Heg. 1125.

J.C.1713 grand feignior. Whilft they were making this propofal, the king read the letters which were brought from Conftantinople, and which Fabricius, who could no longer attend him in perfon, had sent him privately by a janiffary. These letters were from count Poniatowski, who could neither serve him at Bender nor Adrianople, having been detained at Conftantinople by order of the Porte, ever fince the time of his making the imprudent demand of a thousand purfes. He told the king, that the fultan's orders to feize or maffacre his royal perfon in cafe of refiftance were but too true; that indeed the fultan was impofed upon by his ministers, but the more he was imposed upon, he would, for that very reason, be the more faithfully obeyed; that he must submit to the times, and yield to neceffity; that he took the liberty to advise him to try every expedient with the minifters by way of negotiations; not to be inflexible in a matter which required the gentlest management, and to expect from time and good policy a cure of that evil which, by rash and violent measures, would be only rendered incurable.

But neither the propofal of the old janiffaries, nor Poniatowski's letters, could convince the king that it was confiftent with his honor to yield. He rather chose to perish by the hands of the Turks than in any refpect to be made a prisoner. He difmiffed the janiffaries without condescending to fee them, and fent them word, that, if they

Heg.1125.

did not immediately depart, he would have their J.C. 1713. beards fhaved for them: an affront, which, in the castern countries, is confidered as the most intolerable of all.

The old men, filled with the highest ́indignation, returned home, crying out as they went : "Ah, this head of iron, fince he will perish, let " him perish." They gave the bashaw an account of their proceedings, and informed their comrades at Bender of the strange reception they had met with; upon which they all swore to obey the bafhaw's orders without delay, and were as impatient to go to the affault, as they had been averse from it the day before.

himself

grooms

thoufand

men.

The word of command was immediately He defends given. The Turks marched up to the forti- with his fications: the Tartars were already waiting for against tea them, and the cannon began to play. The janiffaries on the one fide, and the Tartars on the other, inftantly forced the little camp. Hardly had twenty Swedes time to draw their fwords, when the whole three hundred were furrounded and taken prifoners without refiftance. The king was then on horfeback, between his houfe and his camp, with generals Hord, Dardoff, and Sparre; and feeing that all his foldiers had fuffered themselves to be taken prifoners before his eyes, he said, with great compofure, to these three officers: "Come, let us go and defend the house; we will fight," adds he with a fimile, " pro aris " et focis." Accordingly, accompanied by these

three

J.C. 1713 three generals, he gallopped up to the house, in Heg. 1125. which he had placed about forty fervants as fentinels, and which he had fortified in the best manner he could.

The generals, accustomed as they were to the dauntless intrepidity of their mafter, could not help being furprised to fee him refolve, in cold blood, and even with an air of pleasantry, to defend himself against ten pieces of cannon, and a whole army; nevertheless, they followed him, with some guards and fervants, making in all about twenty persons.

'When they came to the door, they found it beset by the janiffaries. Befides, two hundred Turks and Tartars had already entered by a window, and made themselves mafters of all the apartments, except a large hall where the king's fervants had retired. Happily, this hall was near the door at which the king designed to enter with his little troop of twenty persons. He threw himfelf off his horfe with piftol and fword in his hand, and his followers did the fame. The janiffaries fell upon him on all fides. They were animated with the promise which the bashaw had made of eight ducats of gold to every man who fhould only touch his clothes in cafe they could take him. He wounded and killed all those who came near him. A janiffary, whom he had wounded, clapped his blunderbufs to his face, and had not the Turk's arm been joftled, owing to the crowd that moved backwards and forwards

1

Heg.1125.

like waves, the king would certainly have been J.C. 1713. killed. The ball grazed upon his nofe, and carried off part of his ear, and then broke the arm of general Hord, whose conftant fate it was to be wounded by his master's fide. The king plunged his fword into the janiffary's breast. At the fame time his fervants, who were shut up in the great hall, opened the door to him. The king, with his little troop, fprang in like an arrow. They inftantly fhut the door, and barricaded it with whatever they could find.

Thus

was Charles XII. fhut up in this hall with all his attendants, confifting of about fixty men, officers, guards, fecretaries, valets de chambre, and fervants of every kind.

The janiffaries and Tartars pillaged the rest of the house, and filled the apartments. "Come," fays the king, let us go and drive out these "barbarians;" and putting himself at the head of his men, he, with his own hands, opened the door of the hall that led to his bed-chamber, rushed into the room, and fired upon the plunderers. The Turks, loaded with fpoil, and terrified at the fudden appearance of the king, whom they had always been accustomed to refpect, threw down their arms, leaped out at the window, or fled to the cellars. The king, taking advantage of their confufion, and his own men being animated with the fuccefs of this attempt, purfued the Turks from chamber to chamber; killed or wounded those that had not made their efcape;

VOL. IV.

Bb

and

Heg.1125.

J.C. 1713 and in a quarter of an hour cleared the house of the enemy.

In the heat of the fight, the king perceived two janiffaries who lay concealed under his bed; one of them he stabbed with his sword, the other afked pardon, by crying Amman. "I give thee thy life," said the king to him, "on this con"dition, that thou goeft and giveft the bashaw "a faithful account of what thou haft feen." The Turk readily promised to do as he was bidden, and was allowed to leap out at the window like the reft.

The Swedes, having at last made themselves masters of the house, again fhut and barricaded the windows. They were in no want of arms. A ground room full of muskets and powder had escaped the tumultuary fearch of the janiffaries. These they employed to good purpose. They fired through the windows almoft close upon the Turks, of whom, in less than ten minutes, they killed two hundred. The cannon ftill played upon the house; but the ftones being very soft, there were only fome holes made in the walls, and nothing was demolished.

The khan of the Tartars, and the bafhaw, who were defirous of taking the king alive, being ashamed to lofe fo many men, and to employ a whole army against fixty perfons, thought it moft advifeable to fet fire to the house, in order to oblige the king to furrender. They ordered fome arrows, twifted about with lighted matches,

to