Page:History of the French in India.djvu/197

 HIS SHIPS DISPERSED BY A HURRICANE. 175 place by the time proposed, and entered into reasons chap which showed how dangerous it would be to French interests to accede to the other conditions proposed.* 1746 But before this letter reached La Bourdonnais, an unforeseen event had cut the more than Gordian knot which neither party could agree to untie. In his letter of October 11 addressed to Dupleix, La Bourdonnais had remarked — " What we have most against us, is the monsoon ; I can stay here very well till the 20 th, per- haps even to the 25th, if the weather continues favour- able." On the following day he wrote — u Already the northerly wind has set in, then follows, as you know, the decided necessity of quitting the place. ... I am writing to-day to each captain, giving them such orders, that in case the new moon and bad weather should compel them to put to sea, they may regain the coast afterwards." The next day, the 13th, was a lovely day, one of the finest of the season. During the night, however, there came on one of those hurricanes which periodically cause ruin and devastation along the Koro- mandel coast. The French vessels, with the exception of three— the " St. Louis," the " Lys," and the " B,e- nommee " — wdiich had been sent to Pondichery with a portion of the spoils of Madras, were in the roadstead loading. In addition to their crews, they had on board passages from this letter of the acceptance on our part does not p iss Superior Council, dated Pondichery, for an acquiescence in the articles October 14, 174b' : " M. Dupleix has which relate to them The communicated to us your letter of the roadstead of Madras cannot be open 12th, with some articles which we to the English during the division have examined very attentively. of the prize property ; the English Many reasons prevent us from being squadron has only to come there with able to accede to them. The time five or six ships from E trope, as well to which you limit the evacuati -n as from India, an i to disembark of the place is not sufficient to enable their crews gradually. It would us to make a division of the artillery, thus be very easy, as you will see. rigging, and the supplies, and to take for the English to take possession of them away. All that we can pro- Madras, at least to concentrate there mise you, is to work as promptly as a force of 2, 0l)0 Europeans. It is for possible this reason that we have inserted a " With respect to the hostages, let- paragraph that the roadstead of ters of exchange, and bills, we are Madras must not be open to the very willing to engage to receive English.''
 * We extract the most salient them, on the understanding 1, that this