CXjARKE ? S TRAVELS-. 
224 
sent for its invasion. This it was that gave to. an old man pent 
op in a small tower by the sea side the extraordinary empire 
he possessed. Djezzar had with him, in a state of constant im¬ 
prisonment, many of the most powerful chieftains of the coun¬ 
try. The sons of the princes of Dibanus remained with him 
always as hostages; for the Druses, # inhabiting all the moun¬ 
tainous district to the north and east of Seide, were constantly 
liable to revolt. Sir Sidney Smith, by cultivating an alliance 
with this people, when the French were endeavouring to march 
through Syria, prevented their affording assistance to our ene¬ 
mies. He undertook to guaranty their safety from all attacks, 
whether of the French or of Djezzar: and when the latter 
most unjustifiably violated his treaties with them, he enabled 
them to protect their territory. It was this circumstance which* 
ever honourable on the part of Sir Sidney Smith, gave rise to 
a misunderstanding between him and Djezzar. Matters had 
not been adjusted between them at the time of our arrival. 
With due intimation therefore of his prejudice against the hero 
of Acre, as well as the knowledge we had obtained of his pri¬ 
vate character and disposition, we w r ere ushered to his presence. 
We found him seated on a mat in a little chamber, destitute 
even of the meanest article of furniture, excepting a coarse, 
porous, earthenware vessel, for cooling the water he occasion¬ 
ally drank. He was surrounded by persons maimed and dis¬ 
figured in the manner before described. Tie scarcely looked 
up to notice our entrance, but continued his employment of 
drawing upon the floor, for one of his engineers, a plan of 
some w orks he was then constructing.f His form was athletic, 
and his long white beard entirely covered his breast. His 
habit was that of a common Arab, plain but clean, consisting 
of a white camlet over a cotton cassock. TIis turban was also 
white. Neither cushion nor carpet decorated the naked 
boards of his divan. In his girdle he wore a poignard set 
# A sect of Arabs inhabiting the environs of Mount Libanus ; so called from their 
founder, surnamed El Durzi, who came from Persia into Egypt in the year 1020. 
(Fee Egmont and 'Reyman’s Trav vol. i. p. 293.) Niebuhr and Volney have given a 
full account of their history. It has been ignorantly supposed that they are the off¬ 
spring of a colony of French crusaders; but their came occurs in the itinerary of 
Benjamin of Tudeia, written anterior to the crusades; their language, moreover, is 
purely Arabic. Pococke fell into the error of their Christian origin. “ If any ac* 
count,” says he, “ can be given of the original of the Druses, it is, that they are the 
remains of the Christian armies in the Holy War,” Descript, of the East, p. 94. Lond, 
'1745. 
j Djezzar built the mosque, the bazar, and a most elegant public fountain, in 
Acre- In all these works he was himself both the engineer and the architect, “ He 
formed the plans,” says Volney, “drew the designs, and superintended the •• 
tiocb.” Trav. in Egypt and Syria, vol. ij. p. 226. 
