and the intruders being sent back in disgrace to France, the victors returned to receive the rewards of their grateful king and country. Bonaparte consoled himself under these misfortunes, by assuring France that the army of Abercrombie must have been defeated, if Kleber had lived. "How material was the weight of a young fanatic of twenty-four, acting on the faith of a doubtful passage of the Koran, in the general balance of the world."-Historical Miscellanies, vol. 1. P. 37. There is in the same work, p. 64. a curious observation on the subject of the "naval armistice," proposed by Bonaparte in 1800. "Lord Grenville, the English minister, evinced much surprise at it;" and no wonder: it appears we had consented, that provisions should be admitted into the three blockaded fortresses of Malta, Alexandria, and Belle Isle; but of these only Malta stood in need-" the other two could have supplied England!" The only advantage which France could have derived from this naval armistice, would have been the re-establishment of her commercial relations between all her ports and her colonies. England refused this, with respect to Malta and Egypt. At last France proposed, as an ultimatum, that in lieu of raising the blockade of Alexandria, six frigates fitted up as store-ships, should be allowed to enter it under a cartel. Thus a reinforcement of four thousand men would have been sent to the army in Egypt! Surely the Chief Consul must have had a very contemptible opinion of our mi nisters, to make a proposal so utterly inconsistent with common sense. In these Memoirs, the reader will find an admirable picture of the state of the French army in Egypt, and the views of Bonaparte and the Directory. Bonaparte, having been in possession of the despatches from Egypt long before they reached England, had a great advantage over the British ministers in the negotiation for peace; the preliminary treaty of which was signed, under the impression in England, that we had still every thing to contend for, while Bonaparte knew that his defeated army was then on its way home. Had the events in Egypt been earlier known to us, we should probably have retained the Cape of Good Hope; which we were afterward forced to reconquer, with all the necessary sacrifice of blood and treasure. We conclude this chapter with the official letters of Lord Keith. SIR, Foudroyant, off Alexandria, August 27. My letter of the 5th instant acquainted you, for the information of their Lordships, that the embarkation of General Belliard's corps was carrying into execution with all possible despatch; but, on account of the difficulty of getting forward the immense quantity of baggage that they brought with them from Cairo, the operation was protracted till the 8th. The ships of war, as well as the transports, however, were directed to proceed by divisions. The Braakel, with the first division, sailed on the 4th; the Inflexible, Dolphin, and Ulysses, with the second, on the 6th; and the Experiment and Pallas, with the last, on the 10th, carrying with them between thirteen and fourteen thousand individuals of all descriptions. The army from Cairo moved on forthwith to the camp before Alexandria; and the General, who did me the honour of spending some days with me while the embarkation of the French was going on, resolved on transporting by the Mareotis, to the westward of Alexandria, a corps of about five thousand men, under the orders of Major-general Coote, to divide the enemy's force and attention, to invest the town closely on that side, and cut off all farther hope of reinforcement or supplies by land. On the 12th, I proceeded with Lieutenant-colonel Anstruther, the quarter-master-general, to examine the enemy's position on the side of the lake, and the strength of the flotilla that they had assembled there; and having ascertained that their armed force could be easily subdued, and that a debarkation could be effected with little or no difficulty, the General determined to carry the measure into immediate effect. To secure the land ing from interruption, Captain Stevenson, of the Europa, who is continued in the command of the flotilla, was forthwith directed to take a station in front of the gun-boats and armed boats which the enemy had assembled on the lake, and drawn up in a line under the protection of batteries thrown up for their defence, to keep them in check till they could be seized or destroyed. On the evening of the 16th, all the boats of the ships of war and the transports in this bay, were assembled in the Mareotis, with as many germs as could be collected from the Nile, for the purpose of receiving the troops, who were embarked in the night, and landed without opposition the next morning, under the superintendence of Captain Elphinstone, considerably farther to the westward than was intended, the wind not admitting of the boats reaching the shore nearer to the town; the enemy, seeing no prospect left of saving their armed boats, set fire to them, and blew them all up in the course of this and the following day, except two or three which have fallen into our hands. Whilst the landing was carrying into effect, Captain Sir W. S. Smith, of the Tigre, was directed with some sloops of war and armed boats to make a demonstration of attack upon the town. On the night of the 17th, Major-general Coote was enabled to establish batteries against Marabout, a small fortified island that protects the entrance into the great harbour of Alexandria, on the western side, and distant from the town about seven or eight miles, which, for many reasons, it was important to possess. Rear-admiral Sir Richard Bickerton, having the command of the squadron blockading the port, directed armed launches from the ships to co-operate with the troops; and the garrison, consisting of near two hundred men, unequal to farther resistance, surrendered as prisoners of war, on the evening of the 21st. Mr. Hull, midshipman, and one seaman of the Ajax, were killed on this service, and two seamen, of the Northumberland, wounded. On the afternoon of the same day, the Rear admiral ordered the Cynthia, Port Mahon, Victorieuse, and Bonne Citoyenne, with three Turkish corvettes, to proceed into the harbour under the direction of the Honourable Captain Cochrane, of the Ajax (a channel having been previously surveyed with great industry and precision by Lieutenant Withers, of the Kent), and on the morning of the 22d, Major-general Coote's detachment moved forward four or five miles, on the narrow isthmus leading to the town, formed by the Mareotis or inundation on the south side, and the harbour on the north; Captain Stevenson, with the gun-vessels on the lake, covering the right flank, and Captain Cochrane, with the sloops of war, and armed boats, protecting their left. The position which the Major-general took up, and that occupied by our little squadron, which has since been reinforced by the Diana, completed the blockade of the town. The Rear-admiral gives great commendation to the Honourable Captain Cochrane, for the zealous and judicious manner in which he executed the service intrusted to him. Soon after our ships entered the harbour, the enemy sunk several vessels between our advanced ships and their vessels in the port, to obstruct our farther progress to the eastward, and moved their frigates and corvettes from Fig-tree Point close up to the town. General Menou, finding himself closely pressed on the eastward of the town by the Commander-in-chief, who had carried some of the enemy's redoubts, and established strong batteries against their intrenched lines; and on the western side by Major-general Coote, who had, during the preceding night, driven in several of their outposts, and advanced up to an important position, which the enemy seemed conscious of being unable to defend, sent out, on the evening of the 26th, proposals for an armistice of three days, to arrange terms of capitulation, which I have no doubt will soon terminate in the surrender of the town. I have the honour to be, Sir, &c. KEITH. SIR, Foudroyant, Bay of Aboukir, I have the honour and satisfaction of acquainting you, for the information of the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, that the important object of this expedition is fully accomplished; a capitulation (of which a copy is enclosed) has been this day signed, providing for the delivery to the allies, to-morrow, of the enemy's intrenched camp on the eastern side of Alexandria, and the fort Tringuluire, and the other important posts on the western side; and for that of the town itself, the public effects and the shipping in the harbour, at the expiration of ten days, or sooner, if the enemy's troops can be sooner embarked. As soon as I can obtain returns of the ships and effects, they shall be transmitted to you. The merchant vessels are very numerous, and one old Venetian ship of the line, with the French frigates Egyptienne, Justice, and Régénéré, and some corvettes, are known to be in port. Their Lordships will not fail to have observed, from my former details, the meritorious conduct of the officers and men who have been, from time to time, employed on the various duties which the debarkation of the army, and a co-operation with them has required. Though opportunities for brilliant exertion have been few since the 8th of March, the desire for participating in it, has been unremitted. But the nature of this expedition has demanded from most of the officers and seamen of the fleet, and particularly from those of the troop-ships, bombvessels, and transports, the endurance of labour, fatigue, and privation, far beyond what I have witnessed before, and which I verily believe to have exceeded all former example; and it has been encountered and surmounted with a degree of resolution and perseverance, which merits my highest praise, and gives both officers and men a just claim to the approbation of their Lordships, and of their country. The number of officers to whom I owe this tribute does not admit of my mentioning them by name; but most of the captains of the troop-ships, have been employed in the superintendence of the duties, and I have had repeated and urgent offers of voluntary service from all. The agents for transports have conducted themselves with laudable diligence and activity in the service of the several departments to which they are attached, and displayed the greatest exertion |