in men. was ftationed near Semlin at the tality both among their horfes and confluence of the Danube and the Save, and the command had been conferred upon field marshal count Lafcy. Neither of these two laft generals was prefent with their refpective armies at the opening of the campaign. The emperor profeffed in thefe early proceedings not to engage any arduous undertaking, but by a war of posts to gain an advantageous fite for his military operations, and to carry the war into the country of the enemy. Dreffnic on the Corona was ftormed by the Croatian forces on the tenth. An inferior fortrefs near the fame fpot was fummoned; and the Turks, pretending as it is faid to parley and afterwards fuddenly firing upon the Auftrians, were forced by the enemy, and every man put to death. Dubicza, a station of much greater moment, was repeatedly attacked, but defended by the Turks with exemplary courage; and, though nearly reduced to a pile of ruins, fucceff fully refifted the utmoft efforts of the imperialifts. Their attempts in other places were attended with inferior fuccefs. They fuftained confiderable damage on the fide of Belgrade; and prince de Cobourg, having croffed the Pruth, and endeavoured to ftation a body of forces fo as to intercept any reinforcements that might be attempted to be thrown into Choczim, fuffered a decifive check, and is faid to have had one of his regiments nearly cut to pieces. The fituation of his army remained for a confiderable time a subject of much apprehenfion. Meanwhile the Auftrians fuffered greatly from the premature opening of their campaign, and the inclemency of the feafon occafioned an alarming mor The Porte is faid to have been lefs difconcerted than they were expected to have been by the communication of the imperial declaration; and they not only permitted the Auftrian envoy to depart without moleftation, but at the fame time liberated Mr. de Bulhakow from his captivity in the Seven Towers. In their fubfequent declaration of war they enumerated more fully than they had before done their caufes of complaint against the court of Peterfburgh; and remonftrated with confiderable emphafis against the conduct of the Auftrians in frontlefsly violating a peace of fifty years continuance, without having the pretence of a fingle injury to affign. They enumerated the various inftances in which a love of peace had induced them to comply with the requifitions and incroachments of the court of Vienna. The emperor had at various times demanded an enlargement of territory on the fide of Moldavia, the guarantee of the Porte for the peaceful behaviour of the Algerines, a freedom of navigation in the Black Sea, the revival of certain commercial ftipulations which had formerly fubfifted between the two countries, but were fuperfeded by the peace of Belgrade, and the admiffion of a German conful into Moldavia. In none of these demands had he been authorized by any sub. fifting treaties, and yet all of them one after another had been conceded by the Porte. The court of Conftan tinople had upon no occafion taken advantage of the embarraffments of the house of Auftria; they had chearfully fubmitted to various facrifices for the prefervation of peace, and and therefore conceived themselves entitled to a betterreturn than the prefent unprovoked hoftilities of the emperor. Inftead of being disheartened at the formidableness of the confederacy that had broken out against them, the Turks applied themfelves with redoubled ardour to prepare for refiftance. The grand vifier in perfon proposed to march with the principal army to the vicinity of Belgrade; a numerous force was affembled for the defence of Croatia; and the garrifons along the frontier were univerfally ftrengthened by reinforcements of men and provifions. A fleet was collected with great labour and industry for the defence of Oczakow and to incline as much as poffible the fuperiority in the Black Sea to the fide of the Turks, and the capitan pacha was deftined to command it. A partial change was introduced in the council of the grand fignior; the mufti, who had been the moft ftrenuous advocate for peace, was removed; and the party of the vifier was rendered every where triumphant. the prefent at least to be attended with greater fuccefs in the way of negotiation and intrigue. General Clairfait was commiffioned to treat with Mahmoud Ali, the celebrated rebel pacha of Scutari; and a fimilar commerce was fet on foot with Ypfilandi, a Grecian chieftain, who had about twelve months before been appointed hofpodar of Moldavia. This negotiation was brought to its maturity in April, at the clofe of which month the Auftrian forces under general Fabris took poffeffion of Jaffy the capital, and over-ran the whole province with the exception of the fortrefs of Choczim on the frontiers of Poland. After the attempt upon Dubicza and the other inferior expeditions we have described, the imperial forces continued for the most part inactive during the remainder of their winter campaign. The interval was interfperfed with a petty war of polts which was related with great minutenefs in the Vienna gazette; but nothing occurred that feems to deferve to be mentioned except the attack, of Turkish Gradisca to the fouth of the Save in the province of Croatia, which was repeatedly bombarded, but was defended by the Turks with the fame unalterable courage and perfeverance that they had difplayed at Dubicza. Meanwhile the tranfactions of the emperor appeared for The emperor, marshal Lafcy and the prince of Lichtenftein repaired to the armies in Hungary and Croatia in the clofe of March, but it was not till the latter end of April that the forces were put into motion. At that time the emperor in perfon undertook the affault of Schabatz, a fortrefs upon the Danube a little to the weft of Belgrade, which was foon reduced to furrender. Prince Lichtenstein had already formed the fiege of Dubicza, and now conceived he had found a favourable opportunity of reducing the garrifon by ftorm; but he was repulfed by the Turks, who, purfuing their advantage, attackedthe Austrians in their trenches, and after a general action of three hours are faid to have been defeated. Their adverfary however thought proper that very night to raise the fiege, to break up his camp, crofs the river that divided the imperial from the Turkish territories, and ftation his forces in fuch a manner as might belt cover the former from the enterprizes of the Ottomans. Thefe were for fome time the last offenfive operations of the Auftrians. E 3 They They had vehemently boafted of the decifive advantages they fhould poffefs over an undifciplined enemy, and they ftill talked of the fiege of Belgrade. But this operation was from time to time deferred, they remained for the moft part quiet in their camp, and at length the arrival of the grand vifier and his army gave a new turn to the fate of the campaign. The vaft empire of Ruffia advanced in its warlike operations with a flower progrefs. This was afcribed in part to the wisdom and maturity of her counfels, not hurried on like the emperor by a puerile impatience, expofing his troops to the pernicious operations of a wintry iky, or gratifying a reflefs difpofition by puny war; but waiting for the moment of energy, and watchful to ftrike a decifive blow. We muft not however afcribe the flownefs of the Ruffians entirely to their wifdom. Though their empire was extenfive, its provinces were defert and uninhabited, and they were little prepared either in population or revenue to fupport the burthen of war. In the very commencement of hoftilities they had made a levy of one man in an hundred through their vaft dominions, and this was expected to produce a hundred thousand men; and, in confequence of certain unfa, vourable events that occurred in the courfe of the campaign, the government paper became fo reduced in its credit as to be negociated at a discount of feventy per cent. We do not give thefe as unquestionable facts; but they probably had fome foundation in truth, and they enable to judge of the idea formed of the fituation of Ruffia in neighbouring nations. Certain it is that the emprefs found it acceffary to fufpend the progrefs of the public edifices and canals that had been undertaken, and to convert equally the fums deftined for neceffary improvements and philofophical difcoveries to the fup-port of the war. The armies under Potemkin and Romanzow had been in fome degree formed during the laft campaign, and they received continual reinforcements in the course of the prefent year. The army of the former, which was destined for the fiege of Oczakow, and confifted of feventy thoufand men attended with a train of one hundred and twenty seven cannon, croffed the Hypanis or river Bog early in June; and the forces of Romanzow, which were estimated at fifty or fixty thousand men, at the fame time paffed the Niefter. Soon after this operation general Romanzow detached one half of his army to join prince de Cobourg on the Pruth, who had already in the preceding month undertaken the bombardment of Choczim, but after a fhort trial found himfelf unequal to the purfuit of a regular fiege. Meanwhile the naval preparations of Ruffia did not fall fhort of her mili-, tary exertions. A numerous fleet was fitted out at the port of Cronftadt in the Baltic, which was deftined to encounter that of the capitan pacha in the Archipelago. Thefe efforts however were widely diftant. from the scene of action, and there-, fore attended with uncertainty. A fleet of an inferior fort was induftriously created in the Euxine. It does not feem to have confifted of. more than four fhips of the line, three of which had been launched in the preceding fummer at Cherfon, together with fome frigates and a confiderable number of galleys; and thefe, being diftributed in to two fquadrons, fquadrons, were ftationed in part at Kinburn under the prince of Nassau Siegen, and in part at Sebaftopolis in the Crimea under admiral count Wainowitz. In the former of thefe fquadrons Paul Jones, the celebrated freebooter, ferved in the quality of rear admiral. The naval armament of the Turks was an object of principal attention with the court of Conftantinople. It was intended to be commanded by Haffan Ali, who had made fo distinguished a figure in Egypt, and whofe military reputation greatly furpaffed that of the reft of his countrymen. It was deftined for the conqueft of the Crimea, the favourite object which had excited the Turks to their late declaration of war. When the capitan pacha failed from the road of Conftantinople on the twentieth of May, his fleet confifted of fixteen fhips of the line and nine frigates, befide many fmaller veffela; and it was altogether impoffible that the navy of Cronftadt could arrive time enough to counteract his operations. His fuccefs however did not correfpond with the expectations he excited; and the prince of Naffau difplayed not merely the fuperiority of refinement and fcience over barbarifm, but also threw contempt upon that inequality of force, which it has lately been the fashion to confider as decifive in naval engagements. Haffan Ali appeared at the mouth of the Dnieper in the beginning of the following month. His adverfary found himself totally unable to encounter the vast fuperiority of the Turkish force, and had therefore judiciously ftationed his little fleet in the bay of Kinburn, commonly called the Liman, in fhallow water, where they could not fafely be ap He proached by fhips of burthen. The Turkish admiral found it impracticable to bear down upon him with his whole force, and at the fame time conceived he had fufficient reafon for confidence in his smaller veffels, which amounted to fifty-feven, while thofe of the enemy did not exceed twenty-feven fail. therefore fent in this force to the attack on the nineteenth of June; but the prince of Naffau, aware of his defign, ftationed his veffels in fuch a manner as to prevent an attack in line, and by his exertions repulfed the Turkish affailants. Two of their veffels were blown up, one funk, and the reft driven back in confufion, till they got under protection of their fhips of the line. Haffan was little accustomed to brook a defeat, and he refolved to repair in perfon the miscarriage of thofe who acted under him. Forgetting the circumftance which appears to have influenced his conduct in the former inftance, and hurried on by a blind impetuofity, he entered the Liman with his principal fleet, regardless of the fhallownefs of the navigation. Here, as might have been expected, his veffel immediately ftruck; but it was got off before the Ruffians could advance to the attack. The wind was unfavourable, and therefore the prince of Naffau put off the engagement to the next day, which was the twenty-eighth. In the mean time he had been reinforced with twenty-two veffels of one gun each, that were built at Krementíchuck. In the beginning of the conflict a Turkish fixty-four ftruck upon the fand and was affailed on all fides by the Mufcovites. The conteft lafted feveral hours, but the Turk was at length obliged to yield, and his crew was faved, though the E 4 fhip fhip was blown up. A fimilar fate attended the admiral fhip of the capitan pacha. The Turks were prevented by the batteries of Kinburn from efcaping out of the Liman during the night. The next morning more of the Ottoman fhips of the line were found ftranded; and, the prince of Nassau having come up with his flotilla, a battle enfued, which lafted four hours and a half. In the refult five other of the Turkifh veffels were deftroyed, as well fhips of the line as frigates, and two taken. The number of prifoners were near seventeen hundred. Two thousand Turks are computed to have perished in the flames. Through the whole action they difplayed a firmness and perfeverance aftogether unconquerable, and were only fubdued by the ruinous fituation in which they had placed themselves, The capitan pacha immediately after the action failed for Varna at the mouth of the Danube. The Turks were not long before they found themselves again in a condition to put to fea; and prince Potemkin, who was preparing for the bombardment of Oczakow, found that his undertaking would be impracticable, fo long as the Ottoman galley's fhould be able to maintain their fituation in its vicinity, He accordingly directed the prince of Naffau to attack them, which fervice was performed on the night of the eleventh of July. The engagement is faid to have endured eight hours, and the Turks fuffered fo much as to be obliged to quit their Яtation, while the Ruffian commander returned to his anchorage under the fortress of Kinburn. Accordingly on the next day the prince of Naffau, fupported by the army on the ether fide, began the bombardment of Oczakow with fuch fuccefs, as to fet fire to the towns in several places; but, the heavy artillery not being yet arrived, prince Potemkin was not able to commence a regular fiege. The Turkish admiral in his retreat directed his courfe to Sebaf topolis, with an intention of burning the fquadron of count Wainowitz, confifting of two fhips of fixty-fix guns, two of fifty, and eight frigates of forty guns each; but, after a battle of five hours, he was obliged to fail away without effecting his purpose. It was fortunate for Ruffia that fhe had so skilful a commander at the head of her navy in the Black Sea, as to make the interference of the fleet of Cronstadt unneceffary for the defence of her Tartarian dominions. The extreme distance they had to traverse before they could arrive at the place of their deftination, rendered the period of their arrival extremely uncertain; and the danger that would refult to the liberties of Europe from the conqueft of Tur, key, together with the galling and unintermitted flavery in which the pow ers of the North, who were unable to refift her, were held by the czarina, might excite a reasonable apprehenfion of hoftilities nearer to the metropolis of the empire. England and Pruffia contemplated her projects with difapprobation and jealoufy. Poland, Courland and Sweden looked with an impatient and anxicus expectation for the moment when they might fafely shake off the fuperiority, which deprived them of all external authority, and diftracted their centre with contention, faction and discord. The monarch of the laft of these countries in particular was in the vigour of his age, bold, enthufiaftic and |