Page:Adventures of Baron Wenceslas Wratislaw of Mitrowitz (1862).djvu/147

 bringing a bier, and wrapping the corpse in a winding-sheet, they accompanied her to the tomb with Turkish honours. The poor young man lived hanging on the hook till the third day, and complained of great thirst, begging them to give him water, but nobody ventured to do so. On the third night some one, moved with compassion towards him, shot him through the head; but it was impossible to ascertain who it was that did it.

Another time they brought to execution the former Voyvode of Wallachia, who was going to excite the people to revolt against the Turkish emperor, and against the voyvode who had been put in his place, wishing to be voyvode again himself; but the Wallachians cut off his nose and ears and sent him to Constantinople, where the Emperor without mercy commanded him to be hung upon a hook. He was a well-made and handsome man, and knew several languages, particularly Latin, Greek, Italian, and Hungarian. We also several times saw Turks decapitated and hung. In the case of some of them they tied their hands and feet, and, after cutting their throats, like calves, let them lie and struggle till the blood ceased to flow. A cord was thrown over the neck of another as he stood on the ground, the other end of which was passed over a beam, and he was lifted about a span from the ground, and there allowed to hang. It is a certain truth that the Turks do not jest with malefactors, but make an end of them speedily.

When we had seen everything that we were permitted to see, both in the city and round the city, we asked our janissary, Mustapha, if it could be done without danger, to show us some handsome Turkish woman, that we might also know whether the women there are beautiful.