From: Copies of original letters from the army of General Bonaparte in Egypt, intercepted by the fleet under the command of Admiral Lord Nelson. With an English translation (London, J. Wright, 1798-1800, 3 vols.), vol. 2, pp. 4-8.
TRANSLATION.
Alexandria, (19 Messidor) July 7th, 1798.
SHECHY, Captain-Adjunct to the Staff of General BONAPARTE, to Citizen LE MAIRE, at Paris.
I WISHED to write you, my dear Le Maire, a long letter--Read the inclosed(1); it will inform you where we are at present. Say every thing for me to Madame Dumuy; and above all, assure her that I will take care to send her an ample account of all our transactions, from Cairo, where I hope to arrive soon, with General Bonaparte. Dumuy(2) is here; he stays behind to organize the troops that remain, to treat with the Bedouin Arabs, of whom you will find some account below, and to open a communication with the capital.
We are engaged here, my dear Le Maire, in a most fatiguing business. The wars of Europe have nothing in common with this of Egypt. We reckon ourselves fortunate in the extreme, if we can procure biscuit and water. We are now preparing for a march of five days across the Desert.
Put a wafer in Citizen Doulcet's letter; and pray be kind enough to give the subjoined note respecting the Arabs, to my uncle. I wrote a very long letter to Madame Dumuy, from Malta: I wrote also to you, informing you, that the memorial relative to my promotion had been transmitted to the Minister of War, by Berthier. Call on Tallien and Bruix; give my remembrances to them, and intreat them to accelerate an affair which may be easily arranged: try yourself too, what can be done in it. Write me a long letter, and accept the assurances of my friendship.
MAR. SHECHY.
Note.
THE Bedouin Arabs constantly rise at a very early hour, drop on their knees, and kiss the ground twice, with their eyes turned towards the heavens. At sunrise, and at the first appearance of the moon, they repeat the same ceremony three times, directing their face towards that planet. They are commanded by chiefs, whom they respect; they salute them whenever they approach of pass them, pay the greatest attention to every thing they say, and punctually execute all their commands.
Their usual dress is a piece of white woollen, which they fasten around their necks, throwing the corners over their shoulders. Their arms are quite naked. They have also a kind of pantaloon, reaching to the knee, where it is fastened; the legs, like the arms, are naked: they have all yellow slippers.
The dress of women differs very little from that of the men. They carry their children on their backs. They are in good estimation with their husbands, though they do not eat with them. Like the Scythians, the Bedouins dwell in camps, which they move at pleasure, and as circumstances require. They carry with them all their household on camels, of which they possess a far greater number than of horses. The women and children are placed on the back of one of these animals, in a kind of circular cot, which affords them all a sufficient space to lie down.
They visit frequently, and live in a state of great familiarity and kindness one with another; but it is observable, that one family never eats with another. They exchange one kind of merchandize, or one object of general utility for another, without the intervention of specie, of which they have no need. Every thing that is taken belongs to the taker: nay, a man may be made prisoner, and even sold by him who made him so, without any other person's pretending to interfere. Their general practice(3) is not to put any one to death, but only to rob him; unless he should be rash enough to make resistance.
Their manner of living is very hard. They feed on a species of bread extremely black, and baked on the dung of their camels. Their water, kept for a long while in bottles made of goats' skin, and constantly exposed to the heat of the sun, is extremely offensive. They dip their bread in a kind of oil of a most disagreeable smell, which they procure in the midst of the sands of the Desert, from springs known only to themselves, and not less than fifty or sixty miles from each other(4).
Every family has a tent to itself. It is under the command of a chief, and it is he only who makes war. Their horses, which are exclusively reserved for their excursions, are inconceivably active; they are all wild, and ascend the steepest mountains with the same rapidity they run on even ground. They are never shod.
All these details were given me by the officers who had been made prisoners by the Bedouins on our landing. I collected them at the instant that the chiefs of the Arabs were with Bonaparte, arranging the terms of the treaty.
I have no paper to spare for covers. You will, therefore, inclose Citizen Doulcet's letter, and direct it to him.
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[British Translators' Notes]
(1) See the next letter.
(2) This seems to be the person mentioned by General Menou (Part I. p. 98.);his name, indeed, is spelt differently; but we observe a great inaccuracy with respect to names, throughout the whole of this Correspondence.
(3) Cependant, in the original; this word must have escaped Schechy through inadvertence; he could not surely have thought it strange, that those who were at liberty to sell their prisoners, did not kill them.
(4)It is hardly necessary to caution the reader to receive as little as possible of what the French pretend to give from the information of Arabs, Copts, &c. As far as the senses are concerned, they may generally be trusted, but no farther. What the prisoners saw, we are willing to believe they related with fidelity; but when they proceed to tell us (from conversations, of which they certainly understood not a single word) of wonderful springs of oil found in the Desert, and kept secret from all the world, but the French; we can only say, cras credimus, hodie nihil. Bituminous and unctuous substances are sometimes, indeed, found floating on the surface of small pools or lakes, and--but 'tis needless to enter upon further into the subject, on such authorities as those before us.
The little picture of the domestic economy of the Arabs, though rudely sketched, is far from being uninteresting. Their simple expressions of pious dependence, their respectful attachment to their hereditary chiefs, and their familiar and affectionate intercourse with one another, cannot fail to prepossess the reader a little in their favour; and raise them in his mind as far above the atheistical, turbulent, and unsocial horde, who, under the guidance of a ferocious Corsican, have traversed a thousand leagues of sea, for the "consolatory" purpose of exterminating them!
When one considers, too, the poverty of these people, their black bread, stinking water, and rancid oil, their burning sands, and interminable desserts, one would imagine that they, at least, would be secure from the rapacity and cruelty of France. Delusive thought! that nation has the eternal fever of the tiger; and presses forward with blind and inconsiderate fury, to slake its thirst in the blood of all it can reach, and overcome.
Friday, October 12, 2007
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Patriarch of Constantinople Condemns French Invasion
From: Copies of original letters from the army of General Bonaparte in Egypt, intercepted by the fleet under the command of Admiral Lord Nelson. With an English translation (London, J. Wright, 1798-1800, 3 vols.), vol. 2, pp. 232-236.
TRANSLATION.
GREGORY, by the Grace of God Metropolitan of Constantinople (New Rome), and the Ecumenical Patriarch.
MOST dear and honoured Clergy and Nobility, and summarily, all ye Christians of Corfou, Cephalonia, Zante, Cerigo, Ithaca, Saint Maure, &c. our beloved children in the Lord! Grace be unto you all, and peace and mercy from the Lord God Almighty; and from us prayer, blessing, and indulgence.
The serpent, the origin of all ill, who first beguiled mankind by various frauds and illusions, that he might draw them to perdition, perceiving in these latter days, that the French nation was more capable of wickedness than any other, has poured without measure into their souls the poison of apostacy; and having first instigated them to civil war, the barbarous regicide, has finally plunged them into every species of impiety and ungodliness. This mischief he has effected, notwithstanding the supreme wisdom of God, and his love to mankind, had never left them unprotected by his providence, but had regulated them by spiritual laws, in order to keep them in obedience to God (as he spoke by the mouth of the Royal Prophet; “Thy law is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my path”); and had also bound them by political institutions, and kingly governments, that they might be preserved from a two-fold evil,--spiritually, by the divine laws of religious worship; and temporally, by the institutes of regal authorities.
For since the Divine Mercy foresaw that human nature was prone to remissness of duty, and forgetful of the light of divine knowledge, he appointed earthly monarchs to keep them (according to David) in the paths of virtue and good order. Kings, therefore, as the representatives of God, are distributed through this lower world, to exercise men in the practice of obedience, and to preserve them from the paths of error, through the authority intrusted to them by HIM “through whom kings reign.” The holy Apostle Paul declares, “that THEY do not bear the sword in vain, but for the praise of well-doers, and the punishment of such as do evil; so that if kingly power were taken away, mankind falling precipitately into wickedness (“for the thought of man is prone to evil from his youth”), would rise up one against another, and the world would become a chaos of misery.
Knowing this, the wicked one, that he might bring mankind to that state of confusion which always follows a want of government (as right philosophy also teaches), stirred up the French to murder their king; then was made manifest his purpose, in seducing their minds from obedience to God. But these French, that they might draw all the world to their own impiety, concealed their revolt from God under the specious bait of Liberty, and the pretext of a perfect Equality. And when they afterwards proceeded to trample under foot all the duties of their religion, they set at nought all the treaties of alliance, as we clearly see by their ungrateful conduct to the Ottoman Porte, which, in the time of their necessity had never deserted them. They, on the contrary, shewed themselves openly hostile, and with subtle and designing publications, craftily attempted to trouble this empire, and force its subjects into anarchy and rebellion, of which the consequences are, civil war, murder, pillage, &c.:--and finally, after all these artifices, they have made, in the face of the world, a piratical attempt upon Egypt; on account if which, this mighty empire has justly declared war against them by land and by sea, that by the Divine Assistance, it may punish these destroyers of mankind, these aliens from God, and these perturbators and pests of the general peace and good order of the world.
And for this purpose, our mighty Emperor has called in his powerful allies, the Monarchs of Russia and Great Britain, who having the same righteous end in view with himself, will co-operate with him in freeing mankind from the impending evils, and preserving the administrations of regal power, with all its constituted authorities.
WHEREFORE, the fleets of three allied powers will speedily come into your parts, not against the Islands and their inhabitants, to subdue them, but rather to strengthen them in true liberty, to break the yoke of tyranny under which they have unwillingly fallen, and to redeem them from the impending impiety and atheism with which the contagious example of the French threatens speedily, very speedily, to infect them and their posterity.
Finally, since the Church of Christ watches for the salvation of mankind, and prays without ceasing for all, but particularly for Kings, and for those who are in authority under them (according to the Apostle). WE, therefore, by the command of this government, declare to all the orthodox inhabitants of the Islands of Corfou, Cephalonia, Zante, Ithaca, Cerigo, St. Maure, &c. that the sole will, intent, and purpose, of the allied powers is to extend the shield of their protection over the boundaries of truth and good order, and peace; and to punish those hostile and insidious French, who, with the poisonous streams of their pretended Liberty, endeavour, by speaking and writing, to deceive mankind, and to precipitate them into the abyss of Wickedness and apostacy. And WE exhort you all, as true members of the Church of Christ, and zealous for the pure doctrine of faith, and harmony, and obedience, on the receipt of this our Patriarchal Epistle, to drive forthwith from your Islands, those apostates from God, those pernicious tyrants of manking; and co-operating with the Allied Powers, to assist personally, with the promptitude and zeal in the discomfiture of those faithless French; that so ye may render yourselves worthy of the Divine Mercy, and obtain from the Sublime Porte a liberty surpassing even that of your ancient polity; for we promise that ye shall henceforth enjoy more freedom than at any former time. WE therefore declare unto you, by the command and unchangeable will of our Monarch, that ye shall have full power to select whatever form of government ye shall judge most conducive to the benefit of your country,--either the aristocratical constitution of Ragusa, or any other that may please you better. For OURSELVES, knowing, and being fully unequivocally convinced, that the present declaration of war against the French is most just; and farther, that the scope and design of the Allied Powers is truly the deliverance of mankind; and that their intention, with respect to these Islands, which have fallen into the hands of the French by treachety, is to rescue them from the curse of Gallic craftiness, or, to speak more truly, impiety, and nothing else; WE do, therefore, in our fatherly care, earnestly beseech and exhort you all, by the Grace of the Holy Spirit, to concur personally, and with one accord, in the laudable design of the aforesaid Powers; that so ye may be firmly and immoveably possessed of the desired liberty; and that ye may henceforth abide in that political harmony, and good government, which will be pleasing to God, salutary to your posterity, and finally lead to eternal life, and a happy futurity. This is the sum of OUR wishes. The Grace of God, and the prayers and blessings of our spiritual jurisdiction, be upon you all!
TRANSLATION.
GREGORY, by the Grace of God Metropolitan of Constantinople (New Rome), and the Ecumenical Patriarch.
MOST dear and honoured Clergy and Nobility, and summarily, all ye Christians of Corfou, Cephalonia, Zante, Cerigo, Ithaca, Saint Maure, &c. our beloved children in the Lord! Grace be unto you all, and peace and mercy from the Lord God Almighty; and from us prayer, blessing, and indulgence.
The serpent, the origin of all ill, who first beguiled mankind by various frauds and illusions, that he might draw them to perdition, perceiving in these latter days, that the French nation was more capable of wickedness than any other, has poured without measure into their souls the poison of apostacy; and having first instigated them to civil war, the barbarous regicide, has finally plunged them into every species of impiety and ungodliness. This mischief he has effected, notwithstanding the supreme wisdom of God, and his love to mankind, had never left them unprotected by his providence, but had regulated them by spiritual laws, in order to keep them in obedience to God (as he spoke by the mouth of the Royal Prophet; “Thy law is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my path”); and had also bound them by political institutions, and kingly governments, that they might be preserved from a two-fold evil,--spiritually, by the divine laws of religious worship; and temporally, by the institutes of regal authorities.
For since the Divine Mercy foresaw that human nature was prone to remissness of duty, and forgetful of the light of divine knowledge, he appointed earthly monarchs to keep them (according to David) in the paths of virtue and good order. Kings, therefore, as the representatives of God, are distributed through this lower world, to exercise men in the practice of obedience, and to preserve them from the paths of error, through the authority intrusted to them by HIM “through whom kings reign.” The holy Apostle Paul declares, “that THEY do not bear the sword in vain, but for the praise of well-doers, and the punishment of such as do evil; so that if kingly power were taken away, mankind falling precipitately into wickedness (“for the thought of man is prone to evil from his youth”), would rise up one against another, and the world would become a chaos of misery.
Knowing this, the wicked one, that he might bring mankind to that state of confusion which always follows a want of government (as right philosophy also teaches), stirred up the French to murder their king; then was made manifest his purpose, in seducing their minds from obedience to God. But these French, that they might draw all the world to their own impiety, concealed their revolt from God under the specious bait of Liberty, and the pretext of a perfect Equality. And when they afterwards proceeded to trample under foot all the duties of their religion, they set at nought all the treaties of alliance, as we clearly see by their ungrateful conduct to the Ottoman Porte, which, in the time of their necessity had never deserted them. They, on the contrary, shewed themselves openly hostile, and with subtle and designing publications, craftily attempted to trouble this empire, and force its subjects into anarchy and rebellion, of which the consequences are, civil war, murder, pillage, &c.:--and finally, after all these artifices, they have made, in the face of the world, a piratical attempt upon Egypt; on account if which, this mighty empire has justly declared war against them by land and by sea, that by the Divine Assistance, it may punish these destroyers of mankind, these aliens from God, and these perturbators and pests of the general peace and good order of the world.
And for this purpose, our mighty Emperor has called in his powerful allies, the Monarchs of Russia and Great Britain, who having the same righteous end in view with himself, will co-operate with him in freeing mankind from the impending evils, and preserving the administrations of regal power, with all its constituted authorities.
WHEREFORE, the fleets of three allied powers will speedily come into your parts, not against the Islands and their inhabitants, to subdue them, but rather to strengthen them in true liberty, to break the yoke of tyranny under which they have unwillingly fallen, and to redeem them from the impending impiety and atheism with which the contagious example of the French threatens speedily, very speedily, to infect them and their posterity.
Finally, since the Church of Christ watches for the salvation of mankind, and prays without ceasing for all, but particularly for Kings, and for those who are in authority under them (according to the Apostle). WE, therefore, by the command of this government, declare to all the orthodox inhabitants of the Islands of Corfou, Cephalonia, Zante, Ithaca, Cerigo, St. Maure, &c. that the sole will, intent, and purpose, of the allied powers is to extend the shield of their protection over the boundaries of truth and good order, and peace; and to punish those hostile and insidious French, who, with the poisonous streams of their pretended Liberty, endeavour, by speaking and writing, to deceive mankind, and to precipitate them into the abyss of Wickedness and apostacy. And WE exhort you all, as true members of the Church of Christ, and zealous for the pure doctrine of faith, and harmony, and obedience, on the receipt of this our Patriarchal Epistle, to drive forthwith from your Islands, those apostates from God, those pernicious tyrants of manking; and co-operating with the Allied Powers, to assist personally, with the promptitude and zeal in the discomfiture of those faithless French; that so ye may render yourselves worthy of the Divine Mercy, and obtain from the Sublime Porte a liberty surpassing even that of your ancient polity; for we promise that ye shall henceforth enjoy more freedom than at any former time. WE therefore declare unto you, by the command and unchangeable will of our Monarch, that ye shall have full power to select whatever form of government ye shall judge most conducive to the benefit of your country,--either the aristocratical constitution of Ragusa, or any other that may please you better. For OURSELVES, knowing, and being fully unequivocally convinced, that the present declaration of war against the French is most just; and farther, that the scope and design of the Allied Powers is truly the deliverance of mankind; and that their intention, with respect to these Islands, which have fallen into the hands of the French by treachety, is to rescue them from the curse of Gallic craftiness, or, to speak more truly, impiety, and nothing else; WE do, therefore, in our fatherly care, earnestly beseech and exhort you all, by the Grace of the Holy Spirit, to concur personally, and with one accord, in the laudable design of the aforesaid Powers; that so ye may be firmly and immoveably possessed of the desired liberty; and that ye may henceforth abide in that political harmony, and good government, which will be pleasing to God, salutary to your posterity, and finally lead to eternal life, and a happy futurity. This is the sum of OUR wishes. The Grace of God, and the prayers and blessings of our spiritual jurisdiction, be upon you all!
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Captain Tells of Voyage from Rome, to Malta, to Alexandria
From: Copies of original letters from the army of General Bonaparte in Egypt, intercepted by the fleet under the command of Admiral Lord Nelson. With an English translation (London, J. Wright, 1798-1800, 3 vols.), vol. 2, pp. 225-227.
TRANSLATION
‘TIS with great pleasure, my dear brother, that I write you the present; hoping it will have the good fortune to reach you, in spite of the prodigious difficulties we find in sending or receiving a letter by sea, on account of the total destruction of our fleet.
The English are at this moment complete masters of the Mediterranean; we are reduced, therefore, to the disagreeable necessity of trusting all our correspondence with France to neutral vessels: even these can only hope to convey it, by escaping the vigilance of the English; for if they are taken they are burnt.
We were marched from Rome, as I wrote to you in my last letter from Civita Vecchia at the moment we were going on board the transports. You must have discovered the state of my mind from that letter. I have had misfortunes enough in my life, but never any, I can assure you, like that which I then experienced. I was forced to quit a charming girl, with a very pretty fortune, when I was on the point of being made happy.—Yes, obliged to leave her without any hope of ever seeing her again! I shall never find such another match! But what can be said?—‘tis my hard fortune!
We went on board without knowing whither we were going. When we reached Malta we were told that our destination was to besiege that place, and in three days we made ourselves masters of it. We staid there five or six days to recruit ourselves, and then put to sea, without the least information being given to the army with respect to the place of its future destination. We sailed for eighteen days, when we fell in with the land, and found ourselves before the city of Alexandria, the metropolis of Turkey, and in a state of open rebellion against the Grand Seignior(1)!
As soon as we were put on shore we began to fight against certain nations, known by the name of Bedouins: nations of the most barbarous kind. At first they made no prisoners. When General Bonaparte saw this, he sent them a Manifesto in their own language, informing them, that if they put their prisoners to death, he should be obliged to retaliate.—Notwithstanding this, they have not altered their conduct.
At present we are victorious. In one action alone we [Illegible Word] or killed near ten thousand, and having put the remainder to flight, pursued them into Upper Egypt, on the side of Jerusalem!!! I have not yet heard what will be our next expedition.
I must now inform you, my dear brother, that I have a trunk in the hands of one of my friends, a master tailor in the demi-brigade. I shall send to him by this conveyance that you may have no difficulty in executing my commission. Write a letter, therefore, and direct it to Citizen Grivet, master-tailor to the depot of the 88th brigade, Fort Bareau, near Chambery. He will send the trunk wherever you order it. I would have you repair to Auch, call upon Dumont’s eldest son (a merchant there) remember me kindly to him, and request him, in my name, to assist you in facilitating its arrival.—Be assured that he will render me this service—be assured, my dear brother, that the trunk is worth looking after. There is rare booty in it—You will find, among other things, six louis-d’ors, a pair of silver buckles, a number of shirts, two new coats, some waistcoats and breeches of white cloth, some white under-waistcoats, two pair of boots, several pair of thread and cotton stockings, some silk ones, a number of pocket handkerchiefs, and many other articles. These you will take charge of till my return to France; if I am ever happy enough to return there,--if not, apply them to your own use.
If you ever happen to hear that the demi-brigade is returned home, and, after a competent time, receive no letter from me, you may then write to the Council of Administration of the Brigade, for whatever belonged to me; and if it reaches you in safety, I would wish you to give for louis to Henriette, and four to Joseph,--the rest keep for yourself.
Present my love to your dear wife, to my brothers and sisters, and to all the family, not forgetting your secretary.
I remain, ever yours affectionately,
ROZIS, capt.
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[British Translators' Notes]
(1) We are almost weary of remarking on the gross ignorance of the officers of the French army; and yet it is impossible not to notice such passages as the above. Calling Alexandria the capital of Turkey is what we should have some difficulty in excusing in a follower of the camp; but when we find a Captain asserting that Alexandria was in a state of rebellion against the Porte, and in consequence of it actually destroying the Turks under the idea that he was obliging the Grand Seignior,--nous y perdous notre latin, and, indeed, our patience. Bonaparte seems to have formed a just estimate of the capacity of his officers, and to have made their unparalleled credulity the foundation of his own unparalleled assurance!
TRANSLATION
‘TIS with great pleasure, my dear brother, that I write you the present; hoping it will have the good fortune to reach you, in spite of the prodigious difficulties we find in sending or receiving a letter by sea, on account of the total destruction of our fleet.
The English are at this moment complete masters of the Mediterranean; we are reduced, therefore, to the disagreeable necessity of trusting all our correspondence with France to neutral vessels: even these can only hope to convey it, by escaping the vigilance of the English; for if they are taken they are burnt.
We were marched from Rome, as I wrote to you in my last letter from Civita Vecchia at the moment we were going on board the transports. You must have discovered the state of my mind from that letter. I have had misfortunes enough in my life, but never any, I can assure you, like that which I then experienced. I was forced to quit a charming girl, with a very pretty fortune, when I was on the point of being made happy.—Yes, obliged to leave her without any hope of ever seeing her again! I shall never find such another match! But what can be said?—‘tis my hard fortune!
We went on board without knowing whither we were going. When we reached Malta we were told that our destination was to besiege that place, and in three days we made ourselves masters of it. We staid there five or six days to recruit ourselves, and then put to sea, without the least information being given to the army with respect to the place of its future destination. We sailed for eighteen days, when we fell in with the land, and found ourselves before the city of Alexandria, the metropolis of Turkey, and in a state of open rebellion against the Grand Seignior(1)!
As soon as we were put on shore we began to fight against certain nations, known by the name of Bedouins: nations of the most barbarous kind. At first they made no prisoners. When General Bonaparte saw this, he sent them a Manifesto in their own language, informing them, that if they put their prisoners to death, he should be obliged to retaliate.—Notwithstanding this, they have not altered their conduct.
At present we are victorious. In one action alone we [Illegible Word] or killed near ten thousand, and having put the remainder to flight, pursued them into Upper Egypt, on the side of Jerusalem!!! I have not yet heard what will be our next expedition.
I must now inform you, my dear brother, that I have a trunk in the hands of one of my friends, a master tailor in the demi-brigade. I shall send to him by this conveyance that you may have no difficulty in executing my commission. Write a letter, therefore, and direct it to Citizen Grivet, master-tailor to the depot of the 88th brigade, Fort Bareau, near Chambery. He will send the trunk wherever you order it. I would have you repair to Auch, call upon Dumont’s eldest son (a merchant there) remember me kindly to him, and request him, in my name, to assist you in facilitating its arrival.—Be assured that he will render me this service—be assured, my dear brother, that the trunk is worth looking after. There is rare booty in it—You will find, among other things, six louis-d’ors, a pair of silver buckles, a number of shirts, two new coats, some waistcoats and breeches of white cloth, some white under-waistcoats, two pair of boots, several pair of thread and cotton stockings, some silk ones, a number of pocket handkerchiefs, and many other articles. These you will take charge of till my return to France; if I am ever happy enough to return there,--if not, apply them to your own use.
If you ever happen to hear that the demi-brigade is returned home, and, after a competent time, receive no letter from me, you may then write to the Council of Administration of the Brigade, for whatever belonged to me; and if it reaches you in safety, I would wish you to give for louis to Henriette, and four to Joseph,--the rest keep for yourself.
Present my love to your dear wife, to my brothers and sisters, and to all the family, not forgetting your secretary.
I remain, ever yours affectionately,
ROZIS, capt.
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[British Translators' Notes]
(1) We are almost weary of remarking on the gross ignorance of the officers of the French army; and yet it is impossible not to notice such passages as the above. Calling Alexandria the capital of Turkey is what we should have some difficulty in excusing in a follower of the camp; but when we find a Captain asserting that Alexandria was in a state of rebellion against the Porte, and in consequence of it actually destroying the Turks under the idea that he was obliging the Grand Seignior,--nous y perdous notre latin, and, indeed, our patience. Bonaparte seems to have formed a just estimate of the capacity of his officers, and to have made their unparalleled credulity the foundation of his own unparalleled assurance!
Monday, October 8, 2007
French Captain Describes Sailors as Traitors
From: Copies of original letters from the army of General Bonaparte in Egypt, intercepted by the fleet under the command of Admiral Lord Nelson. With an English translation (London, J. Wright, 1798-1800, 3 vols.), vol. 2, pp. 216-221.
TRANSLATION.
Alexandria (23 Fructidor) September 9th.
ROZIS to his Friend GRIVET.
TIS with great pleasure, my dear friend, that I send you the present, hoping that it will have the good fortune to reach you, notwithstanding the prodigious difficulties we have been subjected to, since the unfortunate moment of the total destruction of our fleet.
While the land forces fight like so many lions, those of the fleet behaved like cowards! We ought not, indeed, by any means to blame the subaltern officers, the cannoneers, and some of the seamen; but the major part, together with the superior officers, certainly fought like traitors(1) to their country!
We inhabit a country with which we are all dissatisfied, to a degree not to be conceived. IF THE TROOPS HAD BUT KNOWN WHAT IT WAS, BEFORE THEY QUITTED FRANCE, THEY WOULD HAVE PREFERRED DEATH A THOUSAND TIMES TO THE MISERY WHICH THEY NOW FIND THEMSELVES REDUCED. We have the enemy every where, before, behind, and on each side of us; it is an exact counterpart of La Vendee. Happily, we have defeated the most formidable of them: 1, the Arabs; 2, the Mameloucs; 3, the Bedouins; almost all cavalry, all mounted on active little horses, that run as swiftly up the mountains as long as the plains. The troops fought like Caesars, and, indeed, nothing less than French soldiers could have defeated such an enemy!
We were almost always obliged to engage, formed into squares. In this inconvenient order of battle we made three days forced march; and, indeed, to have changed it would have been fatal to us all. The enemy made but few prisoners at first; if they saved any from death, it was only to render them subservient to their brutal passions.
The country of Alexandria is merely a country of sand, devoid of all cultivation; where the inhabitants would perish with hunger if they were not supplied with necessaries from the neighbouring districts. The natives who are called Arabs, are a sort of wild beasts, who pillage their own people as readily as strangers. They are always armed, live entirely on rapine, dwell constantly in tents, and carry their whole household with them. When they wish to incamp, they just trace out a few lines on the sand; they are here to day, and there to-morrow.
The Grand Turk is their sworn enemy: he has never been able to subdue them; that was reserved for the French to accomplish. They are not in the least afraid of our cavalry: to say the truth, we have not much of it; they are only intimidated by our artillery: they rush upon our bayonets, as the wild boar does upon the hunters when he is wounded. They have no cannon; if they had, no nation on earth would be able to subdue them.
We were many days without water or bread, or victuals of any kind; and even without means of procuring any. In five or six days, I speak without exaggeration, we lost six or seven hundred men by thirst alone!!! Having passed the Desert, we reached the neighbourhood of the city called Grand Cairo, a country extremely rich by its commerce, and very fertile in grain. It was here that the great battle was fought; we killed or drowned a part of them; while those who escaped, fled into the Desert; some of them with the intent of reaching Egypt, others the neighbourhood of Jerusalem! We pursued them as far as Upper Egypt, where we, in some measure, completed their destruction(2); as many as could escape, crossed the Desert with an intent of getting to Barbary. I have not yet learned whether we shall pursue them thither.
We are exceedingly reduced in our numbers. Besides all this, there exists a general discontent in the army. Despondency was never at such a height before: we have had several soldiers who blew out their brains in the presence of the Commander in Chief, exclaiming to him, “Voila ton ouvrage;” “THIS IS YOUR WORK!” I can go no farther, time will acquaint you with the rest.
I take the liberty, my good friend, of requesting you, as soon as you shall receive a letter from my brother, to forward my trunk to the place he shall direct; it will be, perhaps, to Dumoin’s at Auch; but that is a matter of no consequence.
You will, perhaps, have retired from the army before our return; and, in that case, I shall not know who will have the charge of the depot. It may thus happen that my property may be lost; judge what a loss for me! The best thing we can venture to look forward to, is to quit this country like so many little St. Johns(3). We are already four months pay in arrear; and we all fear that we shall be obliged to make a forced patriotic gift of it, towards re-establishing the thirteen sail of the line, and the twenty other vessels, frigates, &c. which we have unfortunately lost. Such is the recompence we expect, and such will be the fruit of all our labours!
You may take for yourself, my friend, from the trunk, a new coat, which was made for me at Liege, and a louis d’or in money. This, I think, is about what I owe you; if it be not sufficient, take what will make it so; then put the rest of the money in the trunk, cord it well, put a seal upon the lock, and see it sage in the diligence. Act for me in this case, I beseech you, like a friend.
If Durand and Jenot are with you, remember me kindly to them, and tell them how happy they are to be in their native country.
My respects to your wife: embrace your family for me a thousand times, and believe yourself the most fortunate of men, in not coming to join us in Italy.
Ever yours most sincerely,
ROZIS, Capitaine.
----------------------------------------------
[British Translators' Notes]
(1) A plain statement of the fact will shew with what justice the crews of the French ships are accused by their countrymen of acting like traitors on the first of August.
The following is a correct copy of the certificate given in by the surviving commissaries and officers of the French fleet, and recognized as authentic by the Government.
Number of men on board the thirteen vessels captured of
destroyed in the engagement of the 1st of August 8930
(exclusive of the Hercules gun-boat)
Sent on shore by Lord Nelson in consequence of a
cartel established between him and the Commandant
of Alexandria, and acknowledged in the receipt
of Capt. Barry, Commander of the Alceste. 1605------------------
Wounded, in said cartel: 1500----------------------------------------
Escaped from the Timoleon while she lay on shore --------- 350
(these were murdered by the Arabs)
Escaped from the Hercules (gun boat)---------------------- 50
Officers, carpenters, caulkers, &c. detained by----------- 200
Lord Nelson
Total destroyed -------------------------------------------------------5225
If to these we add the wounded, we shall find, that of 8930, of which the whole consisted, 6725, more than three-fourths, were killed and wounded in an action in which they are said, by this bloody minded Captain, to have “behaved like traitors!” Rozis might (if he had pleased) have discovered a juster and much more reasonable cause of their defeat, in the superior skill and intrepidity of their enemies; but, except in the affair of his trunk, he does not appear to have exerted any great portion of positive inquiry.
(2) Unless Rozis be in correspondence with Sir John Macpherson, who hoped the House would be in “some degree unanimous,” we cannot account for his stumbling upon this expression. The precious traits of geographical knowledge which precede it, we leave without comment, to the admiration of our readers, contenting ourselves with recommending to their most serious notice, the paragraphs which follow, and which, as they merely relate to the objects of sense and feeling, we would as readily receive from Rozis as from any philosopher in the army.
(3) Meaning, we believe, NAKED; such being the manner in which the French had been accustomed, under the “old superstition, to see the infant saint represented in their churches.
TRANSLATION.
Alexandria (23 Fructidor) September 9th.
ROZIS to his Friend GRIVET.
TIS with great pleasure, my dear friend, that I send you the present, hoping that it will have the good fortune to reach you, notwithstanding the prodigious difficulties we have been subjected to, since the unfortunate moment of the total destruction of our fleet.
While the land forces fight like so many lions, those of the fleet behaved like cowards! We ought not, indeed, by any means to blame the subaltern officers, the cannoneers, and some of the seamen; but the major part, together with the superior officers, certainly fought like traitors(1) to their country!
We inhabit a country with which we are all dissatisfied, to a degree not to be conceived. IF THE TROOPS HAD BUT KNOWN WHAT IT WAS, BEFORE THEY QUITTED FRANCE, THEY WOULD HAVE PREFERRED DEATH A THOUSAND TIMES TO THE MISERY WHICH THEY NOW FIND THEMSELVES REDUCED. We have the enemy every where, before, behind, and on each side of us; it is an exact counterpart of La Vendee. Happily, we have defeated the most formidable of them: 1, the Arabs; 2, the Mameloucs; 3, the Bedouins; almost all cavalry, all mounted on active little horses, that run as swiftly up the mountains as long as the plains. The troops fought like Caesars, and, indeed, nothing less than French soldiers could have defeated such an enemy!
We were almost always obliged to engage, formed into squares. In this inconvenient order of battle we made three days forced march; and, indeed, to have changed it would have been fatal to us all. The enemy made but few prisoners at first; if they saved any from death, it was only to render them subservient to their brutal passions.
The country of Alexandria is merely a country of sand, devoid of all cultivation; where the inhabitants would perish with hunger if they were not supplied with necessaries from the neighbouring districts. The natives who are called Arabs, are a sort of wild beasts, who pillage their own people as readily as strangers. They are always armed, live entirely on rapine, dwell constantly in tents, and carry their whole household with them. When they wish to incamp, they just trace out a few lines on the sand; they are here to day, and there to-morrow.
The Grand Turk is their sworn enemy: he has never been able to subdue them; that was reserved for the French to accomplish. They are not in the least afraid of our cavalry: to say the truth, we have not much of it; they are only intimidated by our artillery: they rush upon our bayonets, as the wild boar does upon the hunters when he is wounded. They have no cannon; if they had, no nation on earth would be able to subdue them.
We were many days without water or bread, or victuals of any kind; and even without means of procuring any. In five or six days, I speak without exaggeration, we lost six or seven hundred men by thirst alone!!! Having passed the Desert, we reached the neighbourhood of the city called Grand Cairo, a country extremely rich by its commerce, and very fertile in grain. It was here that the great battle was fought; we killed or drowned a part of them; while those who escaped, fled into the Desert; some of them with the intent of reaching Egypt, others the neighbourhood of Jerusalem! We pursued them as far as Upper Egypt, where we, in some measure, completed their destruction(2); as many as could escape, crossed the Desert with an intent of getting to Barbary. I have not yet learned whether we shall pursue them thither.
We are exceedingly reduced in our numbers. Besides all this, there exists a general discontent in the army. Despondency was never at such a height before: we have had several soldiers who blew out their brains in the presence of the Commander in Chief, exclaiming to him, “Voila ton ouvrage;” “THIS IS YOUR WORK!” I can go no farther, time will acquaint you with the rest.
I take the liberty, my good friend, of requesting you, as soon as you shall receive a letter from my brother, to forward my trunk to the place he shall direct; it will be, perhaps, to Dumoin’s at Auch; but that is a matter of no consequence.
You will, perhaps, have retired from the army before our return; and, in that case, I shall not know who will have the charge of the depot. It may thus happen that my property may be lost; judge what a loss for me! The best thing we can venture to look forward to, is to quit this country like so many little St. Johns(3). We are already four months pay in arrear; and we all fear that we shall be obliged to make a forced patriotic gift of it, towards re-establishing the thirteen sail of the line, and the twenty other vessels, frigates, &c. which we have unfortunately lost. Such is the recompence we expect, and such will be the fruit of all our labours!
You may take for yourself, my friend, from the trunk, a new coat, which was made for me at Liege, and a louis d’or in money. This, I think, is about what I owe you; if it be not sufficient, take what will make it so; then put the rest of the money in the trunk, cord it well, put a seal upon the lock, and see it sage in the diligence. Act for me in this case, I beseech you, like a friend.
If Durand and Jenot are with you, remember me kindly to them, and tell them how happy they are to be in their native country.
My respects to your wife: embrace your family for me a thousand times, and believe yourself the most fortunate of men, in not coming to join us in Italy.
Ever yours most sincerely,
ROZIS, Capitaine.
----------------------------------------------
[British Translators' Notes]
(1) A plain statement of the fact will shew with what justice the crews of the French ships are accused by their countrymen of acting like traitors on the first of August.
The following is a correct copy of the certificate given in by the surviving commissaries and officers of the French fleet, and recognized as authentic by the Government.
Number of men on board the thirteen vessels captured of
destroyed in the engagement of the 1st of August 8930
(exclusive of the Hercules gun-boat)
Sent on shore by Lord Nelson in consequence of a
cartel established between him and the Commandant
of Alexandria, and acknowledged in the receipt
of Capt. Barry, Commander of the Alceste. 1605------------------
Wounded, in said cartel: 1500----------------------------------------
Escaped from the Timoleon while she lay on shore --------- 350
(these were murdered by the Arabs)
Escaped from the Hercules (gun boat)---------------------- 50
Officers, carpenters, caulkers, &c. detained by----------- 200
Lord Nelson
Total destroyed -------------------------------------------------------5225
If to these we add the wounded, we shall find, that of 8930, of which the whole consisted, 6725, more than three-fourths, were killed and wounded in an action in which they are said, by this bloody minded Captain, to have “behaved like traitors!” Rozis might (if he had pleased) have discovered a juster and much more reasonable cause of their defeat, in the superior skill and intrepidity of their enemies; but, except in the affair of his trunk, he does not appear to have exerted any great portion of positive inquiry.
(2) Unless Rozis be in correspondence with Sir John Macpherson, who hoped the House would be in “some degree unanimous,” we cannot account for his stumbling upon this expression. The precious traits of geographical knowledge which precede it, we leave without comment, to the admiration of our readers, contenting ourselves with recommending to their most serious notice, the paragraphs which follow, and which, as they merely relate to the objects of sense and feeling, we would as readily receive from Rozis as from any philosopher in the army.
(3) Meaning, we believe, NAKED; such being the manner in which the French had been accustomed, under the “old superstition, to see the infant saint represented in their churches.
Sunday, October 7, 2007
Missionary Writes Directors from Palestine
From: Copies of original letters from the army of General Bonaparte in Egypt, intercepted by the fleet under the command of Admiral Lord Nelson. With an English translation (London, J. Wright, 1798-1800, 3 vols.), vol. 2, pp. 210-212
TRANSLATION.
St. Jean d'Aere (19 Fructidor), September 5th.
JH. ENG. CALONES BEAUVOISIN, Adjutant-General, employed in the French Army, in Egypt, to the Citizens, Members of the Executive Directory in France.
Citizen Directors,
CHARGED by General Bonaparte with an important mission in Palestine, I received orders from him, on my departure from Egypt, to transmit to you by every mode of conveyance that appeared to me most safe, the printed papers which you will find inclosed(1). Perhaps they have already reached you; but as our communications with France are becoming every day more and more difficult, I embrace, with the greatest pleasure, the present opportunity of sending you the news of the army.
Our situation in Egypt is, to the present moment, highly brilliant: and if the success of my negociation had answered the expectations of the Commander in Chief, I should have been enabled before my return to him, to give you, in advance, some unquestionable assurances of the future, more brilliant still,--the business, however, is not yet decidedly given up, and, perhaps, it may be in my power to recover the ground which I have lost(2).
I am obliged to be laconic. I entrust my letter to the Captain of a Ragusan ship, which will sail in a few days. I most anxiously hope that it will reach you. May you, while you read it, be convinced, Citizen Directors, that at 800 leagues from our country our hearts are more strongly attached to it than ever.
Accept, in the name of all my comrades, and of the brave Commander of the French army, the expression of all our sentiments, and the assurance of our sincere and respectful devotion.
JH. ENG. BEAUVOISIN.
The only Frenchman at this moment in Palestine(3).
----------------------------------------------
[British Translators' Notes]
(1) See the INTRODUCTION.
(2) We lament that it is not in our power to give the reader any satisfactory account of the purport of this most curious letter. The writer seems to be one of those revolutionary missionaries who have always preceded the march of the French armies, and served the double purpose of corrupters and spies. His particular object, as has been observed, we have no means of knowing. It is some consolation, however, to be assured, that let it have been what it may, it is completely frustrated; for soon after the date of this dispatch, Beauvoisin was thrown into prison by the Governor of Acre.
His brother (such, at least, we conclude him to be) has experienced a very different fate. "He has been condemned )in the words of the honest Dogberry) to everlasting redemption." Le Citoyen Beauvoisin, (says Bonaparte) adjoint, ayant quitte le poste qu'il avoit a l'avancee, et tenu des propos popres a decourager le solat, sera destitute, et renoye en France par la premiere occasion!!!
(3) It is worth observing, that this line was written at the very instant that the Jacobins of this and other countries were assuring the world, that the French troops were masters of the whole of Palestine! Sic transit, &c. &c.
TRANSLATION.
St. Jean d'Aere (19 Fructidor), September 5th.
JH. ENG. CALONES BEAUVOISIN, Adjutant-General, employed in the French Army, in Egypt, to the Citizens, Members of the Executive Directory in France.
Citizen Directors,
CHARGED by General Bonaparte with an important mission in Palestine, I received orders from him, on my departure from Egypt, to transmit to you by every mode of conveyance that appeared to me most safe, the printed papers which you will find inclosed(1). Perhaps they have already reached you; but as our communications with France are becoming every day more and more difficult, I embrace, with the greatest pleasure, the present opportunity of sending you the news of the army.
Our situation in Egypt is, to the present moment, highly brilliant: and if the success of my negociation had answered the expectations of the Commander in Chief, I should have been enabled before my return to him, to give you, in advance, some unquestionable assurances of the future, more brilliant still,--the business, however, is not yet decidedly given up, and, perhaps, it may be in my power to recover the ground which I have lost(2).
I am obliged to be laconic. I entrust my letter to the Captain of a Ragusan ship, which will sail in a few days. I most anxiously hope that it will reach you. May you, while you read it, be convinced, Citizen Directors, that at 800 leagues from our country our hearts are more strongly attached to it than ever.
Accept, in the name of all my comrades, and of the brave Commander of the French army, the expression of all our sentiments, and the assurance of our sincere and respectful devotion.
JH. ENG. BEAUVOISIN.
The only Frenchman at this moment in Palestine(3).
----------------------------------------------
[British Translators' Notes]
(1) See the INTRODUCTION.
(2) We lament that it is not in our power to give the reader any satisfactory account of the purport of this most curious letter. The writer seems to be one of those revolutionary missionaries who have always preceded the march of the French armies, and served the double purpose of corrupters and spies. His particular object, as has been observed, we have no means of knowing. It is some consolation, however, to be assured, that let it have been what it may, it is completely frustrated; for soon after the date of this dispatch, Beauvoisin was thrown into prison by the Governor of Acre.
His brother (such, at least, we conclude him to be) has experienced a very different fate. "He has been condemned )in the words of the honest Dogberry) to everlasting redemption." Le Citoyen Beauvoisin, (says Bonaparte) adjoint, ayant quitte le poste qu'il avoit a l'avancee, et tenu des propos popres a decourager le solat, sera destitute, et renoye en France par la premiere occasion!!!
(3) It is worth observing, that this line was written at the very instant that the Jacobins of this and other countries were assuring the world, that the French troops were masters of the whole of Palestine! Sic transit, &c. &c.
Saturday, October 6, 2007
French Soldiers Taken Prisoner and Executed
From: Copies of original letters from the army of General Bonaparte in Egypt, intercepted by the fleet under the command of Admiral Lord Nelson. With an English translation (London, J. Wright, 1798-1800, 3 vols.), vol. 2, pp. 202-208
TRANSLATION.
Alexandria (18 Fructidor), September 4th.
The Inspector of the Marine, to Vice-admiral THEVENARD
Citizen General,
I DO not know whether any of my letters have reached you, but 'tis now a very long time since any of yours have reached me; which I attribute entirely to the interception, or rather to the difficulty of our communications. Of all the vessels which you have dispatched, the Corsican brig Egalite, the Vif, and the Lodi, are the only ones which have been fortunate enough to arrive here. The Leger was taken within sight of the port, on the 22nd ult.; and the Anemone, chased by the English, was forced(1) to run aground the day before yesterday. Some of the unhappy passengers and crew were murdered by the Arabs, others were made prisoners by them, and have since been ransomed, ad the rest, we presume, were taken by the English.
General Ganteaume has undoubtedly sent you, Citizen General, a detailed account of the fatal event of the first of August. Suffer me to join my heartfelt sorrow to that which you must so poignantly experience, both as a lover of your country, and as a father. Your youngest son has had the happiness to escape(2): he is now on board the vessel of Captain Capousique.
Let me intreat you, Citizen General, to Remember me to Citizen Giraudi. It will not be amiss, I think, to stop the sailing of the papers which you have undertaken to send us, till it can be done with less hazard. Accept the assurances of my respectful attachment.
LE ROY.
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[British Translators' Notes]
(1)No, Mr. Inspector, the Anemone was not forced to run aground,--but as we probably know more of this circumstance than you do, and as it touches upon a matter which we have very much at heart, we will take the opportunity of enlarging upon it. On the 2d of September (the day mentioned by Le Roy) two of our frigates chased the Anemone, of four guns, and sixty men, into shallow water, in the road of Marabout. As escape was impossible, and resistance totally out of the question, the boats were sent to take possession of her, as a matter of course. On their approach, she first fired at them, and then, dreading their resentment for such an unauthorized display of hostility, cut her cable, and ran ashore. Here her crew was immediately seized by the Arabs; all who attempted resistance were cut down on the spot, and the rest stripped entirely naked. In this condition, seven of them, among whom was the captain, contrived to slip from their hands, and ran down to the beach, where, falling on their knees in the water, the begged to be taken on board by the men, whom, with a degree of insolence and rancour to be found only in the modern French, they had just before wantonly attempted to destroy! To say that those men were English, is sufficient. “I AM HAPPY,” says the brave commander of the Zealous, “to add, that the humanity of our people extended so far as to swim on shore with lines and small casks to save them. One young gentleman (midshipman of the Emerald) particularly distinguished himself: he brought off the commander, Gardon, at the hazard of his own life!” Gazette, Nov. 13th.
This was great, this was noble, this was truly English! Gardon deserved to be run up to the yard-arm for a murderer; yet we see the very youth, whose life he had treacherously endangered, risking it again to save him!
And the men who could do this, are termed, by the Morning Chronicle, “disgraced cowards!”
We proceed without apology. We feel, we confess, an inexpressible pleasure in dwelling on the merits of our brace tars; and think, that whenever we have an opportunity of thwarting the base attempts of the Jacobin prints to sacrifice their honour to France, it is an indispensable duty to seize it with avidity.
Every one knows the cruelties inflicted upon such of our countrymen as had the misfortune to fall into the hands of the French. They were confined (See the Report of the House of Commons) in pestilent dungeons, starved, and sometimes poisoned. This the Morning Chronicle (for the other Jacobin prints are beneath notice) denied, as long as denial was possible; and when it was no longer so, insinuated, as the last piece of service it could render the Directory, that “if the truth could be fairly come at, we should find we had no great reason to complain!!!”
The TRUTH, happily, may be fairly come at; and we earnestly intreat the reader to follow us with care through the important documents we are about to lay on him; after which we will trust him to form his own conclusions on the “reason we have to complain.”
We have just seen the conduct of the English to the French. Let us now see that of the French to the English; when, not as in the former case, after an unjustifiable assault,--but after gallantly and honourably contending for victory, they were at length obliged to yield superiority of force and numbers.
“When the French” (we quote from the letter of Captain Berry, which we mentioned above) “took possession of the leander, they plundered the officers of all their clothes, even the surgeon’s instruments did not escape them. My sword was torn out of my hand; but I recovered it, by insisting that I would deliver it to Le Joille myself. He said to Captain Thomson and me, you have fought well, I will only take care of your swords till you quit the Genereux: but in this instance, as in every other, he broke his word with me.”
“I did not save a coat but the one I had on, nor any other article,--when I remonstrated, he said he would lend me one.” &c. &c.
But this, the Morning Chronicle will say, was immediately after the heat of action:--let us see then how these “generous” victors conducted themselves after their arrival at Corfou, where they had leisure to deliberate coolly on the conduct of the men whom they had captured, and whose unprecedented gallantry would have extorted pity and respect from the wildest savages. Here, again, “the TRUTH may be fairly come at,” as our readers will readily allow, we believe, after perusing the following dispatch.
Trieste, 3d Dec. 1798.
My Lords,
THIRTY seamen of the Leander which was taken and carried into Corfou, arrived here from that island, the 20th ultimo; these poor men were forced away in three small inconvenient vessels, 10 in each, some more of them badly wounded, and in a very weak state, being obliged to lie on the decks, exposed to the inclemency of the season 17 days. On Friday, 10 more arrived from the same place. The first 30, having finished their quarantine of 13 days, came out this morning, much recovered, from the attentions to their health and food. The last 10, have suffered more than the others, being 23 days on their passage, and so short of provisions, that, had not some passengers taken compassion on them, they must have perished. I am sorry to observe, the French behaved very badly to them in the shortness of provision. I hope, by proper care, to restore these valuable meritorious men to their country and families.
I have the honour to be, &c.
EDWARD STANLEY
British Council at Trieste.
Right Hon. Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty.
If the perusal of this dispatch awakes the same feelings in our readers that it did in the breast of those to whom it is addressed, our gallant countrymen will not have suffered in vain.
But while the French were thus exposing their prisoners, with their wounds yet open, to the almost certain hazard of perishing by shipwreck, or hunger, what was the conduct of the English to theirs! It fortunately happens, that here too “the TRUTH may be fairly come at;”—and when we say that it proceeds from the mouth of Mons. NIOU, we presume that the Morning Chronicle itself will acquiesce in the testimony.
London, November 12th, 1798. (O.S.)
NIOU, Commissary of the French Government in England, for every thing which relates to the Exchange, and the Maintenance of the Prisoners of War.
To Messrs. The Commissioners of the Board of Transports.
Gentlemen,
I AM arrived this morning after a long and troublesome journey which I have just made to the different depots of the French prisoners of war in England.
I have the honour to return you the passport which was forwarded to me at Edinburgh, to enable me to proceed to Norman Cross, and from thence to London. Be pleased to accept my thanks for the punctuality with which you transmitted me this paper.
A slight indisposition prevents my coming abroad this morning; I cannot, therefore, wait on you at this instant,--but I beg of you to allow me to call on you to-morrow morning, at any hour which may suit you, as I want to have some conversation on a variety of objects of the first importance.
IT IS NOT POSSIBLE TO BE BETTER PLEASED THAN I HAVE BEEN THROUGH THE WHOLE OF THIS JOURNEY, WITH THE SENTIMENTS OF HUMANITY, AND JUSTICE, WHICH REGULATE EVERY PART OF THE CONDUCT OF THE AGENTS, WHO DIRECT, UNDER YOUR ORDERS, THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE PRISONS IN WHICH THE FRENCH ARE KEPT. IT IS A SATISFACTION, MOST DEAR TO MY HEART, TO HAVE AN HOMAGE OF THIS KIND TO PAY TO TRUTH!
I have the honour to be, &c.
Niou.
We make no apology; as we have already observed, for the length of this note; indeed, it does not need it. If there be an Englishman whose breast does not glow at reading such testimonies to the unwearied humanity of this country, contrasted, as it here is, with the insolence, the rapacity, the rancour, and the cruelty of France, he is unworthy of it,--and we resign him, with ineffable contempt, to the friendship of the M.C. With that paper he may turn with a malignant scowl from conviction, and exclaim, with equal baseness and stupidity, that “if the TRUTH could be fairly come at, we should find we had no great reason to complain.”
(2)Admiral Thevenard’s eldest son commanded the Aquilon, of 74 guns (one of the captured ships) and was killed in the engagement.
TRANSLATION.
Alexandria (18 Fructidor), September 4th.
The Inspector of the Marine, to Vice-admiral THEVENARD
Citizen General,
I DO not know whether any of my letters have reached you, but 'tis now a very long time since any of yours have reached me; which I attribute entirely to the interception, or rather to the difficulty of our communications. Of all the vessels which you have dispatched, the Corsican brig Egalite, the Vif, and the Lodi, are the only ones which have been fortunate enough to arrive here. The Leger was taken within sight of the port, on the 22nd ult.; and the Anemone, chased by the English, was forced(1) to run aground the day before yesterday. Some of the unhappy passengers and crew were murdered by the Arabs, others were made prisoners by them, and have since been ransomed, ad the rest, we presume, were taken by the English.
General Ganteaume has undoubtedly sent you, Citizen General, a detailed account of the fatal event of the first of August. Suffer me to join my heartfelt sorrow to that which you must so poignantly experience, both as a lover of your country, and as a father. Your youngest son has had the happiness to escape(2): he is now on board the vessel of Captain Capousique.
Let me intreat you, Citizen General, to Remember me to Citizen Giraudi. It will not be amiss, I think, to stop the sailing of the papers which you have undertaken to send us, till it can be done with less hazard. Accept the assurances of my respectful attachment.
LE ROY.
----------------------------------------------
[British Translators' Notes]
(1)No, Mr. Inspector, the Anemone was not forced to run aground,--but as we probably know more of this circumstance than you do, and as it touches upon a matter which we have very much at heart, we will take the opportunity of enlarging upon it. On the 2d of September (the day mentioned by Le Roy) two of our frigates chased the Anemone, of four guns, and sixty men, into shallow water, in the road of Marabout. As escape was impossible, and resistance totally out of the question, the boats were sent to take possession of her, as a matter of course. On their approach, she first fired at them, and then, dreading their resentment for such an unauthorized display of hostility, cut her cable, and ran ashore. Here her crew was immediately seized by the Arabs; all who attempted resistance were cut down on the spot, and the rest stripped entirely naked. In this condition, seven of them, among whom was the captain, contrived to slip from their hands, and ran down to the beach, where, falling on their knees in the water, the begged to be taken on board by the men, whom, with a degree of insolence and rancour to be found only in the modern French, they had just before wantonly attempted to destroy! To say that those men were English, is sufficient. “I AM HAPPY,” says the brave commander of the Zealous, “to add, that the humanity of our people extended so far as to swim on shore with lines and small casks to save them. One young gentleman (midshipman of the Emerald) particularly distinguished himself: he brought off the commander, Gardon, at the hazard of his own life!” Gazette, Nov. 13th.
This was great, this was noble, this was truly English! Gardon deserved to be run up to the yard-arm for a murderer; yet we see the very youth, whose life he had treacherously endangered, risking it again to save him!
And the men who could do this, are termed, by the Morning Chronicle, “disgraced cowards!”
We proceed without apology. We feel, we confess, an inexpressible pleasure in dwelling on the merits of our brace tars; and think, that whenever we have an opportunity of thwarting the base attempts of the Jacobin prints to sacrifice their honour to France, it is an indispensable duty to seize it with avidity.
Every one knows the cruelties inflicted upon such of our countrymen as had the misfortune to fall into the hands of the French. They were confined (See the Report of the House of Commons) in pestilent dungeons, starved, and sometimes poisoned. This the Morning Chronicle (for the other Jacobin prints are beneath notice) denied, as long as denial was possible; and when it was no longer so, insinuated, as the last piece of service it could render the Directory, that “if the truth could be fairly come at, we should find we had no great reason to complain!!!”
The TRUTH, happily, may be fairly come at; and we earnestly intreat the reader to follow us with care through the important documents we are about to lay on him; after which we will trust him to form his own conclusions on the “reason we have to complain.”
We have just seen the conduct of the English to the French. Let us now see that of the French to the English; when, not as in the former case, after an unjustifiable assault,--but after gallantly and honourably contending for victory, they were at length obliged to yield superiority of force and numbers.
“When the French” (we quote from the letter of Captain Berry, which we mentioned above) “took possession of the leander, they plundered the officers of all their clothes, even the surgeon’s instruments did not escape them. My sword was torn out of my hand; but I recovered it, by insisting that I would deliver it to Le Joille myself. He said to Captain Thomson and me, you have fought well, I will only take care of your swords till you quit the Genereux: but in this instance, as in every other, he broke his word with me.”
“I did not save a coat but the one I had on, nor any other article,--when I remonstrated, he said he would lend me one.” &c. &c.
But this, the Morning Chronicle will say, was immediately after the heat of action:--let us see then how these “generous” victors conducted themselves after their arrival at Corfou, where they had leisure to deliberate coolly on the conduct of the men whom they had captured, and whose unprecedented gallantry would have extorted pity and respect from the wildest savages. Here, again, “the TRUTH may be fairly come at,” as our readers will readily allow, we believe, after perusing the following dispatch.
Trieste, 3d Dec. 1798.
My Lords,
THIRTY seamen of the Leander which was taken and carried into Corfou, arrived here from that island, the 20th ultimo; these poor men were forced away in three small inconvenient vessels, 10 in each, some more of them badly wounded, and in a very weak state, being obliged to lie on the decks, exposed to the inclemency of the season 17 days. On Friday, 10 more arrived from the same place. The first 30, having finished their quarantine of 13 days, came out this morning, much recovered, from the attentions to their health and food. The last 10, have suffered more than the others, being 23 days on their passage, and so short of provisions, that, had not some passengers taken compassion on them, they must have perished. I am sorry to observe, the French behaved very badly to them in the shortness of provision. I hope, by proper care, to restore these valuable meritorious men to their country and families.
I have the honour to be, &c.
EDWARD STANLEY
British Council at Trieste.
Right Hon. Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty.
If the perusal of this dispatch awakes the same feelings in our readers that it did in the breast of those to whom it is addressed, our gallant countrymen will not have suffered in vain.
But while the French were thus exposing their prisoners, with their wounds yet open, to the almost certain hazard of perishing by shipwreck, or hunger, what was the conduct of the English to theirs! It fortunately happens, that here too “the TRUTH may be fairly come at;”—and when we say that it proceeds from the mouth of Mons. NIOU, we presume that the Morning Chronicle itself will acquiesce in the testimony.
London, November 12th, 1798. (O.S.)
NIOU, Commissary of the French Government in England, for every thing which relates to the Exchange, and the Maintenance of the Prisoners of War.
To Messrs. The Commissioners of the Board of Transports.
Gentlemen,
I AM arrived this morning after a long and troublesome journey which I have just made to the different depots of the French prisoners of war in England.
I have the honour to return you the passport which was forwarded to me at Edinburgh, to enable me to proceed to Norman Cross, and from thence to London. Be pleased to accept my thanks for the punctuality with which you transmitted me this paper.
A slight indisposition prevents my coming abroad this morning; I cannot, therefore, wait on you at this instant,--but I beg of you to allow me to call on you to-morrow morning, at any hour which may suit you, as I want to have some conversation on a variety of objects of the first importance.
IT IS NOT POSSIBLE TO BE BETTER PLEASED THAN I HAVE BEEN THROUGH THE WHOLE OF THIS JOURNEY, WITH THE SENTIMENTS OF HUMANITY, AND JUSTICE, WHICH REGULATE EVERY PART OF THE CONDUCT OF THE AGENTS, WHO DIRECT, UNDER YOUR ORDERS, THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE PRISONS IN WHICH THE FRENCH ARE KEPT. IT IS A SATISFACTION, MOST DEAR TO MY HEART, TO HAVE AN HOMAGE OF THIS KIND TO PAY TO TRUTH!
I have the honour to be, &c.
Niou.
We make no apology; as we have already observed, for the length of this note; indeed, it does not need it. If there be an Englishman whose breast does not glow at reading such testimonies to the unwearied humanity of this country, contrasted, as it here is, with the insolence, the rapacity, the rancour, and the cruelty of France, he is unworthy of it,--and we resign him, with ineffable contempt, to the friendship of the M.C. With that paper he may turn with a malignant scowl from conviction, and exclaim, with equal baseness and stupidity, that “if the TRUTH could be fairly come at, we should find we had no great reason to complain.”
(2)Admiral Thevenard’s eldest son commanded the Aquilon, of 74 guns (one of the captured ships) and was killed in the engagement.
Friday, October 5, 2007
Bonaparte Executes Uncooperative Local Leader
From: Copies of original letters from the army of General Bonaparte in Egypt, intercepted by the fleet under the command of Admiral Lord Nelson. With an English translation (London, J. Wright, 1798-1800, 3 vols.), vol. 2, pp. 199-200
TRANSLATION.
Alexandria (18 Fructidor), September 4th.
The inspector of the Marine, to Citizen PUPET, Commissary of the Marine, at Havre.
HAVE any of my former letters reached you, my dear comrade?--I am afraid not; and unfortunately I have received none of yours. If you are sinking under the weight of business, I am no less so.--Without means, without resources, I have every thing to create as it were,-- and under what circumstances?--under those of having been almost an eye-witness of the dreadful catastrophe of the 1st of August.
Allow me to put you in mind of your promises respecting my family; I look for the execution of them from your friendship, and your readiness to oblige. Have the goodness, my dear comrade, to present my compliments to your fellow labourers, and accept, for yourself, the assurance of my inviolable attachment.
LE ROY.
P.S. We have lost our comrades Jaubert(1), Peret, and the first physician to the fleet, Citizen Renard. The other distressing events you will hear of, before my letter reaches you.
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[British Translators' Notes]
(1)Our conjecture then was right(Part I. p. 36.) and Jaubert perished in the explosion of the L'Orient.
How many of the writers of the First Part of this Correspondence, and of those who are mentioned by them, have perished since their letters reached us! For the French themselves we feel little regret.
--'tis the sport to see the engineer
Hois'd with his own petar.
They came to destroy, and they have been destroyed!--But we deeply lament the fate of the innocent victims of their barbarity. The Cheriff Coraim (of whom the reader will find some mention in the First Part, p. 193) has, we see, been barbarously put to death at Cairo, and had his hoary head paraded round the streets, in the true style of Parisian expeditions.
When it is considered that the crime of this man (according to the French themselves) consisted in his not being seduced by a "tricoloured scarf," to assist in the destruction of his brethren; and that he was only removed from Alexandria, as a temporary measure of security,--his being dragged to Cairo, and murdered by Bonaparte, without evidence, (for that, Loyer says, was left behind) must furnish the admirers of the General's justice and humanity, and, above all, the Reverend Mr. Wakefield, with fresh topics of "consolation and triumph!"
TRANSLATION.
Alexandria (18 Fructidor), September 4th.
The inspector of the Marine, to Citizen PUPET, Commissary of the Marine, at Havre.
HAVE any of my former letters reached you, my dear comrade?--I am afraid not; and unfortunately I have received none of yours. If you are sinking under the weight of business, I am no less so.--Without means, without resources, I have every thing to create as it were,-- and under what circumstances?--under those of having been almost an eye-witness of the dreadful catastrophe of the 1st of August.
Allow me to put you in mind of your promises respecting my family; I look for the execution of them from your friendship, and your readiness to oblige. Have the goodness, my dear comrade, to present my compliments to your fellow labourers, and accept, for yourself, the assurance of my inviolable attachment.
LE ROY.
P.S. We have lost our comrades Jaubert(1), Peret, and the first physician to the fleet, Citizen Renard. The other distressing events you will hear of, before my letter reaches you.
----------------------------------------------
[British Translators' Notes]
(1)Our conjecture then was right(Part I. p. 36.) and Jaubert perished in the explosion of the L'Orient.
How many of the writers of the First Part of this Correspondence, and of those who are mentioned by them, have perished since their letters reached us! For the French themselves we feel little regret.
--'tis the sport to see the engineer
Hois'd with his own petar.
They came to destroy, and they have been destroyed!--But we deeply lament the fate of the innocent victims of their barbarity. The Cheriff Coraim (of whom the reader will find some mention in the First Part, p. 193) has, we see, been barbarously put to death at Cairo, and had his hoary head paraded round the streets, in the true style of Parisian expeditions.
When it is considered that the crime of this man (according to the French themselves) consisted in his not being seduced by a "tricoloured scarf," to assist in the destruction of his brethren; and that he was only removed from Alexandria, as a temporary measure of security,--his being dragged to Cairo, and murdered by Bonaparte, without evidence, (for that, Loyer says, was left behind) must furnish the admirers of the General's justice and humanity, and, above all, the Reverend Mr. Wakefield, with fresh topics of "consolation and triumph!"
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