At daybreak, next morning, the whole of the forts were found to be abandoned, and the English Admiral telegraphed to the fleet not to open fire. Half the city appeared to be in flames, with a dense cloud of smoke hanging over it. The conflagration was, in fact, tremendous, and involved the whole European quarter and the Grand Square. The Egyptian army had retreated. Towards morning a body of about one hundred Europeans fought their way down to the beach, and were taken off by armed boats from the fleet. They had spent a terrible night, defending themselves in the building of the Ottoman Bank, and other buildings adjacent. During the night hundreds of people were massacred, mostly Christians, and for the two succeeding days Alexandria was the scene of horrors hardly equalled by Paris during the Commune. An uncontrolled soldiery, released convicts and the scum of the population were let loose, and murder and pillage went on. Petroleum was used to fire many buildings in the best part of this fine and flourishing city. The Khedive was helpless, and really in great danger of his life, in his palace at Ramleh. Seymour and his officers and men looked on at “this sad spectacle of awful and unexpected catastrophe, which they had no power to prevent.” It is hard to tell whether to blame most the want of statesmanlike forethought, or the want of military perception in the English naval Commander, who precipitated this dreadful state of affairs, without having the means, in the shape of troops, to land and seize the town. To disinterested observers it was an indefensible act, to bombard a city with such a mixed population, many of whom were prone to rapine and murder, without having the power promptly to put things in order. [Illustration: {Section of the Alexandra, {showing working of Guns. BOMBARDMENT OF ALEXANDRIA, 1882.] The English Government seems to have thought Admiral Seymour’s conduct good, for they have just made him a Baron. The sailors and marines of the fleet were landed as soon as it was ascertained that Arabi’s forces had retreated. These were joined by detachments from the German and American men-of-war, for the purpose of protecting their consulates, in the first place, and then they assisted in extinguishing fires, seizing marauders, and rescuing many terror-stricken people from the most imminent danger; patrolling the streets, and assisting, in every way, to restore order.