g man, a native of Aleppo, named Suleiman,
who was a prey to extravagant fanaticism.

With Kleber's death, Egypt was lost for France. Menou, who succeeded
him, was very far beneath such a task. The English offered to make good
the convention of El Arish, but Menou refused, and England prepared for
an invasion, after attempting vainly to co-operate with the Turks.

Sir Ralph Abercrombie, who had been appointed as British commissioner,
landed with the English army alone at Abukir. After fierce skirmishing,
the French and English met on the plains of Alexandria. In the frightful
conflict which ensued, Sir Ralph Abercrombie was slain, but the battle
ended with the retreat of the French. Damietta surrendered on April
19th. The French were now divided, while Menou hesitated. General
Hutchinson took the place of the deceased British commander. A great
battle was fought at Cairo, which was won by the British, and the
capital itself now fell into their hands. General Hutchinson then
closed in upon Alexandria; and, after hard fighting, Menou at length
surrendered. The French troops were allowed to return to France with all
their belongings, except the artillery, August 27, 1801.

CHAPTER III.--THE RULE OF MEHEMET ALI

_Mehemet's rise to power: Massacre of the Mamluks: Invasion of the
Morea: Battle of Navarino: Struggle with the Porte: Abbas Pasha,
Muhammed Said, and Ismail Pasha: Ismail's lavish expenditure: Foreign
bondholders and the Dual Control._

From the beginning of the eighteenth century, the destiny of Egypt
was the destiny of one man; he aided the political movements, and
accelerated or retarded social activity; he swayed both commerce and
agriculture, and organised the army to his liking; he was the heart and
brain of this mysterious country. Under the watchful eyes of Europe,
attentive for more than forty years, this Macedonian soldier became the
personification of the nation under his authority, and, in the main, the
history of the country may be summed up in the biography of Mehemet Ali.
If we consider the events of his life, and the diverse roads by which
he reached the apogee of his fortunes, reviewing the scenes, now sombre,
now magnificent, of that remarkable fate, we obtain a complete picture
of Egypt itself, seen from the most intimate, real, and striking point
of view.

According to the most authentic accounts, Mehemet Ali was born in 1768
(a. h. 1182), at Cavala, a seaport in Turkey in Europe