Be it remembered this loss of human life took place after the submission of Mehemet Ali on the 11th of December, and the greater part after his submission had been accepted by the Porte. The poor sufferers had taken no interest in the contest, but had been dragged from their homes to gratify the ambition of Mehemet Ali; why, then, after his submission were they not allowed to retire in safety? Where was the merit of forcing Ibrahim through the Desert, when he might have taken the shortest road to Gaza, where he had depôts of provisions? These men lost their lives, not in open war with the Turkish army, which they never saw, but were plundered and butchered by the Arabs; therefore there was no great credit due to those who were the authors of such measures, barbarous in themselves, and, as I have already shown, contrary to the opinion of Austria, (who would most probably be supported by the Allied Powers,) who had declared they would disavow any attack on Ibrahim Pacha[72]. General Jochmus, in his letter to Sir Robert Stopford, dated the 15th of February[73], states the remains of Ibrahim’s army to be 19,000 men; and from the reports of the Turkish and European staff-officers sent to ascertain the numbers, the estimate, he says, is quite correct. General Jochmus makes his calculation from the reports of his officers, which must be received with caution. Captain de L’Or gave Ibrahim’s losses in five days at 10,000 men; this was considered by the English officers very much exaggerated, nor do I see how Ibrahim and Souliman, who were both good generals, could have met with such a loss, unpursued as they were by a regular army, and having nearly 10,000 cavalry to cover their retreat and protect them from the few irregulars that followed them, and who, if they did not behave better than those Colonel Napier had under his command[74], would never have come within sight of them, and it is more than probable, picked up the stragglers only. Lieutenant Loring, in his report[75]; states that he did not reach Caiffa till the 15th of January; the weather had been very boisterous and the steamers were hardly seaworthy. Having procured horses at Acre, he proceeded along the coast, through Tortura and Cesarea, and arrived on the 17th at Jaffa, where were stationed the greater part of the Turkish forces, having returned from their demonstration on Gaza the day before. On the same evening, by the advice of General Michell, he proceeded to Jerusalem in company with Major Wilbraham and Selim Bey, who was the bearer of a letter from the Seraskier to Ibrahim; he was also provided with a firman to the Governor and Scheiks to assist them on the road. On arriving at Jerusalem they found Hassan Pacha had marched on Halil (Hebron) with 8000 men and six pieces of artillery.