successful. The Sultan, after vainly sacrificing his chief councillors
to the fury of the mob, was himself dethroned by Halil, and Mahmud I.
appointed Sultan in his stead. For the next six weeks the
ex-costermonger held the destiny of the Ottoman Empire in his hands
till, on November 25th, he and his chief associates were treacherously
assassinated in full Divan by the secret command, and actually in the
presence of, the very monarch whom he had drawn from obscurity to set
upon the throne.

This dramatic event is the historical basis of Jókai's famous story, "A
Fehér Rózsa," now translated into English for the first time. No doubt
the genial Hungarian romancer has idealised the rough, outspoken,
masterful rebel-chief, Halil Patrona, into a great patriot-statesman, a
martyr for justice and honour; yet, on the other hand, he has certainly
preserved the salient features of Halil's character and, so far as I am
competent to verify his authorities, has not been untrue to history
though, as I opine, depending too much on the now somewhat obsolete
narrative of Hammer-Purgstall ("Geschichte des osmanischen Reichs").
Almost incredible as they seem to us sober Westerns, such incidents as
the tame surrender of Achmed III., the elevation of the lowliest
demagogues to the highest positions in the realm, and the curious and
characteristically oriental episode of the tulip-pots, are absolute
facts. Naturally Jókai's splendid fancy has gorgeously embellished the
plain narrative of the Turkish chroniclers. Such a subject as Halil's
strange career must irresistibly have appealed to an author who is
nothing if not vivid and romantic, and ever delights in startling
contrasts. On the other hand, the unique episode of Gül-Bejáze, "The
White Rose," and her terrible experiences in the Seraglio are largely,
if not entirely, of Jókai's own invention, and worthy, as told by him,
of a place in The Thousand and One Nights.