kingdom of Naples. It fuited the policy of the French, at that moment, to make pacific profeffions to all the world befides the Englih.

The French directory, after they found all the arts they had practifed, in order to cajole and keep the Turks quiet, to no parpole, by way of anfwer to the manifefto of the Porte, in a newspaper, called the Moniteur, which was understood to be as much under their direction as any of our papers are under that of our government, and a kind of illegitimate gazette, publifhed, towards the end of November, 1798, among others, the following remarks. After affecting to call in queftion the authenticity of the Turkish manifesto, they adverted to that paffage which charged the French, under the command of Buonaparte, with falling on Egypt, the most valuable province of the Ottoman empire, like fo many corfairs. How far, they alked, could that country be confidered as valuable to the grand feignior? A country of which the chiefs were independent; and where his bafhaw, an officer merely nominal and honorary, was either fuffered to remain, in a state of infignificancy and contempt, or remanded to the Porte, at the pleasure of the beys. But, if they could be fuppofed to be unacquainted with the conduct of the beys towards the Porte, could they be ignorant of their deportment, for many years, towards France? In violation of the rights of nations, they had plundered and oppreffed all Frenchmen in Egypt, whether fojourners or domiciliated in the country: and the French merchants had applied to the Porte Brits protection, in conformity

with repeated treaties of commerce, in vain. Thofe folemn treaties the beys had facrificed to private engagements made with England, to harafs, opprefs, and annihilate the commerce of France with Egypt. Ought their open hoftilities to be tolerated any longer, with impunity? The directory would be guilty of a flagrant breach of their folemn engagement, to exercife a vigilant care for the protec tion of private property, as well as public rights and interefts, if they did not repel fuch barefaced aggreffion and make juft reprizals? It was not from Conftantinople that the blow given to the beys fhould be re-echoed, but from London: in as much as in ftriking at the Mammalukes the French government had aimed a blow against England, with which they had made common caufe, as appeared from a letter which (they affirmed) had been fent by them to admiral Nelfon, before the battle of Aboukir: in which letter they had ftated, to the admiral, that he had only to deftroy the French fleet, and that they themfelves would take care to cut the French troops in pieces when they should come on

fhore.

always

always avowed and conducted himfelf as the friend and ally of the Ottoman Porte. In this character it was that he had fet at liberty three hundred Turkish prifoners, taken at Malta; that he had undertaken to pay to the Turkish government the ufual tribute; and that the bafhaw of Cairo had been continued in both his office and its emolument. The directory had often made application to the Sublime Porte for the chaflifement of the beys who overwhelmed the French commerce with their exactions. But the only redress that they had been able to obtain was a declaration from the Porte, that the beys were a covetous and capricious race, wholly regardless of the principles of juftice; and that the SubTime Porte, fo far from authorizing the outrages they had committed against its ancient and good allies, the French, had deprived the beys of the protection of the Turkif laws and government. What was the import? what to be inferred from that fentence of outlawry? the putting of the beys out of the protection of the Turkid laws and government. Plainly this, that the Sublime Porte confidered the beys as rebels against their authority; and that, in withdrawing their protection, they had given the rebels to the vengeance of the French, and devolved on thefe the charge of punishing them. The dircctory or the writers of their counter-manifefto proceed, at great length, to fhew, that the divan was previously acquainted with the defçent on Egypt and its objects the punishment of the beys and of England. They make no mention of the converfation between bishop Talleyrand and the Turkish ambal

fador, Ali-Effendi, but infift much on the letters, of a date prior to thofe that had been tranfmitted by the effendi to the directory, and which Ruffin had laid before the divan, after his departure from Conftantinople to Paris. The official communication, of the attack on the beys, by Kuffin, had ferved the Porte as a pretext for the declaration of war. But when was that declaration made? Not till the British cabinet, perceiving itself to be wounded through the fides of the beys, whom it had incited to take up arms against the French, had found means of inftilling falle fufpicions and alarms, and making the Porte apprehend for itself, what was to be dreaded only by England. This they had done through the medium of that fecret council, of twelve members of the Turkish government, who were in the pay of the British minifter and whofe influence fwayed the divan, to the dilgrace and ruin of the Ottoman empire. Against this influence, the directory predicted, there would, ere long, be a general revolt of all the Ottomans who were the real friends of his fublime highnets, the fultan, and the Ottoman empire

Was

At first, the directory farther remarked, on the Turkis manifefie, there was no direct complaint against the French government: it Buonaparte alone, not the dire&tory, that was charged with the invalion of Egypt. This meafüred charge, this cantions and perfidious referve, proved that the divan, fubfervient as it was to the views of England, yet hesitated to break through the fecret understanding that had been agreed on between the Turkish government, and the

directory

But this hesitation and referve, this temporizing policy, was obferved only fo long as the iffue of the expedition to Egypt remained doubtful: it was not till the battle of Aboukir had given confidence to the Sublime Porte, that they changed, with fortune, abandoned, like fortune, the French caufe, and launched forth their manifefto :—a manifefto that must remain as a monument of the underhand and perfidious dealings of the Ottoman Porte with their ancient friends; and who, in breaking with their natural and neceffary allies, had rendered themselves the flaves of the English and abandoned themfelves to their mercy. It is a long time, the manifefto, in the Monifeur, proceeded to reprefent, fince the Czars caft a wifhful eye on Confantinople. It was one of the vast projects of Peter the Great to make this the capital of his immenfe domitions and to exterminate the Turks from Europe. This, too, was one of the deligus, moft ardently purfed by the ambitious Catharine. Has the hour, deftined by fate for its accomplishment, at length come? Already has Paul fet his troops in motion towards Moldavia and Wallachia; already is his fleet under the walls of the feraglio. He has come out, fo to fpeak, to reconnoitre the ground: he will foon feize his prey, and reign on the Bofphorus: he will annihilate a government fo weak and fenfelefs as to have called to its aid its natural enemy. The fultan, ftripped of his crown, will pafs from the throne to the fcaffold: the ancient empire of the crefcent will become no more than a province of Ruflia. Such will be the inevitable refult

A complete refutation of the falfe allegations of the French directory, contained in this and their other papers, as well as in their converfation with the Turkish ambasfador, and their meffages to the Porte, had any been neceffary, would have been afforded even to the most credulous and ftupid, by the intercepted letters of Buonaparte, which were published, under the authority of the British government, early in December; by which letters, the real defigns of the directory, in Egypt, and the determination of Buonaparte to hold it, in the name of the French republic, if poffible, in defpite of both the Porte and its allies, were clear and incontrovertible. It may be noticed, as a proof, how completely the councils were at the beck of the directory, and how indifferent to the confervation of the conftitution, or irrefolute and daftardly in its defence, that not an individual in either ever mentioned a word of the violation of their fundamental laws, on the part of the directory, in making war against a fovereign and independent power, and that an ancient and conftant ally, who had given no caufe, nor even pretext, for taking offence, without the approbation and confent of the two other branches of the legislature. This apathy, or timid fubmiffion of the whole of the councils to the executive government, was a flagrant proof, that laws and forms are nothing without that living energy and virtue which is necellary to give them effect, and that the French nation was utterly

[13]

capa

Lle,

ble, not to fay unworthy, of republican government.

The fame requifition, for the new levy of men that was made in France, was enforced in the conquered ftates. Liegeois, Swifs, Savoyards, and Belgians, if they did not readily obey the fummons, were dragged, by force, into the French battalions. It was but ten years fince the Belgians had revolted against their own fovereign, the emperor, Jofeph II. on account of fome innovations, and 'chiefly thofe refpecting monafteries and certain religious obfervances, by no means eflential to the principles and forms of the Catholic religion. They now faw their churches pillaged, their priefts banifhed, imprifoned, and, fometimes, put to death; and this at a time when their temporal fufferings certainly required all the confolations of religion. Confifcations, contributions, and taxes, had yet left the honeft and refpectable Flemish peafants, however much difcouraged by repeated and continued attacks on their industry, to confule one another by mutual fympathy and affection in the bolom of their families. But this comfort was now ravished from them by the military confcription and requifitions. Hufbands were torn from wives, children from parents, and lovers from the objects of a virtuous attachment. There is a time when tyranny cannot any longer add to its oppreffions, and the cup of mifery overflows. The Flemish nation, driven to despair, did not witnefs the young men dragged from their own fire fides, to fwell the armies of their oppreflors, without refiftance. The parties of French, fent to prefs the youth into their regi

ments, were, in fome places, refifted by parents, brothers, neighbours, and even by the weaker, fex. The first movements of this kind, fo natural and affecting, diffufed their influence over the Low Countries with the fpeed of lightning. A difpofition, to throw off the detered voke of France, had lately appeared in the Netherlands, which fubjected the inhabitants, as ufual in fuch cafes, ftill more to the vigilant feverity of the French government. The English, four thoufand ftrong, had made a defcent, in May, 1798, at Oftend, in order to deftroy the fluices, but had been repulfed by a very inferior number: fifteen hundred of them were taken prifoners, among whom were five hundred and five officers. The English, at their landing, were welcomed by cries of invitation. The news of their landing was quickly fpread over the whole country, where a very general difpofition to give them intelligence and encourage them appeared among the inhabitants. A law was paffed, for fending fuch as fhould, in future, be guilty of any fpeech or action, tending to the encouragement of the enemy, to courts martial, to be tried and punifhed, according to the military code, as fpies and recruiters for hoftile powers. Thus, the French were as ready to extinguish, as the Belgians to catch the first sparks of infurrection.

The place, where the explosion burft forth, was the beautiful diftrict of Waës, fituated between the Scheldt and the canal between Bruffels and Antwerp. From thence, in the end of October, it quickly fpread to the lordfhip of Malines, the territory of Louvain, as far as

Trilemont,