clarke’s travels. 
166 ' 
upon the coast of Carla, oo the twenty-eighth day of Decem¬ 
ber, 1800. Having waited there near two months, during 
which time a small reinforcement arrived from England, it 
sailed for Egypt on the twenty-second* of February. The 
troops, burning for action, in excellent health and spirits, ar¬ 
rived in Aboukir Ba} upon the second of March, at ten 
o’clock a. m. A sham descent had been practised in Marmo- 
sice, to exercise the soldiers. By this it was found, that six 
thousand men might be landed, in the most perfect order, and 
ready for immediate action, in the short space of twenty-three 
minutes. Their passage had been boisterous. Several Creek 
transports parted from the.fleet during a gale of wind, and dis¬ 
appeared for many days, with part of the 12th, the 26th, and 
Hompesch’s regiments of dragoons. (3wing perhaps to this 
circumstance, or finding it was too late to land the troops upon 
the day of their arrival, the undertaking was postponed until 
the next. : an unfortunate circumstance, although perhaps una¬ 
voidable, as an opportunity was thereby lost not to be after¬ 
ward recovered. Had the landing been then effected, it is 
certain we should have encountered no opposition; and it was 
wed known that the reserve at least might have been put on 
shore. The enemy, although long before informed of our 
approach, was totally unprepared ; and the lives of many 
brave soldiers might have been spared. The following day 
proved unpropitious, and our army was unable to land : in 
consequence of this, the enemy gained time to strengthen him¬ 
self, and to spread news of the invasion in all part sof t e coun¬ 
try w here his forces were stationed. Preparations were ac¬ 
cordingly made for a stout opposition . The succeeding morn¬ 
ing was equally unfavourable, and six days were lost in the 
same manner ; during all which time, the English fleet re¬ 
mained in sight of the French army, and were at length so 
little regarded, that the French, becoming dupes by the delay, 
believed the whole was intended to operate as a feint, in order 
to beguile their attention from the part of the coast where the 
descent was really meditated. So completely did this opinion 
finally prevail, that the time thus allowed them to prepare for 
their defence was not employed so advantageously as it might 
have been. A Greek deserter, sent, as they afterward be¬ 
lieved, by our army, had circulated among them a report, to 
According to Sir R. Wilson’s narrative, this happened on the twenty-third. The 
author gives his information as he received it from the captains of the fleet, and from 
£iie logbooks of their ships. 
