of one executed for the Emperor Alexander, bears out the
character thus given of the Servian hero:--"The countenance expressed
not only intelligence, but a certain refinement, which one would
scarcely expect in a warrior peasant; but all his contemporaries agree
in representing him to have possessed an inherent superiority and
nobility of nature, which, in any station, would have raised him above
his equals."

At this juncture, when Servia lay at the mercy of the Turks, Milosh
Obrenovich appeared on the scene. He had originally been a swineherd,
and afterwards an officer of Kara George; but he now sided with the
Turks, to whom he rendered efficient aid in cutting off the other
popular leaders who still continued in arms. But the execution of
Slavatz, and other chiefs who had also made their submission, by order
of Soliman Pasha of Belgrade, showed him that his own fate was only
deferred; and, escaping into his native district of Rudnik, he once more
raised the standard of freedom. The peasantry rose _en masse_, and the
campaign was generally to the advantage of Milosh, who displayed great
bravery and military skill; but Soliman Pasha was at length recalled,
and an accommodation effected, by which Milosh became hospodar, under
the suzerainte of the Sultan, Belgrade and a few fortresses only
remaining in the hands of the Turks. As the resident Turkish population
had almost wholly disappeared during the war, Milosh was now absolute
master of the country, and was delivered from all fears of a rival, by
the death of Kara George, who, in 1817, misled by false representations,
had returned from Petersburg to Servia; but was betrayed by Milosh, and
put to death by the Turks.[6] Though unable to read or write, his rule
was marked by ability and vigour. He repressed robberies and offences
against property with merciless severity, frequently causing malefactors
to be hung to the next tree, without form of trial;--and improved the
internal communications by the formation of an excellent road through
the forests, from the Turkish frontier at Nissa to Belgrade. In his
political relations with Russia and the Porte, he steered a middle
course with consummate dexterity, constantly maintaining a good
understanding with the cabinet of St Petersburg; while, in 1830, he
succeeded in obtaining from the Sultan a firman, by which the dignity of
prince was declared hereditary in his family; and it was further
provided, that such Turks as still