Think of your peril, when Kavgadi has informed Usbeck that you have dared to resist his authority." Terrified by these words, the nobles of Michel entreated him not to place himself in the power of the khan, but to allow some one of them to visit the _horde_, as it was then called, in his stead, and endeavor to appease the wrath of the monarch.
"No," replied the high-minded prince; "Usbeck demands my presence not yours.

Far be it from me, by my disobedience, to expose my country to ruin.

If I resist the commands of the khan, my country will be doomed to new woes; thousands of Christians will perish, the victims of his fury.

It is impossible for us to repel the forces of the Tartars.

What other asylum is there then for me but death?
Is it not better for me to die, if I may thus save the lives of my faithful subjects ?" He made his will, divided his estates among his sons, and entreating them ever to be faithful to the dictates of virtue, bade them an eternal adieu.