343 
E G 
been attempted ; or if it had, its completion would have 
been impofiible. That we might reft on this conclufion 
as the abfolute fafil, will become evident on reflecting 
upon the complete reduction of thefe invincible French, 
who, though abfolute matters of the country, and fortified 
tip to the chin, were in a (hort time compelled to fubmi , 
and yield up all their conqoefts, to an army of little more 
than half their number, but as well difciplined, and as 
invincible in courage. To prove likewise, beyond the 
power of contradiction, the defencelefs ftate of Egypt, 
and the facility with which this prey might have fallen 
to the lot of any description of freebooters, we need 
only repeat, from the elegant and elaborate work of 
Viyant Denon, the friend and companion of Bonaparte, 
his defcription of the eafy acquifition of Alexandria, the 
ftate of its fortifications, and the panic of its inhabitants, 
to eftablifh the fafil : “ On the fourth day after our land¬ 
ing, (fays Denon,) the commander in chief gave a flip¬ 
per, to which the members of the newly-conftituted au¬ 
thorities were invited. They faw with equal furprife 
and admiration the martial elegance of our generals and 
the aflemblage of officers, on whofe countenances beamed 
health and vigour, glory and hope. They were ftruck 
by the noble phyfiognomy of the commander in chief, 
the ex.prefiion of which feemed to augment his ftature. 
The commotions which had taken place in the city on 
our arrival, had occafioned the (hutting up of the coffee- 
lioufes, and other places of public . amufement. The 
more refpefilable inhabitants, not yet recovered from 
their aftonifhment at the fudden events which had taken 
place, kept themfelves within doors ; while our foldiers, 
heated by wine and by the climate, infpired fo much 
terror among the tradefpeople and the lower dalles, that 
they (hut up their (hops, and hid their females. This 
fine city, where we Jaw no one but ourfelves, appeared dull 
to us. The ftate of the forts, baftions, and fortifications, 
feemed to announce to the army that nothing could im¬ 
pede its progrefs, and that it had. only to march to viffory.” 
Caught by the flow of words in the declaration of the 
Firft Conful, “ that his motive for the conqueft of Egypt 
was the deliverance and regeneration of the cajlcrn world,” tod 
many have been led to admire bis unbounded philan¬ 
thropy, and dignity of mind. But in what noble or mo¬ 
ral afil, are either of thefe to be found ? Are w'e to look 
into the prescriptive right, which ought to have been the 
firft foundation, whereon to leek his exclufive claim to 
the Sovereignty and (oil of Egypt ? Does he found it upon 
any ancient plea of conqueft gained by St. Louis, and at¬ 
tached to the throne of thofe princes, whofe power he 
has ufurped in France? or, by turning mufiulman, has 
he proved the confanguinity cxifting between his race 
and that of the great Saladin ? But were either or all of 
thefe points to be admitted, (till his feizure of Egypt 
would only be railing a modern ufurpation upon the ruins 
of an ancient one, .without eftablifliing any better claim 
to the territory, than one buccaneer would have by 
driving out another, and thus converting the property of 
the rightful owner to his own ufe. In perfect unifon 
with Such a right, has been the philanthropic conduct of 
Bonaparte. Where ever the affrighted Egyptians would 
pay the miri, or tribute, and raife contributions of Sup¬ 
plies for the army, they were permitted to live; but 
where they.dared to aflume the common right of man, 
that of defending hisoivn indefeafible property, they were, 
iii the words of Denon, “ limited down like wild beafts 
inimical to focietv.” The fame French author alfo re¬ 
counts, but not without fentimentsof extreme horror, that 
thoufahds of the defencelefs inhabitants of various towns 
and villages were from time to time extirpated from the 
face of the earth, their houfes plundered, and their lands 
laid wafte ! At Beneadi alone, twelve thoufand fouls pe- 
riftied at once by the relentlefs (words of this regene¬ 
rating army, merely becaufe Beneadi was confid.ered as a 
“dangerous volcano, that was inceffantly .threatening 
them,” The ifland of Philoe, at the extremity of Upper 
Y P T. 
Egypt, fliared a firr.ilar fate. The peaceful inhabitants 
offered their fupplies, but refufed admiflion to the French 
troops on their ifland, contending that Philoe was an 
Ethiopian territory, and not under the manuilukes of 
Egypt. “ Thefe obftinate people (fays Denon) Signified 
to us, that if we were to come there every day for two 
months fucceflively, they would never fuffer us to land. 
But as it would have given a bad example to fuffer them 
to brave 11s with Such infolence fo contiguous to our new 
eftablifhments, we refolved the next day to make them 
change their tone. Accordingly the army, early in the 
morning, excited by the certainty of plunder, crofted the 
channel, began the attack under cover of the artillery 
loaded with grape-fhot, and quickly made a dreadful 
havoc among them. Terror and difmay were feen on 
every fide ; men, women, and children, plunged promif- 
cuoufly into the river to efcape by fwimining, but where 
moll of them periflied : and (till preferving their fero¬ 
cious character, we faw mothers drowning their children 
whom they could not carry away, and mutilating the 
girls, to prevent their being enjoyed by the victors. I 
found one girl fo brutally cut, as to prevent her from 
performing the mod prefting neceftity of nature. In a 
word, the whole ifland was at once depopulated, and the 
miferable inhabitants fuffered by their obftinacy a meft 
ferious and irreparable lofs, which a long fucceftion of 
years cannot retrieve. Our foldiers were now employed 
in ranfacking the houfes and emptying the (lores, which 
afforded a feafonable fupply to the troops.” Yet Denon 
has thefe Angular exclamations: “ O man! from what 
fource do you draw your virtues, if fuch ignoble paflions 
lurk in the mod honourable of all profeffions, that of 
warfare! O war! thou art brilliant in hi (lory, but 
frightful when viewed with all thy attending horrors, 
naked, and undifguifed !” In fhort it is manifeft, from 
the fuels dated by Denon himfelf, that the lives of no 
lefs than forty thoufand defencelefs people were thus 
fported with, and periflied under the regenerating aufpices 
of the French army in Upper Egypt alone ! 
In Lower Egypt, the wanton wafte of human blood was 
immenfe ! In none of the battles, dignified by the fine 
and emphatic titles bellowed on them, were the French 
troops reflrained from blood and carnage, though the 
wretched fugitives threw down their arms and implored 
for mercy. Does this condufil, this regard for moral 
obligation, favour of philanthropy and dignity of mind D 
And yet thefe are faCls gloried in by the French hifto- 
rians, general Regnier, and Vivant Denon. But if fuch 
relentlefs cruelties, exercifed perhaps in the heat of ac¬ 
tion, and during the exultations of confequent vifilory, 
are inglorious and brutal, in what light mu ft we regard 
the man, or in what indignant words exprefs his bafe- 
nefs, who could direfit the horrid .mafia ere of the innocent 
inhabitants of Jaffa, or the premeditated murder of his 
own fick and difeafed countrymen ? Yet fuch a man is 
the invincible Bonaparte, the Firft Conful of.France, the 
triumphant conqueror of Egypt, whofe “ countenance 
beamed with glory and hope, and whofe noble phyfiog¬ 
nomy appeared to exalt his ftature!” Unwilling as the 
mind of man may be to credit fuch unheard-of afits of fa- 
vage barbarity in a civilized and Chriftian age, ftill the 
evidence of truth is forced upon our fenfes in fo incon¬ 
trovertible a manner, that in the fame moment that our 
feelings would lead 11s to hope fo fhocking a report might 
be founded in malice and mifreprefentation, we are con- 
ftrained to 3dmit the fafil, becaufe not a doubt occurs to 
impeach the charge. Would we paufe, and yet hope that 
this heavy charge might eventually be refuted, ftill there 
is no defence—no denial of the faCl—nor one friendly ad¬ 
vocate to palliate or foften this deliberate afil of human 
(laughter—the genuine offspring of mufiulman ftratagem, 
and favage policy. That unbiaffed pofterity might-be 
enabled to judge impartially of thefe fafils, we (hall here 
ftate the particulars, as given by two 1110ft refpedable 
writers j. and in their own words. 
Lieutenant. 
t 
