Thepicketrantoarmsonseeinghorsesreadysaddledandbridled, ; , andeveryonewasgivinghimselfuptothemostgloomyconjectures, whenthecavalryreturnedtothecitywiththeTurkishgroom, whowasbringingbackGeneralBonaparte'shorsetoAlexandria (MemoirsoftheDucdeRovigo, tomei.p.182).]—
Nextmorning, justaswewereonthepointofsettingsail, wesaw, comingfromtheportofAlexandriaaboat, , whowasbelovedbyallofus, ; buthewouldhavesuedinvainhadnotGantheaume, Monge, Berthollet, 'sresistance, andourcolleagueoftheEgyptianInstitutegotonboardafterthewindhadfilledoursails.
IthasbeenerroneouslysaidthatAdmiralGantheaumehadfullcontrolofthefrigates, , Bonapartedeclaredtotheadmiral, inmyhearing, thathewouldnottaketheordinarycourseandgetintotheopensea."KeepclosealongthecoastoftheMediterranean," saidhe, "ontheAfricanside, ; iftheEnglishshouldappearIwillrunashore, andwithmyparty, makemywaybylandtoOran, Tunis, orsomeotherport, whencewemayfindanopportunityofgettinghome." Thiswashisirrevocabledetermination.
Fortwenty-onedaysadversewinds, blowingfromwestornorth-west, droveuscontinuallyonthecoastofSyria, ; , andintheeveningwestoodtowardsAfrica, -onedaysofimpatienceanddisappointment, afavourableeastwindcarrieduspastthatpointofAfricaonwhichCarthageformerlystood, , , andtheretoawaitafavourableopportunityofreturningtoFrance.
Everythinghadcontributedtorenderourvoyagedullandmonotonous; and, besides, wewerenotentirelywithoutuneasinessastothestepswhichmightbetakenbytheDirectory, .