oot-soldiers
to each horseman. To the left of the Mamelukes, and between them and the
Pyramids, 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 the
right on a large village. Napoleon, with his staff, reconnoitered the
enemy's entrenched camp, and by means of telescopes discovered that the
cannon were not upon field-carriages, but were simply heavy ship guns
that had been taken from their flotilla, and were served by the sailors.
They, therefore, could not be moved, and it was evident that if the
infantry left the camp they must do so without guns. The entrenchment
itself was not formidable; it had been begun but three days before, and
although it might be impracticable for cavalry, it would offer no
serious obstacle to an attack by infantry.

The discovery that the cannon were immovable, decided Napoleon in his
dispositions for the battle, and he gave orders that his army should
move across to his right, and should thus be concentrated for the attack
upon the Mamelukes and Arabs. Mourad Bey, seeing Napoleon's object, at
once ordered two-thirds of his cavalry to charge the French while they
were in motion, while the others were to remain near the entrenched
camp. So rapidly did they sweep down, that the French squares fell into
some confusion, and Desaix, with his division, which formed the head of
the column, had difficulty in maintaining themselves, their ranks being
somewhat broken by a grove of palm-trees through which they were
passing. They, however, received the Mamelukes with so terrible a fire
of musketry and grape-shot that the charge was not pressed home. The
Mamelukes, however, fought with desperate courage, sweeping round the
French squares, and even endeavouring to back their horses into the
line 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 had
taken, owing to the cloud of dust and smoke, rode back to the
entrenchment. The French now pressed forward with all speed, and a
division was thrown across the plain, so as to prevent the horsemen from
retreating by the line that Mourad had taken. The latter, seeing what
had happened, charged again and again with his Mamelukes, to endeavour
to break an opening through the French, by which the rest of his f