Page:A history of the military transactions of the British nation in Indostan.djvu/337

Book IX fruitless and disgraceful expedition to Tanjore. It was the 25th of July before the English squadron was sufficiently equipped to sail, and on the 27th they appeared in sight of Pondicherry, where the French squadron lay at anchor, and with much hurry got under sail before night. The next morning the two squadrons were out of sight of each other: on the 29th, the French anchored at Karical; on the 31st, at day-break, they sailed for Negapatam, and at nine again saw the English squadron; but the wind blowing fresh, the three smaller of the French ships could not work their lower tier, on which Mr. D'Aché tacked and stood away, and the next day again saw nothing of the English. The day after, the 2d of August, they anchored again at Karical, where Mr. D'Aché received intelligence, which was not true, that Mr. Lally had been defeated before Tanjore; and, what was much less probable, that the English squadron intended to disembark a great part of their men, in order to cut off the retreat of the French army to Pondicherry. At two in the morning lights appeared in the offing, on which the French squadron got under way, and plying to windward perceived the English at day-break out at sea, about four miles to leeward of them. Both squadrons immediately formed their lines; and Mr. Pococke perceiving the ship which led the enemy's van (it was the Count de Provence) to be the stoutest next their Admiral, ordered the Elizabeth, Admiral Stevens, to take the same station in his own line, instead of the Tyger, to which, as in the last engagement, it had been allotted. The land-wind blowing from the s. w. the English line stretched with their heads to the S. S. E. At eleven o'clock the wind where they were, died away, and left them quite becalmed. But the enemy continued to have a light breeze from the land, with which they stood on, their line extending east and west, and passed the rear of the English line nearly at right angles, without filing a single shot, although they had the fairest opportunity of raking and disabling the Cumberland and Newcastle, which were the two sternmost ships, and, as all the others, lay helpless in the calm with their sterns towards the enemy.