quo ante bellum_ for Portugal, the King of
England would consent to the re-establishment of the _status quo_
in the Mediterranean and in America."

The British Minister in his reply of June 25th explained what the
phrase _status quo ante bellum_ in regard to the Mediterranean would
really imply. It would necessitate, not merely the evacuation of Egypt
by the French, but also that of the Kingdom of Sardinia (including
Nice), the Duchy of Tuscany, and the independence of the rest of the
peninsula. He had already offered that we should evacuate Minorca; but
he now stated that, if France retained her influence over Italy,
England would claim Malta as a set-off to the vast extension of French
territorial influence, and in order to protect English commerce in
those seas: for the rest, the British Government could not regard the
maintenance of the integrity of Portugal as an equivalent to the
surrender by Great Britain of her West Indian conquests, especially as
France had acquired further portions of Saint Domingo. Nevertheless he
offered to restore Trinidad to Spain, if she would reinstate Portugal
in the frontier strip of Olivenza; and, on August 5th, he told Otto
that we would give up Malta if it became independent.

Meanwhile events were, on the whole, favourable to Great Britain. She
made peace with Russia on favourable terms; and in the Mediterranean,
despite a first success gained by the French Admiral Linois at
Algesiras, a second battle brought back victory to the Union Jack. An
attack made by Nelson on the flotilla at Boulogne was a failure
(August 15th). But at the close of August the French commander in
Egypt, General Menou, was constrained to agree to the evacuation of
Egypt by his troops, which were to be sent back to France on English
vessels. This event had been expected by Bonaparte, and the secret
instruction which he forwarded to Otto at London shows the nicety of
his calculation as to the advantages to be reaped by France owing to
her receiving the news while it was still unknown in England. He
ordered Otto to fix October the 2nd for the close of the negotiations:

"You will understand the importance of this when you reflect that
Menou may possibly not be able to hold out in Alexandria beyond the
first of Vendemiaire (September 22nd); that, at this season, the
winds are fair to come from Egypt, and ships reach Italy and
Trieste in very few days. Thus it is necessary to