Page:History of the French in India.djvu/215

 THE NAWWAB's TROOPS ARE DEFEATED. 193 the enemy to have arrived within point-blank range, chap. they opened out from the centre, uncovering the field- ' pieces, and halted. The first discharge from the two 1740. guns went straight into the mass of the hostile cavalry, killing some of the foremost horses. This caused a temporary confusion and halt, which gave the French time to load again. The enemy, unaccustomed to such rapid firing, knowing so little of the European practice of artillery as to consider one shot in a quarter of an hour excellent practice, were confounded at this second discharge. Instead, then, of taking advantage of it to charge home, they halted to look on in mingled doubt, wonder, and fear. But when a third discharge suc- ceeded a second, and a fourth a third, all carrying de- struction into their ranks, they hesitated no longer. Terrified at this novel mode of warfare, they fled pre- cipitately, leaving their tents and baggage a prey to the conqueror. They lost from this cannonade about seventy men, whilst amongst the French not a man was even wounded.* Meanwhile Dupleix had not been less indefatigable at Pondichery. The accounts he received as to the reality and earnestness of the attack on Madras, had convinced him that persistence in a purely defensive line of action would be highly impolitic, and he had de- termined to effect a diversion by threatening the enemy's camp from the side of Pondichery, with the view of com- pelling him to raise the siege. The command of the de- tachment which was to effect this end, and which num- bered about 230 Europeans and 700 sipahis, he intrusted to Paradis, the most capable officer under his orders. The news of the march of this detachment reached Mafauz Khan immediately after the defeat of his cavalry by the Madras garrison. He appears to have instantly taken a resolution worthy of a greater com-
 * Orine, Dupleix.