E G Y P T. 
13 'enon, who made the campaign of Upper Egypt with 
general Defaix, has given the following portrait of this 
celebrated mamaluke chief: “ Calm amidft all his mif- 
fortnnes, this Egyptian Fabius, knowing well how to 
unite a patient courage w ith all the refources of adtive 
policy, had calculated his means, and knew how to ap¬ 
preciate juftly their eft’edts, amidft the various occur¬ 
rences of a difafterous war. Although he had to oppofe 
at the fame time a foreign enemy, and all the rival pre- 
tenfions of his jealous equals, he continued to preferve 
a firm authority over his party, by taking his full fiiare 
of the privations brought upon them by their rapid 
marches, and their defeats: he was become their only 
rallying point, the ruler of their deftiny, and of all their 
movements ; and commanded them as abfolutely as in 
the times of his greateft profperity. By long experience 
he had learnt the great art of accommodating himfelf to 
the times; nor did he choofe by a vain bravado to put 
all to hazard : he knew that the weaker party ought to 
make this life of their misfortune, and fight only with 
the fcythe of time; and when no longer able to com¬ 
mand events, that true (kill confifis in fo far yielding to 
them, as hence to derive the means of carrying on a more 
active oppofition. By this fertility in refources Mourad 
Bey (hewed himfelf an adverfary worthy of Defaix : nor 
can it be decided whether the ingenious and reiterated 
attacks of the one, or the eircumfpedt refiftance of the 
other, are the mod to be admired.” 
On the approach of the detachment of the army under 
major-general Hutchinfon to Elaft, general Lagrange re¬ 
tired toward Ruhmanieh with his corps, confiding of 
nearly 4500 men, 900 of which were the flower of the 
French cavalry. 
The inundation of the Mareotis having nearly reached 
its proper level, and the force of the current at the cut 
being much dimini (lied, major-general Coote, anxious 
both to fecure his own petition, and to annoy that of the 
enemy, got fix gun-boats into this new lake. Alexan¬ 
dria was thus cut od' from all communication with the 
interior, except through the defert on the wed. 
On the 9th, major-general Hutchinfon moved forward 
from Elaft toward the enemy, who were poded near the 
fort of Rahmanieh, behind the canal of Alexandria, 
which ran entirely along their front. Their cavalry was 
on the right, near the Nile, and their left was covered 
by a low fort mounting four guns. A detachment under 
colonel Stewart marched at five in the morning to attack 
the French at Delfoug, while the main army was to at¬ 
tack them at Rahmanieh. A (kirmifh enfued, which 
ending greatly in favour of the Englidi, Lagrange quit¬ 
ted the place, and retreated with all pofiible"expedition 
toward Cairo. One hundred men, who were left in the 
fort of Rahmanieh, together with a number of lick and 
invalids, furrendered the next day. A convoy of feventy 
gcrmes r with provifion, ammunition, and clothing, for 
the French troops, and about five thouliind pounds in 
money, alfo fell into the hands of the Engliih. This con¬ 
voy had come down the Nile from Cairo 7 palled through 
the canal of Menouf, and was proceeding to Rahmanieh, 
ignorant of the capture of the place. A fmall detach¬ 
ment of French cavalry, confiding of three officers and 
forty men, going from Alexandria to Rahmanieh, were 
likewife made prifoners by a party of dragoons. They 
were going from Alexandria to Cairo, as an efcort to one 
of general Beliard’s aides-de-camp, charged with dif- 
patches from Menou. This party had dept at Deman¬ 
hour the night before, and knew nothing of the capture 
of Rahmanieh. 
On the 17th, an Arab arrived in general Hutchinfon’s 
camp at Algam, with the intelligence, that a body of the 
enemy were moving on his right through the defert, with 
the fuppofed intention of pufhing from Alexandria to join 
Lagrange, who had reached Cairo. In confequence of 
this information, major-general. Hutchinfon ordered bri¬ 
gadier-general Doyle to follow them into the defert with 
a. 
the cavalry, and his own brigade ; and major-general 
Cradock was directed to be prepared to give his fnpport 
in cafe of necefiity. At one o’clock, brigadier-general 
Doyle, with the cavalry, not 250 in number, came up 
with the enemy, after a purfuit of ten miles through 
the heavy funds ; and the whole convoy, after fome de¬ 
mur, furrendered without refiftance. This corps, which 
had been fent to colled! provifion and forage in the pro¬ 
vince of Bahireh, confided of two hundred of the French 
dromedary corps, fixty-nine artillery men, 330 infantry, 
witli one piece of cannon, and a (land of colours, and 
efcorted a train of 460 camels. It left .Alexandria on the 
13th of May ; but, finding mod of the villages abandon¬ 
ed, and deftitute of provifion, the chief of brigade, Cava¬ 
lier, determined to pu(h for Cairo ; not fufpedting that 
general Hutchinfon had yet left Rahmanieh, and was on 
his way for that place, when lie perceived the Englifh 
flotilla upon the Nile. Cavalier then attempted to pe¬ 
netrate into the defert, where he was foon overtaken by 
general Doyle. The regiment of dromedaries bad been 
a very ufeful corps to the French. It was compofed of 
picked men, chofen from the whole army, wdio, mounted 
upon thefe fvvift animals, were employed in purfuing the 
Arabs through the defert, and overtaking them where it 
would have been impoftible for any other troops. Tribes- 
of Arabs retiring into the deepeft parts of the defert,. 
where they thought themfelves fecure, were foon dif- 
perfed by them, and their numerous flocks of (beep, 
fometimes as many as two or three thoufand, became, the 
property of the captors, among whom the value was af-' 
terwards divided. By thefe means, feveral individuals- 
of this corps had accumulated to the amount of forty or 
fifty thoufand livres, (fixteen or twenty hundred guineas,) 
with which they were anxious to return to France. When 
attacked by a fuperior force of Arabs, the men ufually 
difmounted from their dromedaries, and making them 
lie down, placed themfelves behind them, tire animal 
thus ferving as a parapet to his rider, over which he fired 
in fecurity. Since the period of general Hutchinfon’s de¬ 
parture from before Alexandria, nearly one thoufand of 
the enemy had fallen into his hands, with the lofs only 
of four men killed, and eighteen wounded. 
On the 19th of May a Turkifh officer arrived at Al¬ 
gam, with the agreeable intelligence of a victory gained 
by the grand vizier over the French at El-Hanka, a vil¬ 
lage about fix miles from Cairo. The Turkifh chief had 
marched from Jaffa on the 25th of February, where the 
plague had carried off feveral thoufand of his troops. At 
Yabna he was reinforced by five hundred of Djezzar Pa¬ 
cha’s troops, well armed and appointed, fent as a proof 
of the Pacha’s-fincerity and attachment to the Porte. 
After unavoidable delays attendant upon fo ill-organized 
an army, the vizier advanced on the 12th of March, and 
on the 15th reached Gaza. On the 22d, Tahir Pacha,, 
with a chofen corps of three thoufand cavalry, proceeded 
to El-Arilh ; and, on the 28th, the vizier moved forward 
for that place with his army, where he arrived on the 
30th. On the 2d of April, the divifion under Tahir Pa¬ 
cha, accompanied by captain Leake of the royal artillery,, 
left El-Arifh, and advanced toward Katieh and Tinieh. 
On the 5th he was followed by the fecond divifion, com¬ 
manded by Mohammed Pacha, which was accompanied 
by captain Lacy of the engineers. The grand vizier,, 
with the remaining part of his army, and the military 
miftion under lieutenant-colonel Holloway, moved for¬ 
ward on the 19th ; and, after a very arduous and haralf- 
ing march of four days acrofs feventy miles of defert, ill 1 
fupplied with provifions, water, and the neceflary means ■ 
of conveyance, arrived at Katieh. The road was ftrewed> 
with the dead bodies of men and cattle, and the average- 
heat was from 105 to 112 degrees in the tents. 
On the 8th of May the Turkifh army reached Belbeis, 
where the grand vizier began to form magazines, of 
which lie was in the utmoft want, to put his diforganized 
army into fome kind of order; and to increafe it with 
B-edouine 
