Litchfield enquirer., 1871-07-06
WHOLE tNo94o6
[3FEirom The Ievshs Hesaia.i
A STRANGE sIAvE.rRaDfNdsr dsro1

A STRANGE sIiAvE.TRADfNdlsToRY. Y Some thirteen years ago { cfSsk in Con- stantinople saw reasons for bs6oming . Mussnlnaans sand took thaname of MehemoG Shortly afterward he brought Co his fathers four years of age,S called Aslil 1relok, whom. he said, he had received fromoaz Turkiak lady in satisfaction of Q debt duo to him. The renegade's s sister, Q Chfistiah of the Greek rite, grew to love the 6nild, and brought her up in the preeapts of the Chris. tian religion. m, -s, .-... .1.--.,,p
 So matters went on quietly in this hum. ble household until about two nSears aeo. when Mehemet, who had marfieaA Turkiah woman, and taken to the trade of a dealer in female slaves-which he still carries on. and, thanks to his wife's conn9ction with the hafems of Stamb6uB finds pEeftable- presented himself at his fathers place and claimed the young. Circassiah girl, Asli Melek. His sister Roxandra refused to give up the child, but yielding at tIength Co Mehemet's persistent ademanda aud men aces, the father consented to- hand her over to him. Roxandra, however, apprehengivo of the results, kept watch over her brothers movements and those of the child.
 } E She at last succeeded in gettinaa stolen interview with her, and learning that she was suffering and unhappy. Ccntsived Co get her out of Mehemet'B house and take her to Syria. b There oAslis Mslelzs formally embraced Christianity. and yass baptized in the Greek Church under the name of Angelica. Eight months afterwards ROx- andra returned with her adopted charge to Constantinople, where they remained un. molested for about a year. In the mean. time Mehemet determined not Go be foiled, and beset the Turkish authorities with inn portuDities and false representations. He declared his brother, Miltiades, having fal. len in love with Angelica, and desiIing Co marry her, had coerced her against her will. in concert with the rest of bis family, to abandon the Mnssalman faithsgi which, as Circassian, she vas born, and profess the Christian, religion. The Mussulman authorities at length gave earl to these statements, and adetermineda;t ;tO take pro- ceedings against the Christian members of Mehemet's family for the purpose of trans ferring the girl to the charge 6f Mehemet himself. U Accordingly, ,eon the ,2lst of Jan uary last, the younger brother, Miltiades, was arrested by the Turkish police. An. gelica, warned ir time, sought and found refuge in the Russian embassyGo
 The police hunted in vain for raher, but, in addition to Miltiades, arreated Mehem. cts old father, aged seventy years, Roxan. dra and her younger sister Aeiste, who were all incarcerated in the Zaptieh. The houses of all relatives and friends of the quiet Greek family were searched, and in some instances, it is stated, in very bru- tai manner. The houses of other respeCta. ble, people were also entered, and in ono of them g youD g lady, who was seriously III. was so alarmed by the threats of the police that she died in a few days after thsir visit. At this stage of the proceedings General Ignatieff, the Russian ambassador, took up the matter with his usual energy.
 On his represent tations, all the persons 90 unceremoniously arrested by the Turkish police, were set free and restored to their homes. His excellency, moreover, insisted upon definitive and legal solution being given to the religious status of the young Circassian., The result has been that, in conformity with the procedure established by law and conformed by custom, Angelica appeared twice before the Ottoman author. ities. and declared each time her firm roso- lution to remain in the Christian faith which she had formally embraced. A few days later, Angelica, accompanied by her faithful friend, Roxandra, left Constantino- pie for Greece, where it is to be hoped she will not fall into the hands of the bfigAnds, or that. if she does, Gen. Ignatief, who seems inclined to stand no nonsense, will again interfere for her protection.