into the hands of the French." The next intelligence, though it announced that the troops had been successfully landed, was accompanied with the disastrous news of the fleet, in the dreadful action on the Ist of August. The Directory received the two accounts together, but they pru that of its having taken Malta, after a very short resistance, which, considering the strength of the place, excited no very unjust suspicion of treachery. Proclamations and addresses which Bonaparte issued before and after taking possession of Egypt, contain professions almost ridiculous, with promises never performed, and expressions of cruelty not to be justified. Among the orders issued at Malta, there is one which contains two articles, more barbarous than the Greek in which it is written. The articles alluded to are as follows:"All the Greeks of the isles of Malta and Gozo who preserve any connection with Russia shall be put to death. All Greek vessels which sail under Russian colours shall be immediately sunk when they fall THE PYRAMIDS, EGYPT. dently chose to produce the best first. The fortune of Bonaparte in this instance seemed to have been as kind to him as usual, for the English fleet had left Alexandria only two days before the French one arrived; hearing, therefore, that the English were so near, he was extremely desirous to effect a landing; accordingly, in the evening of the 2nd of July, he began to prepare for the purpose. In the midst of the bustle a vessel was descried at a distance, which was taken to be a part of the English squadron. Bonaparte, on hearing the alarm, exclaimed, in the utmost agitation, "Fortune, wilt thou abandon me? I ask only five days, and then do thy worst." Fortune was still constant to him, for the vessel proved to be a French one. The landing was effected with great difficulty, on account of a strong north wind which raised the surf a considerable height, and rendered it impossible for many of the boats to get near the shore. At one o'clock in the morning, however, Bonaparte landed and put himself at the head of three thousand men, whom he divided into three columns, and notwithstanding the darkness of the night, he marched on to Alexandria. The rest of the French army landed next day, and Alexandria was taken by assault. Napoleon gave orders that all killed in the engagement should be buried under Pompey's pillar, and have their names inscribed on its base. Having secured possession of Alexandria, Bonaparte set out to meet the only enemies he pretended to oppose, viz., the Mamelukes. The army, after suffering severely from thirst and fatigue in passing through the desert, at last came to the banks of the Nile; and such was their ardour to drink, that they threw themselves into it, with their clothes on, and drank most copiously. In a few minutes they were recalled to their ranks by beat of drum, for a party of the enemy was in sight; they were in number about eight hundred, well armed and all on horseback; they attacked the division of General Desaix, and after a severe engagement were completely repulsed. This was called the battle of Rhamanyeh. The next combat was more severe, the Mamelukes were in greater force, and fought with greater obstinacy, but were finally defeated. This battle was fought near the village of Chebrekeis. The next engagement, which was still more severe, decided the fate of Cairo, which Bonaparte entered, after an obstinate resistance of the Beys; he speaks highly of the resolution and firmness of the Mamelukes, who contended with the most determined valour; from its being fought in sight of the pyramids this battle was called by that name. The first thing after the taking possession of Cairo was to settle something like a government, but what was given to the wretched natives hardly deserved that name. Its first object, like that of most other governments, was to raise money, and the soldiers were to be the tax-gatherers. A divan of seven persons was appointed in every province, who, assisted by the French troops, were "to repress sedition, collect the taxes formerly paid to the Beys, and enlighten the people." It may here be inquired what was become of the Savans to whom the latter duty seemed exclusively to belong; perhaps they did not like the soldiers for their coadjutors, and thought, that though men may be silenced, they cannot be enlightened by the bayonet. Bonaparte having now secured the possession of Cairo, set out to finish the conquest of Egypt, and pursue the refractory Beys who had fled before him. Ibrahim, the principal of them, had taken refuge in the deserts of Syria. Mourad Bey was closely pursued by General Desaix; but though his troops were chiefly dispersed by the various engage. ments he had sustained, he was neither taken nor vanquished. Towards the latter end of October, a dreadful insurrection broke out among the inhabitants of Cairo, who it appears were far from being satisfied with their new masters. On the 22nd, in the morning, General Dupois, hearing that a great crowd had assembled near one of the principal mosques, mounted his horse and put himself at the head of twelve of his cavalry in order to disperse the mob, who pretended that discontent at the taxes was the sole cause of their meeting. Finding them, however, not disposed to retire, he attacked them; they returned the attack with stones and other missile weapons, by one of which the general was so severely wounded, that being taken home he shortly after expired. The Turks continued to assemble in still greater multitudes; they betook themselves to the mosques, which they endeavoured to fortify; the French forced the gates of most of them, and put the wretched insurgents to death, and so crushed the rising. The Turks in the meantime formed a treaty with the English to drive the French out of Egypt. Bonaparte did not neglect the most active means to defeat the combinations of his enemies, and accordingly he prepared an expedition into Syria, to punish the Djezzar Pasha for his friendly reception of Ibrahim Bey, and to destroy the preparations of the Porte, and the English, against Egypt. Before he departed for the grand expedition he was desirous to get possession of India, and likewise to ascertain the existence of the canal which was said to join the Red Sea and the Mediterranean. He departed for Suez on the 22nd of December, and took possession of it on the 6th of January. He there learnt that the Djezzar had been nominated Pasha of Damascus and Egypt, and he was collecting his troops to oppose him, and that a part of them had already approached El Arish, which was only one day's journey from the desert. After getting everything in readiness for his march into Syria, he sent his battering artillery to be shipped at Alexandria, and gave orders to Admiral Peree to sail with the Juno, the Alceste, and another frigate, to cruise before Jaffa, and be ready to co-operate with the army on shore; but before his departure he addressed the following letter to the Djezzar:-"Since I came into Egypt I have told you many times that my intention was not to make war against you, but against the Mamelukes. You have given no answer to my repeated overtures. I told you that I desired you to drive Ibrahim Bey from the frontiers of Egypt; so far from that, you have sent troops to Gaza, and even to El Arish, which is six leagues within the territory of Egypt. I will march in a few days to St. John d'Acre. But why should I take away the few years that. remain from the life of an old man whom I have never seen. I wish to be merciful not only towards the people, but towards the great. You have no reason to be my enemy, for you were formerly the enemy of the Mamelukes; become again my friend, and the enemy of the Mamelukes and the English, and I will do you as much good as I intend to do you harm. Send me your answer by the messenger, who has full powers to treat with you. I shall set out for St. John d'Acre the 24th of the month; I must before that time have your answer." To this epistle no answer was returned. The garrison of El Arish having for some days resisted General Regnier's division, was severely attacked by the remainder of the army under Bonaparte, and at length surrendered. The whole of the troops, without further opposition, marched forward through the desert, and arriving at Gaza, from which the enemy retreated, they took possession of the town, and found in it a great quantity of provisions and military stores. The place was treated as friendly, and in the usual style of French amity was immediately put under military authority. The army then proceeded through an immense sandy desert to Jaffa, where the enemy were in great force. The French, therefore, began to besiege the town, which, after several sallies and an obstinate resistance, was taken, and most of the garrison put to the sword; but the rest flying to their mosques, the |