JULY, with more caution in the instances of Ali of Tepelen, and Mehmed of Egypt. The treasuries of the former, which, however considerable, fame doubtless exaggerated, and the ascendancy professed by that ambitious man, awakened his avarice and fear; and he resolved to unite his forces to overwhelm the audacious governor. In 1820 Ali was declared a rebel, and placed under the ban of the empire; his agent at the Porte was imprisoned; and Passo Bey, on being nominated pacha of Jannina, was ordered to reduce him.

Aware of the approaching storm, Ali courted the friendship of the Greek Armatoles, many of whom entered into an alliance with him. They foresaw that to whatever party success should lean, the Mussulman domination must be weakened; and they were all well acquainted with the secret combination that existed among all the leading Greeks, to rise at a proper time for the emancipation of the country. On the approach of Passo Bey, many of the Albanians deserted Ali; fortress after fortress fell into the power of the enemy; and the satrap himself was compelled, for his personal security, to retreat from one place to another. He contrived, however, to maintain his ground by stimulating his soldiers and auxiliaries to incredible deeds of valour, and by corrupting his enemies with presents of immense value. Indeed, so slow was the progress of the invading enemy, that the Sultan imprisoned the former general, and appointed Hourshid Pacha to the command of the army, which was now increased to 60,000 men. But the whole of this formidable host was not to act long in Greece: it was divided by an event which threw the Porte into the greatest alarm,-the insurrection both in Greece and the two principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia.

For many years a secret association had existed, into which all such Greeks were admitted as appeared worthy of confidence, and likely to promote the success of the grand struggle which had been so long projected. This association was first confined to continental Greece; it afterwards spread not only to the neighbouring isles, but throughout the principalities, and every town, whether of Turkey or Russia, where any considerable number of Greeks resided. Emissaries overrun those vast countries; communicated with the agents of all the confederate cities; collected money to defray the expense of the insurrection; and established a mysterious correspondence with the most influential of their countrymen. In this political free-masonry every one who pretended to patriotism was anxious to be enrolled; but the members were chiefly military leaders, or those whose co-operation was thought useful. Thus an invisible but mighty force slumbered throughout all European Turkey, a force which might be roused to fearful energy at any moment. Envoys were despatched to Ypsilanty to acquaint him with the intended rising, and to request that on the signal being given, he would leave Russia, and place himself at the head of the force that would arise in Moldavia. The breaking out of the war between the Porte and Ali seemed the propitious moment, and the prince was informed that the hour had arrived—of vengeance on the Turks, and of independence for the Greeks:

I was then (says Rizo) in Moldavia, in the service of the hospodar, Michael Soutzo. About seven months before the insurrection, a Peloponnesian Greek, by name Anthony Tzoung, came from St. Petersburgh to see me at Jassy. I did not know him. He delivered to me an introductory letter from Ypsilanty, dated from the Russian capital. From the contents of the letter and the manners of the Greek, I immediately suspected that he was an agent of the confederation. I looked attentively at him, but with a smile that was intended to re-assure him. He stammered out some words about his pretended private affairs, and at the same time made some signs

incomprehensible to all but the initiated. “Let us have done with signs,” said I, "speak openly to a Greek who loves his country as well as yourself." He then drew from his pocket a second letter, in cipher. In this the prince informed me that he was about to leave St. Petersburgh for Bessarabia, where he hoped to see me, at a Russian lazaretto situated on the left bank of the Pruth. He added, that the bearer would acquaint me with other things which could not be trusted to writing. My reply assured the prince of my inviolable attachment to the common cause. Accordingly he arrived in Bessarabia, and wrote to me a second time about the interview at the lazaretto; we met about the close of October 1820. As the hospodar was not in the confederation, I told him that Alexander Ypsilanty wished to see me on some important business; that, if he thought it necessary to acquaint the Porte with the interview between my cousin and me, he might allege some family affair, or even insinuate to the ministry, that, in quality of hospodar, he had ordered me to watch Ypsilanty. I proceeded then to the frontier of Moldavia; there the prince informed me that he was hastening to Trieste to embark for the Peloponnesus, and that, previous to the embarkation, he would declare in the public journals, that he had quitted the Russian service. As this place did not fall within his jurisdiction, I did not communicate it to the hospodar; but Ypsilanty, whether from an intention of deceiving me, or from a change of plan, resolved that the insurrection should commence with Moldavia and Wallachia. In November he sent into the former principality some military chiefs (Greeks), who were to gain over the Albanian troops. It was then no longer possible to conceal the truth from the hospodar. Truly devoted to his country, he perceived that to check the progress of events would prove the destruction of the nation; he therefore submitted with fortitude; he sacrificed his dignity, riches, the existence of himself and family, to the interests of his countrymen.

Never was insurrection worse projected. The emissary of Ypsilanty appointed to raise Servia, was governed by such absurd instructions, that he was arrested and beheaded by the Turks; and such was the want of system, of prudence, of vigour in the councils of the prince, that no good could be the result. The strong fortresses might easily have fallen into his power, for they were but feebly garrisoned, and ill-furnished with provisions; and the Pacha of Silistria, on whom devolved the duty of quelling the insurrection, had raised no more than 1,000 men at the end of March. He crossed the Pruth, February 22, 1821, and obtained immediate possession of Jassy. His followers committed many barbarous acts, so as greatly to irritate even those who were favourable to his views. Hence, when he proceeded to Wallachia, at the head of 1,600 men, not an inhabitant of the other principality followed his standard. In every thing he shewed indecision. Still, so long as Russia was suspected to be at the bottom of the undertaking, his most timid partizans were not destitute of hope; but when that power published its famous protest, his affairs were ruined beyond redemption. Treachery crept into his camp and council; and though deeds of almost incredible valour were performed by some of his chiefs, they were of little avail.

Nothing could equal the fury of the Sultan on hearing of the insurrection, which, like most other people, he attributed to the machinations of his great enemy: he resolved to annihilate the Greek nation. It is said that he drew his poignard, and exclaimed: Giaourlara kilitz!—“ destruction on the wretches!"-and that he swore the sword should not be returned to the scabbard until the last of the Greeks were exterminated. He was seconded in his designs of vengeance by Halet, his favourite minister, who persuaded him to commence the massacre by the most distinguished of that nation resident in Constantinople. During ten days, however, nothing more was done than addressing a peremptory order to the synod, the members of which

were

were enjoined to assemble all their chief countrymen; to demand whether they were subjects of the Sultan or of Russia; to persuade them that the Porte, without condescending to examine into what had passed, would grant them all an amnesty; to recommend fidelity to the government; and finally to excommunicate the heads of the rebellion in the two principalities. In the mean time preparations were made for the approaching catastrophe. Troops were brought from the neighbouring fortresses in Asia; sentinels were stationed in suspected places; and, by a general order, all the Greeks of the metropolis and its environs were deprived of their arms. The Mussulman population were furious as their Sultan, who affected to restrain them only that he might render them more blood-thirsty :

The first victims (says our author) were Dionysius Calliarky, Archbishop of Ephesus, George Mavrocordato, Michael Chantzery, Nicolaky Scanary, with his son-inlaw, Maro, and my elder brother, Theodore Rizo, arch-chancellor of the patriarchal throne. Orders for the massacre were despatched throughout the empire; Thrace, Macedonia, Thessaly, Eubea, the Peloponnesus, all the provinces from Attica to Epirus and Albania, the isles of Mitylene, Rhodes, Candia, and Cyprus, were sentenced to lose their bishops, priests, primates, and all their principal inhabitants. Some days afterwards the Porte ordered the patriarch to assemble before it nearly all the members of the synod. These unfortunate men well knew the fate which awaited them; they hastened to the metropolitan church, communicated for the last time, and, after embracing one another, proceeded with tranquillity to receive their punishment. They were at first imprisoned, and subjected to almost incredible tortures; they were then forced into a small vessel, and hung in their sacerdotal vestments in sight of all the Christian villages which border the right side of the Bosphorus. The patriarch Gregory was astonished that his condemnation was deferred; as head of his religion, and native of the Peloponnesus, he had no chance of safety. He consoled himself by the hope that his death would save the nation, and, as an expiatory offering, put an end to the massacre. His execution was preceded two days by that of the dragoman, Constantine Mourouzy. The latter was brought under the grated windows of the Sultan's pavilion, near the palace of the Vizier. Before receiving the fatal blow, he raised his eyes towards the kiosk, and exclaimed, in Turkish, “Oh, Sultan, bloodthirsty, unjust, and wretched! the knell of thy reign has sounded; thy cruelties are about to be visited on thee; God will avenge my nation!" Nicholas Mourouzy, brother of Constantine, and secretary to the admiralty, was also put to death in presence of Mahmud.

On the 20th of April the patriarch was summoned to the Porte. He obeyed, and was immediately hurried to the prison for state criminals; a new patriarch was ordered to be nominated. By a strange inconsistency, the Sultan, who had just ordered the massacre of the Greeks, and pronounced the doom of the patriarch, permitted Eugene, the successor of the latter, to be solemnly invested with the mantle. Inconsistent in all his actions, and cruel, even in his benevolence, he resembled the sanguinary animals which play with their prey before devouring it. Benderly Ali Pacha had just been appointed to the viziership; he was ordered to preside at the punishment of Gregory the very day the new patriarch was installed. With an escort of 2,000 janizaries, he proceeded to the Fanal, the quarter occupied by the patriarchal church and residence; and, whilst Eugene was pompously attended to take possession of the dignity, the vizier ordered the gallows of Gregory to be erected before the door of the patriarchal palace. Whilst the martyr raised his eyes towards heaven, the Bostandzi Bashi, or captain of the guard, in compliance with a signal from the vizier, approached him, and exclaimed, "Wretch, hast thou not perverted the slaves of the Sultan, the Hope of the World? hast thou not excited the unbelieving rayas to rebellion? unclean dog! hast thou not committed such treasons?" The victim was then sacrificed.

:

Dreadful, indeed, were the scenes which followed. The corpse of the patriarch,

patriarch, after hanging three days, was cut down, dragged by the Jews through the streets, and cast into the sea. It was, however, taken up by the crew of a Greek vessel, and interred by them and the Russians in the vicinity with suitable pomp. Another patriarch, Cyril by name, who had formerly been degraded, was also put to death at Adrianople; and innumerable victims were sacrificed to the popular fury, and in compliance with the mandate of the Sultan. More than 10,000 perished in Constantinople alone:

The Grand Vizier had two inkstands before him, one filled with black ink the other with red. With the former he marked all whom he wished to be destroyed; with the latter he marked those who, in his opinion, deserved only exile. Every day the chief executioner brought him a list of prisoners; he transmitted it to the Sultan, after making his distinctions in black and red, and was enjoined in return not only to execute all the condemned, but to renew without intermission the catalogue of victims. The exiles were conducted into the interior provinces of Asia Minor, and condemned to hard labour night and day. Most of them died of grief and wretchedness; some survived to drag on an existence a thousand times worse than death.

We sicken at these details of Turkish ferocity, and have not courage to proceed with the frightful picture. We leave the capital in order to cast a rapid glance on the events which were passing in other parts of the empire.

Whilst thousands were thus dying for his cause, Alexander Ypsilanty was inactive in Moldavia; or if he attempted any thing, it was more mischievous than inaction. His affairs became desperate; his followers fell off daily; some of his chiefs were in actual correspondence with the enemy; but still, weak as he was, the cause which he espoused was popular, and he might have long continued to make head against the Turks. But, as deficient in courage as he had shewn himself in talent, he basely deserted his men, and fled into Russia. The news of his invasion, however, did some good: it raised up the Greeks, both of the Peloponnesus and of some neighbouring islands, to distract the measures of the divan by extending the flames of the insurrection to many different places at the same time. Colocotroni and Demetrius Ypsilanty assembled their followers, and commenced the great struggle: they were ably assisted by several other chiefs, and their successes for a time emboldened their friends as much as they disheartened their enemies. Ali Pacha was still pressed by Hourschid in the fortress of Litharitzia; and Odysseus and Gouras were raising up other parts of Greece. Diakos, chief pallikar of Odysseus, ably assisted his commander. Falling on Omar, the Turkish general, on the left bank of the Sperchius, he was abandoned by the greater portion of his timid followers; but at the head of thirty warriors he sustained the attacks of the enemy. He rushed into the opposing squadrons, and mowed down the Albanian auxiliaries like grass; but he was at length taken, and conducted to the presence of Omar. "Abjure thy religion," said the latter," or thou shalt be roasted on a spit!"-"Let the spit be brought forth!" was the only reply; and he underwent that dreadful punishment with wonderful fortitude. Soon after, Odysseus nobly revenged his friend, and all Greece caught the sacred flame which had been lighted at the altar of liberty.

While these things were transacting, Ali Pacha became daily less able to oppose the besiegers. Two of his captains, seeing the desperation of his circumstances, undertook to deliver him into the hands of Hourschid. He' was induced to write to that general, to tender his submission to the Sultan, and to implore the interference of Hourschid with the incensed divan. The latter perceived the step which he had taken, and assured him that he would soon receive not only pardon, but favour from the emperor: but Mahmud Asiatic Journ. VOL. 26. No. 151.

F

was

was resolved to destroy him. Orders were shortly despatched to Hourschid, to deceive and assassinate him. Relying on the promises of the Sultan, the unfortunate Ali, accompanied by two servants only, left his fortress, and repaired to the camp of the Turkish general. He was received with distinction, and conducted to a pavilion destined to be the scene of his death. He fell under the balls of his assassin, February 15, 1822, and his head was sent to Constantinople, to be exposed to public view before the gate of the Sultan's palace..

Our limits will not permit us even to glance at the multitude of events which happened after the first breaking out of the insurrection: they would require a volume. We content ourselves with observing that in the space of five months only, 30,000 of the best disciplined troops in European Turkey found their grave in the Peloponnesus. Among these were thirty-two governors of provinces, and many distinguished beys. Yet we cannot pass over in silence the last feat of the famous Marco Botzaris, a feat which has never been surpassed in the best and most heroic ages of Greece.

When the Pacha of Scodra, at the head of a formidable army, was approaching Missolonghi, the Greek chiefs were divided in opinion whether it would be better to abandon that city, and occupy the defiles in the neighbouring mountains, or await the attack of the enemy within the walls. Botzaris addressed the assembled leaders: "My brothers, our country is in great danger. If we remain at Missolonghi, we shall perish for lack of provisions: if we intrench ourselves among the mountains, the enemy will invade the Peloponnesus. I think the present moment favourable, not indeed for victory, but for glory. The Turks are at Carpenisus; in two days they will be here: let us march instantly against them, and fall on their camp during the night. We know by experience that such attacks have generally succeeded." The captains present, however, were astonished at the temerity of the proposed measure they contended that their forces were alarmingly inadequate to the greatness of the enterprize; that they could not destroy the enemy, but should infallibly become the victims of their own rashness. Marco replied: that he had proposed the only step which he considered could then be taken; and asserted that he would execute the design at his own risk, and leave them. to protect the city. He assembled the Souliotes in a meadow beyond the walls they were followed by numbers from the city,-men, women, and children; for all were anxious to learn what their favourite hero intended. He sat down on the grass, surrounded by the soldiers and inhabitants; he there expressed his resolution of marching that very night against the Turks, and requested all who felt inclined to join in the perilous enterprize to approach him :

Then 200 Souliotes, whose faces were honourably disfigured with scars, replied at once, Captain Marco, what need is there of any preamble? A word from you is enough; we are ready to die whenever you wish." At these words they stood by his side. Sixty-three Parganiotes, and eight from the Seven Islands, followed the example, saying, “We also will die with Botzaris.”—“ We shall not die,” cried Marco, with a serene countenance, "God will assist us once more." All the people then exclaimed, "Defender of thy country, may the blessing of all Greece, may the prayers of her unfortunate children, be thy guide and support!"" Fear not," said the hero, turning towards them," in a few days we shall return triumphant." He then retired, after enjoining his companions in danger to prepare their arms, and to meet him in the same meadow at four o'clock in the afternoon.

This is in the highest degree affecting; what follows is not less interesting.

Botzaris