fortifying the Ottoman power, and of ameliorating Islamism; that for that purpose the institution of the corps had been changed, and dis ciplined troops, under the denomination of the "Victorious Troops of Mahomet," substituted in their place. "Let all," added the firman, "who live obedient to God and his holy book, offer their thanks to the Great Being for this happy event, live peaceably under the protection of the most powerful Padischah, who is the shadow of God upon earth, and never cease to join their prayers with his in calling down the blessing of Heaven. Finally, whoever shall act contrary to this recommendation, shall be punished both in this world and the next."

In the mean time the formation, and exercising of the new army, were prosecuted with unremitting vigour. In every quarter of Constantinople, soldiers were to be seen at drill; Egyptian officers were brought as instructors from the army of Ibrahim; and proud Turks, who were wont to treat Egyptians with sovereign contempt, now quietly submitted to become their pupils. The commanders were industriously searching every where for information, and for European treatises on the art of war; and translations of them were ordered and executed with 'the rapidity which terror inspires. The Sultan himself frequently attended at the drills, and encouraged the men by his approbation, and by rewards.

Violence does not seem to have formed any part of the original plan of Mahmoud in effecting this revolution; but when his wrath and appetite for blood were once roused by resistance, no respite

was given to the bow-string and the sabre. Every rumour of new plots forming by old friends of the proscribed troops, every expression of discontent by the populace at being excluded from their coffeehouses, which had been shut up, as favourite retreats of the Janissaries, was the pretext and the signal for new executions; the Sultan strangled and beheaded without mercy and without discrimination. A fire which broke out in the capital on the 31st of August, and burned for thirty-six hours, laying great part of it in ruins, and of which it was doubtful whether it was the work of incendiaries or of accident, aggravated still further his vigilance and revenge; and the proclamation which, on this occasion, was issued against the seditious, was a frank avowal of the wiles of the Turkish police, and the secrets of Ottoman espionage. "Persons are found," said the proclamation, "so devoid of reason and religion, as to wish to create disturbances; to these violators of the peace are joined the wives of those who have been exiled or put to death, who go about spreading all kinds of false reports, with respect to the intentions of the government, and alarm even the tranquil and honest part of the community. Instead of prayer and humiliation, which were suitable, after so dreadful a visitation as the late fire, these persons, who are destined to destruction here and hereafter, listening to nothing but the suggestions of the devil, indulge in anger at the decrees of Providence, and in hatred of the Sublime Porte. Their seditious designs have not passed unnoticed; and for their repression, men so dis

guised as not to be discovered, are appointed to visit every quarter of the city; women also are appointed for similar purposes, and whoever, in future, is found spreading sinister or false reports respecting the government, shall be seized on the spot, and punished without delay or mercy, whatever be their rank." The punishment denounced against disobedience was, that men should be put to death upon the spot where they were seized, and women strangled, and thrown into the sea. Mahmoud was not a man to let such "sharp laws and biting ordinances" sleep unused. Almost daily, men and women, whose only fault was that of speaking "of forbidden things," were hurried to execution, and still more of these atrocious barbarities were perpetrated in the secrecy of the night. The greatest difficulty in the way of the Sultan arose from the identity which urkish prejudices and habits of thinking had established between old customs, and their religious faith. He was supported indeed by the ulemas, the muftis, and the imauns; but even their authority failed to convince the populace that the innovations which had been introduced were justified by the Koran; and this spirit of unbelief supplied a constant stock of materials, on which the discontent of the suppressed Janissaries might work. Another fire, on the 11th of October, the presage of new horrors, had scarcely been extinguished, when the spies of the Seraskier gave him information that meetings took place at the houses of the keepers of the royal sheepfolds, which belong to the Janissaries, and to which no attention

had been paid at the period of the commotions in June, as they were then perfectly quiet. Two thousand five hundred disciplined troops were immediately sent against those sheep-folds, and against nearly three thousand individuals, who formerly belonged to the Janissaries, and amongst whom were found a number of workmen and cooks belonging to the seraglio. One thousand five hundred of them were executed, the remainder were sent to Asia. It was discovered by the confessions of those men, that a conspiracy had been organised by the former Janissaries, who were to assemble in great numbers on the Asiatic side, for the purpose of forming a junction with the mal+ contents of the capital, while the fire was occupying the attention of the grand signior. As soon as the Sultan learned these particulars, he sent to the pacha of the Asiatic shore orders to exterminate the Janissaries whom he might find there.

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The fermentation produced by the humiliating part which the nation of the faithful found itself compelled to act at Akermann, produced new disturbances; the populace regarding it as a disgrace brought upon the crescent by the irreligious innovations of the Sultan, which had deprived the empire of its old defenders at the very moment when they were most needed to repel insult and aggression. Order was restored by the usual expedients of indiscriminate beheading, strangling, and drowning-scenes, of which the details and repetition would be tedious and disgusting. Mahmoud sat upon an uneasy throne; but, amid the executions which

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went on around him, he did not relax his efforts for the creation of his army, and amused himself with reviews. By the end of the year there were upwards of twenty thousand regular troops in Constantinople and its neighbourhood. Extensive barracks were rising all around; arsenals and manufactories of arms were established; and superior officers were successfully employed in introducing the new discipline into Romelia, and the Asiatic provinces.

Such a period of civil disorder was not favourable to civil reform, an object at all times contemptible in the eyes of a Turkish Sultan: yet Man Mahmoud manifested some symptoms of a desire to introduce justice into his administration, as well as discipline into his army. In the beginning of August four firmans were issued, the first of which put an end to the practice of confiscating the property of Turks or Greeks capitally punished by order of the Porte; prohibiting all mollahs, cadis, &c. from interfering in any way with his succession, if the condemned person shou should have heirs arrived at majority, but allowing their interference where the heirs were minors, in order to preserve the property for them. They were to receive, in lieu of all demands for their trouble in this respect, two and

against their opponents, that the parties might be saved the useless. expenses to which they were often subjected.

half per cent on the amount, instead of ten per cent, nd expenses, amounting to more than twenty per cent, which they used to exact. The second firman strongly recommended to the mollah, or cadi, the utmost impartiality in the distribution of justice; the rigorous prosecution of all false witnesses, and of all who should practise chicanery

If, for endeavouring to renovate the military vigour of the Turkish empire, the Sultan Mahmoud was entitled to the thanks of the Ottomans, his reforms promised no good to the insurgents of Greece, whose cause, during the year, had been retrograding. In Western Greece, which y was the principal scene of conflict, the Greeks, under general Goura, had made themselves masters of Salona, an important strong-hold, in the month of November, 1825. In consequence of this success, the Seraskier Redschid found himself compelled to retire northward from before Missolonghi to Vrachori, in order that he might insure his communications with Arta. Ibrahim, likewise, weakened in troops, withdrew his men from the interior, exceptinga strong garrison left in Tripolizza, and awaited the arrival of the reinforcements which were on their way from Egypt. The com bined Turkish and Egyptian fleets, having these reinforcements on board, to the number of about eight thousand men, appeared in the waters of the Archipelago in the beginning of November. Miaulis was endeavouring to assemble the Greek fleet at Cerigo, for the purpose of intercepting them; but unexpected difficulties and disputes prevented him from being joined by the squadrons of Spezzia and Ipsara; and he found himself compelled to sail with the Hydriot vessels alone, for the gulph of Lepanto, both to prevent, if possible, the undisturbed dis

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embarkation of the Egyptian suc cours, and to impede, at all events, the complete blockade of Missolonghi by the Turkish fleet. He fell in with a large division of it, off Chiarenza, near the mouth of the gulph, on the 25th of November, which attacked him both on that and the following day. On both occasions he repelled them, with no other loss than that of a vessel which accidentally took fire; but his inferiority in point of strength, his force amounting to little more than half of that of the enemy, and especially the absence of the Spezziot fire-ships, rendered it impossible for him to make any impression upon their fleet, or prevent it from entering the gulph. It reached Patras, and re-inforced Ibrahim's army by landing six thousand fresh troops. With part of these succours, Ibrahim immediately sailed up the gulph, and, effecting a landing on its northern shore, marched to oppose a Greek force under Goura and Draco, which the government, on learning the arrival of the Egyptian fleet, had ordered to advance from Salona to the relief of Missolonghi. His troops, under Mohanem Bey, met, and defeated them, although without any serious loss, while his naval armament destroyed a number of small vessels, and captured a considerable quantity of provisions and ammunition. He then returned with his booty to Patras, and, having re-inforced the Seraskier, who had again advanced, they proceeded together to press the siege of Missolonghi, while the fleet blockaded the entrance to its harbour.

Missolonghi, the last hope of the patriots in Western Greece, had already, at the beginning of

1826, stood out a siege of eight months. Its garrison was small, but determined, or rather, despe rate; the failure of so many attacks, and their long resistance to so many Turkish bombardments, had given them confidence: want of provisions was the greatest danger which they had to appre hend. The approaches on the land side were in the hands of the besiegers; the harbour was blockaded by the Egyptian fleet; and, if the latter were allowed to remain masters of the gulph, Missolonghi could not be saved from being starved into a surrender. Miaulis, who had found himself too weak to prevent the enemy's fleet from entering the gulph, or to undertake any thing decisive against it when there, had returned to the south, leaving his fleet cruizing between Zante and Chiarenza, to clear away the difficulties which had prevented him from being joined by the Spezziote and Ipsariote vessels. In this he succeeded, and the united fleet appeared off the gulph of Lepanto on the 20th of January. On the 22nd, an engagement took place between divisions of both fleets, but they separated without damage on either side, the violence of the easterly winds making it impossible for them to keep the line of battle. On the 27th, the Turkish fleet, which was generally at anchor off Patras, again bore down upon the Greek squadron the latter stood out to sea, to gain a more advantageous position; then engaged, and, after a sharp action of some duration, compelled the Turks to return to Patras, with the loss of a frigate and a corvette.

These partial engagements, however, were of little lasting effect

went on around him, he did not relax his efforts for the creation of his army, and amused himself with reviews. By the end of the year there were upwards of twenty thousand regular troops in Constantinople and its neighbourhood. Extensive barracks were rising all around, arsenals and manufactories of arms were established; and superior officers were successfully employed in introducing the new discipline into Romelia, and the Asiatic provinces.

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Such a period of civil disorder was not favourable to civil reform, an object at all times contemptible in the eyes of a Turkish Sultan: yet Mahmoud manifested some man symptoms of a desire to introduce justice into his administration, as well as discipline into his army. In the beginning of August four firmans were issued, the first of which put an end to the practice

off confiscating the property of Turks or Greeks capitally punished by order of the Porte prohibiting all mollahs, cadis, &c. from interfering in any way with his succession, if the condemned person should have he have heirs arrived at majority, but allowing their interference where the heirs were minors, in order t to preserve the property for them. They were to receive, in lieu of all demands for their trouble in this respect, two and and one half per cent on the amount, instead of ten per cent, and expenses, amounting to more than twenty per cent, which they used to exact. The second firman strongly recommended to mania the mollah, or cadi, the utmost impartiality in the distribution of justice; the rigorous prosecution of all false witnesses, and of all should practise chicanery

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against their opponents, that the parties might be saved the useless expenses to which they were often subjected.

.་་ saw a list If, for endeavouring to renovate the military vigour of the Turkish empire, the Sultan Mahmoud was entitled to the thanks of the Ottomans, his reforms promised no good to the insurgentsof Greece, whose cause, during the year, had been retrograding. In Western Greece, which was the principal scene of conflict, the Greeks, under general Goura, had made themselves masters of Salona, an important strong-hold, in the month of November, 1825. In consequence of this success, the Seraskier Redschid found himself compelled to retire northward from before Missolonghi to Vrachori, in order that he might insure his communications with Arta. Ibrahim, likewise, weakened in troops, withdrew his men from the interior, excepting a strong garrison left in Tripolizza, and awaited the arrival of the reinforcements which were on their way from Egypt. The com bined Turkish and Egyptian fleets, having these reinforcements on board, to the number of about eight thousand men, appeared in the waters of the Archipelago in the beginning of November. Miaulis was endeavouring to assemble the Greek fleet at Cerigo, for the purpose of intercepting them; but unexpected difficulties and disputes prevented him from being joined by the squadrons of Spezzia and Ipsara; and he found himself compelled to sail with the Hydriot vessels alone, for the gulph of Lepanto, both to prevent, if possible, the undisturbed dis

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