They prefent the most hideous picture of barbarians that can be conceived. The unhappy fugitives from Cairo, hemmed in between fuch enemies, and the avenging French, had no retreat. The fate of the whole was ruin, flavery, or death. Buonaparte, having inflicted fevere, though in his circumflances perhaps not unneceffary, punifliment, published an amnefty to all peaccable people, and held the fame language of conciliation, and affected confidence, as ufual.

While the infurrection was brewing at Cairo, the French arms were employed in the fuppreffion of plots of lefs moment, and in fubduing open refiftance in other places. Scarce a day paffed without fome fkirmihing between the French and Arabs. At Sombat, capital of a diftrict of Gambia, the inhabitants affafinated a detachment of French, confifling of one half of a demibrigade, and a part of a regiment of dragoons. On the thirteenth of September, the village, by orders of the generals Dugua and Verdier, was burned. About the fame time there was an engagement at Mitcamar, between the Arabs and the troops under general Murat, in which the former were completely routed. On the night between the fifteenth and ixteenth of September, the French garrifon of Damietta was attacked by a number of Arabs, joined by infurgents from feveral neighbouring provinces. The generals Vial and Andreoli attacked them in their turn, at their head-quarters in the village of Schouarra, fitua ted within cannon fhot of Damietta. The Arabs, to the number, as fiated by the French, of about ten thoufand, were ranged in one

line, extending from the Nile to the lake Menzales. The number of the French did not exceed five hundred. Fifteen hundred of the Arabs were killed or drowned, in the inundation of the river, and in the lake. The village Schouarra was taken, and committed to the flames. Columns of light troops fcouring the country, between Damietta and Manfoura, punished the chiefs of the revolt. On the feventh of October the divifion of the French, under general Deflaix, who, having dri ven the Mammalukes before, had paffed fome weeks in the neighbourhood of the catara&s, in fearch of the ruins of Thebes, defeated Mourad Bey, at Sediman, in Fay, oum, a province of Upper Egypt. The French had been greatly haraffed on their march by the troops of the bey, who endeavoured to ftraiten the quarters of the French, and cut off their provifions. At day break they found themfelves in front of the army of the bey, five or fix thousand strong, compofed of nearly an equal number of Mammalukes and Arabs, and a corps of infantry, which guarded the entrenchments of Sediman ; where there were placed four pieces of cannon; general Deffaix formed his infantry into a fquare battalion, which he flanked with two finall divifions of two hundred horfemen each. The Mammalukes and Arabs, after long hefitation, formed their refolution, and charged afmall platoon on the right, commanded by captain Valette, with horrible cries, and the greateft valour; and, at the fame time, the rear of the fquare. They were every where received by the French with the greatest coolness.

coolness. The chaffeurs, compofing the platoon, prefented their bayonets, and referved their fire till the enemy were within ten paces. The barbarian cavalry were no lefs intripid. They advanced impetuoufly in front of the French ranks. After firing, and throwing their piftols and mufkets at the heads of the French, they rufhed on into clofe action with their fpears and fabres. Some of them, whole horses were killed under them, crept along upon their bellies, in order to be under the bayonets, and cut the legs of their enemies. But all was in vain: they were obliged to fly. The French, notwithstanding the fire of the four pieces of cannon, which was the more to be dreaded, that their ranks were deep, advanced to Sediman; and the entrench

ment, cannon, and baggage were immediately in their poffeffion. On the fide of the united forces of the Mammalukes and Arabs, three beys were killed, two wounded, and four hundred of the flower of his troops killed on the spot. The lofs of the French was, by them ftated, to be thirty-fix killed, and ninety-fix wounded.

Here, as well as at the battle of the the Pyramids, the foldiers made a confiderable booty. There was not a Mammaluke on whom they did not find from three to five hundred louis. Mourad Bey retreated to the gorges of the mountains of Tajain-raft, to take care of his wounded, and recruit his army. faix was left in poffeffion of the beft part of Upper Egypt.

And thus Def

the invaders, by their genuine importance, and alfo by that air of forereign power which they carried to the imaginations of the hun.bled Muffelmen. Yet many circumftances of alarm continued to agitate the mind of Buonaparte.— The extension of the French arms extended alfo the sphere of hoftility and retiftance to their power. Ghezzar Oglou, the bashaw of St. John d'Acre, had assembled 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 refentment 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 east, farther attacks were to be apprehended, and new combinations, against the French in Europe.

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

ing him a prefent, gave him in charge, as a paffenger, citizen Beauchamp, 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 friendship. 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 flated, that the punifhment which he might find it neceffary to inflict on that bashaw, ought not to give the Porte any uneafinefs, Buonaparte, forefeeing every thing that would tend to give offence to the Porte, had already dif patched 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 dif mifs Ibrahim, with his Mamma, lukes. 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 these difpatches, from Buonaparte, very emphatically mark the advanced decline and degradation of the Turkith empire. Such infolence and contempt, however, one would imagine, must have tended rather to provoke the refentment and revenge of the Turks, under all their political weaknefs, ftill retaining a proud and haughty fpirit, than to conciliate even the appearance of acquiefcence and connivance. Yet [C3]

Buo.

Buonaparte, no doubt, knew how to cftimate the fpirit 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 Aufirian 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 Turkish 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 in Syria, 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 amaffed by Ghezzar Bashaw.

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

precautions