JOSEPH FOURIER. 149 



the subject, notwithstanding^ the many beautiful publications which it 

 has already called into existence. It would be a description of" the man- 

 ufactories of steel, of arms, of powder, of cloth, of machines, and of 

 instruments of every kind which our army had to prepare for the occa- 

 sion. If, during- our infancy, the expedients which Robinson Crusoe 

 practiced in order to escape from the romantic dangers which he had 

 incessantly to encounter, excite our interest in a lively degree, how, in 

 mature age, could we regard with indiflerence a handful of Frenchmen 

 thrown upon the inhospitable shores of Africa, without any possible 

 communication with the mother-country, obliged to contend at once 

 with the elements and with formidable armies, destitute of food, of 

 clothing, of arms, and of ammunition, and yet supplying every w\ant by 

 the force of genius ! 



The long route which I have yet to traverse will hardly allow me to 

 add a few words relative to the administrative services of the illustrious 

 geometer. Appointed French commissioner at the Divan of Cairo, he 

 became the ofiticial medium between the general-in-chief and every 

 Egyptian who might have to complain of an attack against his person, 

 his property, his morals, his habits, or his creed. An invariable suavity 

 of manner, a scrupulous regard for prejudices to oppose which directly 

 would have been vain, an inflexible sentiment of justice, had given him 

 an ascendency over the Mussulman population, which the precepts of 

 the Koran could not lead any one to hope for, and which powerfully 

 contributed to the maintenance of friendly relations between the inhab- 

 itants of Cairo and the French soldiers. Fourier was especially held in 

 veneration by the Cheiks and the Ulemas. A single anecdote w ill serve 

 to show that this sentiment was the oftspriug of genuine gratitude. 



The Emir Iladgey, or Prince of the Caravan, who had been nominated 

 by General Bonaparte upon his arrival in Cairo, escaped during the 

 campaign of Syria. There existed strong grounds at the time for sup- 

 posing that four Chcils Ulemas had rendered themselves accomplices of 

 the treason. Upon his return to Egypt, Bonaparte confided the investi- 

 gation of this grave affair to Fourier. "Do not," said he, " submit half- 

 measures to me. You have to pronounce judgment upon high person- 

 ages: we must either cut off their heads or invite them to dinner." On 

 the day following that on which this conversation took place, the four 

 Cheiks dined with the general-in-chief. By obeying the inspirations of 

 his heart, Fourier did not perform merely an act of humanity ; it was, 

 moreover, one of excellent policj\ Our learned colleague, M. Geoffroy 

 Saint-Hilaire, to whom I am indebted for this anecdote, has stated in 

 fact that Soleyman and Fayoumi, the principal of the Egyptian chiefs, 

 whose punishment, thanks to our colleague, was so happily transformed 

 into a banquet, seized every occasion of extolling among their country- 

 men the generosity of the French. 



Fourier did not display less ability when our generals confided diplo- 

 matic missions to him. It is to his tact and urbnnitv that our armv is 



