bines, break their fpears, and hack each other with their fabres, for they rarely have any cannon; and when they have they are but of little fervice. A panic frequently diffuses itself without caufe; one party flies, the other pursues, and fhouts victory; the vanquished fubmit to the will of the conqueror, and the campaign often terminates without a

battle.

Such, in a great measure, were the military operations in Syria, in 1771. The combined army of Ali Bey and Daher marched to Damafcus. The pachas waited for them; they approached, and, on the 6th of June, a decifive action took place: the Mamlouks and Safadians rufhed with fo much fury on the Turks, that, terrified at the carnage, they immediately took to flight, and the pachas were not the lait in endeavouring to make their efcape. The allies became mafters of the country, and took poffeffion of the city without oppofition, there being neither walls nor foldiers to defend it. The caftle alone refitted. Its ruined fortifications had not a fingle cannon, much lefs gunners; but it was furrounded by a muddy ditch, and behind the ruins were pofted a few mufqueteers, and thefe alone were fufficient to check this army of cavalry. As the befieged, however, were already conquered by their fears, they capitulated the third day, and the place was to be furrendered the next morning, when at day-break a moft extraordinary revolution took place.

At the moment that the fignal of furrender was expected, Mohammad fuddenly commanded a retreat,

and all his cavalry turned towards Egypt. In vain did the aftonished Ali-Daher and Nafif fly to demand the caufe of fo ftrange a measure: the Mamlouk made no other reply to their reiterated questions, than a haughty menace; and the whole army decamped in confufion. Nor was this merely a retreat, but a pofitive flight; they feemed as if hotly pursued by a victoricus enemy; the road from Damafcus to Cairo was covered with men on foot, fcattered horfeinen, and ftores and baggage they had abandoned. This fingular occurrence was attributed, at the time, to a pretended report of the death of Ali Bey; but the real folution of the enigma was a fecret conference which paffed at night in the tent of Mohammad Bey. Ofman, finding himself too weak to oppose these combined forces, had recourfe to artifice. He contrived to introduce to the Egyptian general a crafty agent, who, under pretence of propofing terms of peace, endeavoured to diffeminate difcord and revolt. He infinuated to Mohammad that the part he was acting was equally ill befitting his honour, and contrary to his intereft; that he was deceived in imagining the fultan would leave unpunished the offences of Ali Bey; that it was a facrilege to violate fo holy a city as Damafcus, one of the two gates of the Caaba*; that he was aftonifhed that Mohammad fhould prefer the favour of a flave of the fultan, to that of the fultan himself, and that he fhould fet up a fecond mafter between him and his fovereign; befides, that it was evident this mafter,

by

after his arrival there, he had another narrow efcape. Ayoub Bey, an officer of Ali's, feigning great deteftation of the injuftice of his mafter, received Mohammad with transport, and fwore upon his fabre and the Koran, to thare his fortune; but, a few days after, letters were intercepted from this fame Ayoub, to Ali, in which he promifed him, without delay, the head of his enemy. Mohammad, having difcovered the plot, feized the traitor; and, after cutting off his hands and tongue, fent him to Cairo to receive the recompenfe of his patron.

The Mamlouks, however, wearied, with the infolence of Ali Bey, repaired in crowds to his rival, and, in about fix weeks, Mohammad faw himself fufficiently ftrong to leave the Said, and marched towards Cairo. Ali Bey, on his fide, fent his troops against him; but feveral of them likewife deferted to the enemy at length, in the month of April 1772, the armies had a rencounter in the plain of El-Mafateb, at the gates of Cairo, the iffue of which was, that Mohammad and his party entered the city, fabre in hand Ali Bey, having barely time to make his efcape with eight hundred of his Mamlouks, repaired to Gaza, for the first time in his life, and endeavoured to get to Acre, to join his ally, Daher; but the inhabitants of Nablous and Yafa cut off his retreat; and Daher himfelf was obliged to open him a paffage. The Arab received him with that fimplicity and frankness which in all ages have characterized that people, and conducted him to Acre. It was neceflary to fuccour Said (Sidon), then besieged by the troops of Ofman, in conjunction with the Druzes. He accordingly marched

to that place, accompanied by AM. Their combined troops formed a body of about feven thousand cavalry, and, at their approach, the Turks raised the fiege, and retired to a place a league to the northward of the city, on the river Aoula. There, in July 1772, the most confiderable and moit methodical engagement of the whole war took place. The Turkish army, three times more numerous than that of the two allies, was entirely defeated. The feven pachas who commanded it took to flight, and Said remained in the poffeffion of Daher, and his governor Degnizla.

Ali Bey and Daher, on their return to Acre, proceeded to chaftife the inhabitants of Yafa, who had revolted that they might convert to their use, the ammunition and clothing left there by one of Ali's fleets, before he was expelled from Cairo. The city, which was held by a fhaik of Nablous, shut its gates, and refolved to stand the fiege. This commenced in July, and lafted eight months, though Yafa had no other rampart than a mere garden-wall, without a ditch; but in Syria and Egypt they know fill lefs of carrying on a fiege than of engagements in the field; at length, however, the befieged capitulated in February 1773.

Ali, now feeling himself difengaged, thought of nothing but his return to Cairo. Daher offered to furnish him with fuccours; and the Ruffians, with whom Ali had contracted an alliance, while treating of the affair of the privateer, promifed to fecond him: time however was neceflary for collecting thefe fcattered aids, and Ali became impatient. The promises of Rezk, his kiaya and his oracle, rendered

him ftill more defirous to be gone. This Copt never ceased affuring him that the hour of his return was come; that the afpects of the ftars were most propitious; and that the downfall of Mohammad was now moft certain. Ali, who, like all the Turks, believed firmly in aftrology, and who put the greater faith in Rezk, because he believed his predictions had been often verified, could no longer endure delay; and the news he received from Cairo completed his impatience.

In the beginning of April, letters were fent him by his friends, in which they informed him that the people were tired of his ungrateful flave, and that nothing but his prefence was wanting to expel him. He determined, therefore, to fet out immediately, and, without giving the Ruffians time to arrive, departed with his Mamlouks, and fifteen hundred Safadians, commanded by Ofman, the son of Daher; but he was ignorant that the letters from Cairo were a ftratagem of Mohammad's, and that this bey had extorted them by force, in order to deceive and lead him into the fnare he was preparing. In fact, no fooner had Ali advanced into the defert which feparates Gaza from Egypt, than he fell in, near Salakia, with a chofen body of a thoufand Mamlouks, who were lying in ambush, waiting his arrival. This corps was commanded by the young bey, Mourad, who, being enamoured of the wife of Ali Bey, had obtained a promise of her from Moham, mad, in cafe he could bring him the head of that illuftrious unfortunate. Scarcely did Mourad perceive the duft which announced the approach of his enemies, before he

rushed upon them with his Mamlouks, and threw them into confufion. To crown his good fortune, he met with Ali in the crowd, attacked, and wounded him in the forehead with a fabre, made him prifoner, and conducted him to Mohammad. The latter, who was encamped two leagues in the rear, received his former mafter with all that exaggerated refpect which is fo customary with the Turks, and that fenfibility which perfidy knows fo well how to feign. He provided a magnificent tent for him, ordered him to be taken the greatest care of, ftiled himself a thousand times," his "flave, who licked the duft of his "feet;" but the third day, this pa rade of politenefs terminated by the death of Ali Bey, who died, according to fome, of his wounds; or, as others report, by poifon : the probability of both these accounts is fo equal, that it is impoffible to decide between them.

Thus terminated the enterprizes of this celebrated man, who for fome time engaged the attention of Europe, and afforded many politicians hopes of a great revolution, That he was an extraordinary cha racter, cannot be denied; but it is exaggeration to place him in the clafs of great men: the accounts given of him by witneffes highly worthy credit, prove that though he poffeffed the feeds of great qualities, the want of culture prevented them from coming to maturity. Let us pafs over his credulity in aftro. logy, which more frequently influenced his conduct than more fubftantial motives; let us not mention his treacheries, his perjuries, the murders even of his benefactors, by which he acquired, or