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moft vigorous measures for the purpose of repelling that rebellious race. The grand feignior requefted that Tippoo would communicate to him whatever fubject of complaint he might have against the English when, by the aid of God and the grand feignior's good offices, those complaints fhould be removed, to his fatisfaction, and the grounds of oppofition and eftrangement be exchanged for the defirable objects of harmony and union. To this letter, Tippoo, after the ufual compliments to the grand feignior, and profeffions of reverence and devotion to the common faith of Ifmaulifm, replied, that, as "The French had made themselves enemies to his highnefs, they had made themfelves fo to all the followers of the faith. God (faid he) is the protector and defender of the land of Hindoftan; next to him, this fuppliant, (meaning Tippoo himfelf) at the Almighty throne, does not and will not neglect the fervice of the people. I am fully confident that your highnefs will be difpofed to afford affiftance and fupport, in all matters, to us labourers. All Hindoftan is over-run with infidels and polytheists, excepting the dominions of Khoo-dadaud-circar, which, like the ark of Noah, are fafe under the protection and bounteous aid of God. It is my hope, from the fupreme king of kings, that, as at the appearance of a fecond Adam, the religion of Iflaum will obtain exclufive prevalence over the whole country of Hindoftan, and that all the finful heretics will, with the utmost ease, become the prey of the fwords of the combatants in the caufe of religion. Be it known to those who stand at the foot of the imperial throne, that the

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treachery, deceit, and fupremacy, of the Chriftians, in the regions of Hindoftan, are beyond the power of expreffion." Tippoo proceeds to deduce the hiftory of the Chri tian dominion in India, from the time when the French and English, I each, with one of their detefted fhips, and a few Caffres" (infidels), on board, came to the coaft, to that when the English had adopted a determined refolution to fubdue the whole of Hindoftan; and, in conjunction with the Nizam Ally Khan and the infidels of Poonah, to fubvert the Muffulman religion. The whole energy of his mind, he faid, was continually exerted to fupport the religion of Mahomet. As an inftance of his zeal, he mentioned a defign he had formed, of quelling, by an armed force, commanded by one of his approved fons, certain exceffive commotions that had been excited, in the neighbourhood of Mecca, by the fan of Abdool Wahaub. This Abdool was an enterprizing Mahometan fceptic, who, fome years fince, eftablished a new doctrine, the foundation of which is, the abjuration of the fignal honours paid to Mahomet. His doctrine, a kind of Iflaumitish Socinianifm, did not extend to a denial of the prophet's miffion, but it placed him in the condition merely of a meffenger of the word of God, poffeffing, in himself, no title to the adoration of mankind. This man obtained very numerous profelytes, who traverfed with him the countries of Syria, Arabia, and Egypt, propagating their tenets by the fword. The power of the hierarch, Abdool, fpiritual and temporal, on his death, was transferred to his fon. Tippoo had written to the fupreme [F2]

minifter

minifter of the fhereef of Mecca, defiring to be informed of the fituation of affairs in that quarter. "For, (fays he) the holy receptacle is an object of veneration to the followers of truth, and an object of the regard of the all-powerful; and to do fervices thereunto is productive of bleffings both in this world and the world to come." Tippoo, in order to conciliate the friendhip of the Porte towards himfelf, and to roufe its refentment againft the English, ftated, in his letter to the grand feignior, that, after he had granted peace, at the earneft and humble fuit of English ambaffadors, in 1784, they had excited and joined in a hoftile confederacy against the Khoo-dadaudcircar, in confequence of the friendfhip that fubfifted between the circar and the Sublime Porte. The English, he flated, being informed. of the miffion, the friendly reception, and the return of his ambailadors from Conftantinople, "with hearts inflamed and confcious that they had given his highnefs (the grand feignior) proofs of their evil difpofition," immediately conceiv. ed, that all the tribe of Inaum were about to league together for their deftruction. Confederated with the Nizam and the infidels of Poonah, they waged war against the Khoo dadaud-circar, for four years. At length, near a hundred thousand followers of the faith had determined to flay their wives and families with their own hands, and, rufhing on the infidels, drink the cup of martyrdom, and plunge the infidels into hell. The counfellors, the lords, and the refpected fages of

Iflaumifm, all agreed, that this at tack upon the dominions of the Khoo-dadaud-circar was in confequence of the deputation of ambaffadors, with letters to the Sublime Porte; and, therefore, that it was advifable, by any means, to accommodate matters for the prefent; to communicate to his highnes all that had occured; and, joined by his highnels's aid, proceed to exterminate the infidels afterwards. He had approved, he faid, the reprefentation of his faithful fervants, and furrendering three crores and thirty lacks of rupees, and half his country, which was all a dead lofs to him, put an end to the conteft. In conclufion, he prayed that the victorious banners of Iflaum might be ever prevalent, and every trace of herefy and infidels be wiped away.

A with has often been expreffed by men of learning, that fome account of the Punic wars had been left by the Carthaginians as well as by the Romans; or fome of their official papers, containing statements of the conduct of this great and victorious people. The Romans were at great pains to deftroy every monument of Carthage. It was more liberal in the English to preferve the whole, and even to publif many of the papers that were found, after the fall of Tippoo Sultaun, in his palace of Seringapatam. It is probable, that if any the Carthaginian documents had been preferved they would have exhibited fomewhat of the character of thofe left by Tippoo. The conduct of the Romans would have appeared to be deeply tinctured

of.

with artifice, injuftice, violence, and rapine: but, with much truth, there would have been a mixture of falfehood, and femi - barbarian cunning. We fympathife with the fultaun, when he defcribes and deplores the ruin of the Mogul empire, fhaken to pieces by its own fervants, wounded by the English, and, in its last stage, by the Mahrattas, who feized on the few remaining wrecks of its ancient greatness and splendour; " and are deeply affected at the fad fpectacle of a poor fightless individual, of the royal family of Delhi, whofe fervants (under the Rohilla chief, Gholaum Caudir) had put out-his éyes, feated in his houfe in a ftate the most abject, and the only refources of his maintenance the fruits of his garden!" But we revolt at the falfehood of the fultaun, in the midst of all his religious profeffions, and defpife his mean and filly cunning, when we find him, in his letters to the French, afcribing the enmity of the British power to himfelf, to them: in his letters to Zemaur Shah, attributing it to his having deputed ambassadors to that prince: and, in his difpatches to the grand feignior, imputing it to his delegation of an embaffy to

the Sublime Porte.

While Tippoo Sultaun attempted to direct the whole fenfibility and exertions of the Turks against the common enemies of Ifmaulifm, on the one hand, the French, on the other, endeavoured, by foft words and fair profeffions, to fufpend and fink their indignation, at the invafion of Egypt, in the recollection of the ancient and natural alliance between the Porte and France, and in a jealousy of the Auftrians, Ruffans, and English. Neither the

Turkish ambaffador at Paris, nor the reis-effendi at Conftantinople, were able, by repeated inquiries, to obtain any other information refpecting the expedition, from Tou lon, than that its only object was the conqueft and the deftruction of the order of the knights of Malta; an object that must be pleafing, and excite the gratitude of all Muffulmen. Bithop Talleyrand, the minifter, of the French republic, for foreign relations, folemnly affured the Ottoman ambassador, at Paris, that there was no other end in view; and that it was the fixed and unal terable purpofe of the French government, to preferve the ancient friendship which had fo long fubfifted between France and the Sublime Porte, and to cement and ftrengthen it more and more. But, in the mean time, while the French minifter was making fuch protefta tions, in reply to the letters fent by the French chargé d'affaires at Con ftantinople, Ruffin, as well as by the Ottoman government, that en voy had received letters, of an old date, in which the directory had written to him, that it was, indeed, true that Buonaparte had orders to go to Egypt; but this was only in order to punish the beys, to procure certain commercial advantages for France, and to ftrike a blow against England; that it was the intention of the directory to fend an ambaffador to the Sublime Porte, for the purpofe of arranging all thofe matters, and fhewing various important advantages that would accrue to the Ottomans from that expedition: and that if the Porte fhould be fo rafh as to declare war against the French republic, on account of this affair of Egypt, it would be immediately attacked by [F3]

the

ing; which good underftanding it has done every thing in its power to maintain. With the utmoft furprize, therefore, has it feen the Turkish territories abruptly, and in a moft extraordinary manner, at tacked by the French arms. A man of the name of Buonaparte, giving himself out to be a French general, has made war on the Turkih province of Egypt. It is impoffible for the Porte to believe that fuch a proceeding, fo contrary to the rights of all nations, can ever be countenanced, much less commanded, by the French executive directory. A confiderable force, however, has been fent to Egypt, to ftop the progress of the invaders. Some of the emiffaries of Buonaparte have pretended to perfuade the people of Egypt, that they have been fent by Mahomet to give them perfect liberty and happinefs, and render their religion the fovereign religion on earth: but the people have anfwered, that Mahomet authorizes no injuftice, and that they can place no faith in fuch promifes, from thofe who have denied their God, and renounced their own prophet."

The dignified brevity and fimplicity, and the plain and manly fenfe, of this little piece, was generally and juftly admired. A manifefto, conceived alfo in the fimple majesty of truth, was communicated, on the eleventh of September, 1798, by the Sublime Porte, "To their elteemed friend, the minifter-plenipotentiary of the court of Great Britain, at Conftantinople." In this piece, the duplicity, artifice, treachery, and injuftice, of the French republic, are contrafted with the plain-dealing, the good faith, and

the pacific and juft difpofitions and principles, of the Porte. Though the divan had perfevered in their fyftem of neutrality, they were neither unacquainted with their political principles, nor unalarmed at their progrefs. After enumerating the extenfive advantages which the French had reaped from the Sublime Porte's remaining neutral, during the courfe of the war, and that they, on their fide, ought alfo to have been fteady in preferving peace, the manifefto ftates, "That thofe among them, who found the means of aluming to themselves the reins of government, by favour of the revolution, began to devise various pretences, and under an illufive idea of liberty-a liberty fo called in word, but which, in reality, knows no other laws than the fubverfion of every eftablished government(after the example of France), the abolishment of ail religions, the deftruction of every country, the plunder of property, and the diffolution of all human fociety to occupy themfelves in nothing but in mifleading and impofing upon the ignorant, amongst the people, pretending to reduce mankind to the ftate of the brute creation, and render the government permanent in their own hands. Actuated by fuch principles, they made it their maxim to flir up and corrupt, indifcriminately, the fubjects of every power, whether diftant or near, either in peace or war, and to excite them to revolt against their natural fovereigns and government. Whilft, on one hand, their minifter at Conftantinople, purfuant to that fyftem of duplicity and deceit which is their cuftom every where, made profeffions of friendship for the [F4]

Ottoman