as marching against him with troops of
the line, and on the 8th of September, the French laid down their arms,
and became prisoners of war. Subsequently, another French armament
reached the western coast of Ireland; but Sir John Borlase Warren met it
there with his squadron, and captured one ship of the line, and three
frigates; and the rest of the armament, consisting of five frigates,
returned to France. On board the French ship of the line was Wolfe Tone,
one of the Irish leaders of the rebellion: his execution was the last on
account of this outbreak. Ireland was again quieted, but it was only for
a brief season. It has ever been its fate to be disturbed by agitation,
and to this hour it remains the same. It is, in fact, a fine field for
the agitator: the ardent passions of the people are easily worked
upon; and he who is bold or artful enough to address himself to
those passions, is ever sure of obtaining a listening and an admiring
audience.

INVASION OF BELGIUM.

In the month of May, after due preparations, Captain Home Popham, with
a small squadron, having on board a body of troops commanded by Colonel
Coote, set sail for the purpose of destroying the sluices, gates, and
basin of the Bruges canal at Ostend. This town was bombarded, and the
sluices were blown up; but on returning to the beach to re-embark, the
soldiers were hemmed in by a superior force, and Coote found himself
under the necessity of surrendering.

EXPEDITION TO MINORCA.

An expedition to Minorca was more successful. In the autumn Admiral
Duckworth's squadron landed in Addaya Bay in that island a land-force
of about eight hundred men, under General Sir Charles Stuart, which
compelled the Spanish governor to surrender the whole of the island by
capitulation.

BATTLE OF THE NILE, ETC.

The grand aim of the French directory this year was the seizing and
colonizing of Egypt. This idea had been suggested by Vergennes to the
French government during the monarchy, and it had for some time been
entertained by Napoleon. The blow was chiefly aimed at England; for
the project was to gain possession of Egypt, with a two-fold design of
obtaining the riches of the Nile, and extending their sway to the banks
of the Ganges, so that the empires of Turkey and Hindustan might become
annexed to the French republic. It was to these ends that Napoleon
proposed an expedition to Egypt; and the directory were well pleased
with it, because if its