by his conduct, courage, and affability. With pride they beheld the hero of Acre; with admiration they reflected on the convention of El Arisch; they had witnessed his exertions, and calculated on his enterprise. The Arabs regarded him as a superior being. To be the friend of Smith was the highest honour they courted, and his word the only pledge they required. No trouble, no exertions, no expense, had been spared by him to obtain their friendship, and to elevate, in their opinions, the national character. But the order was given, and remonstrance would have been unworthy; it is true, as a seaman he could not complain of being ordered to reassume the command of his ship; but the high power he had been invested with, the ability he had displayed as a soldier and a statesman, entitled him to a superior situation in this expedition, and the interest of the service seemed to require that the connexion he had formed with the Mamelukes should, through him, be maintained. The army, therefore, saw Sir Sidney leave them with regret, but he carried with him their best wishes and gratitude."

It is thus that General Hutchinson mentions Sir Sidney in his despatch:

"Sir Sidney Smith had originally the command of the seamen who landed from the fleet;

he continued on shore till after the capture of Rosetta, and returned on board the Tigre a short time before the appearance of Admiral Gantheaume's squadron on the coast. He was present at the three actions of the 8th, 13th, and 21st of March, when he displayed that ardour of mind for the service of his country, and that noble intrepidity, for which he has ever been so conspicuous."

CHAPTER XIX.

Cursory sketch of the termination of the Egyptian campaign-Sir Sidney fêted by the Capitan Pasha-Anecdote of another similar honour-Bonaparte's impiety-Sir Sidney returns to England with despatches-Civic honours.

As we have thus far glanced at the military operations of the combined forces in Egypt, it will not be thought superfluous to give a rapid sketch of the proceedings of the allied army, up to the treaty for the evacuation of Egypt.

These proceedings were marked by most singular delays and procrastinations. After the battle of the 21st of March, which was fought about four miles distant from Alexandria, we waited until the 14th of April before we presented ourselves at the gates of Rosetta, which were flung open at our approach. We remained content with this advantage until the 5th of May, when we again commenced military operations

by investing the Fort of St. Julien, garrisoned by only two hundred and sixty men, which we reduced in two days.

On the 5th of May, we commenced our march for Cairo from El Hamed, which was distant only one hundred and twenty miles, yet it occupied us forty-two days in the march. The only opposition that we experienced was at Rhamameth, where we lost twenty men, the French suffering a defeat. This took place on the 9th of May. From this place the French retired from before General Hutchinson, and reached Cairo in three days. However, we moved more deliberately, occupying thirty-eight days to overcome the same distance, without seeing an enemy or firing a shot the whole of the way:

Cairo capitulated on the 20th of June. We then proceeded against Alexandria, at which place Menou had stationed himself with the main body of the French army, and fifty days after the fall of Cairo, during which time not an hostile shot was fired, we opened the siege, and reduced the place in fifteen days.

After this success, so long protracted, Menou consented to the evacuation of Egypt, upon precisely the same terms as those which formed the original evacuation of El Arisch, and the republican army, with its baggage, was conveyed in

ships of the allied powers to the nearest French ports.

As we have before stated, it was only at the commencement of this campaign that Sir Sidney Smith served with the allied army. Is it hazarding too much to say, that if he had continued with it, he would have infused into its commanders some of the same spirit of enterprise that made the defeat of Acre so successful? There is no doubt but that the conquest of Egypt was glorious to our arms, but still we think that we did not reap the full measure of honour in the field that lay before us.

Be this as it may, when the allied army advanced towards Cairo, by a very unworthy compliance with the antipathies of the Capitan Pacha, Sir Sidney was sent on board his ship. The following reason is assigned by Sir Robert Wilson for the aversion of the Capitan towards Sir Sidney.

"Sir Sidney, on receiving Lord Keith's refusal to the convention of El Arisch, instantly sent off an express with it to Cairo, as he knew that General Kleber was immediately to evacuate that city on the faith of the treaty; thus preferring the maintenance of his own and his country's honour to a temporary advantage. The mes