in the Eastern seas, and between the Straits of and stores were landed, and a camp formed while Sunda and Malacca made many valuable French the Count d'Estaing, captain of artillery, was sent prizes, and one of forty guns was taken into the forward with a hundred bayonets to reconnoitre a service and named the Medway's Prize. In July, place where defence was never seriously contem1745, the commodore was off the coast of Coro-plated, but which was not to be surrendered at the mandel, at a time when there was no French fleet there as yet, and when Pondicherry, with all the strength of its fortifications, had a garrison of only 436 Europeans under M. Dupleix. By an agreement made with the Nabob of Bengal, Barnet's operations were confined to the sea, and a few more prizes were taken prior to his death at Fort St. David, after which Captain Peyton assumed the command, and, when cruising on the morning of the 25th of June, 1746, off the coast near Negapatam, he suddenly sighted the squadron of La Bourdonnais, consisting of nine sail, armed with 294 guns, and carrying 3,300 men, 700 of whom were Africans. The flag of La Bourdonnais was on board a seventy-gun ship. Our squadron had not half this number of men; but they were resolute and better disciplined, and keeping the weather-gauge, baffled all the manœuvres of the French to beat to windward. The indecisive conflict that ensued was maintained by cannon alone, and Peyton, without the consent of his officers, bore away to Trincomalee, leaving the enemy in possession of the ocean. M. de la Bourdonnais, believing that he had nothing further to fear from our naval force, bore up for Pondicherry, where he began to prepare in earnest for the siege of Madraspatam, as it was then called, a prize worth fighting for, and, to all appearance, to be won without much labour. Madras proper consisted of three divisions. Its northern quarter was a vast assemblage of huts; adjoining this was the Black Town, or Chinnapatam, occupied by Indian and Armenian merchants, and surrounded by a low wall. South of this lay the White Town, or Fort St. George, forming a parallelogram 400 yards long by 100 broad. A very defective wall, strengthened by four bastions, engirt it; there were no outworks. Within it stood an English and Roman Catholic church, the factory, and some fifty houses for the Europeans, whose number was only 300. Of these, 200 were soldiers. The governor never went abroad without being attended by sixty armed peons, besides his British guard, and with two Union Jacks borne before him. first shot. On the 18th, the town was battered by twelve mortars on the land side, and by three of the largest ships of the squadron from the seaward; their fire was so heavy that the little garrison began to think of negociations; and on the 20th, Messrs. Monson and Haliburton came forth as deputies, and urged that as the town was within the territory of the Mogul, the attack should cease; but understanding that the views of the French were serious, asked what contribution would induce them to retire. "I do not traffic in honour," replied La Bourdonnais proudly. "The flag of France shall be planted on Madras, or I shall die before its walls!" Preparations were made for an assault, which there were no means of withstanding; and to spare the little place the horrors of a storm, on the 21st the town and fort capitulated, all the garrison, &c., were made prisoners of war, but were allowed to go where they pleased, "on condition that they shall not bear arms against France till exchanged. The garrison to be landed at Fort St. David, the sailors to go to Gondeloar, and the Watreguel Gate to be put in possession of the French troops at two in the afternoon-all mines and countermines to be revealed." La Bourdonnais pledged himself upon his honour to restore Madras to the Company ultimately, on a fixed ransom; but M. Dupleix, who had previously formed his own schemes for universal conquest, and had a desire for the entire conduct of the war, insisted that the former should break the treaty of capitulation, and at all hazards retain Madras. But La Bourdonnais was averse to a plan which would compromise his honour; and leaving all authority in the hands of M. Desprémenil, he hurried to Pondicherry, in October, to remonstrate with the governor. Many quarrels and much coolness ensued, after which La Bourdonnais took his departure to France, in order to answer certain allegations made against him by M. Dupleix and others, and to seek such patronage from the East India Company as might enable him to return and crush them. But on his homeward voyage he was taken prisoner by a British ship of war, and brought to England, Such was the state of Madras when M. de la where, as he had shown himself alike a man of Bourdonnais appeared before it on the 14th of honour, valour, and humanity, he was received with September with eleven sail, two of which were bomb-favour by all ranks. vessels, manned by 3,700 men. The troops, artillery, "A director of our East India Company offered 1746.] BRITISH SITUATION ON THE COROMANDEL COAST. to become security for him and his property; but the government desired no security beyond the word of La Bourdonnais, and permitted him to return to France. It would have been better for him if they had kept him in England; for, upon the representations of the insidious Dupleix, he was arrested without process, and thrown into the Bastille, where he pined for three long years." He died soon after his liberation. "It has been said," says Baron Grant, in his papers (1801), "that the interest of his wife alone, who was of the family of Auteuil, preserved him from being sacrificed; but whether it was from chagrin, or some other cause, he did not long survive. (It has been suspected that he was poisoned.) M. de la Bourdonnais was soon revenged. M. Dupleix was, in his turn, obliged to render an account of his conduct, and died in a state of penury." Our friend, the Nabob of Arcot, sent a body of his native troops, under Maphuze Khan, to drive the French out of Madras; but they fled at the first discharge of the French cannon; and now Dupleix publicly broke the treaty we made with La Bourdonnais, and ordered every article of property, public or private, British or native, except the clothes and trinkets of the women, to be confiscated-an edict executed without mercy. The governor and some of the principal inhabitants were next carried off to Pondicherry, and triumphantly, but meanly, exhibited there to a mob of 50,000 spectators. Among these captives was a young man named Robert Clive-the Clive who was yet to avenge the insult put upon himself, his companions, and his country! Dupleix now turned his attention to Fort St. David, and prevailed upon the Nabob of Arcot to quit our cause and join him; but three attempts he made against that place failed signally. 15 a man without humanity or scruple-that officer came on with 300 men; and on being reinforced from Pondicherry, appeared before Fort St. David with 1,700 Europeans, six field-pieces, and six mortars. Ere operations began, the officers, for some reason, refused to serve under him, and the command was assumed by M. de Bury. At daybreak on the 9th of December, 1746, the Pennar, which joins the sea some distance north of the fort was reached, unopposed, save by a few of our sepoys, the white smoke of whose fire spurted out from the green leafy jungles in which they were concealed. A greater resistance had been anticipated, yet the garrison consisted of only 200 Britons, 100 Topasses, or natives of Portuguese blood, while the whole force for the defence of the territory was only 2,000 peons, with 900 muskets among them. The sudden appearance of a body of 9,000 horse and foot, belonging to the nabob, led by his sons Maphuze Khan and Mohammed Ali, burning to avenge their late repulse at Madras, filled the French with consternation, and, abandoning their baggage, they made a rush to cross the river. The garrison made a sally, and, joining the Raj troops, pursued them for six miles. Two subsequent attempts were equally unsuc cessful, though the nabob now threw his whole weight into the French scale, recalled his army from Fort St. David, and sent Maphuze Khan in state to Pondicherry, where a grand reception. awaited him. Our situation on the Coromandel coast was be coming desperate now; our people looked in vain for assistance from home, and had almost ceased to hope for it. On the 2nd March, the French made their third attempt, in strength, and this time under M. Paradis. To their surprise they found the passage of the river was to be contested by a troop of volunteer horse with three field-pieces. These were driven in after a three hours' contest, when a squadron of ships was seen coming to anchor in the roads, with the Union Jack flying. On this the French retired in all haste to Pondicherry. After Madras, this place was our most important settlement on the Coromandel coast, and upon the capture of the former, became the seat of the presidency. The fort, small but strong, stood 100 miles south of Madras, fourteen south of Pondicherry, and formed the nucleus of a considerable territory, The new arrivals proved to be the squadron within which stood the rising town of Cuddalore, which had been inactive in Bengal, and was now the climate of which is so delightful that it is still under the command of Admiral Griffin, who had one of our principal stations where soldiers are come from Britain with two ships, one of sixty and placed who choose to remain in India after having the other of forty guns. Partly by recruits from served out their time or become invalided. Dupleix Bengal, England, and Bombay, Fort St. David now thought that, until he could utterly crush us on became so strong that it was beyond the reach of the coast of Coromandel, his object was but half danger, and then the subtle Dupleix began to accomplished so long as Fort St. David remained tremble for Pondicherry itself. But the approach in our hands. Recalling from Madras M. Paradis, of the October monsoon compelled the admiral a Swiss whom he had placed there as governor- to bear away for Trincomalee, on the way burning and sinking in Madras Roads the Neptune, a French this country as though it were situate in another ship of fifty-four guns. His flag was on board the Princess Mary (sixty guns), and his whole squadron consisted of eleven sail, mounting 560 pieces of cannon. The spring of 1748 saw it once more before Fort St. David, while at the same time, Major (afterwards General) Stringer Lawrence, an officer of the highest merit, arrived to take command of all the Company's troops in India; but for some months little of moment occurred, though in consequence of a rumour that Dupleix was about to make an attempt on Cuddalore, the major formed an intrenched camp near the passage of the Pennar. Dupleix had here recourse to treachery, and tempted by gold 400 sepoys to desert with their commander on a given opportunity. Fortunately the scheme was discovered. Two suffered death, and the leaders of the sepoys were sent in irons, for life, to St. Helena. planet, even now that the English occupation has conveyed a sense of identity." The first project of a French East India Company was formed under Henry IV., by Gerard le Roi, a Flemish navigator, who had made voyages to Hindostan in Dutch ships. By letters patent, in 1604, the king granted him an exclusive trade for fifteen years. Five years after, he formed a new association, and obtained letters patent, 2nd March, 1611. Four years passed without any enterprise being undertaken; some merchants of Rouen, therefore, solicited the transfer of these privileges to them, and engaged to fit out a certain number of vessels for India in 1615. These Gerard opposed, till the king united both companies by a charter, 2nd July, 1615. Still nothing of enterprise was attempted, and in 1642 a new commercial company was formed, under the great Cardinal Richelieu, called "the Company of Madagascar," where it made some progress, and established a colony of 100 Frenchmen, who built them a fort; and then, after various changes of fortune, it was abandoned, and factories were established at various places, and lastly at entrepôt of Indian commerce, and named it Pondicherry. About this time Rear-Admiral Griffin received intelligence, on the 9th of June, from Captain Stephens of the Lively, twenty guns, that he had discovered seven French ships of war off the coast, so he resolved to sail at once to attack them. By noon next day they were seen a few leagues to | Boudoutscheri, where they erected their principal windward of Fort St. David, careening well over, for the wind was blowing half a gale. This had prevented our admiral getting under weigh till eleven at night, when he put to sea, his sailors bursting with impatience to meet the enemy. M. Bouvet, their commander, was an able officer and experienced seaman, and took care to avoid a battle. To deceive Griffin, he kept to windward the whole day, and at night bore away under a press of sail, even to his royals, for Madras, where he anchored on the morning of the 11th, having accomplished the object of his voyage, by landing 400 soldiers, and £200,000 in silver for M. Dupleix, after which he put to sea, and steered for the Mauritius. In the meantime Admiral Griffin had looked into Pondicherry Roads, and not finding the enemy there, bore away for the rough billowy roads of Madras, where he met with an equal disappointment. Popular clamour now wanted a victim. He was summoned home, tried by a court-martial, and most unjustly dismissed his Majesty's service. He was -when too late-restored, and died in 1771. The next great event of the Indian war, which hitherto had excited little or no interest in England, was the first attempt to reduce Pondicherry, and, if possible, drive the French out of India. "India," says a leading journal in 1875, “is as remote from Schomberg, "Naval Chron." Fortified by M. Marten, Pondicherry speedily became a place of importance, and the foreign commerce of France attained its zenith in 1742; yet only seven ships were sent to India, with cargoes to the value of 27,000,000 livres. At the period to which we have come, "the governor's house was a handsome edifice, and equal to the finest hotels in France. This officer," says a cotemporary, "is attended by twelve horse-guards, and 300 foot soldiers, who are called peons. days of ceremony he is carried by six men in a palanquin, whose canopy and panels are adorned with a rich embroidery, and various ornaments of gold. This pomp is necessary in a country where the power of a nation is determined by the exterior splendour of those who represent it." On Occupying a gentle declivity at the south-eastern extremity of a long flat eminence, Pondicherry was even then one of the best-built modern cities in India, with an aspect alike pleasing and commanding. Its strong citadel stood within the town, and, along with it, was enclosed on the three land sides by a ditch, rampart, and wall flanked by bastions. The eastern front, which faced the sea, was defended by works armed with 100 guns; but that number was quadrupled before the place was finally captured. A mile distant from these defences, a thick jungly hedge of aloes and other thorny plants, mingled with cocoa-nut and other palms, was carried round for a circuit of five miles from the seashore to the river Ariancoopan, forming an impenetrable barrier to cavalry, and, without the use of the axe, one equally so to infantry. Each roadway through this hedge that led to the town. was protected by a redoubt armed with guns; and near where it joined the river was a small but strong work named Fort Ariancoopan. The season was far advanced before our besieging force commenced operations; yet instead of capturing one of the petty forts and making a dash at the city, they began operations by wasting their time and strength in attacking the fort by the river. Through the neglect of the officer commanding at St. David's, no means had been taken, though the fleet had long been expected, to ascertain when the siege would commence. An engineer sent to reconnoitre Ariancoopan reported that it was a place of small strength; and this was confirmed by a deserter, who stated that it was manned by only 100 sepoys; whereas the fort, which was triangular, regularly scarped, and surrounded by a deep dry ditch, was garrisoned by 100 Europeans and 300 sepoys, under a resolute French officer. This was about the 8th of August, when Admiral Boscawen had arranged everything for the siege, and had off the place his squadron, consisting of fifteen sail, six of which were line-of-battle ships, and carrying in all 662 guns. Entrusting the squadron to Captain Leslie, of the Vigilant (sixtyfour), he landed to conduct the operations. The Exeter and Pembroke (sixty guns), and the Chester and Swallow (sloops), were ordered to anchor and sound the roads, prior to the larger ships approaching to batter. On the 12th of August, Captain Lloyd, of the Deal Castle (twenty), landed in command of 1,100 seamen who were to co-operate with the troops; and the 27th of September saw the line-of-battle ships warped within range of the place. Admiral Boscawen, who had been grossly misled, ordered the instant assault of Fort Ariancoopan; and though made with resolute bravery, the results were most disastrous. Inspired by shame or fury, and with the conviction that they could not be beaten, the gallant stormers persisted in the attack, and did not retire until 150 of them were killed by grape and musketry, and Major Goodere, a most 17 experienced officer of the royal service, had fallen mortally wounded. Though finding that they had been deceived by the strength of this outwork, instead of making an approach to the city from another and weaker point, the siege was postponed till Ariancoopan could be reduced; and the French were not slow to profit by the blunder, by keeping the attacking force in play for eighteen days, when, on their magazine blowing up, they abandoned it. Passing the formidable hedge, the besiegers opened their first parallel at the distance of 1,500 yards from the place, instead of 800 yards from the covered way. They then found they had broken ground in the wrong direction, and that between their works and the town they had a deepening morass. September was a month for sickness, and the rainy season was fast approaching; yet very shame prevented our people from retiring, and though many lives were lost in the process, two batteries of eighteen and twenty-four pounders, and two bomb-batteries were erected; but their fire never told, and neither did that from the ships, as all were a thousand yards distant, and the breaching-guns of the present age had not been conceived. Finding that they were nearly surrounded by water, that the monsoon might dash the ships to pieces, and that they had lost 729 soldiers, and 265 seamen, out of their original strength of 3,720 men, they abandoned the siege. On the 6th October, the troops marched back to Fort St. David, and, to avoid the monsoon, Boscawen sent the squadron to Achin and Trincomalee; and all felt that nothing had been produced but a series of heartless blunders, over the result of which, the French garrison, originally consisting of 1,800 Europeans and 3,000 sepoys, sang Te Deum. Dupleix's loss was only 250 men. In November, the commanders received advice that a cessation of arms had taken place between Great Britain and France, prior to the Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle; and, as possession was to be restored in the state, as nearly as might be, to that condition in which it was at the commencement of the war, the Company completely recovered Madras. At this time, the French, by their manners and subtle mode of paying flattering compliments, were supposed by the natives of India to be a people superior in valour to us; but though M. Dupleix was nothing of a soldier, he had many brave officers under him. |