. ACCOUNT OF BOOKS. 
About two hundred Bedoween 
Arabs, mounted on horseback, came 
in to us, across the ancient bed of 
Lake Mareotis, before the firing had 
entirely ceased, and expressed their 
joy at the defeat of the French. 
The ground in our front, and 
even between our lines, was strewed 
with the bodies of the enemy’s slain, 
which the Turks and Arabs were 
very desirous to strip and plunder, 
had they been allowed by us. Be- 
fore night, almost all the dead with- 
in our yedettes had been buried; 
but within the French lines it was 
very different,—for numbers: of 
men, horses, and camels, were there 
Aeft to rot, and infect the air with 
their noisome exhalations. 
When sir Ralph Abercrombie had 
- seen the enemy retreat, he attempted 
to get on horseback ; but his wound, 
which was probed and dressed in the 
field by an assistant surgeon of the 
guards, having become extremely 
stiff and painful, he could not 
mount, and reluctantly suffered him- 
self to be placed upon a litter, from 
which he was removed into a boat, 
and carried on board the Foudroy- 
ant. Here lord Keith received him 
with all possible affection, and every 
care and attention which his state 
required were early paid him. 
This misfortune befalling our il- 
lustrious commander, of whom it 
threatened to deprive us, combined, 
with the refle¢tion on the many va- 
luable lives that had been lost, to 
damp the joy and triumph we 
should otherwise have felt on ob- 
taining such a brilliant victory. 
There being some reason to ap- 
prehend that the enemy intended to 
repeat their attack during the night, 
our troops remained under arms, 
and at their alarm posts, till morn- 
ing. Had the French again tried 
‘ 1 
beloved commander, 
955 
our strength, however, they would 
have met even a warmer reception 
than they had received this morning. 
Two additional twenty-four-pound- 
ers had been brought up, and placed 
on a commanding ground in the rear 
of the third regiment of guards ; 
great abundance of ammunition of 
all kinds had been also conveyed 
from the depét to the lines, which 
had been strengthened by trous de 
loup, trenches, &c,” 
The following passage does so 
much credit to the feelings and cha- 
ra¢ter of the author, that we cannot 
deny ourselves the pleasure of ‘its 
insertion. 
‘¢ On the morning of the 29th of 
March, arrived the melancholy tid- 
ings of sir Ralph Abercrombie’s de- 
cease. At eleven, the preceding 
night, death snatched from us this 
The wound 
which he received on the @2lst, 
bringing on fever and mortification, 
occasioned this lamented event, and 
our valiant general was lost to us at 
the moment when we stood most in 
need of his assistance. The ball had 
entered the thigh very high up, and, 
taking a direction towards the 
‘groin, had lodged in the bone, 
whence it could not be extra¢ted. 
In the action of the 13th of 
March, he had suflered a contusion 
in the thigh, from a musket-ball, 
and had a horse killed under him. 
On the 21st, at the time when he 
received his death wound, he was 
in the very midst of the enemy, and 
personally engaged with an officer of 
dragoons, who was at that moment 
shot by a corporal of the forty-se- 
cond. Sir Ralph retained the offi- 
cer’s sword, which had passed be- 
tween his arm and his side the in- 
stant before the officer fell. 
During the seven days which 
elapsed 
