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in 1799, to bear up with three ships tiation, to preserve the relations of of the line, and destroy them, if any peace and friendly intercourse, beopposition should be made to their tween the sublime Porte and Great passage. This division was follow. Britain, and various considerations ed closely by the other ships. Ata of interest, and former habits of quarter before nine o'clock, the mutual good-will and confidence, whole of the squadron had passed that were calculated to restore the the outer castles, without having same good understanding between returned a shot to the Turkish fire, the two powers, that had been unwhich did our ships but little injury. fortunately interrupted through the This forbearance was intended to intrigues of a party, inimical to express the pacific disposition and both. Great Britain had always amity of our sovereign and govern. entertained a particular predilection ment, towards the sublime Porte. for the Ottoman empire. The arBut in passing the narrow strait, mies of the Porte, and of England, between Sestos and Abydos, our had fought together like brethren, squadron sustained a very heavy against the persidious enemy of the fire from both castles. A tremen. Ottoman empire, with glorious suca dous fire was therefore opened by cess. Even the distinguished, the our ships of war on the castles, with misapplied bravery, with which the such effect, that the firing of the Turks had opposed, though in vain, Turks. was in a great measure the progress of the British fleet, were slackened, when they were, passed with every Englishman, an addi. by the sternmost vessels of the tional cause of regret, if there should squadron. The small Turkish squa. be any obstacle to the renewal of: dron within the inner castles, was an amicable negotiation, of which attacked by sir Sydney Smith, dri. it was the object of the present ven on shore, and burnt : and the note to make an offer. If it were guns of a formidable battery, to the necessary or possible to give clearer number of more than thirty, on a or more satisfactory proofs of the point of land which our squadron pacific disposition of his Britannic had yet to pass, called Point Pesa majesty, and his ministers, towards quicz, were spiked by a detachment the Ottomans, it might be mentioned of marines.

that the admiral had not immedi. On the 20th of February, in the ately proceeded to the execution of evening, the English squadron came his orders, though the wind was to anchor near the Isles of Prin. fair for that purpose, but had agreed ces, at the distance of eight miles to keep his fleet at a distance from from Constantinople. A strange the capital, for as long a time as and almost ridiculous process now might be necessary for receiving an took place, on the part of the En. uiswer to this letter.

If that an. glish minister and admiral: a kind: swer should be received by Mr. of menacing courtship. A ing of Arbuthnot, before the setting of to. truce was immediately sent to the morrow's (21st February ) sun, with seraglio, with a letter from Mr. satisfactory assurances that his Arbuthnot to the Turkish govern. Britannic majesty's just and modement, recapitulating the efforts that rate demands were agreed to, then ke liad made, by an amicable nego. all hostile demonstrations on the

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part of his majesty should immedi. beyond the Dardanelles. He al.
ately cease. But if not, Mr. A. lowed the space of half an hour,
declared with pain, that his mission after his note should be translated
was at an end, and the British ad: into the Turkish language, for the
niral would act conformably to the divan to deliberate and decide upon
orders with which, in the event of his proposition; protesting that if he
war, he was charged by govern. should be reduced to the hard ne-
ment.–At the same time, a letter cessity of seizing the ships, and all
in the same spirit was sent by the vessels of war by force, and pro-
admiral sir John Duckworth, to the ceeding to the work of destruction,
Reis Effendi. After many conci.' for the accomplishment of which,
liatory observations, he said, that he possessed ample means, the
perceiving the change that had taken blame would lie on the sublime
place, in the disposition of the sub. Porte, not on the king, his master.
lime Porte, and having it in his The vessel, bearing a flag of truce,
power to destroy both the capital was dispatched with these notes by
and ships of all descriptions, the break of day, on the moroing of the
line of conduct to be pursued in 21st. But the officer who had
these circumstances lay clearly be charge of them, was not permitted
fore him. Nevertheless, as he was to land; wherefore Mr. Arbuthnot
convinced that the sovereign prince sent back the flag of truce, with a
he had the honour to serve, was far 'short additional note, stating, that
from being disposed to punish any from an anxious desire of peace, it
others than the guilty; and being had been thought proper to make
also persuaded that neither the sul. a second efort, for the delivery of
tan, nor his people, were disposed those sent before, to the Reis Effen.
by any means to go to war with di, and expressing in a few words,
Great Britain, and that the measures the substance of those notes, which
complained of, were to be ascribed was, to give the sublime Porte the
solely to the base and pernicious option of declaring itself either on
intrigues and suggestions of the the side of the French, or the En.
French, he would feel the utmost glish; and that if it should prefer
reluctance to involve so many inno. the former alternative, still the Bri.
cent persons in the miseries and tish admiral would spare the city,
horrors of war, and the ruin and on the condition of surrendering to
destruction of every object that him the whole Turkish fleet, with
was valuable, and dear to them in sufficient naval stores. On the mid-
life.-The vice-admiral, moved by dle of the pight, between the 21st
these considerations, proposed to and 22d February, Mr. Arbuthnot
the Turkish government, as a con- wrote another note to the Reis
dition of peace and amity, to deli- Effendi, stating that the English
ver into his hands all the ships and officers had discovered by means of
vessels of war, belonging to the telescopes, how the time was
sublime Porte, with all necessary ployed that had been allowed the
stores and provisions: in which sublime Porte for coming to a deci.
case, the British squadron would sion on the subject of the former
Bot in any shape or degree, molest notes, from himself and the British
the city, but immediately retire admiral. It had been observed that

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the subjects of the Porte were bu. concluding a peace: for which pur. sily engaged in withdrawing the pose, Mr. Arbuthnot world go on ships of war from their usual sta. shore, if he were not prevented by tions, to places more capable of de bodily indisposition. The date of fence, and constructing batteries all this note was February 23d.-Earalong the coast. If those defensive ly on the morning of the 24th, the measures were notimmediately stopt, English admiral received a letter the British ships of war would act in from the Reis Effendi, signifying the such a manner, as might be most con. disposition of the Porte to enter into ducive to British interests. His high. a negotiation for a definitive treaty Dess, the sultan, might give an assur. of peace immediately, and requested ance in two words, written with his that a person invested with full own hand, that the good understand. powers of treating on the part of ing between the Porteon the one part, the English, might be sent to meet and Great Britain and Russia on the plenipotentiary, who had been the other, would be renewed. The chosen by the sublime Porte.-A celerity with which the British flect correspondence now ensued, conhad passed the Dardanelles, was a cerning the place where the conferproof that the determination an. ence should be held. The Turks nounced, would be carried into proposed Dadikoi, on the coast of cxecution. To these repeated notes Asia. The English admiral, either the Reis Effendi replied that the one of the Isles of Princes, or his proffered negotiation was consi. own ship, the Royal George, or dered as merely an artifice for the Endymion frigate, which had gaining time. This was probably been sent forward, bearing a flag a mere affectation on the part of the of truce, and lay at anchor before Turkish government, and used, at Constantinople, while the ships of the suggestion of Sebastiani, for the the line and bomb ships, kept at the purpose alleged to be intended by distance already mentioned. The the English. Sir John Duckworth admiral having previously apprised repelled the charge with indigna- the Turkish government, 'mored the tion, observing, tbat they who could squadron four miles nearer the city, be guilty of such base suspicions, but still kept without cannon-shot, were themselves just objects of sus. Threats were still intermixed with picion. He renewed the alterna. professions and tokens of amity. tive, that had already been repeat. While the Turks detained in close edly offered.

He declared, upon custody five seamen belonging to his honour, that the English, though the Endymion, that bad fallen into prepared for war, were desirous of their hands, having gone to some peace, which, on the terms propo. distance from the frigate in a longsed, might be concluded in half an boat, he sent back to the seraglio hour. He would not be made a some Turks that had been seized in dupe of. If the sublime Porte was the act of committing hostilities really desirous to avert the dreadful against the English. calamities ready to burst upon the In the mean time, the fortifica. capital, it would send a plenipo. tions, of which the English complain. tentiary on-board his ship, early ed, were not interrupted, but con- . next morning, for the purpose of tinued, night and day, with unre.

mitted

mitted activity and vigour, at many different points, and on both the European and Asiatic sides of the canal of Constantinople. The flames of the small Turkish squadron de. stroyed on the 19th of February, by sir Sydney Smith, did not intimi. date the Turks, but roused and uni. ted them in a determination to resist aggression, and to preserve the city from destruction, and the contami. nation of infidels. The grand signior himself, conducted by the French ambassador, general Sebastiani, appeared at the places most proper for the construction of redoubts and batteries. Men, wo. men, and children, Turks, Arme nians, Greeks, Ulemas, Sheiks, and Dervises, lent their aid. The Greek patriarch, and a number of his clergy, put their hands to the pickax and wheel-barrow. Thousands of workmen flocked from different quarters. The works were carried on under the direction of certain officers of the corps of engineers, and of artillery that had arrived op. portunely from Dalmatia. The members of the divan, and other grandees, remained on the busy scene night and day, each of them at one battery, for encouraging the labouring people, and forward. ing the work. They took the ne. cessary repose in small tents. The grand signior too slept in a tent; and every day made the round of all the batteries, encouraging the work men by kind looks and words, and the distribution of money. At the end of four days, batteries, with excellent breast-works, were mount ed with 500 pieces of cannon, and 100 mortars.-Such are the effects that may be produced by unanimity

and zeal, among the inhabitants of a great city, in the public service!

After the Porte had declared war against Russia, on the 30th of December 1806, Buonaparte made an offer to the grand signior of an army, to assist him in the defence of the Dardanelles and the Danube. But the sultan requested only that some officers of artillery and engineers, might be sent to his aid, which were sent, as just observed, from Dal. matia.*

While the whole line of coast presented a chain of batteries, on land, compléted, or in a state of great forwardness, twelve Turkish line of battle ships, two of them three-deckers, and nine frigates, filled with troops, lay in the canal, with their sails bent, and apparent ly ready for action. Two hundred thousand men, destined to march against the Russians, were said to be in the city and suburbs; and an innumerable quantity of gun. boats and sloops, converted into fire-ships, were also prepared to act against the invaders.

Sir Thomas Duckworth was of opinion that notwithstanding the enthusiasm of the populace, there was a sincere disposition to nego tiate for peace, on the part of the Turkish government, up to Febru ary 27th: but had there been no hopes of successful negotiation, it was not in his power to act otherwise than he did: for, from the moment of the squadron's casting anchor, till that of its weighing an chor to repass the Dardanelles, which it did on the morning of the 1st of March, such was the unfor tunate state of the weather, that it was not at any time in the power of

Recit official des evénemens arrivés à Constantinople. Moniteur.

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had cast anchor, and where they had begun, to construct a battery, that might have anuoyed our squa. dron greatly.*

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Sir John Duckworth appears to have done every thing that was pos sible, to effect the object of the expedition; but the expedition itself was so ill contrived, that success was not to be expected. was generally condemned, not only as being injudicious and weak, but silly and childish. Indeed one may say of this expedition, what the Turkish envoy to Charles VII. of France said of a grand tournament, exhibited for his amusement. After this martial and dangerous pas time was over, the Turk, being asked what he thought of it, very candidly replied, "that if it was in good earnest, there was not enough done: but if it was in jest, too much." If instead of calms, or of adverse winds, the wind had been so favourable, that our ships of war and bomb.vessels, could have gone up to the very walls of the seraglio, would it have been a thing desirable, or politically wise, to destroy so fine a city as Constantinoplet, the capital, the palace, the arsenal of an aly, whose favour and confidence it was intended, even by menaces to conciliate? The burning of Constantinople must have planted in the breasts of the sultan and divan, the seeds of resentment; nay, the very menace of burning it was more calculated to produce a spirit of hostility against England, than of intimidation, and submission.

the admiral to have occupied a station that would have enabled the squadron to commence offensive operations against Constantinople. If, however it had been otherwise, the English, after combating a force, which the resources of an empire had been employed for weeks in preparing, would not have been able to maintain a successful conflict with the enemy, and then to repass the Dardanelles. In short, says sir T. if they had been allow. ed another week, to complete their defences throughout the channel, it would have been a doubtful point, whether a return lay open to us at all. The fire of the two inner castles of our ships in their inward passage had been severe, but the effects they had on them, in their return, proved them to have been doubly formidable. Bullets, or blocks of marble, of immense weight and size, were fired at our ships, from huge mortars. One of these, weighing 800 pounds, cut the mainmast of the Windsor man of war in two, and it was not without much trouble and pains, that the ship was saved. Those masses, however, being easily discovered in their course, our men avoided them on their approach, by stepping aside, and opening a clear way for their passage. Our loss of men in this unfortunate expedition, amounted in killed and wounded, to about 250.-Of this number, 26 were killed or wounded in a fruit. less attempt, February 27th, to dislodge the Turks from the isle of Prota, very near the place where our fleet, after passing the strait,

The situation of Constanti. nople is indeed the finest in the

* London gazette, 5th May, 1807. The private houses are in general only miserable hovels; but the mosques, and other public edifices, are magnificent.

world,

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