of four hundred French charging fix thousand English; but General Reynier's statements are all fimilar as to correctnefs, varying only in the different fhades of the grotesque and malevolent.

General Menou feeing this attempt baffled, abandoned the defign of recovering the hill, and maintained for the reft of the day a partial cannonade.

General Coote had wifhed to difembark between Marabou and Alexandria, but perceiving a corps of the enemy on that part of the ifthmus, he left oppofite to them General Finch's brigade, to make a feint, whilst he stood on with the remainder about three miles farther, where, without any oppofition, he landed.

This judicious difpofition probably saved many lives, which otherwife might have been uselessly loft, fince one piece of cannon alone opposed to him, would, from the commanding elevation of the ground above the fhore, have done great mifchief.

A pofition was immediately taken up to cover the fiege of Marabou; on digging, excellent

water

water was found, nor was there any neceffity to turn up more than a spit of earth.

In the evening the French feeing the allied gun-boats getting under weigh to attack them, abandoned their flotilla, yet hoped to make fire veffels of their boats; however, none which blew up did any damage, except one which fome Turks attempted to board. Her ammunition exploded at the moment they entered, by which accident four or five Turks were feverely wounded: the fire was extinguished from five other boats, and two of them faved were, the beautiful cutter the L'Egyptienne, and a dgerm, handsomely trimmed and coppered. The former is now in the Thames.

In the night of the 17th the first parallel was begun on the eastern front of the enemy's pofition, about twelve hundred yards diftant from the English lines. There was no wish to advance this parallel nearer, it being intended only as a connecting poft of communication between the original camp and whatever new works might be conftructed, fince without this intermediate entrenchment the duty of the army would have been too fevere; for the troops could not leave their original ground of encampment, and defcend

fcend into the plain without much inconvenience, as the tranfport of provifions and stores from the depôt was ftill chiefly performed by men; General Hutchinfon having found himfelf obliged to order away two regiments of dragoons, the field artillery, as well as all the camels, horses, and jack-affes to Rofetta, on account of the difficulty of procuring forage, fince all the boats were required to convey fubfiftence for the armies.*

The parallel was therefore not thrown entirely across the plain, only extended about one hun dred and fifty yards from the fea. On the flanks were enclosed redoubts, which might have been defended until the arrival of fupport. On the Green Hill batteries were raifed against the French right, the laying open of which was a confiderable object; but as this post was fo diftant from the English position (the left as has

* Thefe jack-affes were removed, to the great joy of every one but their proprietors. The ferenade of at least a thousand fuch voices, continuing inceffantly during the night, was not defirable, when little fleep could otherwise have been obtained. Vexatious as the melody was, ftill there was something ludicrous in fuch a concert, in which occasionally all the other numerous animals, both birds and beafts, joined.

always

always been defcribed receding very much), a battalion was ordered to encamp at the back of the hill, with its right upon the newly conftructed dam.

In the night of the 18th General Coote having, with the unremitting exertions of the of ficers of artillery, established two batteries, with mortars, and three 24-pounders in them, againft Fort Marabou, directed the bombardment to commence. The celerity with which the guns had been brought up was a remarkable effort of zeal, as they had to be carried over almost inacceffible rocks, in which vaft quarries were hewn out, as is fuppofed, for the building of the ancient Alexandria.

The breadth of the ifthmus, from the lake to Marabou, is about half a mile; the iflet of Marabou is fituated at the western extremity of the harbour, and, commanding one of the channels, is feparated from the continent by a reef of rocks of a hundred and fifty yards in extent, which, except directly in the centre, is fordable.

The French had conftructed a very strong regular fort on this iflet round a tower, formerly a mofque ;

a mofque; but the length of the islet not being above three hundred yards, and its breadth a hundred and fifty, flot could fweep over the whole. The fleet anchored off, and fome frigates and Turkish corvettes occafionally cannonaded the works. The flank company of the 54th was judiciously posted on a projecting rock, from whence they kept up fuch a heavy fire of mufquetry, that the French were obliged to fly from their guns, and hide themselves in the fheltering crevices the fides of the ifland afforded. Three French gun-boats were anchored under the caftle of Marabou, two were funk, and one efcaped; on board of one the furgeon was killed, and his affistant loft both his legs. The medicine cheft, with a good many dollars, floating on shore, became a prize to the 54th.

On the 19th the Captain Pacha failed to the weftward; his boat was very nearly ftruck by the French batteries, which now attacked every veffel as the paffed, and all were obliged to come confiderably within their range; for as the wind conftantly blew north-weft, boats were neceffarily compelled to keep well in fhore, or if driven to leeward, many hours would have been confumed in beating up again.

VOL. II.

C

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