But before he could succeed in this, it was necessary to dispose of the
pacha already in possession. Fortunately for Ali, the latter was a weak
and indolent man, quite incapable of struggling against so formidable
a rival; and his enemy speedily conceived and put into execution a plan
intended to bring about the fulfilment of his desires. He came to terms
with the same Armatolians whom he had formerly treated so harshly, and
let them loose, provided with arms and ammunition, on the country
which he wished to obtain. Soon the whole region echoed with stories of
devastation and pillage. The pacha, unable to repel the incursions of
these mountaineers, employed the few troops he had in oppressing the
inhabitants of the plains, who, groaning under both extortion and
rapine, vainly filled the air with their despairing cries. Ali hoped
that the Divan, which usually judged only after the event, seeing
that Epirus lay desolate, while Thessaly flourished under his own
administration, would, before long, entrust himself with the government
of both provinces, when a family incident occurred, which for a time
diverted the course of his political manoeuvres.

For a long time his mother Kamco had suffered from an internal cancer,
the result of a life of depravity. Feeling that her end drew near, she
despatched messenger after messenger, summoning her son to her bedside.
He started, but arrived too late, and found only his sister Chainitza
mourning over the body of their mother, who had expired in her arms an
hour previously. Breathing unutterable rage and pronouncing horrible
imprecations against Heaven, Kamco had commanded her children, under
pain of her dying curse, to carry out her last wishes faithfully. After
having long given way to their grief, Ali and Chainitza read together
the document which contained these commands. It ordained some special
assassinations, mentioned sundry villages which, some day, were to
be given to the flames, but ordered them most especially, as soon as