precautions of a political nature, provided for the internal quiet of Egypt, as well as fecurity against incurfions by the Arabs of the defart, towards the end of January, 1798, gave orders to general Almeyrus to embark provifions and ftores, for the army of Syria, to be conveyed, by the lake of Menzales, to the port of Tinch, and from thence to be carried, by land, to the village of Cathich. The artillery, that had been employed in the liege of Alexandria, was put on board three frigates, which were to cruize off Jaffa, and to maintain a communication with the army. Camels and mules were provided with extraordinary expedition, at Cairo, for carrying the light artillery, ammunition, and provifions, of which, the most bulky, as well as the moft neceflary article, was water. The army was parted into four divifions: one under general Kleber, one under general Regnier, one under general Bon, and one under general Lannes. The cavalry was commanded by general Mourat, the artillery by general Dommartin, and the engineers by general Caffarelli.* A junction was formed, on the fourth of February, 1799, between the divifions of Kleber, and the advanced guard of

Regnier, under the command of general Grange, at Cathich; from whence they proceeded to Larifla, otherwise called El-Arisch, a village pleasantly fituated on the river Poneus, and the feat of a Greek archbifhop, as well as of mofques for the votaries of the Mahomedan religion. El-Arifch was carried, by general le Grand, with the bayonet. The barbarous Arnautes and Maugrabins, who defended it, took refuge in the fortrefs, but with fuch precipitation, that, in barricading the gates, they fhut out two hundred men, who were put to the fword, or made prifoners.

Scarcely was the blockade of ElArifch begun, by Regnier's divifion, when a reinforcement of infantry and cavalry, efcorting a convoy of provifions for the defenders of El-Arifch, appeared in fight of that village, and encamped on a rifing ground, covered by a very deep ravine. At that moment, general Kleber came up with the advanced guard of his divifion. General Regnier communicated to him the defign he had formed, of turning the ravine, and furprifing the camp of the Mammalukes in the night. Kleber entirely approved this project. The attack was made, and fucceeded. The camp was carried, and the

corps of Mammaluke cavalry cut in pieces, or taken. A number of hories, camels, ftores, and provifions, and the whole of the convoy, fell into the hands of the French. Two beys were killed on the field of battle. The two other divifions of the army, with the artillery, formed their junction a few days thereafter. Buonaparte, himfelf, with his etat-major, and a ftrong guard, who had fet out from Cairo on the tenth, arrived at El-Arifch on the feventeenth of February. In his march across the defart, he loft feveral men and a number of horses, through bad provifions, and the want of water, as well as by the attacks of the Arabs, who never ceased to harafs him.

The main army, thus affembled, took a pofition before El-Arifch, on the eighteenth of February. Buopaparte ordered one of the towers of the caftle to be cannonaded, and, a breach being foon made, he fummoned the place to furrender. The garrifon was compofed of Arnautes and Maugrabins, all rude barbarians, without leaders, uninformed in any of the principles of war acknowledged by civilized nations. Their antwer was, that they were willing to come out of the fort, with their arms and baggage, as it was their with to go to Acre. Buonaparte, anxious to fpare the effufion of his foldiers' blood, delayed the affault. But at length, on the twentieth of February, the garrifen furrendered, on condition of being permitted to retire to Baydat, by the defart. A number of the Maugrabins entered into the French fervice.

On the twenty-fourth of February, the head-quarters of the army marched to Kan-jounels, the first

village of Palestine, as they got out of the defart, and from whence they difcovered the cultivated plains of Gaza.

The French army had now fucceeded in traverfing eighty leagues of the most dry and barren part of the defart: for, the inhabitants of El-Arifch, as well as thofe of Cathich, enjoy only a few fpots of cultured ground, and a few palmtrees near their wells: all around is a dry and burning fand. The afpect of the plains of Gaza was the more pleafing and recreating to the fight, that they appeared bordered by mountains, which rendered the profpect fimilar to that of European countries, without having the tiresome monotony of Egyptian plains, and of thofe parching fands which uniformly fill the air with an annoying, infufferable duft.

Abdallah Bafhaw, with a thoufand cavalry, and fifty thoufand Naploufians, lay encamped in the heights of Korfum. After haraffing the French army, attempting to take it in flank, and to entangle it in the mountains, he was beat back, forced to raile his camp, du ring the night of the twenty-fourth, and fell back upon Gaza; against which place the French proceeded to march on the twenty-fifth of February. The fortress of Gaza being evacuated by the enemy, was taken poffeffion of by the French, without refiftance. In Gaza, they found a very feafonable fupply of provi fions and military ftores. The inhabitants having gone out, to meet Buonaparte, the city was treated in a friendly manner.

On the twenty-ninth of February, the main army began to move towards Jaffa (the ancient Joppa), a fea-port on the coaft of Paleftine,

between

between which and Damietta, along the fea-coaft, the whole is defart and wild. Here, pilgrims pay for permiffion to vifit the Holy Land. This city is furrounded by a wall, without a ditch, and defended by ftrong towers, provided with cannon. Trenches were opened, batteries were erected, and a practical breach was made in the wall. Not withfianding two defperate forties, and every exertion on the part the garrifon, about four thousand irong, the principal tower was taken, and the greater part of the brave garrifon was put to the fword: with a view, no doubt, of firiking terror into other parts of Paleftine, and wherever Buonaparte might direct his march. About three hundred Egyptians, who escaped from the affault, were fent back into Egypt, and reforted to their families. The French found, in the towers of Joppa, ten pieces of cannon, and about twenty indifferent fiege - pieces, either iron or brafs.

Buonaparte, having made himfelf master of the towers of Joppa, ordered the inhabitants to be fpared. About fifteen small trading veffels were found in the harbour. The conqueft of Jaffa, according to the report of fir Sidney Smith, coft the French above one thousand men. Beonaparte then formed a divan, compofed of the principal Turks of the town. He allo gave orders for taking every neceffary meafure for the defence of the place. Jaffa proved a fituation of the higheft importance to the army: it became the port, and the entrepôt, of every thing that was to come from Damietta and Alexandria. From Jaffa, Buonaparte wrote the following

letter to Ghezzar Bafhaw, dated the ninth of March:

Since my arrival in Egypt, I feveral times informed you, that I had no defign to make war against you; and that my only object was to expel the Mammalukes. You returned no answer to the overture which I made you. I announced, that I defired that you would drive Ibrahim Bey from the frontiers of Egypt; but, inftead of that, you ent troops to Gaza: you formed there large magazines, and gave out, that you intended to march against Egypt. You, indeed, began to put this plan in execution; and you threw two thoufand of your troops into the fortrefs Arifch, which is only fix miles from the frontiers of Egypt. I was obliged, then, to depart from Cairo, to direct, in perfon, the war which you feemed to invite. The diftricts of Gaza, Ramley, and Jaffa, are already in my power. I have treated with generofity fuch of your troops as furrendered at difcretion, but I have been fevere towards thofe who violated the rights of war. In a few days, I fhall march against Acre. But why fhould I go, to deprive an old man, with whom I am not acquainted, of the few remaining years of his life! What are a few miles more of territory, in comparifon of those which I have already conquered! And, as God grants me victory, I will, like him, he clement and inerciful, not only towards the people, but towards the great. You have no folid reafon for being my enemy, fince you were that of the Mammalukes. Your government is feparated from that of Egypt by the d:fricts of Gaza, Ramley, and impaffable

marches.

marches. Become my friend, be the enemy of the Mammalukes and the English, and I will do you as much good as I have done you hurt; and I can ftill do you more. Send me a fhort answer, by fome perfon invefted with full powers, that I may know your views. He needs only to prefent himself to my advanced guard, with a white flag; and I have given orders, to my ftaff, to fend you a pass of safety, which you will find here annexed. On the twenty-firft of March, I fhall march against Acre; I muft, therefore, have an anfwer before that day."

The verbal anfwer of Ghezzar was, "I have not written to you, because I am refolved to hold no communication with you. You may march against Acre when you please. 1 fhall be prepared for you, and will bury myself in the ruins of the place, rather than let it fall into your hands."

The army marched to Zetta, under the tower of which it paffed the night. On the fixteenth, they encamped at Sabarieu, after extricating themselves from the narrow paffes of mount Carmel, on the plains of Acre. A divifion of the army, under general Kleber, marched against Caiffa, which the enemy abandoned at their approach. On the feventeenth, late in the evening, they arrived at the mouth of the little river of Acre, which is at the diftance of about fifteen hundred fathoms from the fortrefs. The night was employed in conftructing a bridge, over which the whole army paffed, at break of day, on the eighteenth.

The city of Acre (anciently calJed Accho by the Hebrews and

Phenicians, and afterwards Ptole. mais by the Greeks) was, by the French, called St. Jean d'Acre, on account of its being the refidence of the knights of Jerufalem, which they defended against the Saracens. It is the laft and most fouthern city on the Phoenician coaft. It was a confiderable place, fo early as the Ifraelitifh judges, fince we find that the tribe of Afher could not drive out its inhabitants. After being in the poffeffion of the emperor Claudius, it fell into the hands of the Turks and Arabs, who kept it till the holy war, when it was retaken by the Chriftians, in the year 1104. The Turks took it a fecond time, under Saladin. It was wrefted from them a fecond time, in 1191, by Guy, king of Jerufalem, Richard I. king of England, and Philip, king of France. It was then given to the knights of St. John, who held it, about one hundred years, with great bravery. But a difpute, concerning the poffeffion of it, among the Chriftians themfelves, gave an opportunity to fultan Melech Seraf, with an army of one hundred and fifty thoufand men, to reduce it again under the Ottoman yoke, in the year 1291. The greater part of the inhabitants fled, for refuge, to the island of Cyprus. Acre was immediately entered and plundered by the Turks, who made a horrible flaughter of those who remained in the city, rafed its fortifications to the ground, and destroyed all its noble edifices, as if they could never take fufficient revenge upon it, for all the blood it had coft them, or fufficiently prevent fuch flaughters for the future. It was in this city that our Edward I. then a prince,

received

received a wound with a poisoned

arrow.

Acre, by its excellent fituation, feems to enjoy all the advantages to be derived from fea and land, being encompassed, on the north and eaft fide, by a fpacious and fertile plain, on the weft by the Mediterranean, and on the south by a large bay, extending itself from that city to mount Carmel. Thefe advantages pointed it out as a fit entrepôt for commerce, to Faccardino (not improperly called the great), chief of the Drufes, who, towards the end of the fifteenth century, threw off the Turkish yoke, fortified Acre with additional towers, and, alfo, that it might be inacceffible to the Turkish gallies, depofited large maffes of ftones in the deepest parts of the entrance into the harbour. Without the harbour, in the bay, there were roads where veffels lay at anchor, and to and from which the commerce with Acre was carried, in lighters, or boats. The Drufes,* like the Arabs, maintain an independence, almoft total, on the Ottomans. Their fubmiffion to the Porte is rather nominal than real. Tribute, very irregularly paid, is the only proof or Tymbol of fubjection. The Marco nites, a fect of Chriftians anciently diftinguifhed by the appellation of Neftorians (a term well known in ecclefiaftical hiftory), live among, and, indeed, form a part of the Drufes. The Marconite Chriftians have, in the present day, a college, even in the Vatican, in Rome,

where there is a fociety for propagating and cherishing all fects of Chriftians acknowledging the Roman-catholic religion. The Marconites, in external matters and ceremonies, are the fame with the ancient Syrian church; in articles of belief, or fpeculation, the fame with the Romish. In the times of Faccardino (who carried on a correfpondence and commerce with India, as well as the Grecian iflands and Italy), the moft opulent and commercial, and, indeed, the moft accomplished, noble-minded, and princely family in Europe, was the Medici, who gradually arofe, through the ufual gradations in democracy, to the fovereignty of Florence, and the dependent diftricts, under the names of the great dukes of Tufcany. Faccardino paid a vifit to Cofmo de Medici, at Florence: he was received, at the court of Cofmo, with the most elegant hofpitality, and returned to Syria, and St. John d'Acre, accompanied by all manner of artifts from Italy.Bridges, high-ways, palaces begun (though, unfortunately, not finified), improvements in navigation and fortification, and agriculture and commerce, as well as fome approaches towards literature and fcience, in Syria, were the effects of the vifit, paid by Faccardino the great, to Cofmo de Medici.-Soon after the death of Faccardino, Acre fell again under the dominion of the Turks.

On the eighteenth of March, the French army, having crofled the