at, begged forgiveness for his wicked plans, pretended deep
repentance, and spoke of his brother-in-law in terms of the warmest
affection. His acting was so consummate that even Chainitza, who well
knew her brother's subtle character, was deceived by it. When he saw
that she was his dupe, knowing that he had nothing more either to fear
or to hope for from that side, he directed his attention to another.

The pacha had a brother named Soliman, whose character nearly resembled
that of Tepeleni. The latter, after having for some time quietly studied
him, thought he discerned in him the man he wanted; he tempted him to
kill the pacha, offering him, as the price of this crime, his whole
inheritance and the hand of Chainitza, only reserving for himself the
long coveted sanjak. Soliman accepted the proposals, and the fratricidal
bargain was concluded. The two conspirators, sole masters of the secret,
the horrible nature of which guaranteed their mutual fidelity, and
having free access to the person of their victim, could not fail in
their object.

One day, when they were both received by the pacha in private audience,
Soliman, taking advantage of a moment when he was unobserved, drew a
pistol from his belt and blew out his brother's brains. Chainitza ran
at the sound, and saw her husband lying dead between her brother and her
brother-in-law. Her cries for help were stopped by threats of death
if she moved or uttered a sound. As she lay, fainting with grief and
terror, Ali made a sign to Soliman, who covered her with his cloak,
and declared her his wife. Ali pronounced the marriage concluded, and
retired for it to be consummated. Thus was celebrated this frightful
wedding, in the scene of an awful crime, beside the corpse of a man who
a moment before had been the husband of the bride and the brother of the
bridegroom.

The assassins published the death of the pacha, attributing it, as
is usual in Turkey, to a fit of cerebral apoplexy. But the truth soon
leaked out from the lying shrouds in which it had been wrapped. Reports
even exceeded the truth, and public opinion implicated Chainitza in
a crime of which she had been but the witness. Appearances certainly
justified these suspicions. The young wife had soon consoled herself in
the arms of her second husband for the loss of the first, and her son by
him presently died suddenly, thus leaving Soliman in lawful and peaceful
possession of all his brother's wealth. As for the lit