E G V P T. 



deliver*! to tl. nit a dm'-ion of British 



""""i"" '"' diers were retained, for a time, to garrison tin- ritv. 

 There was a deadly hatred lietween the court of Con- 

 sUntinople anci tl>i , |'' "'"' <l w "* thought 



to be expedient, as well as humniic, to srr that the Ot- 

 toman soldiers did no injury to the humliled Bey*. 



The olticcrs of the (ir.md Signior had determined to 

 ensnare the principal Beys, wan carry them to Constan- 

 tinople : lmt the plot was discovered, and many lives 

 were lost. The British interfired. and the Beys enter- 

 ed into an agreement to retire into I'pper F.gypt, with- 

 in a limited part of the country. But this w as only :i 

 temporary arrangement ; and it must have been ob- 

 vious, that they would sei/e upon the first opportunity 

 to return to the fertile plains of the Delta. Their spi- 

 rits were broken, but their designs weYe the same; and 

 they must have been anxious to regain their influence, 

 and', if possible, to become masters of the country 

 which they had long been accustomed to keep in con- 

 troul. Accordingly, in 18(M>', Osmun Bey Bordossi, to- 

 gether with Ibrahim Bey. and other chiefs of inferior 

 note, were still in possession of I'pper Egypt, and ap- 

 parently faithful to the treaty they had made, while 

 F.lli Bey, w ho had then risen to great power, possessed 

 the left side of the Nile, from Saccari to Rosetta. Oc- 

 casionally the Arabs under his command pushed for- 

 ward between the lake Mareotis and Aboukir, threaten- 

 ing the city of Alexandria ; while I'asha Mahommed 

 Ali, the representative of the Grand Signior, remained 

 inactive at Grand Cairo, and his Albanian soldiers were 

 without pay, and in a state of mutiny. 



The authority of the Grand Signior was obviously 

 in a weak condition, when it could not repress the in- 

 cursions, nor overthrow the power of the turbulent Elfi 

 Bey. Notwithstanding the benefit which the British 

 nation had conferred on the court of Constantinople, 

 in driving the French from Egypt, and restoring the 

 country, without exception or reward, to the Grand 

 Signior ; yet the intrigues of Bonaparte, who was then 

 subverting kingdoms, and destroying wise and ancient 

 alliances, had found access to the councils of the Grand 

 Turk, and rendered the nation hostile to Great Britain. 

 In this situation, an expedition was fitted out against 

 Constantinople, and another directed to the coast of 

 The second Egypt. 1 ne Egyptian expedition sailed from Sicily 

 expedition on the Gth of March, under the command of Major- 

 to Egypt. General Alexander Mackenzie Fraser. It consisted of 

 the 35th regiment, a battalion of the 31st, and another 

 of the 78th, together with De Rolle's regiment, four 

 troops of the 20th dragoons, three companies of artil- 

 Jery, and two of artificers, in all about 5000 men, un- 

 der convoy of the Tigre and Apollo. 



In the night of the 7th, or the second night they 

 had been at sea, the Apollo, with nineteen transports 

 out of thirty-three, which were employed in conveying 

 the troops, parted company ; while the Tigre, with the 

 other fourteen, anchored to the westward of Alexan- 

 dria, on the Ib'th of March. They learned by the 

 \\izard sloop of war, which had been sent forward to 

 receive instructions from Major Misset, that the French 

 consul at Alexandria was endeavouring to prevail upon 

 the governor to admit a body of Albanians for the de- 

 fence of the city ; and that it was necessary, to ensure 

 success, that an attack 1>c made upon Alexandria with- 

 out delay. Having made the necessary preparations, 

 the British force moved forward in the evening of the 

 18th, and forced their way through a pallisaded en- 

 trenchment with a deep ditch, which ran from Fort 

 Des Bains to Lake Mareotis. They almost reached, 

 with little lo.>s, the gate of I'ompey, which they found 



barricaded, and the walls lined with armed men. As History. 



the party did not exceed IO(Xt, it was thought too hi- S T"~'' 



z.irdous to risk an engagement, nnd tin ret'ore the 



r.il directed his Iroops to the neighbourho<xt of Alnnikir, 



and took up a portion up'n the \-ery around, which 



Aliercronihie'- troops occup-t d on the celebrated 



of March. A (lai; of truce. wa sent into Alexandria, Alexandria 



and the town, with two frigates and a corvette, surren- surrendered 



dered to the British arms; and, w -hat is remarkable. '" Geneml 



were taken possession of upon the morning of the 21st, M- * raj * r - 



the anniversary of the memorable \ietory obtained by 



the British over the French six years ago. On the 



l<)th, the Apollo, with the nineteen tr.uisp.ms. arrived 



on the coast of F.gypt, and entered the bay of Aboukir. 



It was stated to General Fraser by Major Missel, his 

 majesty's resident in Alexandria, that the city would 

 be reduced to famine, unless Kosetta and Kamaniah 

 were taken possession of by the British troops. With 

 the concurrence of Admiral Sir John Duckworth, sonic 

 British troops, with the Chasseurs Britanniques, under 

 Major-Generals Wauchop and Mead, were detached 

 ami appointed to perform that service. They possessed 

 themselves of the heights of Abourmandour, which 

 commands the town, and -uttered no loss ; but ha- 

 ving entered the town, they were severely attacked 

 from the houses in all quarters. General Wain 

 was killed, and General Mead severely wounded. 

 They retired to Aboukir, and from thence to Alex- 

 andria ; and, upon the urgent representations of the Britih re- 

 magistrates and people of Alexandria, another attempt pulsed at 

 was made to occupy Kosetta, but the enterprise was Ko5cua - 

 again unfortunate. The detachment marched by the 

 wells of Aboukir and the village of F.dko: and having 

 taken possession of Alliamet, a village where the ene- 

 my occupied a post, they inarched on to Kosetta, and 

 drove the Turkish soldiers into the town. It was sum- 

 moned to surrender ; but the summons was despised, 

 and General Stuart, who commanded the troops, was 

 obliged to retreat to Alexandria, with the loss of about 

 1000 men, killed, wounded, and missing. This enter- The failure 

 prize was unfortunate on two accounts; first, because of ihese- 

 powerful reinforcements had arrived for the Turks ml CK P C - 

 from Grand Cairo, which gave them an ad vantage; and ].-"l p U 

 secondly, because the Beys had not joined the British, 

 as they were led to expect. They were anxious that 

 neither the Turkish nor British forces should be masters 

 of Egypt ; for they were desirous themselves of inde- 

 pendence; but on the present occasion, they were un- 

 able to obtain it, and therefore leaning to the strongest 

 side, they surrendered, and made a treaty of j>eace 

 with the viceroy of Egypt. 



The British ministers had been misinformed with re- 

 spect to the Turkish forces in Egypt, as well as the 

 disposition of the Beys ; and not having supplies at 

 hand to give them the nece.---ary support, when pressed 

 by superior numbers, the expedition was rendered of 

 no effect, and the enterprise was abandoned. Much ha* 

 been said of the advantages which might be derived 

 from Egypt as a province; but it is a question whether 

 a settlement in that country would be of real benefit to 

 Britain; as the trade of the Mediterranean is sufficient- 

 ly open to us in the time of peace ; and the Indian 

 commerce, which of old flourished in Egypt, is more 

 conveniently carried on by a different route. But the 

 government of Egypt is miserable and depraved, and 

 stand* much in need of some renovating jxiwer to re- 

 duce it to order and happiness. 



See Dcnon, Berth. Mnnoir, liuIJtrin, Jl'alsli. Auder* 

 son, liegnier, Sir Robert H'ilwn, Dr ll'Ufi.'i. and Annual 

 Register. (). w.) 



