STAT E P A V E R S. 



227 



Kleber, Commander-in-Chief, to I he 

 Army, 



Head-quarters at Cairo, 11 th 



Ventose (March 8 J 

 OLDIERS ! behold the letter 

 ' which I have received from the 

 commander of the English fleet in 

 the Mediterranean. 



"On board his Majesty's Skip the 

 Queen Charlotte, Jime 8, 1 800. 



" Sir, 



" I inform you, that I have re- 

 ceived positive orders from his ma- 

 jesty, not to consent to any capitu- 

 lation with the French troops which 

 you command in Egypt and Syria, 

 at least unless they lay down their 

 arms, surrender themselves prison- 

 ers of war, and deliver up all the 

 ships and stores of the port of Alex- 

 andria to the allied powers. 



" In the event of this capitula- 

 tion, I cannot permit any of the 

 troops to depart for France before 

 they have been exchanged. I 

 think it equally necessary to inform 

 you, that all vessels having French 

 troops on board, and sailing from 

 this, with passports from others than 

 those authorized to grant them, will 

 be forced by the officers of the ships 

 which I command to remain in 

 Alexandria: in short, that ships 

 which shall be met returning to 

 Europe, with ])assports granted in 

 consequence of a particular capitu- 

 lation with one of the allied powers, 

 will be retained as prizes, and all 

 individuals on board considered as 

 prisoners of war. 



(Signed) "Keith." 



Soldiers ! we know how to reply 



to such insolence by victories — pre- 

 pare for battle. 



(Signed) Kleber. 



The general of division, chief 

 of the staff, 



(Signed) Damas. 



Letter from General Menou to Sir 

 Sidney Smith, informing him of 

 the Assassination of General Kle- 

 ber and of his having taken zipon 

 him the chief Command. 



J. Menou, General in Chief, to Sir 

 Sidney Smith, Commander of 

 his Britannic Majesty's Ship of 

 War the Tigre. 



Head-quarters at Cairo, 1 Messidor 

 (June \9), Year S, of the French 

 Republic, one and indivisible. 



I 



Sir, 



Have received the letter which 

 you did me the honour of wri- 

 ting to me, under date of the 9th 

 of June, from on board the Tigre, 

 off Rhodes. Since the French araiy 

 is deprived of its leader, by the atro- 

 cious assassination of the general- 

 in-cliief Kleber, I have taken upon 

 myself the command of it. Your 

 allies the Turks, not having been 

 able to conquer the French near 

 Malarich, they have, to be reveng- 

 ed, made use of the dagger, which 

 is only resorted to by cowards. A 

 Janissary, who had quitted Gaza 

 about forty-two days ago, had been 

 sent to perpetrate the horrid deed. 

 The French willingly believe the 

 Turks only to have been guilty. 

 The account of the murder shall be 

 communicated to every nation, for 

 all are equally interested in aveng- 

 ing it. The behaviour which you 



