On the very same day, the following Memorandum was likewise issued to all the ships; expressive of the admiral's sentiments of the noble exertions of the different officers and men of his squadron—
"MEMORANDUM.
"Vanguard, off the Mouth of the Nile, Aug. 2, 1798.
"The admiral most heartily congratulates the captains, officers, seamen, and marines, of the squadron he has had the honour to command, on the event of the late action; and he desires they will accept his most sincere and cordial thanks, for their very gallant behaviour in this glorious battle. It must strike, forcibly, every British seaman, how superior their conduct is, when in discipline and good order, to the riotous behaviour of lawless Frenchmen. The squadron may be assured, the admiral will not fail, with his dispatches, to represent their truly meritorious conduct, in the strongest terms, to the commander in chief."
"To the Captains of the Ships of the Squadron."
"The praise expressed in this memorandum, could not fail to be highly acceptable, and gratifying, to every individual in the squadron; and the observation which it endeavoured to impress on the minds of all, of the striking advantages derived from discipline and good order, was so much the effect of recent experience, that every bosom immediately assented to it's justice. The benefit of this important truth will not, we trust, be confined to any particular branch of the British navy: the sentiment of the Hero of the Nile must infuse itself into the heart of every British seaman, in whatever quarter of the globe he may be extending the glory and interests of his country; and will there produce the conviction, that courage alone will not lead him to conquest, without the aid and direction of exact discipline and order,
"Let those who desire to emulate, as every British seaman must, the glory acquired on this signal occasion, pursue the same means; which, principally, led to it's acquisition. Let them repose the most perfect reliance in the courage, judgment, and skill, of their superior officers; and let them aid the designs of these, by uniformly submissive obedience, and willing subordination: so shall the British navy continue to prove the admiration of the world, till time shall be no more.
"Immediately after the action, some Maltese, Genoese, and Spaniards, who had been serving on board the French fleet, offered their services in the British; and, being accepted, expressed the greatest happiness, at thus being freed, as they said, from the tyranny and cruelty of the French."
It has been thought proper to adopt the description of the battle of the Nile from this unadorned narrative, not only because it is said to have been originally sketched by Captain Berry; but because there seems no small degree of internal evidence that it was originally founded on the minutes of the hero himself, to whose most glorious victory it adverts with far less admiration and applause than it probably would have received from any other pen.
The following Journal of the 1st, 2d, and 3d days of August 1798, said to have been written by a French officer of high rank, will be found to comprehend a more just and animated picture of this grand naval engagement, and it's consequences, than could have been reasonably expected from what is usually seen of Gallic candour and impartiality.