"WELL, MY LAD, WHO ARE YOU?"

Page 124

At Aboukir and Acre

A Story of Napoleon's Invasion
of Egypt

BY

G. A. HENTY

Author of "The Dash for Khartoum" "By Right of Conquest"
"In Greek Waters" "St. Bartholomew's Eve" &c.

Illustrated

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[Pg v]

PREFACE

With the general knowledge of geography now possessed we may well wonderat the wild notion entertained both by Bonaparte and the Frenchauthorities that it would be possible, after conquering Egypt, to marchan army through Syria, Persia, and the wild countries of the northernborders of India, and to drive the British altogether from that country.The march, even if unopposed, would have been a stupendous one, and thewarlike chiefs of Northern India, who, as yet, were not even threatenedby a British advance, would have united against an invading army fromthe north, and would, had it not been of prodigious strength, haveannihilated it. The French had enormously exaggerated the power ofTippoo Sahib, with whom they had opened negotiations, and even had theirfantastic designs succeeded, it is certain that the Tiger of Mysorewould, in a very short time, have felt as deep a hatred for them as hedid for the British.

But even had such a march been possible, the extreme danger in which anarmy landed in Egypt would be placed of being cut off, by the superiorstrength of the British navy, from all communication with France, shouldalone have deterred them from so wild a project. The fate of thecampaign was indeed decided when the first gun was[Pg vi] fired in the Bay ofAboukir, and the destruction of the French fleet sealed the fate ofNapoleon's army. The noble defence of Acre by Sir Sidney Smith was thefinal blow to Napoleon's projects, and from that moment it was but aquestion of time when the French army would be forced to lay down itsarms, and be conveyed, in British transports, back to France. The creditof the signal failure of the enterprise must be divided between Nelson,Sir Sidney Smith, and Sir Ralph Abercrombie.

[Pg vii]

CONTENTS