August 18, 2025 • 24 mins
Dive into the captivating world of Napoleon Bonaparte through the eyes of his private secretary. This remarkable memoir, forged from years of close friendship and professional collaboration, offers a unique glimpse into the life and mind of one of historys most enigmatic figures. - Summary by Gillian Hendrie and Wikipedia
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Chapter twenty of Memoirs of Napoleon Bonaparte, Volume three by
Louis Antoine Foleilet de Bouriennese. This LibriVox recording is in
the public domain, read by Gillian Henry, Chapter twenty, seventeen
ninety nine. Muras and moad Bay at the netron leakes
(00:20):
Bonaparte's departure for the Pyramids, sudden appearance of an Arab
messenger news of the landing of the Turks at Abouquer,
Bonaparte marches against them. They are immediately attacked and destroyed
in the Battle of Abouquer, interchange of communication with the English,
sudden determination to return to Europe, outfit of two frigates,
(00:45):
Bonaparte's dissimulation, his pretended journey to the Delta, generous behavior
of Lanous, Bonaparte's artifice who bad treatment of General Kleber.
Bonaparte had hardly set foot in Cairo when he was
informed that the brave and indefatigable Murad Bay was descending
(01:06):
by the Fayoum in order to form a junction with
reinforcements which had been for some time past collected in
the Bohahire. In all probability, this movement of Murad Bay
was the result of news he had received respecting plans
formed at Constantinople and the landing which took place a
short time after in the roads of Aboukir. Murad had
(01:28):
selected the Netron Lakes for his place of rendezvous. To
these lakes, Mura was dispatched. The bay no sooner got
notice of Murad's presence than he determined to retreat and
to proceed by the desert to Giza and the Great Pyramids.
I certainly never heard until I returned to France that
(01:49):
Murad had ascended to the summit of the Great Pyramid
for the purpose of passing his time in contemplating Cairo.
Napoleon said at Saint Helena that Mullah might have taken
Murad Bay had the latter remained four and twenty hours
longer in the Natron Lakes. Now, the fact is that
as soon as the Bay heard of Mulla's arrival, he
(02:12):
was off. The Arabian spies were far more serviceable to
our enemies than to us. We had not indeed a
single friend in Egypt. Uradbe on being informed by the
Arabs who acted as couriers for him, that General de
Say was dispatching a column from the south of Egypt
against him, that the General in chief was also about
(02:35):
to follow his footsteps along the frontier of Giza, and
that the Neatron Lakes and the Bohahire were occupied by
forces superior to his own. Retired into Fayoum. Buapart attached
great importance to the destruction of Murad, whom he looked
upon as the bravest, the most active, and most dangerous
(02:56):
of his enemies in Egypt. As all accounts concur in
stating that Murad, supported by the Arabs, was hovering about
the skirts of the desert of the province of Giza,
Buonaparte proceeded to the Pyramids there to direct different corps
against that able and dangerous partisan. He indeed reckoned him
(03:18):
so redoubtable that he wrote to Murah saying he wished
fortune might reserve for him the honor of putting the
seal on the conquest of Egypt by the destruction of
this opponent. On the fourteenth of July, Bonaparte left Cairo
for the Pyramids. He intended spending three or four days
(03:38):
in examining the ruins of the ancient necropolis of Memphis,
but he was suddenly obliged to alter his plan. This
journey to the Pyramids, occasioned by the course of war,
has given an opportunity for the invention of a little
piece of romance. Some ingenious people have related that Bonaparte
gave audiences to the Mufti and Ulama, and that on
(04:01):
entering one of the Great pyramids, he cried out, quote,
glory to Allah. God only is God, and Muhammed is
his prophet. End quote. Now, the fact is that Bonaparte
never even entered the Great Pyramid. He never had any
thought of entering it. I certainly should have accompanied him
had he done so, for I never quitted his side.
(04:24):
A single moment in the desert. He caused some person
to enter into one of the great pyramids while he
remained outside, and received from them on their return an
account of what they had seen. In other words, they
informed him there was nothing to be seen. On the
evening of the fifteenth of July, while we were taking
(04:45):
a walk, we perceived on the road leading from Alexandria
an Arab riding up to us. In all haste, he
brought to the General in Chief a dispatch from General Mammal,
who was entrusted with the command of Alexandria, and who
I conducted himself so well, especially during the dreadful ravages
of the plague, that he had gained the unqualified approbation
(05:07):
of Bonaparte. The Turks had landed on the eleventh of
July at Aboukir, under the escort and protection of English
ships of war. The news of the landing of from
fifteen to sixteen thousand men did not surprise Bonaparte, who
had for some time expected it. It was not so, however,
with the generals most in his favor, whose apprehensions, for
(05:30):
reasons which may be conjectured, he had endeavored to cam
He had even written to Marmont, who, being in the
most exposed situation, had the more reason to be vigilant.
In these terms. The army which was to have appeared
before Alexandria, and which left Constantinople on the first of
the Ramadan, has been destroyed under the walls of Acco. If, however,
(05:54):
that mad Englishman note Smith has embarked the remains of
that army in order to convey them to Abukir, I
do not believe there can be more than two thousand men.
End quote. He wrote in the following strain to General Duga,
who had the command of Cairo. Quote the English commander
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who has summoned the Mietta is a madman. The combined
army they speak of has been destroyed before Acre, where
it arrived a fortnight before we left that place. End quote.
As soon as he arrived at Cairo, in a letter
he dispatched to say, he said, quote, the time has
now arrived when disembarkations have become practicable. I shall lose
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no time in getting ready. The probabilities, however, are that
none will take place this year. End quote. What other
language could he hold when he had proclaimed, after the
raising of the siege of Acre that he had destroyed
those fifteen thousand men who two months after landed at Abukir.
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No sooner had Bonaparte perused the contents of Mammon's letter
than he retired into his tent and dictated to me
until three in the morning his orders for the departure
of the troops and for the routes he wished to
be pursued during his absence by the troops who should
remain in the interior. At this moment I observed in
him the development of that vigorous character of mind, which
(07:23):
was excited by obstacles until he overcame them, that celerity
of thought which foresaw everything. He was all action, and
never for a moment hesitated. On the sixteenth of July,
at four in the morning, he was on horseback and
the army in full march. I cannot help doing justice
(07:44):
to the presence of mind, promptitude of decision, and rapidity
of execution, which at this period of his life never
deserted him on great occasions. We reached Uarda, to the
north of Giza, on the evening of the sixteenth. On
the nineteenth we arrived at Rahmalianie, and on the twenty
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third at Alexandria, where every preparation was made for that
memorable battle, which, though it did not repair the immense
losses and fatal consequences of the naval conflict of the
same name, will always recall to the memory of Frenchmen
one of the most brilliant achievements of their arms. Footnote
(08:25):
as Monsieur de Bourliennes gives no details of the battle.
The following extract from the dud Lovigo's memoirs Tom one,
page one hundred and sixty seven will supply the deficiency quote.
General Buonaparte left Cairo in the utmost haste to place
himself at the head of the troops which he had
(08:46):
ordered to quit their canton months and march down the coast.
Whilst the General was making these arrangements and coming in
person from Cairo, the troops on board the Turkish fleet
had effected a landing and take possession of the fort
of Aboukir and of a redoubt placed behind the village
of that name, which ought to have been put into
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a state of defense six months before, but had been
completely neglected. The Turks had nearly destroyed the weak garrisons
that occupied those two military points when General Marmont, who
commanded at Alexandria, came to their relief. This general, seeing
the two posts in the power of the Turks, returned
to shut himself up in Alexandria, where he would probably
(09:30):
have been blockaded by the Turkish army had it not
been for the arrival of General Bonaparte with his forces,
who was very angry when he saw that the fort
and redoubt had been taken, but he did not blame
Marmond for retreating to Alexandria. With the forces at his disposal.
General Bonaparte arrived at midnight with his guides and the
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remaining part of his army, and ordered the Turks to
be attacked the next morning. In this battle, as in
the preceding ones, the attack, the encounter, and the route
were occurrencies of a moment and the result of a
single movement on the part of our troops. The whole
Turkish army plunged into the sea to regain its ships,
(10:13):
leaving behind them everything they had brought on shore. Whilst
this event was occurring on the seashore, Apasha had left
the field of battle with a core of about three
thousand men in order to throw himself into the fort
of Aboukir. They soon felt the extremities of thirst, which
compelled them, after the lapse of a few days, to
(10:35):
surrender unconditionally to General Minot, who was left to close
the operations connected with the recently defeated Turkish army and footnote.
After the battle, which took place on the twenty fifth
of July, Bonaparte sent a flag of truce on board
the English Admiral's ship. Our intercourse was full of politeness
(10:58):
such as might be expected the communications of the people
of two civilized nations. The English admiral gave the flag
of truce some presence in exchange for some we sent
and likewise a copy of the French Gazette of Frankfurt,
dated tenth of June seventeen ninety nine. For ten months
we had received no news from France. Bonaparte glanced over
(11:23):
this journal with an eagerness which may easily be conceived footnote.
The French, on their return from Saint Jean Dark, were
totally ignorant of all that had taken place in Europe
for several months. Napoleon, eager to obtain intelligence, sent a
flag of truce on board the Turkish admiral ship, under
the pretense of treating for the ransom of the prisoners
(11:46):
taken at Abuquer. Not doubting, but the envoy would be
stopped by Sir Sidney Smith, who carefully prevented all direct
communication between the French and the Turks. Accordingly, the French
flag of truce received directions from Sir Sidney to go
on board his ship. He experienced the handsomest treatment, and
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the English commander, having, among other things, ascertained that the
disasters of Italy were quite unknown to Napoleon, indulged in
the malicious pleasure of sending him a file of newspapers.
Napoleon spent the whole night in his tent perusing the papers,
and he came to the determination of immediately proceeding to
(12:27):
Europe to repair the disasters of France, and, if possible,
to save her from destruction note Memorial de Sainte Helene
and footnote heavens, said he to me, My presentiment is verified.
The fools have lost Italy. All the fruits of our
victories are gone. I must leave Egypt. He sent for Bertier,
(12:51):
to whom he communicated the news, adding that things were
going on very badly in France, that he wished to
return home, that he should go along with him, and
that for the present only he Guntalm and I were
in the secret. He recommended Bertier to be prudent, not
to betray any symptoms of joy, not to purchase or
(13:14):
sell anything, and concluded by assuring him that he depended
on him. I can answer, said he for myself and
for Bouriennes. Bertier promised to be secret, and he kept
his word. He had had enough of Egypt and he
so ardently longed to return to France that there was
little reason to fear he would disappoint himself by any indiscretion.
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Guntal arrived and Whereapart, gave him orders to fit out
the two frigates, that Muivon and the Careers, and the
two small vessels, the Revenche and the Fortune, with a
two month supply of provisions for from four to five
hundred men. He enjoined his secrecy as to the object
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of these preparations, and desired him to act with such
circumspection that the English cruisers might have no knowledge of
what was going on. He afterwards arranged with Ganton the
course he wished to take. No details escaped his attention.
Bonaparte concealed his preparations with much care, but still some
(14:20):
vague rumors crept abroad. General Dugua, the commandant of Cairo,
whom he had just left for the purpose of embarking,
wrote to him on the eighteenth of August to the
following effect quote, I have this moment heard that it
is reported at the Institute you are about to return
to France, taking with you Monte Bertolis, Pertier, Len and Murat.
(14:44):
This news has spread like lightning through the city, and
I should not be at all surprised if it produce
an unfavorable effect, which, however, I hope you will obviate.
End quote. Bonaparte embarked five days after the receipt of
Duga as le and as may be supposed, without replying
to it. On the eighteenth of August, he wrote to
(15:06):
the Divan of Cairo as follows quote. I set out
tomorrow for Maneuf. Whence I intend to make various excursions
in the Delta, in order that I may myself witness
the acts of oppression which are committed there, and acquire
some knowledge of the people. End quote. He told the army,
(15:26):
but half the truth. The news from Europe said he
has determined me to proceed to France. I leave the
command of the army to General Claver. The army shall
hear from me forthwith. At present, I can say no more.
It costs me much pain to quit troops to whom
I am so strongly attached, but my absence will be
(15:48):
but temporary, and the general I leave in command has
the confidence of the government as well as mine. I
have now shown the true cause of General Bonaparte's departure
for Europe. This circumstance, in itself perfectly natural, has been
the subject of the most ridiculous conjectures to those who
always wish to assign extraordinary causes for simple events. There
(16:12):
is no truth whatever in the assertion of his having
planned his departure before the Battle of Abukir. Such an
idea never crossed his mind. He had no thought whatever
of his departure for France when he made the journey
to the Pyramids, nor even when he received the news
of the landing of the Anglo Turkish force. At the
(16:33):
end of December seventeen ninety eight. Bonaparte thus wrote to
the directory quote, we are without any news from France.
No courier has arrived since the month of June. Quote.
Some writers have stated that we received news by the
way of Tunis, Algiers or Morocco, but there is no
contradicting a positive fact. At that period, I had been
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with Bonaparte more than two years, and during that time
not a single dispatch of any occasion arrived, of the
contents of which I was ignorant. How then, should the
news alluded to have escaped me? Footnote details on the
question of the correspondence of Napoleon with Brans while he
was to Egypt will be found in Colonel Jung's work
(17:20):
Lucienne Bonaparte Paris Charpontier, eighteen eighty two, tom Ie, pages
two hundred and fifty one to two hundred and seventy four.
It seems most probable that Napoleon was in occasional communication
with his family and with some of the directors by
way of Tunus and Tripoli. It would not be his
(17:40):
interest to let his army or perhaps even Booleyenne, know
of the disasters in Italy till he found that they
were sure to hear of them through the English. This
would explain his affected ignorance till such a late date.
On the eleventh of April, Barrat received a dispatch by
which Napoleon stated his own intention of returning to France
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if the news brought by Amla was confirmed. On the
twenty sixth of May seventeen ninety nine, three of the directors,
Barras Rubelle and the revellier Les Paul, wrote to Napoleon
that Admiral Brie had been ordered to attempt every means
of bringing back his army. On the fifteenth of July.
(18:22):
Napoleon seems to have received this and other letters. On
the twentieth of July, he warns Admiral Content to be
ready to start on the eleventh of September. The Directors
formerly approved the recall of the army from Egypt. Thus,
at the time Napoleon landed in France on the eighth October,
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his intended return had been long known to and approved
by the majority of the Directors, and had at last
been formally ordered by the Directory. At the most he
anticipated the order, he cannot be said to have deserted
his post. Lantrie tom One, page four hundred and eleven
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remarks that the existence and receipt of the letter from Joseph,
denied by Bouriennes, is proved by Meo the Commissary, the
brother of Meo di Milito, and by Joseph himself. Tellyroent
thanks the French consul at Tripoli for sending news from
Egypt and for letting Bonaparte know what passed in Europe.
(19:24):
Say also Ragusa Marmont Tom one, page four hundred and
forty one, writing on twenty fourth December seventeen ninety eight, quote,
I have found an Arab of whom I am sure
and who shall start tomorrow for Derm This means can
be used to send a letter to Tripoli, for botes
often go there. End quote and footnote almost all those
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who endeavor to avert from Bonaparte the reproach of desertion.
Quote a letter from the Directory, dated the twenty sixth
of May seventeen ninety nine. This letter may certainly have
been written, but it never reached its destination. Why then
should it be put upon record? The circumstance I have
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stated above determined the resolution of Bonaparte and made him
look upon Egypt as an exhausted field of glory, which
it was high time he had quitted to play another
part in France. On his departure from Europe, Bonaparte felt
that his reputation was tottering. He wished to do something
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to raise up his glory and to fix upon him
the attention of the world. This object he had in
great part accomplished, for in spite of serious disasters, the
French flag waved over the cataracts of the Nile, and
the ruins of Memphis, and the battles of the Pyramids
and Aboukir were calculated in no small degree to dazzle
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the imagination. Cairo and Alexandria too were ours. Finding that
the glory of his arms no longer supported the feeble
power of the Directory, he was anxious to see whether
he could not share it or appropriate it to himself.
A great deal has been said about letters and secret
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communications from the Directory, But when a part needed no
such thing, he could do what he pleased. There was
no power to check him. Such had been the nature
of his arrangements. On leaving France. He followed only the
dictates of his own will, and probably had not the
fleet been destroyed, he would have departed from Egypt much sooner.
(21:41):
To will and to do were with him one and
the same thing. The latitude he enjoyed was the result
of his verbal agreement with the Directory, whose instructions and
plans he did not wish should impede his operations. But
a part left Alexandria on the fifth of August, and
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on the tenth arrived at Cairo. He at first circulated
the report of a journey to Upper Egypt. This seemed
so much the more reasonable, as he had really entertained
that design before he went to the Pyramids and the
fact was known to the army and the inhabitants of Cairo.
Up to this time, our secret had been studiously kept. However,
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General Lanus, the commandant at Manoeuf, where we arrived on
the twentieth of August, suspected it. You are going to France,
said he to me. My negative reply confirmed his suspicion.
This almost induced me to believe the General in Chief
had been the first to make the disclosure. General Lanus,
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whom he envied our good fortune, made no complaints. He
expressed his sincere wishes for our prosperous voyage, but never
opened his mouth on the subject to anyone. On the
twenty first of August, we reached the wells of Birkitt.
The Arabs had rendered the water unfit for use, but
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the General in Chief was resolved to quench his thirst,
and for this purpose squeezed the juice of several lemons
into a glass of the water. But he could not
swallow it without holding his nose and exhibiting strong feelings
of disgust. The next day we reached Alexandria, where the
General informed all those who had accompanied him from Cairo
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that France was their destination. At this announcement, joy was
pictured in every countenance. General Klaber, to whose command Bonaparte
had resigned the army, was invited to come from Damietta
to Rosetta to confer with the General in chief on
affairs of extreme importance. Buonaparte, in making an appointment which
(23:54):
he never intended to keep, hoped to escape the unwelcome
freedom of claver reproaches. He afterwards wrote to him all
he had to say, and the cause he assigned for
not keeping his appointment was that his fear of being
observed by the English cruisers had forced him to depart
three days earlier than he intended. But when he wrote
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Binniparte well knew that he would be at sea before
Claver could receive his letter. Clover, in his letter to
the Directory, complained bitterly of this deception. The singular fate
that befell this letter will be seen by and by
end of chapter twenty
Chapter twenty of Memoirs of Napoleon Bonaparte, Volume three by
Louis Antoine Foleilet de Bouriennese. This LibriVox recording is in
the public domain, read by Gillian Henry, Chapter twenty, seventeen
ninety nine. Muras and moad Bay at the netron leakes
(00:20):
Bonaparte's departure for the Pyramids, sudden appearance of an Arab
messenger news of the landing of the Turks at Abouquer,
Bonaparte marches against them. They are immediately attacked and destroyed
in the Battle of Abouquer, interchange of communication with the English,
sudden determination to return to Europe, outfit of two frigates,
(00:45):
Bonaparte's dissimulation, his pretended journey to the Delta, generous behavior
of Lanous, Bonaparte's artifice who bad treatment of General Kleber.
Bonaparte had hardly set foot in Cairo when he was
informed that the brave and indefatigable Murad Bay was descending
(01:06):
by the Fayoum in order to form a junction with
reinforcements which had been for some time past collected in
the Bohahire. In all probability, this movement of Murad Bay
was the result of news he had received respecting plans
formed at Constantinople and the landing which took place a
short time after in the roads of Aboukir. Murad had
(01:28):
selected the Netron Lakes for his place of rendezvous. To
these lakes, Mura was dispatched. The bay no sooner got
notice of Murad's presence than he determined to retreat and
to proceed by the desert to Giza and the Great Pyramids.
I certainly never heard until I returned to France that
(01:49):
Murad had ascended to the summit of the Great Pyramid
for the purpose of passing his time in contemplating Cairo.
Napoleon said at Saint Helena that Mullah might have taken
Murad Bay had the latter remained four and twenty hours
longer in the Natron Lakes. Now, the fact is that
as soon as the Bay heard of Mulla's arrival, he
(02:12):
was off. The Arabian spies were far more serviceable to
our enemies than to us. We had not indeed a
single friend in Egypt. Uradbe on being informed by the
Arabs who acted as couriers for him, that General de
Say was dispatching a column from the south of Egypt
against him, that the General in chief was also about
(02:35):
to follow his footsteps along the frontier of Giza, and
that the Neatron Lakes and the Bohahire were occupied by
forces superior to his own. Retired into Fayoum. Buapart attached
great importance to the destruction of Murad, whom he looked
upon as the bravest, the most active, and most dangerous
(02:56):
of his enemies in Egypt. As all accounts concur in
stating that Murad, supported by the Arabs, was hovering about
the skirts of the desert of the province of Giza,
Buonaparte proceeded to the Pyramids there to direct different corps
against that able and dangerous partisan. He indeed reckoned him
(03:18):
so redoubtable that he wrote to Murah saying he wished
fortune might reserve for him the honor of putting the
seal on the conquest of Egypt by the destruction of
this opponent. On the fourteenth of July, Bonaparte left Cairo
for the Pyramids. He intended spending three or four days
(03:38):
in examining the ruins of the ancient necropolis of Memphis,
but he was suddenly obliged to alter his plan. This
journey to the Pyramids, occasioned by the course of war,
has given an opportunity for the invention of a little
piece of romance. Some ingenious people have related that Bonaparte
gave audiences to the Mufti and Ulama, and that on
(04:01):
entering one of the Great pyramids, he cried out, quote,
glory to Allah. God only is God, and Muhammed is
his prophet. End quote. Now, the fact is that Bonaparte
never even entered the Great Pyramid. He never had any
thought of entering it. I certainly should have accompanied him
had he done so, for I never quitted his side.
(04:24):
A single moment in the desert. He caused some person
to enter into one of the great pyramids while he
remained outside, and received from them on their return an
account of what they had seen. In other words, they
informed him there was nothing to be seen. On the
evening of the fifteenth of July, while we were taking
(04:45):
a walk, we perceived on the road leading from Alexandria
an Arab riding up to us. In all haste, he
brought to the General in Chief a dispatch from General Mammal,
who was entrusted with the command of Alexandria, and who
I conducted himself so well, especially during the dreadful ravages
of the plague, that he had gained the unqualified approbation
(05:07):
of Bonaparte. The Turks had landed on the eleventh of
July at Aboukir, under the escort and protection of English
ships of war. The news of the landing of from
fifteen to sixteen thousand men did not surprise Bonaparte, who
had for some time expected it. It was not so, however,
with the generals most in his favor, whose apprehensions, for
(05:30):
reasons which may be conjectured, he had endeavored to cam
He had even written to Marmont, who, being in the
most exposed situation, had the more reason to be vigilant.
In these terms. The army which was to have appeared
before Alexandria, and which left Constantinople on the first of
the Ramadan, has been destroyed under the walls of Acco. If, however,
(05:54):
that mad Englishman note Smith has embarked the remains of
that army in order to convey them to Abukir, I
do not believe there can be more than two thousand men.
End quote. He wrote in the following strain to General Duga,
who had the command of Cairo. Quote the English commander
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who has summoned the Mietta is a madman. The combined
army they speak of has been destroyed before Acre, where
it arrived a fortnight before we left that place. End quote.
As soon as he arrived at Cairo, in a letter
he dispatched to say, he said, quote, the time has
now arrived when disembarkations have become practicable. I shall lose
(06:38):
no time in getting ready. The probabilities, however, are that
none will take place this year. End quote. What other
language could he hold when he had proclaimed, after the
raising of the siege of Acre that he had destroyed
those fifteen thousand men who two months after landed at Abukir.
(06:59):
No sooner had Bonaparte perused the contents of Mammon's letter
than he retired into his tent and dictated to me
until three in the morning his orders for the departure
of the troops and for the routes he wished to
be pursued during his absence by the troops who should
remain in the interior. At this moment I observed in
him the development of that vigorous character of mind, which
(07:23):
was excited by obstacles until he overcame them, that celerity
of thought which foresaw everything. He was all action, and
never for a moment hesitated. On the sixteenth of July,
at four in the morning, he was on horseback and
the army in full march. I cannot help doing justice
(07:44):
to the presence of mind, promptitude of decision, and rapidity
of execution, which at this period of his life never
deserted him on great occasions. We reached Uarda, to the
north of Giza, on the evening of the sixteenth. On
the nineteenth we arrived at Rahmalianie, and on the twenty
(08:05):
third at Alexandria, where every preparation was made for that
memorable battle, which, though it did not repair the immense
losses and fatal consequences of the naval conflict of the
same name, will always recall to the memory of Frenchmen
one of the most brilliant achievements of their arms. Footnote
(08:25):
as Monsieur de Bourliennes gives no details of the battle.
The following extract from the dud Lovigo's memoirs Tom one,
page one hundred and sixty seven will supply the deficiency quote.
General Buonaparte left Cairo in the utmost haste to place
himself at the head of the troops which he had
(08:46):
ordered to quit their canton months and march down the coast.
Whilst the General was making these arrangements and coming in
person from Cairo, the troops on board the Turkish fleet
had effected a landing and take possession of the fort
of Aboukir and of a redoubt placed behind the village
of that name, which ought to have been put into
(09:07):
a state of defense six months before, but had been
completely neglected. The Turks had nearly destroyed the weak garrisons
that occupied those two military points when General Marmont, who
commanded at Alexandria, came to their relief. This general, seeing
the two posts in the power of the Turks, returned
to shut himself up in Alexandria, where he would probably
(09:30):
have been blockaded by the Turkish army had it not
been for the arrival of General Bonaparte with his forces,
who was very angry when he saw that the fort
and redoubt had been taken, but he did not blame
Marmond for retreating to Alexandria. With the forces at his disposal.
General Bonaparte arrived at midnight with his guides and the
(09:51):
remaining part of his army, and ordered the Turks to
be attacked the next morning. In this battle, as in
the preceding ones, the attack, the encounter, and the route
were occurrencies of a moment and the result of a
single movement on the part of our troops. The whole
Turkish army plunged into the sea to regain its ships,
(10:13):
leaving behind them everything they had brought on shore. Whilst
this event was occurring on the seashore, Apasha had left
the field of battle with a core of about three
thousand men in order to throw himself into the fort
of Aboukir. They soon felt the extremities of thirst, which
compelled them, after the lapse of a few days, to
(10:35):
surrender unconditionally to General Minot, who was left to close
the operations connected with the recently defeated Turkish army and footnote.
After the battle, which took place on the twenty fifth
of July, Bonaparte sent a flag of truce on board
the English Admiral's ship. Our intercourse was full of politeness
(10:58):
such as might be expected the communications of the people
of two civilized nations. The English admiral gave the flag
of truce some presence in exchange for some we sent
and likewise a copy of the French Gazette of Frankfurt,
dated tenth of June seventeen ninety nine. For ten months
we had received no news from France. Bonaparte glanced over
(11:23):
this journal with an eagerness which may easily be conceived footnote.
The French, on their return from Saint Jean Dark, were
totally ignorant of all that had taken place in Europe
for several months. Napoleon, eager to obtain intelligence, sent a
flag of truce on board the Turkish admiral ship, under
the pretense of treating for the ransom of the prisoners
(11:46):
taken at Abuquer. Not doubting, but the envoy would be
stopped by Sir Sidney Smith, who carefully prevented all direct
communication between the French and the Turks. Accordingly, the French
flag of truce received directions from Sir Sidney to go
on board his ship. He experienced the handsomest treatment, and
(12:07):
the English commander, having, among other things, ascertained that the
disasters of Italy were quite unknown to Napoleon, indulged in
the malicious pleasure of sending him a file of newspapers.
Napoleon spent the whole night in his tent perusing the papers,
and he came to the determination of immediately proceeding to
(12:27):
Europe to repair the disasters of France, and, if possible,
to save her from destruction note Memorial de Sainte Helene
and footnote heavens, said he to me, My presentiment is verified.
The fools have lost Italy. All the fruits of our
victories are gone. I must leave Egypt. He sent for Bertier,
(12:51):
to whom he communicated the news, adding that things were
going on very badly in France, that he wished to
return home, that he should go along with him, and
that for the present only he Guntalm and I were
in the secret. He recommended Bertier to be prudent, not
to betray any symptoms of joy, not to purchase or
(13:14):
sell anything, and concluded by assuring him that he depended
on him. I can answer, said he for myself and
for Bouriennes. Bertier promised to be secret, and he kept
his word. He had had enough of Egypt and he
so ardently longed to return to France that there was
little reason to fear he would disappoint himself by any indiscretion.
(13:39):
Guntal arrived and Whereapart, gave him orders to fit out
the two frigates, that Muivon and the Careers, and the
two small vessels, the Revenche and the Fortune, with a
two month supply of provisions for from four to five
hundred men. He enjoined his secrecy as to the object
(13:59):
of these preparations, and desired him to act with such
circumspection that the English cruisers might have no knowledge of
what was going on. He afterwards arranged with Ganton the
course he wished to take. No details escaped his attention.
Bonaparte concealed his preparations with much care, but still some
(14:20):
vague rumors crept abroad. General Dugua, the commandant of Cairo,
whom he had just left for the purpose of embarking,
wrote to him on the eighteenth of August to the
following effect quote, I have this moment heard that it
is reported at the Institute you are about to return
to France, taking with you Monte Bertolis, Pertier, Len and Murat.
(14:44):
This news has spread like lightning through the city, and
I should not be at all surprised if it produce
an unfavorable effect, which, however, I hope you will obviate.
End quote. Bonaparte embarked five days after the receipt of
Duga as le and as may be supposed, without replying
to it. On the eighteenth of August, he wrote to
(15:06):
the Divan of Cairo as follows quote. I set out
tomorrow for Maneuf. Whence I intend to make various excursions
in the Delta, in order that I may myself witness
the acts of oppression which are committed there, and acquire
some knowledge of the people. End quote. He told the army,
(15:26):
but half the truth. The news from Europe said he
has determined me to proceed to France. I leave the
command of the army to General Claver. The army shall
hear from me forthwith. At present, I can say no more.
It costs me much pain to quit troops to whom
I am so strongly attached, but my absence will be
(15:48):
but temporary, and the general I leave in command has
the confidence of the government as well as mine. I
have now shown the true cause of General Bonaparte's departure
for Europe. This circumstance, in itself perfectly natural, has been
the subject of the most ridiculous conjectures to those who
always wish to assign extraordinary causes for simple events. There
(16:12):
is no truth whatever in the assertion of his having
planned his departure before the Battle of Abukir. Such an
idea never crossed his mind. He had no thought whatever
of his departure for France when he made the journey
to the Pyramids, nor even when he received the news
of the landing of the Anglo Turkish force. At the
(16:33):
end of December seventeen ninety eight. Bonaparte thus wrote to
the directory quote, we are without any news from France.
No courier has arrived since the month of June. Quote.
Some writers have stated that we received news by the
way of Tunis, Algiers or Morocco, but there is no
contradicting a positive fact. At that period, I had been
(16:57):
with Bonaparte more than two years, and during that time
not a single dispatch of any occasion arrived, of the
contents of which I was ignorant. How then, should the
news alluded to have escaped me? Footnote details on the
question of the correspondence of Napoleon with Brans while he
was to Egypt will be found in Colonel Jung's work
(17:20):
Lucienne Bonaparte Paris Charpontier, eighteen eighty two, tom Ie, pages
two hundred and fifty one to two hundred and seventy four.
It seems most probable that Napoleon was in occasional communication
with his family and with some of the directors by
way of Tunus and Tripoli. It would not be his
(17:40):
interest to let his army or perhaps even Booleyenne, know
of the disasters in Italy till he found that they
were sure to hear of them through the English. This
would explain his affected ignorance till such a late date.
On the eleventh of April, Barrat received a dispatch by
which Napoleon stated his own intention of returning to France
(18:01):
if the news brought by Amla was confirmed. On the
twenty sixth of May seventeen ninety nine, three of the directors,
Barras Rubelle and the revellier Les Paul, wrote to Napoleon
that Admiral Brie had been ordered to attempt every means
of bringing back his army. On the fifteenth of July.
(18:22):
Napoleon seems to have received this and other letters. On
the twentieth of July, he warns Admiral Content to be
ready to start on the eleventh of September. The Directors
formerly approved the recall of the army from Egypt. Thus,
at the time Napoleon landed in France on the eighth October,
(18:42):
his intended return had been long known to and approved
by the majority of the Directors, and had at last
been formally ordered by the Directory. At the most he
anticipated the order, he cannot be said to have deserted
his post. Lantrie tom One, page four hundred and eleven
(19:03):
remarks that the existence and receipt of the letter from Joseph,
denied by Bouriennes, is proved by Meo the Commissary, the
brother of Meo di Milito, and by Joseph himself. Tellyroent
thanks the French consul at Tripoli for sending news from
Egypt and for letting Bonaparte know what passed in Europe.
(19:24):
Say also Ragusa Marmont Tom one, page four hundred and
forty one, writing on twenty fourth December seventeen ninety eight, quote,
I have found an Arab of whom I am sure
and who shall start tomorrow for Derm This means can
be used to send a letter to Tripoli, for botes
often go there. End quote and footnote almost all those
(19:49):
who endeavor to avert from Bonaparte the reproach of desertion.
Quote a letter from the Directory, dated the twenty sixth
of May seventeen ninety nine. This letter may certainly have
been written, but it never reached its destination. Why then
should it be put upon record? The circumstance I have
(20:10):
stated above determined the resolution of Bonaparte and made him
look upon Egypt as an exhausted field of glory, which
it was high time he had quitted to play another
part in France. On his departure from Europe, Bonaparte felt
that his reputation was tottering. He wished to do something
(20:30):
to raise up his glory and to fix upon him
the attention of the world. This object he had in
great part accomplished, for in spite of serious disasters, the
French flag waved over the cataracts of the Nile, and
the ruins of Memphis, and the battles of the Pyramids
and Aboukir were calculated in no small degree to dazzle
(20:54):
the imagination. Cairo and Alexandria too were ours. Finding that
the glory of his arms no longer supported the feeble
power of the Directory, he was anxious to see whether
he could not share it or appropriate it to himself.
A great deal has been said about letters and secret
(21:16):
communications from the Directory, But when a part needed no
such thing, he could do what he pleased. There was
no power to check him. Such had been the nature
of his arrangements. On leaving France. He followed only the
dictates of his own will, and probably had not the
fleet been destroyed, he would have departed from Egypt much sooner.
(21:41):
To will and to do were with him one and
the same thing. The latitude he enjoyed was the result
of his verbal agreement with the Directory, whose instructions and
plans he did not wish should impede his operations. But
a part left Alexandria on the fifth of August, and
(22:01):
on the tenth arrived at Cairo. He at first circulated
the report of a journey to Upper Egypt. This seemed
so much the more reasonable, as he had really entertained
that design before he went to the Pyramids and the
fact was known to the army and the inhabitants of Cairo.
Up to this time, our secret had been studiously kept. However,
(22:25):
General Lanus, the commandant at Manoeuf, where we arrived on
the twentieth of August, suspected it. You are going to France,
said he to me. My negative reply confirmed his suspicion.
This almost induced me to believe the General in Chief
had been the first to make the disclosure. General Lanus,
(22:47):
whom he envied our good fortune, made no complaints. He
expressed his sincere wishes for our prosperous voyage, but never
opened his mouth on the subject to anyone. On the
twenty first of August, we reached the wells of Birkitt.
The Arabs had rendered the water unfit for use, but
(23:08):
the General in Chief was resolved to quench his thirst,
and for this purpose squeezed the juice of several lemons
into a glass of the water. But he could not
swallow it without holding his nose and exhibiting strong feelings
of disgust. The next day we reached Alexandria, where the
General informed all those who had accompanied him from Cairo
(23:32):
that France was their destination. At this announcement, joy was
pictured in every countenance. General Klaber, to whose command Bonaparte
had resigned the army, was invited to come from Damietta
to Rosetta to confer with the General in chief on
affairs of extreme importance. Buonaparte, in making an appointment which
(23:54):
he never intended to keep, hoped to escape the unwelcome
freedom of claver reproaches. He afterwards wrote to him all
he had to say, and the cause he assigned for
not keeping his appointment was that his fear of being
observed by the English cruisers had forced him to depart
three days earlier than he intended. But when he wrote
(24:19):
Binniparte well knew that he would be at sea before
Claver could receive his letter. Clover, in his letter to
the Directory, complained bitterly of this deception. The singular fate
that befell this letter will be seen by and by
end of chapter twenty
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