to the fea; into which fix or feyen thoufand precipitated themfelves in total defpair. Muftapha Bafhaw, commander-in-chief, as above mentioned, of the Turkish army, was taken, with about 200 Turks: 2000 men lay on the field of battle. All the tents, the equipage, and 20 pieces of cannon, (two of which were English, having been prefented by the court of London to the grand feignior), fell into the hands of the French. The English gunboats faved themfelves by flight. It was computed, that about 10,000 Turks were drowned. The fort of Aboukir ceased to fire: the garrison was firuck with terror.

A flag of truce was foon followed by the furrender of the fort of Aboukir. Buonaparte, forefeeing the certainty of this, retired, even before it took place, to Alexandria. At this place he iffued the following declarations, which it may not be improper here to record: whether Buonaparte fincerely believed what he gave out, or meant, by affecting to believe it, to practife on the fentiments and paffions of his adherents, and thereby render them more docile and paffive inftruments of his future schemes of operation and ambition. Scarcely any thing that is done or faid by fuch a man, is unworthy of a place in the record of the times; and it would be wholly unworthy of a British chronicler, whofe countrymen oppofe, with fo great fuccefs, fuch a front, to all that can poffibly be op pofed to them, to conceal or fhade the egregious merit of fo illuftrious an adversary.

The firft of thefe declarations is dated, Army of the East, general orders, July 27.

"The general-in-chief, withing to give a mark of his approbation to the brigade of cavalry of general Murat, which covered itfelf with glory at the battle of Aboukir, orders the commandant of artillery to fend to the brigade the two English pieces of cannon, which had been fent by the court of London, as a prefent to Conftantinople, and which were taken in that battle.

"On each cannon there fhall be engraven the names of the three regiments compofing that brigade, as well as the name of general Murat, and that of adjutant-general Roire; there fhall be written round the touch-hole Battle of Aboukir.'

The fecond declaration is dated, general orders, Auguft ift, Buonaparte, general-in-chief.

66

The name of Aboukir was fatal to all Frenchmen. The 25th of July has rendered it glorious. The victory which the army has gained accelerates its return to Europe.

"We have conquered Mentz, and the limits of the Rhine, by invading a part of Germany. We have now reconquered our establishments in India, and thofe of our allies, by a fingle operation. We have put into the hands of government the power to force England, notwithstanding its maritime triumphs, to a peace glorious for the republic.

"We have fuffered much: we have had to fight enemies of every kind: we have them ftill to conquer: but, at length, the refult will be worthy of you, and we shall merit the thanks of our country."

The account we have given of the battle of Aboukir, and the march of the French to that place,

is

to fupply flips. Thefe fountains are at the diftance of three quarters of a league from the fea.

In the evening he returned to Suez, but the fea was high. His guide loft him in the marshes, from which he extricated himfelf with difficulty, being up to the middle in

water.

Suez, if its magazines be confidered, appears to have been the entrepot of a very confiderable commerce. Barges only can come into the port; but a point of fand that runs out a league into the fea, and which is uncovered at low water, and near which frigates can lie at anchor, furnished every poffible means for erection of a battery, that might protect the shipping at anchor, and defend the coaft. At Suez, the Arabs of Top came and folicited the friendship of the French, and obtained it. Here alfo Buonaparte received a deputation of the monks of Mount Sinai. The pious Cenobites brought him the humble offering of the fruits of their mountain, and prefented to him the charter of toleration given originally, and figned by Mahomet, requefting alfo the protection of the new conquerors: and Mahomet's charter was counter figned by Buonaparte.

He took a very detailed furvey of the town and adjacent coafts, and ordered the conftruction of certain works for the defence of this important poft. For the encouragement of commerce, he lowered the duties paid to the Bafhaws and Mammalukes, and for carriage of goods established regular caravans from Suez to Cairo and Belbeis. During his stay of two days at Suez

there arrived four veffels. He then fet out, and failing along the coaft to the north, he difcovered, at the diftance of two leagues and a half from Suez, the remains of the entrance of the canal of Suez; which he purfued the length of four leagues. In four days he arrived at Honareb, where the remains of the canal of Suez are discoverable at its entrance on the cultivated and watered lands of Egypt.

He purfued the line of the canal the length of feveral leagues, and ordered citizen Peyre, an engineer, to go to Suez, and to return with a fufficient elcort, to take a geometrical furvey of the courte of the canal, by means of which operation was refolved the problem of the exiftence of one of the greatest and moft ufeful works in the world.

It should not be omitted, under the head of Bonaparte's care for the republic of letters, to mention, that lie eftablished a newspaper at Cairo, of which Coftaz was the editor, under the title of the Courier of Egypt. He also fet feveral of his learned men and philofophers to work upon an almanack, containing five calendars, the republican calendar, and the calendars of the Romifh, Greek, Copht, and Mahometan churches. In fine, it may be obferved of Buonaparte, and it is, perhaps, what most happily dif tinguishes his character, that there never was any general, ancient or modern, if we ought not to except Alexander the Great, who fo happily united the progrefs of arnis with the advancement of science.

CHAP.

have learnt my arrival on the fhores of the Red Sea, with a numerous and invincible army, wishing to de liver you from the yoke of the Englih. I take this opportunity to teftify my defire for fome news relating to your political fituation, by the way of Muscatti and Morea. I with you would lend to Suez or to Cairo, an intelligent and confidential per fon with whom I might confer. The Moft High increase your power and deftroy your enemies."

This letter muft have been highly gratifying to the Sultaun, who had already, in the end of 1797, difpatched two ambafladors to the French government in the Mauritius, or the Ifle of France, with whom he had already maintained a fecret correfpondence. They embarked at Mangalore, and arrived in that island towards the clofe of January, 1798. They were received by the government with every circumftance of diftinction and respect; and, during their continuance on the island, were entertained at the public expenfe. They propofed to levy men to any practicable extent, ftating their powers to be unlimited, with refpect to the number to be raised in the name of Tippoo Sultaun.

A proclamation was iflued by the governor-general of the Ile of France, in February, flating that an embassy had arrived at the Ille of France, with letters from Tippoo Sultaun, addreffed not only to the government of that ifland, but to the executive directory of France, propofing to conclude an offenfive alliance with the French, to fubfidize and to fupply whatever troops the French might furnish to the fultaun, and to commence, against the British power in India, a war of VOL. XLI.

aggreffion, for which the fultaun was declared to be fully prepared, waiting with anxiety the moment when the fuccour fhould enable him to fatisfy his ardent defire of expelling the British nation from India. The proclamation concluded by offering encouragement to the fabjects of France, to enter into the fervice of Tippoo Sultaun, on terms to be fixed by the ambalador then on the spot.

The ambaffadors from Tippoo, on the seventh of March, embarked on board a French frigate, with a force raised in the name of Tippoo Sultaun, amounting to about 200 men, inclufive of feveral officers, and arrived at Mangalore on the twentyfixth of April.

At the fame time that Tippoo was careful to augment his own European eftablishment, he laboured by all means alfo to increase that of the Nizam of the Decan, although in confederacy with the Mahrattas and the English. A plot was concerted between the taltaun and certain French officers, for gradually raifing the European force in the army of that prince, above his controul, and for bringing over to the fide of the Myforeans this force, together with as many of the native troops as might be induced, according to the manner of the Afiatics, to join the party prevailing at the moment. The natural indolence of eaftern fovereigns, acting in every thing by delegation, and the mode of fubfifting the army by adenents of land, and not by the disbursement of money from a treafury under their own infpection, co-ope rated to facilitate confpiracy; and above 10,000 Europeans, French and others, were incorporated, and began to take the lead, in the army [E]

of