Page:Adventures of Baron Wenceslas Wratislaw of Mitrowitz (1862).djvu/215

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BARON WENCESLAS WRATISLAW.
165

prisoner, made known to our friends at Prague, by way of Venice. As soon as spring came news arrived of the victory of the Prince of Transylvania over the Turks and Tartars, and Synan Pasha, having been fortunate with Raab, was proclaimed generalissimo of the army in the field. Fresh soldiers and janissaries were added to the old ones, and Synan promised to bring the land of Transylvania finally under the power of the Sultan; and, in fact, the Turks told us that he was every day expected to march out of the city with a very fine army of 80,000 men. The longer they waited, the more it was noised abroad about Transylvania, and how our people were strengthening themselves on both sides; and Synan Pasha rode most magnificently out of Constantinople, and waited a week before the city till the whole army assembled. Ibrahim Pasha remained as governor of the city in his place.

At that juncture no small alteration took place in Turkey. Some people in Asia thought fit to be insubordinate, but Ibrahim Pasha ordered them to be arrested, and put in prison in our tower above us. He also ordered people to go slyly and put a Georgian lord in prison with us. He was a well-made, tall young fellow. These distinguished Turks were taken, about midnight, from prison down to the sea, and thrown in. And when one was thrown into the sea a cannon was fired on our tower, at which we were greatly terrified, especially as, when each Turk was led away to be drowned, we heard how the poor man lamented and prayed. Thus they dealt with them several nights in succession, till they had drowned them all; and they threatened us that we should be treated in the same