the boyardesses, in jewellery, dress, and other luxuries.[160] It
is said that one of the princesses, being offended with a lady of rank
for excelling her in the ostentatious richness of her dress and personal
adornments, caused her to be exiled; and that when she had secured a
sufficiently large sum to purchase a more magnificent apparel than her
rival, she allowed her to return to court, in order that she might enjoy
her humiliation. The complaints of the oppressed peasantry were at best
unheeded, and when these were driven to desperation and ventured to
appeal in person to the prince, a number of them were seized and cast
into prison, 'pour encourager les autres.' The result was that many
turned brigands, and united to form bands; but even these, it is said,
ministered to the rapacity of some of the Phanariote rulers. The prince
secretly encouraged or winked at their misdeeds, until he thought they
had amassed a considerable treasure by free-booting. Then, making a raid
upon them with a strong military force, he deprived them of their
plunder and decapitated or imprisoned them. The greater number were sent
to work in the salt-mines, where (as already stated elsewhere) they
usually died after the expiration of about four years.

This system of extortion and tyranny usually continued until the Porte
could no longer refuse to listen to the call for redress, and in such
cases intriguers for the succession were only too ready to take up the
cry, and even to exaggerate the crimes of the reigning prince. The
result was that one by one they were deposed, and often recalled to
Constantinople, only to be disgraced, exiled, or executed. According to
the historical records, there were eleven distinct hospodars in each
principality between 1716 and 1768; in Wallachia the government was
changed twenty-one, and in Moldavia seventeen times. In one year (1731)
Constantine Mavrocordato ruled twice, and Michael Racovica once; the
former is noted as having reigned six times; the latter was re-elected
in 1741, and was eventually exiled to Mitylene. Charles Ghika (1758) was
exiled to Cyprus; Stephen Racovica (1765) was strangled by order of the
Porte; and so on.

But although the rulers were changed so frequently, the system not only
continued, but became more and more demoralising to the whole nation.
For a time the clergy were content to bleed without drawing blood in
their turn, but at length they, too, began to extort money from rich