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The approach of this enormous body of enemy troops was signalled by the arrival of General Exelmans who, as I have said, had briefly left his division to go almost unaccompanied to claim back from General Sébastiani his battery of artillery, which that General had so inappropriately despatched to join that of Roussel d'Urbal.
With the same spirit which made these officers become soldiers again, the other superior officers descended to a lower rank, with no concern as to the designation of their grade. Generals of division Grouchy and Sebastiani took again the rank of simple captain. When near Borizow we halted at the sound of loud shouts, thinking ourselves cut off by the Russian army.
Sebastiani came nearer, knelt on one knee and lifted and turned a ring, at the foot of the bed, which Lupin had not noticed. One of the flagstones moved on a pivot, disclosing a black hole. "You see," the marquis continued, "everything is provided for; and I have all that I want at hand, including dungeons: bottomless dungeons, says the legend of the castle.
Instructed by the French minister Sébastiani, the Turks had armed their coasts, and erected batteries along the Dardanelles, through which the British fleet made its way with considerable loss. Instead of being detached from the French alliance, the Porte was thrown into its arms and became more embittered than ever against Russia.
For a moment the Sultan had appeared to hesitate before the demands of the English, united to those of the Russians: Admiral Duckworth forced the Dardanelles at the head of a squadron, and destroyed the Turkish division anchored at Cape Nagara. In spite of the terror which reigned in Constantinople, the energetic influence of General Sebastiani carried the day.
Such, he said, were the dispositions of the Mussulmans, that 6000 French would now suffice to restore Egypt to the republic; and it was in vain that General Stuart, who represented the English king in that country, had endeavoured to excite the Turkish government to assassinate him, Sebastiani.
Sebastiani mentions experiments on the range of guns which were made by him, in Southampton water; and it is likely that the cannon used in the siege of Maynooth were the large-sized brass guns which were first cast in England in the year of its capture. Stow, p. 572. When the history of artillery is written, Henry VIII.'s labours in this department must not be forgotten.
The voyage of Thomas Stukeley, wrongfully called Marques of Ireland, into Barbary 1578. Written by Iohannes Thomas Freigius in Historia de cæde Sebastiani Regis Lusitaniæ. Venerant autem ad regem etiam sexcenti Itali, quos Papa subministrarat, Comiti Irlandiæ: qui cum Vlissiponem tribus instructis nauibus appulisset Regi operam suam condixit, eumque in bellum sequi promisit. Cap. 7.
The attempt to continue hostilities was unsuccessful, General Sebastiani having been deceived as to the direction taken by Kutuzoff, and, after following him in vain for two or three days, compelled to return to Moscow. Murat being again put in command of the advanced guard, met the enemy on the Pakra, after being joined by Marshal Bessieres.
All the cavalry generals, including Sébastiani, were so much persuaded of the advantages of this method, that eventually Exelmans was ordered not to irritate the enemy gunners by firing our guns at them, when the cavalry was only standing-to and had neither an attack nor a defence to undertake.
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