en the place, and
followed himself in the _Tigre_ (74). On March 18 he intercepted a
French flotilla with the artillery, ammunition, and stores on which
Bonaparte depended for the siege. They were brought into Acre; the
French were left only with field-pieces, and it was not until April 25
that they could bring up heavy guns from Jaffa. Much fierce fighting
took place between the Turks and the French; and the British ships kept
up a constant fire on the French in their lines and whenever they
advanced to attack. Smith, who was given to vapouring, was offended by
some communication from Bonaparte, and sent him a challenge to which
Bonaparte replied that he would fight when the English sent a
Marlborough to meet him.

Bonaparte's victory over the Turks at Mount Tabor seemed a great step
towards conquest. All depended on the fate of Acre. At last on May 7 the
Turkish fleet from Rhodes hove in sight. It was becalmed, and the French
made a desperate attempt to storm the place before the reinforcements
could arrive. They effected a lodgment, but Smith landed his seamen who
helped to drive them out with their pikes, and they fell back with heavy
loss. On the 20th Bonaparte raised the siege which had cost him nearly
5,000 men by war and sickness. Smith received the thanks of parliament
and a pension of L1,000 a year. Though vainglorious and arrogant, he
conducted the defence of Acre with sound judgment as well as with energy
and courage. By weary marches through the desert, Bonaparte led his army
back to Egypt, where he defeated an invasion of Turks. Smith sent him a
bundle of newspapers, and from them he received tidings which determined
him to leave his army and return to France. Before we enter on the
European events which chiefly led to his return, let us see how the ruin
of his plan of eastern conquest, the fruit of Nelson's victory, affected
the British rule in India.

By reducing the resources of Tipu in 1792 Cornwallis believed that he
was establishing a balance of power in India which would enable the
English to adopt a policy of nonintervention. This policy was pursued
both by him and his successor, Sir John Shore, afterwards Lord
Teignmouth. It was defeated through the revival of French influence. The
nizam put his army under French officers who held a large part of his
territories and paid their troops out of their revenues. Daulat Rao
Sindhia, the strongest of the Maratha lords, also employed French
officers and