took on board a monk, the spiritual chief of the Suliots. He was clothed
in sackcloth, and repeated the prayers for the dying, as one going to
execution. Ali, however, received him with the utmost cordiality: He
assured the priest of his repentance, his good intentions, his esteem
for the Greek captains, and then gave him a paper which startled him
considerably. It was a despatch, intercepted by Ali, from Khalid
Effendi to the Seraskier Ismail, ordering the latter to exterminate
all Christians capable of bearing arms. All male children were to
be circumcised, and brought up to form a legion drilled in European
fashion; and the letter went on to explain how the Suliots, the
Armatolis, the Greek races of the mainland and those of the Archipelago
should be disposed of. Seeing the effect produced on the monk by the
perusal of this paper, Ali hastened to make him the most advantageous
offers, declaring that his own wish was to give Greece a political
existence, and only requiring that the Suliot captains should send him
a certain number of their children as hostages. He then had cloaks and
arms brought which he presented to the monk, dismissing him in haste, in
order that darkness might favour his return.

The next day Ali was resting, with his head on Basilissa's lap, when he
was informed that the enemy was advancing upon the intrenchments
which had been raised in the midst of the ruins of Janina. Already the
outposts had been forced, and the fury of the assailants threatened to
triumph over all obstacles. Ali immediately ordered a sortie of all his
troops, announcing that he himself would conduct it. His master of the
horse brought him the famous Arab charger called the Dervish, his chief
huntsman presented him with his guns, weapons still famous in Epirus,
where they figure in the ballads of the Skipetars. The first was an
enormous gun, of Versailles manufacture, formerly presented by the
conqueror of the Pyramids to Djezzar, the Pacha of St. Jean-d'Arc, who