Abbildungen der Seite
PDF
EPUB

neuve, and at the fame time fupplied that embaffador with the means of being exactly informed of what paffed in the grand vizier's camp.

General Munich having left a body of troops before Azoph to continue the siege, had advanced into the Crim, where he forced the lines of Orkapi, and made himself master of Geuflevé and Bachaferay. The Cham had no other refource left than to reduce the Ruffians to an impoffibility of fubfifting in the Crim, by destroying the provifions and poisoning the waters of all the places he was forced to abandon to them, and then retire himself to Caffa, where the captain bashaw waited for him, in order to concert their operations together.

The arrival of this news confirmed the Ottoman court in the refolution to enter into a negociation as foon as poffible, with that of Petersburg. At the request of the grand vizier, the court of Vienna fent orders to M. Talman, the emperor's refident at the Porte, to repair to the Turkish army, and affume the character of embaffador plenipotentiary, in cafe he should interpose in the quality of mediator between the Porte and Ruffia, when the expected negotiation fhould be begun.'

The conduct of the Porte on this occafion was very inconfiftent, for they wrote letters to the king of England, and the States general, begging for their mediation; but the famous count Bonneval, who was then at Conftantinople, endeavoured to diffuade the grand vizir from trusting to the maritime powers. By this time Munich had taken Afoph, but had been forced to leave Crim Tartary. The Porte, to please the Ruffians, had depofed the Khan, and it was thought a peace would be concluded between the Turks and Ruffians at the head of the two armies, under the emperor's mediation, which the imperial plenipotentary Talman was to undertake. Notwithstanding the unfteadiness of the Porte, Bonneval pressed for the mediation of France, and fecretly founded Villeneuve her embaffador, who did not decline the office if he had the orders of his court, which he infinuated was favourable to the Ottomans. Mean while a check which the Ruffians had received, induced the czarina to propofe a fufpenfion of arms, and to prevail with the emperor to withdraw his troops from Hungary; upon which the credulous grand vizir difmiffed his army, but the Porte continued to elude Talman's mediation.

Somewhat perfpires in this part of our author's narrative that is extremely remarkable, but we shall leave our reader to form his own conje&ture what may be the confequence of such a measure at the end of the prefent war. Talman, it feems, had it in charge to demand for the Ruffians liberty to trade not only in the Black Sea but alfo in the Mediterranean through

the

the Straits of the Dardanelles. The late fucceffes of the Turks and the diverfion in their favour, expected from Kouli Khan, made them treat the Ruffians with the lefs ceremony, and the war was once more renewed by the Crim Tartars. The emperor, zealous to give proof of his friendship to the Ruffians, threatened to declare war if the Turks did not accept of the terms proposed, and even excluded the maritime powers from all fhare in the mediation. Bonneval advised the vizir to continue the war rather than fubmit to the emperor's terms; and Villeneuve, perceiving the Ottoman miniftry to be bent upon peace, took meafures by order of his court for bringing the Porte to accept of his master's mediation, by raifing their apprehenfions that the emperor and the king of Poland would join the Ruffians. This part of his embaffy appears to have been discharged with great fagacity and addrefs; and in the be ginning of the year 1737, the imperial minifter had fignified to the vizir, that if peace was not made between the Porte and the czarina, his mafter should be obliged to take part with the latter.

Villeneuve did not at all diminish the apprehenfions of the Porte, and managed matters fo, that Mr. Talman was treated by the grand vizir in a pretty cavalier manner; but the Ottoman miniftry made difpofitions for continuing the war, if ne ceffary, with the utmoft vigour.

In this part of the work Villeneuve's conduct in explaining and puzzling, in encouraging and intimidating, gives us a lively idea of the genius of French mediation, and brings to our mind the character of duplicity and craft, of which the French miniftry is accufed in bringing on the prefent war between the Turks and Ruffians; the whole, however, tended to the grand point of prevailing with the Porte to accept of the French mediation. Villeneuve feems, at laft, to have almost outwitted himself by his refinements. His inftructions were, that in case the Turks fhould give up Afoph to the Ruffians, the latter fhould be prevented from carrying on a trade in the Black Sea, and from thence into the Mediterranean; and, indeed, when we throw our eyes upon the map, nothing seems to be more practicable than the fhutting the Ruffians out of all communications with the Black Sea by fortifying Taman and Yegmicale, and by raising works in the ftraits of Zabache; even fuppofing them to be in poffeffion of Afoph.

Though the abbe is filent upon this head, yet Villeneuve appears to have been terribly embarraffed left the grand fignior, who had obtained full powers from the divan, had adopted the plan of the fortifications, and concluded a peace without his mediation. A quarrel between Faulkner, the English, and

H 2

and Kalcoen the Dutch refident, ftruck both of them out of the co mediation with Talman. A few weeks discovered that the Ruffians had only temporized in order to take the field with an irresistible army, and letters were intercepted from the Ruffin miniftry to Talman defiring the latter to keep the Turks in a state of fecurity in the mean while. This entirely broke the credit of Talman at the Porte, and the grand vizir again took the field under strong impreffions of being able still to make peace. At laft the emperor joining the Ruffians, the Turks follicited the mediation of France, which was granted; and it was accepted by the emperor: but the czarina delayed explaining herself, and the Turks were at great pains to create a divifion between the two allies.

On the 10th of February 1738, Villeneuve entered upon his arduous negotiation. Treating and fighting went hand in hand, and he pleafed the Turks fo well that they rejected all mediation but that of France, tho' at the fame time they rejected the preliminary articles propofed in the name of the allies. We are here:o obferve that our author's account of this negotiation is far from anfwering the character which fome writers affect to give of the penetration and fagacity of the Turkish minifters. They appear to have fupplied thofe qualities with ignorance and obftinacy; but they likewise employed a referve of low cunning in attempting to furprize or divide their enemies, which was feldom fuccefsful. Upon the whole, the grand vizir carried on the war; the negotiation broke off, the fucceffes of the Turks made them raise their pretenfions, and a coolness feemed to take place between the courts of Vienna and Petersburgh. Fresh conferences were set on foot; but in the mean while the grand vizir Yeghen Bacha was depofed and fent into exile. He was fucceeded by Elvias Mahomet Bacha of Widden, who was a man of a very mild chara&er, but of a narrow genius.

Soon after this event, Villeneuve had an audience of the grand fignior in his character of embalador plenipotentary, charged with the mediation. We fhould give our reader the ceremony of this audience, did our bounds permit, but he will have great entertainment in comparing it with the account we have already given of the fame ceremony; perhaps our author has moilified fome circumftances that are mentioned by Mr. Porter. After this, Villeneuve arrived at the camp before Belgrade, and entered upon his negotiation, in which he met with great difficulties. Count Neuperg, entrusted with the emperor's full powers, arrived at the camp, and Villeneuve of

* See vol. xxv. P. 331.

fered

fered to refume the negotiation, and to demolish Belgrade; but the fucceffes of the Turks had fo much elevated the vizir, that he declared he would liften to no terms till the keys of that city were brought to him. His confidence of that event was fo great, that upon a prefumption it was in Neuperg's power to bring it about, the latter was put under arreft. The truth is, the vizir thought that his head depended upon the furrender of Belgrade, with its present fortifications and its antient territory. Villeneuve and Neuperg proposed, though the latter faid that it exceeded the bounds of his inftructions, that the new fortifications should be demolished, and the old ones left standing. After many difficulties and altercations, this expedient was accepted of, and on the 1ft of September 1739, the preliminaries were figned, and hoftilities ceafed before Belgrade. The two definitive treaties afterwards were engroffed and figned. The peace difpleased the haughty court of Vienna; Neuperg and his predeceffor general Wallis were put under arrest, where they remained during the emperor's life.

Thus ended a war which was managed difgracefully by the imperialists, but gloriously by the Rutfians, who were but ill fupported by their allies. Our author, we think, has been fomewhat deficient in not accompanying the narrative of his negotiation, with fome of the chief events that influenced it. As the affairs of Ruffia are now our chief object, we shall just mention that the glorious campaigns made by Munich, Lacy, and other Ruffian generals, obtained the following preliminary terms, viz.That Afoph fhould remain to Ruffia, but be demolished, and its territory laid defart to form a barrier between the two empires; that Rulia might build a fortrefs on this fide of the Don, and the Porte another on their fide of the river; but the city of Taganrock, built by Peter the Great, on the fea of Afoph, fhould have no veffels on that or the Black Sea, but fhould use the Turkish fhips in their commerce in those feas; that the limits of the two empires, weft of the Neiper, fhould be the fame as regulated in 1706, Kudack remaining to the Porte; and the limits in the east of the Nieper to be fettled by a new convention.'

The war which was finished by this peace bore in its operations a great refemblance to that now carried on between the Turks and the Ruffians. Their grounds are certainly different, as we have already obferved; but fome of their obje&s, perhaps, are the fame. Upon a comparifon there feems to be no general at the head of the Ruffians comparable to Munich, Lacy, or Keith; but, on the other hand, the late war in Germany has improved the difcipline and even courage of the Ruf

H 3

fians

fians to an amazing degree; fo that in the field they are greatly fuperior to their enemies.

The French have now given a loose to those sentiments which M. Villeneuve fo carefully concealed during the negotiation before us. Political and, perhaps, fome perfonal confiderations bid fair to bring Poland and Ruffia under the same head. The natural power of her Ruffian majefty is now encreafed by a fleet that must prove formidable to the Turks; and, to fay the leaft, if it meets with no unexpected check, must open the paffage between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean through the Dardanelles; the confequences of which are obvious.

This history contains a series of events and negotiations, of which we have endeavoured to give an abridgment, that are hitherto but very little known, and illuftrate the interests of those great enterprizes in countries where Englifhmen may be faid to be ftrangers; so that by the help of this publication, we can certainly read the progrefs and management of the prefent war to great advantage.

III. The Pofhumous Works of a late celebrated Genius deceased. 2 Vols. 8vo. Pr. 5s. Jewed. Robinson and Roberts.

WIthout accufing the editor of thofe Shandiana of infidelity,

he may be justly charged with indifcretion in thus expofing to the world the nakedness of his friend. The French, with regard to pofthumous works, must be acknowledged to be, in general, more judicious than the English. Authors of note commonly leave in the sweepings of their desks more that ought to be fuppreffed than published, and it is a cruelty to the memory of the deceased to fend both kind into the world together; as the unhealthy can only ferve to corrupt the found.-Few late editors of pofthumous works in England have had the virtue to facrifice the profpect of gain to the duties of friendship.

As often as we drew our pen against Mr. Sterne's works, it was in the cause of virtue, which, but too often fuffers the most from writers of the greatest wit and humour. We thought him immoral; we thought him even fometimes dull, and, to ufe the words of the Roman Critical Reviewer,

-Quis tam Lucili fautor inepte eft

Ut non hoc fateatur? at idem quod fale multo
Urbem defricuit, charta laudatur cadem.

HOR.

we

« ZurückWeiter »