At Aboukir and Acre Part 32

"Supposing you had had ten minutes' notice, how would you have proceeded?"

Edgar gave the orders as laid down in the text-book, for after the narrow escape they had had, he and Wilkinson had especially learnt these by heart.

"Very good indeed, Mr. Blagrove."

Two or three questions in navigation were then asked, and these were also answered well, as they had found it absolutely necessary to be able to find their exact position when cruising in such dangerous waters.

"Thank you, sir," the officer said when the last question had been answered; "we shall have much pleasure in certifying that you have pa.s.sed your examination in a most creditable manner."

Edgar looked a little bewildered.

"Sir Sidney Smith perhaps did not inform you, Mr. Blagrove, that, by Lord Keith's orders, you were to be examined to-day, and that we have sat as a board for that purpose?"

"No, indeed, sir, I had no thought of such a thing. I shall not have served my time for nearly three years."

"I suppose Lord Keith had some special reason for having you examined now. It was a good opportunity, you see. You will please remain on deck for a few minutes while we draw out the certificate."

He was soon called in again and presented with a certificate, saying that he had pa.s.sed the examination most satisfactorily.

"You will now go to the admiral's cabin," the president said; "he desires to speak to you."

Still greatly puzzled why he should be examined so long before his time, Edgar sent in his name to the admiral, and was at once shown in. Sir Sidney Smith was with him.

"I am very glad to hear from the examining board that you have pa.s.sed your examination with great credit, Mr. Blagrove," the admiral said.

"Sir Sidney Smith has spoken to me in very high terms of the services you have rendered him, and the general commanding the troops has requested that you should be told off to his staff, where your knowledge of the country will be of great service to him. Under these very exceptional circ.u.mstances I have taken the exceptional step of having you examined at once, and as you have pa.s.sed with flying colours I now hand you your appointment as acting lieutenant. The appointment is, of course, a temporary one, but when I explain to the Admiralty my reasons for making it, and inclose the report of your services that Sir Sidney Smith has handed to me, I have no doubt that the step will be confirmed.

I may say that one reason for my doing this at the present moment is that as you will be on Sir Ralph Abercrombie's staff, I think that, as the navy is to be represented, it should be represented by an officer with at least the rank of lieutenant, so as to give him a proper status.

I congratulate you, Lieutenant Blagrove, on the promotion that you have, in my opinion and in that of your immediate superior, most worthily won."

Thereupon he shook Edgar warmly by the hand. Sir Sidney Smith did the same, and with a smile stopped Edgar's disjointed words of thanks and pointed to the door. Some of the middies of the flags.h.i.+p nudged each other and smiled at his pale face as he walked to the gangway.

"He has been getting a wigging and no mistake," one said to another. "He looked all right when he went in, for I noticed him as he came on deck; but he has evidently got into some awful sc.r.a.pe, and will be court-martialled and sent home, I should say, or his captain would have kept the affair in his own hands instead of bringing him up before the admiral."

"Anything the matter, Mr. Blagrove?" Mr. Knight, who was still second lieutenant on the _Tigre_, asked him, as he came on board. "'Tis not often that a mids.h.i.+pman is signalled for by an admiral's flags.h.i.+p, and you are looking rather shaky."

"No, sir, there is nothing wrong, but I do feel a little queer. When I got there I was taken down to the wardroom, where three captains were sitting. They asked me a number of questions about the port of Alexandria, the depth of water, the batteries, and so on. Of course I knew about that from going so often on board s.h.i.+p in the harbour and from sailing in and out. Then, to my surprise, they asked me what I should do if the s.h.i.+p I was in command of was caught in a sudden squall.

As we had been caught in a white squall in the islands, of course I was able to answer. They asked me some other questions as to navigation, and I could not for the life of me make out what they were doing, and was thunderstruck when they told me that they were a board, and that I had pa.s.sed my examination with great credit. When they gave me the certificate I was taken to the admiral's cabin;" and he then repeated the substance of what the admiral had said.

"I congratulate you, Blagrove. You are a lucky young dog; but I don't think that luck is the proper word, for you owe it entirely, first to your knowledge of languages, then to your own behaviour and pluck. It is rare indeed, I can tell you, that a mids.h.i.+pman of two years' standing is pa.s.sed and promoted. I have no doubt that, as the admiral said, your going on Abercrombie's staff had a good deal to do with it, because, for the credit of the navy, one would not like to be represented by a mids.h.i.+pman on such service. Well, you must borrow an epaulette;" for at that time a naval officer did not mount two epaulettes until he had obtained the rank of commander.

At first Edgar's story was altogether disbelieved in the c.o.c.kpit, where his arrival was anxiously expected, as all were curious to learn what he had been signalled for. When at last they understood that he was in earnest, he was very warmly congratulated. Three of them were senior to him; but he was so generally liked, and his acquirements in the way of languages so fully acknowledged, that there was no feeling of jealousy, especially as they felt sure that, when the campaign was over, Sir Sidney Smith would get him appointed to another s.h.i.+p. Two of them that evening got a boat and rowed to several other men-of-war, and at last succeeded in buying an epaulette from an officer who had bought the kit of another who had died some time before, and this they formally presented to Edgar that evening.

While at Marmorice Bay the latter had almost daily interviews with the general. At these the quarter-master and adjutant-generals and several other superior officers were often present, and he was asked innumerable questions as to the country between Alexandria and Cairo, the probabilities of obtaining animals for the baggage-waggons and artillery, the amount of provisions that could be obtained from the country, the length of the marches and the nature of the ground, and whether the Arabs were likely to render any efficient a.s.sistance. All these questions he answered to the best of his power, saying, however, that it would be absolutely necessary to depend to a large extent on the boats for provisions as the French had done, for that comparatively few horses could be obtained, as the French had purchased all that they could lay their hands on.

Then to an engineer officer he described the position of the old and newly-erected works at Cairo, saying that the latter were intended solely to overawe the town, and that some of them were open works in the rear, although no doubt they would be much strengthened, and some of the guns turned outward, as soon as news was received of the landing of the British army. He pointed out that many of the guns must, however, be retained in their present position, in case the population should rise as soon as the army approached, and that the guns were in most cases small, as the French had brought no battering-train with them.

"There is no doubt," the general said, "that Damietta and Rosetta must be taken before we advance, and that a strong force of our gun-boats and armed s.h.i.+ps' boats must convoy the native craft laden with provisions and stores, for from what you describe of the country, and the difficulty of obtaining animals, it is clear that we shall have to depend upon the river for food."

On the 24th the great fleet sailed, and on the 1st of March anch.o.r.ed in Aboukir Bay. The weather was boisterous and a landing was impossible.

The next morning, to their mortification, a French frigate was seen to enter Alexandria. She had pa.s.sed near several of the blockading squadron, but was in some way furnished with a British naval signal-book, and answered all the signals made to her without attracting the slightest suspicion. During that night a French brig also ran in.

Not until the 8th did the sea moderate sufficiently for a disembarkation to be attempted. This delay of seven days was most unfortunate, as it enabled the French general to make every preparation for opposing the landing.

On the morning of the 8th the brigade of Guards, and part of the 1st brigade, amounting in all to 5500 men, under the command of Major-general Coote, embarked in boats, and at three started for the spot where they were to gather for the landing. But the s.h.i.+ps were widely scattered, and it was not until nine o'clock that the boats were all marshalled in order.

In the meantime the remainder of the 1st and the 2nd brigades were taken to the s.h.i.+ps close insh.o.r.e, so that no time might be lost after the boats had landed the other division.

Edgar had the night before been rowed to the s.h.i.+p on which were the general and his staff, and accompanied them to the vessel near the sh.o.r.e on which he took his post. On either flank of the transport's boats were posted three gun-vessels and two of the fleet's launches. Two bomb-vessels were placed close to them, and three sloops-of-war were moored with their broadsides to the sh.o.r.e.

Sir Sidney Smith had charge of the launches which contained the field-artillery. As the signal-gun fired, the oars all dipped in the water together, and the men burst into a tremendous cheer.

For a moment the French remained pa.s.sive; 2000 men were posted on the top of the sand-hills, which here formed a crescent. In the centre rose two hills, to a height of 180 feet, apparently inaccessible. Twelve guns were posted on the sand-hills, and the Castle of Aboukir was able to a.s.sist with the fire of its guns. So strong was the position that the French had hardly deemed it possible that the British would decide to attack them here; but as the boats dashed forward, every man rowing as if his life depended upon his efforts, they could no longer doubt the intentions of the British, and a tremendous fire of grape and musketry, shot and sh.e.l.l, was opened.

Some of the boats were sunk, but most of those on board were saved by the others, and the greater part of the line, without a check, pressed on until they reached the beach. The 23rd and 40th, whose boats were the first to land, rushed up the height without stopping to fire a shot, and, charging the two French battalions with the bayonet, carried it and two hills in the rear, taking three pieces of cannon posted there. The 42nd Regiment formed up as if on parade, and mounted the sand-hills under the fire of two pieces of artillery and a battalion of infantry.

The moment they reached the crest 200 French cavalry advanced to charge, but fell back under the heavy fire opened upon them.

They rallied behind the hills, and charged down upon the Guards as the latter were beginning to land. The 58th, however, poured a volley into them, and gained time for the Guards to form up, when the cavalry again rode off. The 54th and the Royals, being in heavy transport boats, arrived a little later, but were in time to check a French column advancing through a hollow against the left flank of the Guards. The British were now in full possession of the heights, and the French everywhere fell back, keeping up, however, a fire from another range of sand-hills for an hour and a half, when, as the troops got into motion against them, they retreated, having lost 300 men and eight pieces of cannon.

The advance of the boats had been anxiously watched by Sir Ralph Abercrombie's staff from the deck of the _Mondovi_. It seemed to Edgar well-nigh impossible that any of these could reach the sh.o.r.e, so torn up was the water by shot, sh.e.l.l, and bullets. A hearty cheer broke from all on board as the men in the boats that first arrived were seen to jump out on to the sh.o.r.e. These were repeated again and again as the 23rd, 40th, and 42nd won their way up the hill, and the French could be seen hastily retiring. But it was not until the Guards and the three other regiments were seen formed up in order ash.o.r.e--for the French might, for aught it was known, be preparing to take the offensive and recover the ground that they had lost--that it was felt that full success had attended the operation. The moment they had landed their freight the boats returned to their s.h.i.+ps, and by evening the navy succeeded, with the greatest exertions, in conveying the whole of the remainder of the force to the sh.o.r.e.

As soon as the fight was over, the troops were set to dig for water wherever there were clumps of trees, and succeeded in finding it in several places. Edgar was requested by the general to ride with a troop of cavalry to find out the hut where the peasant who had spoken to him lived. He took them almost straight to the spot. The peasant was there, but had difficulty in recognizing in the young officer, the apparent Arab with whom he had spoken on the day of the battle of Aboukir.

However, on being told that the French had been defeated, and that the British intended to drive them out of the country altogether, he at once pointed out where the well stood.

Some of the troopers had been provided with shovels. All dismounted and worked by turns, and late in the evening the officer in command of the party rode into camp with the welcome news that a large supply of water could be drawn from the well. The army advanced some little distance the next day, and established itself on the narrow strip of land between the sea and the Lake of Aboukir; while the stores were brought ash.o.r.e and a hospital established on the beach. On the 12th the force moved four miles farther, and on the following day marched to attack the French, who were encamped on a ridge. They had received reinforcements from Cairo, bringing up their strength to 6000 men. They had some thirty guns, and the ground, which sloped regularly and smoothly down, afforded a natural glacis, which would be swept by their fire.

The army marched in two columns against the French right, their advance being supported by the guns of some of the s.h.i.+ps' launches, which had entered the Lake of Aboukir. The French guns played rapidly, and the 92nd, which was the leading regiment, pushed forward, while the French cavalry, which charged the 90th, were received with a heavy fire and driven back. The columns now formed into line, and, pressing steadily forward, the French were compelled to abandon their position, and to retreat to the works on the heights before the town itself.

Unfortunately, the British general, from the ease with which he had turned the enemy from their first position, thought that he might carry the second by a sudden attack. But, although the troops fought gallantly, they were unable to win the position, which was strong and well armed, and after some hours' fighting they were called off. Their loss during the day had been about 1100 killed and wounded, while that of the French was not more than half this number.

The ground on which the army now took up its position was a strong one.

The right was on high ground, and extended to the ruins of a Roman palace within fifty yards of the sea. The left was on the ca.n.a.l that supplied Alexandria with water; here two batteries were ordered to be constructed, the lake protected its rear from attack. The distance from the sea to the lake was about a mile, and the position occupied was high and commanding. In front of this line was a plain on which cavalry could act, and beyond this was the French position, a high and steep ridge, extending from the sea to the ca.n.a.l. The army laboured unceasingly at the work of constructing batteries, and bringing up guns and provisions.

Water was fortunately found in abundance, and the nights being cold, tents were landed and set up. The castle of Aboukir had been left unattacked as the army moved forward, but was now besieged and surrendered on the eighteenth.

CHAPTER XVIII.

THE BATTLE OF ALEXANDRIA.

On the afternoon following the capture of Aboukir Castle, an Arab was seen riding at full speed towards the British left. He was pursued by some French cavalry, and another party endeavoured to cut him off. The general happened to be at the time watching the troops at work completing the batteries on that flank.

"That Arab is well mounted," he said, as he and those around him watched the chase. "I believe he will get through if he is not shot," for, at this moment, the cavalry behind him, seeing that he was leaving them fast, began to use their carbines. Waving his gun over his head, and from time to time giving a yell of derision and defiance, the Arab swept round towards his right, and so pa.s.sed ahead of the troop that had endeavoured to cut him off, then bore round again, until he reached the bank of the ca.n.a.l, and galloped along it, slackening his pace as a musketry fire was opened from the battery, and the French cavalry turned and rode away. The Arab rode across the bridge over the ca.n.a.l, and then cantered up to the battery. As he was crossing the bridge, the idea that had for a minute or two previously been in Edgar's mind rose to a certainty.

"It is Sidi!" he exclaimed.

The general turned and looked at him interrogatively.

"It is the young chief of the Beni Ouafy, the tribe I was with when I was here, sir; we call each other brother, and indeed are that in feeling. We have saved each other's life more than once."

"Go and meet him then, and bring him here," the general said. "You spoke frequently of him when describing your journeys to and from Cairo."