ceeded to undermine one of the towers; and, after the return of the flotilla, a second sortie checked their operations without paralysing their efforts. During the siege, they were so harassed by the armed inhabitants of the neighbouring districts, that Kleber was sent to punish these obnoxious tribes; and Bonapartè marched with a fresh division, to prevent that officer from being overwhelmed. Being thus assured of aid, Kleber continued his exertions, and drove the foe behind Mount Tabor. Returning to the trenches, the general pushed on the siege, and directed a new assault: but his men were repelled with loss. Another attempt to enter the place was baffled, chiefly by the valor of the British marines. Bonapartè again endeavoured to blow up the counterscarp; but the English and the Turks, by subterranean counter-attacks, prevented the success of his mines. When a Turkish reinforcement approached, the besiegers made so fierce an assault, that a lodgement was effected on the glacis. The eastern curtain fell; and two hundred men rushed into the town; but the intruders were either slain or driven out. Another body entered, and recoiled in consternation. Sir Sydney, at the head of his seamen and a body of the newlyarrived Turks, advanced to defend the breach, and assisted in the repulse of the French, whose leader, standing on a mount distinguished by the name of the lionhearted Richard, urged the recoiling soldiers by frantic gesticulations to a new assault. They were allowed to penetrate into the garden of Ahmed's palace, and were then attacked with the sabre and poignard, and severely chastised for their rashness. A subsequent attempt proved equally fruitless; and such repeated failures confounded the hopes of Bonapartè, who (on the 20th of May), after a siege of two months, abandoned the enterprise, and returned to Egypt with the wreck of his army.

A Turkish host, under the pasha Mustapha, landed on the peninsula of Aboukir in the summer, and reduced the fort. Bonaparte hastened to meet the Ottoman commander, and (on the 25th of July) attacked entrenchments which were well defended by artillery. The Turks displayed courage, and even obstinacy; but they were defeated with great slaughter; and this success closed the exertions of Bonapartè in Egypt. Ac. companied by Berthier and other generals, he embarked in an armed vessel, and, notwithstanding the vigilance of the English cruisers, reached France in safety.

Kleber, the successor of the ambitious general, found the troops disgusted with their situation, and desirous of returning to Europe. They suffered great inconvenience from the climate; they did not enjoy the comforts to which they had been accustomed in other scenes of warfare; and the horrors of the plague aggravated their discontent. Hearing of the advance of the grand vizir with a numèrous army, Kleber was induced, by a con sideration of the difficulties under which he labored, to continue a negotiation which Bonapartè had commenced, hoping at least to gain time for being reinforced from France, if a treaty should not be concluded. Before any stipulations were adjusted, Seid Ali, at the head of a Turkish detachment, with which sir Sydney Smith co-operated, attacked the French near Damietta, and gained an advantage over them: but his men were routed in the sequel, about two thousand being slain or captured. The vizir at length reached Al-Arish, and, with the aid of major Douglas, the fort was soon taken by storm.

Reflecting on the danger to which the French were now exposed, whose diminished numbers were inadequate to the defence of Lower Egypt against the Turks and their allies, and of the upper division of the coun

try against Morad and other beys, Kleber endeavoured to expedite the negotiation; and it was agreed between the delegates of the vizir and the French agents, that the army of the republic should return to France, on the surrender of every post in Egypt to the Turks.

The English ministry being apprised of the overtures of the French, long before this convention was signed, instructions were sent to lord Keith, to oppose any stipulation for the safe return of an army still formidable. He therefore intimated to Kleber, that all ships returning with troops, and only having passports from one of the allied powers, should be detained as prizes, and all individuals on board considered as prisoners of war. The French general, having read this letter to his army, exclaimed, "Soldiers, let us reply to such insolence by victories: prepare for battle!" He informed the vizir, that he would gladly have complied with the terms of the convention, if the English admira! had not declared that he would counteract it, although it was adjusted with the concurrence of sir Sydney Smith. He boldly encountered the Turks (in March 1800), and easily triumphed over the disorderly rabble called the grand army of the Porte. He re-took the posts which had been given up; conciliated Morad by a cession of territory;, and renewed the negotiation with Smith, when he found that our court had consented to a confirmation of the agreement. While he was thus employed, he was murdered by a Turk; and general Menou, who succeeded him as guardian of the French interests in Egypt, rejected all proposals of accommodation.

CHAPTER XXI.

GEORGE III. (Continued.)

A. D. 1799-1800.

THE readiness of the Dutch to submit to the French had been punished by a series of insults, exactions, and oppressions. A revolutionary army had been quartered in their country; and such alterations of government as were dictated by the rulers of France, had been easily carried into effect. If the Hollanders had any remains of that spirit which rescued them from the tyranny of Philip the Second of Spain, it was concluded by the British ministry that they would rise against their Gallic oppressors, on the prospect of powerful assistance and support from the enemies of that republic which held them in disgraceful subjection. It was therefore concerted between Great-Britain and Russia, that a great army should be sent to promote their deliverance, and restore the dignity of their nation.

The preparations for this important service were carried on for some months before it was generally known to what point they were directed. At length a great armanent departed from the English coast; and the ships were brought to anchor near the Helder Point. The first division of the army no sooner marched up the sand hills, than a Dutch force under Daendels commenced an attack. The invaders, at that time, had neither cavalry nor artillery; but these deficiencies were in some measure remedied by the aid of the armed vessels. As soon as fresh troops landed, they joined such as were already in action; and the conflict continued for ten hours. The Dutch then re

tired in good order, when eleven hundred of their number had been killed or wounded. About four hundred and fifty suffered in the opposite army.

The result of this engagement was the acquisition of the Helder fort, abounding with artillery; the garrison having retreated in the night. The ships in the Niewe Diep-two of the line, and eleven frigates—were now seised, beside three Indiamen; and a valuable naval magazine was secured. Story, who commanded a Dutch squadron in the Mars Diep, retired within the Zuyder-Zee as soon as he saw the Orange flag on the fort, and anchored in an intricate channel behind the Texel island. Being summoned to surrender the fleet to the prince of Orange, he declared his determination of supporting the cause of the Batavian republic: but, when he found that the friends of the prince had excited a mutiny in some of the ships, and that a refusal of immediate submission would expose him to a dangerous attack, he sent to admiral Mitchel a promise of compliance. The fleet which the English thus obtained consisted of eight sail of the line and three frigates.

The Dutch general, being joined by a part of the force which the French directory had promised to send, marched against the British post at Petten. The left wing, consisting wholly of French under Brune, attacked the guards; and in this part the engagement was more spirited and sanguinary than where Daendels and de Monceau led the Hollanders to action. The English centre assisted the guards by assailing that wing in flank; and each division repelled the enemy.

Hitherto the troops had acted on the defensive: but, when the duke of York had arrived with a reinforcement, and a Russian host had also disembarked, offensive operations took place.

The whole force then

amounted to thirty-six thousand men, furnished with a