18 TURKEY IN ASIA- 



esteem. He filled the throne of Constantinople without reflecting 

 disgrace upon human nature. His temper appears to have been mild 

 and humane. He not only permit ed Selim, his nephew, son of the 

 late emperor, to live, but even publicly acknowledged him for his 

 successor. His reign was not stained with so many arbitrary mur- 

 ders as those of his predecessors ; nor did he think it necessary that 

 a disgraced minister should part at once with his office and his life* 

 He suffered his countrymen to improve by the arts and military dis- 

 cipline of Europe. Yssouf, his prime minister, during the last three 

 years of his life, though by no means consistently great, must be 

 allowed to deserve our applause, and will be better known to pos- 

 terity as the patron of the Turkish translation of the Encyclopaedia* 

 than as the victorious and skilful rival of the Austrian arms in the 

 Bannat of Transylvania. 



Achmet died at the unenterprising age of sixty-four, and Selim 

 the Third succeeded, at twenty eight. In the vigour of youth, he 

 thought it necessary to distinguish himself by something extraordi- 

 nary, and at first purposed to put himself at the head of his forces. 

 He was easily, as might be expected from his effeminate educations 

 dissuaded from this rash and ridiculous project. But he conceived 

 that at least it became him to discountenance the ministers of his 

 predecessor, and reverse all their proceedings. These ministers had 

 acquired in some degree the confidence of those who acted under 

 their command ; and it appeared in the sequel, that the fantastic 

 splendour of a new and juvenile sovereign could not compensate for 

 the capricious and arbitrary changes with which his accession was 

 accompanied. 



In the year 1788 Choczim and Oczakow surrendered to the arms 

 of Russia, as will be found in the history of that country ; and on the 

 12th of September, 1789, the Austrian forces sat down before Bel- 

 grade, and with that good fortune which seemed almost constantly to 

 attend their commander, marshal Laudohn, the place, together with 

 its numerous garrison, surrendered, after a vigorous resistance, on the 

 8th of October. The rest of the campaign was little else than a succes- 

 sion of the most important successes ; and a circumstance that did 

 not a little contribute to this, was the system adopted by the Austri- 

 ans and Russians, of suffering the Turkish troops to march out of the 

 several places they garrisoned without molestation. Bucharest, the 

 capital of Walachia, fell without opposition into the hands of prince 

 Cobourg ; while Akerman, on the Black Sea, was reduced by the Rus- 

 sians; and Bender surrendered to prince Potemkin, not without sus- 

 picion of sinister practices, on the 15th of November. One only check 

 presented itself to the allied arms. The garrison of Orsova displayed 

 the most inflexible constancy, and marshal Laudohn was obliged to 

 raise the siege of this place in the middle of December, after having 

 sat down before it for a period of six weeks. In a short time after 

 the siege was renewed, and Orsova was reduced the 16th of April* 

 1790. 



After the reduction of Orsova, the war was carried on with lan- 

 guor, on the part of Austria ; and in the month of June a conference 

 was agreed upon at Reichenbach, at which the ministers of Prussia., 

 Austria, England, and the United Provinces assisted, and at which 

 also an envoy from Poland %vas occasionally present. After a negotia- 

 tion, which continued till the 17th of August, it was agreed that a 

 peace should be concluded between the king of Hungary and the Ot~ 



