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viz. A connection of sacred and profane history during the whole of the Scripture period. The excellent performance of Dr. Prideaux is mentioned with respect: but it is truly observed that it begins too late and ends too soon, to be completely satisfactory; no doubt it will admit of considerable improvements; it is to be the basis of the present work,-together also, we conclude, with Shuckford, who begins his history from the Creation, but (as is here added) did not unite it with that of Prideaux.On the whole' says this editor,' we presume to think, that after the explanation of Scripture words and phrases given in the Dic tionary; of Scripture customs and manners given in the Fragments; and of Scripture events and their connections given in the History; a considerable progress will be made toward that elucidation of Scripture, which we have had at heart above these twenty-two years. We have advanced our labours thus far under the protection of Providence, and to that same protec tion we commit the disposal of their remainder.'

Here for the present we must finish our account of this publication but not without expressing our hope that it will not be long before we are able to return to a farther view of these interesting inquiries. Some additional numbers have lately reached us.

ART. XV. Memoir of a Campaign with the Ottoman Army in Egypt, from February to July 1800: Containing a Description of the Turkish Army-the Journal of its March from Syria to Egyptand on the Treaty of El-Arish, with an Account of the Events which followed it. By Mr. J. P. Morier, Private Secretary to his Excellency the Earl of Elgin. 8vo. 4s. stitched. Debrett. 1801.

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WE E believe that it is the general opinion throughout Europe, that the French would ultimately have retained their conquest of Egypt, if they had not been opposed by British troops. If any doubt, however, remains on this subject, it must be completely dissipated by the perusal of the pamphlet before us; whence it is evident that the Ottoman army under the Grand Vizier was by no adequate to cope with the French veterans. What a wretched picture does this army, make in the memoir of Mr. Morier! who has, no doubt, delineated it with accuracy, having witnessed its confusion and insubordination, when sent by Lord Elgin from Constantinople to join the Grand Vizier at ElArish, and to accompany the Turkish expedition in its morch to Egypt. The fruit of his observations is here amusingly detailed. He gives a description of the Turkish army, including the different troops of which it is composed, (viz.

Janissaries,

Janisšāries, Arnauts, Lesghis, and Volunteers, or religious enthusiasts, who follow the standard of Mahomet,) its discipline, or rather want of it-the manner of encamping-its march and the difficulty of ascertaining its real number. He thus describes the camp as it first presented itself to his view:

The view of the camp the morning after my arrival at El-Arish, was to me a very singular sight, as I believe it was original in its kind. The ground upon which it stood was irregular, and a perfect desert of white sand, with no other signs of vegetation than a few date trees, which stood in a cluster at a small distance. The tents, which are of different colours and shapes, were irregularly strewed over a space of ground several miles in circuit, and every thing that moved was conspicuous to the eye, from the white ground of the landscape. The whole resembled a large fair; a number of the soldiers who serve without pay carry on a traffic by which they subsist; there are, besides, tradesmen of all descriptions who follow the camp: some keep coffee-houses, which are distinguished by a red flag; others are horse-dealers; and a number of public cryers are constantly employed in describing to the multitude things lost, or selling divers articles at auction. This scene of confusion is certainly more easily. conceived than told; but a very ingenious definition of it was given by a Turk, who was asked to describe their manner of encampment. Thus," said he, pulling from his pocket a handful of paras, and throwing them carelessly on the table.

To this state of disorder they join a stupid sense of security, which may at all times expose a very large force to be destroyed by an inferior. None of the precautions that are thought necessary to prevent surprise in armies much better able to withstand a sudden attack, are even thought of in a Turkish army. The moment at which I landed at El-Arish presented me with a most remarkable instance of this state of insecurity. It was late at night; I walked through the midst of the camp without being once challenged; indeed, I do not remember meeting with a human creature: the only signs that indicated the abode of man were the tents, and about them horses, camels, and asses feeding. The stillness which reigned remindeď me of the wandering but peaceful lives of our forefathers, rather than of the army of a despot moving to conquest. I might have been a spy, or an incendiary; and I should have escaped with impunity.'

Mr. Morier is of opinion that discipline would make the Turkish troops formidable: but in their present state they must be considered as a disgrace to the name of soldier, and even to human nature. Their manner of living is as simple as their conduct is irregular:

A loaf of bread, with an onion, is what many of them have always lived upon; rice is a luxury, and meat a dainty to them. With this abstemious diet they are strangers to many of our diseases, and the hardships of a camp life are habitual to them: because, from

* A small silver coin.'

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their infancy, they have slept upon the ground and in the open air. Discipline would certainly make men who are possessed of such natural advantages very formidable; whereas, from a want of it, they are despicable enemies. With disciplined troops there exists a point of union, which, in time of danger, inspires confidence; but every individual Turkish soldier imagines himself opposed singly to the enemy's army; he feels the impossibility of resisting it, and thinks it but reasonable that he should retire. Instead of that amor patria, that point of honour, that attachment to a chief which often stimulates European armies to perform the greatest feats of valour, a principle of self-interest seems to pervade all ranks; and this is carried so far, that I have seen the heads of their own companions displayed before the Vizier at the battle of Heliopolis, merely to receive the reward attached to every man who brings the head of an enemy.

A Turkish army may well be compared to an armed rabble; with this difference, that instead of being a lawless mob, led away by the impetuosity of passion, or by the impulse of the moment, the power of a chief may keep up a certain degree of subordination, which, however, goes only as far as he is possessed of more or less energy of character, and often will not prevent disorders, such as the plundering of villages, and quarrels between whole corps of the same army. Among many instances of the spirit of insubordination common to Turkish troops, I had an opportunity of being witness to a scene, when encamped at Catieh, which amused me much. The Albanian troops, to the number of 7000, were encamped near the Grand Vizier; soon after dark they became merry, and, as their only demonstrations of mirth consist in shouting and firing off their muskets with ball, they very soon became troublesome. The Grand Vizier sent an officer to them with orders to desist; but no sooner had those orders reached them, than it was a signal for increasing their fire, which now resembled the file firing of a regiment on field days. The practice of firing with ball for amusement is so common in a Turkish camp, that one is in continual danger of being shot: my tent was pierced in many places; and I once discovered a fellow deliberately levelling his musket at my hat, just time enough to get out of his way.

The account of their march corresponds with the above representation:

⚫ There is no point of view in which a Turkish army appears to greater disadvantage than when on its march, because it there discloses its weakness in every way. A cryer proclaims over-night the hour of marching next morning. The baggage, camp equipage, &c. move off first, without any guard for protection; every man marches as slow, or as fast, as he pleases. Infantry, cavalry, artillery, all move and mix, forming, one immense crowd, which resembles a colony emigrating; and the great number of stragglers who infest the road des for the purpose of plunder, makes it very dangerous to leave the crowd.'

In his journal of the march through the desart, Mr. M. notices the mirage, which is a most tantalizing phænomenon,

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where water is very scarce or very bad. In his observations on the Arabs, he remarks that 'their prominent trait is being false; and that this general principle may be laid down-that very harsh treatment will procure respect, when the least indulgence will have a contrary effect.'

In a note subjoined to the observations on the Arabs, a very heavy charge is brought against Bonaparte; viz. that of ordering, near Jaffa, four thousand five hundred men to be put to death in cold blood, after they had surrendered themselves prisoners of war, because in this number were found one thousand men who had capitulated at El-Arish, and had broken their engagement by having again taken arms. To this charge is added another, equally reflecting on the Chief Consul's character; viz. that when the siege of Acre was raised, and the French army began its march for Egypt, all their wounded and sick were poisoned by order of the General. As Bonaparte's splendid fortune must excite many champions to vindicate his fame, we take it for granted that these accusations will not be passed over in silence. Such reports 'may have been propagated as facts in Syria: sed audi alteram partem.

The condition of the Turkish army, according to the picture here drawn of it, seems to have fully justified Sir Sidney Smith in effecting the treaty of El-Arish; to which, it is suggested, Kleber would not have acceded but from principles of hatred to Bonaparte. It is intimated that, while he was ignorant of the revolution which placed the latter at the head of the Government of France, Kleber was sincere in his intention of evacuating Egypt: but that, as soon as he was made acquainted with this great event, he disclosed a wish to violate his engagement, and was happy in having a pretext for releasing himself from it. The consequences proved the inability of the Grand Vizier's army to meet the French in sturdy combat; and how necessary it was, since the treaty of El-Arish had not been carried into effect, to send a British force to the banks of the Nile. Though this expedition has terminated gloriously for the English arms, we cannot help lamenting that any reasonable ground was furnished by a British Officer to the French General, for the renewal of hostilities. Whether Kleber was sincere or insincere, the letter of Lord Keith forced him to re-assume a hostile attitude, and must therefore be considered as having been penned in an evil hour. The brilliancy of subsequent victories must not prevent our regretting the blood and treasure which might have been saved, had not the preaty of El-Arish been set aside.

MONTHLY

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MONTHLY CATALOGUE,

For NOVEMBER, 1801.

THE PEACE.

Art. 16. The Speech of the Honourable Charles James Fox, on the happy Restoration of Peace with France, with the other Proceedings at the Shakspeare Taverns on the 10th of October 1801, being the Anniversary of his First Election for the City of Westminster. Evo. 1s. Jordan.

T

HIS speech, which has been given in all the public prints, is a specimen of that clear and manly eloquence which distinguishes the great orator from whom it proceeded. Having been from the beginning a decided enemy to the war, he thinks that any terms of pacification were preferable to its continuance. He declares his satisfaction in the Peace being glorious to the French Republic; and, conceiving the object of the war on our part to be iniquitous, (viz. to force monarchy on France) he rejoices that it has not been gained. Art. 17. Reflections on the Preliminaries of Peace, between Great Britain and the French Republic. By Benjamin Flower. 12mo. 4d. Crosby and Co.

These reflections first appeared in the Cambridge Intelligencer, of which Mr. Flower is the printer and proprietor; and they are said to be separately published in consequence of the general notice which they excited. Most sincerely does Mr. Flower rejoice at the Peace; and with Mr. Fox he hails it the more cordially because none of the professed objects of the war are gained by it. He cannot, however, suffer the authors and abettors of what he terms an unjust, unnecessary, and inglorious war, nor even the makers of the Peace, to escape without animadversion, and without being reminded of their former language in Parliament. This may be all very fair: but inconsistency is preferable to obstinacy in error; and it is better that Statesmen should sometimes eat their own words than starve their country.

Mr. F. undertakes distinctly to state what Great Britain and France have gained by the War-and by the Peace: but in the former enumeration he has omitted our conquest of Trinidad, and the immense territory of Mysore, in the East Indies; and in the latter he has not counted our having secured the Peace of Ireland, and the certain consolidation of the empire. He considers the terms of the treaty as of secondary moment. It establishes, he thinks, the great principle of liberty; and he wishes that the Peace may be eternal. Art. 18. A short View of the Preliminaries of Peace; signed at London, October 1,1801. 8vo. 18. (d. Hatchard. This sensible writer divides his subject into two parts: in the first of which he inquires, Whether the situation of the country made Peace desirable? and secondly, Whether the conditions on which it has been obtained are such as that situation demanded? He deeides both these questions in the affirmative; and his view of the

Peace

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