Page:History of the Indian Archipelago Vol 2.djvu/395

 SEQUEL OF JAVANESE HISTORY. 351 nished and appalled at the frightful scene which was transacted before them, they wanted the cou- rage or magnanimity to interfere, though ft was acknowledged that their honour was pledged for the safety of Truna Jaya. I shall give one other anecdote of this reign, chiefly because it affords an illustration, unusually authentic, of the effects of eastern despotism, and is, at the same tune, connected with the state of domestic manners among the people of whom 1 am rendering an account. The Susunan had married his eldest son and suc- cessor to the daughter of his brother the Pangeran Fugar. The parties wrre soon compelled to sepa- rate on account of the ill conduct of the husband, a prince of brutal character and manners. The princess, thus neglected, formed an attachment to SukrOf son of the first minister, a youth of agreea- ble manners and handsome person. The criminal connection was in time discovered through an in- tercepted letter from the lover to his mistress. The Susunan was highly incensed at the discovery, and the F anger an Fugar, to avert from himself and his family the effects of his resentment, re- solved to take the life of his daughter. He, ac-« cordingly, ordered his seven sons into his pre- sence, and informed them of the necessity of their becoming the instruments of taking the life of their sifter, to avert the wrath of their uncle and sove-