puted to the Turks; who in their turn allege, that thefe evils were fuftained while, in its attempts to fhake off its tributary allegiance, it had thrown itself under the protection of a foreign power, and was in a state of actual rebellion against its fovereign.

The fummary execution of Gika, the quondam hofpodar of Moldavia, for treafon and treachery, is in the manifefto represented as an act of the most glaring injuflice and perfidy, because it was done without a trial; as if any could be ignorant that fuch was the mode of punishing crimes against the ftate, fince the firit etablishment of the Ottoman government; or as if it could be tuppefed the crafty Greeks, who, hendes paying vaft fums of money for the purchase, exhauft all the arts of intrigue and treachery in their competition for attaining the governments of Moldavia and Wallachia, fhould be ignorant of the tenure upon which they were to hold thefe dangerous offices.

The feizing on the Crimea, on the island of Taman, and on the Cuban, is declared, in the apologetic part of the manifefto, not to have proceeded from any defire of enlarging the limits of the empire (which is truly faid to be already fufficiently extenfive), but merely to diflodge the robbers who committed depredations on the borders, and thereby to fecure lafting peace and amity with the Porte. The fucceeding convention, which gave a fanction to the ufurpation of those countries, is attributed to the fenfe which the Porte herself entertained of the justice and neceffity of the measure; it being at the fame time held out, either as a mark of fayoury or as a compenfation for her

8

acquiefcence, that a district on the left of the river Cuban was affigned to her by the convention. Such are the fubftantial and argumentative parts of the document publifhed on this occafion. These are fupported and enforced throughout with abundant imputations of falfehood, treachery, contempt of the moft folemn engagements, and a difregard to the fanctity of oaths, which are all charged upon the Ottomans, as if vices inherent in their

nature.

A circumftance which happened foon after the opening of the war, though in itself of little confequence, occafioned great joy at Conftantinople, from its being confidered as an indication of future fuccefs, and that fortune had again begun to look favourably upon the crefcent: The Ruffian fleet having, in the month of September, been fcattered and greatly injured by a violent tempeft on the Black Sea, and having no port on the Afiatic fide to afford them shelter, the Borifthenes, of 64 guns, being nearly difmafted, and otherwise in great diftrefs, was driven by night into the canal of Conftantinople; having paffed fo many of the forts in the dark, that her efcape, when fhe difcovered her fituation, would have been impoffible, had fhe even been in better condition for making the attempt. It may well be suppofed that nothing could exceed the aftonishment of the people, when day-light difclofed to them fo novel a fight, and one fo well calculated to excite a popular and enthufiaftic joy. They were, however, probably equalled on the other fide, by the grief and difmay of the Ruffian captain, who, perceiving himself inextricably involved, adopted the

defperate

defperate refolution of blowing up the fhip in the face of the city and harbour; but the crew, preferring the leffer evil of imprisonment, inftantly feized his perfon, and held him in durance until they were boarded by the Turkish boats. About 650 Ruffians were made prifoners. The fhip had been fo extremely fickly as to lofe 150 men in that fhort cruife.

The bad fuccefs which attended the few military enterprizes undertaken by the Turks, to the clofe of the year, afforded little fanction to the popular hopes that might have been founded on this favourable augury. In every attempt on the new Ruffian frontiers, the Ottomans were either baffled or defeated.Among other fmall enterprizes, which could answer no greater purpofe than that of diftracting the attention of the enemy, and perhaps a view of familiarizing their own fubjects and partizans to war and danger, it was thought proper to bring the pretended prophet, Sheik Manfour, again forward on the fide of Caucafus. It might have been fuppofed that the former demonftration of the inefficacy of his affumed fupernatural powers and celeftial aids, when oppofed to Ruffian arms and discipline, had left behind fuch fore remembrancers of the failure and impofition, as could not but effectually cure the enthufiafm of his followers. But the Sheik, whatever other qualities he might be deficient in, poffeffed a large natural flock of courage, and it is poffible that the people confidered his valour more than his piety, in choofing him their leader,

However this might be, the Sheik being fupported by fome fmall

neighbouring tribes of Tartars, and by fuch Turks as were fcattered amongst them, he entered the Ruffian new frontiers at the head of about 8,000 men, without feeming, from any thing that appears, tọ confider, or to make much inquiry, what force he had to encounter. It is however to be remembered, that in regions where the race of man are fo thinly scattered as in the prefent fcene of action, the difficulty of intelligence muit neceffarily be great:-it is likewife to be obferved, that, although the boundlefs waftes of thefe flat countries, which fcarcely have any other marks of divifion than a few great rivers, renders them exceedingly favourable to predatory excurfion, yet the fame properties expofe the invader to a continual danger, which no forefight can at all times provide againft, that of being fuddenly furprized by a fuperior and fuppofed diftant enemy.

Prince Potemkin was in perfon at the head of the Ruffian army, which he immediately divided into four columns, one of which led by himfelf, as well as the others, but all purfuing different routes, advanced expeditiously upon the enemy.

If it were poffible to draw any fcheme of defign from, or to reafon upon, thofe military details, which were occafionally published by the court of Peterburgh, it would be fuppofed that the object of this divifion and march of the army was to enclose the enemy on all fides, fo that not a man could efcape. Yet this was not done, nor, from what appears, attempted, although the paffage of two or three rivers feem the only obftacles which the troops had to encounter on their

march,

march. Rebinder's coO&. ift. lumn, however, came fin1787. gly in fight of the enemy. They found the Sneik himself, with about 6co Tartars, feparated from the rest, and entrenched behind their waggons. Thefe, upon the approach of the Ruffians, repeated aloud a fhort prayer, dictated by their prophet, which, with the defperate courage they displayed in defence of their entrenchments, feemed to indicate that the spirit of enthusiasm was not yet extinct. It was, however, impoffible that their courage could be of any avail; the trenches were carried: and we may judge of the defence, when, out of fo fmall a number, 400 were left dead upon the fpot.

The Sheik was fo far from linking under this misfortune, that, having collected all the troops within reach, during the night, he boldly returned to the charge next day, and, without regard to their artillery, had the hardinefs to attack the Ruffian camp. This mode was not likely to be fuccefsful, with fuch troops as he commanded, and fuch arms as they poffeffed. They were accordingly repulfed; the carabineers of Roften, the dragoons of Aftracan, and a battalion of grenadiers, carrying off the chief honours of the day It feemed rather fingular, in this encounter, that the Tartars fhould have hoped, by a feigned flight, to draw an enemy, fo far their fuperior in the art of war, into an ambufcade. It is certainly a curious, though by no means a pleafing, fpectacle, to behold the vigorous, though ineffectual, ftruggles of brave men against a vait fuperiority of power, arms, and difcipline.

Y

Nor was the conteft yet ended, and it seemed as if courage would rife fuperior to disaster, or perish in the attempt. The Tartars being reinforced, a third action took place, in which Major-General Prince Ratifew, at the head probably of another column, gained a complete victory. After this fuccefs, the Sheik's habitation, and all the Tartar villages within reach, were plundered, and destroyed by fire. Ten thousand pints of butter, and a large quantity of barley, were the rural spoil made upon this occafion the cattle had probably been driven to a fale diftance; and money, valuable furniture, or merchandize, were articles not to be looked for in these

regions.

Col. Deprarabowifch undertook a laborious march of three days, to extend the ravages to another quarter. Here he met with a defperate refiftance, the Tartars maintaining a fevere fight for feven hours. Genjelajin, at the end of that time, arrived with a large reinforcement to fuccour the colonel; but the enemy were already routed. Their lofs in the action in the purfuit, and in the villages (the latter being dif tinguifhed from that in the pursuit), was estimated by the victors at two thousand men; their own, confidering the acknowledged length and obtinacy of the conflict, is rated fo far below every thing that reafon or experience could afford a fanction to, that it would feem shameful to repeat it. Indeed the bloodless victories of the Ruffians are apt to bring to recollection thofe of the Spaniards in their early wars with the Mexicans or Peruvians, although the comparative state of the combatants was, in all refpects,

widely

widely different.

Such was the iffue of the Sheik Manfour's fecond adventure in war.

The Lefghis were likewife faid to have received a great defeat from the Ruffians, about this time, fomewhere on the fide of Georgia. No detail or particulars of this affair were ever given, nor did the fubfequent ftate of affairs on the Afiatic fide at all warrant the account. It is not impoflible that the fcattered hordes of Tartars, who were now defeated, might have been confounded with the Lefghis, through ignorance, or that thefe, being a more confiderable, as well as an unconquered nation, their defeat was held to be a nobler object of triumph.

Some enterprizes which were undertaken by the Turks against the island of Taman, and the Crimea, were attended with as little fuccefs as the attempts of the Tartars. The captain pacha had this year taken the command of the fleet in the Archipelago, while that on the Black Sea was committed to the conduct of the vice-admiral, who bore the fame name and title which his fuperior had rendered fo eminent. This fecond Haffan Bey was deemed to be a man of great Courage, enterprize, and experience, and held to be the best feaman in the Ottoman fervice. Great expectations were accordingly formed of the happy confequences which would be the refult of his zeal and activity. Next to the defeat or deftruction of the Ruffian fleet, no object, on that fide, could be fo interefting to the Porte as the recovery of Kinburne. For this fortrefs being fituated directly oppofite to Oczakow, from which it is feparated only by the mouth of the Dnieper, VOL. XXX.

where, united with the waters of the Bog, it falls into the Black Sea, this vicinity not only expofed the latter continually to the danger of a furprife, but being likewife a ftation for the Ruffian fleets, as well as a great naval and military arsenal, it was at all times pregnant with the means of war on both elements.

Through fome fatality, probably the want of a due fubordination being eftablished among the commanders, fuch diffentions broke out in this fleet, as ferved totally to overthrow every defign of the expedition. It was reported, that the failure proceeded from the mutual averfion and animofity which prevailed between the land and the marine forces; a misfortune which has been productive of fimilar effects, in fervices where order and difcipline were much better established in both departments than in the Ottoman. Whatever it proceeded from, nothing could have been more unfortunate at the opening of a war, nor more ruinous than it proved in its fubfequent confequences. Haffan Bey, after spending a few days fruitlessly at Oczakow, returned without making any attempt upon Kinburne, and, fo far as appears, without any endeavour to fall in with the Ruffian fleet on his return; Nothing could exceed the rage and clamour of the people, nor the difappointment and indignation of the Porte, upon his bringing the news of his own misfortune and difgrace to Conítantinople. The unfortunate vice-admiral was probably deemed a neceffary victim to the firft, and perhaps a neceffary example of rigour at the commencement of a war. Thus, through the weak and cruel maxims of the Turkish po[B]

licy,

licy, was an excellent officer loft to the ftate, at a time when his fervices were likely to be more wanted than at any former period of his exiftence; whereas, a proper inquiry into the caufes of the mifcarriage, with a moderate reproof, if any was due, to the commander, might have ftimulated him to the nobleft actious.

In the mean time, the brave garrifon of Oczakow, notwithstanding their being deferted by the fleet and army, were inceffant in their endeavours, and fhewed an extraordi. nary, but ill-judged and mifapplied degree of enterprize and valour, in their efforts to recover Kinburne; either by furprife, which could fcarcely be expected to fucceed, or by mere force of hand, which was ftill more impracticable. They were accordingly repulfed with lofs in the two first attempts, but the third proved fatal. The garrifon of Kinburne had been confiderably reinforced, when 5,000 Turks, poffibly ignorant of the circumftance, having croffed the river from Oczakow, made a fierce attack on the fortrefs before day. The garrison had been too lately alarmed to be now furprized, and maintained their pofts well while the darkness continued; but as foon as day-light appeared, they quitted the defenfive, and fallying from different gates nearly enclofed the enemy, whom they attacked with great courage on at leaft three fides. A defperate action enfued, in which the Turks, being undoubtedly difmayed at the unufual danger and hopeleffness of their fituation, were routed; after which the fight was changed to an abfolute flaughter; for, what with the grounding and other cafualties, in fuch a hurry, which befel many

of the boats; what with the eager purfuit of the enemy, and, above all, the general blindness and confufion which terror produced, not above a thoufand of the whole party are faid to have efcaped. A flaughter fo vaft, and fo totally difproportioned to the number engaged, feems indeed rather difficult of belief; but the fituation and circumstances of the affailants were unufually perilous.

The circumftance of the two Ruffian generals, Beck and Suwarow, being feverely wounded, feems to indicate that this action was not intirely bloodlefs to the victors. Te Deum was fung with the highest pomp in all the churches at Peterfburgh upon this occafion, and the public rejoicings were fuch as might · have been expected for the greatest victory.

In order to facilitate its defigns upon the Crimea, the Porte appointed Shabah Guerai, grandfon to the celebrated Crim Guerai, to be khan of the Tartars; hoping that the opinion and popularity derived from his illuftrious ancestor (who was the laft prince of the line of Tamerlane that had hewn himself worthy of it) would ferve to recal and reunite that fcattered people, and infpire them with new ardour and confidence to engage in the recovery of their country.

Indeed the state of that beautiful

peninfula, notwithflanding the very pleafing profpects and flattering hopes of future cultivation and improvement, held out by its immediate maiters, was at the prefent truly deplorable; and, as another opportunity may not offer, we do not think it unneceffary in this place to bestow a few words upon a fubject fo univerfally interefting to mankind, as that of the extinction

of