and the social relations of life were openly violated. The soldiers were mutinous and undisciplined, with no feelings of attachment for the country, upon the resources of which they preyed; and entertaining for the miserable natives hatred and contempt, they were ever ready, for the purpose of plunder, to create civil wars, or to hoist the standard of rebellion. The financial department was wretchedly managed, and the most cruel extortions were practised in wrenching from the inhabitants the taxes necessary to create a revenue. Agriculture was neglected, and those who followed it often saw the crops they had toiled long and hard to rear, seized and borne off by bands of armed depredators. Commerce was almost unknown, and the few engaged in it were liable to be stripped of their merchandise by robbers and soldiers. The darkest ignorance prevailed throughout the entire nation, and the land which had cradled the arts and sciences in their earliest existence, which had been the first, and once the only home of learning and refinement, was shrouded in lamentable ignorance. The religion of the "true believers" was alone acknowledged, while the "dog of a Christian" was hated, spurned with contempt, spit upon, the memory of his Saviour reviled, and his most sacred feelings outraged by the haughty mussulman.

No sooner was the sway of Mohammed Ali firmly established over Egypt, than his grand theory for its regeneration was introduced, and his first project, and one too which will confer a lasting honor upon his name, was to repress the power of the Mamlouks, by forming an army for the national defence, composed entirely of the native population. Many powerful obstacles were to be overcome in doing this, not the least of which was to destroy the influence of the most prominent among the Mamlouk beys, who had ever opposed the introduction and employment of any as soldiers except their own followers. This was a matter of no little difficulty, and yet one which the viceroy determined to accomplish. The objections to the employment of these barbarians were insuperable. The natives regarded them with hatred and fear, and any attempt to have formed a large army, composed in part of each, and commanded by native and Mamlouk chiefs, would have been impracticable and dangerous. The expense alone of maintaining the latter and their followers was enormous, and furnished, besides the more powerful considerations of public safety, strong reasons for ceasing to employ them. The sum required for their support did not fall below a million and a half of pounds sterling per annum,-more, during some years, than the entire revenue of Egypt,-and the wretched Fellahs, or cultivators of the soil, were compelled to pay heavy taxes to maintain these military tyrants, upon whose fickle will the tenure of their lands generally depended. The most weighty arguments urged the immediate destruction of the Mamlouks, as a political body at least; and as they were in open arms against Mohammed Ali, his own safety, and the completion of the plans he had formed for the improvement of his native land, depended upon the utter annihilation of their power. Placing himself at the head of his troops, he pursued their retreating forces into Upper Egypt, and there engaged a large body of them, which he defeated, and was preparing to reduce their strength still more, when his plans were frustrated by the commencement of hostilities between Great Britain and the Ottoman Porte. Returning from this expedition in 1807, he found Alexandria in possession of an English army, composed of five thousand men, under General Fraser. These he in

stantly attacked and routed with considerable loss, which may afford some explanation for the animosity with which the "Bull family," who do not easily forget a sound drubbing, regard him.

Having thus rid the country of its foreign invaders, he again directed his attention towards exterminating the Mamlouks, whose power he effectually crushed, by destroying the most noted of their number in 1811. This accomplished, he bent his whole energies to the improvement of his army, which, as we have already stated, he was resolved should consist of native Egyptians, who would feel an interest in supporting his authority. To collect the materials for a strong military establishment was an easy task; but to discipline them in the European manner, which he was determined to do, was fraught with difficulties almost insurmountable. The army, long composed of Mamlouks, who knew no subordination, was in a great measure exchanged for Arabs and peasantry, equally averse to order, and quite as difficult to train. The first attempt that was made to introduce the European discipline among them, resulted in consequences so seriously affecting his safety, that a man of less perseverance and boldness would have given up the scheme in despair. Some French, who had deserted from Napoleon's army during his expedition into Egypt, were employed by Mohammed to instruct his forces, who commenced drilling them with a severity and strictness which at once exasperated the feelings of the soldiery, and inspired them with the utmost hatred towards the new system. Their disaffection soon broke out into open rebellion. The subordinate officers were assassinated on parade; and, on the 4th of August, 1815, a day previously fixed upon for that purpose, the soldiers assembled in large bodies, cast aside all restraint, and, after murdering such of the officers as they could find near Cairo, they marched into the city with the avowed object of plundering it and destroying Mohammed Ali; who, upon learning of their revolt, sent five hundred muskets to the Franks, to enable them to make a defence, and then found means to elude his pursuers until evening, when he was escorted by his loyal guards to the citadel. In the morning he issued a proclamation, offering a general amnesty to all such as would return to their duty, and promising to discontinue a system which had so speedily fallen into odium and reproach. This had the desired effect, and they again submitted to his authority, and promised obedience.

Notwithstanding all that had taken place to retard his favorite purpose of disciplining his army in the European style, he by no means relinquished it; and, under the superintendence of Colonel Selves, a Frenchman, now commonly known as Soliman Pasha, his object was at length triumphantly accomplished. This officer selected from the body-guard of Mohammed Ali between three and four hundred Mamlouks, young, strong, and active, who were placed under his command, and sent into Syene, in the southern confines of Upper Egypt, and placed into complete isolation. They were there taught in the several branches of military tactics, closely drilled, and strictly disciplined; and, although they several times attempt. ed the life of their instructer, he at last inspired them with an ardent desire to become acquainted with European exercises. As they gradually acquired a knowledge of them, some were more expert than others, until the desire of excelling each other prompted them to an untiring applica tion to their studies, and ended in forming them into a model battalion which furnished the frame-work for all the troops subsequently enlisted.

Having thus far succeeded, the prejudices which had at first so strongly existed among the soldiery against the strict military discipline of enlightened nations, wore away, and it was soon introduced into the whole of the regular army. This the viceroy continued to strengthen, until, in 1835, it consisted of 92,640 men, well disciplined, well clothed, and better paid, than in almost any nation on the continent of Europe. The natives, many of whom were forced into the service, at first disliked their situation, and looked upon the rigid drilling they underwent with the utmost abhorrence; but the liberal pay they received soon reconciled them, and the severe discipline to which they were subjected was no longer esteemed a hardship. Besides, no one could be punished without being first tried and found guilty by a court martial; and whenever an officer violated his duty, or forgot his character, Mohammed Ali never pretended to interfere, but referred the matter to be settled according to the rules of justice by the same tribunal. By pursuing this enlightened course, so different from the military despotism which had for centuries prevailed throughout Egypt, he in a short time secured the confidence of the army, and strongly attached to his interests both men and officers.

To complete the grand military system of the pasha, he has founded several military schools, in which the youth of the nation, without dis tinction of classes, are instructed in mathematics, fortifications, gunnery, foreign languages, and in the military tactics practised in the nations of Europe. A large military college has been long established in Cairo. where, besides masters in the various branches of sciences and art, which are deemed subservient to the profession of the soldier, there are pro. fessors of the Arabic, Turkish, and French languages, and of arithmetic and botany. Many years since, this college contained fourteen hun dred boys, and subsequently the number has increased rather than dimin

ished.

Besides the vast expense of these military institutions, the pasha has, at great cost, rendered himself almost independent of foreign artisans, by establishing an extensive arsenal at Cairo, where cannon are moulded and cast, muskets fabricated, and gunpowder manufactured in great abundance.

In his anxiety to improve the condition of his land forces, he has not neglected to create a navy. The efforts he has made to strengthen this arm of the national defence, have been extraordinary, and his success, which has been remarkable, he owes principally to M. Bresson, a French naval officer, who, in 1815, commanded a frigate at Rochfort, when Na poleon formed the design of fleeing to the United States. This officer, who was much attached to the emperor, fitted up for that purpose a merchant vessel, called La Madeline, and prepared a place for his reception, composed of casks lined with mattresses, and communicating internally. The emperor's valuables were embarked by piecemeal, and when all was secured, he changed his intention. The La Madeline sailed, and arrived safe in America; while Napoleon found a prison and a grave St. Helena. The loyalty of M. Bresson to his old master offended the French government. He was compelled to leave his native land, and fled to Egypt, where he has long enjoyed, in reality, though not in name, the command of the pasha's navy.

in

Although the first great object of Mohammed Ali has been to create an army and navy for the purpose of maintaining his rule with steadiness

VOL. IV.-NO. I.

7

and energy, it has been but the initiatory step-the entering wedge, as it were towards the completion of his enlarged plans for the regeneration of Egypt. Every measure calculated to enlighten and benefit his people, he has been far in advance of his age in promoting. Numerous schools have been established throughout his dominions, and his influence and revenue have both been lavished upon their support. He at first experienced many difficulties in procuring foreign teachers; but he has overcome these by adopting the scheme of sending young men of talent to Italy, France, and England, to study the latest inventions and improvements of those enlightened nations. Several years since, a number of these visited London, and other parts of Great Britain, where they made themselves acquainted with many mechanical pursuits and useful arts; and besides, a number of others, who prosecuted their studies in Genoa and Leghorn, about forty were at one time stationed in Paris, where, in addition to the study of the severer sciences, they acquired no mean acquaintance with the polite and elegant literature of the Europeans. A school of anatomy, besides the many other institutions for the promotion of useful knowledge, has been recently established by him on a large scale; and although he has procured wax subjects from Italy, many human subjects have been found necessary; and notwithstanding the horror and indignation which this innovation creates in the minds of the mussul'men, the pasha has continued and improved this college, until, for some time, it has ranked high, even when compared with those of a similar character in Europe. Lithographic and printing presses have been introduced into Grand Cairo, his capital; and a number of works upon historical and scientific subjects, besides some on naval and military tactics, have issued from them. The newest and most important inventions have been imported by him from France and England; the most rare and costly apparatus have been procured, and the mysteries of gas, steam, and lithography, with their attendant advantages, have long formed the subjects of ordinary study in the Egyptian capital.

The extreme liberality with which all religious denominations are tolerated throughout the dominions of the pasha, is a noble illustration of the enlightened views he entertains, and furnishes a striking contrast to the cruel and selfish policy which has guided many European rulers in their attempts to chain the consciences of their subjects; and this tolerance is the more remarkable, as he is professedly a Mahommedan, a part of whose creed it is, to heap oppressions upon the Christian. And while this furnishes a strong proof of the enlarged and statesmanlike policy which leads him to overstep the miserable and petty prejudices of one sect, to promote the good of a great nation, it has rendered him unpopular in the eyes of many of his countrymen, who, viewing his liberal and enlightened measures through the medium of their long-cherished superstition and bigotry, regard him as a Turk only among themselves, and charge him with indifference to the religion and interests of the mussulmen.

The cultivation of the soil of Egypt, which, owing to the bountiful depositions of the Nile, has long been known as the richest of the globe, has under his reign been greatly encouraged. At the commencement of it, the Mamlouks were the principal landholders in the nation; and the miserable Fellahs, who, as we have before stated, were much oppressed by them, were compelled to work their grounds, receiving for their labor & reward so small as barely to support existence. Mohammed Ali, to de

stroy the power of these military barbarians, has, in most instances, compelled them to accept a settled income for life, in payment of their immense estates, the management of which, through his numerous agents, he has assumed; and the products are taken by him of the cultivators, not only of these estates, but of many others, at a fixed price, stored in warehouses, and afterwards sold at a profit, or used for his army. Although some writers have condemned this system, as arbitrary and unreasonable, yet certain it is, that until these agencies for the purchase of agricultural commodities were established, the peasantry never cultivated more than the extortions of the Mamlouks, or their own necessities absolutely required, while since they have thus found a ready market for their produce, it has stimulated them to increased exertions.

Besides the ordinary crops usually raised for the consumption of man, cotton, which, in Egypt, owes its origin to mere accident, has long been extensively cultivated. In the garden of a Turk called Mako, M. Imuel, a Frenchman, first discovered a plant of this tree, which he afterwards propagated with great skill and success. This was not the coarse kind previously grown in that country, but was of a very superior quality, equal to the best grown in the United States; and as long since as 1823, so abundant was the crop, that 50,000 bales remained, after supplying the countries bordering on the Mediterranean.

Grounds which have been neglected for ages, the pasha has long been engaged in preparing for the cultivation of cotton, by digging out old canals and excavating new ones, for the purpose of irrigation; and as this crop is not exposed on the borders of the Nile to the frosts and heavy rains which often injure it in less temperate climates, should the same wise and mild rule continue in Egypt, which has distinguished the career of its present sovereign, the benefits of the cotton to its people, will, in a few years, be almost incalculable.

Besides this important branch of domestic wealth, great attention has been bestowed upon the cultivation of silk, and upon that of indigo, safflower, and henneh, so useful in the process of dyeing and calico printing. In the ancient land of Goshen, now called the Valley of the Tumulant, the pasha, a number of years ago, planted a colony of five hundred Syrians, who have since cultivated the mulberry, and reared the silkworm on an immense scale; while in the beautiful province of Fayowm, the vine and olive are again cultivated in the same perfection, which, under the genial clime of Egypt, they anciently enjoyed.

If, under the reign of Mohammed Ali, agriculture has improved, manufactures have started into life, and increased to a degree still more wonderful, particularly those for the creation of cotton fabrics. A number of years since, M. Imuel, whom we have before mentioned, erected at Boulake, near Cairo, a splendid establishment, equal in its structure to the finest European manufactory, for spinning, weaving, dyeing, and printing cotton goods; the machinery for which was modelled after that of Rouen or Manchester, and was propelled principally by steam, while for the purpose of artificial light, gas was employed. In the travels of Mr. Webster, another large cotton manufactory, established at Siout, is mentioned, of which he says, "It was established some six years ago, and gives employment to eight hundred men and boys, who earn ten, fifteen, twenty, or thirty paras, and sometimes three piasters. Little boys of seven or eight, were seen in all parts of the process. The Arab boys are singularly ac