From Alan Furst's Blood of Victory

"Well, it took Serebin's mind off what he had to do. And the stories were good, Gulian a sort of writer manque, delighted by excess and eccentricity. 'When the Turkish vizier Kara Mustapha was defeated at Vienna,' he said, over a forkful of risotto, 'he could not bear to leave behind his most beloved treasures, especially the two most beautiful beings in his world. So, with tears of sorrow and regret, he had them beheaded, to make sure that the infidels would never possess them: the loveliest of all his wives, and an ostrich.'

After the dessert was taken away, Gulian called for brandy. 'To success, gentlemen. And, when all is said and done, death to tyrants.'"