Alexandria. It was extremely mortifying to our brave army from the eaft, that, after tafting fo deeply of the toils and hardships of war, fortune did not permit them to participate, on this occafion, in its glo

ries.

General Menou, far from appear ing to approve of the article in the capitulation at Cairo, agreeably to which he might have furrendered on the terms acceded to by general Belliard, increafed the fortifications round Alexandria, particularly at Nicopolis, and avowed, in his difpatches, the determination of burying himself under its ruins. To relieve the place of a number of ufelefs mouths, about the middle of May, the members of the inftitute, and the commiffion of arts, though they had been formerly put in military requifition, were ordered to depart for France. They embarked in a fmall veffel; but, when they were quitting the port, the English refused to let them pafs. Attempting to return, they were menaced with being funk by the French! and it was not till after feveral days anxiously paffed, during which they were fupported by the English, that Menou could be prevailed on to take off his prohibition of their return. Nor did Menou yet despair of receiving the reinforcement intrusted to Gantheaume, who, after remaining two days within thirty leagues of Alexandria, was obliged to bear away, on being difcovered by the English fleet. It was therefore refolved, by the allies, to accelerate their attack. On the 17th of Auguft, 2000 Albanians attempted a fand-hill commanding the feafhore, to the left of Nicopolis. A party of 200, under colonel Spencer, took poffeffion of a hill, in front of the enemy's right, between the

lakes and the first bridge of Alexan dria. General Menou, who was in that part of the French intrenched camp, oppofite our poft, fent about 600 men to drive colonel Spencer from his pofition. They advanced in column, with fixed bayonets, and, without firing a shot, till they got very close to our men. The colonel then gave immediate orders to charge. It was obeyed, and the enemy were driven back, with great flaughter. At funrife, on the 18th, the inundation having taken effect, lake Mareotis was covered with vessels and boats, contaming troops, which were protected by fifty gun-boats. The troops, commanded by majorgeneral Coote, having landed at the caftle of Marabout, and being gallantly affifted by the Turkish corvettes, under the honourable captain Cochrane, it became foon a heap of ruins, and capitulated on the 21ft. In endeavouring to fire the Englifh fhipping, the French had confumed their own flotilla, and two of their frigates were funk near the fort. On the 22d, the allies entered the harbour of the old port, opening a fevere cannonade on fome troops pofted on the bank of the ancient canal, in which they were fupported by the flotilla on lake Mareotis. A detachment, under major-general Coote, took feven pieces of cannon, and made confiderable impreffion on the French, who had fixed themfelves to the right of fort le Turcq, ftrengthened by reinforcements from Nicopolis. On the 27th, Menou, however, requested a capitulation, which he affirmed to have been neceffitated by the evacuation of Cairo: but Alexandria could not long have refifted this neceffity, independently of the evacuation: a fact known to general Hutchinson, and which pro

:bably

bably induced him not to precipitate the fate of the enemy, as he might have done, by more vigorous meafures. The garrifon was in great diftrefs, and threatened by the near approaches of famine. Indeed, the protraction of the ficge, after the furrender of Cairo, is only to be defended, on the ground, that the French general might feel it neceffary to fupport the fplendid boast of burying himself under the ruins of Alexandria, by the parade, at leaft, of refiftance. The conditions, which had been granted to Belliard, were not refused to Menou. An attempt was made to include the acquifitions of the learned men among the articles of confifcation; but, on their refolutely declaring that they would burn their papers rather than refign them to the English, the conteft was relinquifhed. A cargo, how ever, of Egyptian antiquities, which they could neither conceal, nor confume by fire, was brought to the British-museum. The inha bitants of Conftantinople, confidering the furrender of Alexandria, as the termination of the war in Egypt, manifefted, on the occafion, the moft enthusiastic joy. The cannon of the feraglio were fired; the city was fplendidly illuminated; and the fultan ordered fifty gold medals to be firuck, bearing a crefcent and ftar in the centre, with a fuitable infcription, to be diftributed among the English officers in Egypt: to feveral of whom, the grand vizier, in the name of his fovereign, had before made both honourable and valuable prefents. A magnificient palace was built in Pero, and dedicated to be the refidence, in all times to come, of the English ambafador at the Ottoman Porte.

During this arduous and interefting conteft, the English luft twenty

four officers, and about 7 or 800 private men, including the naval as well as the military fervice. Very dif ferent was the fate of France: which, in this memorable expedi tion to the Eaft, concurred, not lefs than from 30 to 40,000 of their best troops, and almoft annihilated her navy. Of the whole number of French fent to Egypt, in the course of three years, there returned 23,000. They were accompanied by feveral hundreds of the natives of both fexes.

General Hutchinson, now advanced to the peerage, with the title of lord Hutchinson, obtained leave, on account of his health, to return to England, and refigned his command to lord Cavan, who remained in Egypt. Part of our troops returned to Britain at the fame time with lord Hutchinfon. The Britith force, left in Egypt, in October, was 5000 men, exclufive of the Indian army: forming, altogether, a body of 12,000 men.

From the commencement of the war in Egypt, the Porte had formed a fecret refolution to change the government of that country, at the fame time that both the grand vizier and captain bahaw held out to the Beys and the Mamalukes the most unequivocal affurances that their authority would be immediately restored, on the destruction of the infidels.-On the expulfion of the French from Egypt, accordingly, feven of the Beys were invited to Alexandria, to hold a conference with the captain bafhaw, on the fubject of certain arrangements necellary to be made for their re-establifhment. They were received on their arrival, with every demon❤ ftration of hofpitality and refpect. On pretence of a with that they might accompany him, in a

VI

fit of ceremony, to the British commander at Alexandria, but in reality, with a view to fend them to Conftantinople, he treacherously engaged them to go on board a fhip of war, whither he was, himfelf, to accompany them. But, after they had gone into the boats that were to carry them to the fhip, they began to recollect the repeated advices and warnings that had been given them by general Hutchinfon, never to truft themselves on board any Turkifh veffels, and to apprehend fome violence, after they fhould be lodged in the frigate. They required of the officers who had charge of them, to re-conduct them to the fhore. The officers, pleading the orders of the high-admiral, refufed to comply with their requeft. The Beys, grafping their arms, began to ufe force. A confli& enfued, in which four of the Beys were killed, and three wounded. Several of the boatmen fhared the fame fate. The grand vizier too, at the fame time, attempted to fecure as many of the Beys as he could, by force, or fraud. Some fell into his hands: others made their efcape into Upper Egypt.

General Hutchinfon, apprifed of all this, ordered his troops under arms, remonftrated feverely with both the grand vizier and captain bafhaw, and reclaimed, in a menacing tone, the wounded Beys, the bodies of the flain for honourable fepulture, and the Beys alfo who were in the power of the vizier. The captain bathaw imputed the difafter that had befallen the feven Beys, whom he had invited to his refidence, to themfelves: whofe fufpicions, he faid, were without foundation; and excufed his own conduct from the orders that had been fent, both to himself and the

grand vizier, from the Porte: which was well affured, that it was never the intention of the court of London, to take any part in the internal regulations, or government of Egypt; but, after the expulfion of the French, to leave the Ottomans to establish there, what form of government they fhould think proper. The captain-bafhaw carried his head very high, and maintained great pomp and fplendour: fuch as he deemed fuitable to the fovereign dignity of the Porte. He affected to treat general Hutchinfon, in fome fort, as the gueft of the grand fignior; in fending him, regularly, a fecond courfe, confifting of all the delicacies that could be provided, to his table. Thus he artfully combined an air of hofpitality with an air of fuperiority, and fupremacy in Egypt. There were not a few, who faid, that the general should have declined to accept the hofpitality of the Turkish high-admiral, affumed greater ftate himself, and, in a word, a tone of maftery and controul, for a time, in a province recovered, almost folely, from the French, by the British arms. They were even of opinion, that it would have been as wife, as magnanimous policy, to have punished the treachery of the bafhaw, and avenged the death of the three Beys, by hanging him up at the yard-arm of the frigate, on board of which he meant to decoy them. So great an act of juftice would have ftruck the Eaft with an admiration and awe of the British name, and exalted it above every name in the world.

There were, however, other confiderations that weighed down the oppofite fcale, in the balance. Had it been the purpose of our government to retain poffeffion of any poft or pofts in Egypt, fuch a measure

might perhaps have been accounted not lefs eligible than daring. But it was not the defign of Britain to do any thing that might offend, and alienate, but, on the contrary, to cultivate the favour of her Turkish ally. General Hutchinfon did not embrace a line of conduct that would probably have been condemned by his court, as extravagant, and imprudent: nor yet did he tamely and meanly acquiefce in a meafure dictated by barbarian perfidy. But, fteering a middle courfe, he demanded, with inflexible firmnefs, the freedom of the Beys, which was granted. There could not have been a fitter agent, in this bufinefs, than general Stewart, who, at the head of a strong detachment, carried the remonstrances and demands of the British commander-in-chief to the captain-bathaw

But the Beys, though left at their own difpofal, forefaw the evacuation of Egypt by the English, and the eftablishment of the power of the Turks, at leaft in the lower regions of that country. Their faithful Mamalukes were either difperfed or had fallen by the fword. They liftened, therefore, to the fair promises that were made to them by the captain-bafhaw and grand vizier, and folemnly confirmed by their oaths on the Koran, of protection, favour, and preferment, if they would throw themfelves into the arms of the fultan. They confented to relinquish their pretenfions to any authority in Egypt; and fignified this confent, in writing, to the grand fignior, and alfo to gene

The Porte, ex

ral Hutchinfon. tended to Fgypt the fyftem of government by bashaws.

Thus terminated the revolution occafioned by the French invasion of Egypt. In the midst of all the toils, dangers, and conflicts of war and infurrection, the French were affiduous in exploring that renowned land, under all the views of phyfical and moral science, and in making collections in antiquities and natural hiftory. Though they failed in the attempt to extend their political power, they enlarged the fphere of their knowledge. And they acquired information that may be of great ufe in the cafe of their ever engaging in another expedition, with or without the confent of the Porte, to Egypt.- -Buonaparte, the author and conductor of the expedition to Egypt, on a retrofpect of its progrefs, viciffitudes, and termination, confoled the French nation with the reflection, that "The army of the Eaft had left, in Egypt, an immortal memory, which would, perhaps one day revive there the arts and inftitutions of fociety. And that hiftory, at least, would not pass over in filence all that the French had done to introduce into that country, the arts and improvements of Europe."* How far this refult,' fo greatly to be defired, is probable, or improbable, is a very interefting and curious queftion. Never, we apprehend, will the arts and sciences take root and flourish in Egypt, fo long as it is under the domination of the Turkish government, and the Mahomedan religion. †

VOL. XLII

[R]

СНАР.

IT

T was the great object of Buona parte, in the war with England, to ftrike at the root of her naval power and greatnefs, by cutting off, as much as poffible, the fources of her commerce. Her Trans-atlantic colonies, in the reduced and ruined ftate of the French navy, were wholly beyond his reach. India, the great fountain of her wealth, it feemed not impoffible to reach, by means of political intrigues as well as arms, through the establishment of a French colony in Egypt. Or, if that object thould fail, or not be foon accomplished, the improvement, and the produce of Egypt, of itself, and the trade of the Eaft, gradually allured to its own channel, through that noble ifthmus, would compenfate the lofs of the French colonies

in the West Indies, and throw fuch a mafs of ealy and natural commerce into the hands of France, the miftrefs of the Mediterranean, as Light enable her, at least to divide, with Great Britain, the empire of the ocean. There was, betides, in

the idea of colonizing Egypt, and reftoring the natural prerogatives of thofe regions, fomething that warms the human breaft by fo many interefting recollections, fomething grand, as well as politically advantageous; and peculiarly fitted to take hold of a mind, at once heroic, and deeply tinctured with a love of letters. The colonization of Egypt was the darling child of Buonaparte, It was the grand pivot on which the aggrandifement of France, and his own glory and fame were to turn. Around this favourite proje&t, other collateral objects were arranged. To harass, distract, and exhauft the financial refources of England, by menaces of invafion, was, of itself, a wife meafure of war: but it derived an additional intereft and importance, in the eyes of the chief conful, as it might af ford an opportunity, while our fleets fhould be detained on our coafts, of flipping out a fleet, with fuccours to the French army in Egypt. While all was in movement on the