manding ransom. The
plan of defence adopted by the pasha was the work of Drovetti, to whom,
consequently, is due some of the glory of this rapid triumph.

Mehemet Ali, having nothing further to fear from the English, who
evacuated Egypt in September, 1807, began to give scope to his ambitious
schemes, when the easily disturbed policy of the Porte saw fit to send
the wily pasha against the Wahabis, who threatened to invade the Holy
Places. Before obeying these injunctions, the viceroy deemed it wise,
previous to engaging in a campaign so perilous, to ensure Egypt against
the dangers with which, in the absence of the forces, she would be
menaced.

[Illustration: 151.jpg MOSQUE OF MEHEMIT ALI]

But Egypt had no more powerful enemies than the Mamluks, who, since
1808, had kept the country in a constant state of agitation. Mehemet Ali
therefore determined to put an end to this civil war, root and branch,
and to exterminate completely this formidable adversary. He did not
hesitate in the choice of means. War would not have succeeded; murder,
therefore, was the only alternative, and the viceroy adopted this
horrible means of accomplishing his designs. He invited the entire
Mam-luk corps to a banquet, which he proposed to give in the Citadel
Palace in honour of the departure of Tussun Pasha for Mecca. This palace
is built upon a rock, and is reached by perpendicular paths. On May 1st,
the day fixed upon for the festivity, Mehemet Ali received his guests
in great splendour and with a cordiality calculated to dispel any
suspicions the Mamluks might have entertained. At the conclusion of
the banquet, as they were returning home, they were fired upon in the
narrow pass, where retreat and resistance were perfectly impossible.
Thus, after having defeated the bravest troops in the world, they died
obscurely, ingloriously, and unable to defend themselves. Hassan Bey,
brother of the celebrated Elfi, spurred his horse to a gallop, rode over
the parapets, and fell, bruised and bleeding, at the foot of the walls,
where some Arabs saved him from certain death by aiding his flight. The
few who escaped massacre took refuge in Syria or Dongola.

Whilst this horrible drama was being enacted in Cairo, similar scenes
were taking place in those provinces whose governors had received
stringent commands to butcher every remaining Mamluk in Egypt. THUs
nearly all perished, and that famous corps was destroyed for ever.

Although Mehemet Ali had n