of time, they had been beaten on a line of nine leagues. With military combinations, on plans of any extent, thofe barbarians are unacquainted: they are to be confidered. indeed, not as warriors but as hordes of robbers.

General Kleber, with his divifion, pofted in different ftations, was left to guard the Jordan; Buonaparte, with the divition under general Bon, and the cavalry under general Murat, returned to the camp al Acre.

New works were pushed with great vigour, on both fides. Fresh affaults were made by the befiegers and forties by the befieged. The French, on the twenty-eight of April, were encouraged by the arrival of three pieces of battering-artillery, 24pounders, brought to Jaffa by the frigates under the vice admiral Pernée, and fix pieces of eighteen, fent from Damietta; and, on the feventh of May, the Flith, by the appearance, in the bay of Acre, of a fleet of corvettes and tranfports, under the command of Haffan Bey.

The approach of this additional ftrength was the fignal to Buonaparte for a molt vigorous and perfevering aflault, in hope to get poffeffion of the town, before the reenforcement to the garrifon could difembark. The gun-boats, being within grape diftance of the head of the attacking column, added to the Turkish mufketry, did great execution: ftill, however, the enemy gained ground, made a lodgement on the fecond ftory of the north-eaft tower, the upper part being entirely battered down, and the ruins of the ditch forming the alcent by, which they mounted. Day-light, on the morning of the eight of May, difcovered the French

9

standard on the outer angle of the tower. The fire of the befieged was much flackened, in comparifort with that of the befiegers, and the flanking fire of the former, from the ravelines, was become of lefs effect, that the enemy had covered themfelves in the lodgements beforementioned; and the approach to it, by two traveries, were now feen, compofed of fand-bags and the bodies of the dead built in with them, their bayonets only being visible above them: Haflan Bay's troops were in the boats, but as yet only half way on the flore. This was a most critical point of the conteft; and an effort was neceflary to preferve the place, for a fhort time, till their arrival. Sir Sidney, therefore, landed the boats at the Mole, and took the crews, armed with pikes, up to the breach. The enthufiaftic gratitude of the Turks, men, women, and children, at the fight of fuch a reinforcement, at fuch a time, was not to be defcribed. Many troops returned, with the very opportune reinforcement, to the breach, which was defended by a few brave Turks, whofe moft deftructive miffile weapons were heavy ftones: thefe, firiking the af failants on the head, overthrew the foremost down the flope and impeded the progrefs of the reft. A fucceflion, however, afcended to the affault, the heap of ruins between the two parties ferving as a breastwork for both. The muzzles of their mufkets touched one another and the fpear-head of the ftandards were locked together. Ghezzar, hearing that the English were on the breach, quitted his ftation, where, according to the ancient Turkish cuftom, he was fitting to reward fuch as fhould bring him the

heads

heads of the enemy, and diftribu ting mufket-cartridges with his own hand. The energetic old man, coming behird, forcibly pulled them down, faying, if any harm happened to his English friends all was loft. This amicable conteft, as to who fhould defend the breach, occafioned a rath of Turks to the fpot, and thus time was gained for the arrival of the firft body of Haflin's troops. It became neceffery to combat the bahaw's repugnance to the admiffion of any troops, but his Albanians, into the garden of his feraglio, become a very important poft, as occupying the terre-plein of the rampart. There were not above two hundred of the original thoufaud Albanians left alive. This was no time for debate: his objections were over-ruled. A regiment, called the Chifflick, was introduced, confifting of 100 men, armed with bayonets, and difciplined after the European method, under fultan Selim's own eye, and placed, by his orders, under fir Sidney's immediate command. The garrifon, animated by the appearance of fuch a reinforcement, was now all on foot, and there being, confequently, enough to defend the breach, fir Sidney propofed to the bafhaw to get rid of the objects of his jealoufy, by opening his gates to let them make a fally, and then to take the affailants in flank; a requeft with which he readily complied. Orders were given to the colonel to get poffeflion of the enemy's third parallel, or nearest trench. The gates were opened; the Turks rushed out, but were driven back to the town with lofs. The fortie, however, had this good effect. that it obliged the enemy to expofe themfelves above their parapets; fo that the flanking

fire of the befieged brought down numbers of them, and drew their force from the breach: the fmall number, therefore, remaining in the lodgement, were killed or difperfed.

The groupe of generals and aidsde camp, which fhells, from fixtyeight pounders, had frequently dif perfed, was now aflembled on a mount, called Richard Cœur de Lion. Buonaparte was diftinguifhed in the centre of a femi-circle: his gefticulations indicated an inten tion to renew the attack, and his difpatching an aid-de-camp to the camp fhewed, that he waited only for a reinforcement. A little be fore funfet, a maffive column ap. peared advancing to the breach, with a folemn ftep. The bafhaw's idea was, not to defend the breach this time, but rather to let a certain number of the enemy in, and then clofe with them, according to the Turkish mode of warfare. The French column thus mounted the breach unmolefted, and defcended from the rampart into the bashaw's garden, where, in a very few minutes, the braveft and most advanced among them lay headlefs corpf es; the fabre, with the addition of a dagger in the other hand, proving more than a match for the bayonet. The reft retreated precipitately; and the officer commanding the column, who, as afterwards appeared, was general Lanne, while he was manfully encouraging his men to mount the breach, was feverely wounded. General Rambaud was killed.

During this conteft, immenfe multitudes of fpectators, on the furrounding hills, waited only, according to the manner of Afia, to fee how it would end, to join the victors.

[D]

Sir

Sir Sidney Smith, conceiving the ideas of the Syrians, as to the fuppofed irreftability of the French, muft be changed, fince they had witneffed the checks which the befieging army daily met with, in their operations before the town of Acre, wrote a circular letter to the princes and chiefs of the Chrif tians of mount Lebanon, recalling them to a fenfe of their duty, and engaging them to cut off the fupplies from the French camp. He fent them, at the fame time, a copy of Buonaparte's impious proclama tion, in which he boafts of having overthrown all Chriftian eftablishments, accompanied with a fuitable exhortation, calling upon them to choose between the friendship of a Christian knight, and that of an unprincipled renagado. This letter had all the effect, that he could defire. They immediately fent him two ambafladors, profeffing not only friendship but obedience; afluring him that, in proof of the latter, they had fent out parties to arreft fuch of the mountaineers as fhould be found carrying wine and gun powder to the French camp; and putting eighty prifoners of this defcription into his hands, and to be at his difpofal. Buonaparte's career farther northward was thus effectually stopped by a warlike people, inhabiting an impenetrable country.

The Turkish Chifflick regiment made a fresh fally, the next night, the ninth of May, the lieutenant colonel, Soliman Aga, being determined to retrieve the honour of the regiment by the punctual execution of the orders he had received, to make himfelf matter of the enemy's third parallel, which he did moft effectually but the impetuofity of

3

a few carried them on to the fecond trench, where they loft fome of their ftandards; though they fpiked four guns before their retreat. Kleber's divifion, infiead of mounting the breach, according to Buonaparte's intention, was thus obliged to wafte its time and firength in recovering their trenches; in which, after a conflict of fome hours, it fucceeded.

A flag of truce was now fent into the town, by the hand of an Arabian dervife, with a letter to the bafhaw, propofing a ceffation of arms, for the purpofe of burying the dead bodies, the stench from which had become intolerable, and threatened the exiflence of every one of the armies on both fides; many having died delirious within a few hours after being feized with the firft fymptoms of infection. While the anfwer was under confideration, a volley of flot and fhells on a fudden announced an affault, which, however, the garrifon was ready to receive, and the affailants only contributed to increafe the number of the dead bodies in queftion, "to the eternal difgrace of the general" fays fir Sydney Smith, "who thus difloyally facrificed them." Sir Sydney faved the life of the Arabian dervife, who had come with the flag of truce, from the effects of the indignation of the Turks, and took him off with himfelf to the Tigre, from whence he fent him back to the general with a meffage, which made the army afhamed of having been expofed to fuch merited reproof. It must have been extremely painful to fir Sydney, whofe humanity was equal to his extraordinary intrepity and bravery, and who had exerted himfelf, with

fuccefs,

fuccefs to foften the fate of the French prifoners at Conftantinople, to behold the multiplied horrors which were committed under his infpection, and thefe under the united flags of the Sublime Porte and of Great Britain. The French wounded and prifoners were maffacred by the Turks, in cold blood. As they have a favage fatisfaction themselves in flaughtering their enemies, and even their women and children, they place no faith in capitulations, and think the only way to be fecure against any future attacks from their prifoners of war is to put them to death. They bound two and two of them together, having firft cut off their heads, in one fack, and threw them into the fea. It is uncertain, whether this invention was borrowed by the Turks from the French, in their war in La Vendée, or by the French from the Turks.

All hopes of fuccefs having vanifhed, the enemy had no alternative left but a retreat, which was put in execution on the night between the twentieth and twentyfirft of May, after a fiege of fixty days. It has been already faid, that the enemy's battering train of artillery, amounting to twenty-three pieces, fell into the hands of the English cruizers. Their howitzers, and the medium twelve-pounders, originally conveyed by land with great difficulty, and fuccefsfully employed to make the firft breach at Acre, were embarked in the country-veffels, at Jaffa, to be conveyed

coaft-wife, together with the worst among the wounded, which embarraffed the march of the army. This operation was to be expected: fir Sidney Smith (the British commodore), therefore, took care to be between Jaffa and Damietta, before the French army could get as far as the former place. The vefiels being hurried to fea, without feamen to navigate them, and the wounded being in want of every neceffary, even water and provifions, they fteered ftraight to his majesty's fhips, in full confidence of receiving the fuccours of humanity: in which they were not disappointed. He fent them on, to Damietta, where they would receive fuch farther aid as their fituation required, but which it was out of his power to give to fo many. Their expreffions of gratitude (fir Sidney relates), to the English failors, were mingled with execrations on the name of their general, who had, as they faid, expofed them to peril, rather than fairly and honourably renew the intercourse with the English, which he had broken off by a falfe and malicious affertion, that the English commander, fit Sidney, had intentionally expofed the prifoners, he had formerly taken, to the infection of the plague.*

The French army had not long begun to retreat, when it was harafled in rear by the Arabs (a party of whom came down to the boats, and treated the English flag with every token of union and refpect),