It lives on his inheritance, improving his mulberry-trees and vineyards; in fome diftricts they grow tobacco, cotton, and fome grain, but the quantity of thefe is inconfiderable. It appears that, at first, all the lands were, as formerly in Europe, in the hands of a fmall number of fami lies. But to render them productive, is conducted on this principle. confifts in managing the court of Conftantinople, fo as to elude the tribute or the menaces of the fultan; and in purchafing a number of flaves, multiplying partifans, countermining plots, and deftroying their fecret enemies by the dagger, or by poifon. Ever tortured by the anxiety of fufpicion, the chiefs live like the ancient ty. rants of Syracufe. Morad and Ibrahim fleep continually in the midst of carbines and fabres, nor have they any idea of police or public order *. Their only employment is to procure money; and the method confidered as the moft fimple, is to feize it wherever it is to be found, to wreft it by violence from its poffeffor, and to impofe arbitrary contributions every moment on the villages and on the custom-houfe, which, in its turn, levies them again upon commerce. the great proprietors were forced to fell part of them, and let leafes, which fubdivifion is become the chief fource of the power of the ftate, by multiplying the number of perfons interefled in the public. weal: there till exifts, however, fome traces of the original inequa lity, which even at this day produces pernicious effects. The great property poffeffed by fome familes, gives them too much influence in all the measures of the nations; and their private interefts have too great weight in every public tranfaction. Their history, for fome years back, affords fufficient proofs of this; fince all the civil or foreign wars in which ginated in the ambition and perthey have been engaged have ori. fonal views of fome of the principal HE Druzes, as well as the families, fuch as the Lefbeks, the Maronites, may be divided Dj belats, the Ifmaels of Solyma, into two claffes, the common peo- &c. The Shaiks of these houses, ple, and the people of eminence who alone poffefs one tenth part of and property, diftinguished by the the country, procured creatures by title of Shaiks and Emirs, or de- their money, and, at laft, involved fcendants of princes. The greater all the Druzes in their diffenfions. part are cultivators, either as far. It must be owned, however, that, mers or proprietors; every man poffibly, to this conflict between A particular account of the government of the Druzes, a People of Syria. From the Jame Work. *When I was at Cairo, fome Mamlouks carried off the wife of a Jew, who was paffing the Nile with her husband. The Jew having complained to Morad, that Bey replied in his rough tone of voice: Well let the young folks amufe themfelves! In the evening the Mamlouks acquainted the Jew that they would reftore him his wife if he would pay them one hundred piaftres for their trouble; and to this he was obliged to fubinit. This inftance is the more in point, ince in this country women are held more facred than life itself. contending na contending parties the whole himself the power of life and death. He collects the tribute, from which he annually pays to the Pacha a ftated fum. This tribute varies, in proportion as the nation renders itfelf more or lefs formidable: at the beginning of this century, it amounted to one hundred and fixty purfes, (eight thoufand three hun. dred and thirty pounds), but Mel. hem forced the Turks to reduce it to fixty. In 1784, Emir Youfef paid eighty and promifed ninety. This tribute, which is called Miri, is impofed on the mulberry-trees, vineyards, cotton, and grain. All fown land pays in proportion to its extent; every foot of mulberries is taxed at three Medins, or three Sols, nine Deniers, (not quite twopence). A hundred feet of vineyard pays a Piafter, or forty Medins, and fresh measurements are often made, to preferve a ju pro. portion. The Shaiks and Emire have no exemption in this refpect, and it may be truly faid, they con. tribute to the public ftock in pro. portion to their fortune. The col lection is made almost without ex、 pence. Each man pays his con tingent at Dair-el-Kamer, if he pleafes, or to the collectors of the prince who make a circuit round the country after the crop of filks. The furplus of this tribute is for the prince, fo that it is his intereft to reduce the demands of the Turks, as it would be likewife to augment the impoft; but this measure requires the fanction of the Shaiks, who have the privilege of oppofing it. Their confent is neceffary, like wife, for peace and war. In these cafes, the Emir must convoke gene. ral affemblies, and lay before them the state of his affairs. There, every This chief, called Hakem, or go. vernor, alfo Emir, or Prince, is a fort of a king, or general, who unites in his own perfon the civil and military powers. His dignity is fome. times tranfmitted from father to fon, fometimes from one brother to another, and the fucceffion is determined by force rather than any certain laws. Females can in no cafe pretend to this inheritance. They are already excluded from fucceffion in civil affairs, and, con. fequently, can still lefs expect it in political in general, the Afiatic governments are too turbulent, and their adminiftration renders military talents too neceffary to admit of the fovereignty of women. Among the Druzes, the male line of any family being extinguifhed, the government devolves to him who is in poffeffion of the greatest number of fuffrages and refources. But the fit ftep is to obtain the approbation of the Turks, of whom he becomes the vaffal and tributory. It even happens, that not unfrequent ly to affert their fupremacy, they name the Hakem contrary to the wifhes of the nation, as in the cafe of Ifmael Hafbeya, raifed to that diginity by Djezzar; but this conftraint lafts no longer than it is maintained by that violence which gave it birth. The office of the governor is to watch over the good order of the state, and to prevent the Emirs, Shaiks, and villages, from making war on each other; in cafe of difobedience, he may employ force. He is alfo at the head of the civil power, and names the Cadis, only, always referving to Shaik, and every peafant who has any reputation for courage or underftanding, is entitled to give his fuffrage, fo that this government may be confidered as a well proportioned mixture of monarchy, ariftocracy, and democracy. Every thing depends on circumftances: if the governor be a man of ability, he is abfolute; if weak, a cypher. This proceeds from the want of fixed laws; a want common to all Afia, and the radical caufe of all the diforders in the governments of the Afiatic na. tions. Neither the chief, nor the individual Emirs, maintain troops; they have only perfons attached to the domeftic fervice of their houses, and a few black flaves. When the nation makes war, every man, whether Shaik or Peafant, able to bear arms, is called upon to march. He takes with him a little bag of flour, a musket, fome bullets, a fmall quantity of powder, made in his village, and repairs to the rendezvous appointed by the governor. If it be a civil war, as fometimes happens, the fervants, the farmers, and their friends, take up arms for their patron, or the chief of their family, and repair to his standard. In fuch cafes, the parties irritated, frequently feem on the point of proceeding to the laft extremities; but they feldom have recourse to acts of violence, or attempt the death of each other; mediators always interpofe, and the quarrel is appeafed the more readily as each patron is obliged to provide his followers with provifions and ammunition. This fyftem, which produces happy effects in civil trou bles, is attended with great inconvenience in foreign wars, as fufficiently appeared in that of 1784. Djezzar, who knew that the whole VOL. XXIX, army lived at the expence of the Emir Youfef, aimed at nothing but delay, and the Druzes, who were not difpleafed at being fed for doing nothing, prolonged the operations; but the Emir, wearied of paying, concluded a treaty, the terms of which were not a little rigorous for him, and eventually for the whole nation, fince nothing is more certain than that the interefts of a prince and his fubjects are always infeparable. The ceremonies to which I have been a witness on these occafions, bear a ftriking refemblance to the cuftoms of ancient times. When the Emir and the Shaiks had determined on war, at Dair-el-Kamar, criers in the evening afcended the fummits of the mountain; and there began to cry with a loud voice: To war, to war; take your guns, take your piftols: noble Shaiks, mount your borfes; arm yourselves with the lance and jabre; rendezvous to-morrow at Dair-el-Kamar. Zeal of God! zeal of combats! This fummons heard from the neighbouring villages, was repeated there, and, as the whole country is nothing but a chain of lofty mountains and deep vallies, the proclamation paffed in a few hours to the frontiers. Thefe voices, from the ftillness of the night, the long refounding echoes, and the nature of the fubject, had fomething awful and terrible in their effect. Three days after, fifteen thousand armed men rendezvoufed at Dair-el-Kamar, and operations might have been immediately commenced. We may easily imagine the troops of this kind no way refemble our European foldiers; they have neither uniforms, nor difcipline, nor order. They are a crowd of pea fants with fhort coats, naked legs, and muskets in their hands; differ. ing from the Turks and Mamlouks, in that they are all foot; the Shaiks and Emirs alone having horfes, which are of little ufe from the rugged nature of the country. War there can only be a war of pofts.The Druzes never risk themselves in the plain, and with reafon, for they would be unable to ftand the fhock of cavalry, having no bayonets to their muskets. Their whole art confifts in climbing rocks, creeping among the bushes and blocks of ftone, from whence their fire is the more dangerous; as they are covered, fire at their eafe, and by hunting, and military fports, have acquired the habit of hitting a mark with great dexterity. They are accustomed to fudden inroads, attacks by night, ambuscades, and all those coups de main, which require to fall fuddenly on, and come to clofe fight with the enemy. Ardent in improving their fuccefs, eafily difpirited, and prompt to refume their courage; daring even to temerity, and fometimes ferocious, they poffefs, above all, two qualities effen. tial to the excellency of any troops; they strictly obey their leaders, and are endowed with a temperance and vigour of health, at this day unknown to most civilized nations.In the campaign of 1784, they paffed three months in the open air, without tents, or any other covering than a fheep-fkin; yet were there not more deaths or maladies than if they had remained in their houfes. Their provifions confifted, as at other times, of fmall loaves baked on the afhes, or on a brick, raw onions, cheese, olives, fruits, and a little wine. The table of the chiefs was almost as frugal, and we may affirm, that they fubfifted a hundred days, on what the fame number of Englishmen or Frenchmen would not have lived ten. They have no knowledge of the fcience of fortification, the management of artillery, or encampments, nor, in a word, any thing which conftitutes the art of war. But, had they among them a few perfons verfed in military fcience, they would readily acquire its principles, and become a formidable foldiery. This would be the more eafily effected, as their mulberry plantations and vineyards do not Occupy them all the year, and they could afford much time for military exercises*. By the laft eftimates, it appears the number of men able to bear arms was forty thoufand, which fuppofes a total population of a hundred and twenty thoufand: no addition is to be made to this calculation, fince there are no Druzes in the cities or on the coaft. As the whole country contains only one hundred and ten fquare leagues, there refults for every league one thousand and ninety perfons; which is equal to the population of our richest provinces. To render this more remarkable, it must be obferved that the foil is not fertile, that a great many eminences re main uncultivated, that they do not grow corn enough to fupport themfelves three months in the year, that they have no manufactures, and that all their exportations are confined *In this leisure time, when the crop of filk is over in Lebanon, a great many pealants, like our inhabitants of the Limousin, leave the mountains to get in the harvests in the plains. 66 to filks and cottons, the balance of which exceeds very little the importation of corn from the Hauran, the oils of Palaftine, and the rice and coffee they procure from Bairout. Whence arifes then fuch a number of inhabitants, within fo fmall a fpace? I can difcover no other caufe, than that ray of liberty which glimmers in this country. Unlike the Turks, every man lives in a perfect fecurity of his life and property. The peafant is not richer than in other countries; but he is free," he fears not," as I have of. ten heard them fay, "that the A ga, the Kaimmakam, or the Pa"cha, fhould fend their Digendis *, "to pillage his houfe, carry off his "family, or give him the baftina"do." Such oppreffions are unknown among thefe mountains. Security, therefore, has been the original caufe of population, from that inherent defire which all men have to multiply themfelves wherever they find an eafy fubfiftence. The frugality of the nation, which is content with little, has been a fecondary, and not lefs powerful reafon; and a third, is the emigration of a number of Chriftian families, who daily defert the Turkish provinces to fettle in Mount Lebanon, where they are received with open arms by the Maronites, from fimilarity of religion, and by the Druzes from principles of toleration, and at conviction how much it is the intereft of every country to multiply the number of its cultivators, confumers, and allies. They all live quietly together; but I cannot help adding, that the Chriftians frequent ly display an indifcreet and med. dling zeal, too well calculated to difturb this tranquillity. The comparifon, which the Druzes often having an opportunity of making, between their fituation and that of other fubjects of the Turkish government, has given them an advantageous opinion of their fuperiority, which, by a natural effect, has an influance on their perfonal character. Exempt from the violence and infults of defpotifm, they confider themselves as more perfect than their neighbours, because they have the good fortune not to be equally debafed. Hence they acquire a character more elevated, energetic, and active; in fhort a genuine republican fpirit. They are confidered throughout the Levant as reftlefs, enterprifing, hardy, and brave even to temerity. Only three hundred of them have been feen to enter Damafcus in open day, and spread around them terror and carnage. It is remarkable, that though their form of government is nearly fimilar, the Maronites do not poffefs thefe qualities to the fame degree. Enquiring the reafon, one day in a company where this obfervation was made, in confequence of fome recent events, an old Maronite, after a moment's filence, taking his pipe from his mouth, and curling his beard round his fingers, made anfwer, "Perhaps "the Druzes would be more afraid "of death, did they believe in a "future ftate." Nor are they great preachers of that morality which confifts in pardoning injuries. No people are more nice than they with refpect to the point of honour; any offence of that kind, or open * Soldiers. L 2 infult, |