Page:Adventures of Baron Wenceslas Wratislaw of Mitrowitz (1862).djvu/174

 vehemently, and pushing us in such a manner that the poor wretches pulled each other down by their chains. Coming to myself again, I thanked my God that it had pleased Him to release me from that terrible death, and being afraid lest they should drag me from the mule, and throw me, like my comrades, into the boat, I fortunately saw a Turk whom I knew, and called out to him, imploring him:—“My soul, for God’s sake I implore thee, help me!” He, although the rest looked angrily at him, and reviled him, gave no heed to them, but ran up rapidly, helped me down, and after saying to me sorrowfully, “God release thee,” departed.

Having thrust off from the shore, the chief judge and his attendants sailed with us in the boat, and we had no other idea but that they would drown us, or take us to that frightful black tower, on the Black Sea, for they turned with us in that direction. Then they stopped and asked us again whether we were willing to become Turks, saying that it was now our last hour, as they were about to drown us all by Synan Pasha’s orders; that we should, therefore, have compassion on our youth, and that they were willing to make imperial gentlemen-in-waiting, spahis, and janissaries of us, and give us fine clothes and horses. But we constantly prayed to God, and, committing ourselves to Him, persevered in saying that whatever pleased His gracious Goodness should be our fate, acknowledging that we had deserved all this misery by our sins. We had spectators round us in thousands, who wished to gaze upon our watery funerals, for the upper and under executioners were also with the judge in our boat.

As soon as they saw our steadfastness, and that not