“Shortly before the allied forces landed in Syria, several of the most influential Maronite and Druse chieftains^[124] of Mount Lebanon being seized by Ibrahim Pacha, were, together with a great number of their servants and dependants, embarked on board an Egyptian vessel at Acre. On arriving at Alexandria, these unfortunate people, after being loaded with chains, and subjected to every species of indignity, were sent up the Nile to the remote regions of Sennaar, there to work at the Pacha’s recently discovered gold mines.

“One of Commodore Napier’s stipulations with Boghos Bey being the emancipation of these mountain chiefs^[125], after the evacuation of Syria by the Egyptians I was sent by Colonel Bridgeman, then in command of the British troops, to accompany these Emirs and Scheiks back to their own country.

“On my arrival in Egypt, in February, 1841, I immediately proceeded on the purport of my mission, and ascended the Nile in quest of my charge. Mehemet Ali, I learnt, had already sent orders for their liberation, and I met them all at Cairo on their way to Alexandria. Finding them here in the most complete state of destitution, clothed in rags, without money, and in want of the common necessaries of life, I made several representations on the subject to the authorities, which were, however, disregarded; and it was only through the active mediation of that gallant old soldier Souliman Pacha (who had just returned across the Desert) and on his and my repeated applications, that daily rations were at last served out to these unfortunate people.

“After numerous vexatious delays, the order for them to proceed to Alexandria at length arrived; a fine Egyptian corvette was placed at my disposal for their conveyance, and about the middle of March, 1841, I had the satisfaction of landing them, (with one exception^[126],) in safety at Beyrout, where they were received with the greatest enthusiasm.

“Although the return of these Emirs and Scheiks may entirely be attributed to Commodore Napier, the French merchants and priests in Beyrout and Lebanon had the assurance to arrogate to themselves the merit of the act, and widely spread this report in the mountains, which assertion, however, I as flatly contradicted, and completely succeeded in disproving this false and barefaced assertion. Shortly after this I rejoined my regiment at Gibraltar.

“The Commodore, in thinking of his mountain friends, had not neglected the interests of the unfortunate Syrian soldiers, who, having been pressed into the Egyptian service, were, on the evacuation of Syria, unwillingly dragged after Ibrahim Pacha to the ‘Land of Bondage.’ The Commodore’s stipulation with Boghos Bey on the subject was, ‘that as soon as the evacuation of Syria should be effected, the whole of these men should be immediately sent back to their country.’ However, time wore on, and as Mehemet Ali showed no symptoms of fulfillingfulfilling his promise, the writer was again sent to Egypt by the Foreign Office, with directions to exact from the Pacha the accomplishment of his engagement to Sir Charles Napier as to the Syrian soldiers, and to accompany those soldiers back to their country.country. Armed with ‘full powers^[127],’ I left the Rock on the 26th of May, and arriving at Alexandria about a month later, at once set about the performance of my task, and this I very soon discovered would be no easy one.

“In the first place, it was difficult to ascertain the exact number of surviving Syrians of Ibrahim’s army who had arrived in Egypt, particularly as every obstacle was industriously thrown in the way of obtaining such information. The Egyptian authorities estimated the number of survivors at so low a figure as 3000; however, from all the information I was able to collect, I concluded the sum total to amount to about 10,000 or 12,000; nor was I much out in this calculation, though the extremes of heat and cold, the griping hand of hunger and thirst during the winter retreat over the plains of the Haouran, and across the sands of the Desert, to say nothing of the plague which had been raging in Egypt since their return to the latter country;—all these circumstances combined,—had made sad havoc amongst their devoted bands.

“The Pacha at first sheltered himself under the plea of not being able to take any steps in the matter until he had received the sanction of the Sultan, and thus gained a month or six weeks, until a communication was sent and answer returned from Constantinople. The reply of the Porte arrived in the shape of a Turkish officer of the rank of ‘MeeralaÏ,’ (Colonel), who, whatever might be his secret instructions, came with professed orders for the immediate liberation of the Syrians. Still no great alacrity was manifested to comply with these injunctions. Time passed away; the month of August arrived, and with it Colonel Barnett, the British Consul-General, who joined me in urging the fulfilment of an engagement which the Pacha continued as perseveringly, to evade. Mustapha Bey, the Turkish Commissioner, apparently united with us in our request; but it may not be here irrelevant to remark, as an instance of what reliance may be placed on Turkish faith and honour, that this person had the audacity to propose to me the enlÈvement of Mehemet Ali on the occasion of a proposed visit of the latter to Her Majesty’s steamer Medea; adding, that taking the old gentleman captive to Stamboul, would ensure the fortune of us both! I was strongly inclined to turn the tables on the fellow, by letting the Pacha into the secret; but the consequence would probably have been fatal to the offender, who, after all, was perhaps no worse than the majority of Oriental diplomatists.

“How long the negotiation might otherwise have been protracted is hard to say; but, luckily about this time, my representations received great additional weight from the unexpected appearance of a couple of British line-of-battle ships at Alexandria, the Rodney and Calcutta having received orders to station themselves off that port. Accordingly, on the 7th of September, I received a communication from Boghos Bey, stating that the first detachment of Syrian soldiers, to the amount of 1100, would embark in two of the Pacha’s vessels on the following, and sail the succeeding day, offering me, at the same time, accommodation on board; which offer, however, was politely declined.

“Fully relying on the accuracy of this statement, I was, on the following day (the 8th), not a little surprised to find that the vessels, with these troops on board, had gone out of port early on that morning. I immediately communicated the circumstance to the Consul-General, and as suspicions were entertained at the time that the Pacha had,—with the concurrence of the Porte,—some design of sending troops to Candia, we concluded that the destination of the people, who were thus clandestinely smuggled off, might not be for Syria. Under this impression, Captain Maunsell, of the Rodney, was immediately communicated with, and he ordered the Egyptian vessels to be watched by the Calcutta and Medea, in which latter vessel I embarked.

“But whatever their originally proposed destination might have been, under this goodly escort, the first batch of Syrians arrived in safety at Beyrout on the 14th of September, and being duly handed over by me to the British and Turkish authorities,—Col. Rose and Selim Pasha,—were shortly afterwards followed by the remainder of their unfortunate fellow exiles, to the amount of 10,000, who returned to their native shores in the most miserable plight, without pay, many in rags, and the greater part with several months’ arrears due to them, some even to the extent of from twenty to twenty-four months!

“So much for the faith, justice, and honour of His Highness Mehemet Ali Pacha!”