hills, their right towards the sea, and their left resting upon the canal of Alexandria. On the morning of the 13th, the army marched in two lines by the left, to turn the right flank of the enemy. Aware of this, the French, with their whole cavalry, and a considerable body of infantry, poured down from the heights and attacked the heads of both lines, but were repulsed by the advanced guard, consisting of the 90th and 92nd regiments, with incomparable gallantry. The first line then formed into two, and advanced, while the second line turned the right of the French army, and drove it from its position. The enemy, however, made a regular retreat, and contested every inch of ground till they had reached the heights of Nicopolis, which form the principal defence of Alexandria. Anxious to carry these heights, Sir Ralph Abercromby unfortunately ordered forward the reserve under Sir John Moore, and the second line under general Hutcheson, to attack (the latter the right, and the former the left) both flanks at once. Advancing into the open plain, they were exposed to the whole range of the enemy's shot, which they had it not in their power to return; and, after all, the position was found to be commanded by the guns of the forts of Alexandria, so that it could not have been kept though they had stormed it. They were accordingly withdrawn, but with a most serious loss of men; and the British army took up the ground from which the enemy had been driven, occupying a position with its right to the sea and its left to the canal of Alexandria; a situation of great advantage, as it cut off all communication with Alexandria, except by the way of the Desert. In this action, Sir Ralph was nearly enveloped in the charge of the French cavalry, and was only saved by the intrepidity of the 90th regiment. The garrison of Aboukir surrendered on the 18th; but to counterbalance this advantage, the French commander-in-chief, Menou, arrived at Alexandria from Cairo on the 20th, with a reinforcement of nine thousand men. Expecting to take the British by surprise, Menou, next morning, March the 21st, between three and four o'clock, attacked their position with his whole force, amounting to from eleven to twelve thousand men. The action was commenced by a false attack on the left, their main strength being directed against the right, upon which they advanced in great force and with a prodigious noise, shouting, "Vive la France! Vive la Republique!" They were received, however, with perfect coolness by the British troops, who not only checked the impetuosity of the infantry, but repulsed several charges of cavalry. Greater courage was perhaps never exhibited than on this occasion: the different corps of both nations rivalled each other in the most determined bravery, and presented the extraordinary spectacle of an engagement in front, flanks, and rear, at the same time; so much were the contending parties intermingled. Nine hundred of Bonaparte's best soldiers, and from their tried valour denominated Invincibles, succeeded in turning the right of the British, between the walls of a large ruin and a battery. Three times did they storm the battery, and three times were the successive parties exterminated. Getting at last into the rear of the reserve, the 42nd and the 28th regiments charged them with the bayonet, and drove them step by step into the inclosure of the ruin; where, between six and seven hundred of them being already stretched lifeless on the ground, the remainder called out for quarter, and were made prisoners. Not one of them returned. Equally determined was their attack on the centre, and it was there repelled with equal success. A heavy column having broken through the line, the cavalry accompanying it wheeled to their left and charged the rear of the reserve; but this charge was broken by the accidental state of the ground, which
