the invaders, by their genuine importance, and alfo by that air of fovereign power which they carried to the imaginations of the humbled Muffelmen. Yet many circumftances of alarm continued to agitate the mind of Buonaparte.The extenfion of the French arms extended alfo the fphere of hoftility and refiftance to their power. Ghezzar Ogion, the bafhaw of St. John d'Acre, had aflembled a great force, the deftination of which, in the prefent circumftances, could not be doubtful. The bafhaw of Damafcus, too, was in motion. Multitudes of Arabs might be induced to join the enemies of the French. The appearance of a great force in Egypt, or on its confines, might awaken the courage, with the relentment of the inhabitants, and overturn an authority not yet confirmed by the lapfe of time, the abatement of prejudices, and the change of habits. While thefe dangers were threatened in the eaft, farther attacks were to be apprehended, and new combinations, against the French in Europe.

Among the hips which lay in the harbour of Alexandria, at the arrival of the French, was a large vefiel, belonging to the Turkish government, of that kind called caravals, fent to bring home the annual tribute. It was the time when the Turkish fhips of commerce ufually fet fail from Egypt; and the caraval received orders from government to return, with the other veffels, to Conftantinople. Buonaparte affured the captain of the veffel of the friendship of the French; defired that he would bear witnefs at home, that the Turkif, as well as the French flag, was flying at Alexandria; and, giv

ing him a prefent, gave him in charge, as a paffenger, citizen Beau, champ, with difpatches to the Porte, containing affurances of the fincere defire of the French nation to live with the Porte on the ufual terms of friendhip. At the fame time he ftated, in the letter, the grounds of complaint which he had against the bafhaw, Ghezzar, who had given a cordial reception to Ibrahim Bey, with about a thousand Mammalukes, after he had been driven out of Egypt into Syria. Finally, he ftated, that the punishment which he might find it neces fary to inflict on that bafhaw, ought not to give the Porte any uncafinefs. Buonaparte, foreseeing every thing that would tend to give offence to the Porte, had already difpatched an officer to Ghezzar, by fea, with a letter, affuring him that the French nation was defirous to live at peace, and preferve friendfhip with the grand feignior. But he infifted that Ghezzar fhould ditmifs Ibrahim, with his Mammalukes. Ghezzar, who, in his military preparations, had acted by orders from the Porte, made no answer to this letter from Buonaparte, but fent back the officer who carried it, and put the French at Acre into irons.

The fpirit and fubftance of thefo difpatches, from Buonaparte, very emphatically mark the advanced decline and degradation of the Turkifh empire. Such infolence and contempt, however, one would imagine, muft have tended rather to provoke the refentment and revenge of the Turks, under all their political weaknefs, fill retaining a proud and haughty fpirit, than to conciliate even the appearance of acquiefcence and connivance. Yet [C3]

Buonaparte, no doubt, knew how to estimate the spirit of the Porte, which, under the difadvantages of ignorance, anarchy, and the torpor of old age, would have, perhaps, come to fome accommodation with the invaders of Egypt, rather than hazard an appeal to arms, if the divan had not been encouraged and fpirited up, by the victory obtained over the French fleet, near Aboukir, to form an alliance, offenfive and defenfive, with the English and Ruffians.

Buonaparte, fufpecting that fuch an alliance would be formed, and that, in this cafe, a combined operation would take place against Egypt (an attack on the fide of Syria, and an attack by fea), refolved to march into Syria, chaftife Ghezzar, and deftroy the preparations made for an expedition against Egypt, rather than wait and receive the combined attack apprehended on the coafts of that country.

This plan of military operations, our readers may probably recollect, is exactly in the fame fpirit with the masterly and bold conduct of Buonaparte, during the blockade and fiege of Mantua, in 1796, when he marched rapidly against an Auftrian army, which had turned the lake of Garda, and was intended to form a junction with general Wurmfer. If the French army, which covered the fiege, had waited their approach, and given them battle near Mantua, a fortie from the garrifon might have, probably, decided the action in favour of the Auftrians; there

fore, Buonaparte, with his covering army, advanced to a very confiderable diftance, northward, beat the Auftrian army, and returned, and carried the fiege of Mantua.

It was the intention of Buonaparte, if the Porte fhould ftill remain quiet, in the midst of all this invafion and interference in the Turkifh dominion and government, after he had driven Ghezzar from his government of Acre, to have complimented the grand feignior with the nomination of a new bafhaw: a determination, it may be obferved, by the way, which leads to a very probable conjecture, that he entertained fome ideas of extending the power and influence of the republic, under a fhew of homage and respect for the fublime Porte, in the fame manner that the English Eaft-India company feized and kept poffeffion of different territories, in the name of the mogul, In Afia, a few victories often lead to extenfive dominion and empire. If fuccefs fhould attend his arms inSyria, the glory of his name, by attracting, as ufual, numerous warlike, but barbarous tribes, to a victorious ftandard, might prepare the way for his march to Conftantinople, and even Vienna. In the defign, declared by Buonaparte, of anticipating a form ready to fall on Egypt, there is nothing improbable; and it appears to be pretty certain, that the end in view was not limited, as was fuppofed by fir Sidney Smith,* to the treasures amassed by Ghezzar Bashaw.

Buonaparte having, by a proper difpofition of his troops, and other

precautions

precautions of a political nature, provided for the internal quiet of Egypt, as well as fecurity against incurfions by the Arabs of the defart, towards the end of January, 1798, gave orders to general Almeyrus to embark provifions and fiores, for the army of Syria, to be conveyed, by the lake of Menzales, to the port of Tinch, and from thence to be carried, by land, to the village of Cathich. The artillery, that had been employed in the fiege of Alexandria, was put on board three frigates, which were to cruize off Jaffa, and to maintain a communication with the army. Camels and mules were provided with extraordinary expedition, at Cairo, for carrying the light artillery, ammunition, and provifions, of which, the most bulky, as well as the moft neceflary article, was water. The army was parted into four divifions: one under general Kleber, one under general Regnier, one under general Bon, and one under general Lannes. The cavalry was commanded by general Mourat, the artillery by general Dommartin, and the engineers by general Caffarelli. A junction was formed, on the fourth of February, 1799, between the divifions of Kleber, and the advanced guard of

Regnier, under the command of general Grange, at Cathich; from whence they proceeded to Lariffa, otherwife called El-Arisch, a village pleasantly fituated on the river Peneus, and the feat of a Greek archbifhop, as well as of mofques for the votaries of the Mahomedan religion. El-Arifch was carried, by general le Grand, with the bayonet. The barbarous Arnautes and Maugrabins, who defended it, took refuge in the fortrefs, but with fuch precipitation, that, in barricading. the gates, they fhut out two hun dred men, who were put to the fword, or made prifoners.

Scarcely was the blockade of ElArifch begun, by Regnier's divifion, when a reinforcement of infantry and cavalry, efcorting a convoy of provifions for the defenders of El-Arifch, appeared in fight of that village, and encamped on a rifing ground, covered by a very deep ravine. At that moment, general Kleber came up with the advanced guard of his divifion. General Regnier communicated to him the defign he had formed, of turning the ravine, and furprising the camp of the Mammalukes in the night. Kleber entirely approved this project. The attack was made, and fucceeded. The camp was carried, and the

corps of Mammaluke cavalry cut in pieces, or taken. A number of horfes, camels, fiores, and provifions, and the whole of the convoy, fell into the hands of the French. Two beys were killed on the field of battle. The two other divifions of the army, with the artillery, formed their junction a few days thereafter. Buonaparte, himfelf, with his etat-major, and a firong guard, who had fet out from Cairo on the tenth, arrived at El-Arifch on the feventeenth of February. In his march acrofs the defart, he loft feveral men and a number of horfes, through had provifions, and the want of water, as well as by the attacks of the Arabs, who never ceafed to harafs him.

The main army, thus affembled, took a polition before El-Arisch, on the eighteenth of February. Buonaparte ordered one of the towers of the cafile to be cannonaded, and, a breach being foon made, he fummoned the place to farrender. The garrifon was compofed of Arnautes and Maugrabins, all rude barbarians, with out leaders, uninformed in any of the principles of war acknowledged by civilized nations. Their antwer was, that they were willing to come out of the fort, with their arms and baggage, as it was their wish to go to Acre. Buonaparte, anxious to fpare the effufion of his foldiers' blood, delayed the affault. But at length, on the twentieth of February, the garrison furrendered, on condition of being permitted to retire to Baydat, by the defart. A number of the Maugrabins entered into the French fervice.

On the twenty-fourth of February, the head-quarters of the army marched to Kan-jounefs, the fir

village of Paleftine, as they got out of the defart, and from whence they difcovered the cultivated plains of Gaza.

The French army had now fucceeded in traverfing eighty leagues of the most dry and barren part of the defart: for, the inhabitants of El-Arifch, as well as thole of Cathich, enjoy only a few fpots of cultured ground, and a few palmtrees near their wells: all around is a dry and burning fand. The afpect of the plains of Gaza was the more pleafing and recreating to the fight, that they appeared bordered by mountains, which rendered the profpect fimilar to that of European countries, without having the tirefome monotony of Egyptian plains, and of thole parching fands which uniformly fill the air with an annoying, infufferable duft.

Abdallah Babaw, with a thoufind cavalry, and fifty thoufand Naploufians, lay encamped in the heights of Korfum. After harat fing the French army, attempting to take it in flank, and to entangle it in the mountains, he was beat back, forced to raise his camp, during the night of the twenty-fourth, and fell back upon Gaza; against which place the French proceeded to march on the twenty-fifth of February. The fortrefs of Gaza being evacuated by the enemy, was take poffeffion of by the French, without refiftance. In Gaza, they found a very feafonable fupply of provifions and military fores. The inhabitants having gone out, to meet Buonaparte, the city was treated in a friendly manner.

On the twenty-ninth of February, the main army began to move towards Jaila (the ancient Joppa), a fea-port on the coali of Paleftine,

between