bably induced him not to precipitate the fate of the enemy, as he might have done, by more vigorous meafares. The garrilon was in great diftrefs, and threatened by the near approaches of famine. Indeed, the protraction of the fiege, after the farrender of Cairo, is only to be defended, on the ground, that the French general might feel it neceffary to fupport the fplendid boaft of burying himself under the ruins of Alexandria, by the parade, at leaft, of resistance. The conditions, which had been granted to Beliard, were not refused to Menou. An attempt was made to include the acquifitions of the learned meu among the articles of confifcation; but, on their refolutely declaring that they would burn their papers rather than refign them to the English, the conteft was relinquished. A cargo, how ever, of Egyptian antiquities, which they could neither conceal, nor confune by fire, was brought to the British-mufeum. The inhabitants of Conftantinople, confidering the furrender of Alexandria, as the termination of the war in Egypt, manitefied, on the occafion, the moft enthufiaftic joy. The cannon of the feraglio were fired; the city was fplendidly illuminated; and the fultan ordered fifty gold medals to be ftruck, bearing a crefcent and far in the centre, with a fuitable intcription, to be diftributed among the Englife officers in Egypt; to feveral of whom, the grand vizier, in the name of his fovereign, had before made both honourably and valuable prefents. A magnificient palace was built in Pero, and dedicated to be the refidence, in all tungs to come, of the English ambanador at the Ottoman Porte.

During this arduous and intereft, ing conteft, the Lng left twenty

four officers, and about 7 or 800 private men, including the naval as well as the military fervice. Very dif ferent was the fate of France: which, in this memorable expedition to the Eaft, concurred, not lefs than from 30 to 40,000 of their best troops, and almost annihilated her navy. Of the whole number of French fent to Egypt, in the course of three years, there returned 23,000. They were accompanied by feveral hundreds of the natives of both fexes.

General Hutchinson, now advanced to the peerage, with the title of lord Hatchinfon, obtained leave, on account of his health, to return to England, and refigned his command to lord Cavan, who remained in Egypt. Part of our troops returned to Britain at the fame time with lord Hutchinfon. The Britith force, left in Egypt, in October, was 5000 men, exclufive of the Indian army: forming, altogether, a body of 12,000 men.

From the commencement of the

war in Egypt, the Porte had formed a fecret refolution to change the government of that country, at the fame time that both the grand vizier and captain bashaw held out to the Beys and the Mamalukes the moż unequivocal affurances that their authority would be immediately restored, on the deftruction of the infidels. On the expultion of the French from Egypt, accordingls,↑ feven of the Beys were invited to Alexandria, to hold a conference with the captain bashaw, on the fubject of certain arrangements necellary to be made for their re-eftabliment. They were received on their arrival, with every demonftration of hofpitality and relpect. On pretence of a with that they might accompany him, in a

fit of ceremony, to the British commander at Alexandria, but in reality, with a view to fend them to Conftantinople, he treacheroufly engaged them to go on board a Ahip of war, whither he was, himfelf, to accompany them. But, after they had gone into the boats that were to carry them to the fhip, they began to recollect the repeated advices and warnings that had been given them by general Hutchinson, never to trust themselves on board any Turkish vessels, and to apprehend fome violence, after they should be lodged in the frigate. They required of the officers who had charge of them, to re-conduct them to the shore. The officers, pleading the orders of the high-admiral, refufed to comply with their requeft. The Beys, grafping their arms, began to ufe force. A conflict enfued, in which four of the Beys were killed, and three wounded. Several of the boatmen flared the fame fate. The grand vizier too, at the fame time, attempted to fecure as many of the Beys as he could, by force, or fraud. Some fell into his hands: others made their efcape into Upper Egypt.

General Hutchinfon, apprifed of all this, ordered his troops under arms, remonftrated feverely with both the grand vizier and captain bafhaw, and reclaimed, in a menacing tone, the wounded Beys, the bodies of the flain for honourable fepulture, and the Beys alfo who were in the power of the vizier. The captain bashaw imputed the difafter that had befallen the feven Beys, whom he had invited to his refidence, to themselves: whofe fufpicions, he faid, were without foundation; and excufed his own conduct from the orders that had been fent, both to himself and the

grand vizier, from the Porte: which was well affured, that it was never the intention of the court of London, to take any part in the internal regulations, or government of Egypt; but, after the expulfion of the French, to leave the Ottomans to establish there, what form of government they thould think proper. The captain-bafhaw carried his head very high, and maintained great pomp and fplendour: fuch as he deemed fuitable to the fovereign dignity of the Porte. He affected to treat general Hutchinfon, in fome fort, as the guest of the grand fig nior; in fending him, regularly, a fecond courfe, confifting of all the delicacies that could be provided, to his table. Thus he artfully combined an air of hofpitality with an air of fuperiority, and fupremacy in Egypt. There were not a few, who faid, that the general should have declined to accept the hofpitality of the Turkish high-admiral, affumed greater ftate himself, and, in a word, a tone of mastery and controul, for a time, in a province recovered, almoft folely, from the French, by the British arms. They were even of opinion, that it would have been as wife, as magnanimous policy, to have punished the treachery of the bafiaw, and avenged the death of the three Beys, by hanging him up at the yard-arm of the frigate, on board of which he meant to decoy them. So great an act of juftice would have ftruck the Eaft with an admiration and awe of the British name, and exalted it above every name in the world.

There were, however, other confiderations that weighed down the oppofite fcale, in the balance. Had it been the purpose of our government to retain poffeffion of any poft or pofts in Egypt, fuch a mealure

might perhaps have been accounted not lefs eligible than daring. But it was not the defign of Britain to do any thing that might offend, and alienate, but, on the contrary, to cultivate the favour of her Turkish ally. -General Hutchinson. did not embrace a line of conduct that would probably have been condemned by his court, as extravagant, and im•prudent: nor yet did he tamely and meanly acquiefce in a measure dictated by barbarian perfidy. But, fieering a middle courfe, he demanded, with inflexible firmness, the freedom of the Beys, which was granted. There could not have been a fitter agent, in this bufinefs, than general-Stewart, who, at the head of a strong detachment, carried the remonftrances and demands of the British commander-in-chief to the captain-bathaw

But the Beys, though left at their own difpofal, forefaw the evacuation of Egypt by the English, and the establishment of the power of the Turks, at leaft in the lower regions of that country. Their faithful Mamalukes were either difperfed or bad fallen by the fword. They liftened, therefore, to the fair promises that were made to them by the captain-bafhaw and grand vizier, and folemnly confirmed by their oaths on the Koran, of protection, favour, and preferment, if they would throw themfelves into the arms of the fultan. They con fented to relinquifh their pretenfions to any authority in Egypt; and fignified this confent, in writing, to the grand fignior, and alfo to gene

ral Hutchinfon. The Porte, extended to Egypt the system of government by bafhaws.

Thus terminated the revolution occafioned by the French invation of Egypt, In the midft of all the toils, dangers, and conflicts of war and infurrection, the French were atiduous in exploring that renowned land, under all the views of phyfical and moral science, and in making collections in antiquities and natural hiftory. Though they failed in the attempt to extend their political power, they enlarged the fphere of their knowledge. And they acquired information that may be of great ufe in the cafe of their ever engaging in another expedition, with or without the confent of the Porte, to Egypt.- -Buonaparte, the author and conductor of the expedition to Egypt, on a retrofpect of its progrefs, viciffitudes, and termination, confoled the French nation with the reflection, that "The army of the Eaft had left, in Egypt, an immortal memory, which would, perhaps one day revive there the arts and inftitutions of fociety. And that history, at least, would not pals over in filence all that the French had done to introduce into that country, the arts and improvements of Europe." How far this refult, fo greatly to be defired, is probable, or improbable, is a very interefting and curious queftion. Never, we apprehend, will the arts and fciences take root and flourish in Egypt, fo long as it is under the domination of the Turkish government, and the Mahomedan religion. †

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СНАР.

IT

IT was the great object of Buonaparte, in the war with England, to ftrike at the root of her naval power and greatnefs, by cutting off, as much as poffible, the fources of her commerce. Her Trans-atlantic colonies, in the reduced and ruined fate of the French navy, were holly beyond his reach. India, the great fountain of her wealth, it feemed not impofiible to reach, by means of political intrigues as well as arms, through the establishment of a French colony in Egypt. Or, if that object thould fail, or not be foon accomplied, the improvement, and the produce of Egypt, of itself, and the trade of the Eaft, gradually allured to its own channel, through that noble ifthmus, would compen fate the lofs of the French colonies in the Weft Indies, and throw fuch a mafs of eafy and natural comnierce into the hands of France, the mittrefs of the Mediterranean, as might enable her, at leaft to divide, with Great Britain, the empire of the ocean. There was, bofides, in

the idea of colonizing Egypt, and reftoring the natural prerogatives of thofe regions, fomething that warms the human breaft by to many interefting recollections, fomething grand, as well as politically advantageous; and peculiarly fitted to take hold of a mind, at once heroic, and deeply tinctured with a love of letters. The colonization of Egypt was the darling child of Buonaparte. It was the grand pivot on which the aggrandifement of France, and his own glory and fame were to turn. Around this favourite projest, other collateral objects were arranged. To harafs, diftract, and exhauft the financial refources of England, by menaces of invation, was, of itself, a wife measure of war: but it derived an additional intereft and importance, in the eyes of the chief conful, as it might af ford an opportunity, while our fleets fhould be detained on our coafts, of flipping out a fleet, with fuccours to the French army in Egypt. While all was in movement on the