State of Affairs in the Levant in August, 1839—The Author’s Interview with Hosrew Pacha—Sir Robert Stopford at Constantinople; his Interview with the Sultan—Impolitic Junction of the English and French Fleets—Sir John Louis takes the command of the English Squadron—The Author tenders his Resignation.

The loss of the battle of Nizib, the death of the Sultan Mahmoud, and the defection of the Turkish fleet, threatened to place Turkey at the mercy of Mehemet Ali, or under the protection of Russia. At the earnest desire of France Ibrahim Pacha halted, and in the beginning of August, 1839, the combined squadrons of England and France assembled in Besika Bay, ready to proceed to Constantinople, should Ibrahim march, or should the Russians leave Sebastapol.

The allied ministers, however, do not appear to have considered how the squadrons were to pass the Dardanelles; the current runs constantly to the southward, and the prevailing winds are generally from the opposite direction. It rarely happens that a favourable breeze sufficiently strong springs up to enable ships to pass the Hellespont; and we had not an adequate number of steam vessels to take the ships in tow. Russia had a strong fleet and army at Sebastapol, and could approach the Sultan’s capital at pleasure, whereas we were powerless, and as for being able to protect the Porte from a sudden attack, either from Russia or Ibrahim Pacha, we might just as well have been in Malta Harbour.

As forty-eight hours would have been sufficient for a Russian fleet and army to arrive at Constantinople, it always appeared to me, after the unforeseen misfortunes which had befallen the Porte, the ambassadors and admirals ought to have taken the responsibility on themselves, and anchored the squadrons in the Golden Horn the first favourable opportunity; the ministers of the different Powers could then have treated the Eastern Question on an equal footing. Russia would, no doubt, have stormed, threatened, and, perhaps, withdrawn her ambassador, but she would not have gone to war, and, after a time, would have sent her squadron to Constantinople to join that of England and France; strong detachments should then have appeared off Alexandria, and, most probably, Mehemet Ali, seeing a close union between the great Powers of Europe, would have given up the Turkish fleet, and restored Syria to the Porte.

This was not done, and France soon began to take a new view of the Eastern Question, and shortly after refused to send the combined fleets to Alexandria to demand the Turkish squadron, and, under all circumstances, I think she was right; a hostile fleet could not enter the harbour easily, or indeed at all, if proper precautions were taken. We had no troops to land, and the absence of the Russian squadron would have given Mehemet Ali reason to believe the four Powers were not united. Alexandria might have been bombarded, it is true, and the fleet burnt, but that would have been almost as untoward an event as the battle of Navarino, and certainly would not have tended to strengthen the Turkish empire; it might have provoked Mehemet Ali to order Ibrahim to advance, which would have brought the Russians to Constantinople, and once there, they most assuredly would not have permitted us to pass the Dardanelles.

About this time the Admiral and many of the officers were at Constantinople, when it was intimated to him that he might shortly expect decided instructions; leave was immediately stopped, and the officers were ordered to rejoin their ships forthwith. These instructions were supposed to be, to proceed to Alexandria, but they never arrived, as France objected to the measure. Admiral Roussin was recalled, we became cool with France, and began to draw near to Russia. During my sojourn at Constantinople, I had an opportunity of examining the sea defences, the capital, and the Bosphorus, and I sent Colonel Napier, who was with me, to examine the land fortifications. The batteries were numerous, well placed, and mounted many heavy guns; but with a strong wind and current a fleet might pass down without much damage, and if that fleet was accompanied by an army the fortifications could be taken in reverse; the defences of the Dardanelles are strong to the sea, but weak to the land; a fleet might descend with the stream, but it would be no easy matter to go against it.

When at Constantinople I had an interview with the Grand Vizier, Hosrew Pacha. The old man appeared nearly eighty; he is of low stature, and a good deal deformed; his countenance fresh, with a most intelligent and penetrating eye, his dress simple. On entering his apartment he immediately rose, kissed my cheek, complimented Colonel Napier on his soldier-like appearance, and begged us to be seated; seeing us in boots, he called for his, which he drew on in great haste, apparently to be on a footing with us. Pipes and coffee were produced, and, after a few puffs, he began the conversation through Mr. Redhouse, the interpreter, by expressing his satisfaction at seeing me in the Sultan’s capital. I replied that I hoped to have an opportunity of performing some services for His Imperial Majesty, and that I thought the first step he ought to take, should be, inviting the combined fleets to Constantinople. The old man appeared to apprehend more danger from Mehemet Ali than from Russia, and did not relish this proposal; he roundly asserted that it would cause an insurrection, and the Christians would be massacred; that he was not afraid of Russia, and although the empire had been brought to a very low ebb by the incapacity of the men the late Sultan had placed at the head of the army, followed by the defection of the Turkish fleet, she was still strong; that he had no fears of Russia, and should her troops advance on Constantinople he would put himself at the head of the Ottoman army and defeat them. I asked him where his army was, as it had been destroyed at Nizib and replaced by boys; remarking that Russia would never think of marching, but would come by sea, pass the Bosphorus in spite of all the batteries, and take possession of Constantinople with the greatest ease.

To this he replied that, in the neighbourhood of the capital there was an army of 30,000 men, which was quite sufficient for its defence, and it would be much better if one half of the fleet was to remain at the mouth of the Dardanelles and the other half proceed to Alexandria. To this I answered, that nothing could be done at Alexandria without troops, that the entrance of the harbour was too shallow for ships to enter with their guns, and that Mehemet Ali had declared that if the fleet appeared there, he should instantly direct Ibrahim to march on Scutari; this would inevitably bring down the Russians, who would object to the French and English approaching Constantinople, even if they could get a fair wind, and the probability would be that it would embroil Europe in war, and Turkey would be sacrificed.

The Vizier inquired why an English army could not be spared to attack Alexandria. To this I replied, we had already too much on our hands; what with the troubles in Canada, the war in India, the prospect of an outbreak in China, and the Chartists at home, it was impossible to spare troops, and that I was sure Parliament would not grant supplies for such an expedition. This ended our conversation. Hosrew was strongly suspected of being in the interest, if not the pay of Russia; how far that is true, is hard to say.

The Admiral obtained firmans to see the mosques and other curiosities at Constantinople, which have been so often described that I shall not torment the reader with a repetition of an often told tale.

After passing ten days pleasantly enough between Constantinople and Therapia, and being entertained by the ambassadors, we embarked on board the Carysfort, which bore the Admiral’s flag, and, in tow of a steamer, left Therapia, and shortly after anchored abreast of the Sultan’s Asiatic palace. A royal salute was then fired, and returned by the batteries in the vicinity of the Imperial residence. Nothing can be more beautiful than the passage down the Bosphorus, and nothing more magnificent than the Sultan’s palaces and the country-houses situated on its banks.

Mahmoud was fond of building, and just before his death had finished a new palace on the European shore. With Colonel Napier’s permission, I give the account of an interview with the Sultan in nearly his own words.

“The household troops, such as they were, received the Admiral and his suite on landing, and we proceeded into a handsome apartment on the ground floor, where we were received by the Sultan’s brother-in-law, the Seraskier, Halil Pacha. Pipes were in this instance dispensed with, and after partaking of coffee and sweetmeats, handed round in gold filagree cups and saucers, richly studded with diamonds, a very common-place conversation took place, through the medium of the interpreter, between Sir Robert and the commander-in-chief of the Turkish forces.

“In about a quarter of an hour his ‘Highness’ sent word that he was ready to receive us, whereupon the whole suite, consisting of about a dozen British officers, proceeded, ‘booted‘ as we were, up a magnificent staircase, and through numerous apartments, the floors of which shone forth in all the splendour of the rarest and most highly-polished woods; and whilst the Turkish courtiers glided noiselessly along, in their purple slippers of thin morocco leather, a most martial tramp proclaimed our entrance into the presence chamber, where, on a sofa, sat the effeminate-looking Sultan, girded with the Sword of Osman.

“Abdul Medjid, the youthful Sultan, far from being

was a pale and sickly-looking youth, of apparently three or four and twenty, though in reality his age exceeded not seventeen; but it is said that his frequent visits to the harem had given him this appearance of premature age.

“He was plainly dressed, not in the Oriental style, but in a plain cloth military surtout and pantaloons, a short blue cloak, gracefully placed on his left shoulder, and a fez on his head. The only sign of regal magnificence displayed by him was a few brilliants on the clasp of his belt, with which the hilt of the sabre was likewise thickly studded.

“We formed half a circle round his Imperial Majesty, who did not deign to rise, and were presented by the Seraskier. Sir Robert Stopford then said, that the gratification he had received at seeing Constantinople, together with the attention he had met with, was very great. The Sultan, through Halil Pacha, who seemed to prompt him in all he uttered, replied, he was very glad his Excellency had felt so gratified.

“The Admiral then said, that he had been entrusted by Her Britannic Majesty with the command of a fleet, to render any service which might be required by the Sublime Porte. To this the Sultan bowed. Here ended the conference; we retired with the Seraskier, partook of the parting bowl of sherbet, and in four-and-twenty hours were once more in the midst of the fleet in Besika Bay.”

The fleets remained there till the end of October; the English then proceeded to Vourla for the winter, and were shortly followed by the French squadron, part of which went to Smyrna. The English now consisted of twelve sail of the line; the French of nine. The French ships were much larger and better manned than ours, and Admiral Lalande was indefatigable in exercising them, and I must admit that in harbour manoeuvres they were equally as expert as ourselves, and in some respects superior; and I cannot refrain from observing that keeping the two fleets so much together was a most impolitic measure. When the French squadron first joined Sir Pulteney Malcolm in the Downs they were all abroad; the five or six years they had been almost constantly in company with the British had brought about a most astonishing change for the better, and although it may be very advantageous to have an alliance with France, there ought to be no acting together with fleets if it can possibly be avoided.

On the 22nd of January, 1840, Commodore Hyde Parker sailed for England, (his broad blue pennant had been up a few months,) and the Commander-in-chief shortly after obtained leave to proceed to Malta, with six sail of the line, and Sir John Louis, the Superintendant of Malta Dockyard, was ordered to Vourla, to take command of the remainder of the squadron; this was an unusual measure, and by no means complimentary to myself, who was the next senior officer. I in consequence proffered my resignation to the Admiral, which he declined to accept, and after some explanation with him my letter was withdrawn, and I pocketed the affront.