Page:A history of the military transactions of the British nation in Indostan.djvu/396

372 and Moracin arrived at Arcot on the 12th, and leaving their troops there went on to attend Mr. Lally at Pondicherry.

The desistance of Mr. Lally from marching against Chinglapet after the reduction of Arcot, gave the Presidency of Madrass encouragement and opportunity to strengthen that place more effectually. The partizan Murzafabeg, having, since the French successes, no employment for the troops he had levied, had brought the best of them, 70 horse and 200 Sepoys, to Chinglapet, where they were taken into the company's pay; and on the 30th of October it was determined to increase the garrison to 100 Europeans, and 1200 Sepoys, to send several pieces of battering cannon, to lay-in three months provisions, and to repair the works. At the same time Captain Smith was recalled to Madrass, to serve in his former employment of aid-de-camp to Colonel Lawrence, and Captain Preston was sent to take the command of Chinglapet, which illness had obliged him to quit. Before his arrival Captain R. Smith had detached Mursafabeg on the 29th, with four companies of Sepoys, and some of the horse, to dislodge a party of the enemy's Sepoys, who had taken post in the village of Polipore, situated about two miles from the other side of the Paliar; Mursafabeg attacked them at day-break, killed and wounded 20, dispersed the rest, and gathered 60 of their muskets, which they had thrown down in their fight.

The arrival of a vessel at Pondicherry on the 18th, from Mauritius, which brought treasure, together with 100,000 rupees, brought by Mr. Moracin from Tripetti, enabled Mr. Lally to put the French troops into motion again: and, as the symptoms of the rainy season hung back even at the end of the month, parties began to assemble at Carangoly, Salawauk, and Conjeveram, and Mr. Lally himself came from Pondicherry to Vandiwash. On the 2d of November 250 Europeans, 100 troopers, with some black horse and Sepoys, marched from Salawauk, and took post again at Polipore, where they were joined on the 5th by 400 more Europeans, with several pieces of battering cannon, and a mortar: intelligence of which came to Madrass the next day, a few hours after the last convoy of supplies had set out for Chinglapet; and as the