, keeping time to the discordant song of the others, and spinning round like a top with incredible swiftness on one foot, till his trowsers described a wide circle round him. The lion was not pleasedwith the exhibition: he grasped the boards of the floor with his claws, so that the splinters flew about, and began to roar. But the Pacha who watched the performance with religious zeal, placed his hand on the animal's noble head, and the faithful creature lay quietly down beside him.

Meanwhile the second dervish had cautiously approached the lion, and offered him a piece of meat. He swallowed it greedily, and instantly gaped, stretched out his mighty limbs, and died.

"What is that?" roared the Pacha, and his cymitar flashed. over the head of his favourite's assassin; but, on the instant, the third dervish, to whom 'no one had hitherto paid any particular attention, struck a concealed dagger into his breast; so that he fell, and the cushion streamed with his gore.

"Revenge my death, my faithful followers," he cried, and twenty cymitars hung over the heads of the treacherous dervishes.

"Hold!" cried the assassin, holding in one hand the bloody dagger, in another, raising a parchment aloft, from which a great seal was suspended. "Halt, in the name of the Sultan ! The Captain Pacha is executed by his order. Here is the hatti sherif of the Shadow of God.* I am the Capidschibaschi."

"I amthe Capidschibaschi," muttered some of the train, timidly falling back before the formidable man: but the bolder spirits cried with fury, "Down with the Padischah and the tools of this cruelty, unheard, without question of the holy assembly of the Ulemas, has he had the boldest leader of his army murdered, and their cymitars threatened again."

"He has consulted the Ulemas," said the Capidschibaschi : "here is the fetwah of the Mufti."

"Let us read it ourselves," cried the Aga of the guard, else we believe thee not.' The Capidschibaschi, handed him a second parchment, and the Aga read.

"What shall be done with the leader, who out of cowardice and treachery, leaves an important fortress in the hands of the unbelievers, in contempt of the commands imposed on him; who out of overweening arrogance, wears a pelisse of black fox-skin, befitting only the sultan ?"

"Let him die. Let his voice be extinguished in the congregation. Allah, direct it for the best.'

"The poor Emir Mahmoud Abdallah."

A deathlike silence pervaded the assembly, the Aga respectfully kissed the death warrant, handed it back to the Capidschibaschi sheathed his cymitar, and said, "Praised be Allah, Mahomet his prophet, and the sultan, the prophet's visible representative on earth. If it please the most powerful capidschibaschi to take possession of the treasures of the executed criminal, * Zill Ullah; Shadow of God one of the Sultan's titles.