on treated them haughtily, and made demands rather than
requests from them. He had already exceeded his powers many times and
had treated with the rulers and the commanders of the enemies he had
beaten as though he himself were the ruler of France. Indeed his
soldiers talked frequently of making him such and declared that they
would rather have a general like Napoleon as their king and be his
subjects, than to be governed by a group of civilian clerks who knew
nothing of war and had to rely on others to carry out their wishes. It
may be sure that Napoleon did not discourage this feeling among his
soldiers, for he designed to make himself the ruler of France. The time
had not yet come, however, for him to reveal his intentions openly,
although it is true they were but thinly disguised.

After he had negotiated with Austria for peace and arranged the
armistice with Sardinia, Napoleon returned to Paris, carrying with him
many priceless paintings and works of art taken from the states that he
had conquered. These were placed in the galleries of the Louvre in
Paris, which at once became the most wonderful picture galleries in the
world.

But the Directors of the French Government were afraid of the young
conqueror who was acclaimed by the people wherever he went, and
desiring to get rid of him they readily gave their consent to a plan
that Napoleon himself suggested. This was that since France was still
at war with England and not strong enough to invade that country,
Napoleon should strike at her by taking an army to conquer Egypt, and
thus do injury to England's trade with her eastern possessions in
India, by opening a road to invade that far country which was the
source of England's power.

Preparations for the expedition were conducted with great secrecy in
Toulon, the same town that he had captured a few years before, and in
May, 1798, Napoleon set sail with a large fleet that contained about
thirty-five thousand of his best soldiers and his most clever and
trustworthy officers.

On landing in Egypt he lost no time, but quickly captured Alexandria
and marched into the desert.

The Mamelukes who fought against Napoleon, although undisciplined and
savage, were nevertheless brave fighters. Their cavalry was far famed
for its bravery and skill at horsemanship, as well as for rich
trappings and costly equipment.

Bravely the Mamelukes charged against the French, and time after time
they recoiled from the squares of g