THE RISING IN ALEXANDRIA 27

the troops would land from the British ships next day. Each man had his plunder to secure, and gradually the crowd melted away. By two o^clock all was quiet; and although occasionally fresh fires burst out in various quarters of the town, there could be little doubt that the great bulk of the population had followed the example of the army, and had

left the city. Then the besieged gathered in the great ofiice on the ground floor, and as it was agreed that there would be probably no renewal of the attack, they quietly left the house, locking the doors after them, and made their way down to the shore. They believed that they were the only survivors, but when they reached the end of the town they found that

the building of the Credit Lyonnais had also been success-

fully defended, though the Ottoman Bank had been over- powered, and all within it, upwards of a hundred in number,

killed.

Gregory had done his full share in the defence, and received

a musket-ball in the shoulder. His wife had passed a terrible

time while the conflagration was raging, and it was evident

that the populace had risen and were undoubtedly murdering

as well as burning and plundering, and her delight was indeed

great when she saw her husband with others approaching in a

man-of-war’s boat. The fact that one arm was in a sling was

scarcely noticed in her joy at his return alive.

“ Thank God, you are safe ! ” she said, as he came up the

gangway. “ It has been an awful time, and I had almost

given up hope of ever seeing you alive again.”

I told you, dear, that I felt confident we could beat off

the scum of the town. Of course it was a sharp fight, but

there was never any real danger of their breaking in. We

only lost about half a dozen out of nearly a hundred and

twenty, and some twenty of us were wounded. My injury is

not at all serious, and I shall soon be all right again ; it is

only a broken collar-bone. However, it has been a terrible

time. The great square and almost all the European quarter

have been entirely destroyed. The destruction of property