HISTORY OF EUROPE. 



251 



of war. The alarm of an inva- 

 sion was soon dissipated. By re- 

 peated attacks on the French flo- 

 tilla, great numbers of the vessels 

 were destroyed, taken, or dis- 

 persed. A debarkation of about 

 3,500 men, Corsicans and Neapo- 

 litans, was effected, September 

 18th, near the Faro, Of these, 

 not being supported by any other 

 corps, 900 were taken prisoners 

 by two of our regiments, com- 

 manded by major-general Camp- 

 bell. The rest made their escape 

 to their gun-vessels. On the 

 3rd of October, king Murat pro- 

 claimed to his soldiers, " that the 

 expedition to Sicily wasadjourncd. 

 The object of the emperor in me- 

 nacing that island had been ful- 

 filled :* the problem had been 

 solved. It had been proved, that 

 the enemy's flotillas could not ob- 

 struct the passage, and that Sicily 

 might be conquered whenever it 

 should be seriously intended." 



An obstinatecontest was carried 

 on between the Turks and the Rus- 

 sians in Bulgaria. Several bloody 

 battles were fought, but none of 

 them decisive. The number of Rus- 

 sian troops engaged was computed 

 at 200,000; that of the Turks, 

 in garrisons and in the field, at 

 300,000. The Russians took Wid- 

 din, Cristow, Georgivo, and other 

 places of inferior importance on the 

 Danube. But their progress was 

 arrested at Rudschuck, Schumla, 

 and Warna. At the first two of 

 these placestheconflict appears to 

 have been very sanguinary — both 

 parties claimed victory ; but both 

 ultimately admitted that they were 

 dearly bought, by the necessity 

 they were under of suspending 



their operations until they should 

 receive reinforcements. The Turks 

 were driven from the townof Ruds- 

 chuck, but not from the fortress. 

 The Ottoman government was 

 far from being deficient either in 

 activity or enterprise. They sent 

 a fleet into the Black Sea, to pre- 

 vent the Russians from receiving 

 any communication through that 

 channel. Demonstrations were 

 made of attacking the Crimea, in 

 order to oblige the Russians to di- 

 vide their forces, and thus create a 

 diversion in favour of the grand 

 vizier at Schumla. The Russians 

 continued to concentrate their 

 corps, with the intention, it was 

 supposed, of marching into Ro- 

 mania. The grand vizier, there- 

 fore, leaving a part of his troops 

 in the entrenched camp at Schum- 

 la, retreated with the remainder 

 over the Bukanian mountains in 

 good order, and without molesta- 

 tion, in order to take post between 

 the Russians and Adrianople. The 

 grand seignor, having issued a pro- 

 clamation calling on all faithful 

 Mussulmen to support the cause 

 of Mahommcd, and displayed the 

 standard of the prophet, advanced 

 with a body of troops to David 

 Bashaw, two miles from Con- 

 stantinople, where he established 

 his head-quarters, and whither all 

 his ministers and other troops fol- 

 lowed him. The troops proceeded 

 to join the grand vizier. The 

 sultan returned to his capital. 

 While the grand Turkish army 

 passed the winter undisturbed in 

 their winter quarters, the fleet lay 

 in the harbour of Constantinople. 

 There appeared, in 1810, in the 

 Turkish government an unusual 



* And hi), perhaps, il io some measure was, by detaining in Sicily a force iLalmislit 

 have be«n lauded on tho bay of Kosas, or at «ome other point of Spain. 



