Buonaparte, being informed of the coalition of the Ottomans and the
English to drive the French out of Egypt, thought to be beforehand with
them by carrying the war into Syria. After taking Gaza and Jaffa, and
gaining an advantage over the Turks, on the 18th of March he arrived
before Acre. But the fortifications had been recently repaired, under
the direction of Sir Sidney Smith, the English commodore, and a French
engineer named Phélypeaux. These fortifications consisted of curtains
flanked with square towers; the munitions were principally supplied by
the English ships. Thus Buonaparte was not only opposed to Turks but
to British sailors, led by one of those naval heroes who so gloriously
illustrated this war. Ahmet-Djezzar Pasha was governor of Acre, a
man addicted to cruelty, and inspired with an inveterate hatred for
the French. The Turks easily allowed themselves to be shut up in the
place, confident of receiving constant supplies from their English
friends. The French were encamped upon an isolated height, extending
a league and a half to Cape Blanc. They found abundant provisions in
Nazareth and its neighbourhood. On the 10th of March the trenches
were opened at five hundred toises from the body of the place; and,
by the 28th, the breach-batteries and counter-batteries were ready.
For want of siege artillery, field artillery was employed; in one day,
the French succeeded in making an opening in the tower of attack;
they had at the same time pushed on a mine branch, to blow up the
counterscarp. The mine was sprung, and the French felt satisfied of
its success. The troops earnestly desired to be led to the assault.
They judged the breach would be similar to one in which they had been
successful at Jaffa; but scarcely had they rushed upon it, than they
found themselves stopped by a fosse fifteen feet wide, backed by a good
counterscarp. They planted their ladders against it; the head of the
grenadiers had already descended; the breach was still eight feet from
them; some ladders were placed there. Adjutant Mailly mounted first,
but was struck dead by a ball. The fire of the place was terrible; a
simple tunnel had been formed upon the glacis; the counterscarp was
not touched; it impeded the French, and forced a party of grenadiers
intended to support the first assailants to retreat. Adjutant-Generals
Escale and Langier were killed. A momentary panic seized the besieged,
and they were flying towards the port; but they as suddenly rallied
and returned to the breach. From the top of the tower, they poured
down upon the besiegers stones, grenades, and all sorts of inflammable
matters. The French grenadiers regained their _boyaux_, foaming with
rage. The taking of Jaffa had led the French into a deceptive contempt
for these kinds of fortifications. They treated as a mere field affair
a siege which required all the resources of art. At least so say
the French authorities; Sir Sidney Smith’s biographer, whilst doing
perfect justice to the bravery and efforts of the French, says that the
fortifications, though made the most of by Phélypeaux and Sir Sidney,
were in a very bad condition. Emboldened by this first success, the
Turks made several sorties, in which the loss was great on both sides;
that of the French, being, however, sensibly increased by the death
of their best engineer, Detroyes. Djezzar made a sortie on the 7th of
April; he marched in three columns; at the head of each were English
sailors and marines, and all the batteries were served by cannoniers
of that nation. The French then perceived what was the object of the
sortie; the English wished to gain possession of the first posts and
the advanced works. Instantly, a fire so well kept up was opened upon
them from the _places d’armes_ and the counterscarp, that all who had
advanced were either killed or wounded. The centre column exhibited
more firmness. It had been ordered to obtain possession of the entrance
to the mine. The commanding officer, Captain Atfield, was shot whilst
boldly leading on his men. The English accounts say that the failure
in this assault was owing to the impetuosity, noise, and want of
discipline of the Turks. The English and Turks returned to the town
without having gained their object. The reverses of the parallels
remained covered by the English and their allies.
“Though hostilities were carried on with such vigour and apparent
rancour in the trenches and on the breach, yet there were frequent
suspensions of operations, and the distinguished French generals, on
such occasions, derived much pleasure from visiting Sir Sidney on board
the Tigre. On one of these occasions, and after the besieging party had
made some progress, Generals Kleber and Junot were, with Sir Sidney
Smith, walking the quarter-deck of the Tigre, in a very amiable mood of
sociability, one on each side the English commander.
“After a few turns in silence, Junot, regarding the battered
fortifications that lay before him, and they being dwindled by distance
into much insignificance, thus broke out in the spirit of false
prophecy:--
“‘Commodore, mark my words! three days hence, by this very hour, the
French tricolour shall be flying on the remains of that miserable town.’
“Sir Sidney very quickly replied: ‘My good general, before you shall
have that town, I will blow it and you to Jericho.’
“‘_Bien obligé_,’ observed Kleber, ‘very much obliged, indeed; it will
be all in our way to India.’
“‘With all my heart!’ rejoined Sir Sidney; ‘I shall be most happy to
assist you, Buonaparte, and your whole army, forward in that style; and
we will commence as soon as you please.’
“The offer, though so kindly made, was neither accepted nor replied
to.”[12]
Buonaparte had been absent for a time on a successful excursion against
some of the small neighbouring cities. He learnt, on his return, that
Contre-amiral Pérée had landed at Jaffa three pieces of twenty-four
pounds, and six of eighteen, with munitions, which was the first siege
artillery he had received. He hoped with this to advance this so
unexpectedly difficult attack. On the 24th of April, the mine destined
to blow up the tower of attack was finished, and the batteries began
to batter Acre: fire was set to the mine, but a _souterrain_, which
was near the tower, diminishing the resistance, a part of the effect
was lost, and only a single side of the tower was blown up, leaving it
as difficult to climb as before. Buonaparte, however, ordered thirty
picked men to effect a lodgment. The grenadiers gained the ruins of the
first stage, but the enemy, who occupied the superior stages, poured
upon them such showers of combustible matter as compelled them to
retreat. A second attack, made the next day, had no better success. The
French lost General Cafarelli, one of their most distinguished leaders.
The ardour of the besieged and the besiegers was equal; and the Turks
prudently and gratefully availed themselves of the intelligence of the
English engineers, to augment their means of defence. They every day
received provisions and ammunition from the English ships, and, on all
trying occasions, were materially assisted by bands of sailors, led by
enterprising officers.
The inhabitants, likewise, were willing and useful accessories in
carrying on the works. The French, on the contrary, were obliged to
husband the lives of their men, whose numbers were daily lessened by
the plague, that cruel scourge of the East, and the burning sun of the
climate.
Almost all the front pieces of attack of the besieged were dismounted;
to defend himself, Djezzar built a place of arms in front of his right,
and a second was established on his left, opposite to his palace. By
favour of their fire and of the musketry, these works flanked the
breach and the tower advantageously. Four pieces of eighteen were
placed _en batterie_. On the 2nd of April, their fire was directed
against the breach, to extend the demolition of it. That evening,
twenty grenadiers were commanded to gain a lodgment there; but the
enemy, profiting by the _boyau_ established in the fosse, fusilladed
the breach crosswise. Want of powder by the 5th of April began to
relax the fire of the French, which, of course, redoubled the courage
and efforts of the besieged: they worked incessantly at the sapping,
their object being to cut off the communication of the besiegers with
a new mine. Buonaparte ordered four companies of grenadiers, at ten
o’clock in the evening, to throw themselves into the outworks of Acre.
The besieged were surprised, and many were slaughtered; the French
gained possession of the works, and three of the cannon were spiked;
but the incessant, well-directed fire from the ramparts rendered it
impossible for them to stay long enough to entirely destroy them. The
garrison regained the works immediately afterwards. At the end of two
days, the Turks succeeded in giving vent to a fresh mine, destined to
blow up the counterscarp established upon a breach of the curtain. Two
assaults given on the 5th and 6th of May were equally fruitless. On the
7th, the French heard of the arrival of a convoy of powder at Gaza.
Buonaparte gave orders to batter in breach the curtain on the right
of the tower of breach, and the breach itself. The curtain fell, and
offered a practicable opening. Buonaparte seized the advantage, and
ordered an immediate assault. Lannes’ division rushed to the breach and
gained possession of it; two hundred men were already in the place;
but the general’s orders were not executed with sufficient _ensemble_:
the besieged, issuing from their outer places of arms, filed into the
fosses right and left, and succeeded in establishing a cross-fire upon
the breach. Not having been dislodged from the second tower dominating
the left, they kept up a warm fusillade, and launched all sorts of
inflammable matter upon the French. The troops who were scaling began
to hesitate; they stopped; indecision appeared in their ranks; and
they ceased to rush into the streets with the impetuosity they evinced
after gaining the breach. The fire of the houses, of the barricades,
of the streets, of Djezzar’s palace, which took in front and crosswise
those who descended from the breach and those who entered the city,
occasioned a retrograde movement among the troops that had entered the
place and did not find themselves supported. They abandoned, behind
the rampart, two pieces of cannon and two mortars, of which they had
gained possession: the retrograde movement was soon communicated to the
whole column. General Lannes succeeded in stopping it, and bringing the
column forward again. The _guides à pied_, who were in reserve, rushed
to the breach, where both parties fought hand to hand, with reciprocal
animosity. The Turks and English regained their position at the crown
of the breach. The effect of the first impulse, the French soldiers’
principal chance of victory, was gone; General Lannes was severely
wounded, and General Rambaud had been killed in the city: the Turks had
had time to rally. At this moment, the besieged received a considerable
reinforcement of troops from the isle of Rhodes: they were landed, and
at once joined in the contest: they fought from dawn till night; and
all the advantage being on the side of the besieged, the French found
it necessary to retreat.
The next day, the fire from the batteries continued. Buonaparte
repaired, at two o’clock in the morning, to the breach, and ordered
a fresh attack. The _éclaireurs_, the grenadiers, and the carbiniers
mounted to the breach, surprised the enemy’s posts, and slaughtered
numbers; but they were stopped by fresh interior intrenchments, and
forced to retire. The fire from the batteries continued all the day.
At four o’clock in the afternoon, the grenadiers of the twenty-fourth
solicited and obtained the honour of mounting first to the assault.
These brave men marched coolly to the wall; but a first, second, and
third line of defence had been established, which could not be forced
without fresh dispositions. Retreat was again sounded. The French had
in these assaults two hundred killed and five hundred wounded; they
greatly regretted the brave General Bon, who was killed at the head of
the grenadiers. This is principally the French account of these two
important days: let us hear what Sir Sidney Smith says of them in his
well-written despatch to Lord Nelson:--
“We have been in one continued battle ever since the beginning of the
siege, interrupted only at short intervals by the excessive fatigue of
every individual on both sides. We have been long anxiously looking for
a reinforcement, without which we could not expect to be able to keep
the place so long as we have. The delay in its arrival being occasioned
by Hassan Bey’s having originally had orders to join me in Egypt, I
was obliged to be very peremptory in the repetition of my orders for
him to join me here; it was not, however, till the evening of the day
before yesterday, the fifty-first day of the siege, that his fleet of
corvettes and transports made its appearance. The approach of this
additional strength was the signal to Buonaparte for a most vigorous
and persevering assault, in hopes to get possession of the town before
the reinforcement to the garrison could disembark.
“The constant fire of the besiegers was suddenly increased tenfold;
our flanking fire afloat was, as usual, plied to the utmost, but with
less effect than heretofore, as the enemy had thrown up epaulments
and traverses of sufficient thickness to protect them from it. The
guns that could be worked to the greatest advantage were a French
brass eighteen-pounder, in the Lighthouse castle, manned from the
Theseus, under the direction of Mr. Scroder, master’s mate; and the
last-mounted twenty-four pounder in the north ravelin, manned from the
Tigre, under the direction of Mr. Jones, midshipman. These guns being
within grape distance of the head of the attacking column, added to the
Turkish musketry, did great execution. The Tigre’s two sixtyeight-pound
carronades, mounted on two dgermes lying in the mole, and worked under
the direction of Mr. Bray, carpenter of the Tigre (one of the bravest
and most intelligent men I ever served with), threw shells into the
centre of this column with evident effect, and checked it considerably.
Still, however, the enemy gained ground, and made a lodgment in the
second story of the north-east tower, the upper part being entirely
battered down, and the ruins in the ditch forming the ascent by which
they mounted: daylight showed us the French standard on the outer
angle of the tower. The fire of the besieged was much slackened in
comparison with that of the besiegers, and our flanking fire was become
of less effect, the enemy having covered themselves in this lodgment
and the approach to it by two traverses across the ditch, which they
had constructed under the fire that had been opposed to them during
the whole night, and which were now seen, composed of sand-bags and
the bodies of their dead built in with them, their bayonets only being
visible above them. Hassan Bey’s troops were in the boats, though,
as yet, but halfway on shore. This was a most critical point of the
contest, and an effort was necessary to preserve the place for a short
time till their arrival.
“I accordingly landed the boats at the mole, and took the crews up to
the breach, armed with pikes. The enthusiastic gratitude of the Turks,
men, women, and children, at the sight of such a reinforcement at such
a time, is not to be described.
“Many fugitives returned with us to the breach, which we found defended
by a few brave Turks, whose most destructive missile weapons were
heavy stones, which, striking the assailants on the head, overthrew
the foremost down the slope and impeded the progress of the rest.
A succession, however, ascended to the assault, the heap of ruins
between the two parties serving as a breastwork to both; the muzzles
of their muskets touching, and the spear-heads of their standards
locked. Djezzar Pasha, hearing the English were on the breach, quitted
his station, where, according to the ancient Turkish custom, he was
sitting to reward such as should bring him the heads of the enemy,
and distributing musket-cartridges with his own hand. The energetic
old man, coming behind us, pulled us down with violence, saying, if
any harm happened to his English friends, all was lost. This amicable
contest as to who should defend the breach, occasioned a rush of Turks
to the spot, and thus time was gained for the arrival of the first
body of Hassan’s troops. I had now to combat the pasha’s repugnance to
admitting any troops but his Albanians into the garden of his seraglio,
which had become a very important place, as occupying the _terreplein_
of the rampart. There were about two hundred of the original thousand
Albanians left alive. This was no time for debate, and I overruled
his objection by introducing the Chifflick regiment of one thousand
men, armed with bayonets, disciplined after the European method under
Sultan Selim’s own eye, and placed by his imperial majesty’s express
command at my disposal. The garrison, animated by the appearance of
such a reinforcement, was now all on foot; and there being consequently
enough to defend the breach, I proposed to the pasha to get rid of
the object of his jealousy, by opening his gates to let them make a
sally and take the assailants in flank. He readily complied; and I
gave directions to the colonel to get possession of the enemy’s third
parallel or nearest trench, and there fortify himself by shifting the
parapet outwards. This order being clearly understood, the gates were
opened and the Turks rushed out; but they were not equal to such
a movement, and were driven back to the town with loss. Mr. Bray,
however, as usual, protected the town gate efficaciously with grape
from the sixtyeight-pounders. The sortie had this good effect, that it
obliged the enemy to expose themselves above their parapets, so that
our flanking fires brought down numbers of them and drew their force
from the breach, so that the small number remaining on the lodgment
were killed or dispersed by our few remaining hand-grenades, thrown by
Mr. Savage, midshipman of the Theseus. The enemy began a new breach,
by an incessant fire directed to the southward of the lodgment, every
shot knocking down whole sheets of wall, much less solid than that of
the tower, on which they had expended so much time and ammunition.
The group of generals and aides-de-camp, which the shells from the
sixtyeight-pounders had frequently dispersed, was now reassembled on
Richard Cœur de Lion’s Mount. Buonaparte was distinguishable in the
centre of a semicircle; his gesticulations indicated a renewal of
attack, and his despatching an aide-de-camp showed that he waited only
for a reinforcement. I gave directions for Hassan Bey’s ships to take
their station in the shoal water to the southward, and made the Tigre’s
signal to weigh and join the Theseus to the northward. A little before
sunset, a massive column appeared advancing to the breach with a solemn
step. The pasha’s idea was not to defend the breach this time, but
rather to let a certain number of the enemy in, and then close with
them according to the Turkish mode of war. The column thus mounted the
breach unmolested, and descended from the rampart into the pasha’s
garden, where, in a very few minutes, the bravest and most advanced
among them lay headless corpses; the sabre, with the addition of a
dagger in the other hand, proving more than a match for the bayonet.
The rest retreated precipitately; and the commanding officer, who was
seen manfully encouraging his men to mount the breach, and whom we
have since learnt to be General Lannes, was carried off wounded by a
musket-shot. General Rombaud was killed. Much confusion arose in the
town from the actual entry of the enemy, it having been impossible, nay
impolitic, to give previous information to everybody of the mode of
defence adopted, lest the enemy should come to a knowledge of it by
means of their numerous spies.
“The English uniform, which had served as a rallying-point for the
old garrison wherever it appeared, was now, in the dusk, mistaken
for French, the newly-arrived Turks not distinguishing between one
hat and another in the crowd; and thus many a severe blow of a sabre
was parried by our officers, among which Colonel Douglas, Mr. Ives,
and Mr. Jones had nearly lost their lives as they were forcing their
way through a torrent of fugitives. Calm was restored by the pasha’s
exertions, aided by Mr. Trotte, just arrived with Hassan-Bey; and thus
the contest of twenty-five hours ended, both parties being so fatigued
as to be unable to move.
“Buonaparte will, no doubt, renew the attack, the breach being, as
above described, perfectly practicable for fifty men abreast; indeed
the town is not, nor ever has been, defensible, according to the
rules of art; but according to every other rule it must and shall be
defended: not that it is in itself worth defending, but we feel that it
is by this small breach Buonaparte means to march to other conquests.
It is on the issue of this contest that depends the opinion of the
multitudes of spectators on the surrounding hills, who wait only to see
how it ends, to join the victor; and with such a reinforcement for the
execution of his known projects, Constantinople, and even Vienna, must
feel the shock.
“Be assured, my lord, the magnitude of our obligations does but
increase the energy of our efforts in the attempt to discharge our
duty; and though we may, and probably shall be overpowered, I can
venture to say that the French army will be so much further weakened
before it prevails, as to be little able to profit by its dear-bought
victory.
“I have the honour to be, &c. &c.,
“W. SIDNEY SMITH.”
“_Rear-Admiral Lord Nelson._”
Sir Sidney Smith was well aware of the nature of this contest. Acre
was of no consequence in itself; but the opinion of the Syrians was
of incalculable importance. They were already so prepossessed with
the irresistibility of the French forces, that all efforts of defence
had been paralyzed. Had it not been for the stimulating influence of
British courage, Buonaparte would have met with no opposition, and he
and his generals would have been wholly unimpeded in whatever plans of
conquest, personal aggrandizement, or political vengeance, they might
have concerted.
Buonaparte was dreadfully annoyed at this check; he was, perhaps, of
all great generals on record, the one least qualified for a siege. In
the heat of his vexation he called for the most cruel sacrifices on the
part of his brave followers.
But we return to this singular siege, and still more singular defence.
The gallant antagonist of the future emperor was fully aware of the
advantage he had gained, and well knew how to improve it. Rightly
judging that the prejudice in favour of the invincibility of the French
must be considerably shaken by the late events, and by the fatal check
that was given to the advancement of their arms, Sir Sidney wrote a
circular letter to the princes and chiefs of Mount Lebanon, and to
the shieks of the Druses, exhorting them to do their duty to their
sovereign by intercepting the supplies of the enemy. This proceeding
had all the success that might be expected. Two ambassadors were sent
to the commodore, informing him that measures had been taken to cut
off the supplies till that time furnished to the French camp; and
eighty French prisoners, who had been captured in the defence of their
convoys, were placed at the disposal of the British.
Thus the French had scarcely a choice left but to mount the breach.
Accordingly General Kleber’s division was ordered from the fords of the
Jordan, where it had been successfully opposed to the army of Damascus,
to take its turn in an attempt that had already cost the lives of
the flower of the French troops, with more than two-thirds of their
officers. But on the arrival of General Kleber and his army, other
employment was found for them.
In the sally before mentioned, made by the Chifflick regiment, it had
shown a want of steadiness in the presence of the enemy, and was in
consequence censured. The commandant, Soliman Aga, being ordered by
Sir Sidney Smith to obtain possession of the enemy’s third parallel,
availed himself of this opportunity to retrieve the lost honour of
his regiment, and the next night carried his orders into execution
with so much ardour and resolution, that he not only effected the
service he was sent on, but established the reputation of his corps.
The third parallel was gained; but the gallant Turk, wishing to elevate
the character of his regiment still more, attacked the second trench,
but not with the same success, as he lost some standards. He however
retained possession of the works long enough to spike four of the guns
and do them other mischief.
On Kleber’s arrival, therefore, instead of mounting the breach, he
was ordered to recover these works, which, after a furious contest of
three hours, and much loss of life, was effected. Notwithstanding this
very limited success, the advantage evidently remained on the side of
the besieged. Indeed, the resistance displayed damped the zeal of the
French troops so seriously, that they could not be again brought to the
breach.
We gladly avail ourselves of Sir Sidney Smith’s despatch to conclude
this remarkable siege.
“After this failure the French grenadiers absolutely refused to
mount the breach any more over the putrid bodies of their unburied
companions, sacrificed in former attacks by Buonaparte’s impatience
and precipitation, which led him to commit such palpable errors as
even seamen could take advantage of. He seemed to have no principle
of action but that of pressing forward; and appeared to stick at
nothing to obtain the object of his ambition, although it must be
evident to everybody else, that even if he had succeeded in taking
the town, the fire of the shipping must drive him out of it again in
a short time: however, the knowledge the garrison had of the inhuman
massacre at Jaffa rendered them desperate in their personal defence.
Two attempts to assassinate me in the town having failed, recourse was
had to a most flagrant breach of the laws of honour and war. A flag
of truce was sent into the town by the hand of an Arab dervish, with
a letter to the pasha, proposing a cessation of arms, for the purpose
of burying the dead bodies, the stench from which became intolerable.
It was natural we should gladly listen to this proposition, and that
we should consequently be off our guard during the conference. While
the answer was under consideration, a volley of shot and shells
on a sudden announced an assault, which, however, the garrison was
ready to receive; and the assailants only contributed to increase the
number of the dead bodies in question, to the eternal disgrace of the
general who thus disloyally sacrificed them. Subordination was now at
an end; and all hopes of success having vanished, the enemy had no
alternative left but a precipitate retreat, which was put in execution
in the night between the 20th and 21st instant. The battering-train
of artillery (except the carriages, which were burnt) is now in our
hands, amounting to twenty-three pieces. The howitzers and medium
twelve-pounders, originally conveyed by land with much difficulty, and
successfully employed to make the first breach, were embarked in the
country vessels at Jaffa, to be conveyed coastwise, together with the
worst among the two thousand wounded, which embarrassed the march of
the army. This operation was to be expected; I took care, therefore,
to be between Jaffa and Damietta before the French could get as far as
the former place. The vessels being turned to sea without seamen to
navigate them, and the wounded being in want of every necessary, even
water and provisions, they steered straight to his majesty’s ships, in
full confidence of receiving the succours of humanity; in which they
were not disappointed. I have sent them on to Damietta, where they will
receive such further aid as their situation requires, and which it was
out of my power to give to so many. Their expressions of gratitude to
us were mingled with execrations on the name of their general, who had,
as they said, exposed them to peril unnecessarily. Two thousand cavalry
are just despatched to harass the French rear, and I am in hopes to
overtake their van in time to profit by their disorder.”
A perusal of this siege redounds very little to the honour of the
great French general: he was beaten fairly at every point, and on
every occasion, by a seaman. Sir Sidney was never taken by surprise or
defeated in open fight. The sailor joined to the ardour characteristic
of his profession, a coolness and foresight worthy of the greatest
captain; the French general exhibited none of the talents of a superior
tactician; his conduct was impetuous and headstrong; he was evidently
annoyed at receiving a check where he did not expect it, and was weak
enough to show it by his actions: he was irritated by the obstacle, but
took the worst possible measures to remove it.
Buonaparte told O’Meara, at St. Helena: “Sir Sidney dispersed
proclamations among the troops, which certainly shook some of them;
and I, in consequence, published an order stating that he was _mad_,
and forbidding all communication with him. Some days after he sent, by
a lieutenant or midshipman, a flag of truce, with a challenge to meet
me at some place which he pointed out, in order to fight a duel. I
laughed at this, and sent back intimation that when he sent Marlborough
to fight me, I would meet him. Notwithstanding this, I like the
character of the man.” This little anecdote is quite characteristic of
Buonaparte and Sir Sidney; the wild chivalry of the sailor being not
more striking than the _fanfaronnade_ of the future emperor. As we have
done frequently before, we will enliven our account of “perils i’ the
deadly breach” with an anecdote. The following is from the “Memoirs of
Sir Sidney Smith.”
“The seamen of the squadron took each their turn for the military
service on the walls of Acre. One of them had observed, in his spell
ashore, the body of a French general, splendid in his uniform, that lay
exposed in the very centre of the ditch. This dwelt on the mind of the
honest, though--the truth must be told--somewhat obtuse-minded tar.
Indeed he had never shown himself remarkable for either intellect or
activity, and held no higher office in the ship than a waister. Yet, by
some unexplained mental process, the fate and the unburied corpse of
the French general had fixed themselves so strongly in his imagination,
that he was determined, at all risks, to give his glittering dead
opponent the rites of sepulture. The next day, though out of his turn,
he asked and obtained permission to take his spell on the walls.
Nothing divided the hostile intrenchments but this same ditch, and so
closely placed were the foes to each other, that a moderate whisper
could be easily heard from one embankment to the other. Nothing
appeared above these embankments but a serried line of bayonets; for
if a hat, or a head, or anything tangible appeared on either side, it
was saluted with a volley of perforating-balls. It was about noon, and
the respective hostile lines were preserving a dead silence, anxiously
watching for the opportunity of a shot at each other. Our seaman, who,
without informing any one of his intention, had provided himself with
a spade and pickaxe, suddenly broke the ominous silence by shouting
out, in a stentorian voice, ‘Mounsiers, a-hoy! ’vast heaving there a
bit, will ye? and belay over all with your poppers for a spell.’ And
then he showed his broad unmeaning face over the lines. Two hundred
muskets were immediately pointed at him; but seeing him with only
the implements of digging, and not exactly understanding his demand
for a parley, the French forbore to fire. Jack very leisurely then
scrambled over the intrenchment into the ditch, the muzzles of the
enemy’s muskets still following his every motion. All this did not the
least disturb his _sang-froid_; but going up to the French general, he
took his measure in quite a businesslike manner, and dug a very decent
grave alongside the defunct. When this was finished, shaking what was
so lately a French general very cordially and affectionately by the
hand, he reverently placed him in his impromptu grave, then shovelled
the earth upon and made all smooth above him. When all was properly
completed, he made his best sailor’s bow and footscrape to the French,
shouldered his implements of burial, and climbed over into his own
quarters with the same imperturbability that had marked his previous
appearance. This he did amidst the cheers of both parties.
“Now our friend the waister seemed to think he had done nothing
extraordinary, and only remarked that he should sleep well. A few
days after, another gaudily-decorated French general came on board
the Tigre, on some matters of negotiation, which, when completed, he
anxiously desired to see the interrer of his late comrade. The meeting
took place, and Jack was highly praised for his heroism in a long
speech, not one word of which, though interpreted to him, could he
comprehend. Money was then offered him, which at first he did not like
to take; but he at length satisfied his scruples by telling the French
officer he should be happy to do the same thing for him as he had done
for his brother general--for nothing. The French general begged to be
excused; and thus ended the interview.”