Mirage
Napoleon's Scientists and the Unveiling of Egypt
Chapter One
The General
Europe is but a mole-hill. There never have existed mighty empires, save in the East, the cradle of all religions, the birthplace of all metaphysics.
—Napoleon Bonaparte
There was nothing more surprising and marvelous than Napoleon’s salon for company: it was like something to lodge a king.
—François Bernoyer
Mediterranean Sea, May-June 1798
Departure day dawned warm and sweet, a merry late-May morning on the shores of the Mediterranean. Sunlight winked on the water, the wind was brisk. A military band played martial music, and booming cannon warned stragglers to board without delay. The bay was black with three hundred ships—a sight unlike any the seedy port town of Toulon had ever seen. Vessels were packed so tightly that hulls screeched and sawed against each other maneuvering for open water. Wives, family, friends, and the plain curious milled about on land, sobbing, laughing, waving, struggli ... read full excerpt from Mirage ebook
