on arriving in sight of the great
pyramids, he discovered the whole Mameluke force, under Murad Bey and
Ibraham Bey, ready to meet him. Battle was soon joined, and was
easily won by the French. Such of the Mamelukes as escaped destruction
retreated towards Egypt. The conqueror took possession of Grand Cairo,
sending Desaix against Murad Bey in Upper Egypt.

As the French fleet was sailing towards Egypt, it passed near an English
squadron, under Nelson: a thick haze sheltered it from his observation,
and favoured its progress. Nelson had been despatched by Lord St.
Vincent to watch the preparations at Toulon, having under him three
ships of seventy-four guns and four frigates. At the time of the French
fleet's sailing he had put into the Sardinian port of San Pietro, to
relit his squadron, it having been damaged by a storm. While here, he
received a re-enforcement of ten line-of-battle ships, and one of fifty
guns; and with this force--except the frigates, which had been separated
from him during the storm, he finally set sail towards Naples. Here he
learned that the enemy's fleet had visited Malta; and being left by his
commander to act upon his own judgment, he formed a plan of attacking
it there. On his arrival, however, he discovered that the French had
already departed eastward, and rightly judg-ing that Alexandria was
their destination, he steered thither. He arrived at Alexandria on the
28th of June, and gaining no intelligence of the enemy, he returned to
Sicily. By the public voice of England, he was declared for this failure
worthy of impeachment; and Earl St. Vincent was censured for sending so
young an officer on so important a service. On arriving at Sicily, the
Neapolitan ministry, anxious to avoid everything which could endanger
their peace with the French directory, declared openly to aid him;
but through Lady Hamilton's influence at court, Nelson procured secret
orders to the Sicilian governors, under which he obtained all necessary
supplies from Syracuse. As soon as he had re-victualled and taken in
fresh water, he turned his power again toward Egypt, asserting in a
letter to his commander, that if the French were bound to the Antipodes,
or if they were anywhere above water, he would discover them and bring
them to action. He searched for them in vain along the coast of the
Morea, and he took the resolution of again sailing towards Alexandria;
and on the 1st of August, Captain Flood in the "Zealous" sig