by G. A. Henty
CHAPTER IV.
THE BATTLE OF THE PYRAMIDS.
The little party had ridden but a few miles when they saw a party offive or six hundred Arab horse approaching. The sheik rode to meet them,and after a short conversation with their leaders, returned.
"We need go no farther for orders," he said. "Mourad Bey, with 3000Mamelukes and as many Janizaries, is within a few miles. Orders havebeen sent to all the Arab tribes to hasten to oppose the march of theenemy, and from all parts they are riding hither. Doubtless my brother,who is the great sheik of the tribe of which we are a branch, is alreadyon his way to join him. We will at once ride and bring back all ourfighting men. The caravan can proceed without guard. Even a hostiletribe would respect it at the present time, when all are engaged withthe enemy. We shall speedily overtake them. They would not have startedfor an hour after we mounted, and cannot have gone many miles before wecome up with them."
Riding at full gallop, they soon overtook the caravan. The Arabsreceived with shouts of satisfaction the orders their leader gave themto retrace their steps. The old men, who were to proceed with thecaravan, were told that in the event of meeting with any partieshastening towards Ramanieh, to tell them that the orders were to harassthe French as they advanced, and to say that all the sheik's fightingmen were already engaged in the work. Then, after a brief adieu to thewomen, the Arabs rode at full gallop towards the river.
It was on the morning of the 29th of June that the French had takenAlexandria, and on the 6th of July that they commenced their march.General Dugua, with Kleber's division, had been taken by water toRosetta, which they occupied without difficulty, and with a largeflotilla of boats carrying provisions and stores, proceeded up the Nileas far as Damanhour, at which town the main portion of the army arrivedafter two days' painful march.
The French met with no resistance, owing to the fact that almost allBedouins near the coast had accepted Napoleon's tempting offers.Nevertheless the troops were already discouraged. They had expected tofind a rich and fertile country, with palm-trees, lovely towns, and anabundance of supplies of all kinds; but the Nile was now at its lowest,and during the previous season it had not, as usual, overflowed itsbanks and fertilized the country, consequently their march lay through asandy waste. The dust rose in clouds under their feet, the sun beat downupon them; they suffered agonies of thirst, and many dropped fromexhaustion. And their disappointment was great when they found that,instead of a rich and prosperous town, Damanhour was but a collection ofhuts, affording neither means of subsistence nor booty of any kind.Beyond the town large bands of Arabs had gathered, and the French armywere obliged to keep their ranks as they marched, to maintain a constantwatchfulness, and to travel at a slow pace in order that they might notbe separated from their baggage. General Muireur was seized with aserious fever, the result of heat, thirst, and disappointment. Hemounted his horse on the morning after his arrival there, and rode outbeyond the outposts. He had gone but a short distance when a party ofArabs, hiding among some bushes, sprang to their feet and poured in avolley. He fell dead, and his body was stripped, and the Arabs, mountingtheir horses, rode off before the outposts could arrive on the spot.
From this time the French dared not straggle. Every man who left theranks or lagged behind was killed. The Arabs were seldom seen, but theylay concealed behind every inequality of the ground, every clump ofbushes. Occasionally, when there seemed to be an opening, a horde ofArabs would sweep down, but these always recoiled from the steady fireof the French infantry, and on the 10th of July the leading Frenchdivision, that commanded by Desaix, reached Ramanieh, on the Nile. Here,after their terrible march, the French troops were seized with adelirium of pleasure at seeing the verdure on the banks of the river,and the water.
Disregarding all orders, they broke their ranks and rushed wildly to thestream, into which thousands of them plunged in their uniforms. In thecultivated fields great quantities of melons were found, affording adelightful food, for since they had left Alexandria there had beennothing to eat but the biscuits they had brought with them. Many paiddearly for over-indulgence in the fruit, numbers being prostrated withcolic, while not a few died. Next day the army rested, the horsesneeding the halt even more than the men, for they had not recovered fromthe long confinement of the voyage when they started from Alexandria,and the scanty supply of water, the clouds of dust, and the heaviness ofthe passage across the deep sand had caused the death of a large number,and had rendered the rest all but unserviceable.
They had learnt from the natives that Mourad, with a large number ofMamelukes, was in front of them; and, indeed, on the day of theirarrival there they appeared in such force that the French formed inorder of battle outside the town. The Mamelukes rode backwards andforwards in front of the line brandishing their weapons and threateninga charge. A few rounds of artillery, however, speedily taught them thepower of the French guns, and they retired to Chebreisse, and the Frenchwere not disturbed the next day. Here the army had the satisfaction ofbeing rejoined both by Dugua's division, with its flotilla, and byanother fleet of boats from Alexandria.
The Bedouins under the sheik had taken no part in the irregularskirmishes. There were already as many Arabs as sufficed for cutting offstragglers and compelling the French to march in military order, and thesheik determined to hold his small party together until some opportunityfor a general encounter presented itself. Sometimes from the crest ofthe sand-hills he and his followers watched the progress of the darkmasses of infantry.
"They march very slowly," he said to Edgar. "Why do they not go onquicker?"
"I fancy that they are keeping pace with the baggage-train. Theiranimals must be completely exhausted; and last night as we followed themwe came upon many dead horses. They know that their only safety is tokeep together, and I doubt not that the men are well-nigh as exhaustedas the animals. Even on horseback the heat is terrible, and although wehave our water-skins well-filled, I feel it very much, and of course menon foot carrying their muskets and ammunition and knapsacks must feel itvery much more. I think they will go on faster after they have leftRamanieh. They will have the Nile by their side, and will have no wantof water. The sand is firmer, too, and moreover they will be able toobtain what they require from the boats."
On the evening of the 12th the French arrived at a village nearChebreisse. At sunrise the next morning a battle began between theflotilla and some Egyptian gun-boats that had come down from Cairo,together with some batteries that had been established on the banks. TheMamelukes sallied out from Chebreisse and charged down with such ardourthat it seemed as if they were about to hurl themselves on the Frenchinfantry. When within a short distance, however, they suddenly stoppedtheir horses, checking them almost instantaneously, then they dischargedtheir carbines, and retired as rapidly as they had come. This theyrepeated several times, but the shells of the French batteries playedhavoc among them.
Never before had the Mamelukes encountered a shell-fire, and thedestruction wrought by these novel missiles bursting among them causedthem to retire at full speed, leaving three or four hundred dead behindthem, and abandoning some of the guns they had placed in position beforeChebreisse. A large Arab force had been drawn up in front of the townwhen the Mamelukes charged, in readiness to follow the latter as soonas they had broken the French ranks. This was the first opportunity thatEdgar had had of seeing any considerable body of this famous cavalry,and he acknowledged that nothing could be more superb than theirappearance. The splendour of their dress, the beauty of their horses,and magnificence of their arms and trappings excited his admiration tothe highest.
"Now you will see," the sheik said exultingly, "how they will gallopover the Franks!"
Edgar said nothing, but sat watching the splendid array as they sweptdown upon the French line. Each of the French divisions was formed up insquare, with the artillery and dismounted cavalry in the intervals. Thevolleys of musketry that received the charging Mamelukes was sufficientto quell the ardour of the boldest horsemen i
n the world. In vain,before drawing off, they circled round and round the French formation,seeking for some weak spot upon which they could hurl themselves, andwhen at length they drew off, the French soldiers ran out from theirranks to plunder the fallen.
In silence the Arabs followed the Mamelukes, and the chief did not say aword until they had ridden, at a leisurely pace, some distance beyondthe town.
"You were right," he said at last to Edgar. "I did not think that anymen on foot could have resisted that charge, but the Franks stood assteadily as if it were a flock of sheep that was approaching them. Thecannon are terrible. Who would have thought that the balls they shootwould explode and fly into pieces when they reach their mark! How is itdone?"
Edgar explained as well as he was able the nature of shells, and how,when they were fired, a fuse was lighted of a length just sufficient toburn down to the powder within the ball at the time it reached theobject at which it was fired.
The fight on the river had been more severe, and had been maintainedwith great obstinacy. At one time two gun-boats were taken by theEgyptians. These, however, were recaptured, and the admiral's shipburnt. Admiral Perre, who commanded the first flotilla, was wounded by acannon-ball, and the loss on both sides was severe.
For eight days the French continued to march forward. They sufferedterrible hardships, and at times were almost in a state of mutiny. Theinterminable extent of sand utterly dispirited them, and they came tobelieve that all that they had heard of Egypt was false, and that theyhad been deliberately sent there by the directory to die. They doubtedeven the existence of Cairo. Some, in their despair, threw themselvesinto the river and were drowned. Many died on the march, less fromsunstroke and exhaustion than from despair. At last the Pyramids came insight, and their spirits rose again, for here, they were told, the wholearmy of Mamelukes, Janizaries, and Arabs were assembled to give battle,and they hoped therefore to terminate the campaign at a blow.
During the whole march they were harassed by the Arabs, and many werecut off and killed. Marches were always performed at night, and at teno'clock in the morning they halted for the day, preparing themselves forslumber by a dip in the Nile. On the 21st of July they advanced fromOmdinar, and at ten o'clock made out the enemy drawn up in line ofbattle. They had constructed a large entrenched camp, with forty piecesof ancient cannon incapable of movement. In this camp were 20,000infantry, Janizaries, Spahis, and militia from Cairo. On the right werethe Mameluke cavalry, some 10,000 strong, with one or two foot-soldiersto each horseman. To the left of the Mamelukes, and between them and thePyramids, were some 3000 Arab horse.
The French army was drawn up in the same order as in their last fight,in great squares of divisions, the left resting on the Nile, and theright on a large village. Napoleon, with his staff, reconnoitered theenemy's entrenched camp, and by means of telescopes discovered that thecannon were not upon field-carriages, but were simply heavy ship gunsthat had been taken from their flotilla, and were served by the sailors.They, therefore, could not be moved, and it was evident that if theinfantry left the camp they must do so without guns. The entrenchmentitself was not formidable; it had been begun but three days before, andalthough it might be impracticable for cavalry, it would offer noserious obstacle to an attack by infantry.
The discovery that the cannon were immovable, decided Napoleon in hisdispositions for the battle, and he gave orders that his army shouldmove across to his right, and should thus be concentrated for the attackupon the Mamelukes and Arabs. Mourad Bey, seeing Napoleon's object, atonce ordered two-thirds of his cavalry to charge the French while theywere in motion, while the others were to remain near the entrenchedcamp. So rapidly did they sweep down, that the French squares fell intosome confusion, and Desaix, with his division, which formed the head ofthe column, had difficulty in maintaining themselves, their ranks beingsomewhat broken by a grove of palm-trees through which they werepassing. They, however, received the Mamelukes with so terrible a fireof musketry and grape-shot that the charge was not pressed home. TheMamelukes, however, fought with desperate courage, sweeping round theFrench squares, and even endeavouring to back their horses into theline of bayonets, in hopes of breaking the wall of steel.
At length, however, they could do no more, and Mourad, with 2000 men,rode off towards Gizeh, while the rest, not noticing the way that he hadtaken, owing to the cloud of dust and smoke, rode back to theentrenchment. The French now pressed forward with all speed, and adivision was thrown across the plain, so as to prevent the horsemen fromretreating by the line that Mourad had taken. The latter, seeing whathad happened, charged again and again with his Mamelukes, to endeavourto break an opening through the French, by which the rest of his forcescould join him. The divisions of Generals Bon and Menon advanced to theattack of the entrenchments; but the infantry, panic-stricken at thedefeat of the cavalry, did not await the attack, and after but two orthree rounds of shot had been fired by their cannon, deserted theposition, and fled in wild confusion to the river.
Here some succeeded in making their way across by boats, while many swamover. The Mamelukes also attempted to swim their horses; a fewsucceeded, but more were drowned. The total loss on the Egyptian sideamounted to some 10,000 men, including infantry, cavalry, and the slavesof the Mamelukes. 1000 prisoners were taken, and some 2000 camels andhorses fell into the victors' hands. Great booty was captured by theFrench soldiers, and for days they occupied themselves in recovering thebodies of the drowned Mamelukes, which amply repaid their trouble, asfour or five hundred pieces of gold were often found upon them, besidesjewels and other valuables. The great bulk of their less portableproperty they had, however, placed on board sixty boats, and these, whenthe battle was seen to be lost, were set on fire, and their contentsdestroyed.
The Arabs had taken little share in the battle. When the Mamelukescharged, they had been ordered to remain in reserve, and only to chargewhen the latter had broken the French squares. Burning with impatiencethey watched the mighty torrent of horse sweep across the plain, thencame the roar of artillery and the incessant rattle of musketry. Thenthey saw with astonishment the cavalry recoil; they witnessed chargeafter charge, and then saw them sweeping round the squares, while theplain, where they had first attacked, was strewn thickly with the bodiesof men and horses right up to the bayonets of the French line. The Arabsburst into cries of dismay.
"Nothing can stand such a fire as that," Edgar said to Sidi; "themusketry and grape from the cannon are mowing them down like grass--itis terrible!"
For a time the Mamelukes were hidden from sight by the cloud of smokeand by the dust raised by their horses' hoofs, then they were seen toemerge.
"There is Mourad's banner!" the sheik exclaimed; "they are making forGizeh, but surely all cannot be there--there are not more than 2000 withhim."
Then another body of about equal strength broke out from the dust of thebattle, and went towards the entrenchments.
"Let us join them there," the Arab shouted; and at full gallop they rodeacross and joined the Mamelukes. Then, heralded by a tremendousartillery fire, the French line advanced, pouring heavy volleys ofmusketry into the cavalry, and upon the defenders of the entrenchments.In two or three minutes the infantry were seen to be throwing away theirguns, leaping from the entrenchments, and flying in a disordered crowdtowards the river. Had the French possessed any cavalry, not one of thefugitives could have escaped. The Mamelukes, seeing that all was lost,had ascertained that Mourad had ridden towards Gizeh, and now started toendeavour to rejoin him; while among the Arabs the cry rose, "To thedesert!" and, turning their horses, they galloped away, passed the footof the Pyramids, and out into the desert, where they halted, seeing thatonce out of reach of the fire of the French guns, there was no fearwhatever of their being pursued.
"It is the will of Allah," the sheik said, as he and his partydismounted. "Truly you were right, friend Edgar; we know not how tofight. Who could have dreamt that men on foot could have withstood thecharge of five thousand horsemen? And yet th
e Mamelukes fought, asalways, bravely."
"They did indeed, sheik," Edgar agreed. "They did all that was possiblefor men to do, but against such a fire of infantry and artilleryhorsemen are powerless. Had our infantry been as well trained as thoseof the French, and instead of remaining in the entrenchments, where theycould render no assistance whatever, marched against the French infantryand broken their squares, the Mamelukes would then have been able todash down upon them, and not a French soldier would ever have reachedtheir ships again; but without infantry the horsemen could do nothing."
"Then you think that all is lost, Edgar?"
"Assuredly all is lost for the present, sheik. Mourad Bey and the partywith him may get away, but the rest are penned in between the French andthe river, and few of them will escape. As for the infantry, they are amere mob, and even if they get away they will never venture to standagainst the French. Napoleon will enter Cairo to-morrow, and there hewill remain. Numbers of horses will fall into the hands of the French.They will take many more in Cairo, and before long they will havecavalry as well as infantry, and then no part of the country will besafe from them."
"Then is Egypt to fall altogether under the rule of the French?"
"Only for a time. Our fleet will soon return, and their troops here willbe cut off from their country. They may remain here for some time, butat last they will have to go. I think that we shall send an army out tofight against them. We shall know what their strength is, and that theycannot be reinforced; and they will find in the long run that althoughthey may have captured Egypt, they are themselves but prisoners."
"And what would you advise?" the sheik asked. "You understand the waysand customs of the Franks, while I know no more than a little child.Thus, you see, in this matter you are the graybeard and I but a boy.Therefore speak freely what you think will be best."
"Then I should say, sheik, that your best course would be to return atonce to your oasis. The French army will doubtless remain near Cairo.They will send cavalry and light artillery over the country, to searchout their enemies, and to reduce all to obedience. Around Alexandria allwill be quiet, and so long as French convoys are not attacked, the forcethere is not likely to interfere with peaceable people. If you returnthere you will live unmolested. You can wait and see how matters go. Ifthere is any great rising against the French, it will be open to you totake part in it, but at present hostilities against the French wouldonly bring down their vengeance. It may be that the Arabs in the greatoasis to the west will continue the war, but in the end they will besure to suffer by so doing."
"I think that your advice is good," the sheik said. "Sidi and you shallreturn home at once with half my followers. I will ride at daybreak withthe other half. In one long day's ride I shall reach the spot where thewomen and baggage have gone, and I will escort them back. The road willcertainly be safe from the Franks, who will, for some time, be occupiedwith Cairo, though it is hardly likely that the town will resist.Ibrahim, after the destruction of the Mamelukes and the defeat of thearmy, cannot hope to resist a great attack; for the fortifications, likethose of Alexandria, have been suffered to decay, and the French wouldassuredly soon force an entrance. However, after the march that theyhave made they will need rest, and for a time the roads will be safe.But this is not so with regard to the Arabs. The whole country will bein confusion, and an unarmed caravan might well be plundered by anyparty of Arabs who met it, though they would not interfere with it wereit headed by a sheik with armed followers. Therefore I will go to fetchthem. My son will ride fast, and take possession again of our home, lestsome of our neighbours, finding it deserted, should occupy it, and thentrouble would follow."
Accordingly, the next morning at daybreak the troop divided and rode offin different directions. The greater part of the gathering had scatteredthe evening before, and determined to return home and wait events. Fourdays' rapid travelling took Sidi and his companions back to the oasis,which they found exactly as they had left it, the tribes in theneighbourhood having been all too busy in following the French army, andpicking up baggage left behind by the break-down of the horses, toattend to other matters.
The next day Sidi and Edgar rode into Alexandria. Everything there wasgoing on as peacefully as usual; French soldiers lounging about thestreets, a number of labourers, under the direction of French officers,were at work restoring the fortifications on the sea face of the town,the shops were all open, the markets were as well supplied as usual. ToEdgar's surprise a good many French sailors were to be seen in thestreets.
"Their fleet cannot have sailed," he said to Sidi. "Let us ride outthrough the East gate to Ramleh. It may be, of course, that there is adespatch-boat lying in the port, though I did not see one. I can hardlyfancy that the French admiral would have kept his fleet here, for Nelsonmust sooner or later get the news of what has taken place, and it iscertain that when he does he will hurry back at full speed."
From the elevation of Ramleh, however, the French fleet could be madeout, lying in Aboukir Bay in a long line.
"Hurrah!" Edgar exclaimed; "there they are. I mean to see this battle,Sidi, if I have to stop here a month. It cannot be long before Nelsonarrives. I cannot think why the French admiral should have risked beingcaught in a trap like this, when a defeat would cut the French army offfrom Europe altogether."
"But what will you do?"
"I shall go into the town, and buy three or four of your Arab blankets,and put up a little tent here."
"I will share it with you," Sidi replied. "I will send one of our twomen back and tell him to return with two more. There will be four ofthem to look after the horses, and to fetch things out from the town aswe may require them. I should like to see the battle too; it must besomething terrible to hear the noise of so many great cannon."
The inaction of the French has never been satisfactorily explained.Admiral Brueys bore a high reputation as a sailor. He was a personalfriend and possessed the complete confidence of Bonaparte. The latterhad given him the strictest injunctions to sail for Toulon as soon as hehad completed the discharge of the stores that he had on board. Insteadof doing this, however, he anchored in Aboukir Bay, and there waited. Itmay have been that he feared that Napoleon might never reach Cairo, orthat he might be defeated in a great battle there, and that it might benecessary for him to return to the port and to re-embark his army. Noother explanation is possible of his delay in carrying out theimperative orders that he had received.
After the despatch of the messenger the two friends rode along the shoreuntil they could not only make out the exact position of the Frenchfleet, but count the guns in the broadsides of each vessel. It consistedof thirteen line-of-battle ships, comprising the flag-ship the _Orient_,of 120 guns, three of 80, and nine of 74, together with four frigates,four mortar vessels, and a number of gun-boats, while on an island aheadof the line was a battery of guns and mortars. Many parties of Arabswere riding about on the shore, and there were several of theirencampments. Some had been attracted to the spot from a considerabledistance in order to view the great vessels of which reports had reachedthem, others again were simply there from the spirit of restlessnessthat pervaded the population.
The news of the battle of the Pyramids had not yet arrived, and all werein suspense. The belief that the Mamelukes would defeat the French wasall but universal. Had this taken place the whole of the Arab tribeswould at once have harassed the retreat of the defeated army, and withthe Mamelukes pressing upon them it is probable that not a singleFrenchman would have reached the sea. As Edgar and his friend werewatching the French fleet a vessel was seen over the spit of sand. Shewas some three miles out at sea.
"There is another of their ships of war, Sidi. I wonder whether she hasbeen scouting along the coast to gather news as to where our fleet maybe at present?"
When she came abreast of the extremity of the bay she changed her courseand bore closer in.
"She is coming in to join the others. I wonder what news she brings?"
When, howe
ver, she approached within two miles of the French fleet sheagain changed her course, and bore along parallel with the coast.
"I suppose she is going into Alexandria. She hasn't got any coloursflying. That is curious, too; all the ships here are flying theirs.Look! there are men at the mast-heads of several of the ships examiningher with telescopes. That is curious, too, for she is not signalling.There she is, turning again and making out to sea. Perhaps she is aBritish ship sent on ahead by Nelson to discover the position of theFrench. If it is so we shall most likely have the fleet here to-morrow.Then we shall see a big battle; at least we shall if the French don'trun away. See! there is a twelve-oared boat starting from the admiral'sship and rowing right away. They must be going to Alexandria. They arerowing hard, too."
They watched it for some time, and then returned to their tent. Twohours later a number of ships' boats were seen coming out fromAlexandria.
"They are men-of-war boats," Edgar said. "I think I must have beenright, and that that vessel we saw must have been an English frigate.That boat has been sent to order all the sailors we saw in the streetsof the town to return at once."
For some hours boats continued to pass, all filled with men, but therewere no signs of movement on the part of the ships.
"If it was one of our frigates the French admiral must have made up hismind to fight them. They have got a great advantage, covered as they areby those two land batteries. Besides, I know that there is a spit ofsand running out there which will make it very awkward for an enemy, notknowing its position, to attack them. There is one thing, the Frenchwill find it difficult to sail out if they want to. You see the wind ison shore, and they are all riding head to it. There can't be much waterinside them. No doubt they could get out all right if they had plenty oftime and no one to interfere with them, but it would be a difficultbusiness to manage if the British fleet were upon them."
At ten o'clock the next morning a number of large vessels were seen inthe distance. They bore down towards Alexandria, but the wind was lightand they made but slow way, and it was five in the afternoon before,having changed their course, they formed into line of battle and headedfor the French fleet. The scene from the shore was intensely exciting.In each fleet there were thirteen battle-ships, but the French shipswere the larger and more heavily armed. They carried forty-six moreguns, and the weight of their broadside was 14,029 pounds to 10,695pounds, while they carried 2300 more men, and were 5000 tons heavier.They had, too, in addition, four frigates, besides the mortar vessels,gun-boats, and the battery on the island of Aboukir. Soon after sixo'clock, the two leading vessels of the British fleet being withinrange, the French opened fire, as did the guns of the battery. Edgaruttered an exclamation of disgust as one of the largest of the Englishships was seen to stop suddenly in her course.
"She has run on the shoal!" he exclaimed. "Look, our ships are steeringfor the head of the French line; they mean to go inside them."
As the British vessels reached the head of the French ships theyanchored one after another, each laying itself broadside to broadsideagainst an opponent, and the battle commenced with terrible energy, thetremendous roar of the guns astounding the Arabs who were gathered onthe sand-hills. At first the French reply was feeble. They were takenentirely by surprise by Nelson's manoeuvre. Believing that he couldonly attack them from outside, they had prepared only on that hand forthe fight, and in clearing the decks for action all the useless gear andfittings had been piled over on the other side, and it was some littletime before this could be cleared away and the guns got ready foraction. Then for a time their fire was as heavy as that of the British.Nevertheless some of them had suffered terribly before they were able toreturn a shot, and this contributed in no small degree to the Britishvictory.
The loss of the _Culloden_, which was the vessel which struck on thesands, and of the _Leander_, which went to her assistance, was serious,and had the French rear-admiral, Villeneuve, who commanded the fivevessels at the rear of the French line, cut his cables and come to theassistance of his comrades, the eight British ships, engaged with asmany French, would have been in a serious position. He did not do so,however, possibly fearing to run his ships aground. Consequently the_Alexandria_ and the _Swiftsure_ came in to the assistance of theBritish ships, some of which were being terribly damaged by the greatlysuperior weight of the French fire. The _Bellerophon_, dismasted anddisabled by the enemy's fire, dropped out of the line, and the_Alexandria_ took her place, while the _Swiftsure_ attacked the_Franklin_. The _Leander_, seeing how hard was the fight, relinquishedher attempt to get the _Culloden_ afloat, and, sailing in, engaged inthe battle.
Battle of THE NILE
1st. August 1798.]
For a time the issue was doubtful. The three English seventy-four-gunships were matched against one of a hundred and twenty and two ofeighty-four. Darkness did not put a stop to the engagement, whichcontinued to rage with unabated fury, the battle being practicallybetween twelve British ships and eight French ships of the line andtheir four frigates and gun-boats. By ten o'clock five of the French vanhad surrendered, and the great hundred-and-twenty-gun ship, the_Orient_, was in flames. The excitement of the Arabs as the battlecontinued was unbounded. It seemed to them that mortal men could notsustain so terrible a conflict, and exclamations of wonder andadmiration rose constantly among them.
The light of the burning vessel enabled the whole of the terrible sceneto be clearly witnessed. Half the ships were partly or wholly dismasted,the rigging was cut to pieces, and the sails were riddled with balls.The splintered sides, bulwarks shot away, and port-holes blown into one,showed how terrible was the damage inflicted on both sides. Higher andhigher rose the flames on board the _Orient_. Men could be seen leapingoverboard into the water from the burning ship, and soon after ten sheblew up with a tremendous explosion, the concussion of which was sogreat that many of the Arabs were thrown to the ground. For ten minutesa dead silence succeeded the roar of battle, not a gun was fired oneither side. The British vessels near the spot where the _Orient_ hadlately floated lowered what boats there were uninjured and set to workto rescue the survivors, who were either clinging to spars or wereswimming. Several of these, too, were hauled in at the lower port-holesof the ships.
The French ship _Franklin_ was the first to recommence firing, but aftera few more broadsides from the _Swiftsure_ she hauled down her colours.The firing continued without any abatement until three o'clock in themorning. It then died away for a time, but recommenced at six o'clockwith fresh fury, and it was not until two in the afternoon that it cameto an end. Villeneuve, seeing that all was lost, now woke up and cut hiscables. Three of his ships ran aground, but with the _Guillaume Tell_and the _Genereux_ and two frigates he made off, there being only oneBritish ship that was in condition to make sail in pursuit. The twoline-of-battle ships and one of the frigates were afterwards captured bya British squadron.
Thus of the thirteen French ships of the line eight had surrendered, onehad blown up, two had escaped, and two were on shore. If the _Culloden_could have got into action, it is probable that not one of the Frenchfleet would have left Aboukir Bay. The British loss in killed andwounded was 895. 3105 of the French, including the wounded, werecaptured, and 5225 perished in the fight. The victory was the mostdecisive that was ever won at sea.