At Aboukir and Acre: A Story of Napoleon's Invasion of Egypt

by G. A. Henty

England gave up all her conquests with the exception of Ceylon and Trinadad, while France was permitted to retain all hers. The treaty of Amiens, which was finally signed in the following March, was one of the most humiliating ever made by England. With it came an order for the ships at Gibraltar to carry the greater portion of the troops retained on board, to England. The wind was favourable, and on the last day of the month the fleet cast anchor in Spithead. It was soon known that almost the whole fleet were to be paid off and the ships laid up at once. The men were pleased at the news, for most of the vessels had been engaged in arduous service in the Mediterranean for years, and the men were glad at the prospect of an opportunity of a turn ashore, until they had got rid of the prize-money that had accrued to them.

The officers, on the other hand, were depressed at the news. To them it meant that they might be years before they again obtained employment, that all chances of gaining distinction or promotion were at an end, and that they would be reduced to live on their scanty half-pay for an indefinite time. Mr. Addington indeed, who was now in power, thought only of retrenchment, and although it was evident to every thinking person that such a peace could only be of short duration, he crippled the country by paying off the greater portion of her ships-of-war; and when in May in the following year war again broke out, and Pitt returned to power, the whole work of getting the navy into fighting order had to be done over again. Two days after the fleet anchored at Spithead, Edgar was delighted to see his father on board a shore-boat that came alongside.

"Everything has turned out well," he said as soon as the first greeting was over. "On the very day that I got your letter, I had an intimation that the war was likely to come to an end shortly. I thought it better, therefore, to wait before moving in your matter until things were definitely settled, as it was infinitely better that you should be put on half-pay because the war had come to an end than to apply to give up active service while the war lasted."

"Certainly, father. There can be no doubt of that."

"Of course I got the letter that you wrote when you were at Gibraltar, saying what ship you were on, and learned from my friend Captain Harrington of the prize court, that unless some hitch occurred in the negotiations, the fleet there, with the troops on board, would at once be ordered home, and on arrival would be paid off. There was, therefore, no occasion for me to make any application in the matter. The troops are, I see, landing to-day, and I suppose that in a week at latest the ships will be taken to the harbour and you will all be paid off."

"Nothing could be better, father."

"At any rate, there would be no chance whatever of your obtaining employment until the war breaks out again. When it does, my friend Harrington says that he has no doubt that he will be able to obtain for you an official post at Alexandria, with special instructions to aid in the provisioning and general repairs of any ships-of-war that may put in there, and that indeed he has no doubt that he will be able to get you the post of vice-consul there at once, for this, as you know, is as a rule given to merchants of standing, and as Sir Sidney Smith is in London, he would no doubt be able to support you in the matter. Of course there will be a consul-general in Egypt, and a vice-consul at each of the ports. So far, no appointments of the kind have been made, and, as he says, from your knowledge of the country, with our firm being long established as merchants there, with your knowing so many languages and your naval record, there can be little doubt that, if you apply, and are backed by Sir Sidney Smith, you will get the appointment at once."

"That would be capital, father. I hope that Muller's account of the work of the last three years has been satisfactory?"

"Perfectly so. We have done much better than I could have expected under the circumstances; and indeed the profits of the last three years have been nearly as large as those of the years before the French landed."

Four days later the order arrived for the ship to pay off, and Edgar at once posted up to town, for the number of officers wanting to go up was so large that it was impossible to secure a place by a coach to London for a week to come. The next day he called upon Sir Sidney Smith and stated to him the plans he had formed.