Ibrahim of Berat. The latter, abandoned by his brave defenders, and
finding himself at the mercy of his enemy, was compelled to submit to
what he could not prevent, and protested only by tears against these
crimes, which seemed to herald a terrible future for himself.

As for Emineh, it is said that from the date of this catastrophe she
separated herself almost entirely from her blood-stained husband, and
spent her life in the recesses of the harem, praying as a Christian both
for the murderer and his victims. It is a relief, in the midst of this
atrocious saturnalia to encounter this noble and gentle character,
which like a desert oasis, affords a rest to eyes wearied with the
contemplation of so much wickedness and treachery.

Ali lost in her the guardian angel who alone could in any way restrain
his violent passions. Grieved at first by the withdrawal of the wife
whom hitherto he had loved exclusively, he endeavoured in vain to
regain her affection; and then sought in new vices compensation for
the happiness he had lost, and gave himself up to sensuality. Ardent in
everything, he carried debauchery to a monstrous extent, and as if
his palaces were not large enough for his desires, he assumed various
disguises; sometimes in order to traverse the streets by night in search
of the lowest pleasures; sometimes penetrating by day into churches and
private houses seeking for young men and maidens remarkable for their
beauty, who were then carried off to his harem.

His sons, following in his footsteps, kept also scandalous households,
and seemed to dispute preeminence in evil with their father, each in his
own manner. Drunkenness was the specialty of the eldest, Mouktar,
who was without rival among the hard drinkers of Albania, and who
was reputed to have emptied a whole wine-skin in one evening after a