thunderstruck, forthwith agreed to the ultimatum, and the celebrated treaty of Campo Formio was signed the next day; and thus terminated the Italian campaign of Napoleon, the most memorable in his military career. Returning to Paris, Napoleon was soon anxious to resume those schemes of ambition which continually occupied his mind. The expedition for the conquest of Egypt sailed with pomp from Toulon, and after occupying Malta, and narrowly escaping the English fleet under Nelson, the French army landed at Alexandria. Victory after victory soon completed the subjugation of the Land of the Pharaohs, while at the battle of the Nile the French fleet was almost entirely destroyed by Nelson. Cut off by this disaster from Europe, Napoleon projected that expedition to Syria, which, unsuccessful at Acre, returned to Egypt in time to destroy the Turkish army, which had landed at Aboukir. Reverses in the Alps, the loss of Italy, the retreat of the French to Zurich, and the capture of Corfu by the Russians and English, determined Napoleon to return to France, which he accomplished in a small frigate, which escaped the English cruisers. Arrived in Paris, he found the government in disorder, and without a head, and, while disaster surrounded the country, its armies had been beaten, and its finances were in hopeless confusion. On the celebrated 18th Brumaire (8th November), Napoleon having command of the troops in Paris, accomplished that sudden revolution which placed him at the head of affairs. His schemes of ambition began now to ripen, and France soon felt in all her departments the energy of his mighty genius. One of his first acts was to propose peace with England. Disregarding the ordinary rules of negotiation, Napoleon addressed a letter personally to George III., proposing peace. This letter was replied to by Lord Grenville, the Prime Minister, who declined the proposition. Disappointed in his hopes of negotiating peace, Napoleon prepared with renewed vigor for war. The campaign was the most important of his life. Its daring and success are almost unparalleled in history.