corps of Mammaluke cavalry cut in pieces, or taken. A number of horfes, camels, flores, 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 strong guard, who had fet out from Cairo on the tenth, arrived at El-Arifch on the feventeenth of February. In his march across the defart, he loft feveral men and a number of horses, through bad provifions, and the want of water, as well as by the attacks of the Arabs, who never ceased to harass him.

The main army, thus affembled, took a pofition before El-Arisch, on the eighteenth of February. Buonaparte ordered one of the towers of the caftle to be cannonaded, and, a breach being foon made, he fummoned the place to furrender. The garrifon was compofed of Arnautes and Maugrabins, all rude barbarians, without leaders, uninformed in any of the principles of war acknowledged by civilized nations. Their anfwer 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 garrifon furrendered, on condition of being permitted to retire to Baydat, by the defart. A number of the Mangrabins entered into the French fervice.

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

village of Palestine, 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 moft dry and barren part of the defart: for, the inhabitants of El-Arifch, as well as thofe 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 thofe parching fands which uniformly fill the air with an annoying, infufferable duft.

Abdallah Bafhaw, with a thoufand cavalry, and fifty thoufand Naploufians, lay encamped in the heights of Korfum. After haraffing 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 taken poffeffion of by the French, without refiftance. In Gaza, they found a very feasonable supply of provifions and military ftores. 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 Jaffa (the ancient Joppa), a fea-port on the coaft of Paleftine,

between

between which and Damietta, along the fea-coaft, the whole is defart and wild. Here, pilgrims pay for permiffion to vifit the Holy Land. This city is furrounded by a wall, without a ditch, and defended by ftrong towers, provided with cannon. Trenches were opened, batteries were erected, and a practical breach was made in the wall. Not withstanding two defperate forties, and every exertion on the part of the garrifon, about four thousand firong, the principal tower was taken, and the greater part of the brave garrifon was put to the fword: with a view, no doubt, of ftriking terror into other parts of Palestine, and wherever Buonaparte might direct his march.About three hundred Egyptians, who escaped from the affault, were fent back into Egypt, and resorted to their families. The French found, in the towers of Joppa, ten pieces of cannon, and about twenty indifferent fiege - pieces, either iron or brafs.

Buonaparte, having made himfelf mafter of the towers of Joppa, ordered the inhabitants to be spared. About fifteen fmall trading veffels were found in the harbour. The conqueft of Jaffa, according to the report of fir Sidney Smith, coft the French above one thoufand. men. Buonaparte then formed a divan, compofed of the principal Turks of the town. He alfo gave orders for taking every neceffary meafure for the defence of the place. Jaffa proved a fituation of the higheft importance to the army: it became the port, and the entrepôt, of every thing that was to come from Damietta and Alexandria. From Jaffa, Buonaparte wrote the following

letter to Ghezzar Bafhaw, dated the ninth of March:

"Since my arrival in Egypt, I feveral times informed you, that I had no defign to make war against you; and that my only object was to expel the Mammalukes. You returned no answer to the overture which I made you. I announced, that I defired that you would drive Ibrahim Bey from the frontiers of Egypt; but, inftead of that, you fent troops to Gaza: you formed there large magazines, and gave out, that you intended to march against Egypt. You, indeed, began to put this plan in execution; and you threw two thousand of your troops into the fortrefs Arifch, which is only fix miles from the frontiers of Egypt. I was obliged, then, to depart from Cairo, to direct, in perfon, the war which you feemed to invite. The districts of Gaza, Ramley, and Jaffa, are already in my power. I have treated with generosity fuch of your troops as furrendered at difcretion, but I have been fevere towards thofe who violated the rights of war. In a few days, I fhall march against Acre. But why fhould I go, to deprive an old man, with whom I am not acquainted, of the few remaining years of his life! What are a few miles more of territory, in comparison of those which I have already conquered! And, as God grants me victory, I will, like him, he clement and merciful, not only towards the people, but towards the great. You have no folid reason for being my enemy, fince you were that of the Mammalukes. Your government is feparated from that of Egypt by the diftricts of Gaza, Ramley, and impaffable

marches.

marches. Become my friend, be the enemy of the Mammalukes and the English, and I will do you as much good as I have done you hurt; and I can ftill do you more. Send me a fhort answer, by fome perfon invested with full powers, that I may know your views. He needs only to present himself to my advanced guard, with a white flag; and I have given orders, to my staff, to fend you a pass of safety, which you will find here annexed. On the twenty-firft of March, I fhall march against Acre; I muft, therefore, have an answer before that day."

The verbal anfwer of Ghezzar was, "I have not written to you, because I am refolved to hold no communication with you. You may march against Acre when you please. I fhall be prepared for you, and will bury myself in the ruins of the place, rather than let it fall into your hands."

The army marched to Zetta, under the tower, of which it passed the night. On the fixteenth, they encamped at Sabarieu, after extricating themselves from the narrow paffes of mount Carmel, on the plains of Acre. A divifion of the army, under general Kleber, marched against Caiffa, which the enemy abandoned at their approach. On the feventeenth, late in the evening, they arrived at the mouth of the little river of Acre, which is at the distance of about fifteen hundred fathoms from the fortrefs. The night was employed in conftructing a bridge, over which the whole army paffed, at break of day, on the eighteenth.

The city of Acre (anciently called Accho by the Hebrews and

Phoenicians, and afterwards Ptolemais by the Greeks) was, by the French, called St. Jean d'Acre, on account of its being the refidence of the knights of Jerufalem, which they defended against the Saracens. It is the laft and most southern city on the Phoenician coaft. It was a confiderable place, fo early as the Ifraelitifh judges, fince we find that the tribe of Afher could not drive out its inhabitants. After being in the poffeffion of the emperor Claudius, it fell into the hands of the Turks and Arabs, who kept it till the holy war, when it was retaken by the Chriftians, in the year 1104. The Turks took it a fecond time, under Saladin. It was wrefted from them a fecond time, in 1191, by Guy, king of Jerufalem, Richard I. king of England, and Philip, king of France. It was then given to the knights of St. John, who held it, about one hundred years, with great bravery. But a difpute, concerning the poffeffion of it, among the Christians themselves, gave an opportunity to fultan Melech Seraf, with an army of one hundred and fifty thoufand men, to reduce it again under the Ottoman yoke, in the year 1291. The greater part of the inhabitants fled, for refuge, to the island of Cyprus. Acre was immediately entered and plundered by the Turks, who made a horrible flaughter of those who remained in the city, rased its fortifications to the ground, and deftroyed all its noble edifices, as if they could never take fufficient revenge upon it, for all the blood it had coft them, or fufficiently prevent fuch flaughters for the future. It was in this city that our Edward I. then a prince,

received

received a wound with a poifoned

arrow.

Acre, by its excellent fituation, feems to enjoy all the advantages to be derived from fea and land, being encompafled, on the north and eaft fide, by a fpacious and fertile plain, on the weft by the Mediterranean, and on the fouth by a large bay, extending itfelf from that city to mount Carmel. These advantages pointed it out as a fit entrepôt for commerce, to Faccardino (not improperly called the great), chief of the Drufes, who, towards the end of the fifteenth century, threw off the Turkish yoke, fortified Acre with additional towers, and, allo, that it might be inacceffible to the Turkish gallies, depofited large maffes of ftones in the deepest parts of the entrance into the harbour. Without the harbour, in the bay, there were roads where veffels lay at anchor, and to and from which the commerce with Acre was carried, in lighters, or boats. The Drufes,* like the Arabs, maintain an independence, almoft total, on the Ottomans. Their fubmiffion to the Porte is rather nominal than real. Tribute, very irregularly paid, is the only proof or fymbol of fubjection. The Marconites, a fect of Chriftians anciently diftinguished by the appellation of Neftorians (a term well known in ecclefiaftical hiftory), live among, and, indeed, form a part of the Drufes. The Marconite Chriftians have, in the prefent day, a college, even in the Vatican, in Rome,

where there is a fociety for propagating and cherishing all fects of Chriftians acknowledging the Roman-catholic religion. The Marconites, in external matters and ceremonies, are the fame with the ancient Syrian church; in articles of belief, or fpeculation, the fame with the Romith. In the times of Faccardino (who carried on a correfpondence and commerce with India, as well as the Grecian iflands and Italy), the moft opulent and commercial, and, indeed, the most accomplished, noble-minded, and princely family in Europe, was the Medici, who gradually arose, through the ufual gradations in democracy, to the fovereignty of Florence, and the dependent diftricts, under the names of the great dukes of Tufcany. Faccardino paid a vifit to Cofmo de Medici, at Florence: he was received, at the court of Cofmo, with the moft elegant hofpitality, and returned to Syria, and St. John d'Acre, accompanied by all manner of artifts from Italy.Bridges, high-ways, palaces begun (though, unfortunately, not finished), improvements in navigation and fortification, and agriculture and commerce, as well as fome approaches towards literature and fcience, in Syria, were the effects of the vifit, paid by Faccardino the great, to Cofmo de Medici.-Soon after the death of Faccardino, Acre fell again under the dominion of the Turks.

'On the eighteenth of March, the French army, having crolled the

little river of Acre, encamped upon an infulated eminence, that was near to, and parallel with the fea. On the twentieth, the trenches were opened, at about one hundred and fifty fathoms from the fortrefs.

A project for a general attack on Buonaparte, by fea and land, had been concerted between the Britif and Turkish governments. A defcent was to be made, by the bafhaw Ghezzar, on the frontiers of Egypt, on the fide of the defart of Syria. Ghezzar was to be fupported by an army, which was to march acrofs Afia minor, from Damafcus; and the combined operation of thefe armies, from Syria, was to be favoured by a diverfion, towards the mouth of the Nile, by Mourad Bey, who, though forced to retreat before the advances of the French, was yet in confiderable ftrength, and would be joined by bodies of Arabs. It was to direct the execution of this plan, and to contribute towards its execution, by maritime co-operation, that fir Sidney Smith had left Portsmouth in the preceding autumn, on board the Tigre, of eighty-four guns, and failed for the Levant, where he endeavoured to haften the preparations for this campaign in Egypt. Commodore Hood continued to block up the port of Alexandria, and the mouths of the Nile. He had experienced the impracticability of burning and deftroying the feet of tranfports, and French frigates, without a debarkation of troops confiderable enough to attack Alexandria, Sir Sidney, informed of the first movements of Buonaparte, endeavoured to detain him, by making attempts on Alexandria, which he bombarded, with

out farther injury to the French than finking two transports..

In the mean time, Ghezzar fent. timely notice, of the approach of Buonaparte, to fir Sidney Smith, on whom the command of the British naval force, in the Archipelago, had devolved, after the departure of commodore Trowbridge.

Sir Şidney, on the 7th of March, 1799, proceeded towards the coaft of Syria, and, on the eleventh, arrived before Caiffa. On the fif teenth, he fteered for St. John d'Acre, to concert measures with Ghezzar, having got the ftart of the enemy by two days, which he employed in making preparations for the defence of the place.

On the fixteenth, about eight in the evening, after a chace of three hours, the commodore, fir Sidney, took, off the cape of Carmel, the whole French flotilla, under the command of Eydoun, chief of divifion, laden with heavy cannon, ammunition, platforms, and other articles, neceffary for Buonaparte's army to undertake the fiege. This artillery, confifting of forty-four pieces, was immediately mounted on the ramparts of Acre, againf the lines and batteries of the enemy, as well as on gun-veffels. The latter were employed with the greateft fuccefs, against the enemy's fire. The nature of the ground, however, permitted the French to carry their trenches within half a musket-fhot of the ditch of the place.

The French, on the thirtieth of March, having effected a breach in the wall, on the north-eaft part of the town, endeavoured to take it by affault, but were vigorously repulfed by the garrifon, with confi

derable