Page:A Comprehensive History of India Vol 1.djvu/632

 5i)H

JJISTOllY OF INDIA.

[FJOOK III.

A.I) 17r,8

.Siego <if Fort St. Uavid.

the fort seems to have contented himself with allowing tlie ganwm, as Mr Orme expresses it, "to lavish away their fire night and day on everything they saw, h(!ard, or suspected." In this way they sustained more injury than they inflicted, for "twenty of the carriages of their own guns were disabled and the works themselves shaken." The besiegers were thus permitted to proceed with little interruption. By the 3th they had advanced their trenches io within 200 yards of the glacis, and from twenty-one pieces of cannon and thirteen mortars kept up an incessant fire, with a constantly increasing supen- ority over that of the defenders, who were now beginning to feel the want of the ammunition of which they had been so lavi.sh at the commencement, when no good purpose could be gained by it. It was now evident that the place must fall if not speedily relieved. Of this there was still some hope. Admli-al Pococke with his squadron was known to be on the coast; and as he had

already gained some advantage

Itardcn Iw

Count d'Achc declines the cliallenge of tlie Britisli fleet.

over his opponent, it was natur- ally expected that he would not allow Fort St. David to fall without a strenuous effort to save it. He did indeed make this effort; and after ha-ing been driven northward as far as Sadrass, had worked his way back, but with so much diffi- culty, that he only gained four leagues in two days. On the 28th he descried the French fleet lying in the road to Pondicherry ; but Count d' Ache's courage had cooled after his pre%'ious encoun- ter, and instead of accepting the challenge to fight, he resolved, with the sanction of his captains and the governor and council, to keep his ships moored near the shore under the protection of the batteries. Lally, hearing of this resolution and ashamed of it, hastened firom the siege, bringing with him a detachment of 400 Europeans and as many sepoys, whom lie tendered to Count d'Ache to serve on board the fleet. The want of men, in consequence of the great number of sick who were on shore in the hospital, had Ijeen the only excuse for not risking an engagement, and as this obstacle was now removed by Lallj'^'s offer, the previous pusillanimous resolution was aban- doned. Count d'Ach^, however, though thus compelled to quit the protection of the shore, had no intention to eng^age if he could possibly avoid it ; and

rORT S^DAYID

1756

of Yards