They have done no harm, or, at most, one of their number has tried to escape, for which they are not to be blamed.

I always have them shot, whether that is the mode of execution ordered or not.

It is a soldier's death, and the one I should choose myself, and so that they are dead it can matter little to the sultan how they die.

If they were all shot, as soon as they were taken, I should not think so much of it; but after being held captive for years, and compelled to work, it seems to me that their lives should be spared.

As far as giving up my own life is concerned, I would willingly do it at the orders of the sultan, but these executions make me ill.