362 EGYPT. 
CHAP, and produced an inundation extending to such 
'■ ■ y i - ^ a prodigious distance over all the desert to 
the east and south of Alexandria, that before, the 
■middle oi May, the French, than whom no people 
shew more alertness in converting even disaster 
to some advantage, had a flotilla of gun-boats 
upon this newly-created sea. •- 
- About this time. Fort Julien, upon the Rosetta 
branch of the Nile, was taken by the English 
and Turks ; which was followed by the evacua- 
tion of Rosetta. Rachmanie, an important fort, 
was then attacked and carried : by the capture 
of this place, all communication with Alexandria 
was said to be interrupted. Immediately after 
the capture of Rachmanie, the English army 
began its march to Cairo : their ro^te was along 
the banks of the Nile. They proceeded about 
ten miles a day, suffering much from the heat, 
as well as from the drenching dew and the 
mosquitoes during the night. Berelos and 
Damiata, upon the coast, were moreover aban- 
doned by the French and Maltese, and taken 
possession of by the Turks. The Maltese deserted 
to us ; and the French, putting to sea, were 
captured by our fleet. 
Upon the twenty-second of April, Captain 
Ciarhe conveyed us, in his cutter, to visit the 
