CONDUCT OF FRENCH SOLDIERY--NAPOLEON’S HATRED OF ENGLAND--THE
EGYPTIAN CAMPAIGN--DESTRUCTION OF THE MAMELUKES--BATTLE OF THE
NILE--TARDY NEWS THEREOF.
After the entry into Alexandria, Napoleon, by several proclamations,
imposed the strictest discipline upon his soldiers; and, although it
is possible some irregularities may have occurred on the part of the
troops, such scenes as were depicted by Cruikshank and Combe, one with
his pencil, the other with his pen, were simply impossible.
He took the City by surprise,
For he was always very wise,
And with extreme amaze and dread,
To mosques the people gladly fled.
Regenerators yet annoy’d them,
For they o’ertook and soon destroy’d them;
And horrible indeed to tell,
Both men and women quickly fell;
Nay, even the infants at the breast!
How sad the cries of the distrest!
As _trophies_ of this _glorious_ fight,
The spears held up the babes to sight;
While this unparalleled ferocity
Was call’d _amazing generosity_.
The _avowed_ object of Napoleon’s expedition was to punish the Beys,
of whom there were twenty-four, who kept up a force of some eight
thousand Mamelukes, splendid cavalry, recruited from slaves bought in
Georgia, the Caucasus, and even in Europe. The pretence against them
was injustice and oppression against French merchants; but the _real_
reason for it is in the proclamation dated on board the ‘Orient,’
of 4th Messidor, year VI.: ‘Soldiers, you are about to undertake
a conquest, the effects of which on civilisation and commerce are
incalculable. _The blow you are about to give to England, will be the
best aimed, and the most sensibly felt, she can receive, until the
time when you can give her her death blow._[40] ... The Destinies are
with us. The Mameluke Beys who favour exclusively English commerce,
whose extortions oppress our merchants, and who tyrannise over the
unfortunate inhabitants of the Nile, a few days after our arrival will
no longer exist.’
[Illustration: MASSACRE IN EGYPT.]
With what intensity Bonaparte hated England! For example, take this
little extract from Madame Junot,[41] to whose brother Napoleon was
speaking: ‘“England!” he then rejoined. “So you think in Paris that we
are going to attack it at last? The Parisians are not mistaken; it is
indeed to humble that saucy nation that we are arming. England! If my
voice has any influence, never shall England have an hour’s truce. Yes,
yes, war with England for ever, until its utter destruction.”’
Alexandria was taken and garrisoned; but this was only the commencement
of the campaign. Cairo must be reached speedily, and at all hazards.
Then came that terrible march across the desert, from the 7th to the
10th of July--with generals all but mutinous, with Lannes and Murat
dashing their cocked hats on the sands and trampling upon them in sight
of the soldiers; the burning sun, the scarcity of water, harassed by
enemies, human and insect--what joy could exceed theirs when they
reached the Nile at Rahmanié! That wild rush into the water, without
even thinking of the depth, and then the welcome shade and the juicy
melons in such abundance; it must have been a glimpse of heaven to
those poor half-maddened, half-starved soldiers.
After a brief rest they pushed on towards Cairo. On July 19 they
sighted the pyramids; on the 21st they had to encounter Mourad Bey,
who had a force of 8,000 Mamelukes, forty pieces of cannon, and
20,000 infantry Then was it that, pointing to those grand historical
monuments, Napoleon addressed his soldiers with the ever-memorable and
oft-quoted speech: ‘Soldiers! From the summit of those pyramids forty
centuries look down upon you.’
We know the issue of that battle--how, out of 8,000 Mamelukes that
proudly sat their steeds that morning, 6,000 bit the dust ere night.
The French that day drank deep of blood, for 10,000 of the Egyptian
troops lay dead on the field; they took 1,000 prisoners, and all their
artillery and baggage. They could make no further stand, and the way
to Cairo was open. A small force under Dupuy took possession of the
city, which they found almost deserted, and on July 24, the _Sultan
Kebir_, or _King of Fire_, as the natives had christened Napoleon, made
his formal entry into Cairo. A brief rest to tranquillise the place
and restore confidence to its returning inhabitants, and then, leaving
Desaix in charge of the city, Napoleon went in pursuit of Ibrahim Bey,
and drove him into Syria.
But what news was to welcome the conqueror back to Cairo? Sad indeed
was the tale he heard--nought less than the destruction and capture of
his whole fleet, save two ships, which effected their escape. Nelson
had made up for lost time, and on August 1 he fought the ‘Battle of the
Nile,’ when ‘L’Orient’ was blown up, and young Casabianca, the son of
the captain of the ship, with it. We all know the poem by Mrs. Hemans
commencing, ‘The boy stood on the burning deck.’
De Bourrienne does not disguise the effect this disaster had upon
Napoleon. He says: ‘The catastrophe of Aboukir came like a thunderbolt
upon the General-in-Chief. In spite of all his energy and fortitude,
he was deeply distressed by the disasters which now assailed him. To
the painful feelings excited by the complaints and dejection of his
companion-in-arms, was now added the irreparable misfortune of the
burning our fleet. He measured the fatal consequences of this event
at a single glance. We were now cut off from all communication with
France, and all hope of returning thither, except by a degrading
capitulation with an implacable and hated enemy. Bonaparte had lost all
chance of preserving his conquest, and to him this was indeed a bitter
reflection.’
But with what different feelings was the news received in England!
There was no steam, no electricity, then; men did not receive their
news red-hot as we do now, but had to wait for it, more or less calmly,
according to their temperament. Let us take this battle of the Nile
as an example. It was fought on August 1. On September 1 the ‘True
Briton’ (from which the following extracts are taken) gives its readers
an ‘Extract from a letter from Strasbourg, of the 20th August,’ in
which a circumstantial account of the total destruction and capture
of the French fleet by that of England is given, together with a
veracious statement that ‘the latter lost their Admiral Nelson, who,
nevertheless, two hours before he died of his wounds, received General
Buonaparte on board his ship (the ‘Culloden’) _Prisoner, with all his
General Staff_.’ This correspondent’s veracity is only equalled by his
impartiality.
On September 17 we hear of the sailing of the English fleet from
Syracuse in quest of her enemy. On September 21 we have a quotation
from the ‘Redacteur’ of September 14: ‘The same Letters inform us,
that the Squadron of Admiral Brueys had anchored on the coast of
_Bignieres_, and was preparing to return to France, when it was
attacked by the English Squadron, which was superior to ours, both in
the number and the size of the vessels; that on both sides the action
was maintained with a degree of obstinacy, of which History affords no
example; that during the action the Vessel of the French Admiral was
burnt; that two or three French Ships sunk; and that some others, both
French and English, ran aground after having lost all their Masts; and
that, finally, some other French ships, quite disabled, remained on the
spot where the Battle was fought.’