a General and an army labour when totally ignorant of the country, of the enemy's force, and of the nature and strength of his defences. The Arabs could neither comprehend the object of the questions, nor describe the nature of the enemy's fortifications, which, taken in connection with the ground they occupied, presented an appearance of strength, and a capability of resistance beyond what they really possessed.

The face of the country, too, was in many parts altogether deceptive to the eye of a stranger; and, in this instance, certainly influenced the General in his resolution to retire from that position to which he had advanced. The ground on the right of the enemy, over which they might easily have been attacked in flank, with every probability of success, was covered with a species of saline incrustation, which dazzled the organs of vision, and presented, in its smooth shining surface, a perfect resemblance to a sheet of water. There was not a man in the army who detected the deception; but this phenomenon, occasioned by this saline efflorescence, was different from the mirage, that remarkable property in the Egyptian atmosphere, by which the level parts or plains of the country assume the appearance of water. The plains only being affected by this atmospheric delusion, houses, trees, and rocks, preserve their natural appearance, except that they seem to be entirely surrounded by water. In the uneven surface round Alexan

cold sweat. Seeing him in this plight, I left him to his fate; and, taking the case on my back, I delivered it to my friend the surgeon.

* Lieutenant Annesly Stewart of the 50th regiment, a promising young officer, lost his life this day from his curiosity; but he disobeyed no order, and did not occasion death or wounds to others, as was the case in the 42d regiment. Anxious to see the movements of the enemy, he advanced a short distance in front, and towards the right of the regiment. When he got to the highest part of a gentle acclivity, he lay down on his face, resting his spy-glass on his hat, but was not three minutes in that position, ere a twelve pound shot came rolling along the ground, and carried his head clean off, leaving nothing but part of the neck between his shoulders.

dria, there was no mirage; but the fiery brightness of the atmosphere, heightened by the white and glittering sand, deranged so completely the visual organs, as to give to the more elevated ground an overcharged semblance of height and strength. Its real nature greatly astonished the army, when, at an after period, they passed over it, and were thus enabled to correct the impressions derived from a more distant prospect. Had the General been aware of these optical illusions, Alexandria might have been in his possession on the 13th, while Menou, cut off from the sea, and from all communication with Europe, must soon have surrendered. Fortune ordered it otherwise; and perhaps the result of the campaign was the more honourable, as an opportunity was afforded to our army to obtain a compensation for their long and tantalizing confinement and suspense. Of this opportunity they nobly availed themselves, when opposed to a veteran enemy, greatly superior in numbers, elated with their former victories, and believed unconquerable, because hitherto unconquered. In the distant region where the contest was now carried on, no support could be expected by either of the parties, appointed, as it were, to decide the palm of prowess and military energy, while their respective countries were anxiously looking for the result.

As the ground now occupied by the British presented few natural advantages, no time was lost in strengthening

• It may be proper to explain, that there was a cause beyond the common for this accession of saline matter on the ground alluded to. It was several feet lower than the surface of the sea, which was kept back by the large embankment, formed for the canal, between the Nile and Alexandria, which supplied the town with water. In high tides, and when the wind blew strong from the north-east, a quantity of salt water oozed through the sand, under the canal; and rising beyond it mixed with the sand on the surface, on which the sun acted with such power, that when the tide receded, a thin covering of pure and beautiful salt was left, and which, in peculiar states of the atmosphere, produced that species of mirage I have noticed. Both in the Egyptian mirage, and that occasioned by the salt, objects are represented in their perfect state, without reflection or shadow.

it by art. The sea was on the right flank, and the Lake Maadie on the left. The reserve were placed as an advanced post on the right; the 58th occupied a ruin of great extent, supposed to have been the Palace of the Ptolemies. Close on their left on the outside of the ruin, and a few paces onward, was a redoubt occupied by the 28th regiment. Five hundred yards towards the rear were posted the 23d, the flank companies of the 40th, the 42d, and the Corsican Rangers, ready to support the two corps in front. To the left of the redoubt, a sandy plain extended about three hundred yards, and then sloped into a valley. Here, a little retired towards the rear, were the cavalry of the reserve; and still farther to the left, on a rising ground beyond the valley, the Guards were posted, with a redoubt thrown up on their right, a battery on their left, and a small ditch or embankment in front, which connected both. To the left of the Guards, in form of an echelon, were posted the Royals, 54th, (two battalions,) and 92d, or Gordon Highlanders; then the 8th, or King's, 18th, or Royal Irish, 90th, and 13th; facing the lake at right angles to the left flank of the line, were drawn up the 27th, or Enniskilling, 79th, or Cameron Highlanders, and 50th regiment; on the left of the second line were posted the 30th, 89th, 44th, Dillon's, De Roll's, and Stuart's regiments; the dismounted cavalry of the 12th and 26th Dragoons completed the second line to the right. The whole was flanked on the right by four cutters, stationed close to the shore. By this formation it will be seen, that the reserve and the Guards were more advanced, leaving a considerable open space or valley be tween them. A party of dragoons, as a kind of picquet, occupied the bottom of the valley; but, as has been said, a little to the rear. This was the position of the army from the 14th till the evening of the 20th, the whole being in constant employment, either in performing military duties, erecting batteries, or in bringing forward cannon, stores, and provisions. Over the whole extent of the line there were arranged two 24 pounders, 32 field pieces, and one

24 pounder, in the redoubt of the 28th, which was open in the rear. Another gun was brought up, but not mounted.

The position of the enemy was parallel, and bore a very formidable appearance. They were posted on a nearly perpendicular ridge of hills, extending from the sea beyond the left of the British line, and having the town of Alexandria, Fort Caffarelli, and Pharos, in the rear. Menou's army was disposed in the following manner: General Lanuse was statiomed on the left with four demi-brigades of infantry, and a considerable body of cavalry, commanded by General Roise. The centre was occupied by five demi-brigades. General Regnier was on the right, with two demi-brigades, and two regiments of cavalry. General D'Estain commanded the advanced guard, consisting of one demi-brigade, some light troops, and a detachment of cavalry.

Such were the positions of the opposing armies. The Queen's regiment had been left to blockade the fort of Aboukir, which surrendered to Lord Dalhousie on the 18th. On the evening of the 20th, this regiment was ordered up to replace the Gordon Highlanders, who had been much reduced by previous sickness, and by the action of the 18th, in which they singly resisted the united force of the French infantry. In the evening of the 20th, some parties of the enemy were seen marching over the ground, which assumed the deceitful appearance of water, as already noticed, to join the force in the lines. This dissipated the delusion, but it was now too late. In addition to this, and other symptoms of activity and preparation, accounts were received that General Menou had arrived at Alexandria with a large reinforcement from Cairo, and was preparing to attack the British army.

From the 13th to the 21st of March, the army were under arms every morning at three o'clock, as was the practice on every occasion where General Abercromby commanded. On the 21st of March, every man was at his post at that hour. No movement on either side took place for half an hour, at the end of which interval the report of a mus

ket, followed by that of some cannon, was heard on the left of the line. This seemed a signal to the enemy, who immediately advanced, and got possession of a small picquet, occupied by part of Stuart's regiment. They were instantly driven back, and all became still again. It was a stillness like that which precedes a storm. All ranks now felt a presentiment that the great struggle was at hand, which was to decide the fate of Egypt, and the superiority of one of the opposing armies. General Moore, who happened to be the general officer of the night, galloped off to the left the instant he heard the firing. Impressed, however, with the idea that this was a false attack, and that the real onset was intended for the right, he turned back, and had hardly reached his brigade when a loud huzza, succeeded by a roar of musketry, announced the true intention of the enemy. The morning was unusually dark, cloudy, and close. The enemy advanced in silence, until they approached the advanced picquets, when they gave a shout, and pushed forward. At this moment Brigadier-General Oakes directed Major Stirling to advance with the left wing of the 42d, and take post on the open ground lately occupied by the 28th regiment, which was now ordered within the redoubt. While the left wing of the Highlanders was thus drawn up, with its right supported by the redoubt, Lieutenant-Colonel Alexander Stewart, with the right wing, was directed to remain two hundred yards in the rear, but exactly parallel to the left wing. At the same time, the Welsh Fusileers and the flank companies of the 40th moved forward to support the 58th stationed in the ruin. This regiment drew up in the chasms of the ruined walls, under cover of some loose stones, which the soldiers had raised for their defence, and which, though sufficiently open for the fire of the musketry, formed a perfect protection against the entrance of cavalry or infantry. Some parts of the ancient wall were from ten to twenty feet high. The attack on the ruin, the redoubt, and the wing of the Highlanders on its left, was made at the same moment, and with the greatest impetuosity; but the fire of the regiments stationed there, and of Major Stirling's wing,