destitution and revolt were equally beyond their power to cope with; and
all that was left for tyranny to govern was a desert enclosed by a wall.

But, all the same, the wants of a magnificent sultan, descendant of the
Prophet and distributor of crowns, must be supplied; and to do this, the
Sublime Porte needed money. Unconsciously imitating the Roman Senate,
the Turkish Divan put up the empire for sale by public auction. All
employments were sold to the highest bidder; pachas, beys, cadis,
ministers of every rank, and clerks of every class had to buy their
posts from their sovereign and get the money back out of his subjects.
They spent their money in the capital, and recuperated themselves in the
provinces. And as there was no other law than their master's pleasure,
so there was no other guarantee than his caprice. They had therefore
to set quickly to work; the post might be lost before its cost had been
recovered. Thus all the science of administration resolved itself into
plundering as much and as quickly as possible. To this end, the delegate
of imperial power delegated in his turn, on similar conditions, other
agents to seize for him and for themselves all they could lay their
hands on; so that the inhabitants of the empire might be divided into
three classes--those who were striving to seize everything; those who
were trying to save a little; and those who, having nothing and hoping
for nothing, took no interest in affairs at all.

Albania was one of the most difficult provinces to manage. Its
inhabitants were poor and brave, and the nature of the country was
mountainous and inaccessible. The pachas had great difficulty in
collecting tribute, because the people were given to fighting for their
bread. Whether Mahomedans or Christians, the Albanians were above all
soldiers. Descended on the one side from the unconquerable Scythians,
on the other from the ancient Macedonians, not long since masters of the