punishment in the prifon of Philadelphia.

So well is this gaol conducted, that instead of being an expenfe, it now annually produces a confiderable revenue to the ftate.

Character of Jezzar, the celebrated
Paha, of Acre; extracted from
M. W. G. Brown's Travels in
Africa, Egypt, and Syria, from

1792 to 1798.

HE long reign of Achmet

tax on land, which amounts to about a twentieth of the rent, the capitation-tax on Chriftians, and the customs; which laft in this government are arbitrary, and nei ther regulated by the rules of the Porte, nor the capitulations entered into by Europeans. Nevertheless, the chief fource of the riches of Jezzâr is the Pashalik of Damafcus, which, by means of the ufual lar geffes at the Porte, he contrived to add to his former government, a precedent very unusual in the Othman empire. His military force was

(the computed at thoufand

accompanied with immenfe influence and great wealth, might naturally lead to conceive, that, blending his interefts with thofe of his fubjects, he would have exerted his authority in promoting their happinefs. On the contrary the large plain near Acré is left almost a marth, and marks of idle magnificence have been fubftituted for the ufeful cares of Agriculture. A riking contraft arifes between his conduct and that of the Shech Daher, his predeceffor, who raised Acré from a village to a large town, and doubled the population of the

district.

Jezzar was the first governor in the empire who laid a tax on articles of confumption, as wine, grain, and the like. Even meat and fish are materials of impoft. He has erected granaries, a laudable defign, but deficient in the execution; for the grain being ill preferved, and the oldeft ferved but first, it is not only difagreeable as food, but unprolific when diftributed for feed to the peasants. These impofts form the peculiar revenue of the Pafia; the other refources arifing as ufual from the

but, at the time of my visiting Acré, did not exceed four or five thousand.

Till the year 1791 the French had factories at Acré, Seide, and Beirût. At that period they were all expelled from the territory of Jezzar by a fudden mandate, which allowed them only three days to abandon their respective habitations, under pain of death.

Paffing over the common, but juft rule of fuppofing, that in a quarrel of this magnitude neither party was perfectly free from error, it may be fit to inquire what mo tives induced this ignominious expulfion, when a fimple difmiflion, to be fignified by various othe: means, would have answered the fame purpose.

To this it can only be antwered, that the character of Jezzar is im petuous, and even capricious, en all occafions. Sometimes a warn friend, and then suddenly a hitter enemy, equally, to all appearance, without any adequate reafon. As to the conduct of the French, thenfelves and the other nations in the Levant accord fo ill, that I have never obtained a very accurate ftatement

ftatement of it. It feems to have he would acknowledge no conful,
nor confent to offer them any
indemnification for the loffes of the
late factory.

originated in the behaviour of a
drogueman of the nation, who
having in fome way offended the
Pafha, was, by his order, fummarily
firangled or hanged. The French
remonftrated, and threatened him
with an application to the Porte,
which he did not greatly fear, and
he punished, as he termed it, their
infolence, (in afferting their un-
doubted right, according to the
capitulations between them and
the Porte), in this concife manner.
Many complaints were made, fub-
fequent to this period, by the mi-
nifters of the republic at the Porte,
but to no purpose: that court, in
fact, was otherwife engaged, and
it may be doubted whether it could
The
have punished the Pafha.
events that followed fufpended the
profecution of those claims, which,
As the merchants thus fuddenly
banished had loft much, it appeared
they had a right to prefer: but at
length Aubert du Bayet fent a
young officer of the name of Bailli
to the Pafha, to demand redress in a
tone perhaps rather too high.

This gentleman, on arriving at Acré, April, 1797, wrote a letter in French to the Pafha, which he had the bizarre idea of finding fome Levantine drogueman to tranflate, verbatim, in the prefence of that perfonage. The terms, it seems, in which this letter was conceived were fo bold, that none could be found to prefent it, and the Pafha, under one pretence or other, refufed to fee the agent. On this Bailli retired to Yaffe. The answer Jezzar fent to the claim of the republic was, that private merchants were at liberty to fettle under his government on the footing of any other nation, but that

The celebrated Afad Pasha, mentioned by Niebuhr and Volney, left an only daughter, of whom, on her marriage with Mohammed Pafha Adm, prang the prefent Pafha Abdallah. Mohammed Paflia Adm was preceded by Olmân, and fucceeded by two of his own brothers fucceffively, the laft of whom, named Derwith, was expelled by the intrigues of Jezzâr, who gained his office, and married the daughter of Mohammed Pala Adm. This marriage of ambition, not of affection, terminated in a divorce a year after.

Among other inftances of his bad treatment of this lady, it is recorded, that Jezzâr, meeting her one day in the houfe, where the happened to have cabcab, or Arabian pattens on her feet, pulled a piftol from his cincture, and fired it at her, faying, "Art thou the wife of an Arabian peafant? doft thou forget that thou art the wife of a Patha?"

Jezzar retained his ill-won paflialik of Damafcus only a few years; a continual his government was fcene of oppreflion and cruelty, and he is fuppofed to have extorted from the people not lefs than twenty-five thousand purfes, or about a million and two hundred thousand pounds fterling; and to have put to death near four hundred individuals, most of them innocent.

His own mifconduct and fufpicious defigns, when leading the caravan to Mecca, confpired with the machinations of his enemies at the Porte to deprive him of his office: but living monuments of his cruelty remain, in the nofeless faces

X 3

and

had obferved travelling on font with the caravan, but nunconnected with any perfon, afked me fo bread-" How long have you been withont it?” faid ́I. Two days was the reply.- -"And how long without water?"-" I drank water last night."-This was at fun-fet, after we had been marching all day in the heat of the fur, and we had yet fix hours to reach the well.

and earless heads of many of the Damafcenes. Thus driven from Damafcus, he returned to his former pashalik of Acré and Seidé, where he remains. This govern ment, which he held along with that of Damafcus, he has retained upwards of twenty-feven years. Jezzar was fucceeded by the prefent Paflia Abdallah, whofe adminiftration, though eminent, as before obferved, for equity, is yet. In their perfons the Furians are not liable to the charge of mifmanage ment of the public revenue, and of an indecorous timidity. Under the energetic fway of Jezzar, the facred caravan had met with no obftructions on its route; but that of the prefent year, not only found the refervoirs for water destroyed or damaged, fo that many camels perifhed for want of that indifpen fable article, but even the pilgrims were infulted by the Arabs, probably incited by the arts and malicious revenge of Jezzâr. By dint of bribes, however, at the Porte, Abdallah prevented his expected deprivation.

זי

remarkable for cleanliness. Though obferving, as Mohammedans, all the fuperftitious formalities of prayer, their hair is rarely combed, or ther bodies completely wathed. The hair of the pubes and axillae it is ufual to exterminate; but they know not the ufe of feap; fo that with them polishing the skin with unguents holds the place of perfect ablutions and real purity. A kind of farinacious pafte is however prepared, which being applied with butter to the skin, and rubbed con‐ tinually till it become dry, not only improves its appearance, but removes from it accidental fordes, and ftill more the effect of conti nued tranfpiration, which, as there are no baths in the country, is a confideration of fome importance. The female flaves are dexterous in the application of it, and to undergo this application is one of the refinements of African fenfcality. Their intervals of labour and reft are fixed by no established rule, but governed by inclination or perfonal convenience. Their fatigues are often renewed under the oppreffive influence of the meridian fun, and in fome diftricts their nightly flumbers are interrupted by the dread of robbers, in others by the mufquitoes and other inconveniences of the climate.

The

The inhabitants of a village called Beri co, Saving G

Ezmlet, and fome having been killed on bot.. Pay

rtcited to the king, the inhabitants tring abana luned to poverty.