The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-02-22
NHS2ZEOW HT HCRE
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Of Acre he brought to his besieging
forces the news of victory to cheer
them in their forlorn hope. The sun of
a Syrian summer was beating upon
them in the unshaded plain with a fire
more destructive than that which
belched from the walls and the ships.
Phelippeaux succumbed to its burn
ing rays, struggling to the last to settle
the old score with his schoolmate at
the Ecole of Paris. The unburied dead
lay in a heap against the stubborn
wall, threatening the health of the
forces on both sides.
In an occasional truce, the officers of
the British ships entertained some French
generals at dinner. But there was no
love lost between the British commander,
Sidney Smith, and Napoleon. Smith even
sent him challenge to fight duel Ma
poleon replied that unless the English
had a Marlborough to pit against him
he must decline, but he offered to match
a French grenadier against Smith,
All the while Dejezzar, the pasha of
Acre, remained a stranger to the ameni-
ties of war. Although in alliance with
Christian and civilized nation, he did
not moderate the asperities of savage
warfare In one of his reports to Lon
don, Smith described the butcher seated
in the square at the gate, handing out 81
reward for every head of a Frenchman
dumped at his feet One day Smith
counted 90 heads as they We're brought
in from the firing line by Dejezzar's
men, each of whom carried a sabre in
one hand and a dagger in the other.
A 25-hOur Battle
The siege took on a spirit OF despeIa-
ton when Napoleon saw one day in early
May fleet of 80 sails bearing down
upon Acre with thousands of Turkish
soldiers coming to the relief of the town.
,ha thpn1Sp1NpG ma61U at
the walls, and with scaling ladders car
ried the tricolor flag to one of the
towers.
AT an exposed and vital position three
officers were killed in quick succession.
Another must go to the deadly place.
But Napoleon had only two aides left,
Lavelette and Eugene Beauharnais, who
was filled with reckless daring. His step
father had seen him fall once when
stunned by a shell. Turning now to
Lavelette, he said: Il don't want to send
this boy and have him killed so young.
His mother has entrusted him to me.
You know what life is. Co..
The Turkish reinforcements were al
ready rowing ashore in their small boats
when several hundred French broke into
the town as the sun was setting and
fought their way to the garden of De-
Jezzar. There they looked upon the walls
of the Butchers harem, the prison
house of his Is white wives, but in a few
minutes the brave men in the garden were
headless corpses. This wild charge was
led by General Lannes who was brought
to the earth by shot through his neck.
A company of his soldiers bore him back
to safety, but with wound that caused
him to carry his head to one side the
rest of his days.
For % hours the fighting lasted. In the
last attack Napoleon stood with Arraghf
by his side until shell swept down
his fellow Corsican. With anxious eyes
he was watching Kleber's great shock
of bushy hair in the thick of the heads
on the standards of France and Turkey
We're locked, and listening to his tremen-
dous voice as 1t rose above the bar
barous yells of thousand newly landed
1anissaries Soon he saw Kleber stop.
The French column had ceased to move
forward. 1t paused but moment, and
then recoiled before the Turks.
An Emperor Lost
The new Alexander had lost the em-