ortant a
government as that of Thessaly. However, he dissembled so skilfully that
everyone was deceived by his apparent resignation, and applauded his
magnanimity, when he provided his sister with a brilliant escort to
conduct her to the capital of the province of which he had just been
deprived in favour of his nephew. He sent letters of congratulation
to the latter as well as magnificent presents, among them a splendid
pelisse of black fox, which had cost more than a hundred thousand francs
of Western money. He requested Elmas Bey to honour him by wearing this
robe on the day when the sultan's envoy should present him with the
firman of investiture, and Chainitza herself was charged to deliver both
gifts and messages.

Chainitza arrived safely at Trikala, and faithfully delivered the
messages with which she had been entrusted. When the ceremony she
so ardently desired took place, she herself took charge of all the
arrangements. Elmas, wearing the black fox pelisse, was proclaimed, and
acknowledged as Governor of Thessaly in her presence. "My son is pacha!"
she cried in the delirium of joy. "My son is pacha! and my nephews will
die of envy!" But her triumph was not to be of long duration. A few days
after his installation, Elmas began to feel strangely languid. Continual
lethargy, convulsive sneezing, feverish eyes, soon betokened a serious
illness. Ali's gift had accomplished its purpose. The pelisse, carefully
impregnated with smallpox germs taken from a young girl suffering from
this malady, had conveyed the dreaded disease to the new pacha, who, not
having been inoculated, died in a few days.

The grief of Chainitza at her son's death displayed itself in sobs,
threats, and curses, but, not knowing whom to blame for her misfortune,
she hastened to leave the scene of it, and returned to Janina, to mingle
her tears with those of her brother. She found Ali apparently in such
depths of grief, that instead of suspecting, she was actually tempted to
pity him, and this seeming sympathy soothed her distress, aided by
the caresses of her second son, Aden Bey. Ali, thoughtful of his own
interests, took care to send one of his own officers to Trikala, to
administer justice in the place of his deceased nephew, and the Porte,
seeing that all attempts against him only caused misfortune, consented
to his resuming the government of Thessaly.

This climax roused the suspicions of many persons. But the public voice,
already discus