The former, Elizabeth, daughter of the Empe- | ror Maximilian, took very little interest in politics, and had so small a share in the confidence of her husband, that she did not know anything of the massacre of St. Bartholomew until the morning after that horrible butchery. Marie Touchet, to whom Charles continued passionately attached during his whole life, took the greatest care to avoid anything that might excite the jealousy of Catherine, and frequently used her influence with the King, to induce him to yield to his mother, whenever he differed from her in opinion.

We have too recently described the fearful eve of St. Bartholomew, to touch upon it again. Charles IX., when the excitement of crime was over, began to regard his mother with horror, and would certainly have excluded her from power, had he ever been restored to sound health. Some have asserted that the knowledge of this intention induced Catherine to poison her second son, and adduce as a proof her address to her favorite child, Henry, when he was setting out to assume the crown of Poland. Adieu," said she, " you will not be long absent from France!" But such a crime would have been perfectly gratuitous; the declining condition of Charles was known to everybody when Henry went to Poland; long before that event, the physicians had declared that his excesses had exhausted the stamina of life.

In the interregnum between the death of Charles and the return of King Henry, Catherine abused her power as regent, to procure the condemnation of Montgomery, whose lance had accidentally killed her husband fifteen years before. The unfortunate nobleman was cruelly tortured; Catherine hoped to force him to confess that he and the Colignis had formed a conspiracy against the late king, which might be pleaded as an apology for the massacre of St. Bartholomew. But the rack only forced from Montgomery cries that the terms on which he had surrendered to the royal forces had been perfidiously violated. He was so broken by the torture, that he had to be lifted to the scaffold; and he met his fate with the courage of a martyr. During the civil wars which distracted the unhappy reign of Henry III., Catherine steadily pursued one object-the exclusion of Henry of Navarre from the succession. To accomplish this, she became reconciled to her old enemies, the Princes of Lorraine, and secretly favored the enterprise of the League. Her son Henry, who had long submitted implicitly to her guidance,

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resolved to counteract her scheme, by treachery and crime. Concealing his intentions with the most profound dissimulation, he allowed Catherine to invite the Duke of Guise and the Cardinal of Lorraine to Paris. They visited the queen-mother, who declared herself anxious to support their ambitious projects, and led them to believe that the king was equally favorable. Full of confidence, they went to visit his majesty, and were treacherously murdered. Catherine was confined to her room by a slight indisposition when Henry came himself to announce to her this atrocious crime. "The King of Paris is dead, Madam," said he, " and I will be king for the future!" You have slain the Duke of Guise, then," she replied; "take care that his death may not render you king of nothing. Have you taken the precautions essential to your safety?" "I have, madam," he answered; "and you need not disquiet yourself about the matter." He then abruptly quitted the apartment, without even the ordinary salute that etiquette required. The Cardinal de Bourbon, whom Catherine visited in his prison, reproached her bitterly for the murder of the Guises, declaring that they would not have ventured to Paris but for her express invitation. Catherine easily cleared herself of all complicity in the crime, but on her return to the palace she was seized with sudden illness. In her last interview with her son she is reported to have recommended him to seek a reconciliation with the King of Navarre. A confessor was summoned; as he approached the bed, she asked his name, and being told that it was St. Germain, she exclaimed that he was the herald of her death. Favyn, who relates this anecdote, declares that Nostradamus had foretold to Catherine that St. Germain would be fatal to her, and that for this reason she had continually refused to reside in the palace or the parish of that name.

The greatest stain on the character of Catherine is her share in the massacre of St. Bartholomew, which we have not attempted either to palliate or to conceal. Her entire life was devoted to maintaining the tottering house of Valois, menaced on the one hand by the house of Lorraine, and on the other by the house of Bourbon. The success of the League would have given the throne of France to Guise; the triumph of the Huguenots would have bestowed it on the King of Navarre. Catherine stood between both, and during a long life, her able though unscrupulous policy held both in subjection.

ALEXANDRIA, Aug. 9, 1849.

His Highness, MEHEMET ALI PASHA, died at Alexandria on the 2d inst., and on the following day his body was taken up to Cairo, where he was buried on the 4th, in the new alabaster mosque built by himself in the citadel.

The procession from the palace at Ras-elteen to the canal was attended by a great concourse of people, the European Consuls in uniform, with many of the European residents, and a great number of troops with arms reversed. On emerging from the palace the coffin was laid at the foot of the grand marble staircase, the attendants gathered round, and the chief Mufti, a venerable old man, advanced, raised his hands, and amid profound silence, repeated three times, with a pause for mental reflection between each, "Allah hoo akbar" (God is great); after which he twice repeated, " Salam aleykoun" (Peace be with you); and then the procession started, the principal officers and grandees emulating each other for the honor of carrying the coffin on their shoulders. On passing the harem, a separate building a little to the north of the palace, the shrieks and lamentations of the women were most piercing. Twenty-six buffaloes were killed and distributed among the poor, with twentysix camel-loads of bread and dates, and a considerable sum of money.

At Cairo there was no ceremony attending the conveyance of the Pasha's body from the Nile to its final resting-place, and even Abbas Pasha, the present Viceroy, joined the funeral only at the mosque.

medical men having then declared his total unfitness to attend to the affairs of the country, the late Ibrahim Pasha assumed the reins of government, and at his death was succeeded by Abbas Pasha.

From that time until within a few weeks of his death, Mehemet Ali took his daily drive in his carriage, and lived in his palace in the same style he was wont to do, but none but his immediate attendants were permitted to approach him.

Mehemet Ali is sincerely regretted both by the European residents and the natives of Egypt. The latter say that man's worth is known only by comparison, and that had Mehemet Ali died two years ago the sorrow felt would not have been so general as it is now, as they would then have cherished a hope of a better state of things from those who came after him; but as his two successors have shown them the hopelessness of any improvement in their own condition, they naturally wish that Mehemet Ali's government had lasted longer.

Mehemet Ali was born in the town of Cavalla in Roumelia, the ancient Macedonia. In Mohammedan countries the natives keep no reckoning of their age, and the Pasha could not tell precisely what his own was, but he was easily flattered into the belief that he was born in the same year that gave birth

to the two most illustrious heroes of the present era-Napoleon Bonaparte and the Duke of Wellington-1769, thus making him at his death of the age of 80 years, which may be considered correct within a year or

two.

In 1799 the town of Cavalla having been

called upon by the Sultan to provide its contingent of 300 men for the expulsion of the French from Egypt, the Governor sent the required number, headed by his son, with Mehemet Ali under his orders; but shortly after landing at Aboukir the son returned to Roumelia and left Mehemet Ali in command. In all the engagements with the French Mehemet Ali distinguished himself by his conduct and valor. He rapidly rose in rank, and his lofty spirit gained him a strong ascendency over the minds of his soldiers.

After the evacuation of Egypt by the French in September, 1801, the Sultan appointed Mohammed Khosrew Viceroy of Egypt, who has since been several times Prime Minister at Constantinople, and between whom and Mehemet Ali there always existed an inveterate hatred.

The Mamelukes were at that time actively engaged in endeavoring to recover their ascendency, which had been overthrown by the French, and the two principal Mameluke Beys, Osman Bardissy and Mohammed Elfy, came to an enagement with the Turkish army and defeated it. Mehemet Ali, with his troop of Albanians, was under the orders of Khoorshid Pasha, but for some reason or other took no part in the battle. The Turkish General, irritated at his defeat, complained of Mehemet Ali to Khosrew, who summoned him to his presence; he refused to attend, and took advantage of an insurrection which then occurred among the Albanian troops to join the Mamelukes under Osman Bardissy. In 1803 he attacked Khosrew at Damietta and brought him prisoner to Cairo. The Porte then sent to Egypt Ali Gezaïrli Pasha to replace Khosrew Pasha, but he was still less fortunate than his predecessor, for he was put to death by the Mamelukes, soon after his arrival.

In 1804, the army under the Mameluke Bardissy became clamorous for its arrears of pay, an insurrection ensued, the Bey's house was attacked by the infuriated soldiers, and he had to make a hasty retreat from Cairo. Mehemet Ali, strengthened in the affections of the troops, had clandestinely fostered this insurrection, but, not thinking his time yet come, he sent Khosrew, his prisoner, back to Constantinople, and judiciously appointed Khoorshid Pasha, then Governor of Alexandria, Viceroy of Egypt.

The position of the new Viceroy was very embarrassing, as the Albanians and his own troops still persisted in their demands for pay, which it was entirely out of his power to satisfy. A new and formidable insurrection broke out, and Khoorshid's soldiers put

Cairo to the sack. The inhabitants of the town were in the utmost alarm; they deposed Khoorshid Pasha, addressed themselves to Mehemet Ali for protection, and made him Viceroy.

Mehemet Ali was installed in the Pashalic of Egypt in 1806, on condition that he should send to the Sultan 4000 purses, which represented at that time the sum of about £24,000 sterling. The Pashalic of Egypt was then commonly called the Pashalic of Cairo, and it extended only to Middle Egypt and the Delta; Upper Egypt being divided into several districts, administered by the Mameluke Beys, and Alexandria, with a part of the Western Province, by a Pasha independent of the Pasha of Cairo. A few months after the installation of Mehemet Ali in the Pashalic of Egypt, the Porte consented to give him also the Pashalic of Alexandria as a reward for the services he had rendered to the Ottoman Empire in 1807, on the occasion of the evacuation of Lower Egypt and the city of Alexandria by the English.

The first step Mehemet Ali took to secure his power was to satisfy the demands of the troops. He represented to the inhabitants of Cairo that it was at their request that he had assumed the command, and that, to avoid further disturbances, the wants of the army should be satisfied. He therefore levied contributions, which were readily paid, and he appeased the soldiers, who thus became attached to his person.

In 1808 Mehemet Ali received orders from the Porte to attack and disperse the Wahabees, a fanatical sect of the Mohammedan religion, who had pillaged the holy cities of Mecca and Medina. Before engaging in this war and drawing his troops out of Egypt, the Viceroy determined upon putting a final end to the power of his old allies, the Mamelukes, for, although the two chiefs were dead, there still remained a strong number who had it in their power to annoy him. Accordingly, on the 1st of March, 1811, the Mamelukes were invited in a body to the citadel at Cairo to attend at the investiture of the Viceroy's son Toussoon, as chief of the expedition against the Wahabees. When the ceremony was over the Mamelukes mounted their horses, but on reaching the citadel gates they found them closed, and a sudden discharge of musketry from soldiers placed on the walls completely annihilated them. A great many Mamelukes were put to death at the same time in the provinces. It has been computed that 470, with their chief, Ibrahim Bey, perished in the citadel; and in the city

and throughout the country no less than 1200 were killed. Thus ended the power of these formidable chiefs, who had kept Egypt in a state of anarchy and warfare ever since the year 1382.

After the destruction of the Mamelukes Mehemet Ali made himself master of Upper Egypt; he obtained from the Sublime Porte the government of that part of the country, and at the same time considerably increased the land tax and the duties of customs on the internal trade.

In the autumn of 1811 Mehemet Ali sent his army into Arabia against the Wahabees. This war lasted six years, cost the Viceroy immense sums of money and a great number of men, and was finally brought to a close by Ibrahim Pasha. In 1813 Mehemet Ali himself went to the Hedjaz for a time to hasten the result of the expedition. During his absence the Porte, jealous of his power, secretly appointed Lateef Pasha Viceroy of Egypt, but Mohammed Bey, Mehemet Ali's Minister of War, pretending to enter into the views of Lateef Pasha, engaged him to declare himself publicly Viceroy of Egypt, and then decapitated him.

In 1815, Mehemet Ali, convinced of the great advantages of discipline and military tactics in the art of warfare, resolved upon having his army properly drilled, but his soldiers were very averse to this measure, and threatened an insurrection. He therefore sent his mutinous troops into Ethiopia, under his third son, Ismael Pasha, who, on that occasion, conquered the provinces of Dongola, Berber, Shendy, Sennaar and Cordofan, while he raised a new army, which was drilled by French and Italian officers. He then offered the Sultan to assist in quelling the Greek insurrection against the Porte, and on the 16th of July, 1824, Mehemet Ali's fleet, consisting of 163 vessels, sailed for the Morea, under the command of Ibrahim Pasha, who, for three years, kept the country in subjection, but was obliged to retire after the battle of Navarino, on the 20th of October,

1827.

In 1830 the Porte conferred upon Mehemet Ali the administration of the island of Candia. Mehemet Ali then turned his thoughts to obtaining possession of Syria, and 6000 Egyptians having emigrated to that country, he demanded the restitution of them from Abdallah Pasha, then governor of Acre. The reply he obtained was, that the emigrants were subjects of the Sublime Porte, and that they were in the Sultan's dominions as well in Syria as in Egypt. The Viceroy,

enraged at this answer, sent him word that he himself would come, and take his 6000 subjects" and one man more." Accordingly, on the 2d of November, 1831, Mehemet Ali sent into Syria a powerful army, under the command of his son, Ibrahim Pasha, who, in a few months, reduced the whole country to submission. On this the Porte declared Mehemet Ali a rebel, and sent a strong army into Syria; but Ibrahim Pasha's troops invariably overcame the Sultan's, and several important battles were fought, which insured to the Egyptians the possession of the country. The European powers interfered, and under their guaranty peace was signed on the 14th of May, 1833; Syria and the district of Adana were ceded to Mehemet Ali, in conjunction with the Pashalic of Egypt, on his acknowledging himself a vassal of the Sultan, and engaging to remit to the Porte the same tribute as the former Pashas of Syria. According to this arrangement Mehemet Ali paid for Egypt 12,000 purses; Syria and Adana, 18,000 purses, and Candia 2000, making together 32,000 purses, or £160,000 sterling per annum.

Mehemet Ali continued in the quiet possession of Syria until 1839, but the Porte disliked very much the occupation of that country by the Viceroy of Egypt, so that, after organizing an army and a strong fleet, in the beginning of 1839, the Sultan Mahmoud sent his troops into Syria under the command of Hafiz Pasha, to expel the Egyptians, but Ibrahim Pasha proved too powerful for him, and the Turkish army had to retreat. England, Austria, Russia and Prussia, then, in conjunction with the Porte, signed a treaty on the 15th July, 1840, and informed Mehemet Ali that he was no longer to remain in Syria; but the Viceroy, confiding in the promised assistance of the French, seemed determined to keep the country.

England, therefore, sent a formal demand to the Viceroy for the restitution of the Turkish fleet, which had been brought into the port of Alexandria by the treachery of the Turkish Admiral, but his Highness gave evasive answers, and referred to the Sultan. In the meantime he strained his utmost powers to increase his army, and formed throughout Egypt the National Guard, in which all the male inhabitants were made to serve.

The Allied Powers, finding that the Viceroy would not evacuate Syria by fair means, determined upon driving him out by force. The first engagement took place on the 10th of October, 1840, near Beyrout, when the Egyptian army was completely routed and