the Turkish garrison, who were under the command of Al Jezzar, and, with united courage, a vigorous sally was made from the fort. The grand object was to destroy the mine which the French was pushing forward with so much danger to the town. The Turkish forces, with native courage, but not with sufficient silence, approached the works of the French before the dawn of day, and fought with considerable effect. The British entered the mine, discovered its direction, and damaged the works; but this important service was performed at great expence. Among the wounded were Lieutenant Wright, who commanded the pioneers, Lieutenant Beattie of the marines, and Mr. Janverin, a midshipman of the Tigre. Among those who were killed were Major Oldfield, of the marines, whose skill and services were highly valuable to Britain, and who, at the taking of the Cape of Good Hope, was the first man who entered the works.

General Berthier bears testimony to the bravery of the English. The enemy,' says he, at day-break, came on with an attack against our left and centre; each column was headed by naval troops belonging to the English ships, and their colours were seen waving in conjunction with those of Djezzar, and the batteries were all manned by English troops. The enemy made an attempt to surprise our advanced posts, but their design was seen through: we received them with a brisk fire from our parallels, and all that attempted to appear against us were either killed or wounded. The enemy ultimately retired without gaining an inch towards destroying our works. The central column acted with more obstinacy—their object was to penetrate to the entrance of our mine; they were commanded by Captain Thomas Oldfield: he advanced boldly towards the entrance of the mine, at the head of some of his intrepid countrymen; they attacked like heroes, and were received by heroes; death only checked their bold career; the remainder retreated, and took refuge in the fortress. The approaches of our parallels remained covered with the dead bodies of English and of Turks. The corpse of Captain

Thomas Oldfield was carried off by our grenadiers; they brought him to our head-quarters; he was at the point of death, and soon after his arrival was no more; his sword, to which he had done so much honour, was also honoured after his death; it remains in the hands of one of our grenadiers; he was buried amongst us, and he has carried with him the esteem of the French army.'

When Ibrahim Bey fled from Egypt, he took the route of Damascus; and by his instigations, together with the influence of Al Jezzar, the whole regions of Syria were in commotion. While Bonaparte was carrying on the siege of St. John d'Acre, corps of Mameluks appeared in force, large parties of troops, in the interest of Constantinople, were passing the river Jordan, and the Arabs were assembling in vast numbers among the mountains of Samaria, and upon the heights of Lubi. General Junot, who occupied the posts of Saffet and Nazareth, was in imminent danger from the increasing numbers of the enemy, and Kleber was sent with his division to support him. This general pursued his route by Nazareth, and when under the height of Sed-Jara, in the neighbourhood of Lubi and Cana, the enemy in multitudes rushed into the plain, but were put to flight, and driven with precipitation across the Jordan.

Upon the 11th of April, the desultory forces which were threatening the French invaders assembled from all points toward the neighbourhood of Mount Tabor; and imagination, combined with fear, having magnified their numbers, stated them at 40,000 or 50,000. So vast an army on the plains of Esdrelon, or Fuli, created in the breast of Bonaparte the most serious alarms. He was aware of the danger which such numerous hosts might occasion, if they approached the vicinity of St. John d'Acre, and therefore he resolved to meet them at a distance and give them battle.

Leaving the divisions of Regnier and Lannes to carry forward the siege, he departed from Acre on the 15th of April, and proceeded to the assistance of Generals Kleber and Ju

S

not. He had in his party the division of Bon, eight fieldpieces, and that part of the cavalry which had not already been sent toward the streams of the Jordan. Upon the morning of the following day, he arrived at the heights of Fuli, and saw General Kleber surrounded by a number of cavalry, which must have exceeded 20,000; and various parties of the enemy were hovering at a distance in different directions.

In this critical situation Bonaparte adopted the most decisive measures. Rampon was sent, with a large reinforcement, to the assistance of Kleber; Le Turq was dispatched, with the cavalry under his command, to attack a body of Ma meluks; and General Vial was commanded to assume a post upon the mountains, which might prevent the enemy from taking refuge among their defiles, so that in every situation the most active arrangements were made. When the proper dispositions were completed, the appointed signal of discharging an eight pounder was promptly given, and the report inspired Kleber with additional vigour. He rushed into the village of Fuli, defeating a number of the enemy; and being joined by the reinforcements, he attacked the main body of the Turkish forces, and put them to flight. But their retreat was difficult, for General Murat had occupied the bridge of Jacob, which is over the Jordan near the lake Tabaria, and the position of Vial prevented them from taking shelter among the mountains of Naplusium. Moreover, a consideable body of infantry was so placed as to prevent an escape toward Jenin, where their magazines were established.

In this situation of difficulty and despair, they threw themselves behind Mount Tabor, and, in their flight toward Damascus, crossed the waters of Jordan at the bridge of Giz al Mecani. Of these bridges, and some adjoining strong holds, Kleber got complete possession, while Bonaparte and the soldiers who were with him rested upon their arms, and waited in readiness for further exertions. But the enemy durst not return, and the apprehension of another attack was thus removed. Never was the influence of order and military tac

ties more conspicuously displayed than they were in those rencounters which had recently taken place between the French and Turkish armies. Kleber, with a comparative handful of men, formed a square, and resisted for a time the repeated attacks of numerous bands. When encouraged by reinforcements, though the whole of his troops could not amount to 5,000 men, yet he defeated collected armies of 10,000 infantry and more than twice that number of cavalry. They were well acquainted too with the country, and had all the advantages of a far-extended line of battle, as well as numerous detached parties among the defiles and strong holds of the mountains. The reliance which Bonaparte had on Kleber does not appear to have been misplaced, for on every occasion he acted wisely, and in this expedition his judgment and dexterity were equally conspicuous. Every person who was entrusted with a command appears to have done his duty; and Bonaparte returned to Acre rejoicing in his success.

The siege was renewed with vigour, and, in the evening of April the 25th, another attempt was made to enter the town. A lodgment was effected in the lower part of one of the towers; but the men were annoyed by combustible materials from above; and, by the vigorous exertion of the besieged, the whole attack proved abortive. Under the direction of the British engineers, ravelins, at great hazard, were formed without the wall of the town, at each end of the enemy's nearest lines, and thus their operations were greatly disconcerted. A counter mine was wrought, to destroy the effect of, those preparations which the French had made to blow up the counterscarp at a new breach in the wall; but the greatest impediment to the progress of the French arose from the fire of the British vessels, which were so stationed, in the road of St. John d'Acre, that they held the besiegers in considerable check.

'Nothing but desperation can induce the French,' writes Sir Sidney Smith, 'to make the sort of attempts they do, to mount a breach practicable only by the means of scaling→

fadders, under such a fire as we pour in upon them; and it is impossible to see the lives even of our enemies thus sacrificed, and so much bravery misapplied, without regret. The English marines work under a heavy and incessant fire from the French, in a way that commands the admiration and gratitude of the Turks.

'On the 2d day of May we were busily employed,' continues the gallant English commander, 'in completing two javelins for the reception of cannon to flank the enemy's nearest approaches, distant only ten yards from them. They were attacked that very night, and almost every night since, but the enemy have each time been repulsed with very considerable loss; the enemy continued to batter in breach with progressive success, and have nine several times attempted to storm, but have as often been beaten back with immense slaughter. Our best mode of defence has been frequent sorties to keep them on the defensive, and impede the progress of their covering works. We have thus been in one continued battle ever since the beginning of the siege, interrupted only at short intervals by the excessive fatigue of every individual on both sides. On the fifty-first day of the siege a fleet with Turkish troops appeared in sight. The approach of this additional strength was the signal to Bonaparte for a most vigorous and persevering assault, in hopes to get possession of the town before the reinforcement to the garrison could disembark.

"The constant fire of the besiegers was suddenly increased tenfold: during the night the French effected a lodgment, and covered themselves in this lodgment and the approach to it by two traverses across the ditch, which they had constructed under the fire that had been opposed to them during the whole of the night, and which were now seen composed of sand bags, and the bodies of their dead built in with them, their bayonets only being visible above them. Hassan Bey's troops were in the boats, though as yet but half way to shore. This was a most critical point of the contest; and an effort