as genuine, though only two, the Gnostics and Manichæans, ins famous for their forgeries and corruptions of scripture, could be adduced, he sinks the character of the sects, and covers his falsehood by saying that the Gnostics were divided into many different parties! When we accuse him of stealing one half of his book: from Jones, without intimating the existence of that writer's work, he says that he never denied the fact to personal inquirers! When: we charge him with disingenuously mixing the history of Christ's descent into hell, as referred to in the Creed, with the silly stories on the same subject, in one of the spurious gospels, he tells us that he referred to that gospel only for apocryphal particulars, although his note consisted of these words: For large particulars of Christ's descent into hell, see the gospel of Nicodemus;' and was appended, without another word, to a passage referring to the statement of Christ's descent in the Creed! And above all, when we convict him of mistaking the notorious Faustus, the Manichæan, for a Provençal bishop; and, in the plenitude of his own ignorance, be-.. stowing commendations on the learning of a person remarkable for the want of it; and of whom he now confesses he knew so little as to be compelled, as we guessed, to refer to a common Biographical Dictionary; he replies, that this is no error in divinity, but in ecclesiastical history! We have now done with this miserable man's accusations of us. But it is curious to take the side of the question favourable to him, and laying aside the charge of dishonesty, to observe to how heavy an accusation of incapacity, in order to escape more serious charges, he is compelled to plead guilty. Let the buyers and encouragers of blasphemy learn on what authority they build their faith. Let them remember that this man attempted to destroy or weaken the evidence for the canon of scripture; and that he talked of its constitution, and of ecclesiastical history and writers, at the time when he imagined that constitution took place, with the most perfect assurance. Let them hear him confessing (p. 31) that he' stated one falsehood from inability to understand Jones, and insi-nuated another (p. 35) from not comprehending Mosheim. Let them listen to his avowal (p. 33. note) that although from Jones he took a large part of his work, he had never taken the trouble to read the book itself! (p. 58.)-that of ecclesiastical history (p. 55) he knew nothing or next to nothing, save from Jortin, and dipping into Eusebius and the Lives of the Saints! and that until the appearance of our Article, he had not read (what he now seems to think the first of all performances) even Michaelis or Lardner! Let them finally hear this reasoner about the canon, compelled to avow (p. 58.) that he was erring in his arguments on the subject, because, of all absurd imaginations, he chose to imagine that the... canon canon was settled at the council of Nice! The wretched book, by' which he attempted to pervert the faith and destroy the happiness of countless thousands, was (p. 56) most hastily done,' by his own avowal; nay, finished from first to last in six weeks (p. 58)—and the whole preface, that monstrous compound of ignorance, sophistry, and falsehood, was hurried together' (p. 57) at a wateringplace, at the last moment, and (p. 58) remote from all books, with only a transcript or two from Jortin, Mosheim, and Porson, thrust into the editor's pocket on leaving town!' Such are the profound works by which the faith of the ignorant is to be perverted-such are the industry and learning of the infidel writers of this enlightened age! We deem it no small triumph to have forced such avowals from one of the foremost of the party-for, ready as the half-learned always are to receive any thing which tends to lower what the wise and the learned regard with reverence, they surely cannot be blind, after this exposure, to the delusions practised upon them; they will surely pause before they again surrender their belief to the demands of ignorance and baseness, under the mask of knowledge and virtue. ART. IX.-Histoire de l'Egypte, sous le Gouvernement de Mohammed-Aly, ou Récit des Evènemens politiques et militaires, qui ont eu lieu depuis le Départ des Français jusqu'en 1823. Par M. Félix Mengin; ouvrage enrichi de Notes par MM, Langlès et Jomard; et précédé d'une Introduction historique par M. Agoub. A Paris. 1823. THE expulsion of the French from Egypt was an occurrence for which, though they will not allow to England any share in it, they will never forgive her. As in the greatest misfortunes, however, men are apt to seek for, and generally find, some alleviation, so, for the heavy disappointment sustained in not being able, as was intended, to make Egypt a dependent colony of France, they have experienced no little consolation in boldly asserting, that, in the first place, it was not the British arms that drove them out; and in the second, that the loss of a valuable colony has been compensated by the gain of a great book. The national feeling on this tender subject is thus expressed by M. Agoub, one of the coadjutors of M, Mengin. 'An event for ever memorable, and one which would have regenerated Egypt, was without contradiction, the expedition of the French. Had it not been for the sudden departure of Buonaparte, the assassination of Kleber, and the stupidity of Menou, that country would now be a province of France. These causes, far more than the combined efforts of England and the Porte, made the enterprize miscarry. But if policy saw its hopes annihilated, the arts at least preserved their trophies; trophies; the different elements were already collected, which were to form the magnificent work of the "Description de l'Egypte," the only but immortal conquest which is remaining to France from that glorious expedition. Introduction, p. 46. We have no great faith in the regeneration' that was intended for Egypt by this 'glorious expedition; but of this we are certain, that had the project succeeded, and the views with which it was undertaken been realized, the permanent occupation of that country would have placed France in one of the most central and eligible positions for a speedy and convenient communication between the best portions of Europe, Africa, and Asia that could be wished; and have given to her a colony which, under proper management, would, by the fineness of its climate, and the natural fertility of its soil, have indemnified her for the loss of St. Domingo, and the rest of her West India islands, by furnishing supplies of tropical produce sufficient for her own consumption, and the countries bordering on the Mediterranean-raised too at an expense far below that at which they can be afforded in the transatlantic islands. In short, the occupation of Egypt by the French would have been one of the severest blows that England could receive; and she must, at all hazards, have endeavoured to wrest the possession of it from their hands. This urgency, however, is altogether unnecessary with respect to the degree of prosperity which the country may reach in the hands of a third power, whose influence extends not beyond its territorial limits. Even as a dependency on the Porte, its prosperity would be highly desirable; its political importance being of little or no weight under the Turks, and its commercial and agricultural industry calculated rather to benefit than to injure the European world. The stupendous remains of ancient Egypt have frequently occupied our pages; we now propose to take a glance at modern Egypt, and the extraordinary man who presides, at present, over its destinies. To what extent he will be able to carry the improvements of this country, or to cripple its resources, (for there are different opinions on this point,) a few years more will probably decide. That he has done something for its productive industry must be admitted; though, hitherto, it would seem to have been done more for personal aggrandizement, than for the general benefit of his subjects. It is just possible, however, that his measures may proceed rather from ignorance of the first principles of political economy, and a desire the more rapidly to carry into effect his innovations, than from any avaricious or selfish feeling. If his intentions be, what the resident Franks and most travellers give him credit for, the improvement of the country, he will gradually, perceive his errors; and Egypt may again become, what it anciently was, was, the granary of surrounding nations. The tranquillity which Egypt enjoys,' says M. Agoub, under the government of Mohammed Aly, and the enlightened protection which he accords to all travellers, have been highly favourable to scientific researches. By the wisdom of his administration, by his elevated views, by a toleration unknown before his time, this prince has acquired for himself an European celebrity. Having done this, we hope he will endeavour to acquire an African celebrity, by an enlightened and benefieent policy towards his peaceable and industrious subjects, and the neighbouring tribes of that continent. The rise of this man from a very humble situation; his intrigues with all the various parties by which this fine country has for so many years been scourged and oppressed; his successful campaigns, not only in Egypt, but also in Arabia against the fanatical sect of Wahabees, both in person and by his sons; the rewards -bestowed upon him by the Grand Seignor in consequence thereof; in short, all his good and evil deeds are minutely, and, we believe, faithfully recorded by M. Mengin, though in a loose and desultory manner, which renders his history' less pleasing than it might otherwise have been. The occasional details respecting his military and political measures and manœuvres; his commercial specula\tions, his manufacturing and agricultural experiments, are by no means devoid of interest; and the descriptions of the various classes of people composing the present population, and of the general state of Egypt, collected during a residence of twenty years, may be considered as bearing the stamp of authenticity. To these notices we are enabled to add, from documents in our possession, some circumstances of considerable interest, from a source equally authentic. Mohammed Aly, the present Pasha of Egypt, was born at Cavalla, in Roumelia, in the year of the Hejira 1182, (1769). His father, Ibrahim Aga, was the chief of the guard for the security of the public roads. At his death, his son, then a boy, was taken and brought up in the house of the governor of Cavalla. At this early age, Mohammed is said to have felt a secret persuasion that The should one day be a great man; a thought first inspired, perhaps, by the circumstance of his mother having had a dream which the soothsayers assured her prognosticated that the child of which she was then pregnant would rise to the highest pinnacle of power. Whether the presentiment and the dream influenced his conduct, or whether, as is more than probable, both were fabricated after the event, we know not; but certain it is that he commenced his fortunate career in consequence of the active and determined manner Vin which he assisted his patron in collecting the taxes, and putting Ydown a spirit of insubordination, at the expense of a few lives; for 26W this this he was created a boulouk-bashi, and received in marriage a widow of the governor's own family, by whom he had three sons, Ibrahim, Toussoun, and Ismael. With the aid of a little money brought by his wife, and of his family connexions, Mohammed now engaged as a merchant in the tobacco trade, which he continued to pursue, with some success, until an event occurred which called him to fulfil a higher destiny. This was no other than the landing of the French in Egypt. The governor of Cavalla being ordered to furnish his contingent on that occasion, amounting to 300 men completely armed and equipped; gave the command of them to his son, and engaged Aly to accompany him as his Mentor; but the young man, disgusted with the voyage, dreading the privations which he was likely to endure amidst the sands of Aboukir, and having little relish for military glory, quitted the army and returned home, leaving the command of his contingent to Mohammed, who thereupon took the title of Bin-bashi. In the first battle in which he happened to be engaged, against the division of the French under General Lagrange, he lost the greater part of his men; but his spirited conduct attracted the attention of the Capitan Pasha, who selected him to head an attack upon the fort in which the French had posted themselves. During the night, he succeeded in getting within the intrenchments, ready to storm when day-light should appear; but in the morning it was discovered that the French had evacuated the works. This bloodless enterprize raised him, however, another step. In the subsequent campaign against the Mamlouks, the Viceroy Kousrouf Pasha gave to our adventurer the command of a division of the army under Youssef-bey, who, being completely beaten, laid the blame on Mohammed, which so exasperated the Viceroy, that he determined to banish him from Egypt, and for this purpose ordered him to appear before him at night. Mohammed, in re turn to this message, demanded pay for himself and his troops, letting him know that he would wait on him in company with his soldiers, not at night, but on the following day. The Viceroy, knowing him to be in correspondence with Taher-Pasha and his Albanians, who were hostile to him, did not feel bold enough to carry his intended measure into execution; and was in fact a few days afterwards himself driven from his capital by the soldiers of Aly and Taher, the latter of whom assumed the reins of govern ment, which he held but a short time; for, having invited the Mamlouks into Cairo, he was, in his turn, assassinated by the Turks. From this moment Mohammed Aly began his intrigues withd the Turks, the Mamlouks, and Albanians, making each and all of them his allies or his enemies for the time, as best suited his ulterior *** |